Do you ever get those days where it just sounds like _ _ _ _ ?! What do you do?!

Danny Danzi said:
Here's another that just happened to me today! So my main guitar that I've been recording my new album with has been driving me insane. I've been working on everything from crowning frets, truss rod removal and adjustment, new saddles, new springs for the Floyd, new saddle lock blocks....it's been a nightmare.

Last night I finished everything up and am astonished at how awesome my guitar sounds and plays. It's back to itself...with one weird thing....a bit of a mid range push that I never had before. Now granted, with that much work, action, truss, Floyd etc...you are NEVER going to get the same sound you had. You'll come close...but chances are there will always be something missing. Well, the perfectionist that I am, I had to figure out what was different.

After some trial and error, the major tone change came from....get this....the pups being adjusted too high to the strings! I had forgotten to adjust the pup height. As soon as I moved it away from the strings, the added mid range boost I was puzzled about, disappeared. I'm not one that likes my pups nearly touching the strings like some people do. Mine are usually right in between. But these particular pups are powerful...so I usually have them set more "into the body" so to speak. The adjustment instantly cured my little mid range anomaly. :)

This is another thing with modeling that I've noticed. Any little changes to your guitar can drastically effect how your tone sounds. Even a string company change with the same gauge strings can alter your tone....that was my other issue. My GHS order was a little late (I get a case of Boomers per month...I know, you guys hate them. LOL!) and I put a set of Ernie Ball on. Sound was good, but something was missing.

So though we have the best of all worlds with our incredible, magical black box, it's a very spoiled box. Sometimes sounds I've created with one guitar REALLY sound different when I use another. Other times, the same sound works great. Finicky black box we have...but I'd not change it for anything. ;)
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I gotta ask... :) what do the Boomers have that Ernie's don't?
 
When I find that my tone sucks, well it is generally the case... Fatigue isn't responsible for hearing flaws but causing them. It's so easy to develop blindspots. Fixing an issue we hear can be at the expense of another because we're focused on the part we fix. Then we become accustomed to it and the surrounding flaws.. The real good tones always sound good.

So I open a new patch and fix an issue while I hear it. But I don't trust my new baby, since the road to the better tone begins most likely in between the former and the latter version.
 
Danny Danzi said:
Here's another that just happened to me today! So my main guitar that I've been recording my new album with has been driving me insane. I've been working on everything from crowning frets, truss rod removal and adjustment, new saddles, new springs for the Floyd, new saddle lock blocks....it's been a nightmare.

Last night I finished everything up and am astonished at how awesome my guitar sounds and plays. It's back to itself...with one weird thing....a bit of a mid range push that I never had before. Now granted, with that much work, action, truss, Floyd etc...you are NEVER going to get the same sound you had. You'll come close...but chances are there will always be something missing. Well, the perfectionist that I am, I had to figure out what was different.

After some trial and error, the major tone change came from....get this....the pups being adjusted too high to the strings! I had forgotten to adjust the pup height. As soon as I moved it away from the strings, the added mid range boost I was puzzled about, disappeared. I'm not one that likes my pups nearly touching the strings like some people do. Mine are usually right in between. But these particular pups are powerful...so I usually have them set more "into the body" so to speak. The adjustment instantly cured my little mid range anomaly. :)

This is another thing with modeling that I've noticed. Any little changes to your guitar can drastically effect how your tone sounds. Even a string company change with the same gauge strings can alter your tone....that was my other issue. My GHS order was a little late (I get a case of Boomers per month...I know, you guys hate them. LOL!) and I put a set of Ernie Ball on. Sound was good, but something was missing.

So though we have the best of all worlds with our incredible, magical black box, it's a very spoiled box. Sometimes sounds I've created with one guitar REALLY sound different when I use another. Other times, the same sound works great. Finicky black box we have...but I'd not change it for anything. ;)
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For the most part I don't have those days hardly ever anymore,.. I pull up my go-to presets and usually everything is golden... BUT, I will say that the AX8 is very finicky when switching guitars... more so than any other Rig I've ever played. .... I work on and build guitars and I always test out everything extensively before they go back out to the customer, .... it's amazing how different each guitar sounds through the same patch,.. even ones that are the same make, model, and electronics (I have quite a few Kramer Focus 3000's that are all "Exactly" the same) ... When ever I decide to play a different guitar for the next performance, I know I'll be in for a little bit of a tweaking session :D

I've just resolved to save that preset under the same name with some sort of notation behind the title such as "JS" for Jersey Star ... ;)
 
Sixstring said:
I go to my shop and wood work, fly my R/C planes... anything but play the guitar. Come back to it the next day and it's all good!
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Pretty much what I do... it's amazing how ear fatigue can impact ones perception of one's "AWESOME GO TO" presets!!.
Down tools, walk away.. take a lengthy break.
COme back next day.. chances are all is still GOOD !! :)

I also do the same when I'm not in the mood to practice/play !!
 
Confuseus, the great Chinese philosopher explains this. "Some days you feel like a nut, some days you don't".

I have days where just nothing seems to work right. I have other days where everything just seems to click for me. Everyone has their off days. If you are having an off day, no matter how much you push, it will not work. Thankfully, it is not a permanent condition.
 
I'm convinced sometimes there is just something in the air that doesn't translate to good sound. Atmosphere Pressure, power anomaly, etc, I don't know but I do know it's not just in my head. The rest of the band usually hears it too. Then next time it sounds amazing. I just roll with it.
 
I find volume and context play a huge part also.
If I'm playing at home, often it's quiet enough that I can still hear my strings acoustically (which kills me when using pitch block for detune, but anyway.).
At these lower volumes, things just don't sound right all the time. They are ok, but not fantastic. And some days better than others for sure.

The Same patches at rehearsal or gigs, they sound amazing. The added volume, plus the context of a full mix really changes my perception of many presets.

Overall, I feel i need a lot less gain when playing with the band too.

If all else fails, time to buy a new guitar. GAS will fix all your issues... Won't it ?
 
BillyZeppa said:
I gotta ask... :) what do the Boomers have that Ernie's don't?
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A little thicker sound to my ears....better feel. The only problem...they don't live very long. Heavy playing and you may get 3-4 days out of them before they start to lose that new string sound. But for some dumb reason, they just work for me. I change every week even if I don't have a show and when I do, I can normally get two shows out of one set depending on how long our sets are. I can cook a set of any strings in one long set with the way I sweat. It's disgusting! I rust the strings solid! But Boomers are just a personal preference of mine....there's nothing special about them really.
 
Aloha,

Short of the prescriptions for intermittent sounds like ass days, anyone find that no matter how similar the AX8 is to the FXII, that the AX8 perpetually sounds like ass?

I'm a seasoned and satisfied Fractal user since the Ultra through to the FX8. When I got the AX8 to reduce schlepage on longer call-outs, I have never been able to get good tone and can't figure out why for the life of me.

I have used blocks from other units and firmware. No change. I've used endless IR's. I get better but never great results. I've used my Atomic CLRs, QSC K12's, a custom made 1x12 with FRFR driver and my Power Station. I've used all of my 5 Mesa, Soldano, home made, and Marshall cabs with various power amps. I can dial that in pretty well but then, sending output to FOH results in, well, worse ass. No one who has paid to see us play cares how my stage sound is.

My FX8 and MB MK5-25, Soldano SLO, or Friedman PT20 all sound excellent. My FXII can be dialed in to some good live tone as well.

This is my 2nd AX8 with similar results.

I've downloaded from the Ax-Change and similar results.

I'm really hoping to hear that "hey dumb-ass, turn off / on the ... I've reset, updated firmware, and tweaked my arse off.

Thanks all,
John
 
I would compare two stock presets from both units through the same monitoring solution, nothing fancy amp cab thats it and see if you have the same results!

If the AX8 sounds different I would do a system reset and or reload the latest firmware.
 
Fella look don't get offended! My Axe 2 is packed ready for sale switching to AX8. Bought a HD500x to tide me over.....and no offence to HD owners btw. Try something else then replug and tell me what your ears say!
 
Tahoebrian5 said:
I'm convinced sometimes there is just something in the air that doesn't translate to good sound. Atmosphere Pressure, power anomaly, etc, I don't know but I do know it's not just in my head. The rest of the band usually hears it too. Then next time it sounds amazing. I just roll with it.
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Although I've never been able to track down any scientific studies to verify it: I've thought for years that noticeable changes in hearing (beyond Fletcher-Munson effects and ear fatigue) might have something to do with changes in barometric pressure and other things like blood pressure affecting the inner ear. I have an engineering buddy who's on board with that and makes sure that he stays hydrated and blood sugar at stable levels. Having repeatable references available for comparison is important, so that when hearing does seem to be out of whack: it can be ascertained whether that's the case or if it's down to acoustics: masking or other external variables. If indeed 'tis a grumpy ear day: going by the numbers if you have to power through it, or taking a break from it if possible.
 
Aloha,

First, thanks for the responses.

Second, feeling hurt. No worries my friend. I have no feelings. I've played behind chicken wire to the Cow Palace. This business is a lot like baseball., There's no crying in baseball. or music. I appreciate you thinking about them and the advice. I have used a Boss GT100 and have a GT1 that I use in the loop of my Friedman. I have not done Line 6, though I have the opportunity to trade the AX8 for a HELIX LT. I consider all of these much lesser devices to the AX8, though have no first hand experience so, I have some bias.

I will re-load with updated firmware and get back to you.

I appreciate the thought about atmospheric conditions and the role physics may play. The reason I'm not following that thread is because I can plug my FX8 and all amps it's set up for and I'm back to good tone.

I'm confident it's me or I would no have bought two AX8's.

Thanks all. Keep-em coming as you think of them.

John
 
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