AXE FX III Sounds Dark.

RBM01991

RBM01991

Member
Hey guys, so I got my AXE FX III yesterday and I did a factory reset since I got the unit used, and I updated the firmware to 12.07.

However, no matter what guitar or preset I use, the unit just sounds...dark, that's the best way I can describe it. Like someone put a blanket over the cabinet, type of sound.

I have it running through my Scarlett 18i20's inputs 3 and 4, out of the AXE FX's Output 1, I haven't tried running it directly through my monitors but I can try that if it helps.

Any ideas on what could be the issue?
 
Post a recording of what you sound like, and what you're trying to achieve.

Do you notice this same thing on the factory presets?
 
Have you tried making a preset from scratch? You can make the AxeFx sound as bright as you want, especially with some IRs that use an SM57 pointed right at the dust cap of most Celestion speakers.

Did you play anything through it before you did the factory reset and firmware update? If so, was it dark then?
 
pharmd07 said:
Have you tried making a preset from scratch? You can make the AxeFx sound as bright as you want, especially with some IRs that use an SM57 pointed right at the dust cap of most Celestion speakers.

Did you play anything through it before you did the factory reset and firmware update? If so, was it dark then?
Click to expand...

Yeah, this happens on all of them. Both user-made and factory presets. Before the firmware upgrade, I was having the issue as well, it was on 12.03, so I figured the upgrade couldn't hurt.

I've tried a whole bunch of cabs and some of them do sound brighter than others, (57 vs 121 vs 421 etc) but nothing gets me that searing tone that I used to get with something like THU-Overloud.

I'll post some clips in about an hour when I get a chance to log into my recording computer.
 
This is almost definitely the IRs that the factory presets use. I had a similar experience with most of them - my recommendation is to pretend they don't exist, and make your own presets from scratch using different IRs. The Axe-Fx 3 doesn't sound dark, but a lot of those legacy IRs do (depending on your guitar).

My advice is to find IRs you like first - Leon Todd has a great video for some good approaches for finding your favorite IRs:

Other folks have mentioned stuff to do with your signal chain, but I highly doubt that's what you're running into - this sounds like a cab selection issue to me.
 
RBM01991 said:
Hey guys, so I got my AXE FX III yesterday and I did a factory reset since I got the unit used, and I updated the firmware to 12.07.

However, no matter what guitar or preset I use, the unit just sounds...dark, that's the best way I can describe it. Like someone put a blanket over the cabinet, type of sound.

I have it running through my Scarlett 18i20's inputs 3 and 4, out of the AXE FX's Output 1, I haven't tried running it directly through my monitors but I can try that if it helps.

Any ideas on what could be the issue?
Click to expand...

It's all relative. Dark compared to what? Check out Cooper playing some factory presets here and compare what you're hearing with your rig to the tones he gets. When you play those same patches, does it sound darker than him?

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/the-10-best-high-gain-factory-presets.161162/
 
Alright gentlemen, here's what I have for you.

I have 2 baseline tones made in THU-Overloud, which is what I've been using for my Rhythm/Lead/Clean tones for the last couple of weeks.

There is also a clean and rhythm patch clips, made using Leon Todd's presets (80's hair metal and 80's clean) at stock settings, as well as my metal and main rhythm patches.

All of them were recorded using a Carvin ST300C with Dimarzio Evo's.

Thanks in advance!
 

Attachments

  • Tones.zip
    3.2 MB · Views: 23
I prefer your axe metal tone over the THU one :). That one seems bright to me. Maybe tweak the amp / drive?

I don't like the sound of the marshall or 80's metal one at all. If I were you I'd create these from scratch.

The clean one is definitely weird, almost like it's not being recorded direct. Maybe tweak the reverb and / or IR?
For the cab, I like the stock ones that end if YA or ML. I often use a 57 and 421 mix.

Side note, but I really like this preset, and you might find a useful sound in there:
https://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=7785

I'm sure others will have better thoughts than me
 
Boys I've never been so embarrassed...

I restarted my computer and the Axe FX, reinstalled the drivers for the Focusrite, and went to the store. When I came back home, I decided to turn up my main volume on my Focusrite a little louder than I had it before...and everything cleared up. It was like magic. This thing is behaving more like a tube amp than I thought. I'm not even sure what the problem was, maybe it was just crappy drivers.
 
RBM01991 said:
Boys I've never been so embarrassed...

I restarted my computer and the Axe FX, reinstalled the drivers for the Focusrite, and went to the store. When I came back home, I decided to turn up my main volume on my Focusrite a little louder than I had it before...and everything cleared up. It was like magic. This thing is behaving more like a tube amp than I thought. I'm not even sure what the problem was, maybe it was just crappy drivers.
Click to expand...
FM curve strikes again. Volume is definitely something determines bright vs dark.
 
RBM01991 said:
Boys I've never been so embarrassed...

I restarted my computer and the Axe FX, reinstalled the drivers for the Focusrite, and went to the store. When I came back home, I decided to turn up my main volume on my Focusrite a little louder than I had it before...and everything cleared up. It was like magic. This thing is behaving more like a tube amp than I thought. I'm not even sure what the problem was, maybe it was just crappy drivers.
Click to expand...
Awesome that you got it resolved - now you can really dig in and have a good time!
 
Gentlemen, again I wanna revisit this topic, because I discovered something astounding in the last couple of days.

Power amp simulation was turned off on my unit.

I turned that on, and holy shit...did that make a huge difference. I've been humbled once again. Make sure that shit's on.
 
RBM01991 said:
Gentlemen, again I wanna revisit this topic, because I discovered something astounding in the last couple of days.

Power amp simulation was turned off on my unit.

I turned that on, and holy shit...did that make a huge difference. I've been humbled once again. Make sure that shit's on.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, a factory reset should've turned that on but, yes, that will make a huge difference.
 
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