Clips of Guthrie using Axe-FX II

iggypop said:
I think it's very practical for him, just to carry the Axe around the world, than pedals and stuff...
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Especially since a lot of his gear was stolen in Rome recently:

http://www.musicradar.com/totalguitar/guthrie-govans-gear-stolen-in-rome-520455

[h=4]Guthrie Govan's stolen gear list[/h]Dave and Guthrie's guitar gear
2x Brunetti Mercury heads, serial numbers ME10550 and ME10650 (in flight cases)
2x Brunetti 4x12 cabinets (in flight cases)
[URL="http://www.musicradar.com/totalguitar/guthrie-govans-gear-stolen-in-rome-520455"]Guthrie's pedals:
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(mounted in a distinctively crappy-looking "tea tray" pedalboard):
Xotic Effects "EP" Booster
RetroSonic "Vintage Vibes" chorus
TC Electronics Flashback delay
TC Electronics Polytune tuner
Guyatone WR-3 envelope filter
Dunlop Jerry Cantrell Signature Cry Baby wah

Ernie Ball VP JR volume pedal
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[/URL]
 
New Block Wish!

Hey Guys,

Perhaps Cliff can add a new effects-block in FW-6.0 and call it the "Govan -EBF" block (Guthrie Govan's Ears, Brain, and Fingers - LOL!)

Bill
 
Awesome!
Guthrie is my all time favorite guitarist and a huge inspiration :)
Glad to know he is using the Axe FxII. By the way today was my first day with my Axe FxII and in short it's mind blowing!
 
I dunno what You other guy's think, but I can imagine some heavy use of multi-band compression throughout the whole sound of the recording on the whole mix. The sound is so "in-your-face" that You wanna take two steps back from the computer screen... *lol* This is also a parameter when shaping sound with the Axe-FX - a good mastering job will definitely lift the guitar tone even more, and get it more distinctive. Just my two cents...
 
I wasn't crazy about the single coil overdriven tones at all. It reminded me of everything I don't like about modelers. The heavier stuff sounded good, though. I'm still not 100% convinced any digital modelers can get rid of that digital, tinny sound in semi-clean, slightly overdriven, Fender-ish tones. I'd love to be proven wrong, though.
 
Spectacular playing as usual. Not my favorite tones from him though. I much prefer his recordings with real amps. Overall tone and specially the high end is not at the same level here. Considering that his gear was stolen I can totally understand the convenience of using the Axe though.
 
gin said:
jshirkey: show us some better "real" recordings and prove US wrong :D
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It's not really a matter of "proving" anything, and I'm not here to be an Axe hater. Far from it. I'm looking forward to picking up an Axe 2 in another month or two, hopefully. Clips like this one scare me off a little bit, though. I've heard some great tones out of the Axe, but the middle section of Guthrie's clips just don't do it for me.

Back to your challenge--Yes, I think I could easily record any number of clips that I happen to think sound a lot better for the kind of tone(s) I was talking about. You may disagree, and that's perfectly fine.

Here's another possibility, though. Maybe I just don't like the amp model he happens to be using? Maybe his clip here sounds 99% like the real deal, but I just don't happen to care for that particular amp, whatever it may be. (The tone I'm talking about starts at right around the 1 minute mark, and when the G string rings out at 1:05 or so, to me, it sounds like the guitar equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.) Hey...that could be exactly how the real amp sounds in person, for all I know.

I'd love to hear some more clips of the Dr. Z Maz model, or some medium to higher gain Tweed Bassman clips. If you really want me to make clips of my own amps, I'd be glad to, but I wouldn't post them in this thread, obviously, and I doubt there's a section of the forum called "post clips that you think sound better than the Axe 2 here!". So...msg me privately, I guess.
 
We didn't ask Guthrie to do these clips as a demo for Fractal. He decided on his own to use it for this instructional project and then he decided to let us know about it. So obviously he wouldn't have used it if he wasn't happy with the tones.

It also has nothing to do him having gear stolen. He had been using the Axe-FX II before that unfortunate incident.
 
jshirkey said:
(The tone I'm talking about starts at right around the 1 minute mark, and when the G string rings out at 1:05 or so, to me, it sounds like the guitar equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.)
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Funny, that's one of my favorite parts.

Guthrie doesn't use "clean" and "dirty" sounds. He uses one dirty sound (some variety of high gain Marshall..Plexi, Friedman, Brown, etc) and then gets dynamics with volume knob or volume pedal. The tone at that part you mention sounds to me like one of those amps using single-coil with volume knob backed off.

His tone tends to be very bright...his signature model is a bolt on maple neck guitar with bright pickups. I spent several hours with him demoing an Axe-FX II and also heard him do a concert with his Suhr Badger amp and his sound through the Badger was just as bright if not more so. So maybe it's just his preference for bright tone that you don't dig.
 
AdamCook said:
His tone tends to be very bright...his signature model is a bolt on maple neck guitar with bright pickups. I spent several hours with him demoing an Axe-FX II and also heard him do a concert with his Suhr Badger amp and his sound through the Badger was just as bright if not more so. So maybe it's just his preference for bright tone that you don't dig.
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+1

I have a Suhr GG. Man, that's one BRIGHT guitar even though the body is Mahogany.
And I visited a clinic where he performed. Very entertaining and yes, he likes his tone to be very bright.

There was a discussion about bright after Pete Thorn posted his Axe-Fx II demo (not Homage). Seems like pros like the basic tone to be bright. Works well for overtones etc. I guess. The resulting sound can always be toned down at the mixing table if necessary.
 
AdamCook said:
Funny, that's one of my favorite parts.

Guthrie doesn't use "clean" and "dirty" sounds. He uses one dirty sound (some variety of high gain Marshall..Plexi, Friedman, Brown, etc) and then gets dynamics with volume knob or volume pedal. The tone at that part you mention sounds to me like one of those amps using single-coil with volume knob backed off.

His tone tends to be very bright...his signature model is a bolt on maple neck guitar with bright pickups. I spent several hours with him demoing an Axe-FX II and also heard him do a concert with his Suhr Badger amp and his sound through the Badger was just as bright if not more so. So maybe it's just his preference for bright tone that you don't dig.
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Yes, his tone is very bright. If you want to play with that speed and clarity you basically have no choice. I guess it is all matter of taste. But even if his tone is always bright I find that it sounds thin specially in the high end here. It does not sound like that on his other recordings.
 
Guthrie's bright-tone!

Artic Myst said:
Yes, his tone is very bright. If you want to play with that speed and clarity you basically have no choice. I guess it is all matter of taste. But even if his tone is always bright I find that it sounds thin specially in the high end here. It does not sound like that on his other recordings.
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I disagree (to some extent...)

He does have recorded tracks as bright or brighter than his recent JTC recordings (apparently done with an Axe-FX II.) I've also seen him live three (3) times, and the first two times I saw him, he was using Cornford amps (and his signature Suhr guitars) and his tone was PIERCING with high-end for days - LOL! Seriously, it's the ONE thing about Guthrie that I wish was a bit different, although you make a great point about how that "brightness" adds to his clarity/articulation whilst playing at warp-speeds!

I don't know if Adam has heard Guthrie (in person) when he used to use Cornford amps, but I disagree with his assertion that he sounds BRIGHTER now with the Suhr Badger 30. IMO, it was the exact opposite when I saw the Aristocrats in September of 2011. His tone (although still on the bright side) had a smoother upper-mid emphasis quality to it, whereas the Cornfords had the "nails-on-a-chalkboard" tonality - LOL!

Bill
 
billmeedog said:
I disagree (to some extent...)

He does have recorded tracks as bright or brighter than his recent JTC recordings (apparently done with an Axe-FX II.) I've also seen him live three (3) times, and the first two times I saw him, he was using Cornford amps (and his signature Suhr guitars) and his tone was PIERCING with high-end for days - LOL! Seriously, it's the ONE thing about Guthrie that I wish was a bit different, although you make a great point about how that "brightness" adds to his clarity/articulation whilst playing at warp-speeds!

I don't know if Adam has heard Guthrie (in person) when he used to use Cornford amps, but I disagree with his assertion that he sounds BRIGHTER now with the Suhr Badger 30. IMO, it was the exact opposite when I saw the Aristocrats in September of 2011. His tone (although still on the bright side) had a smoother upper-mid emphasis quality to it, whereas the Cornfords had the "nails-on-a-chalkboard" tonality - LOL!

Bill
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Note that I did not say that this new recordings sound brighter. I said they sound thin specially in the high end. I believe this is what people usually refers or identifies as digital sounding. I don't think it has to anything with it being digital or not but most modelers suffer from the same issue in a more or less degree.

I also have a preference for his tone with the Suhr Badger 30. Even it is still too bright for my taste it is the warmest/nicest tone I have heard from him.
 
I never heard Guthrie play live through Cornford in person. When I mentioned I thought his tone was "as bright or brighter" I was referring to the Suhr Badger compared to the Axe-FX II.
 
For me, the brightness isn't the main issue, although I suppose it doesn't help matters. I have a lot of bright amps (including a '60 Tweed Bassman...in the bright input, amps don't come a whole lot brighter), but they still sound warm and natural.

Here's another example of the same kind of tone that I don't dig. I can't put a precise name or label on it, but I know it when I hear it. Anyway, it starts at 5:33 in this clip. Someone else mentioned the Pete Thorn demos. I hear it in some of his clean/dirty rhythm clips, too.

Every Axe-Fx II Preset - Bank B - Part 2 - YouTube
 
For me, the brightness isn't the main issue, although I suppose it doesn't help matters. I have a lot of bright amps (including a '60 Tweed Bassman...in the bright input, amps don't come a whole lot brighter), but they still sound warm and natural.

Here's another example of the same kind of tone that I don't dig. I can't put a precise name or label on it, but I know it when I hear it. Anyway, it starts at 5:33 in this clip. Someone else mentioned the Pete Thorn demos. I hear it in some of his clean/dirty rhythm clips, too.

Every Axe-Fx II Preset - Bank B - Part 2 - YouTube
 
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