Axe-Fx II Firmware 18.03 and Presets

I had this also a few times, I had no delays in my chain, went to add one in axe edit and they were both not available. I shut down Axe edit and they were back again. A little glitchy in Axe edit.
 
My two cents: best firmware, and definitely best presets yet. I spent a long time on the Silver Jubilee + the new Lerxst cab. And this is the first time I've genuinely bonded with the Bassmans.

JRod4928 said:
Expect to turn the treble down on all the presets...
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Not sure if it's the treble so much as that the bass is less overpowering, on my gear, anyway. Until now, I've consistently had to dial back the bass considerably on the presets for my Les Paul's 490/498 pickups. Now all the presets sound quite a bit more balanced out of the box, and only the higher-gain ones seem to need a cut in the lows. However, I do need to go back and pick new versions of some of the OH IRs I had previously been using, as they are generally quite a bit brighter than the stock cabs.
 
The treble is an issue for me with presets every time, also with shared patches. I don't know what guitars or cabs the rest of the world has, but with mine everything sounds thin. Might work in a mix, but I want that trouser flapping experience, so presets are basically useless for me.

Jan
 
Same exact experience. I'm a strat bridge pickup player mostly and presets are always a bit too bright and thin so I avoid them. Wondering if this is because that tone works better in a mix? Or were the presets created with a darker guitar with hunbuckled?
Jan Geerts said:
The treble is an issue for me with presets every time, also with shared patches. I don't know what guitars or cabs the rest of the world has, but with mine everything sounds thin. Might work in a mix, but I want that trouser flapping experience, so presets are basically useless for me.

Jan
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imrecs said:
Same exact experience. I'm a strat bridge pickup player mostly and presets are always a bit too bright and thin so I avoid them. Wondering if this is because that tone works better in a mix? Or were the presets created with a darker guitar with hunbuckled?
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Interesting; I've always thought just the opposite on previous releases (that the presets might have been constructed with a single-coil). The new presets sound distinctly more balanced with humbuckers (which 90% of my guitars use).

Your monitoring chain might also be a factor; I listen through Dynaudio BM6As (which have very good treble response, not necessarily hyped but very clear and detailed) and an Atomic CLR, and I've never felt the presets were overly trebly.
 
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It's kind of strange that many are finding them thin sounding, because I always found the factory presets way too dark, muddy, and muffled and that's still the case with the new ones. For me this is all down to the cab block. If I replace the cab block with my own IR, in most cases the preset becomes instantly more usable. Interestingly I have yet to find a single useable factory or 3rd party IR. And that's the case no matter what guitar i'm using. In fact if I hadn't shot an IR of my cab, I would never have even bothered with going direct at all, and would still be mic'ing up my live cabinet. It's a personal preference thing I suppose, my ears aren't as good as they used to be!
I do like that the new factory presets are better balanced level-wise though. The new VU's must have had something to do with that.
 
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FractalAudio said:
Tech support doesn't work on Sundays. Someone will surely get back to you tomorrow.
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Tech Support is nothing short of AMAZING! And I'm sure it's not the norm, but I've had Tech Support email me on Sunday! Lol. If everything I owned was supported this well it'd be a better world![emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone
 
SeasonOfPain said:
Interesting; I've always thought just the opposite on previous releases (that the presets might have been constructed with a single-coil). The new presets sound distinctly more balanced with humbuckers (which 90% of my guitars use).

Your monitoring chain might also be a factor; I listen through Dynaudio BM6As (which have very good treble response, not necessarily hyped but very clear and detailed) and an Atomic CLR, and I've never felt the presets were overly trebly.
Click to expand...
+1
 
craiguitar said:
It's kind of strange that many are finding them thin sounding, because I always found the factory presets way too dark, muddy, and muffled and that's still the case with the new ones. For me this is all down to the cab block. If I replace the cab block with my own IR, in most cases the preset becomes instantly more usable. Interestingly I have yet to find a single useable factory or 3rd party IR. And that's the case no matter what guitar i'm using. In fact if I hadn't shot an IR of my cab, I would never have even bothered with going direct at all, and would still be mic'ing up my live cabinet. It's a personal preference thing I suppose, my ears aren't as good as they used to be!
I do like that the new factory presets are better balanced level-wise though. The new VU's must have had something to do with that.
Click to expand...

Same here !
 
SeasonOfPain said:
Interesting; I've always thought just the opposite on previous releases (that the presets might have been constructed with a single-coil). The new presets sound distinctly more balanced with humbuckers (which 90% of my guitars use).

Your monitoring chain might also be a factor; I listen through Dynaudio BM6As (which have very good treble response, not necessarily hyped but very clear and detailed) and an Atomic CLR, and I've never felt the presets were overly trebly.
Click to expand...

This could be true.. I'm curious if anyone knows. Were the great majority of prior presets made with a single coil guitar, and more of the new ones are crafted with humbuckers? Anyone?

I saw nothing!
 
So I'm one of those guys that always waits a little after the newest firmware has been out before I upgrade. And I always see the improvements that Cliff and the FAS team makes with each update, but I don't get all crazy about how it's just soooo much better than before. But I gotta say, 18 is just mind blowing!! I had a big gig this past weekend, and it was like teasing a kid at Christmas. I'm reading all the comments about how great 18 is, and I wanted to try it, but I didn't have the time before the big show to upgrade and test. Well I upgraded just now......holy freaking harmonic heaven! First preset was a clean '59 Bassman that I use and the presence, clarity, glassy chimes....it's all there right in my face! Then I called up my HBE, and slowly turned it up to gig volume through my little JBL eon's, and I started to cry a little. No fizz, just a bone crushing high gain that had all the thump and harmonic clarity I could ever imagine. It's gonna be a late night as I now start to go through all the new G3 amps and rediscover this amazing box. Again, it is hands down, the best investment, yes investment, in musical gear I have ever made! Cliff and FAS......thank you!
 
craiguitar said:
It's kind of strange that many are finding them thin sounding, because I always found the factory presets way too dark, muddy, and muffled and that's still the case with the new ones.
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Same here..

It is the same with most of the higain amp models' default settings..
I always find myself trying to cut more on bass freq with all of my 3 different guitars which have different humbuckers..
 
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