Fractal Audio DRIVE Models: Yek's PDF Guide (latest version: April 2021)

[yek]

Some cool things can be accomplished without a Drive at all.

Remember this tip from Cliff?

"This was a common technique in the 80's when tracking. If you have an Axe-Fx or other modeler with EQ options you can try it yourself. Put an EQ or Filter block before the amp. A parametric is best. Set the type to Peaking, Frequency to 1 kHz and Q to around 1 and gain to around 6 dB to start. Experiment with the parameters."​

On the III you can apply this using the Input EQ in the Amp block.
Set Peak at 1000 Hz, Q at 1.00, Gain between 6 and 6.50.
With a high gain amp model this gets you a mean and cutting tone, which I like a lot.
And it even works with clean tones.
Assign a modifier to the Gain control, to switch this on/off.

 

[ToneLabRat]

Thanks Leon. Love the videos. Your actually teaching me to use my Axe FX2 I've had for 4 years. And of course thanks Yek - invaluable info!

 

[Lax]

The guide and the video are great, thanks gentlemen for making me realise I know nothing about those pedal and can only get better results

 

[Hoosierdaddy]

Thanks Yek,for all the time you spend gathering and organizing this info ,for the Fractal family .

 

[DanielB]

I refer back to your guides again and again, Yek, thanks!

Do you also update the presets that go along with the guide(s)? I ask, b/c I just noticed how you update the pdf, and was curious whether I should go back and re-download the presets, or not bother (I originally downloaded them about a year ago).

 

[yek]

Thanks.

I don't publish updated presets anymore. There are so many offerings available these days. @austinbuddy has his "naked" amps, and because he and I cover the same ground, and have similar taste, I'll gladly refer to his collection, which is also much larger than mine. Also, the task of keeping presets updated is not something I really enjoy.

 

[yek]

The guide has been updated, based on firmware 3.02 and later for the Axe-Fx III.

The edition for older Axe-Fx III firmware, Axe-Fx II, AX8 and FX8 will stay available separately.

Also, the demonstration presets (Axe-Fx III) have been updated.

Visit the wiki page for the guide editions and presets.

 

[AlGrenadine]

The guide has been updated, based on firmware 3.02 and later for the Axe-Fx III.

Also, the demonstration presets (Axe-Fx III) have been updated.

Visit the wiki page for the guide and presets.

Excellent thanks Alex

 

[Rex]

The guide has been updated, based on firmware 3.02 and later for the Axe-Fx III.

Also, the demonstration presets (Axe-Fx III) have been updated.

Visit the wiki page for the guide and presets.

Thanks, Alex! Sadly, Windows no likey.

 

[yek]

Hmm, that folder name is weird. It's probably the periods in the title. But the file was not saved like that.

 

[Rex]

Hmm, that folder name is weird. It's probably the periods in the title. But the file was not saved like that.

I added the extra characters. It's how I've organized my files for years. Both Windows and WinRAR are telling me it's not a valid Zip file.

 

[bradlake]

FWIW, PDF downloaded fine onto my Mac.......

 

[Rex]

I used the standard compression method in OS X. File unpacks fine here. Curious how it works out for other Windows users.

I've seen rare instances of zip files working on Mac but not on Windows. Something about lack of adherence to some obscure part of the Zip standard, IIRC.

 

[api4u]

Worked fine on my end.

Win10 and Adobe Acrobat DC

 

[yek]

I've seen rare instances of zip files working on Mac but not on Windows. Something about lack of adherence to some obscure part of the Zip standard, IIRC.

Isn't the path too long? Does unzipping to a folder closer to the root also fail?

 

[AlGrenadine]

Works fine on Win10 here, but i don't use internal zip ability i use WinRAR...

 

[unix-guy]

I've really been digging the Zen Master model lately (and the FAS LED Drive, but that's a different story).

I have been trying to determine exactly what the Voice control does so I checked the guide and it says this:

• Voice: cuts lows (model: Voice)

That didn't seem exactly right to me so I thought I'd check the Zendrive manual to see how it was described and found something interesting:
(http://www.hermidaaudio.com/test/pdf/Pedal Quick Start Guide.pdf)

. Voice - “Tunes” the pedal to the amplifier and guitar. The Voice knob performs two
functions:
a. Limits or increases the total amount of gain in the pedal. To limit the gain,
rotate counterclockwise. To increase the gain, rotate clockwise.
b. Adjusts the bottom-end response of the pedal. To increase the bottom-end
response, rotate counterclockwise. To reduce the bottom-end, rotate the
clockwise. Remember to adjust the Gain knob to compensate for changes in
the overall gain of the pedal which occur during the Voice knob adjustment

I'm not sure this behavior is replicated in the Axe Fx III or not?

I haven't had a chance to play around with it after reading this but from memory it does feel like it is doing more than just adjusting the bass. If it is it would be great to update the guide to include that info.

Another interesting bit of info from the manual is that the Tone control is a high cut, so to have no high cut it would be set fully clockwise.