First practice with 12.01...

[mortega76]

Had my first live practice in several months... last live practice was with 10.x and now I am on 12.01. I had gone out to see a buddy of mine's band and loved how their guitar player's 5150 sounded compared to the other guitarist's Pod Pro 500 (or whatever it's called). The 5150 sounded thick, mean and cut through like a knife while the pod sounded dark, muffled and dull. Well the pod guy is now gone and I setup my Axe II and reset my FAS Modern amp (like I've done for every firmware update) and kicked up the master from 3 to about 3.5 and it sounded MONSTEROUS!!! About an hour later the 5150 guitarist came in and I was blown away at how much better my setup sounded than his. Big shout-out to Cliff and his never-ending search for the perfect code!

P.S. This with old Elixar strings that I've had on my guitar for over a year...

P.S.S I almost hate to admit this but, it may actually be closer to two years!

 

[Der JD]

Just curious, what were you running the Axe through? FRFR or cab?

 

[mortega76]

Thanks for chiming in fellas... I have never gone the route of FRFR, but last weekend I did plug direct into the board for a praise and worship bass session. Either way, I need something big and loud for any rock/metal band that I am in... I just don't see a single 12 inch speaker being able to carry a practice room or even a rock/metal gig as backline... most bands don't have the cash to run proper equipment so I just have to have enough power to hold my own.

I'm an OG Axe user who's been here since 3.14 (if I recall) on the Ultra and have been chasing the 'real amp tone' since then... I even went the route of purchasing the same power amp that Cliff used (or maybe still uses) for his reference sessions when 'building and amp sim'. Every single firmware got us one step closer... but it wasn't until either 7 or 8 where things opened up and now with 12 it's hands down the best guitar amp I've ever heard/owned.

The Carvin F1200 that Cliff used was loud and sounded good but was very heavy. So a couple months ago I decided to buy the Carvin DCM1540L (solid state 750watt at 4ohm) which was much lighter and actually has more juice than the Carvin F1200. Well, I'm not too crazy about the look but that suckers sounds great! I'm running it into my trusty Marshall 4x12 with GT75's V30's in X pattern. I normally run two cabs but since there is another guitarist I decided to only run one cab.

 

[Stratoblaster]

I'm running it into my trusty Marshall 4x12 with GT75's V30's in X pattern.

I had a good cranked session with v12 running into my Marshall 4x12 and you couldn't wipe the stupid grin off my face if you tried :shock

 

[Thomas-Hawk]

Well, look-y there... someone got a MONSTEROUS tone using a solid state power amp! I know what you were hoping for, Sharka. (just giving you a hard time, brother. )

 

[axel]

So a couple months ago I decided to buy the Carvin DCM1540L (solid state 750watt at 4ohm) which was much lighter and actually has more juice than the Carvin F1200. Well, I'm not too crazy about the look but that suckers sounds great!

DCM1540L :devilish:

 

[jesussaddle]

Had my first live practice in several months... last live practice was with 10.x and now I am on 12.01. I had gone out to see a buddy of mine's band and loved how their guitar player's 5150 sounded compared to the other guitarist's Pod Pro 500 (or whatever it's called). The 5150 sounded thick, mean and cut through like a knife while the pod sounded dark, muffled and dull. Well the pod guy is now gone and I setup my Axe II and reset my FAS Modern amp (like I've done for every firmware update) and kicked up the master from 3 to about 3.5 and it sounded MONSTEROUS!!! About an hour later the 5150 guitarist came in and I was blown away at how much better my setup sounded than his. Big shout-out to Cliff and his never-ending search for the perfect code!

P.S. This with old Elixar strings that I've had on my guitar for over a year...

P.S.S I almost hate to admit this but, it may actually be closer to two years!

I can totally see this. The axe fx sounds and feels like the real thing but is more setup friendly.

 

[craiguitar]

I'm running it into my trusty Marshall 4x12 with GT75's V30's in X pattern.

Sorry, temporary thread hijack, I have the same cab & speakers, but I have them arranged V30's on the top and G12T75's on the bottom.
Now that I am no longer mic'ing the cab live (I send OUT1 direct to FOH) is it worth me re-arranging the speakers to an x-pattern or won't it make any difference? FWIW I am using the cab in stereo.

 

[mortega76]

I think part of the issue is that you sre running a single cab in stereo... I have run one cab just like that but it makes it sound a bit 'phasey' and hollow. That is why I have two 4x12's if I want to run in stereo.

With regards to the X pattern I would have to say yes... it would make a difference specifically to you because if you are closer to your cab then the top speakers would be heard more prominantly over the bottom speakers.

In my case I ran both in X pattern but I accidently had then reverse on each cab... so instead of v30/75/v30/75 I had 75/v30/75/v30 on the other cab and I could definitely hear a difference when I had the cabs running in stereo. The 75s would be more pronounce in its dark tone in the middle.

 

[craiguitar]

I think part of the issue is that you sre running a single cab in stereo... I have run one cab just like that but it makes it sound a bit 'phasey' and hollow. That is why I have two 4x12's if I want to run in stereo.

With regards to the X pattern I would have to say yes... it would make a difference specifically to you because if you are closer to your cab then the top speakers would be heard more prominantly over the bottom speakers.

In my case I ran both in X pattern but I accidently had then reverse on each cab... so instead of v30/75/v30/75 I had 75/v30/75/v30 on the other cab and I could definitely hear a difference when I had the cabs running in stereo. The 75s would be more pronounce in its dark tone in the middle.

Thanks for the guidance.
Interestingly, I've never had even the slightest of phasing issues whilst running my cab in stereo, although I know many others report such problems. Anyway, I digress... There is a noticable difference in perceived volume from the V30's as they are a more efficient speaker than the 75, so they appear louder. But now, I might experiment with the x-pattern and see if it's more pleasing. Needless to say I've always liked the sound of my cab just as it is, so I'd be able to put it right back how it is now, no harm done.