Covert Fractal Evangelism

philipacamaniac

Fractal Fanatic
My wider circle of musician friends have a strong disdain for modeling, likely because of tone that the "L" company was producing for the last decade.

At church, I'm going direct and get tons of compliments for my tone. But I'm thinking the visual of missing an amp works well in that environment, and not so well elsewhere.

So here's my plan the next time I play out. The amp comes with, and I'll even plug into it (the FX Loop return). It's a Mesa "Class A" so it hits the ballpark of tone in most of my presets. I won't run it very loud because I don't really want the audience to hear it. I'll throw a mic on it with a cable that won't go anywhere, because my AX8 direct is what will be feeding the FOH and IEMs. I'll split the grid after the amp to an FX Loop block, so the real combo doesn't get IR coloring. It won't get my post effects either, and that's ok.

I had an M13 in place where the AX8 sits on a PT Pro (for delays and reverbs), so the extremely unobservant bystander won't even notice the floorboard change.

This will be a placebo test. They have the visual of the tried and true tube amp, warm and making noise and mic'd up, and no knowledge that they're actually hearing amp modeling.

I'll be very curious to hear the comments I receive on tone. Hopefully I'll only do the placebo test once, because the whole point was to not drag around the 90lb Mesa lol.
 
My wider circle of musician friends have a strong disdain for modeling, likely because of tone that the "L" company was producing for the last decade.

At church, I'm going direct and get tons of compliments for my tone. But I'm thinking the visual of missing an amp works well in that environment, and not so well elsewhere.

So here's my plan the next time I play out. The amp comes with, and I'll even plug into it (the FX Loop return). It's a Mesa "Class A" so it hits the ballpark of tone in most of my presets. I won't run it very loud because I don't really want the audience to hear it. I'll throw a mic on it with a cable that won't go anywhere, because my AX8 direct is what will be feeding the FOH and IEMs. I'll split the grid after the amp to an FX Loop block, so the real combo doesn't get IR coloring. It won't get my post effects either, and that's ok.

I had an M13 in place where the AX8 sits on a PT Pro (for delays and reverbs), so the extremely unobservant bystander won't even notice the floorboard change.

This will be a placebo test. They have the visual of the tried and true tube amp, warm and making noise and mic'd up, and no knowledge that they're actually hearing amp modeling.

I'll be very curious to hear the comments I receive on tone. Hopefully I'll only do the placebo test once, because the whole point was to not drag around the 90lb Mesa lol.
Well, you could go find a cheap used amp on Craig's List, take out the guts to make it very light weight, redo the outside tolex and remove the brand/name plate on it and have someone do a plexi plate with the name 'Custom Tone Tube SnobBox", install a power On light and a power cord out the back . Then listen to folks rave about your tone because you have such a valuable, rare, hand wired, free range, GMO and Steroid free Trophy you play thru. :)
 
I'm going to have a full size image of a 1960 Marshall double stack (;) insert your favorite real amp here) printed on a portable roll-up movie screen (like they used to use in classrooms ages ago), and just set that up & pull down the screen so people have something impressive to look at. Hopefully the real amp cork sniffers won't notice. I might have to secure it so it doesn't flap in the breeze though...

Maybe I'll upgrade someday and replace it with a hologram... :cool:
 
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My wider circle of musician friends have a strong disdain for modeling, likely because of tone that the "L" company was producing for the last decade.

At church, I'm going direct and get tons of compliments for my tone. But I'm thinking the visual of missing an amp works well in that environment, and not so well elsewhere.

So here's my plan the next time I play out. The amp comes with, and I'll even plug into it (the FX Loop return). It's a Mesa "Class A" so it hits the ballpark of tone in most of my presets. I won't run it very loud because I don't really want the audience to hear it. I'll throw a mic on it with a cable that won't go anywhere, because my AX8 direct is what will be feeding the FOH and IEMs. I'll split the grid after the amp to an FX Loop block, so the real combo doesn't get IR coloring. It won't get my post effects either, and that's ok.

I had an M13 in place where the AX8 sits on a PT Pro (for delays and reverbs), so the extremely unobservant bystander won't even notice the floorboard change.

This will be a placebo test. They have the visual of the tried and true tube amp, warm and making noise and mic'd up, and no knowledge that they're actually hearing amp modeling.

I'll be very curious to hear the comments I receive on tone. Hopefully I'll only do the placebo test once, because the whole point was to not drag around the 90lb Mesa lol.

Great idea but leave the volume off, don't have anything coming out of the amp at all. This way when they tell your amp sounds great you will have your test results in.
 
Covert? Psh. I'm very overt about this stuff. It's pretty easy to get people to try it, even if they are very against it. I've had guys who are totally and completely against anything "digital" come around to liking it. It does take effort, but if you can convince them to even just plug in and try it, that'll go a long way. And, it's surprisingly easy to do that.

Make recordings and have people listen to start. I usually show up to my gigs way before load-in time and sit down with any musicians. Heck, if there's time I take them up on stage and show them the setup and let them strap on an instrument. It's kind of become one of my "things" that I'm known for in the region now, and I'm ok with that. I love talking gear and I love having great tone while performing and recording. The AX8 being out there and much more affordable than the Axe-Fx II will certainly put it in more people's hands. I know I've had several people jump on the waitlist for the AX8 just after talking with me and trying it for themselves for a bit of time (no idea if they got their invites / have pulled the trigger).

Of course, it also helps that three members of my bigger band are all in on Fractal, so it's hard to dismiss those green screens up on stage. Sometimes that is even enough to get asked what it is, for people totally un-initiated. So far, I've only run into a few truly stubborn folks who won't try it. But, we still get plenty of compliments on our tone. :)
 
That's one of the many reasons that I built this thing.....:cool:
It even has a pair of Equator D5 monitors rubber mounted behind the grill..;)
Someone usually asks "what 2x12 combo is that?".......lol
 

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That's one of the many reasons that I built this thing.....:cool:
It even has a pair of Equator D5 monitors rubber mounted behind the grill..;)
Someone usually asks "what 2x12 combo is that?".......lol

Thats pretty slick! Do you actually gig with it or is a practice rig?
 
I'm simply commenting on the fact that he has good tone for what he's using. No need for a religious bashing debate.

Haha, I'm actually inclined to agree with Mr. Lortie with regards to Brewster's tone and style. Color me a continued skeptic of the "bean". I've also uttered the phrase "Christian Rock crap" probably at least once a week for the last decade. :p

On the other hand, the guitarists from Hillsong and JC/Bethel are all using tube amps and are very meticulous about tone. And I feel I can accomplish those same tones with the AX8, so I'm a happy camper.
 
dont really dig the style or the tone :(

Edit : cleaner version of what i really wanted to say.
No problem I have no props for defending him, the poppy stuff gets on my nerves as well. I could say a lot about it but it doesn't matter. To each his own. Just pointing out that he uses the POD on his CDs and achieves very good results. He used the Axe FX Ultra on one CD and achieved better results of course but my point was you can achieve great tone direct without all the pedals and tube amps in a church setting. I've played in a church for 23 years and it's always been a fight to keep stage volume at a whisper, completely different from bar and club gigs. The Modelers have help me achieve that very fix without compromising good tone. I'm super happy with my Axe FX.
 
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