Axe-Fx III Firmware Release Version 19.06

[VegasGuitar]

My normal setup I've always used. Matrix GT1000 EV T221m wedges. Same results listening through my normal in ears. Sounds great when I downgrade back to beta, very bright and sterile when update to official. I checked global settings, global eq, amp settings, cabs, Wah, nothing has changed. Others have also stated it is brighter, but my EV T-221m cabs and Shure SE846 PRO in ears may just be picking it up more. It's just way brighter. Examples, (but all the presets are brighter), Double Verb, solo 100, any plexi, rectos, shiver, again pretty much any preset has a soft bottom, pushed treble tone.

Did you get this critical issue resolved yet?

 

[Shahar]

I wish we had before and after samples we can listen to, otherwise we are relying on a perceived change in sound which is very subjective.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I wish we had before and after samples we can listen to, otherwise we are relying on a perceived change in sound which is very subjective.

I agree. I think it would be a great practice to adopt for those who feel tones have become less accurate to illustrate examples with dry guitar tracks going through the same presets, factory or personal, and posting a soundcloud example of each, along with the preset for download and analysis. That way, if there does happen to be an error in either firmware, Cliff may actually hear what's wrong in either clip. I don't know who else could spot a transformer turn ratio error, e.g.

And I think of it this way: a preset that sounds worse now may be more accurate; you may just have dialed it in perfectly in previous firmware to compensate for errors in the modeling, but once the modeling becomes more accurate, you'd definitely want to dial it in again!

 

[MiguelSantos]

Not sure if said before, but my MIDI settings were reverted to factory settings. Seeing as I use a third-party foot controller (rjm mastermind gt22), I had to reset them all. Minor inconvenience!

 

[frankenbeans]

FWIW, I measured zero difference between 19.06b and the Official 19.06 on a JS JVM preset of mine. I recorded a dry track, reamped it through the 19.06b version of my preset, updated, then reamped again through the exact same preset, no changes, with the same dry track.

The EQ Match was Null.

It's possible I messed something up--or that this amp was unaffected by any changes Cliff made--but I offer it as simply another observation from the peanut gallery.

Edit: Stand by. Retesting. Sitting in front of the unit, actually playing it instead of reamping it, I do feel like there's a difference. I'm going to measure again.

Edit 2: Nevermind, the EQ Match was Null again.

Edit 3: The track, for those curious. First is beta, second is the official release.

 

[sprint]

FWIW, I measured zero difference between 19.06b and the Official 19.06 on a JS JVM preset of mine. I recorded a dry track, reamped it through the 19.06b version of my preset, updated, then reamped again through the exact same preset, no changes, with the same dry track.

The EQ Match was Null.

It's possible I messed something up--or that this amp was unaffected by any changes Cliff made--but I offer it as simply another observation from the peanut gallery.

Edit: Stand by. Retesting. Sitting in front of the unit, actually playing it instead of reamping it, I do feel like there's a difference. I'm going to measure again.

Edit 2: Nevermind, the EQ Match was Null again.

Edit 3: The track, for those curious. First is beta, second is the official release.

Thanks - minimal if any difference to my ear - wouldn't be the first time folks proclaim major differences and it's like barely, if at all audible to me.

Edit: I've taken to null testing (and/or hard panning samples left / right and viewing on a goniometer) some of these things cuz I was getting a complex about how bad my hearing is based on some discussions here relating to being able to hear "big differences" - on a few occasions that tweaked my curiousity (ie tube types), a barely detectable difference was revealed using these tools - my hearing's not that bad lol, maybe good actually since I can hear when there's none or little difference (or the magnitude of a difference being small) where others cannot.

 

[Shahar]

FWIW, I measured zero difference between 19.06b and the Official 19.06 on a JS JVM preset of mine. I recorded a dry track, reamped it through the 19.06b version of my preset, updated, then reamped again through the exact same preset, no changes, with the same dry track.

The EQ Match was Null.

It's possible I messed something up--or that this amp was unaffected by any changes Cliff made--but I offer it as simply another observation from the peanut gallery.

Edit: Stand by. Retesting. Sitting in front of the unit, actually playing it instead of reamping it, I do feel like there's a difference. I'm going to measure again.

Edit 2: Nevermind, the EQ Match was Null again.

Exactly, our shitty little brains sometimes think they notice things that aren’t there, like optical illusions (aural illusions?)

 

[My name is mud]

nothing really weird or bad in this update . maybe a little bit of high harshness, some light levelling in some amps , the jcm800 sound muffled a little bit ... it's ok

 

[Dino334]

Just gotta say this, I rarely post much here but read the posts daily. I find it amazing that regardless of the improvements made by Cliff and company, there are always a select few that do nothing but bitch and complain, and more times than not its just for the sake of bitching. I (as are most users) are totally fine with bug reports, suggestions, and constructive criticisms, but for some here the FW improvements are “never enough“. I want a car…you get a Honda…but I wanted a Porsche. I want dinner…you get steak…but I want lobster and caviar Here’s your Marshall….but I wanted it to sound like Steve Vai”s when he did that clinic in Europe and had to use a modded JCM instead of his Carvins and I don’t want to have to tweak my unit. For the love of God, just play already and appreciate what we have been gifted by Fractal. At the end of the day, find the FW that works for you and stick with it. Hell, I was on FW12 for the longest time until 18. This isn’t pointed at any specific user here, it just seems like the overall tone from the gallery every time we get an update. Cliff and gang, THANK YOU for all you do!

 

[frankenbeans]

Thanks - minimal if any difference to my ear - wouldn't be the first time folks proclaim major differences and it's like barely, if at all audible to me.

Edit: I've taken to null testing (and/or hard panning samples left / right and viewing on a goniometer) some of these things cuz I was getting a complex about how bad my hearing is based on some discussions here relating to being able to hear "big differences" - on a few occasions that tweaked my curiousity (ie tube types), a barely detectable difference was revealed using these tools - my hearing's not that bad lol, maybe good actually since I can hear when there's none or little difference (or the magnitude of a difference) where others cannot.

Exactly, our shitty little brains sometimes think they notice things that aren’t there, like optical illusions (aural illusions?)

To be fair, Cliff did say the differences would be based on the amp and impedance curve. I used the JS JVM and the 5153 4x12 curve. I suppose that pairing is an example of one that is not affected by any changes in the algorithm. It's possible other pairing actually are different between the beta and the release.

 

[ertan]

Exactly, our shitty little brains sometimes think they notice things that aren’t there, like optical illusions (aural illusions?)

Surely, especially when in an unideal room and some expectations, for now the constant is the room and the variable is the software

 

[Goodsal]

I notice that the Face Fuzz in front of the Plexi 100 1970 doesn’t clean up when I turn the volume down on my Strat the way it did before. Did anything change that would cause that?

 

[BryantP]

There is a small bug in the "Song > Select in Set" function. Only 9 characters are displayed in the editor and on the FC 12.

This will be fixed in the next release.

 

[FractalAudio]

I notice that the Face Fuzz in front of the Plexi 100 1970 doesn’t clean up when I turn the volume down on my Strat the way it did before. Did anything change that would cause that?

No. There were no changes to the Drive block.

 

[AndrewJay]

Thank you everyone at Fractal for your hard work. It matters and makes a difference.

In this update, I've been noticing and enjoying a richer low end and a smoother top end. There seems to be more "air" in the notes with the amp models that I like to use. With these changes, I find I have more flexibility in the relationship between the Treble and Presence controls. Depending on the amp model, I will bring down one and raise the other. This flexibility allows me to add clarity without bringing in harshness. It really is a fantastic journey going through this firmware. With each update to the amp models, I find EQ blocks to be unnecessary for my setup.

As far as the other updates, such as set lists...it's just a great time to be a Fractal user.

 

[Satch4u3]

Not sure if said before, but my MIDI settings were reverted to factory settings. Seeing as I use a third-party foot controller (rjm mastermind gt22), I had to reset them all. Minor inconvenience!

Same thing here with my GT16

 

[Lkdog]

Just gotta say this, I rarely post much here but read the posts daily. I find it amazing that regardless of the improvements made by Cliff and company, there are always a select few that do nothing but bitch and complain, and more times than not its just for the sake of bitching. I (as are most users) are totally fine with bug reports, suggestions, and constructive criticisms, but for some here the FW improvements are “never enough“. I want a car…you get a Honda…but I wanted a Porsche. I want dinner…you get steak…but I want lobster and caviar Here’s your Marshall….but I wanted it to sound like Steve Vai”s when he did that clinic in Europe and had to use a modded JCM instead of his Carvins and I don’t want to have to tweak my unit. For the love of God, just play already and appreciate what we have been gifted by Fractal. At the end of the day, find the FW that works for you and stick with it. Hell, I was on FW12 for the longest time until 18. This isn’t pointed at any specific user here, it just seems like the overall tone from the gallery every time we get an update. Cliff and gang, THANK YOU for all you do!

 

[State of Epicicity]

Yes, it should sound and feel anywhere from marginally to substantially better depending upon the amp and/or speaker impedance curve.

Could you tell us which amps and impedance curves might have the most perceptible difference? Thank you as always for your improvements, and for making them available.

 

[ApocalypticKatana]

I just wish there was a more clarity on what speaker the speaker impedance curves actually uses to better match it to an Impulse response

apart from the clearly stated and obvious ones of course, please spare me the "just use your ears" statements

regardless I appreciate all these free firmware updates and ongoing betterment of the fractal products!

 

[giantslayer]

At the risk of being asking a redundant question...how does it sound compared to 19.05?

19.05 has sounded spectacular at the last 2 jams I attended.

I mainly use the Dumble, Wrecker, Fender amp models.

Burgs Dumbles, the Kid Charlemagne preset, and the odd SRV preset are the ones I have tweaked to suit my setup.

Apart from bug fixes is there a reason to move to .06?

I ONLY USE PRESETS, NO SCENES, AND HAVE NO USE FOR SET LISTS.

Your thoughts please.

The secret sauce of 19.05 was an error on the transformer, which can be replicated by turning the Transformer Match parameter down on other firmware versions. Personally, I tend to like the transformer match turned down some, but not necessarily as much as 19.05 error turned it down.