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

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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!

I'm not a pro guitar player and I absolutely obsess over tone. I am enjoying the hell out of the AF3, much more so than my AF2 which I had for years, as the tone and especially the feel have improved a lot. Especially on the latest FW releases, like this awesome Beta. BTW - I finally have bonded with the Friedman BE C45 model - man that amp sounds great now.
 
I'm not a pro guitar player and I absolutely obsess over tone. I am enjoying the hell out of the AF3, much more so than my AF2 which I had for years, as the tone and especially the feel have improved a lot. Especially on the latest FW releases, like this awesome Beta. BTW - I finally have bonded with the Friedman BE C45 model - man that amp sounds great now.

Yup, I think we are ALL obsessive over tone here. Or we would not have spent a couple thousand on a magic black box. Nor would the line for the FM3 be miles long, we'd all be happy playing pocket pods!
 
Just talking about myself here... GAS is a bitch, LOL.

Yeah, most of the time, we guitar players are the ones obsessed with the tone, after all I've been one of those young rockstar wannabes cranking full stacks in tiny bars for no more than 20 people who cared jack shit about my tone, but in the end I was the one feeling like playing Wembley all while doing the Townshend windmill, hahaha.

Of course, better tone can inspire you. Playing PODs, Digitech GNXs and whatnot thru a solid state combo back in my teens got me GASing forever for a tube amp and when I finally got one I felt the world was at my feet. You know, feeling that punch in the back of your legs when hitting a power chord the first time was one of those 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' moments, you know what I mean...

No one but me had that excitement, even my drummer back then had a running joke for me saying "Yeah, now we can still hear your mistakes, but louder". Boy, he was right... one of the things I realised about using cheap equipment is how they can easily hide your mistakes. That tube amp was merciless and forced me to practice and get better.

Nowadays I'm so tired of lugging a 4x12 cab, my tube head and a damn coffin-sized pedalboard to gigs, that's one of the primary reasons I bought my AX8, and even when I was totally aware of the FAS quality for almost a decade, I was still a bit skeptical about replacing my rig with that little black box (prior to the AX8 I had a POD HD500X as backup but after 1 or 2 gigs with it I sold it, damn that thing was disappointing) and haven't looked back since I plugged that baby for the first time.

Now ever since I'm part of the FAS gang, I have to admit being diving head first into a whole new rabbit hole... FW updates.

Cliff (blessed be his soul) had spoiled us so much that every single FW update he posts feels like Christmas for us, but sometimes it leads to some kind of paralysis. We all know and love how our units sounds at the time but knowing Cliff will surprise us in the near future with a new epiphany keeps me wondering 'what if I wait to track/reamp until...' and most of the time it's just me being over obsessed with tone to the point of nonsense as my Axe FX III sounds beastly right now.

First and foremost, as I said, my transition back from tube to digital was fueled by FAS getting modeling to the point of really nailing the tone of tube amps where you can't practically tell one from the other in a blind test. Then there was the absolute convenience of not having to carry around mammoth rigs and more importantly, the consistency. But as Jon said, if only you could pack all the FAS magic sauce in a tiny Pocket POD-sized bean, oh well... :tongueclosed:
 
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Anyway, where the version has been posted?.. Please kindly lead me to there.

Axe-Fx III Firmware Version 11.02 Public Beta #5 (Beta_4)
 
I just reviewed this whole thread, didn't see any reports of flakiness except some intermittent pops from one person.

Is this finally stable enough for someone who'd like the new features, but doesn't want to deal with busted stuff?
 
I just reviewed this whole thread, didn't see any reports of flakiness except some intermittent pops from one person.

Is this finally stable enough for someone who'd like the new features, but doesn't want to deal with busted stuff?
Probably means the official release is coming very soon... But I agree with your assessment.
 
Thank you, I enjoy the new features! The new Flanger additions are great.

The "trigger threshold" is a great idea... definitely makes it easy to do something like control the panning from left speaker to right speaker based on how hard you dig in.
 
Thank you, I enjoy the new features! The new Flanger additions are great.

The "trigger threshold" is a great idea... definitely makes it easy to do something like control the panning from left speaker to right speaker based on how hard you dig in.
Great for the end bits of "What Is and What Should Never Be"....
 
I was jamming all afternoon after being away from my guitar for weeks. I don't know if something happened between 11.01 and this firmware, but the axe sounds even better now. It's incredible.
 
It is the “pursuit of marginal gains” (no pun intended). I’ve experienced this in a number of situations/professional endeavours and whilst each “gain” is small, the sum of all these things yield real distinction between similar “contenders”.... I view each FW as a marginal gain, I might not hear it now, but it might be fundamental to the next improvement etc...

on the time spent practicing, I’m looking for ward to “coming back” as a rock legend... knowing all that I’ve gleaned in this life...
 
I doubt most listeners can even tell chorus from phaser from flanger even lol

we guitar players sweat the small details like if it’s a reticon chip deluxe v4 vs the newer deluxe with a different bbd like it’s a night and day, life and death difference, and most of our audience probably isn’t even aware if we turned the pedal on or not....
All true and I agree.
I hear this, in various versions, all the time from various musician/band mates. Yet I still feel it important to strive for every last bit of the right tone. Here’s what I hear from audiences:
a. Nothing: ie., it didn’t get through
b. Nondescript compliment: ie., participation trophy
c. Enthusiastic praise: ie., a good performance
d. Various iterations of amazement: ie., sounded perfect.

When people hear “it”, they take notice. They may not know what “it” is, but something in their brain registers.

All that said, I’m still fundamentally agreeing with lqdsnddist.

A couple more illustrations:
While I can hear the difference (under the right circumstances) between my original Univibe and most later versions or simulations, I don’t think the overall soundscape changes.

High-end synths (including Hammond’s) can pull off a great B3. alone and in a mix. But I have an old B3. It’s been worked on by one of the best guys in the business, if not the best. (If anyone wants his contact, drop me a msg). No emulation sounds the same as the real thing. Toe to toe, it’s night and day. In effect, an audio version of the Turing test.
 
I was jamming all afternoon after being away from my guitar for weeks. I don't know if something happened between 11.01 and this firmware, but the axe sounds even better now. It's incredible.
Me too. I hadn’t played in a few weeks, installed the latest beta and had at it. Could be psychoacoustic but it really does sound better (didn’t think that was even possible). Trying out some new IRs and can’t believe how this thing responds. It is just frickin unbelievable.
 
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!
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
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!
Right on. In a way, it’s like a confession. I acquire all this amazing stuff, and the weakest part of the chain is yours truly.

My prob is, that with concentrated effort, I can nail a lot of iconic leads - Gilmour, Allman, Baxter, Frampton, etc. (Beck not so much - never played with Strats enough.) On a good night, I can improvise and sound like some of these cats. But I can’t create iconic stuff. It’s like these people in art some museums. They can use all the right materials. And some of these artists can paint the Mona Lisa. But they cannot paint a Mona Lisa.
 
Had a goof around with some of the new stuff here


To quote the great Yoda: very inspiring, this is!

Thx Leon for making Learning about new and often complex stuff so amazingly entertaining, fun and musical. I wish that teachers at my kid’s schools would use your vivid, to-the-point and visual approach for teaching...
 
It is the “pursuit of marginal gains” (no pun intended). I’ve experienced this in a number of situations/professional endeavours and whilst each “gain” is small, the sum of all these things yield real distinction between similar “contenders”.... I view each FW as a marginal gain, I might not hear it now, but it might be fundamental to the next improvement etc...

on the time spent practicing, I’m looking for ward to “coming back” as a rock legend... knowing all that I’ve gleaned in this life...

"Marginal Gains"

Is your surname Brailsford?!?!
 
this Beta is like a Christmas present for me. Since I got my Axe Fx II XL, I was trying to get the EVH-Flanger sound, now it's so easy. Thanks Cliff!
Sooooo Happy!
 
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Not sure if this was reported. or if its just me, Has anyone had an issue when changing from amp from the front panel, using the encoder knob, I was in an older preset from Leon Todd (I had tweaked it in the past as well) Sounds killer by the way :)

I will attach the preset when I get back if needed, but when going from the current amp (i think it was the USA C+ ) the unit made a popped sound and froze. the meters on the axe output showed full clippage...I turned off and back on and all is good.. I am on my iPad and away from the Axe 3
 
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