Cab Conditioning?

H13

H13

Inspired
So I've been messing with my AFX for a long time now.

Has anybody been finding themselves getting kinda "stuck" with using 1 cab setup? For me, I'm always using the 4x12 Citrus and God's Cab and the moment I switch out either of those cabs, it just sounds so different to me that it feels wrong.

Anybody else get that or am I just a bit insane?
 
I'm king of the same way. Not just with cabs but with amps and everything. I get used to one and then change it and, like you said, it just sounds wrong. The axe has me second guessing my tones more than before. Not because it's bad but because there are so many variations of amp, cab, effect, etc. that I get overwhelmed and always wind up going back to a few.
 
firmani99 said:
I'm king of the same way. Not just with cabs but with amps and everything. I get used to one and then change it and, like you said, it just sounds wrong. The axe has me second guessing my tones more than before. Not because it's bad but because there are so many variations of amp, cab, effect, etc. that I get overwhelmed and always wind up going back to a few.
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I know exactly what you mean.

I've been playing with the Bogner for my high gain stuff so much that I everything else just doesn't sound right. Even if I know it sounds GOOD, it's always: "Is that it? Hrmn"
 
I find when i am experimenting with tones I generally need to make sure i am not trying to overlap the same style of play at the same time as i am doing it. Or i find that i either create a tone so similar to another, or I can;'t find what i am looking for.
 
In real life I have my go to cab. It is a Mesa rectifier 4x12. I am trying to find an Ir that is my go to so that I can just stick with it. I know with a Mesa cab, there are tons of IRs but the real problem for me is finding which mesa Ir with what microphone combination really nails it for me. I have never had to work on a "studio tone" so to say, so I am finding it to be pretty tricky. However I am getting great sounds. I just have to sit down and really audition irs. Maybe even make notes on what I like about which ones.
 
@H13 that's normal.

Your ears get acclimated to a tone and then the difference between the next amp / IR is more exaggerated.

That's what a lot of folks mean when they talk about the "IR rabbit hole". If you rapidly change from one IR to the next, your ears never get acclimated and everything can sound "off".
 
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Tend to stick to a few main amp and cab combos but I now dedicate one night per week to just play with different ones because as much as you like your tone, you may find one you like even better.
 
I've noticed mo matter what rig I use, 5150, POD HD500X, AXE FX2 etc. My tone always comes out the same. I'm more of a legato picker than a "pick every note guy" therefore it always pushes me to a rounder smoother tone with as much sustain as possible with as little drive as possible.
 
I'm right there with you guys on sticking with what you love. My XL's user cab slots are all completely full with tons of different cabs and speakers from various IR producers (and even some free ones that some of you have offered along the way), and I tend to stick with my "top 20" 99% of the time.

I like to choose IRs that help balance out different amp models. For instance, picking a more scooped IR to suit midrangey amps or midrange-forward IRs to compliment scooped amps. The IR rabbit hole is seemingly never ending, but once you find that magic balance, it's hard to deny.
 
brokenvail said:
wow top 20! My user cab slots on the XL are empty lol
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Hahaha! It may sound slightly excessive to have a "top 20," but I have 5 main amps that I typically use, and find it fairly easy to dial in tones needed to serve any particular song I'm working on by auditioning those IRs. I use Mesas, Marshalls, Voxes, Fenders, Oranges, and even the occasional 1x8 Dano from CP6 at any given time. It's just nice to have the tools in the ole utility belt for a quick workflow. :) So even though my cab slots are all filled up, I rarely have to venture outside of my "top 20." Am I alone in that? Does anyone else have a top 5, top 10, or top 20?
 
Real world, I usually only have 1 or 2 cabs, that tend to be favorites and loaded with speakers I like. Simply never has been practical to have say 15 different cabs sitting in the corner. Now of course with the Axe, swapping cabs is as easy as turning a dial, and for $29 or so you can add tons of new cabs options from an IR pack, which again, would cost probably $2900 or more to buy the real things, so what a great digital age we live in.

At the same time though, just because we've got 2,000+ IR's to choose from doesn't mean we need to try to use all of them, just like even though the Axe has 200+ amps, I still use maybe 5.

One could view this as not taking advantage of all the unit offers, and I can see that point of view, BUT, for me, its more that I have all those choices to let me zero exactly in on what are my perfect amps and cabs. I had 200 choices to get exactly what I wanted.

Its like if I was a million selling artist and said I wanted a great Fender tone, and send my asst. engineer out to procure every amp Fender has made, and then I auditioned all of them, keeping my favorite. That really is what the Axe lets you do, basically sample a ton of choices and pick your very favorite 1 or 2 models. Others are going to be very good, but maybe not get that last percent tone your after. Wouldn't make sense to own 10 similar real world amps, so doesn't make sense to use 10 similar models just because they are there.
 
That's just reality, dude. There are some guitarists out there who play with loads of different gear all the time and go for a bunch of different sounds, and there are guys who like continuity throughout all their stuff. I am one of the latter. I have a "sound" in mind when I get started, and thus, depending upon my genre of music, I only use a handful of IRs - like 5 tops. Even more so than that, there's a real likelihood that I'm using a Mesa 412 with Vintage 30s in it.

Really, when you think about dialing in direct/FRFR tones with the Axe-fx II, you're talking about a total reversal of the "tone" chase. Mostly guitarists try to get an amp sounding good in the room, and then they, or an engineer(s), go about mic'ing it up to get a mixable tone that gets as close to that guitarist's "grail tone" as possible. With any direct/modeling situation, you are starting dialing the amp with an engineer's choice of mic placement, and then you shape your amp tone around it. Which is, frankly, really weird. And quite limiting provided you have some gear and any clue whatsoever about how to mic up a guitar amp.

As a result, it makes more sense to find an IR that gets in the sonic ballpark of what you're after and then continue using it for all your tones. I personally hate auditioning a ton of different IRs to get where I'm going. I'd much rather just stick with something where I know what to expect and get on with playing. Of course, now I'm going the traditional route. Axe > power amp > cab > mic. I live in a house on a corner lot, so I can do that. And I'm way happier.
 
I set up usually 1 IR for each run of shows that I program for.

So I change things up maybe 4-5 times a year if that much.

But in my studio, I geek out on all the IR's and keep buying the dayum things :)

The Fractal is the ultimate guitar geek piece of kit. Never get tired of messing around in the studio with it.
 
H13 said:
So I've been messing with my AFX for a long time now.

Has anybody been finding themselves getting kinda "stuck" with using 1 cab setup? For me, I'm always using the 4x12 Citrus and God's Cab and the moment I switch out either of those cabs, it just sounds so different to me that it feels wrong.

Anybody else get that or am I just a bit insane?
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You'll get no criticism from me. I end up dialing in pretty much the same two or three sounds no matter what gear I play.
 
I force myself to switch amps, cabs on occasion. Trying amps with low gain, high gain, eq changes. Drives in front, no drives. Crazy gain, low gain. Highgain amps with gain rolled back, or lowgain amps extra saturated. It keeps your playing and your ears fresh. I also use six main guitars which are very different between themselves; Tele, Strat, two Vigier Excaliburs (one fretless), LP style guitar and a superstrat. They all shine and do their different thing in front of the aforementioned settings.
 
barhrecords said:
@H13 that's normal.

Your ears get acclimated to a tone and then the difference between the next amp / IR is more exaggerated.

That's what a lot of folks mean when they talk about the "IR rabbit hole". If you rapidly change from one IR to the next, your ears never get acclimated and everything can sound "off".
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This is what I was originally referring to. Even if I'm going for a different tone that needs a different cabinet, the MOMENT I stray from my choice cabs, I sit there and go: "What the hell is that?"
 
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