Axe FX 2 XL + sounds dull please help Home recording.

So you have a DI track from someone else, isn't?

Have you tried to reamp that DI track with your Axe? If that DI track sounds good through the Axe you can discard any problem with the Axe. and focus on the guitars, cables, your other interface, the monitors, etc...
If you don't have any DI track (that is not yours), you can grab some from here: The Updated Multis to Mix Thread - Ultimate Metal Forum and check if it sounds good reamping it through the Axe. If you don't know how to reamp check this: Reamping - Axe-Fx II Wiki

Also, I asume that dull thing happens to ANY preset, right? You can go to Axe Change -The Official Site for Fractal Audio Presets, Cabs and More and download a preset and check if it sounds dull.
If you want to reset everything in your Axe to a Factory state you can do a "Reset System Parameters" from the Utility Menu. After that it's also convenient to start from a blank state and check if a blank patch with just an Amp block and a Cab sounds good (not dull). To ensure you have a clear preset, turn off your Axe, and power it on while you hold the RECALL button.

I suggest you to put your interface aside and use just the Axe as interface from the USB. The shorter the chain the easier to find the culprit. Even get rid of the DAW... Do all the tests just with your guitar, the instrument cable, the Axe and your monitors connected directly into the Axe, or headphones. If you're going to reamp you'd need your DAW though.
 
Fwiw, I was having the same problems with my unit. Dark, muddy and sounded nothing like the clips from YouTube. Turns out my headphones were crap and the guitar was dark. I was using a Jackson dinky with a Duncan JB, but has a ghost piezo bridge, which is fairly dark. I switched guitars to a kramer wirh a duncan alternative 8. Cleared up the mud. Lots closer to where I want it.
 
I'm also having an issue with my high gain patches. All of the high gains are muddy and undefined unless i use a treble boost. Granted it sounds pretty good with it, i shouldn't need it. Almost sounds like a POD. Like i said earlier, i switched guitars, cables, headphones, and turns out i had a noisy outlet. Im figuring out small things at a time, but i thought it should sound much better out of the gate. Start new, amp, cab, still not floored but getting there.
 
I'm having similar issues as OP, but I'm attributing my problems to not knowing enough about the axe. My tone always sounds brittle and shrieky. I'm at work right now but I'd love to post an example for you guys and get some guidance when I have time. My axe is hooked up to an MBox going into my Mac desktop and playing through Rokit 5's- your typical cliche prog fan setup. None of my guitars sound anything like the tones you guys or my friends get with their axes. Even downloaded presets sound like garbage to my ears. Will give exact setup specs when I get home.
 
To the guys having some DULL, DARK, MUDDY ,I had them as well . Reinstalled the Firmware
When you change amps in a presets to the amp that is not the original ,Make sure you use the Reset in amp block

Start by picking some brighter amps the 5150 .Engl,JVM
-
One IR i use a lot and think is a little less boomy is the 212 Ear candy buzz bomb ,as others have said a BIG aha for me is when I stopped experimenting in the cab block with mics
I had read a post where Cliff had said I don't do much just pull up a cab "none" and go that took away a lot of time for me.

To brighten a sound there is the obvious treb ,pres, bright switch but then there are some not so obvious ,Like Master Volume, Transformer match and a parameter for the master volume cap setting ,its default is 1 pf ,if you turn that up it adds some bite. Changing a power tube can do it too

Finally Andy Sneap says himself if I need a brighter more clarity to guitar tones I add 3 or 4db at 8000, try using the graphic eq block to do that .
Certain Amps are just darker and will take more Treble ,things like Bogner ,Rectos but if you pick the right IR out of the gate it will be easier

Also change guitars ,I had one that sounded pretty anemic , then 2 that sound amazing so it can make a big difference
 
I'm having this same issue and I can't figure out what it is. I have added a mic to my cabinet block and tried a few settings in there. I made patches of my live patches so I could tweak them more for recording. If I can get a sample up, I will but it's the same as what the first person
reported.

thanks for any help
 
Hi guys. Did you all resolve your issues? Ive just got my Axe FX XL2+ and mfc101 etc and have the same issue that all the patches seem dull other than one that i programmed from scratch following a youtube 'how to set up a clean patch' video. I'm guessing that it can't therefore be the axe fx itself.

Very frustrating and thinking of selling as its driving me up the wall. Thanks
 
For almost 20 years my only electric guitar has been a 1997 Fender Squire Pro-Tone made in Korea. Last year I changed to Zexcoil pickups and upgraded switch and pots...but I probably did a crap soldering job. First time I tried I melted the guts in the pots and switches, bought new ones. Next time seemed better but who knows, maybe I still didn't do a good job. I also did my own hybrid wiring design incorporating a fez-parka treble bleed. At least I think that's what I did :) With lots of effort I had good sounds at home but weak in the band setup. The other guitar player in my new band (a badass player gettin' it done in the trenches for the last 30-40 years) was blunt about me needing to fix my tone.

Last week I bought a 2016 Fender Elite Strat (new version of the Fender Deluxe, American made).

Holy sheet, I guess sometimes you do get what you pay for. Pretty glorious, and definitely makes it 1000 times easier to dial-in awesome raw sounds. So much touch sensitivity and nuanced reaction to my playing, I did a night of rehearsal on one patch just using volume knob on guitar with some volume pedal boost to make the less distorted stuff a bit louder). I'll definitely dial in my patches now based on the new guitar, but this quickie patch was great.

If you don't start with high quality input, no box can make high quality output. It can make it better with tweaking, but it's still putting lipstick on a pig.

I don't know your setup or the story with each guitar you tested, but it's something to consider.

For your situation, I would focus on re-amping of known good guitar inputs as suggested above.
 
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I didn't even really read your post.. Just the Subject.. I wrote this whole thing, and then went back, read your post, and realized I wrote it all in vein. This wont help you.. Honestly yout setup sounds right. Maybe try using an XLR instead of a 1/4"? could be a balanced/unbalanced problem..


And here's the post I wrote that may help you down the road, but is totally moot right now since I only look at Half of shit. It's my ADD i guess. Read this in a month when you get it working and you are pretty familiar with it. Sigh. Sorry.


for me lately, turning the variac down the tiniest bit seems to bring it out more in the mix, and I Always chang my depth to 100. Because when I am mixing, I always add some 100hz to guitars.. so why not add it live? that might cut some mud, because it's always set to 250, THE king of muddy Hertzes. Also turn down the 250 in the EQ section like THE SLIGHTEST BIT. I've actually seen one or two amps it's set at 200. forgot which ones. if you keep it at the 8 band it comes with (95% of the amps - mesa marks and bass)it really will make you way too thin if you get anymore than like -1. -.8 is fine..and drop down that 60hz, you dont need that. that's just low end that a guitar shouldn't make. same goes for the 8khz really.. it doesn't do much. a guitar is about some low end for power, and then like 2-4.5k. anything else is just gonna make you sound muddy or piercing. (my opinion I guess) the character is something that will give you a little edge, raise that up to like 3500-4500 and add some in.. gives ya some crispness in that area and more definition.. This is just what i'm learning since I started getting brave and playing with deep parameters. There are like 6 knobs I turn slightly with every single amp and I do it immediately. Then I start making my tone..


AND of course - This really only applies to me, it's not gospel, it works for my guitar style, and I play Prog Rock most the time, similar to jake from Umphrey's Mcgee's tone.. or thrash punk like Propagandhi. Both bands with Amazing tone that KNOW how to set an amp correctly. and Chris from Propagandhi uses an axe fx through the FX loop of his jcm 800. I wonder if he uses the JCM 800 Mod through the jcm 800. that'd be a good. I actually made a tone match for one of their songs, and sent it to him.. and he loaded it up. (verified that on twitter) Never heard back if he used it or not.
Sometimes I am recording Blues.. and a get the strat out goto the 4th position, load up like a tweed or Ojai or something I never really use.. and Everything up there I just said, I do like the complete opposite of.
 
I would advise you go on the Axe Exchange and try some other user presets.. That helped me. I have some very useable tones for any recordings. It is can always get better but I have good enough right now!
 
For me I only end up using a few different sounds on a regular basis anyway. Once I have what I like then I just play
 
Hi Cliff,

I tried the first step of what you suggested only. I'm pretty sure that I'm doing sth. wrong.

First, here is my preset. Simply an amp block to generate noise, and a synth block connected to it with pink noise oscillator and 20Khz filter. That is what I get. The signal is not flat.

What can I be doing wrong?

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ertan said:
Hi Cliff,

I tried the first step of what you suggested only. I'm pretty sure that I'm doing sth. wrong.

First, here is my preset. Simply an amp block to generate noise, and a synth block connected to it with pink noise oscillator and 20Khz filter. That is what I get. The signal is not flat.

What can I be doing wrong?

View attachment 35193

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Click to expand...
why is the amp block in there? change your "track" parameter in the Synth so you don't need to play.
 
Chris@AxeFxTutorials said:
why is the amp block in there? change your "track" parameter in the Synth so you don't need to play.
Click to expand...

Hi Chris,

My guitar was another room, and I inserted the amp block to give the synth block some sound as input. I doesn't generate the pink noise when it does not have input.

I tried with my guitar and the synth block only. I still have that downfall.

Thanks for your help by the way.

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