Austin Buddys Live Gold - Pack - Opinions, please ;-)

There was a free sample of the Gold Pack I thought. Think it was a Brown sound thing and updated to the Cygnus. I’m at work right now so away from my stuff. Can’t recall where I got it but thought it was posted by AB and I got it here. My experience with the Gold Pack is good but I think my speaker is sub par.
 
GuitarGuy316 said:
For strictly metal players, is there enough good content in the pack to warrant a full purchase?
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I’m mainly a chugga chugga dude (more 90’s/modern metal) and because I’ve spent most of my time with my III making my own (metal) presets, I only loaded in the Marshall/Fendery banks so far. That said, those banks are so fucking good that I have ZERO doubt the metal stuff Austin dialed in is anything less than badass. It’s because of those other banks that I’ve been sorting through what I want to keep out of the factory presets just so I can make space for the metal ones.

I’d offer to demo some of the presets but I won’t be back home until late Tuesday, I’m headed off for a weekend of Metallica, Mastodon, Mudvayne, Lamb Of God and about 200 other bands I can’t remember right now!

I’ve yet to see one person regret buying Live Gold, literally not one. If you check my post history, there’s evidence that I haven’t gotten on too well with other people’s presets, but that’s certainly not the case with Live Gold. I think one of the best moves Fractal could make is shipping each unit with Live Gold loaded into it and maybe a few of their crazier factory presets because it’s exactly what the “I just want to plug in and play” guys want, that often keeps them nervous about switching to a Fractal unit.
 
I am generally disappointed when purchasing presets and IR's from vendors. Not their fault. There are just too many variables involved with equipment and all. Nothing ever sounds as advertised, and I get that.

That being said...
I purchased the AB Live Gold pack yesterday because I just can't give up the ghost lol. Yeah, it's a bit pricier than others, but all I can say is that it was worth every penny. I have played around with only a few of the presets... but I was at it all day because quite frankly they sounded great. I was having a blast really. These things are ALIVE! With all you get with this pack (and all the great advice in the tutorials etc.) it was WELL worth the money.

I am already a big fan!
 
austinbuddy said:
I did originally, and at gig volume (+92db loud).

But now I use ATC 25s when updating. More accurate (pro studio mixing monitors) bottom and mids even than my NEO CLRs, so just sold two of my four.
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The ATC's are very pricey, can you say which model of ATC you are using? thx
 
RobbyDeeMusic said:
The ATC's are very pricey, can you say which model of ATC you are using? thx
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ATC 25 SCMS. Incredibly happy with them, great detail and you can program/mix for longer stretches without ear fatigue.

I tool a deep breath and bought them after NAMM 2020 on a credit card. $8k/pair then, now $9k/pair. #inflationisreal.
 
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Based on the feedback from lots of folks here, AB's Gold Pack sounds awesome through any number of different systems. I love them through my Yamaha HS8's and through the effects return of my amp (with the cab blocks bypassed). 👍
 
GuitarGuy316 said:
Gotcha...well either way this pack should still sound good using a pair of CLRs with little tweaking?
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Absolutely re: CLRs. The presets sound great through most playback systems or studio monitors. Some FRFRs had a bottom EQ “hump” to may it be more “cab like” so low cut for those if too much. But you have the tools to tweak if you needed them.
 
austinbuddy said:
Absolutely re: CLRs. The presets sound great through most playback systems or studio monitors. Some FRFRs had a bottom EQ “hump” to may it be more “cab like” so low cut for those if too much. But you have the tools to tweak if you needed them.
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What’s your basic high/low cuts you use on the CLRs? Also, for your presets are the patches changes instant or would there be gaps it sound on the FM9? Lastly, do you recommended to turn spillover on?
 
GuitarGuy316 said:
What’s your basic high/low cuts you use on the CLRs? Also, for your presets are the patches changes instant or would there be gaps it sound on the FM9? Lastly, do you recommended to turn spillover on?
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Hi @GuitarGuy316

I vary the lo/hi cut in the Cab IR based on the amp and sound I hear - it's not just one setting.

The Low Cut can be as low as 90Hz and as high as 200Hz, depending on how bass the Cab IR is. But I think a really good starting play is 150Hz or 120Hz if you are playing metal. In a live gig, a good FOH guy is going to cut around 150Hz to fit your guitar signal into the band mix and make sure the bass guitar is separately heard

I set the high between as low as 4.5kHz for a tweed amp to 10kHz for a Vox, but just start with it about 8kHz and lower/raise to taste - most speakers really do not put out much frequency wise above 6.5kHz and after about 4kHz there isn much "nice" stuff coming out of a guitar. I have some Mission Gemini II FRFRs that sound great but have some harsh that I end up cutting around 3.3kHz to smooth out using the GLOBAL Out2 EQ I send to them, and cut the lows under 150Hz too. I also will use an amp's Input EQ a lot to cut off muddy low I had too, if needed, between 50Hz and put to 200Hz there, depending on how bassy the amp is sounding - that clears up the muddy bottom, along with the Amp's lo cut which also helps.

I have no idea about gaps on FM9 "as is" with these presets - but if you deliberately set it up for your presets, just put the amps in Parallel and put rhyme when off, then make it that each and every Scene change switches between Amp 1 and Amp 2, - if you do, there should be NO gap between sounds -- watch @Cooper Carter's videos about scentless gap switching for the III and FM9 on YouTube.

I like to default Spillover set to ON (technically "Both") -- but it would depend on the songs in the set and order I played them in, if that makes sense.
 
austinbuddy said:
Hi @GuitarGuy316

I vary the lo/hi cut in the Cab IR based on the amp and sound I hear - it's not just one setting.

The Low Cut can be as low as 90Hz and as high as 200Hz, depending on how bass the Cab IR is. But I think a really good starting play is 150Hz or 120Hz if you are playing metal. In a live gig, a good FOH guy is going to cut around 150Hz to fit your guitar signal into the band mix and make sure the bass guitar is separately heard

I set the high between as low as 4.5kHz for a tweed amp to 10kHz for a Vox, but just start with it about 8kHz and lower/raise to taste - most speakers really do not put out much frequency wise above 6.5kHz and after about 4kHz there isn much "nice" stuff coming out of a guitar. I have some Mission Gemini II FRFRs that sound great but have some harsh that I end up cutting around 3.3kHz to smooth out using the GLOBAL Out2 EQ I send to them, and cut the lows under 150Hz too. I also will use an amp's Input EQ a lot to cut off muddy low I had too, if needed, between 50Hz and put to 200Hz there, depending on how bassy the amp is sounding - that clears up the muddy bottom, along with the Amp's lo cut which also helps.

I have no idea about gaps on FM9 "as is" with these presets - but if you deliberately set it up for your presets, just put the amps in Parallel and put rhyme when off, then make it that each and every Scene change switches between Amp 1 and Amp 2, - if you do, there should be NO gap between sounds -- watch @Cooper Carter's videos about scentless gap switching for the III and FM9 on YouTube.

I like to default Spillover set to ON (technically "Both") -- but it would depend on the songs in the set and order I played them in, if that makes sense.
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Thanks for all the info. I guess I’ll grab your pack and see how you’ve dialed in all your presets with EQ and high/low cuts. 👍
 
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