Cliff, Please explain using the very last cabinet "FLAT"

[rodzimguitar68]

Cliff,

Please explain the wiki explanation of why or how this could be useful to "phasing of a DI signal."

Pretend, for the purposes of this discussion, I don't know what I'm talking about.

Discuss:

 

[xpenno]

The cab block has an Invert option (does on my AF2 XL+ anyway). That means that you can flip the phase of a single without adding any Cab "flavour" to it.

 

[rodzimguitar68]

But what does it do to the sound, and why would a user need to do it? Is it to fix problems of out of phase conditions when hooking up to a PA system?

 

[FractalAudio]

I have no idea. Matt added that. I would never use it.

 

[xpenno]

One valid use case for me would be if you're recording vocals or another instrument and you just wanted to use the Cab Pre-Amp Section to add console-like EQ/vibe. Maybe one day we'll have a Mic-Pre block

 

[xpenno]

One valid use case for me would be if you're recording vocals or another instrument and you just wanted to use the Cab Pre-Amp Section to add console-like EQ/vibe. Maybe one day we'll have a Mic-Pre block

I'm presuming that the Cab block still has the mic pre section in the AxeFX III, I've not actually checked.....

 

[axifist]

One valid use case for me would be if you're recording vocals or another instrument and you just wanted to use the Cab Pre-Amp Section to add console-like EQ/vibe. Maybe one day we'll have a Mic-Pre block

Exactly for this purpose @Morphosis provided a flat IR some months ago, when Cliff added the preamp to the cab block. It's actually nice and I can +1 Matt for including it as a factory IR! It's not only good to have for vocals but also for acoustic guitars, so it has its place on the Axe!

 

[Rick]

I have no idea. Matt added that. I would never use it.

This gave me a chuckle, don’t know why. I love the candor of this company.

 

[rodzimguitar68]

I have no idea. Matt added that. I would never use it.

This is one of my favorite direct responses from you.

 

[iaresee]

I've used FLAT in presets on the II where I wanted the CAB block's preamp but not a cabinet simulation. Works great for that "guitar straight into a console" type of thing ala Nile Rodgers.

 

[Rex]

I've used FLAT in presets on the II where I wanted the CAB block's preamp but not a cabinet simulation. Works great for that "guitar straight into a console" type of thing ala Nile Rodgers.

It also works great for adding a preamp to an acoustic guitar.

 

[Scott Peterson]

It also works great for adding a preamp to an acoustic guitar.

That's what it always was used for here. At least for me.

 

[GreatGreen]

I love the FLAT IR.

Personally, I've always thought one of the main reasons people make such a big deal about the difference between "amp in the room" tone and the "recorded amp in a studio being listened to through monitors" tone you get with IRs through FRFR speakers is because of the inherent lack of low end you get with the latter scenario.

In other words, a lot of cab IRs tend to cut too much bass out of the picture. In recordings this is understandable, but playing live or alone makes the difference between a real cab vs an IR through FRFR speakers quite pronounced. For me, I use the FLAT IR with a heavily applied Low Pass Filter so only the really low frequencies pass through, then use that in conjunction with other IRs. It really adds body back into the sound that goes a long, long way to bringing back the "amp in the room" feel. For me, adding this low end back into the picture actually makes my CLR's sound better than my real cabs and every bit as "amp in the room-y" to me.

You can't apply a High Cut to only one of the IRs in a single Cab block in the Axe-Fx III though, so to do this kind of thing, you basically have to run a Filter block set to Low Pass in parallel with the Cab block. When dialed in right though, it sounds fantastic.

 

[iaresee]

@GreatGreen why use a CAB block for that? Why not just run a filter block in parallel set to low pass?

 

[nicolasrivera]

Search for the NULL IR in the exchange, same thing. I use it a lot the same way Matt described.

 

[200man]

Does NULL IR = Flat IR?

 

[iaresee]

Does NULL IR = Flat IR?

Yes.

 

[GreatGreen]

@GreatGreen why use a CAB block for that? Why not just run a filter block in parallel set to low pass?

That's what I normally do. You *can* also use a cab block for this but a Filter block uses a lot less CPU. Maybe a wishlist item for me should be "independent high and low pass filters for each IR in a cab block" so this could be doable with a single block on the grid.

Or maybe the best suggestion would be to take the Cab block's "Air" parameters and add another two functions for the inverse, bass functionality. Call it "Thump" or something like that. Thump Frequency and Thump Level. If the "Air" control is simply a high pass filter running parallel to the Cab block, then the "Thump" parameter could be a similarly behaving low pass filter.

 

[Rex]

Or maybe the best suggestion would be to take the Cab block's "Air" parameters and add another two functions for the inverse, bass functionality. Call it "Thump" or something like that. Thump Frequency and Thump Level.

The Proximity parameter is your friend.

There's also a Proximity Frequency parameter.

 

[GreatGreen]

The Proximity parameter is your friend.

There's also a Proximity Frequency parameter.

I always thought the Proximity control was a post-IR eq adjustment, meaning that while it would increase bass, but only the bass that the IR hasn't already cut out. It won't bring back frequencies that were removed from the IR itself.

It's not the same as adding a parallel low pass filter to your signal. It doesn't give the same "in the room" vibe.