Axe-Fx lll - Fret buzz really noticeable now!

[Douganator]

Hello Fractal People!
I like playing really clean but never had my slight fretbuzz so pronounced. Any suggestions besides having my action tweaked?
Cheers
Doug

 

[chumbucket]

Yeah I know what you mean. The Axe III also exposes a lot of the nuances between similar pickups and guitars that sounded a lot closer to my ear when I play them through amps.

 

[reclavea]

Hello Fractal People!
I like playing really clean but never had my slight fretbuzz so pronounced. Any suggestions besides having my action tweaked?
Cheers
Doug

Tweak your tone settings.

Try using amps with pre-gain architecture....ie...Mark Series amps. Try Dumble amps as well.

Try the BMT at noon, dial in desired treble (top end) then tweak bass and mids. Then tweak overall high end with the prescence knob.

Try BMT completely off, again tweak treble first then mids and bass. Then tweak overall high end with the prescence knob.

Maybe get your frets leveled.

 

[chris]

maybe decrease the High Cut in the Cab block. chances are you have your current speakers facing your ears, but the real guitar cab before was at your ankles. try putting your ear directly in front of that guitar cab and you'll hear a lot more high end than you may realize.

 

[Sharka]

Hello Fractal People!
I like playing really clean but never had my slight fretbuzz so pronounced. Any suggestions besides having my action tweaked?
Cheers
Doug

May not be your action or the Axe FX. It just might be time for a G&P (grind and polish).

Depending on how old, or often you use the instrument, sooner or later it's going to need some (unavoidable) maintenance.

If done properly by a good guitar luthier/tech, it can make an unbelievable difference. In some cases it can even feel like you got a new instrument.

 

[shemihazazel]

You'll adapt. I remember 10 odd years ago when I switched to the Ultra from whatever Line6 garbage I was using. I was like, "Shit... has my playing been this bad the whole time!?" Like others have said, Fractal gear doesn't cover for your flaws like other modellers do.

 

[Weedtone]

I've noticed this "noise" too, across all my guitars (with different cables into different speakers and headphones). Anyway, I assume it's the new improved A/D converters at the input. It seems the slightest string buzz, the sound of your pick or fingers, any touch of the strings as you move up/down the fret board, and how your pick/fingering hand touches the strings creates noise I'm not used to. I owned a II and still have an AX8 and never experienced this. It's forcing me to become an absolutely perfectly technically clean player (certainly not a bad thing, though maybe something I don't want or could ever achieve). It's particularly harsh with certain Drive types, like the FAT Rat (which I love in my AX8). I haven't found any way to dampen or EQ it away (input levels, input gains, comps, difference chains, TMB, Hi Cuts, etc). I have honestly thought about sending my unit back to have it checked and make sure nothing is broken somewhere...I'm not a very high gain player either. And before I'm flamed, I do realize it could be something in my playing, patches, and over all environment....

 

[Musikron]

How about you take it to a luthier and have the frets fixed? Trying to fix fret buzz at the amp is not the way to handle it. That’s like planning your trips to only require right turns because your car won’t turn left.

 

[Jason Scott]

Hello Fractal People!
I like playing really clean but never had my slight fretbuzz so pronounced. Any suggestions besides having my action tweaked?
Cheers

Can you post a sample? It's difficult to offer advice on how to potentially remediate it without having heard it.

 

[Brucegregori]

Can you post a sample? It's difficult to offer advice on how to potentially remediate it without having heard it.

You won't get fret buzz from an amp or the like. It most likely has to do with your set up. Some players like really (below standard) low low action. Any many can live with the buzz they get from the guitar. Some of it goes away with amplification, but its a balance on what you and how you play. Billy Gibbons uses .007 strings and his action is so low you almost can't play the guitar. However it fits his touch and technique. Verse Pat Metheny has such a dark tone you don't hear any of his pick attack although he basically frets out the guitar he plays so hard.
Trial and error, but my rule of thumb is to have a slight "crunch" on the guitar when acoustically played that mostly goes away with even the slightest of clean amplification.

As far as "single coil" hum etc...some of that can be due to training our ears to here the sound more direct. Think of it this way. Most guitar players put the amp on the floor, at least several feet from there ears. They usually don't hear the "immediate" sound because of the delay from where the amp is in relation to their ears. But with digital its more "immediate". This was a big revelation when I first started using "in ears". I thought it sounded awful but over time your ears and technique adjust.

Work on it...you'll get it.

 

[electronpirate]

You'll adapt. I remember 10 odd years ago when I switched to the Ultra from whatever Line6 garbage I was using. I was like, "Shit... has my playing been this bad the whole time!?" Like others have said, Fractal gear doesn't cover for your flaws like other modellers do.

This.

My playing had to improve (some would argue it had no place to go but up.) . And it can expose poor instruments. I've jettisoned a few guitars because the Axe exposed it for what it was...not a great sounding instrument.

 

[Jason Scott]

You won't get fret buzz from an amp or the like. It most likely has to do with your set up. Some players like really (below standard) low low action. Any many can live with the buzz they get from the guitar. Some of it goes away with amplification, but its a balance on what you and how you play. Billy Gibbons uses .007 strings and his action is so low you almost can't play the guitar. However it fits his touch and technique. Verse Pat Metheny has such a dark tone you don't hear any of his pick attack although he basically frets out the guitar he plays so hard.
Trial and error, but my rule of thumb is to have a slight "crunch" on the guitar when acoustically played that mostly goes away with even the slightest of clean amplification.

As far as "single coil" hum etc...some of that can be due to training our ears to here the sound more direct. Think of it this way. Most guitar players put the amp on the floor, at least several feet from there ears. They usually don't hear the "immediate" sound because of the delay from where the amp is in relation to their ears. But with digital its more "immediate". This was a big revelation when I first started using "in ears". I thought it sounded awful but over time your ears and technique adjust.

Work on it...you'll get it.

There are differences in the frequency response of amps in the Axe FX III vs. II, and without having heard a sample it's difficult to rule that out as a potential factor in what the OP's hearing.

 

[Brucegregori]

Amps usually are not the cause of fret buzz....poor set ups usually are the culprit.

 

[Jason Scott]

Amps usually are not the cause of fret buzz....poor set ups usually are the culprit.

The OP wasn't asking for suggestions with regard to the cause of his fretbuzz, but rather with respect to it being more pronounced.

 

[Brucegregori]

Understood completely. But to be honest it makes sense right? If your guitar say frets out and you plug it in to a gorilla amp. You will hear the "amplified" fret out. If you plug it into a Plexi it will be "stadium amplified" fret buzz. The root cause in any case is the "guitar set up". The amp or AXE in this case will magnify what you feed it.

I see this problem all the time. Players want LOWEST possible action then complain you can hear fret out when playing. Of course you can because if you start with a flaw you only magnify the flaw with amplification. Its the benefit AND curse of an electric guitar.

Again, not to be a pain in the ass, but to say the AXE III is more sensitive to fret buzz or less or whatever is kinda of well....wrong.

The buzz or fret out or guitar flaw exists weather or not you have an AXE or the 12 dollar gorilla amp. Bringing the III into the equation is pretty misleading wouldn't you say? They really aren't linked at all.

Every guitar is different and I'll go back to the word "crunch". There are varying degrees of it. Some players can live with it and some can't and so goes your action height. It's there louder when you plug in just how much of it you want in your sound.

 

[seclusion]

Yes as Fractal improves on sound, my playing becomes more noticeable...
Damn man.

 

[Jason Scott]

The buzz or fret out or guitar flaw exists weather or not you have an AXE or the 12 dollar gorilla amp. Bringing the III into the equation is pretty misleading wouldn't you say?

No, I wouldn't. As stated in post #13, there's a noticeable difference in frequency response between the amp models in the II and III. Single coils can sound a bit shrill through some of the Fender models in the III, while likewise sounding normal (ie. not shrill) using the same guitar, at the same settings, through the same models in the II.

No one's suggesting the III is responsible for the OP's fret buzz. What's being suggested is that the frequency response of the amp models in the III may potentially be a contributing factor in accentuating it, and serve to explain why the OP feels it's more pronounced in the III vs. otherwise. However, as mentioned in post #9, I'd like to hear a sample.

 

[yek]

Along these lines it feels like the AXE FX is sensitive to single coil noise to me. A guitar that otherwise felt quiet now seems loud on the axe for me. Like I can hear the hum in parallel with my tone when I am pass the noise gate.

Make sure you set AC Line Frequency correctly in the Global menu.

 

[Brucegregori]

No, I wouldn't. As stated in post #13, there's a noticeable difference in frequency response between the amp models in the II and III. Single coils can sound a bit shrill through some of the Fender models in the III, while likewise sounding normal (ie. not shrill) using the same guitar, at the same settings, through the same models in the II.

No one's suggesting the III is responsible for the OP's fret buzz. What's being suggested is that the frequency response of the amp models in the III may potentially be a contributing factor in accentuating it, and serve to explain why the OP feels it's more pronounced in the III vs. otherwise. However, as mentioned in post #9, I'd like to hear a sample.

Well all I can say further is I have had every AXE and many of the amps modeled as well as effects etc. I don't notice more "noise" or shrillness to the same instruments plugged into the different devices. You get some "sound" characteristics obviously and some models can be more or less forgiving but it kind of sounds like the AXE is responsible for flaws that are coming from the guitar which I wouldn't think is the case....I say flaws but they may be cool neat wonderful sounds to someone...just ask Eric Johnson and his battery collection...!
I guess I would like to hear the sample of "differences." The proof is in the pudding' at this point....

 

[Cooper Carter]

Like a truly high-end amp, the III will *definitely* expose and highlight elements of your playing that you wouldn't hear on lesser gear. It is unforgiving in the best way and absolutely pushes you to concentrate on the small details of your playing.