Axe-Fx III Firmware 23.05 Release

Which level did you change?
The level on the right-hand side next to Balance. That didn't help, nor did dropping the gain. Input trim helped a bit. Still clips/breaks up with a single coil vintage Strat.
Dude, you should record an example of what it sounded like on 23.02 compared to the current firmware. Cliff takes a look at all this stuff, but audio examples are way more powerful than descriptions alone.
Apologies, but I'm a hobby guitar player and I haven't ever recorded anything beyond a phone clip, I am not certain that would help effectively demonstrate the problem.
To add to what I wrote, whenever you're presenting a possible bug or just need help with a particular preset, the best thing is to post the preset, an example recording of the problem, and the dry track of your playing from that example, so that FAS can play it through the preset on their end and identify the source of the problem.
I posted the *.syx and linked to the preset in my original inquiry. Is there something I'm missing?
I've also noticed this. I spend most of my time in the Cooper Carter Petrucci preset, and the green channel has been low for quite some time. Simple fix for home playing was to raise the volume. With the new firmware, that has obviously been fixed, but it is sonically different now. I also dropped the level and did a soft reset of the block, but what was smooth and pristine is now quite harsh. I have had little time to tinker, however, so might just be a matter of dialing it back in.
Yes, beyond the level jump, the amp is now clipping or breaking up. The clean channel was designed specifically not to break up on the real amp.
 
I don’t know… if someone wrote a song in the key of C Major and added an F# Major chord in there with no Key changes I’d say it was bad. I’d also say if auto tune is necessary because the vocalist can’t carry a note or sing in Key then they need to find a new profession.

In either case the song or vocalist is objectively bad. There are such things as universal truths.
There are! But whether or not something is "good" or "bad" isn't a universal truth. You even make my point here (emphasis added).
if someone wrote a song in the key of C Major and added an F# Major chord in there with no Key changes I’d say it was bad
And I'd agree with you, personally. But somebody else might say it was good (and they'd probably like jazz 🤷‍♂️ ). There's no way to objectively state which one of us is correct, without bringing personal opinion/taste into the discussion.

You can objectively say "that's out of key", but you can't objectively say "that's bad". Because that's a value judgement, which is by definition subjective.
 
There are! But whether or not something is "good" or "bad" isn't a universal truth. You even make my point here (emphasis added).

And I'd agree with you, personally. But somebody else might say it was good (and they'd probably like jazz 🤷‍♂️ ). There's no way to objectively state which one of us is correct, without bringing personal opinion/taste into the discussion.

You can objectively say "that's out of key", but you can't objectively say "that's bad". Because that's a value judgement, which is by definition subjective.
It seems as though your argument though is that there is no such thing as objective. Everything is subjective. I'm sorry but I vehemently disagree... Universal truths are reality as well as perceptive truths. If there is a Chord progression in a song of C, G, Am, F# no one will find that pleasing to the ear. The sonic dissonance is too much to get past. I mean the keys share exactly one note, a B. Anyway, that is enough derailing for me.
 
Yet you're happy to use a Fractal product to make your guitar playing sound better?
Well sure! Because if I'm playing electric I'm going to need to amplify the sound with something. I don't use it to cover up poor playing or lack of talent. If I suck I'll either improve or quit. I won't try to make $$$ by sucking. I'm too much of a perfectionist for that. Too many artists today get careers because they look a certain way. They lack the real raw talent required and it is covered up by processing, autotune.
 
And many people enjoy it, even having experienced the Mona Lisa. And also, many people may have experienced the Mona Lisa and not enjoy it.

It's still subjective. It's still opinion. Whether a piece of art is good or bad can't be anything but subjective opinion. There have been plenty of paintings since the Mona Lisa that could be classified as "better" depending on what specific angle one is talking about: accuracy, color representation, quality of materials, etc. Plenty that could be considered worse.

But art is always going to be subjective. There is no such thing as objective or empirically "good" or "bad" art. A child's drawing could be considered higher quality than any of the great works of the masters, and nobody would be wrong for holding that opinion, even if it's in the minority and deeply unpopular. It's a very intimate and personal experience, and if you like a thing, nobody can tell you you're right or wrong, only you can decide that for yourself. There is literally no such thing as an "objective quality" difference, because "quality" is, by definition, qualitative, and dependent on the observer and their tastes and values and viewpoints/experience.

As they say, it's in the eye of the beholder.

(Objective vs subjective is one of those hills I tend to die on, it's all intended to be good natured debate 👍)
You're still talking about personal tastes and opinions though, which obviously can't be objective. And I don't really disagree with all that.

But there are qualities in a piece of art that can be objective, e.g. the complexity of the composition, the originality, the depth in the meaning of lyrics... and so on.
None of those things is really "measurable", but not being measurable doesn't mean they're not objective, it's just that we currently lack a unit of measurement and a set of rules and definitions to do it.
And obviously those objective qualities can't be enough to make everyone like that piece of art, cuz the act of "liking" involves tastes, emotions and cultural background, otherwise we would be robots.

A rap song where the lyrics only contain the message "I want money, guns and bit**es" is objectively worse than, let's say, Stairway to Heaven, if the unit of measurement is "depth of meaning".
Sure, there are probably a lot of people that would disagree, but those are most likely idiots whose most complex thought is in line with those lyrics, so I consider them objects rather than subjects 😛

I think we could all agree that being healthy is objectively better than being sick, yet you find people who smoke, take all kind of drugs, drive at 200 mph, etc...
So it seems that what makes things subjective is ignorance and stupidity in the end 😬

Joking apart, let's just agree to disagree 😉
 
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If you've got a sound you like dialed in, and after a firmware update it changes to where you like it less, it doesn't actually matter to you that the new firmware is more authentic.
Though in this case it is a very simple fix to change the tone stack back to the “wrong” one. Speaking of which, it can be a lot of fun to do that and come up with your own unique Frankenstein Amp Setups.
 
The Blackface and Class-A amps are most notably improved in this release. The Blackface amps are warmer and punchier. The Class-A amps have more harmonics.
Sounds very exciting! Just out of curiosity, does this have to do with more correct values over existing parameters or is it an entirely different algorithm? In other words, for fm9 and fm3 can we just copy the new af3 default values or do we have to wait for a new fw?
 
Sounds very exciting! Just out of curiosity, does this have to do with more correct values over existing parameters or is it an entirely different algorithm? In other words, for fm9 and fm3 can we just copy the new af3 default values or do we have to wait for a new fw?
Have to wait for new fw, Because of the new triode algorithm and the updated bias points. See posts 21 and 22
 
You're still talking about personal tastes and opinions though, which obviously can't be objective. And I don't really disagree with all that.

But there are qualities in a piece of art that can be objective, e.g. the complexity of the composition, the originality, the depth in the meaning of lyrics... and so on.
None of those things is really "measurable", but not being measurable doesn't mean they're not objective, it's just that we currently lack a unit of measurement and a set of rules and definitions to do it.
And obviously those objective qualities can't be enough to make everyone like that piece of art, cuz the act of "liking" involves tastes, emotions and cultural background…

I remember seeing a study that compared lyrical, harmonic and rhythmic complexity of popular music by the decade and the 1960’s were the clear winner. Another from New York University was published about 4 years ago comparing how memorable songs were by decade by asking multiple generations which popular songs they are familiar with. Again, the 1960’s wins. It’s difficult to make these things objective but some era’s certainly tower over others regarding the quality of popular music. Just give something like “Along Comes Mary” by The Association a listen, popular music was all over the damn place in the 60’s, taking risks and, most of all, being interesting. Shame more people aren’t compelled by that sort of thing today.
 
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It seems as though your argument though is that there is no such thing as objective. Everything is subjective. I'm sorry but I vehemently disagree... Universal truths are reality as well as perceptive truths. If there is a Chord progression in a song of C, G, Am, F# no one will find that pleasing to the ear. The sonic dissonance is too much to get past. I mean the keys share exactly one note, a B. Anyway, that is enough derailing for me.
Rossipedia did not state that there is no such thing as objective, but that your specific example of something objective was indeed subjective. This does not exclude objectivity in its entirety.
 
I remember seeing a study that compared lyrical, harmonic and rhythmic complexity of popular music by the decade and the 1960’s were the clear winner. Another from New York University was published about 4 years ago comparing how memorable songs were by decade by asking multiple generations which popular songs they are familiar with. Again, the 1960’s wins. It’s difficult to make these things objective but some era’s certainly tower over others regarding the quality of popular music. Just give something like “Along Comes Mary” by The Association a listen, popular music was all over the damn place in the 60’s, taking risks and, most of all, being interesting. Shame more people aren’t compelled by that sort of thing today.
Yep, I think even Rick Beato talked about that first study in a video.
 
Finally got an opportunity to update to 23.05 from 22.x and "I've got blistahs on me fingahs!!!" :p

From 22 to 23 seems like it happened in the blink of an eye, but what improvements and additions!!! The new 2203 is absolutely IMPECCABLE!! I can't stop fucking playing!! In fact, I'm typing this with my rock hard pe:oops:....ok, no I'm not, but I just can't believe how badass and dead on this is, it's got the feel...the fingers....the tone....it's ALL there, it's amazing!! I quickly paired it up with Leon's LT TV Mix 7 and a stock 80's Chorus and its instantly 1988 again!!

Playing my Wylde Odin Grail it took about 60 seconds to get me where I wanted to go:
Brit 800 2203 High
Gain: 10
Bass: 4
Mid: 9
Treb: 7
Pres: 7
Master: 10
Dynamics>Out Comp/Gain Enhancer: 2.0
Speaker>Speaker Thump 2.5
Power Supply>Supply Sag: 3

Cab: LT TV Mix 7
Chorus: 80's Chorus, stock settings

Of course there is plenty of room for more and this was just a quick tweak, but I wanted to share this because it's dead simple and really showcases how brilliant the amp is when out of the gate its nearly perfect for me. Only on a Fractal!

On the subject of Authentic vs Corrected, besides being an engineering genius, I think Cliff has great judgment on these issues and I am comfortable with his decisions on whether or not to correct these conundrums. If the amp in question can still be made to sound as the original without limitation, I'm just fine with a corrective change as long as the deviation is documented.

Regardless, Cliff you're a fucking genius!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
 
remember seeing a study that compared lyrical, harmonic and rhythmic complexity of popular music by the decade and the 1960’s were the clear winner
Because there was less hobby’s. No internet, not all these immediate things. So when you wanted to learn an instrument, you was working hard and you spent a lot of time on it.

Don’t know. When I was a child I just had a shitty classical guitar and tapes in my bed room . No phone, no tv… I was trying to learn the songs by ears behind the tapes, over and over … maybe if I were born now … I don't know if I would have insisted that much. Music is something that requires a lot of time, discipline... It is never ending. So a 14 years old now… they are used to having everything in one click… instrumental practice must be frustrating for a young person today. It can explain why rock music is slowly dying. Why we are all old in the audience now 🤣
 
Apologies, but I'm a hobby guitar player and I haven't ever recorded anything beyond a phone clip, I am not certain that would help effectively demonstrate the problem.

There are many free programs with which you can record a dry and wet track, and a lot of tutorials out there. It's up to you. I think bug reporting is very helpful on this forum, but I think that sometimes descriptions alone are not enough. Whatever problem you are seeing, if Cliff himself writes that he's not seeing it, is not going to get fixed. If you post a recording demonstrating audio problems, not only can anyone on the forum help investigate it, which does happen frequently, but Cliff, the person who invented the product, will then know exactly what you're talking about.

I posted the *.syx and linked to the preset in my original inquiry. Is there something I'm missing?

The wet and dry recording. I wrote my second response to add the importance of including the dry direct track of your guitar performance. If there's anything weird with your levels, or anything else strange that could cause an audio problem, that can be eliminated at its source.

We are all better off with bug reports. I'm just saying that bug reports are much more effective when they are accompanied by wet and direct recordings of the problem.
 
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