Axe-Fx III 16.00 Beta 12 "Cygnus" Firmware - Public Release Candidate

[arw]

the marshall plexis are arousing me in ways a piece of electronic machinery really shouldn't.

 

[FiddlerTheDrum]

before I loved hbe 2018 c45 and BE V1.

Now I love them all, they are equally good now and no weird “fuzzyness” anymore.

But generally, I prefer V1 versions as they are brighter.

friedmans are dark amps in general, so V1 works for me the best - same as in real life

I found it very interesting to flip between HBE v1, BE v1, and Smallbox. I setup each one in that order in a preset. When dialing it in, I thought to each "this is the best ever." It is kind of jarring switching between the three models, probably because I've made different EQ decisions, or my ears got tired at the end of playing when I was finishing the Smallbox. I was liking the Smallbox best at the end, but I'll have give it a go on fresh ears.

 

[Giulio Scarpellini]

what about the Tube Pre?

 

[yek]

what about the Tube Pre?

?

 

[jon]

All amps are updated and verified. That's why it's a release candidate.

what about the Tube Pre?

 

[biggness]

And speaking of such... were the Pre's in the Cab block updated as well?

 

[biggness]

And it also effects the volume. It is indeed connected to negative feedback. Cliff has stated that the model behaves as expected.

Thanks. I don't remember my real Savage doing that when I turned the presence all the way down. No volume or drastic tone change, just less highs.

 

[Jim DeSchamp]

This is so much fun exploring the updated amps!

 

[Giulio Scarpellini]

?

I was wondering if the Tube Pre had been updated ...
if it was, forgive me it must have gotten out of sight

 

[NeoSound]

After having a quick play-thru of about 20 amps, I'd have to say they sound really nice. A few are different than I remember and some I didn't care for sound great now. Will probably select some different ones for my favorite presets.

 

[REDD]

Thanks. I don't remember my real Savage doing that when I turned the presence all the way down. No volume or drastic tone change, just less highs.

It will jump out and bite you when it hits 0 on the presence.

 

[Baz The Axeman]

Got hired to do a Bon Jovi tribute band and when I sat down to practice this morning I saw the update. Stock EJ Strat - First take with mistakes

what cabs did you use for this as they come up blank on mine when i load this preset?

 

[York Audio]

For those commenting on a difference in perceived treble and/or presence on the new beta 12, I may have found a possible cause for this.

Each time the beta firmware update is performed (from beta 11 to beta 12 for example), the Power Amp Grid Bias parameter is re-set to the default value for that particular amp model, even if you had previously updated and saved your patches in beta 11 with modifications to the Power Amp Grid Bias to a value different than the default value.

If your patches were originally created with a relatively hot power tube grid bias (0.6 to 0.7 for fixed bias amp models), they will rest to a default grid bias (0.45 to 0.5 in some models) when updating to beta 12. The drop in grid bias simulates a colder bias in the power amp tubes. Patches originally created in firmware 15 and earlier might have had a "hotter" default value for the power amp grid bias also (?), although this parameter has been completely reworked for firmware 16.

This drop in the bias value when the grid bias is re-set to the default value when updating to beta 12 could cause a reduction in overall volume on your patch, which can seem like having less treble, less presence, etc. when you hear it.

Each time the beta version has been updated, I've gone in and manually re-adjusted all my presets with my preferred power amp grid bias for fixed bias amp models. Hotter power amp grid bias is typically in the 0.6 to 0.7 range for fixed bias amps (the majority of amp models), which I personally prefer for my patches.

For cathode biased amp models (5E3 Deluxe, AC-30, etc.) the default power amp grid bias is 1.00, which authentically models a cathode biased amp. Presets with cathode biased amps would not need to be tweaked in that case when you update the firmware.

The power amp grid bias parameter is in the "Advanced" tab, under the Power Amp section - "Grid Bias"

Personally, I find this grid bias parameter in the Cygnus firmware is very authentic, as it now behaves exactly as how I would bias the power amp tubes in a real tube amp.

I hope this helps.

Thank you for your help! The grid bias seems to be the culprit in making things sound darker. I just tested a couple real amps with their counterpart models and had to drop the grid bias to get them to open up more in the top end like my real heads. Maybe the models are now programmed with slightly hotter bias defaults and that’s why they’re perceived to be a bit darker in the top end.

 

[sprint]

There's a lot of moving parts in Axefx fw (who knew!) so if the goal is to do a very methodical beta test on big fw updates, I feel that the only way is to do a full reset on amp block channels, then re-enter my custom settings in all channels (a handy way is to copy / paste amp block to a second amp block to refer to for pre-channel-reset values), then play/listen with no fx and, ideally, compare to a clip recorded from previous fw.

 

[FractalAudio]

Thank you for your help! The grid bias seems to be the culprit in making things sound darker. I just tested a couple real amps with their counterpart models and had to drop the grid bias to get them to open up more in the top end like my real heads. Maybe the models are now programmed with slightly hotter bias defaults and that’s why they’re perceived to be a bit darker in the top end.

That means your heads are biased cold or haven't warmed up completely. The grid bias, however, was not changed between this beta and the previous version.

 

[crdark]

You should of course always wait a little until the tubes of the AxeFX have operating temperature.

Next gen AxeFX should really have a standby switch.

 

[artzeal]

backup your presets, install cygnus, try out the carol anns, go back to fw15 if unhappy.

p.s. refresh axe edit after firmware update, reset amp block in existing presets either reset channel in axe edit or reset block on hardware.

That is IF you can go back to FW15. I can't, Cygnus sounds too good! Carol Ann cuddles a little more ferociously, but that might a response to me being more touchy-feely. I'm two-timing with the Tweed Deluxe, though, very nice with the jumper. Not to mention the other head turners. So many hot channels to plug into, I'm not getting much sleep.

 

[johnnypig]

That is IF you can go back to FW15. I can't, Cygnus sounds too good! Carol Ann cuddles a little more ferociously, but that might a response to me being more touchy-feely.

I've adjusted my picking pretty drastically since Cygnus in the lighter direction and it's more responsive with legato playing.

 

[jwa174900]

I'm new here and maybe this is taboo to talk about but after tryin out all these beeeta releases and loving them it occurred to me that there has got to be some guys over at Neural going "WTF?, we were supposed to be the best this year". It just seems a little unfair to see all the hype on their QC and then Cliff drops this......just sayin...... Thank you Cliff and staff at FAS

 

[johnnypig]

@jwa174900 Someone should remind them that competition is a benefit for everyone