Axe-Fx overriding tone characteristics?

Iron1

Iron1

Member
I know older modelers used to really override the tone characteristics different guitars/pickups/etc brought to the table. You could take 2 guitars with different woods, one neck through/one bolt on, different bridges, different pickups, etc. and get totally different tones through the same amp. Then, hook those same 2 guitars into an early modeler (1st Gen Zoom, or L6 Pod, for example) and they'd sound almost identical.

So, my question is: does the Axe FX do the same, or has modeling tech evolved beyond that now? From what I've seen in the short span I've owned mine, the answer is no, Fractal is beyond that. But I was wondering what others thought - particularly those of you who are far more knowledgeable about such things than I am...
 
Not at all. Technology has evolved. Not only the Axe-FX, but most of the modern modelers. The Axe-FX III and FM3 being the most realistic (they expose the tone characteristics in the same way that the real amps and pedals would do)
 
Iron1 said:
I know older modelers used to really override the tone characteristics different guitars/pickups/etc brought to the table. You could take 2 guitars with different woods, one neck through/one bolt on, different bridges, different pickups, etc. and get totally different tones through the same amp. Then, hook those same 2 guitars into an early modeler (1st Gen Zoom, or L6 Pod, for example) and they'd sound almost identical.

So, my question is: does the Axe FX do the same, or has modeling tech evolved beyond that now? From what I've seen in the short span I've owned mine, the answer is no, Fractal is beyond that. But I was wondering what others thought - particularly those of you who are far more knowledgeable about such things than I am...
Click to expand...
I sure don't think of myself as "far more knowledgeable", but here's what I posted to a similar question on 25 September 2018:

"Does the guitar make a difference? I sure hope so! If I plugged into something and all my guitars got "genericized", I'd be very disappointed. With any of the FAS products, I've owned them all, the character of every guitar comes through."

It's even truer now.
 
I just bought an Axe Fx 3 two months ago to replace my old Pod HD500X (aka one of the older modelers). One of the things that surprised me the most was just how much difference the guitar actually makes. Playing my Ibanez vs my Schecter makes a huge difference in tone, especially since they have very different pickups. And when I tried to follow along with some of Leon Todd's 5 minute tone videos I was surprised by how different it sounded. Only problem is now I want to buy more guitars :)

Tl;dr the guitar absolutely makes a difference. Like others are saying, it should make just as much of a difference as it does with the real amps being modeled.
 
kushdingies said:
I just bought an Axe Fx 3 two months ago to replace my old Pod HD500X (aka one of the older modelers).
Click to expand...
I went from an OG Zoom, to a L6 FloorPod to the HD500x and they all overrode the guitar. The HX Stomp I had didn't seem to as much, but so far the Fractal seems to be best of the bunch. Just kind of wanted confirmation I wasn't having, well, confirmation bias.
 
Having used kemper, tube amps, fractals, helixes extensively, testing them against each other and to a pod xt, there's definitely an improvement in terms of varied response to different pickups in the latest gen, high quality units compared to the pod xt.

But it's something not easy to test for me accurately when it comes to small nuances among the latest gen units, them pitted against each other, for example. I think you can have a marshall that varies more in sound and feel vs another one in terms of response to different input signals and hence also pickups. A unit may model the second, more compressed amp.

But anyway.

I think pod xt is surprising good, but definitely not up to the level of the latest, high quality units. I don't know about latest lower priced ones. But it's pretty easy to test feeding different PU signals to the pod, and then my fm3, seeing the difference. It gets harder and harder when the differences are smaller, and also brings in questions about differences in the original amps emulated.

Yet when the discrepancy is as large, you can even easily measure parts of this in your daw.
 
Last edited:
I have ~20 guitars. They all sound distinctly different played through the Axe-FX to the point where I have to make different patches for different guitars
 
Yes still an issue. Plug directly in to a single channel tube amp and there is quite a lot more guitar character coming through. Yes different guitars sound different but if you get say; two Les Pauls one awesome and the other good the axe will drastically reduce the difference.
 
Andy Eagle said:
Yes still an issue. Plug directly in to a single channel tube amp and there is quite a lot more guitar character coming through. Yes different guitars sound different but if you get say; two Les Pauls one awesome and the other good the axe will drastically reduce the difference.
Click to expand...
How have you tested or measured this?
 
Andy Eagle said:
Yes still an issue. Plug directly in to a single channel tube amp and there is quite a lot more guitar character coming through. Yes different guitars sound different but if you get say; two Les Pauls one awesome and the other good the axe will drastically reduce the difference.
Click to expand...
I disagree completely. I hear the guitar so much more with the axe.
 
I really could not agree too.
I got Engl Savage, Self-Made Tube Amp, different Solid-State Amps and different modelers.

With Johnson Modeler and Fractal Modeler you really hear and feel the diference of the guitars so that you have to adapt presets depending on the guitar and not only because of different output voltage of pickup. Because of dofferent sounds of the guitar.
 
I don't think it is the axe in particular just DAC in general ,stuff is left out. I use Axe3 every day and just accept that digital is different, sometimes that levelling is an advantage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom