Axe-Fx III Firmware 29.00 Public Beta

[Chewie5150]

I don't often share links but here's a quick n dirty. I haven't played my PRS McCarty 594 in months but fired up the new FW and put on my Friedman preset to play along AIC Check my Brain. I think it sounds awesome. This was turning on the preset and the song within about 2 min of messin around...

 

[BROCKSTAR]

I don't often share links but here's a quick n dirty. I haven't played my PRS McCarty 594 in months but fired up the new FW and put on my Friedman preset to play along AIC Check my Brain. I think it sounds awesome. This was turning on the preset and the song within about 2 min of messin around...

Video says unavailable "This video is private"

 

[toneseeker911]

So I did a quick A/B of the previous firmware woth this one using my favourite CCV 2B amp model, and the differences are pretty negligible:

I hear a very very tiny difference in the highs. But very little difference otherwise. I also did a null test in my DAW and it confirmed what I thought I was hearing. Virtually nothing played back with the phase flipped and I had to absolutey crank the monitors to the max to hear the resulting audio which was little more than a few hisses and disses here and there. Maybe the update affects some amps more than others but I guess higher gain amps are relatively close.

The palm mutes sound different in the second clip. A bit more trebly and maybe a bit more noisy. I’m guessing that’s the new update, but could just be how you decided to play it.

 

[Chewie5150]

Video says unavailable "This video is private"

hold up....like i said i hardly upload...try now

 

[Forever Again]

Here's the "Brian May" comparison between FW 28.07 and FW 29.00 beta. The same preset and the same DI recording is used for both recording.

FW 28.07


FW 29.00 beta

To my ears (AirPod Pros) 29.0.0 has more body

 

[James Freeman]

Virtually nothing played back with the phase flipped

Thanks.

 

[rossipedia]

Ok so here's a comparison of my goto 5150 Block preset between FW28.08 and FW29.0b. Playing a little AILD for the palm mutes. Track is a DI recorded via a Scarlett 18i20, reamped over SPDIF. For this test I disabled the input noise gate entirely so I could check the noise.

The first little bit is me A/B-ing the noise artifacts without playing, and it actually doesn't seem like there's more noise in FW29. Not sure why I got that into my head. So that's good.

The analyzer shows a couple interesting things:

• FW 29 seems to generate far less high end content from around 9k - 10k on up. Almost as if there's an aggressive low-pass filter on it. Once I start actually playing I think the response is roughly the same up to 20hz, at which point FW29 cuts off hard, while FW28.08 (again) has a lot more content in that band
• FW 29 also seems to have more sub-sonic low-end content when playing, but at rest FW28.08 has more of those <20hz frequencies.

However, I'm not sure how much of this matters sonically since those freqs are outside of the normal range of human hearing so . Also, we're talking about content at roughly -90dB, too. So yeah... s--t you can't even hear anyways.

Far more interesting to me is that FW29 sounds a wee bit looser and more boomy in the heavy palm mute parts, and it seems like there's less of that sharp/cutting pick attack going on. It's actually a lot more noticeable when playing than just listening back. The feel is that the pick attack is softer and less aggressive, even if it doesn't really sound all that different. Hard to explain.

There's definitely something different in the 6160 Block model. I'm not entirely sold on the changes, or at least I haven't found the magic incantation yet to get me back to a point where I'm super happy with it. But I'll keep trying.

 

[My name is mud]

This video is a good example of what a peavy 5150 sounds like . At 0:40

Muddy, with trebles etc . And in comparaison the other amp sound muffled, like there is a pillow in the cab. in the axe we have that same pillow effect . Everytime I play with peavey’s in the unit I say « meh »
I’ve never been fan of these amps, but I’ve been a peavy reseller for years and know well the series… 6505 etc . These amps have a crappy clean,they buzz because the soldering is cheap, a million amount of gain , and are done to do big chords in drop d, but forget the « tightness »

But yeah here the tone represent well what it sound like in front of the cab for real

Peavey’s are cheap amps at first, don’t expect something spectacular. They were the metal amps for the one’s who cannot afford a boogie , they were like 800/1200 (used/new) when the boogies were twice the price

 

[kplooksafterme]

This video is a good example of what a peavy 5150 sounds like . At 0:40

Muddy, with trebles etc . And in comparaison the other amp sound muffled, like there is a pillow in the cab. in the axe we have that same pillow effect . Everytime I play with peavey’s in the unit I say « meh »
I’ve never been fan of these amps, but I’ve been a peavy reseller for years and know well the series… 6505 etc . These amps have a crappy clean,they buzz because the soldering is cheap, a million amount of gain , and are done to do big chords in drop d, but forget the « tightness »

But yeah here the tone represent well what it sound like in front of the cab for real

Peavey’s are cheap amps at first, don’t expect something spectacular. They were the metal amps for the one’s who cannot afford a boogie , they were like 800/1200 (used/new) when the boogies were twice the price

The best live guitar tone I ever heard was a Peavey 5150 with matching cab, about 22 years ago. It was a small gig and the chugs felt like they were punching us in the chest. It was clear, present and chunky. Maybe the sound person just did a stellar job, but I always remember that gig. I don't remember the band, their music wasn't really my thing, but I remember that guitar sound. It was an ESP LP, tuned low, and that amp sounded absolutely incredible.

 

[eloygperez]

This video is a good example of what a peavy 5150 sounds like . At 0:40

Well... I don't think a 5150 with all its controls at 5 and the Master almost at 4 is the best example for a metal tone starting with the presence at 5, which does nothing, and the gain at 5 if you're using the Hi input, especially if you're also going to use some kind of booster in front of the amp. There's also a big difference between setting the Master around 2 or 2.5 compared to 4 too. I doubt anyone who sets it up like that would say, 'Damn, there's nothing I can do with this for metal!".

I’ve owned five over the years (Sig, II, Sig, Sig, Block Letter), with a Sig and a BL right here next to me and I know them well too. Many albums have been made (and are still being made today) with 5150s as the foundation, even when they also have access to more expensive amps, so I don’t think price justifies anything.

Don’t judge the tone, it was literally done in 2 minutes just by quickly tweaking the controls a bit, no boost or anything in front of the amp. Complete different.

 

[swass]

Here is a my test sample recorded with the 29.00 firmware.

The amp is a 6CA7 plexi, and the RAT drive block is placed in front of the amp. Instead of the cab block, a tone match block is used. And a little bit of reverb. No other effects...

Sounds mucho good. Any chance you'd post the preset? Wouldn't mind running this down the drag strip a few times. Just to clarify, "drag strip" as in "top fuel".

 

[My name is mud]

Well... I don't think a 5150 with all its controls at 5 and the Master almost at 4 is the best example for a metal tone starting with the presence at 5, which does nothing, and the gain at 5 if you're using the Hi input, especially if you're also going to use some kind of booster in front of the amp

The controls in the real head aren’t very efficient…like for Marshall’s … you have zero,five and 10

Everything after 5 in the peavy’s is quite useless as there is already too much of everything at 5

this amp is dirty, same for the triple x.. I also own a 3120 for some months personally, that was a little better than what they usually do, but doesn’t have enough power strangely for a 120 w

Maybe that was 120 Chinese watts

The jsx is ok

But yeah peavy was the cheapest thing before bugera hit the market, talking about 20 /25 years ago … globally Marshall heads and peavy were crap . Local band used that because of money, but not by choice ...

 

[Budda]

I have to laugh every time people crap on 5150 cleans, because it’s a superlead mk2 sound. At least my 5150 next to my mk2 was.

 

[eloygperez]

The controls in the real head aren’t very efficient…like for Marshall’s … you have zero,five and 10

Everything after 5 in the peavy’s is quite useless as there is already too much of everything at 5

this amp is dirty, same for the triple x.. I also own a 3120 for some months personally, that was a little better than what they usually do, but doesn’t have enough power strangely for a 120 w

Maybe that is 120 Chinese watts

The jsx is ok

But yeah peavy was the cheapest thing before bugera hit the market, talking about 20 /25 years ago … globally Marshall heads and peavy were crap . Local band used that because of money, but not by choice ...

We agree to disagree...and it's not a problem.haha
My Presence control lives between 7 and 9 depending on the tone I’m going for. Below that it’s doing anything, but that’s a completely worn-out topic and there’s no point in discussing it any further. There’s also a big difference in the mids when you set them between 2 and 3. Some even go as low as 1 for a more scooped tone. There’s something for everyone. Others take it to the extreme with bass and resonance almost maxed out, lots of presence, and more controlled treble, ect, ect...

I agree with the price, but reducing it to just local bands doesn’t make much sense. A lot of bands use the 5150 in the studio even when they have access to other amps. It’s just a matter of taste.

 

[My name is mud]

I have to laugh every time people crap on 5150 cleans, because its literally a superlead mk2.

You have no bass, no warmess , lifeless. Weak …

And if you hit too hard it is a crunch to me, that is distorted ..

 

[My name is mud]

We agree to disagree...and it's not a problem.haha
My Presence control lives between 7 and 9 depending on the tone I’m going for. Below that it’s doing anything, but that’s a completely worn-out topic and there’s no point in discussing it any further. There’s also a big difference in the mids when you set them between 2 and 3. Some even go as low as 1 for a more scooped tone. There’s something for everyone. Others take it to the extreme with bass and resonance almost maxed out, lots of presence, and more controlled treble, ect, ect...

I agree with the price, but reducing it to just local bands doesn’t make much sense. A lot of bands use the 5150 in the studio even when they have access to other amps. It’s just a matter of taste.

Yes then no problem if you like it . Also your sample doesn’t sound like the head , the real head got million of gain and bees everywhere .

To me, Only machine head got a good tone with that amp, but in a overproduced studio and context

But they add a chorus, multi tracks etc etc

 

[eloygperez]

Yes then no problem if you like it . Also your sample doesn’t sound like the head , the real head got million of gain and bees everywhere .

Are you sure? It's a 5150 Block Letter into a loadbox. There’s not much mystery to it. Completely stock from January '92. (okay... obviously the tubes have been changed several times haha). These were the settings for the quick clip. Lead Channel, hi input. You can have even more controlled gain if you keep it at 2 or below.

 

[biggness]

This video is a good example of what a peavy 5150 sounds like . At 0:40

Muddy, with trebles etc . And in comparaison the other amp sound muffled, like there is a pillow in the cab. in the axe we have that same pillow effect . Everytime I play with peavey’s in the unit I say « meh »
I’ve never been fan of these amps, but I’ve been a peavy reseller for years and know well the series… 6505 etc . These amps have a crappy clean,they buzz because the soldering is cheap, a million amount of gain , and are done to do big chords in drop d, but forget the « tightness »

But yeah here the tone represent well what it sound like in front of the cab for real

Peavey’s are cheap amps at first, don’t expect something spectacular. They were the metal amps for the one’s who cannot afford a boogie , they were like 800/1200 (used/new) when the boogies were twice the price

This take is a bit much, man lol

Price doesn’t equate tone. The 5150/6505 is probably the most recorded metal amp in history for a reason. It’s raw, aggressive, and cuts through a mix better than most. If it was all about price, then I guess Andy Sneap, Colin Richardson, and half of the 2000s metal scene were too broke to afford a Mesa? The “cheap amp” argument falls flat when that same amp defined the sound of an entire generation of heavy records. Spectacular tone doesn’t always come with a boutique label or a $3K price tag.

 

[Randalljax]

The best live guitar tone I ever heard was a Peavey 5150 with matching cab, about 22 years ago. It was a small gig and the chugs felt like they were punching us in the chest. It was clear, present and chunky. Maybe the sound person just did a stellar job, but I always remember that gig. I don't remember the band, their music wasn't really my thing, but I remember that guitar sound. It was an ESP LP, tuned low, and that amp sounded absolutely incredible.

I agree , Ross from Collective Soul used one on that Dosage album and it was Incredible live and recorded
Are they noisy as hell and sound like a waterfall ungated. Yep
Will they not work great with super high out put pickups slamming the front end , yep
But if you get a PAF style lower output , drop the master and the preamp gain hit it w a boost out front they are pretty deadly for hard rock / metal

 

[Fab8040]

The amp was cheaper because evh wanted everybody could afford his sound..so maybe it will not be as reliable as others more boutique amps, but the design and the sound is there..and i m saying this as proud mesa Mark iv owner.. anyway sound is subjective..