Axe-Fx III Firmware 26.00 Public Beta

York Audio said:
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I can't hear much of a difference even focusing on an isolated guitar track, so I definitely wouldn't be able to hear the difference in the context of a mix.
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Nice comparison. Not entirely sure how anyone might think an IR might not involve the air between the speaker and the microphone, as well as a proportion of the space the IR is recorded in. There is no physical way of recording an IR that doesn't include that, at least to my knowledge.

I thought they were a cute trick when I first came across them, especially as a student of Fourier transforms and convolution a few years back. I'm even more of a full convert nowadays, as I've discovered IR's that actually feel like cabs I own and love, as well as sounding like them.

Liam
 
rzjd said:
exactly. The current method of IR technology will evolve. Everyone seems hell bent to compare the real vs the model instead of just enjoying the current sounds. There are still a lot of factors to overcome if you want apples to apples and that may never arrive. As it stands, the sounds are ridiculously close.
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Neutron is releasing some cab profiles done with NAM, there's a free one here to test: https://www.neutronstudios.com/copy-of-drop-zone

It's an interesting concept and, being profiles and not simple IRs, they should be able to replicate the non-linearities of speakers and the whole chain they were captured with. Maybe it's an application of AI-based models from which even Fractal could benefit in the future.
 
I've been playing around more with beta 26 using my Silver Sky into the EVH 5153 100W Green amp and new stealth cab and have been closer than ever to just recording and printing guitar tracks. This amp is SO underrated!

Seriously blown away here -- this is mostly bridge pickup into an Analog Comp > FET Boost > Micro Boost with delay/reverb/vibrato enabled depending on the part. No bass yet and my ears are shot with how loud I've been tracking which means the mix is probably shot too, but still stoked.

Been going through a lot of Albini videos again with his passing and have been backing the mics off farther and farther and hard panning L/R which is what is happening on this track. A distance of 10.16cm seems to be a really nice sweet spot for me to not have to do much processing, if any, after the fact.

 
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cheap said:
I've been playing around more with beta 26 using my Silver Sky into the EVH 5153 100W Green amp and new stealth cab and have been closer than ever to just recording and printing guitar tracks. This amp is SO underrated!

Seriously blown away here -- this is mostly bridge pickup into an Analog Comp > FET Boost > Micro Boost with delay/reverb/vibrato enabled depending on the part. No bass yet and my ears are shot with how loud I've been tracking which means the mix is probably shot too, but still stoked.

Been going through a lot of Albini videos again with his passing and have been backing the mics off farther and farther and hard panning L/R which is what is happening on this track. A distance of 10.16cm seems to be a really nice sweet spot for me to not have to do much processing, if any, after the fact.

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I loved that.
 
cheap said:
I've been playing around more with beta 26 using my Silver Sky into the EVH 5153 100W Green amp and new stealth cab and have been closer than ever to just recording and printing guitar tracks. This amp is SO underrated!

Seriously blown away here -- this is mostly bridge pickup into an Analog Comp > FET Boost > Micro Boost with delay/reverb/vibrato enabled depending on the part. No bass yet and my ears are shot with how loud I've been tracking which means the mix is probably shot too, but still stoked.

Been going through a lot of Albini videos again with his passing and have been backing the mics off farther and farther and hard panning L/R which is what is happening on this track. A distance of 10.16cm seems to be a really nice sweet spot for me to not have to do much processing, if any, after the fact.

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Nice!

I use 10.66cm and/or 16.08cm frequently on almost all my amp/cab combinations, with the ribbon mic, depending on how much heft is needed in the lows with a particular combination. Only the Rumble cab seems to consistently need more distance....
 
York Audio said:
Your ears are better than mine. I'm the one who made these clips and still can't tell which is the live cab moving air vs the IR.

One is a live amp moving air, one is the amp through a load box and an IR, and one is half and half, but not necessarily in that order.

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In the Clip 1 the first one was my preference. Whichever it was. Lovely tone regardless!
 
York Audio said:
Your ears are better than mine. I'm the one who made these clips and still can't tell which is the live cab moving air vs the IR.

One is a live amp moving air, one is the amp through a load box and an IR, and one is half and half, but not necessarily in that order.



This one switches in real time between a live cab moving air and an IR... I don't remember which is first or how many times it switches though.



I can't hear much of a difference even focusing on an isolated guitar track, so I definitely wouldn't be able to hear the difference in the context of a mix.
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In the first clip the second one is my favorite. There is something round and breathing to my ears.
 
mr_fender said:
Sound takes time to travel through the air. Even with a tube amp and cab, you still effectively get about 1 ms of latency for each foot of distance between you and the speaker. Does moving 3 feet further from a tube amp throw anyone off? I doubt it.
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Back in my real amp days, I was usually like 3-5 feet from my amp. One time, we were in a different venue and I was about 10 feet away. I could tell the difference and it messed with me a bit.
 
York Audio said:
Your ears are better than mine. I'm the one who made these clips and still can't tell which is the live cab moving air vs the IR.

One is a live amp moving air, one is the amp through a load box and an IR, and one is half and half, but not necessarily in that order.



This one switches in real time between a live cab moving air and an IR... I don't remember which is first or how many times it switches though.



I can't hear much of a difference even focusing on an isolated guitar track, so I definitely wouldn't be able to hear the difference in the context of a mix.
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First clip... initial impression with fresh ears is I like the first one more than the 2nd. After a minute, the mind games kick in and I can't tell.
Second clip... I couldn't hear any noticeable switching.
 
giantslayer said:
First clip... initial impression with fresh ears is I like the first one more than the 2nd. After a minute, the mind games kick in and I can't tell.
Second clip... I couldn't hear any noticeable switching.
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For the first clip, I like that some like the first and some like the second... even though one of those could be a blend of the real cab and the IR switching midway.

It's ok (and encouraged) for anyone to have a preference on which one they like; and especially great to like one without claiming to know what they're listening to.

The first clip's main difference was the amp's impedance curve and the load box's impedance curve. The second clip used the same curve with the same source. It shows the accuracy of pure IRs. When the IR is accurate, it reveals the accuracy of the amp modeling. I've tried and owned the best and most popular modelers on the market, and Fractal is still the only one I recommend to people who want authentic sound and feel from a digital solution.

(This ad is not sponsored. I just like what I like.)
 
Phurquoise said:
I think you may have missed a couple of comments in this thread. Joshua is talking about this:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axe-fx-iii-firmware-26-00-public-beta.206024/post-2571295

He's talking about the recorded sound (eg a wav or mp3), not what you are using to listen to it
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I don’t think so. I responded to the first post, loving the clips. I was responding to this specific post. Maybe I didn’t select the right words. I was only saying that I don’t hear a live amp when I hear it on a recording. Hell, I don’t hear a live amp when it goes through a load box or a Z-brake or any of those devices. To my ears, it sounds different. It may still sound great, but there’s something that’s gone.

How about this: if somebody made a recording of my wife talking to me, and played it in another room of the house, I probably might think it was her. But if they played a recording of her in the same room and I was wearing a blindfold, I wouldn’t think it was her. I know that’s not the same thing, but it’s the only way I can describe it. It might just be me. Or maybe I still don’t understand what was being said.
 
Finally got to installing the FW. Now that's something. I'm super happy about the 4x12 Stealth DynaCab - sounds just like my favorite IR! I couldn't bond with the DynaCabs before but I love this new one. I also like the PI improvements, feels better, sounds better to me. The Axe was already indistinguishable from a miced up tube amp for a long time now sound-wise but the feel is also really steadily getting there.
 
cheap said:
I've been playing around more with beta 26 using my Silver Sky into the EVH 5153 100W Green amp and new stealth cab and have been closer than ever to just recording and printing guitar tracks. This amp is SO underrated!

Seriously blown away here -- this is mostly bridge pickup into an Analog Comp > FET Boost > Micro Boost with delay/reverb/vibrato enabled depending on the part. No bass yet and my ears are shot with how loud I've been tracking which means the mix is probably shot too, but still stoked.

Been going through a lot of Albini videos again with his passing and have been backing the mics off farther and farther and hard panning L/R which is what is happening on this track. A distance of 10.16cm seems to be a really nice sweet spot for me to not have to do much processing, if any, after the fact.

Click to expand...

Care to share any more details about the preset? That tone is great!
 
cheap said:
I've been playing around more with beta 26 using my Silver Sky into the EVH 5153 100W Green amp and new stealth cab and have been closer than ever to just recording and printing guitar tracks. This amp is SO underrated!

Seriously blown away here -- this is mostly bridge pickup into an Analog Comp > FET Boost > Micro Boost with delay/reverb/vibrato enabled depending on the part. No bass yet and my ears are shot with how loud I've been tracking which means the mix is probably shot too, but still stoked.

Been going through a lot of Albini videos again with his passing and have been backing the mics off farther and farther and hard panning L/R which is what is happening on this track. A distance of 10.16cm seems to be a really nice sweet spot for me to not have to do much processing, if any, after the fact.

Click to expand...

Not a model I'd reach for with that guitar in my hands, but you make it sound fantastic.
 
Can we please stop posting guitars in the firmware thread? I nuked a ton of posts that had nothing to do with the firmware.

You make everyone's job harder when they have to wade through miles of guitar brag posts to get to the real details about what's working and what isn't working.

You're more than welcome to start a thread to talk about your pretty guitars.

Keep it on topic. Thanks.
 
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I'm may be alone on this, that's ok. I thought I'd mention it anyway. I had a few gigs recently that were better suited to use my Fender Supersonic 22 amp. What a pleasure going back to it. The feel and the high-end were awesome and the sound filled the stage. Playing thru it felt chewy and way better than I had remembered. Today I fired up the Fractal and I don't think it compares the way I thought.

A few firmwares back (sorry don't remember exactly which version) the high's were awesome and I commented on it. Cliff replied thanks, glad you noticed. I think that's been lost because it's sounding digital to me again. Not any one particular model but overall. For me, it's been worth revisiting an actual amp if nothing else, for perspective.

When all you use is a modeler for a while, it's hard to judge just how accurate things are. Don't get me wrong, I love my units and Fractal is without a doubt king of the hill. I'm just glad I still have an actual tube amp in the garage.

I should mention I use FRFR cabs, Atomic and Redsound. This has a lot to do with things and may be a bigger part of what I'm noticing. If I get time, I'm very interested in trying my Fractal with an actual guitar amp.
 
brianv4 said:
If I get time, I'm very interested in trying my Fractal with an actual guitar amp.
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For me, there is no substitute for a power amp & Cab for live use with the AxeFX, I'm just not into the FRFR or in ears for the stage. Personal preference for sure.

brianv4 said:
A few firmwares back (sorry don't remember exactly which version) the high's were awesome and I commented on it. Cliff replied thanks, glad you noticed. I think that's been lost because it's sounding digital to me again. Not any one particular model but overall.
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Why not just use the firmware that suits? If there's no need to be at the cutting edge, why be there.

Having said that, if an amp is what spins ones crank, then there's nothing wrong with that.

At home, I have configured my system to use FRFR, Power Amp + Cab, and a real Amp. That's the beauty of the AxeFx, it's so versatile.
 
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