Axe-FX II: Lincoln Brewster Tone (A demonstration of how important band mix is)

Gamedojo

Power User
So, here is a tone creation I'm doing for a forum member, sorry, this one will not be available for download.

But, I wanted to share an interesting point when you're building tone patches in the Axe Fx. Remember that the guitar has to fit into a mix. By this I mean, by itself, the tone may not quite be the most pleasing to the ear, but its meant to fit with a band so the guitar sticks out, but also blends.

Here are two clips. The First is the song panned hard right and MY guitar panned hard left. Then, the second clip is just the same exact guitar audio but placed by itself.

Brewster tone mixed with audio

Brewster tone by itself


If you just let folks listen to these clips, you might assume they are two different guitar tones, but the left channel of the first and the entire audio clip of the second are the same recording.
 
Interesting how little actual distortion is used in tones that sound pretty overdriven on the recorded mixes. I found a similar thing with Angus Young's stuff. It's very heavy feeling but surprisingly less distorted than a casual listen might lead you to think.
 
I heard the first panned clip, but when I went to listen to the second. The whole site seems down.
Totally get what you are saying though.

Interesting how little actual distortion is used in tones that sound pretty overdriven on the recorded mixes. I found a similar thing with Angus Young's stuff. It's very heavy feeling but surprisingly less distorted than a casual listen might lead you to think.
Less is more when it comes to gain.
 
It's a good lesson for folks that don't 'think' in how they fit the ensemble playing with their tone.

Folks that are aware of and have a good understanding of mixes and ensemble playing - as evidenced by the OP - are often well suited to being happy and successful with direct to FOH setups and sound design.
 
Another example is Ola Englunds recent tonematch clips. In context with other instruments is heavy as hell, but when playing the patches he had it's surprising how little gain he uses. Well below half actually... I notice most metal/hardrock patches have way too much gain dialed in.
Angus Young is also a good example, as Rick pointed out. But it's easy to overdo the gain cause there's more cream and ooomph in it alone, and it's easier to play with it for beginners/intermediate player to get sustain. Also, more gain cover up mistakes better.
 
I agree with the general premise, but the OP's tone is not that close to the Brewster tone. It blends in with the song and Brewster's tone, but I think it would lack oomph if it stood by itself in the mix. Just my opinion.
 
I have a question regarding the 'white noise" or buzz that is practically as loud as the actual notes played from the guitar.
Can that be only filtered out or is there too much gain in the preset?
I acually had that same kind of noise I was wrestling with (it made me crazy that it was as loud as the notes) but it was due to my wiring in new pickups incorrectly (duh)
I originally thought it was because they were hot pick ups I lived with it for far too long, but FINALLY figured it out.
Thanks in advance
Greg
 
I did this awhile back w/ my Axe1, a Jem7VWH w/ push/pull pots to coil tap. The mix is all me recording the parts, no Lincoln tone in this. No stomp pedals, very little gain (like 2.5). I concur that setting the guitar at the right spot in the band mix is in relationship to how similar a tone is to another.


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1870114/Everlasting AxeFx.mp3
 
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Diggin post #9 clip.


Somehow [to me] it's funny that someone's modeling a POD with an AxeFx though :D Lincoln makes it sing.
 
This video has an interesting shared eq setting that I am not sure how to apply to the Axe II. Although I agree with the sitting in the mix comment to a degree, you still need to a/b isolated tracks to see if you are close. Otherwise you are just trying to get close and hiding in the mix. Maybe this eq setting will help those of us wanting to get LB's Line 6 tone.

 
I've tried his POD EQ settings before with the Axe and it never really sounded good. I think it totally depends on the speaker IR you are using. I haven't tried it on V6.0 though; maybe it rocks.

Coincidentally, I was just down in the dungeon messing around with the Plexi model, turning the treble and presence all the way up, bass and mid at noon, with the speaker IR from the Top Boost preset. There were a few other minor tweaks - ah, I think a big one was using a PEQ to drop 400Hz by around 6db before the amp. Anyway, before I knew it, I had a tone that was pretty close to some of his stuff.

Sorry this was off topic.
 
I just used the plexi model to get close. Then used tone match to get the rest. I used his instructional DVD number two for the source. Paid attention to his volume knob setting on his strat while he played. I used "let your glory shine". Used my axeII through my rcf 12 at church direct to FOH for the first time Sunday using the match. Everyone out front liked it. I usually use my Matchless c30 w/d/w rig with a G-System.
 
I just used the plexi model to get close. Then used tone match to get the rest. I used his instructional DVD number two for the source. Paid attention to his volume knob setting on his strat while he played. I used "let your glory shine". Used my axeII through my rcf 12 at church direct to FOH for the first time Sunday using the match. Everyone out front liked it. I usually use my Matchless c30 w/d/w rig with a G-System.

That's a great idea! I don't know why I never thought of the videos before. Will you share the patch?
 
That's a great idea! I don't know why I never thought of the videos before. Will you share the patch?

His pickups (dimarzio virtual vintage -I think he is using the Area pickups now), wiring (Eric Johnson wiring), treble bleed cap mod, and volume knob setting have a big impact on his tone.
The instructional videos really highlights what his tone is like isolated.

When Brewster was using the Axefx Ultra he used the Plexi 2 model. His delays are pretty strong in the mix as well.
 
I'm using the same model guitar, pickups and wiring, however I took off the treble volume pot mod when I started using the Axe. It was needed on the PODs, but I don't like it with the Axefx. Another thing that has a big impact on tone (on a Strat anyway) is how much string buzz you get. Single coil pickups "hear" the highs in the string buzz much more so than humbuckers. It's amazing how much of that translates into my impression of how bright the tone is. So, for me, since I play pretty hard sometimes, I've raised my action up fairly high. With my Les Paul I can have it much lower and not have the string buzz bother.

Funny thing is no matter how close I come to copping Lincoln's tone I'm still miles away from sounding like him, if you know what I mean.
 
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