does it seem like some amps got alot less attention?

S

stm113

Power User
Let me preface this by saying I LOVE my Axe II, its my favorite piece of gear i've ever purchased. I have recently been looking at changing some my presets, experimenting with new amps etc… It seems to me like there are a few amps in the Axe that just kinda are there, no where near the complexity of tone, gain structure or dynamics. I could be wrong and I am sure that I will get some blasting for this and I absolutely mean no disrespect what so ever to Cliff, his generosity of keeping the FW updates coming, the genius of his work or his unmistakable work ethic but to me some of the amps just feel/sound like they are there only to up the amp selection count, like going through the motions while modeling them.

To me the Fryette, the Cali Leggy and a few others are like that.
 
Not sure how you can 'mean no disrespect' by saying that to tell the truth. Given that you know Cliff reads the forum, there's a pretty direct accusation/challenge in there surrounded by fluff.

Thats just my neutral observation on the message I got from your post without pretending to know if the amps in question are accurate or not.
 
Cliff always says that they are spot on, and I have no reason to question that, since he's the guy that does it. Did you ever happen to think that maybe those amps just sound that way in real life. I bet they do. Some amps are just good for that one special thing, I get their purpose and I use them that way. I mean why use a legacy when you have the amp that that amp is inspired from. But sometimes you want that flavor anyway. You have to remember that a lot of these amps are added by user request, and he may put it off for a very long time, but relents. So he makes a group of people happy because he adds their desert island amp. You will probably get a lot of people after me, stating that those amps you mentioned are spot on.

thats the cool thing about having choice. You have your choice to ignore 80 of those models to get to the few that you actually use. That's how I use it.


I can't wait for that two rock though and that Bad cat coming in version 9.0.
 
hey cliff can u model my mrs..give her more drive..way less Db and a new head '.. thx

her presemt head has like 15 channels...i just want one (the dirty channel)

ooh aaaand new FIRMWARE her ware's is a lil saggy (adjustable sag will be suffice)

i edited this thing 3 faken times.. i cant spell for shit
 
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I owned a Legacy for years and the model is pretty accurate. I've come to the realization that not everyone will like every model. There are plenty of models that I don't connect with, but that doesn't mean they're bad models, it just means they aren't for me. For example, I don't like playing through the Cameron amps, but I've heard some people on this board create some amazing tones with those amps. It's simply a matter of creating your own sound and finding an amp model that is most suited to your personal playing style. Use your ears, not your eyes.
 
Actually this probably mirrors real life somewhat. In all of my years of gigging and watching other bands, I rarely saw anyone with a Carvin Legacy. I've never even seen one in person, ever. That is not to say it is a bad amp or anything. I have played a Fryette though and I thought the emulation was really close to what I remember it sounding like.
 
loool desert island amp...puuhaaha sheeat thats funny

is that like Hawaiian sounding
 
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joel said:
hey cliff can u model my mrs..give her more drive..way less Db and a new head '.. thx

her presemt head has like 15 channels...i just want one (the dirty channel)

ooh aaaand new FIRMWARE her ware's is a lil saggy (adjustable sag will be suffice)

i edited this thing 3 faken times.. i cant spell for shit
Click to expand...

Bet she'd call you a MFC and stomp on you if she read that mate ;)
 
You know guys it is difficult to say something critical here. I have been using my AXE in studios and most of all live in front of several thousand people for quite some time and consider it the most versatile piece of gear ever owned. Nevertheless, I agree with the OP. Some models seemed NOT spot on IMHO. And those last four letters explain what is meant - this is MY opinion. Yours may differ greatly of course. But instead of trying to find out why I came to this opinion and what might be done to correct this opinion some start some kind of shitstorm every time something critical is said. I do not want to offend anyone, least of all CC, and I am certain the OP did not want that either (without knowing him or her). But it serves nobody when some (probably long time and professional) musicians post that they feel different to immediately diss them, IMHO. For example, I was completely unhappy with the JCM800 model. It did not sound like my JCM at all, it didn't feel like it, it didn't behave like it. For me personally it was the worst model in the axe, together with the bassman. Until I watched Scott Peterson's great video where he showed how to dial in a really really good JCM800 tone today. And guess what - the model IS spot on. All I have ever missed is there now. Why wasn't it before although I more or less used the same amp parameters as Scott? The Cab IR I used (stock 1960A) was the limit. With OwnHammers Beta it is all there - for me. So maybe we all could combine forces and try to help the OP instead of implying he wants to personally offend Cliff (who, I want to stress again, does a magnificent job), so that he or she gets the most out of what this awesome beast has to offer.
 
Just as in the analog world, some amps don't speak to you... some do. Different amps speak to different players; and there are as many folks loving the amps you find 'just there' as find the amps you personally love as 'just there' taking up space.

The key isn't loving every amp model equally; the key is finding the ones you love the most.

;) :D
 
I use the Freyette M60 a lot, it's my go to heavy sound. While it does not sound exactly like my old Pitbull Ultralead, it is also not a model of that amplifier.

I don't know of anyone using the Legacy but Vai, but using my guitar with that model does not resemble his tone at all, albeit I have dedicated little effort to the cause.
 
joel said:
hey cliff can u model my mrs..give her more drive..way less Db and a new head '.. thx

her presemt head has like 15 channels...i just want one (the dirty channel)

ooh aaaand new FIRMWARE her ware's is a lil saggy (adjustable sag will be suffice)

i edited this thing 3 faken times.. i cant spell for shit
Click to expand...

HAHAHAHAHA !!!!!! That was a real " laugh out loud " too funny Joel !

And as far as spelling goes, I am so used to " spell check " on my computer, that I forgot how to spell many things !
 
luke said:
I use the Freyette M60 a lot, it's my go to heavy sound. While it does not sound exactly like my old Pitbull Ultralead, it is also not a model of that amplifier.

I don't know of anyone using the Legacy but Vai, but using my guitar with that model does not resemble his tone at all, albeit I have dedicated little effort to the cause.
Click to expand...

I don't know too many people can sound like Vai. I heard him on a you tube clip outside , plugged into a small amp, with his jem I think, and he sounded like Vai. This was just an improv for a few people, in europe i think. it he was going into the hotel or conert hall and stopped ( maybe just unloading off the bus ) and just did this little showI wish I could find the link.

Anyway, as far as the legacy, I understand his gain is not very high and with all his other pedals, and axe effects, he gets that sig Vai tone. I think you could get close, but you would need to know his set up. I think someone was mentioning this on tgp .
 
The fryette to my ears sounds like the real deal, the legacy doesn't. The JVM doesn't feel like the real one (I play a real one every week with a 1960A cab), and the axe versions don't seem the same.

But that's a large portion of me still learning, and I won't doubt that I can get there if I spend the time on them.

So I agree with guitardoc - let's help the OP find the tricks to getting there...things like the right IRs, xformer match, xformer drive, sag and bias are usually the ones that will get you ballpark or so. Lots of parameters, some linked directly and others somewhat indirectly. You can get fairly close with some time and tweaking.

I DO agree that a couple amps still need some work, but about 98% of them (in my estimation) are the real deal. I haven't played all of the real versions of these amps, but I've played enough to know my way around them.

Spend some time, and get it ball park - Cliff will get them all perfect in a firmware sooner or later ;)
 
I thought it was well known that some amp models are "guesses" from Cliff. Perfect example is DasMetal and the real VH4 that was modeled from the real amp. Wasn't DasMetal just Cliff's guess at the VH4?
 
The Legacy is definitely off in some areas. The presence control for one doesn't react like the real deal (I owned one, so I know). It's way too reactive.
 
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