Axe fx 2 XL muddy sound through Port City

Solitudezoso

Solitudezoso

Member
Hey guys so I own the XL, a matrix gt1000, and a port city 2 x 12 and I'm just a little bit dissatisfied at the moment. For some reason no matter what amps and cabs I put together most of it sounds muddy and flubby as hell. I can kinda get a good time going through tooth and nail with eqing and blah blah blah but I'm still getting a sound that sounds like the amp is being played behind a curtain.

As you know, all of this equipment is SUPER expensive and I want to use this as my rig for everything but right now I'm super disappointed with this. Its like its not even worth the money when Im going to get a muddy and flubby tone anyway.

Anyone know of a solution? Anyone have the same rig?
 
I play through exactly the same rig, and it's not muddy. Do you have cab modeling disabled?
 
Solitudezoso said:
Hey guys so I own the XL, a matrix gt1000, and a port city 2 x 12 and I'm just a little bit dissatisfied at the moment. For some reason no matter what amps and cabs I put together most of it sounds muddy and flubby as hell. I can kinda get a good time going through tooth and nail with eqing and blah blah blah but I'm still getting a sound that sounds like the amp is being played behind a curtain.

As you know, all of this equipment is SUPER expensive and I want to use this as my rig for everything but right now I'm super disappointed with this. Its like its not even worth the money when Im going to get a muddy and flubby tone anyway.

Anyone know of a solution? Anyone have the same rig?
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So, Sol, didja get the point...? Turn off your cab modeling or disable cab blocks!....or if you must have cabs in your presets, put the FXLOOP block In parallel after all blocks except before your CAB block and use OUT 2 to your Port City.
 
I've got the same setup (Matrix 1000 + Port City OS 2x12 with a Vintage 30 and Creamback H). Sounds great here. The only thing I've done is scoop a little 250 Hz in the Global EQ for output 2. As others have mentioned, the cab block should not be enabled if you're using a guitar cab.

I have all of my presets set up so that output 1 (headphones, USB, PA) uses the cab block and output 2 with the FX Loop goes to my guitar cab so that I can get the best of both worlds depending on the situation. Attached is a picture of the routing if that helps.
Capture.PNG
 
Solitudezoso said:
Hey guys so I own the XL, a matrix gt1000, and a port city 2 x 12 and I'm just a little bit dissatisfied at the moment. For some reason no matter what amps and cabs I put together most of it sounds muddy and flubby as hell. I can kinda get a good time going through tooth and nail with eqing and blah blah blah but I'm still getting a sound that sounds like the amp is being played behind a curtain.

As you know, all of this equipment is SUPER expensive and I want to use this as my rig for everything but right now I'm super disappointed with this. Its like its not even worth the money when Im going to get a muddy and flubby tone anyway.

Anyone know of a solution? Anyone have the same rig?
Click to expand...
Yes, I have almost the identical setup. It sounds absolutely KILLER for every sound I go after.

So yes, I know of a solution. I spent hours and hours looking up stuff in the manual, pouring over this forum and the wiki to see what worked for other people, and tweaking/auditioning amps and fx. It was a gig for a while. And this time around it was much EASIER because I had already done the same with the (older) Ultra, which was much harder to dial in (IMHO). And yes, when I got stuck I would come here and ask something specific and usually get good info.

What you're experiencing can be how it goes at first. Unfortunately a piece of gear this complex (and therefore versatile) is not a plug-in-and-play deal. For instance, as has been pointed out, it appears that you have CABS enabled. Ya can't do that if you're using a 2X12 guitar cab. Please don't come back and ask the forum why not.

You are going to have to read some stuff. But if you get your shit together with this piece, you are going to be incredibly tone-happy for a long, long time. Enjoy!
 
I use 2 Port City 1x12 with Atomic Reactor stereo power amp. As others have said turn cab blocks off. I am using Celestion Blues speakers and it is fairly bright so it takes some EQ to tame it.

I think the trick with using guitar cabs is you have to build presets tailored to that cab. Similar to using cab IR's. Some sound good with certain modeled heads and others do not.

I also use a Marshall 1965A cab with 4x10 speakers. Presets I work up with that cab usually sounds like crap on my Port City cabs and vice versa.

Are you using the OS or the standard cab version? Which speakers?
 
I really appreciate the feedback guys! I know that this piece of equipment will be a great investment in the long run.

I understand the cab should be turned off. But what about the power amp modeling in GLOBAL settings? Should that be turned off too since I'm using a Matrix Power amp? I Apologize for my noobness I'm still getting a hang of this stuff.
 
I have a 2x12OS and an Axe FX II MK1 that's powered with a Crown power amp and I love the tones I get. Power amp modeling should be turned ON.
 
I use the same setup. Sounds great. Usually use either the Friedman's or the Bogner (Euro) models for my distorted tones/rock tones.

Everything else is usually either the Ac30s or Fender models. Sounds great. No issues. No extreme eqing or anything out of the ordinary to get a good tone.

Edit: make sure you properly gain stage the outputs. I have output 2 cranked to full. Use the FXLoop block to send signal to the matrix via output 2. Adjust the matrix levels to stage volume and you should be set.
 
Solitudezoso said:
I really appreciate the feedback guys! I know that this piece of equipment will be a great investment in the long run.

I understand the cab should be turned off. But what about the power amp modeling in GLOBAL settings? Should that be turned off too since I'm using a Matrix Power amp? I Apologize for my noobness I'm still getting a hang of this stuff.
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With Matrix most choose to keep power amp modeling ON because the Matrix is flat.

Cab DEFINITELY off though.
 
Having the amp block turned off with an SS amp, like the Matrix...is a big no no. Might as well not have an Axe FX. But the cab block has to go, if not using FRFR's. Otherwise it'll sound like complete SHIT! You might as well buy an FX8 if you're going to leave the amp block off. I have the Matrix GT1000 too...

The Amp block is the heart of the Axe - and the reason it exists.

If you want to hear what it SHOULD sound like, just leave the cab block in, but use headphones rather than the Port City cab. The difference will be dramatic.

FRFR's will sound like that, pretty much. If you're going to use the Port City cab...know that it's very singular tone oriented, since it's colored and is far from FRFR.

When I was using my Mesa 4 x 12 cab, I had very limited tone range.

What most new users of the FX (or any similar modeler) don't get, is that when using a guitar cab, that's pretty much the sound you'll get, no matter what. It will be very singular tone oriented.

If you want the flexibility of multi-tonal sounds...ditch the port city cab and go full FRFR. Otherwise, this is a half-baked solution, IMO. YMMV

I had the same issues as you did, when I 1st got my Axe...and I thought....why is everyone raving about this? It sounds like absolute fucking turd. That was 18 months ago...

Today, I sing a totally different tune...and what gave me a clue, was plugging in a set of headphones to see what it might sound like with a less colored sound. What a difference that day made in my Axe FX life!! The Axe CAN sound like any amp you want it to.

I have a set of Xitone FRFR wedges coming my way now...sold my Mesa cab...and can't wait to get 'em!
 
PumpkinKing86 said:
I've got the same setup (Matrix 1000 + Port City OS 2x12 with a Vintage 30 and Creamback H). Sounds great here. The only thing I've done is scoop a little 250 Hz in the Global EQ for output 2. As others have mentioned, the cab block should not be enabled if you're using a guitar cab.

I have all of my presets set up so that output 1 (headphones, USB, PA) uses the cab block and output 2 with the FX Loop goes to my guitar cab so that I can get the best of both worlds depending on the situation. Attached is a picture of the routing if that helps.
View attachment 38731
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What's funny to me is when I turn off the cab block, going into my Mesa 4 x 12 with Creamback 65s, my preset sounds like a Line 6 live. So I have my cab block on. I have never been able to get the fizzy terrible sound changed enough to like it. But it sounds incredible with cab blocks on.
 
That's just the opposite of my experience...but it's possible you have cab /amp blocks loaded that actually work nicely with the Mesa. CAB/ AMP blocks are really basically EQ's / tone modifiers to a great extent...so I suppose if you hit the right combo virtual cab / real cab / amp block...you might get something interesting!
 
SteveW said:
That's just the opposite of my experience...but it's possible you have cab /amp blocks loaded that actually work nicely with the Mesa. CAB/ AMP blocks are really basically EQ's / tone modifiers to a great extent...so I suppose if you hit the right combo virtual cab / real cab / amp block...you might get something interesting!
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I know it's weird. It defies everything I read. I tried every @yek preset and they all have absolutely no bottom end or good authentic tone, until I use his cab with my cab.
I'm running the AXE into a Mesa 2:50 amp, going to a Mesa 4 x 12 with the Creambacks. So technically I should turn amp and cab off. That really sounds fake and terrible. With amp on and cab off, it sounds tinny, no matter how much bass or gain, etc I add. Sterile comes to mind. But it sounds real and great with cabs on. It does do the opposite with tone causing some boomy bass that I EQ out with an EQ block at the beginning of the chain. Several of my presets use Solo 100. The cabs I usually use are basketweave 4 x 12 models and fractal 4 x 12 GB. I set the crossovers in the cab block to match my cab and boom. This is for live only. I'm sure it may be different for studio.
I don't get it.
 
I currently have a port city 2x12 os with EV12L in it, matrix 1000 - amp sims on, no cab block, I find I can get great tones and I don't think it sounds muddy at all - typically I have to lower the bass and mids a bit from their default value. I was messing with a Freidman BE last night - and I actually had to turn up the depth to like 5 or 6 to get some thump going. Based on what I see around here, I am missing the boat for not using FRFR. That said - I have been thinking about getting a matrix passive cabinet. I don't know - I'm still on the fence about it considering its over 700 bones...
 
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