Axe-Fx II Firmware 18.03 and Presets

[sprint]

I'm finding the levels in the new presets are all over the place. Is this true for anyone else? Some of them nearly blew my ears off and some were super quiet. My input signal isn't clipping or anything. Any ideas?

I thought the presets were better balanced than the last set which were really loud for me. This set is, for the most part only a few db above where I currently set my standard patch levels with the odd one I found to be set quieter.

I tend to set my standard preset level at a point where I cannot light up the output LEDs with any of my guitars with any combination of block/modifier settings within the preset or with any pickup combination. All my patches then get set to match that standard.

You must be level-setting even quieter which is fine except, yes, you have to watch out when switching to a factory preset (or something is wrong in your settings somehow).

I've contemplated going in and turning down all the factory presets to match my own patches but that doesn't seem like much fun to do so I've not done it.

 

[Stratman68]

You don't need to do those things. Just load the firmware, load the presets and enjoy.

Thanks very much--Made my Night-You guys are great!

 

[Dino334]

I'll be honest, with the beta it wasn't all that much of a huge leap for my ears, then 18.01 came out and everything set in just right. Today I loaded the 18.03 and holy shiznit did this thing come to life! Not sure if there were any minor tweaks in the update or what...but this thing is kicking some serious ass! Thanks Cliff & Co.!!

 

[rushfan]

I am speechless, so I will just shut up and play my guitar!

 

[squege1@gmail.com]

Thank you Cliff and crew, I am in awe and have been playing for hours now...lost myself in these inspiring sounds from the new FW and presets.
Tomorrow will be a repeat I have a feeling, but I will have to fire up Pro Tools and check these sounds out in context with bass and drums. Looking forward to a great weekend of playing and writing some new riffs and song parts.
Thanks Again!

 

[npx]

I dunno about others, but I 'm getting a 404 on the 'Original/Mark II' presets. Refresh and Ctrl-Refresh didn't help...

Otherwise V18 sounds great! Cheers to the Fractal Crew!

The Fractal website has an error in the URL for the Original/MkII presets. Change /15.0/ to /18.0/ and it works.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Nightmarishreaper]

Thanks Cliff

 

[fremen]

Can't wait to try those new presets !

To add to Chris' tips about loading factory presets, here's my method :

I backup my three banks, then load factory bank A over my bank C.

I copy the factory presets I want to keep (usually with some editing) over blank presets in my banks A or B. I repeat this for factory banks B and C. Then I reload my own bank C and move the factory presets I kept where they should be (high gain and boutique in bank B, Marshall, VOX, cleans and SFX in bank C)

 

[mongey]

New presets are fun to run through . They all sound really balanced level wise to me.

Thanks fractal.

 

[Konstantin]

Looking could not find on the forum. Please suggest. Is shortcut "CTRL+I" (initializing block in Axe-Edit) the same as deselecting the amp type and then reselecting it?
Whether the parameters are updated to the new values for this operation after new firmware?

Sorry for my bad English.

 

[Stringmanipulator]

Thank you very very much !!

 

[fremen]

Looking could not find on the forum. Please suggest. Is shortcut "CTRL+I" (initializing block in Axe-Edit) the same as deselecting the amp type and then reselecting it?
Whether the parameters are updated to the new values for this operation after new firmware?

Sorry for my bad English.

No, because when you deselect/reselect an amp, the tonestack/gain settings are not initialized

 

[trb]

I always use Ctl+I to be sure to start really from scratch on a given amp. No surprise, clear and ur sure for the result: initialize all amp params to default

 

[Guitarmandan]

thanks for the presets, man! much appreciated!!

 

[simeon]

i ran through some of the presets in bank A last night and they seemed pretty good, mostly. they were well balanced, but a lot of them seemed to have way to much bass (for me). easy to fix with some gentle tweaking of the tone knobs, though. i'm finding 18.03 much brighter than 17 and not as smooth on the top end, so some tweaking had to be done in my presets, but i'm happy with my tones so far. i'm gigging tonight, which will be the litmus test, so i'll see how well they translate with some serious volume

 

[KJR321]

Has anyone tried using the FX loop? I'm sure I'm doing something wrong...maybe. Worked fine before upgrading to firmware 18.03. Now, no sound when loop engaged.

 

[Johnnyh64]

Thanks for bringing back Character. I did use that and found it quite useful. Thank you.

 

[lano2]

Quote Originally Posted by FractalAudio View Post

Hold on, let me go talk to him:

"Cliff, you screwed up preset 006".

Okay, I let him know.

What an incompetent loser. Fire him!!!!

Don't fire the person created Preset 117 "Friedman Smallbox" !! :lol

 

[virgil]

Thank you..

Well, I know what I'm doing this morning. Thanks guys!

Here's the notes for those who want to read them...

18.03
Due to popular demand the Character controls have been returned to the Amp block.
Added “Friedman Sm Box” amp model based on a Friedman Smallbox.
Fixed System Reset sets USB/DIGI Out Source to Input 1 and USB Buffer Size to minimum.
Fixed Amp block Bright and Sat Switch modifiers next to wrong parameter labels.
Fixed turning Hi-Cut all the way up on amp models that don’t have a hi-cut network (i.e. Blankenship Leeds) causes crash.
Fixed Master Feedback not working in Quad-Series mode of Multitap block.
*******************************************************************************
18.02
Internal release.

 

[martijne]

I haven't owned any of the great tube amps before moving to the Axe so I don't hear each and every tiny detail difference with the real amos. But who cares: it just sounds so great.

And with the 18.03, I instantly fell in love with the Top Boost factory preset. Add a 2290 delay at 1/8dot with feedback and mix at approx 30%. Now that is major CHIIIIMEE! Now I ll throw in a shimmer and the stratosphere effect chain.

Thank you FAS, learning everyday and my tone and playing have greatly improved since i bought my II.