Originally Posted by
Bodde 
I understand your feelings. When I first got my Axe I was also disappointed with the noise I got from it. I was expecting it to be much quieter. For me personal a modeller shouldn't model noise (so to speak...) even if it the original amp has that same noise. For me any noise is undesirable but I guess there has to be some noise to emulate high or mid gain amps? I don't like what a noise gate does to my sound and feel but using a high or mid gain amp with no noise gate at all is no option either because it is much too noisy.
Btw I am not talking about electrical noise or hum from the guitar or computer but noise from the amp models itself.
I'm glad to see your comment as it represents my position exactly. It appears from the other comments I've gotten that everyone experiences this problem and makes adjustments using the noise gate. I frankly don't understand why Fractal didn't eliminate the noise in the modeling process as it is so undesirable in the real world of cabinets and amps that you would have thought they could have gotten rid of it. Your comments at least made me feel that I wasn't the only one scratching my head over this problem -- seems to me the problem shouldn't be there in the first place. I guess I don't know what I don't know. Go figure.
I'm glad to see your comment as it represents my position exactly. It appears from the other comments I've gotten that everyone experiences this problem and makes adjustments using the noise gate. I frankly don't understand why Fractal didn't eliminate the noise in the modeling process as it is so undesirable in the real world of cabinets and amps that you would have thought they could have gotten rid of it. Your comments at least made me feel that I wasn't the only one scratching my head over this problem -- seems to me the problem shouldn't be there in the first place. I guess I don't know what I don't know. Go figure.
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I'm sorry, but both you guys sound like you're pretty inexperienced with guitar gear in general.
Diving in with the Axe-FX as your first or second experience with guitar amplification systems is like diving into the very deep ocean w/o any swimming skills.
The Axe replicates the entire signal path between a guitar, a pedal board, a guitar amp, a microphone and a mixing console.
It's hard enough for experienced guitar players who aren't also experienced recording engineers to wrap their minds around what is going on inside the Axe.
The stock presets that come with the Axe would seem to be tailor made for folks like you but it's not that simple.
Those presets were written several firmware versions ago and I don't believe they've been thoroughly re-tweaked for the current firmware.
Levels are all over then place.
The presets clip the Axe's output.
Some of the presets involve external controllers (e.g. a wah pedal) that you probably don't have hooked up in your own system and if you do you may have it hooked up differently.
Etc., etc.
Plus, those presets were written by someone else playing a different guitar with different output and tonal characteristics from the guitar you're probably playing.
Etc., etc., etc.
I.e. Forget the stock presets.
Start as simply as you possibly can with just a single Amp Block and shunts.
The Cab Block has it's own set of issues that, if you're a novice, will likely overwhelm you.
Plug your Axe into a good solid state power amp and plug the power amp into your favorite guitar cabinet.
If you have any experience with Fender amps, start with the Doubleverb Amp Type and simply adjust the virtual knobs just like you'd do on a Fender Twin to get a solid clean tone.
If you don't have any experience with a real Fender Twin, get some.
Borrow a friend's. Rent one. Etc.
Then and only then will the Axe's simulation of a Fender Twin make any sense to you.
If this sounds noisy to you then it's not the Axe, it's your guitar.
Your guitar might not be shielded properly.
It might use single coil pickups which are just noisy pickups.
You might need to change the direction you point the guitar neck towards in then room you're sitting in.
There's always a way to orient your guitar that will pick up less noise from lights, monitors, etc.
Your guitar would be even noisier in a real Twin because some of the Axe's circuitry makes it LESS noisy than real amps.
[If you absolutely can't start with a power amp + guitar rig, e.g. you only have headphones or you only have stereo speakers or studio monitors to work with, then add a Cab Block (after the Amp Block) with the 2 X 12 Black Speaker Type selected.
You might want to lower the Hi Cut frequency to something like 5000hz though.
Make sure that Cab Simulation is enabled in the Axe's Global Menus.]
That's a good place to start and then you can get gradually fancier from there.
E.g. Adding a Reverb Block after the Amp Block.
Adding a Drive Block in front of the Amp Block.
A Drive block will increase the noise just like an overdrive pedal in front of a real amp does.
If you don't have any experience with real overdrive pedals, get some.
A guitar computer like the Axe can not model the noise out of your Presets.
It has a very good Noise Gate built into every Preset though.
It works like the best noise gate pedal you could ever buy.
If you don't have any experience with noise gate pedals, get some.
The Axe-FX was not created with beginners in mind.
It's a state-of-the-art device designed for experienced professionals who are tired of the old way of doing things with huge pedal boards and refrigerator-sized racks.
But a beginner who's a glutton for punishment and has a lot of patience and perseverance should still be able to find his or her way with the Axe.
But you're going to have to study it at first just like you studied (presumably) how to play the guitar.
Good luck.
