Axe-Fx III Firmware Version 11.02 Public Beta #5 (Beta_4)

[jon]

Whilst this is true, i would argue that if we the player gets more inspired or excited by the tone we hear and feel coming out of our rigs then we'll be more into what we're playing and the audience gets a better performance to enjoy, or we as guitarists get more out of the show by enjoying it more

EXACTLY!

Well for me anyways

I don't sweat it if something isn't picture perfect, but the more it is, the better it sounds and the better show I can give, and the audience feeds off that and you feed off their energy and it's a beautiful thing!

So thanks again to FAS for their neverending pursuit of excellence! It's truly amazing what this box can do!

It's so wonderful to have the perfect tools you need, and now the only limitation is yourself!

 

[pharmd07]

I love the new FAS Express! I wish I could buy a real version of that amp.

 

[MicroMort]

Is there a barberpole setting for the flanger? I don’t have an axIII yet. I have a mr.black infinite flanger I’d like to replace once I get the FM3.

 

[m lebofsky]

Whilst this is true, i would argue that if we the player gets more inspired or excited by the tone we hear and feel coming out of our rigs then we'll be more into what we're playing and the audience gets a better performance to enjoy, or we as guitarists get more out of the show by enjoying it more

Agreed. This same line of thought goes well beyond phasers.

 

[DLC86]

Is there a barberpole setting for the flanger? I don’t have an axIII yet. I have a mr.black infinite flanger I’d like to replace once I get the FM3.

Nope, only for the phaser currently

 

[lqdsnddist]

Whilst this is true, i would argue that if we the player gets more inspired or excited by the tone we hear and feel coming out of our rigs then we'll be more into what we're playing and the audience gets a better performance to enjoy, or we as guitarists get more out of the show by enjoying it more

I don’t disagree with this, but as a guitarist who has spent decades chasing tone (ie; g.a.s.) and being lucky to have the means to buy pretty much whatever I want, the inspiration and chops developments never followed the cash outlay lol.

someone can get a second hand squier and an iOS amp sim and because of their passion and talent and dedication crank out some really cool and original music, and I can buy a R8 and play it through my flagship AxeIII and it’s going to be the same tired riffs I’ve always done and maybe it’s going to sound 5% more authentic in terms of a 40 year old tone I’ve been chasing.....

the pursuit is fun, a hobby into itself even, and I’m still enjoying the wave as much as anyone, but, I have come to the realization that no piece of new gear, no new algorithm, et al; is going to change me into a radically different player, it’s not going to inspire a massive period of creativity, make it into an elite guitarist etc, if the tens of thousands of dollars of tools I’ve already gone through over the years didn’t do that.

I wish it would, if only thing keeping me from being the best Gilmour emulator was I didn’t have a proper flanger, it would be awesome, but sadly I’m still going to butcher the Wall era tracks even with a more spot on tone.

obviously i know that more practice actually would make me better too, but I’m having too much fun with the gear LOL

 

[Johnkenn]

I don’t disagree with this, but as a guitarist who has spent decades chasing tone (ie; g.a.s.) and being lucky to have the means to buy pretty much whatever I want, the inspiration and chops developments never followed the cash outlay lol.

someone can get a second hand squier and an iOS amp sim and because of their passion and talent and dedication crank out some really cool and original music, and I can buy a R8 and play it through my flagship AxeIII and it’s going to be the same tired riffs I’ve always done and maybe it’s going to sound 5% more authentic in terms of a 40 year old tone I’ve been chasing.....

the pursuit is fun, a hobby into itself even, and I’m still enjoying the wave as much as anyone, but, I have come to the realization that no piece of new gear, no new algorithm, et al; is going to change me into a radically different player, it’s not going to inspire a massive period of creativity, make it into an elite guitarist etc, if the tens of thousands of dollars of tools I’ve already gone through over the years didn’t do that.

I wish it would, if only thing keeping me from being the best Gilmour emulator was I didn’t have a proper flanger, it would be awesome, but sadly I’m still going to butcher the Wall era tracks even with a more spot on tone.

obviously i know that more practice actually would make me better too, but I’m having too much fun with the gear LOL

I actually disagree somewhat. I kind of held that view too...but getting lost for hours playing with the AxeFX has made me a better player in just the two months I’ve had it. Now - there’s still the depression that buying this thing doesn’t make sound like insert-guitar-hero-here, it does actually get me a little closer. At least I’m not futzing around with a crappy sound. Just like a U47/48 won’t make you sound like the Beatles, but it will get you a lot closer than an SM57.

 

[Joe Bfstplk]

I actually disagree somewhat. I kind of held that view too...but getting lost for hours playing with the AxeFX has made me a better player in just the two months I’ve had it. Now - there’s still the depression that buying this thing doesn’t make sound like insert-guitar-hero-here, it does actually get me a little closer. At least I’m not futzing around with a crappy sound. Just like a U47/48 won’t make you sound like the Beatles, but it will get you a lot closer than an SM57.

This ^^^

I have had sound quality inspire spontaneously playing songs I have never tried to play before, because, in some deep recess of the cobweb storage facility atop my neck, the subconscious thought "oh, that sounds like [fill in the blank]" occurred. If your gear can't do that for you, get better/more inspiring gear, or maybe take up crocheting....

My AxeFX3 repeatedly does this, and keeps getting updates so there are more goodies under the hood to discover and be inspired by....

 

[Johnkenn]

Great gear just gets you there more quickly. A 251 and a Neve and you don't have to spend an hour trying to take out the 8khz zing and terrible 2khz mids. It just works. I feel the same about the Axe. Now the only thing standing between me and great demos are playing ability. Sigh.

 

[CipherHost]

I crocheted a scarf once. It was fun to do alongside my two daughters when they were young. But, getting back to the gear topic, it is nice to have equipment that has the potential to inspire you as opposed to gear the is so frustrating it impedes you. I feel fortunate that in this day and age with all the great gear available, that my skill is the weakest link in the chain. That's something I can work on to improve. Creating gear like the folks at Fractal is completely impossible for me.

 

[Joe Bfstplk]

That's something I can work on to improve.

Again, this ^^^^

Nothing beats learning on good equipment, so the limitations of your tools' quality does not limit your learning or train bad habits into you.

Another thing: it's great when the engine's hitting on all 18, and everything's just humming along, and you just fly. Not every day is like that. Some days you get home with holes shot in your engine big enough to put your fist into and half your rudder shot away, and the time spent with your inspiring guitar and rig repairs the damage done and gets you flying again.

 

[Dave Merrill]

I've been playing a lot since I got my III, and really seriously enjoying myself. For me as a very-long-time but not currently gigging musician, that's pretty much the point.

 

[lqdsnddist]

All these arguments feel rather familiar with when the III came out..... everyone was like “yeah the II sounds amazing, but the III just feels better, inspires me more” etc etc, right ? Everyone was “OMG, I just can’t stop playing”...

but now we are looking for inspiration again ? Didn’t we already have it ? Does the bar forever keep raising?

Is the Axe 4 going to be so amazing that will literally will stop bathing, eating and sleeping because we simply can not stop playing it it is so inspirational ?

or, will we keep on hitting f5 waiting the next firmware update of the 4 ???

Is the rig ever going to become so good sounding that it can even make a “never was” like myself into a modern day guitar hero ?

I don’t think so, though I do do enjoy progress and updates as much as anyone. just don’t think I’m going to use a new flanger model and my life is going to change lol

 

[chris]

i agree with both sides of the "i need to feel good on stage" discussion. on one hand, the tone and guitar has to inspire the player to play well. on the other hand, the audience probably can't tell the difference between certain effects or tones. i know non-musicians who literally can't discern a clean guitar from a distortion guitar, honestly. "it sounds like a guitar to me" is what they say. so forget about mesa vs marshall.

but i think there is a "danger" of being too meticulous about things as well. i know musicians who literally "can't play guitar" when something very small is not how they want it. something like less than 1dB of a frequency being off in the guitar tone, or reverb mix not being EXACTLY perfect, etc etc. there's a well-known player here who brings a tech with him even for very casual gigs (like restaurants, background music gigs, etc) and during the performance he has specific hand signals for specific adjustments. during the gig he may be signaling like crazy while singing and playing to adjust things that even i have trouble discerning if anything changed. like.... .2 dB more of 600hz, or -.4 of 400hz, etc.

and hey, if he needs this stuff, that's all cool. but it kinda really detracts from the performance. maybe his ears have evolved so much more than mine, and again that's great and cool. i also have definitely been in situations where the stage is just sooooo bad, like a crazy honk around 400hz (i HATE 400 actually haha) and yeah it's super challenging, or feeding back and it just needs to be fixed. but that's a bit extreme and pretty obvious. but flailing hands, which means stopping guitar playing, while singing a song just has a strange look on stage... all gig long. maybe that's just me.

i've always strived to just play the gig and present a good performance. i try to adjust the sound as best as possible, but at some point you have to play and connect with the song, and if appropriate, connect with the audience as well. if something is so catastrophic, i let the management know that i need time to fix it, and usually they're like "oh yeah everyone sounds bad here, is this why?" and i explain just a bit so we're on the same page.

feeling inspired is super important for sure. but i try not to let the small things get in the way if possible. it's a gig. it's over in 3 hours. and most people won't know or remember what happened anyway if it's something small that can't be discerned by most. get inspired of course, but sometimes you just have to play the gig.

 

[yyz67]

just don’t think I’m going to use a new flanger model and my life is going to change lol

What??? (how dare you!)

I see us as adult kids playing with toys / tools. Inspirational or addictive or fun or simply practical... the whole range.

 

[ak301]

i agree with both sides of the "i need to feel good on stage" discussion. on one hand, the tone and guitar has to inspire the player to play well. on the other hand, the audience probably can't tell the difference between certain effects or tones. i know non-musicians who literally can't discern a clean guitar from a distortion guitar, honestly. "it sounds like a guitar to me" is what they say. so forget about mesa vs marshall.

but i think there is a "danger" of being too meticulous about things as well. i know musicians who literally "can't play guitar" when something very small is not how they want it. something like less than 1dB of a frequency being off in the guitar tone, or reverb mix not being EXACTLY perfect, etc etc. there's a well-known player here who brings a tech with him even for very casual gigs (like restaurants, background music gigs, etc) and during the performance he has specific hand signals for specific adjustments. during the gig he may be signaling like crazy while singing and playing to adjust things that even i have trouble discerning if anything changed. like.... .2 dB more of 600hz, or -.4 of 400hz, etc.

and hey, if he needs this stuff, that's all cool. but it kinda really detracts from the performance. maybe his ears have evolved so much more than mine, and again that's great and cool. i also have definitely been in situations where the stage is just sooooo bad, like a crazy honk around 400hz (i HATE 400 actually haha) and yeah it's super challenging, or feeding back and it just needs to be fixed. but that's a bit extreme and pretty obvious. but flailing hands, which means stopping guitar playing, while singing a song just has a strange look on stage... all gig long. maybe that's just me.

i've always strived to just play the gig and present a good performance. i try to adjust the sound as best as possible, but at some point you have to play and connect with the song, and if appropriate, connect with the audience as well. if something is so catastrophic, i let the management know that i need time to fix it, and usually they're like "oh yeah everyone sounds bad here, is this why?" and i explain just a bit so we're on the same page.

feeling inspired is super important for sure. but i try not to let the small things get in the way if possible. it's a gig. it's over in 3 hours. and most people won't know or remember what happened anyway if it's something small that can't be discerned by most. get inspired of course, but sometimes you just have to play the gig.

You're right, new gear (or better firmware) gives us that extra push of inspiration, but we have to remind ourselves, at the end of the day it's an electric guitar and it's gonna do certain things.
The room will affect our precious tones, the weather, where we're stood on stage, etc etc, at the end of the day we have to balance what we have in our mind and what circumstances is going to allow the rig to sound like, and just play the dam thing the best we can

The better the gear (and by that I mean stuff that puts that smile on your face, doesn't have to be more expensive just something with that special something) the closer you get to that sonic nirvana.

But you know what? That target keeps moving, call it GAS call it whatever. But, for me the AX8 got me tones I'm delighted with, and I thought I'd struggle to improve upon. then along came the III, and right out of the gate that "Best Tones EVA" target has moved along a bit.

I think this will always happen, I find the ride fun. Thinking about new gear and getting the most for my purposes out of the III is an exciting new challenge, and the best thing is the III is inspiring me to play guitar more and that's a huge compliment to Cliff and the team
Having heard how good the III can sound in the hands of some of my favourite guitarists it makes me think this unit is capable of the highest quality of tones and that makes me think I need to have my playing the best I can make it.

But, it's still up to me at the end of it all to make it sound great. Once that song starts there's no one else to make those strings move

 

[twenty4_7spy]

I’m going to use a new flanger model and my life is going to change

Flanger changed my life. So did phaser, and wah. Oh, and fuzz too. The first time I heard Hendrix play Johnny B Goode on Hendrix in the West (fuzz, wah) or Page on The Rover (phase 90) or EVH (MXR !) on just about everything, I knew what I had to do- play guitar.

Don't underestimate the power of The Flanger. And yes- the AF3 has changed my life, for the better. Thanks Fractal!

 

[jon]

I don’t disagree with this, but as a guitarist who has spent decades chasing tone (ie; g.a.s.) and being lucky to have the means to buy pretty much whatever I want, the inspiration and chops developments never followed the cash outlay lol.

someone can get a second hand squier and an iOS amp sim and because of their passion and talent and dedication crank out some really cool and original music, and I can buy a R8 and play it through my flagship AxeIII and it’s going to be the same tired riffs I’ve always done and maybe it’s going to sound 5% more authentic in terms of a 40 year old tone I’ve been chasing.....

the pursuit is fun, a hobby into itself even, and I’m still enjoying the wave as much as anyone, but, I have come to the realization that no piece of new gear, no new algorithm, et al; is going to change me into a radically different player, it’s not going to inspire a massive period of creativity, make it into an elite guitarist etc, if the tens of thousands of dollars of tools I’ve already gone through over the years didn’t do that.

I wish it would, if only thing keeping me from being the best Gilmour emulator was I didn’t have a proper flanger, it would be awesome, but sadly I’m still going to butcher the Wall era tracks even with a more spot on tone.

obviously i know that more practice actually would make me better too, but I’m having too much fun with the gear LOL

In that case, why not just use a $50 rogue guitar into a Peavy bandit? Won't your playing be the same there too? Save yourself thousands of dollars and retire early!

Seriously though, Eddie is gonna sound like Eddie through the same rogue/peavy setup, but he's gonna sound MUCH better through his rig no doubt! I'll bet he'll have a lot more fun too! And you likely will as a listener too!

If it inspires you, you'll want to play more, you'll get better eventually as a result and have more fun, and that's why we're here aren't we?

So if my flanger isn't 100% perfect (which it now is!), I won't sweat it, but I'll be less likely to use it or enjoy it. If it IS though, I'll WANT to play it and use it and have more fun, make more music and be happier!

i agree with both sides of the "i need to feel good on stage" discussion. on one hand, the tone and guitar has to inspire the player to play well. on the other hand, the audience probably can't tell the difference between certain effects or tones. i know non-musicians who literally can't discern a clean guitar from a distortion guitar, honestly. "it sounds like a guitar to me" is what they say. so forget about mesa vs marshall.

but i think there is a "danger" of being too meticulous about things as well. i know musicians who literally "can't play guitar" when something very small is not how they want it. something like less than 1dB of a frequency being off in the guitar tone, or reverb mix not being EXACTLY perfect, etc etc. there's a well-known player here who brings a tech with him even for very casual gigs (like restaurants, background music gigs, etc) and during the performance he has specific hand signals for specific adjustments. during the gig he may be signaling like crazy while singing and playing to adjust things that even i have trouble discerning if anything changed. like.... .2 dB more of 600hz, or -.4 of 400hz, etc.

and hey, if he needs this stuff, that's all cool. but it kinda really detracts from the performance. maybe his ears have evolved so much more than mine, and again that's great and cool. i also have definitely been in situations where the stage is just sooooo bad, like a crazy honk around 400hz (i HATE 400 actually haha) and yeah it's super challenging, or feeding back and it just needs to be fixed. but that's a bit extreme and pretty obvious. but flailing hands, which means stopping guitar playing, while singing a song just has a strange look on stage... all gig long. maybe that's just me.

i've always strived to just play the gig and present a good performance. i try to adjust the sound as best as possible, but at some point you have to play and connect with the song, and if appropriate, connect with the audience as well. if something is so catastrophic, i let the management know that i need time to fix it, and usually they're like "oh yeah everyone sounds bad here, is this why?" and i explain just a bit so we're on the same page.

feeling inspired is super important for sure. but i try not to let the small things get in the way if possible. it's a gig. it's over in 3 hours. and most people won't know or remember what happened anyway if it's something small that can't be discerned by most. get inspired of course, but sometimes you just have to play the gig.

THIS! The audience doesn't know nor care really, but the better it sounds is the better I'll feel about it which will likely come out in my performance
If it doesn't, it's not gonna make me pack up and go home but I'll definitely not have as great a time!

 

[ElectricPhase]

THIS! The audience doesn't know nor care really, but the better it sounds is the better I'll feel about it which will likely come out in my performance

Not all audiences are as oblivious as this particular cliche insists (...or maybe we just have a lot of guitar players at our shows?)

 

[jon]

Not all audiences are as oblivious as this particular cliche insists (...or maybe we just have a lot of guitar players at our shows?)

Well no, not the entire audience, but I've had people who could not tell the difference from a G chord from a C chord when I strummed them back to back, so it's all different for different people.

It's not just guitar players either - my gf is a violinist in the national Philharmonic orchestra here and I get to hear the orchestra play and practice 3-5 times a week....and they ALL obsess over their tone...and that's playing with a hundred other musicians at the same time....some of whom are playing the exact same thing you are (eg. string section)

Can you tell the tell the difference there between the $20,000 violin and the $200 one? I sure can't, and I see them so much I can hum all the parts of almost each piece they do - I hear them THAT much! :O

So musicians obsess over tone - we ALL wanna sound good, even if people can't tell if we're playing a clarinet or an oboe!