Axe FX II Showcase Ep.03. Peavey 5150 II - Metal

claxor said:
Kostein,

I'm wondering if its possible to use all of the same tools in Ozone 5, but in the Axefx. I ask because I always aim for a more polished/recording guitar sound for live playing. Looking at the Ozone website, I see these effects: maximizer, equalizer, reverb, dither, exciter, dynamics and stereo imaging. While the controls on Ozone are a little more intense than the Axe, pretty much everything here can be done with effects blocks. Correct?
Click to expand...

Maybe to a slight degree, but these effects are all multiband in Ozone. What that means is that you can completely change the way each effect is applied to different ranges of frequencies. For example, more compression on everything below 80hz or more excitation on frequencies over 8khz. This gives you a massive amount of control, which is cannot be equaled in the various effects blocks of the Axe. Even the multiband compressor in the Axe is very basic (though still good) compared to the one in Ozone.

Something else that's really cool in Ozone is that you can "match" eq's, sort of like the tone match in the Axe. So, create a mix, play it through Ozone, and it will take a snapshot of the overall eq spectrum. Do the same for a song from your favorite band. You end up with 2 snapshots and you then can "match" your mix to the eq of the other mix. It's not perfect, and usually still needs a bit of tweaking, but it still has helped me get the eq of my final mix to sound a lot more professional.
 
Kostein, I just want to thank you for making these types of videos. They've helped me in 2 different ways:

First, you led me to Ozone 5, which has significantly improved the sound of my recordings.

Second, you've reinforced the fact (for me) that a guitar's solo tone sounds completely different when played solo vs. when it's in a recorded mix. I think that's something a lot of people still don't understand. Many people assume that if they dial up a preset that sounds great solo, that it will sound killer once recorded with bass, drums, vocals, leads, etc. Usually the opposite is true. I've found that my best recorded tones actually sound like complete crap when played solo, but in a mix they just fit exactly like they should. I now have started making 2 different types of presets: presets intended to be played solo, and ones that are intended for recording only.
 
Der JD said:
Kostein, I just want to thank you for making these types of videos. They've helped me in 2 different ways:

First, you led me to Ozone 5, which has significantly improved the sound of my recordings.

Second, you've reinforced the fact (for me) that a guitar's solo tone sounds completely different when played solo vs. when it's in a recorded mix. I think that's something a lot of people still don't understand. Many people assume that if they dial up a preset that sounds great solo, that it will sound killer once recorded with bass, drums, vocals, leads, etc. Usually the opposite is true. I've found that my best recorded tones actually sound like complete crap when played solo, but in a mix they just fit exactly like they should. I now have started making 2 different types of presets: presets intended to be played solo, and ones that are intended for recording only.
Click to expand...

Jd: I'd love to learn what your general guidelines are for presets the are to be intended for recording/studio only! Especially for high gain. Really fascinating stuff!
 
Der JD said:
Maybe to a slight degree, but these effects are all multiband in Ozone. What that means is that you can completely change the way each effect is applied to different ranges of frequencies. For example, more compression on everything below 80hz or more excitation on frequencies over 8khz. This gives you a massive amount of control, which is cannot be equaled in the various effects blocks of the Axe. Even the multiband compressor in the Axe is very basic (though still good) compared to the one in Ozone.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm still trying to find hardware, not software, that can do these things. I wonder if a SPL Vitalizer Mk2 can do much of it: (its designed for mastering)

VitalizerMK2_1500.jpg
 
claxor said:
Jd: I'd love to learn what your general guidelines are for presets the are to be intended for recording/studio only! Especially for high gain. Really fascinating stuff!
Click to expand...

I can only speak for myself, but this has been my experience:

When playing solo (just practicing) I tend to favor a somewhat dark, thick tone. I really don't like tones that could be described as overly bright or harsh. I like tones that are more smooth, fluid, and liquid. Many of my solo presets have the high end rolled off a lot. I'll usually set a PEQ with a lowpass filter at 7500 khz and the highs are often rolled off in my cab block at 6000-7500 khz. I sometimes have the depth as high as 12:00-1:00. The IR's I use (mostly stock) I set up with either no mic or I set the mics up with proximity of 3-4 and a delay in one of the cab blocks around 0.05 (this seems to smooth out the tone some).

In a recorded mix this just doesn't work for me. My solo presets just sound way too dark, too bassy, too middy, and don't have enough presence.

My recorded/studio presets are nearly the exact opposite of my solo ones. I've found that I really have to roll the lows off a lot. I'll use a PEQ with a highpass set at 125 hz. In the cab block, I'll cut the lows at 80-150 hz depending on the IR. Depth has to be little to none or you end up with a lot of mud. For the highs, I end up having to open them up. I'll set the PEQ with a lowpass at 12,500 and keep the hi cut in the cab block around the same. I've found I have to be careful with the midrange too. Most of my guitars have middy pickups so I'll end up cutting the mids a bit, say -2 db at 550 hz, Q of 1.0 in the PEQ. This isn't always necessary. Depends on the guitar and the IR I'm using. When recording, I've also found that IR's that are a little brighter and/or clearer sounding than what I might use solo seem to work best. For example, I don't use the new Ownhammer Beta IR's much when playing solo, but in a mix they just kill.

Everybody has different tastes in terms of tone, so those who favor a bright tone, open tone might not have to do a lot of tweaking for a recorded mix. It all just takes a lot of experimentation. A lot of trial and error. Luckily, the features of the Axe make experimentation easy.
 
Der JD said:
Kostein, I just want to thank you for making these types of videos. They've helped me in 2 different ways:

First, you led me to Ozone 5, which has significantly improved the sound of my recordings.

Second, you've reinforced the fact (for me) that a guitar's solo tone sounds completely different when played solo vs. when it's in a recorded mix. I think that's something a lot of people still don't understand. Many people assume that if they dial up a preset that sounds great solo, that it will sound killer once recorded with bass, drums, vocals, leads, etc. Usually the opposite is true. I've found that my best recorded tones actually sound like complete crap when played solo, but in a mix they just fit exactly like they should. I now have started making 2 different types of presets: presets intended to be played solo, and ones that are intended for recording only.
Click to expand...

Glad to be of help sir :) Great write up below as well. I've been getting a lot of questions lately about different things regarding my recordings and I'm really considering making a few "tutorial" vids about the whole process, from making a preset to mixing/mastering. I have a few projects lined up and once I finish those I'll get to making them tutorials. I have a basic idea of how I'd like to do them but when the time comes I'll just make a thread and ask YOU what you'd like to see/learn. Time has been at a premium lately so it'll probably be a while.
 
This is not my favorite style of music but I enjoyed every second of it, you're playing, the camera work and all the settings info you added are great. I don't know how much time and effort you put into this but I would be very proud of myself if I could put out something with the same quality... Thanks for sharing and for your generosity answering questions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom