Axe-Fx II Firmware 18.00 Public Beta

also, regarding the little convo that got out of hand....there are plenty of professional musicians on this forum who love the box and what Cliff does. Maybe we are fan boys a bit, but that's because we understand how lucky we are to have what we have with this box. I could give a rats ass if one dude was a little turned off because we like to joke around and have a good time on here. Mamy of us have been chatting on here for years. There's a camaraderie and familiarity that can be somewhat insular...but if an adult new to it can't understand that dynamic...well i don't know what to say.
 
I am really excited to try the new FW but must hold out some patience until the G3 dust is sprinkled on the diezel and Bogners. I hope that comes soon.
 
Spent a couple of hours on the G3 Marshall amps tonight. I love the bold, agressive punch and they break up sooo nice; crunchy, sizzly, but not shrill...easy on the ears at high volume. Working the guitar volume control I was able to find a nice threshold where subtle changes in my picking attack went from bell-like clean tones to a biting, sweet distortion that was 'just right'. I love how G3 operates in this regard, so very playable and expressive.

The interaction of the Normal/Bright controls on the Marshall sims seem to work differently now and I liked now the G3 amps dialed in using these controls. IMO, these are the best Marshall sims to date. Cranking them waaay up and using a neck single coil to do licks just felt incredible; full, punchy notes that popped out and were 'rude' but again, easy on the ears.

I did a quick tour of the new Rotary and similarly thought it was improved; I copped the "It Don't Come Easy" Leslie guitar tone and did that and Floyd's "Breathe" for several minutes revelling in the goodness lol.

Was supposed to explore the "Crunch" parameter tonight but got carried away with the Marshalls and Leslie...I like when that happens...!
 
WatersDeep said:
What exactly does that mean?
Click to expand...
G3 involves new modeling algorithms—changes to the way the Axe simulates amp behavior. Those new algorithms are in place in FW 18 beta, and they apply to all amp models. But each amp model needs to be adjusted by hand to take full advantage of those changes. That's slow, tedious work, and that's why Cliff hasn't fully G3-ified all of the amps yet.
 
Stratoblaster said:
Spent a couple of hours on the G3 Marshall amps tonight. I love the bold, agressive punch and they break up sooo nice; crunchy, sizzly, but not shrill...
Click to expand...

I only got a few minutes with my go-to low/mid-gainPlexi Jump patch tonight and I found that the high registers now have this nice bite/clarity with body now - without any trace of fuzziness. FWIW, I had to barely nudge the basic tone controls from the previous settings and was basically 'dialed in'!

Oh my, its gonna be a long rest of week out on a business trip.

Thanks you FAS for letting my Mesas collect dust!
 
Last edited:
Rex said:
G3 involves new modeling algorithms—changes to the way the Axe simulates amp behavior. Those new algorithms are in place in FW 18 beta, and they apply to all amp models. But each amp model needs to be adjusted by hand to take full advantage of those changes. That's slow, tedious work, and that's why Cliff hasn't fully G3-ified all of the amps yet.
Click to expand...

an interesting thing on the 20th Shiva and Uber and of course the Deizels that Cliff mentioned was that he had figured out the active "depth" circuits those amp use to get that low defined chunk .i thought that was pretty cool
 
Just played with the beta for a bit (what, where'd two hours go!?!) VERY nice! I only played with a couple of amps, the 50 watt Plexi, the DoubleVerb, and the ODS HRD. All sounded amazing! Looking forward to hearing all of the amps fully converted over to G3, especially the AFD and Orange. I did run into a bit of a bug, it seemed like the rotary was on for everything on the factory presets. My tones didn't have it on, so I'm good, but it was a little weird to hear the presets.
 
SHarp!
that's another good word! It's something like the "more bright in a good way" comment... but i think that everything sounds more SHARP (like that filter in photoshop: sharp mask!).
And it's something that help:
- the note separation (chords and fast solos),
- the pick attack transients,
- the "cut in the mix",
- the overall clarity,
- the differences from cab to cab IRs,
- that "thump inside the cab box" that i like sooo much, cabs are really way more 3d and in the room!
- the pickup differences from guitar to guitar, (more twang in the Fender land!)
- even delays and reverbs and choruses have some benefits from note separation and sharpiness
good!! good!! F***ing GOOD!!!

when my high will calm down (not for now i think) I wanna try a side by side comparision between 17.04 and 18 with a frequency analyzer... wanna SEE where the magic is!!!
 
Last edited:
Dpoirier said:
Ok, so we're seeing the usual hyperbole (way back in the past, I think as far back as V3, some folks called the upgrade "a game changer", or "can't ever be any closer to a real amp", or "final destination, no further improvement possible", so...). And other folks have said that they perceive some changes (but not earth-shattering changes). We've even seen some ravings about amp models that haven't even been G3'ed yet (placebo effect, anyone?)...

No offense intended, but I'm looking forward to a balanced, down-to-earth review of V18. Something a little less flamboyant, but closer to reality. All this hype is leaving me lukewarm, when in fact I should be excited about Cliff's progress in this new firmware. So I'd like to know what's real...

(flame suit on)
Click to expand...

Rather than wait to see if someone posts a balanced review (a matter of subjectivity) why not back up your system, load up v18-beta and give it a whirl. Can't hurt, and you'll know what you're waiting to hear from others.

No need for the flame suit. :)
 
Dpoirier said:
Hyperbole and fanboy-ism are not doing Fractal or Cliff any favor.
Click to expand...

I'll be honest with you - much and all as I am a big fan of Fractal and can't wait for new releases - I just skip straight over all the fanboy-ism to the posts that actually give me some useful information (no offense intended, by the way. Just describing what I do).

Then again, I'm not as active as I should be here, so I want to take this opportunity to thank the devs for all their hard work on this - thank you :)
 
Dunno nothing about how much wide is the AxeFx market in the world!
Dunno if it's big or small... and what is the best for us! (well... i know what should be the best for Cliff :lol )
But with the G3 and fw18 ... I think that the entire music world should know what Axe Fx is!!!
Is really the most powerfull and good sounding guitar gear i ever owned!
 
ThelmoRego said:
The only amp so far that I'm not crazy about on G3 is the mark iv. That graininess that everyone keeps talking about is great on every other amp but it doesn't sound or feel right on a mark iv that is known for its scooped smooth sound. It also sounds very boomy and I'm having trouble dialing it out. Like I said I love it on everything else.
Click to expand...


Yes , maybe it¨s not complete yet. Also the presence knob doesn´t do anything one my axe 2.
It is supposed to be guite dramatic on a mk 4.
 
Rex said:
On the Axe-Fx, you can decide where the Master Volume control is located in the virtual amp model. "Post PI" means after the virtual phase inverter. Putting the MV there hits the phase inverter harder, and phase inverters tend to distort in a sweet, asymmetrical way.
Click to expand...

Yes ! Can be cool..
But it also fucks up the negativ feedback. Feedback effect will decrease when the master is lowered.
 
I think my initial impressions were fairly good.

It was when I dialed up the Twin and started noodling and kind of muse'd me into a few licks in a way that felt so much like the last actual twin I played. It pulled the music out in a way I didn't realize I was missing.

Thanks Mr Cliff! This just keeps getting better and I'm grateful!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom