Axe-Fx II "Quantum" Rev 7.00 Firmware Release

so finally updated. relatively painless, although i did notice many of the amps i use were about 2db quieter than before. no biggie.

the amp that changed the most for me was the friedman hbe v2. not worse...just different...slightly more saturated with a brighter top end. i just turned on the fat switch and wow...try it!!
 
One of the best features of this Fw, in my opinion, is that I can tweak each parameter (B, M, T, P, D,) of the models like if I'm tweaking a real amp. In the previous Fw versions I often felt an excess of bass frequencies, the B was very often under the noon position, while now I feel a more natural behaviour and I can add bass in almost all the models without necessarily becoming flubby or muddy.
 
Coby said:
One of the best features of this Fw, in my opinion, is that I can tweak each parameter (B, M, T, P, D,) of the models like if I'm tweaking a real amp. In the previous Fw versions I often felt an excess of bass frequencies, the B was very often under the noon position, while now I feel a more natural behaviour and I can add bass in almost all the models without necessarily becoming flubby or muddy.
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Exactly the same for me, and this also leads to a better interaction with the muff model, never sounded so good :)
 
simeon said:
so finally updated. relatively painless, although i did notice many of the amps i use were about 2db quieter than before. no biggie.

the amp that changed the most for me was the friedman hbe v2. not worse...just different...slightly more saturated with a brighter top end. i just turned on the fat switch and wow...try it!!
Click to expand...

hmm...decided i didn't like the fat switch on, after all (!)

i figured out the drop in volume was due to the speaker drive defaulting to 0.5
 
I installed 7, and am just realizing how much work adjusting my existing presets is going to be. No fewer than 75 amp parameters are reset during de/re-selecting the amp model. While only a minority of these has been modified in my presets, they still need to be verified since I do adjust many advanced parameters. The fact that the Amp block graphic EQ is reset alone is going to take time. I'm going to make a habit of not using it in the future. My presets all sound markedly different. This is not a trivial process.

I may have to switch back to 6 for gigs until I can sort out 7 at home. I can't tweak everything in the time between gigs, and I certainly can't play gigs with 7 until I re-tweak. Once 7 is adjusted, it sounds amazing. If only I could afford two units to avoid constantly reloading firmware versions.

I knew what I was getting into when I moved from the Ultra. And I know it will be worth the effort. But damn I wish I had a magic wand.

EDIT: I am discovering that I don't need to use the advanced parameters with Q7. I previously used many of them, but find they are no longer needed. The improved quality is hard to qualify in words. The low end is tighter, less flubby, yet still as powerful. It doesn't seem to "get in the way" of the rest of the spectrum while still being quite strong. The attack is improved without ice pick syndrome. The highs are more articulate without being harsh, in fact, they are smoother than before. It seems more compressed in some ways, yet less compressed in others, which defies logic. Whatever Cliff did, he hit it out of the park. I don't think tweaking will take as long as I thought, though I do have a large number of presets to tweak.
 
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Anyone notice the Wreckers? It's been a while since I visited them, but darn they sound nice with fw7!
 
NeoSound said:
Anyone notice the Wreckers? It's been a while since I visited them, but darn they sound nice with fw7!
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I had a ton of fun messing around with the Wrecker Liverpool this morning on my AX8. I tend to really love Vox-ish sounds, but I've had trouble finding models that play nice with the Lollar Regals (similar to old Fender Wide Range Humbuckers) in my guitar. The Liverpool brought something really cool out of that guitar earlier today, and I'm excited to continue experimenting with it.
 
Chewie5150 said:
I love this FW!!! Brit 800 Santiago is insanely good! I played for hours last night...old VH catalogue stuff. Even my girlfriend was commenting how awesome it was sounding and she hears me rave after each FW..so that's sayin a lot.

I appreciate having access to the advanced parameters and I consider myself reasonably intelligent but a lot of times I felt like a monkey in a rocketship messing around with buttons and dials. It's nice to pull up an amp and just change the basic settings to taste and have it sound amazing
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It takes a while to get a feel for how the advanced parameters will effect the amp(s) but well worth experimenting with!
 
steadystate said:
I installed 7, and am just realizing how much work adjusting my existing presets is going to be. No fewer than 75 amp parameters are reset during de/re-selecting the amp model. While only a minority of these has been modified in my presets, they still need to be verified since I do adjust many advanced parameters. The fact that the Amp block graphic EQ is reset alone is going to take time. I'm going to make a habit of not using it in the future. My presets all sound markedly different. This is not a trivial process.

I may have to switch back to 6 for gigs until I can sort out 7 at home. I can't tweak everything in the time between gigs, and I certainly can't play gigs with 7 until I re-tweak. Once 7 is adjusted, it sounds amazing. If only I could afford two units to avoid constantly reloading firmware versions.

I knew what I was getting into when I moved from the Ultra. And I know it will be worth the effort. But damn I wish I had a magic wand.

EDIT: I am discovering that I don't need to use the advanced parameters with Q7. I previously used many of them, but find they are no longer needed. The improved quality is hard to qualify in words. The low end is tighter, less flubby, yet still as powerful. It doesn't seem to "get in the way" of the rest of the spectrum while still being quite strong. The attack is improved without ice pick syndrome. The highs are more articulate without being harsh, in fact, they are smoother than before. It seems more compressed in some ways, yet less compressed in others, which defies logic. Whatever Cliff did, he hit it out of the park. I don't think tweaking will take as long as I thought, though I do have a large number of presets to tweak.
Click to expand...
+1
 
Not thrilled with the Wrecker Rocket in this release. It sounds better than ever for lower gain settings, but a brittle thin mess for anything approaching a lead gain level.
 
steadystate said:
I installed 7, and am just realizing how much work adjusting my existing presets is going to be....
Click to expand...

I had the exact opposite experience and it's because:

steadystate said:
EDIT: I am discovering that I don't need to use the advanced parameters with Q7....
Click to expand...

I have always been sparing with the Advanced Parameters. If I have to spend that much time under the hood, then I pick another amp or cab. I use my 'favs', but limit wild variation.

It's also highly annoying that I can't get to as many amps as I want. I start playing one...and I lose 2 hours.
 
electronpirate said:
I had the exact opposite experience and it's because:



I have always been sparing with the Advanced Parameters. If I have to spend that much time under the hood, then I pick another amp or cab. I use my 'favs', but limit wild variation.

It's also highly annoying that I can't get to as many amps as I want. I start playing one...and I lose 2 hours.
Click to expand...
I previously used parameters such as Character to help the attack. I no longer need it. I screwed around with the advanced parameters on my Eruption patch for hours on Q6 and never did get the result I wanted. Q7 is right there with the default values. I really like what Q7 does for the Plexis. The tubbiness in many of my Q6 presets is gone...and I didn't realize they were tubby until I listened to Q7.

I find that I really only have to adjust the following parameters after Amp reselect:

Amp block EQ curve (manually recreate the old Q6 curve)

Input Trim (usually to the old Q6 value)

Bright (usually to the old Q6 value)

Presence (I can bump it up more than Q6 without harshness)

Master Volume (usually to the old Q6 value)

Level (to compensate for any difference between firmwares)

Perhaps BMT, but not by much.

That right there is pretty much it. I'm able to leave the advanced parameters at default after reselect.
 
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Re-visited the Captain Hook 2B and it's crazy with v7...it's the perfect 70's crunch tone. A 'clean' type of crunch that's fat and rich (and stays that way even when transitioning back to clean-ish compression during sustained notes/chords) that barks and hits you pretty good. Love how that amp/channel varies throughout it's drive range and never falls apart, from clean-ish/crunchy to higher gain. Super versatile amp.
 
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Stratoblaster said:
Re-visited the Captain Hook 2B and it's crazy with v7...it's the perfect 70's crunch tone. A 'clean' type of crunch that's fat and rich (and stays that way even when transitioning back to clean-ish compression during sustained notes/chords) that barks and hits you pretty good. Love how that amp/channel varies throughout it's drive range and never falls apart, from clean-ish/crunchy to higher gain. Super versatile amp.
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Yes, Hook rules. Even more so with Q7.
 
simeon said:
yes, the amp sound was mixed with the di sound...(he doesn't say what the amp was, though)

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Hmm - at the beginning of this video (you'll have to set the timeline back to 0 as it's set to start in the middle), the interviewer tells David that C.N. is the most played P.F. song with 330,000 plays since 1980!!! D.G. gives him kind of a strange look after this comment and I kinda wondered about that number.

Doing the math: 330,000 / (2012 - 1980) = 10315 times per year or 28 times per day on average in all of the US (I assume he meant radio plays). Don't know what you guys think but that number seems really low to me given that The Wall has sold 13+ million copies in the US.
 
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