Fryette d60 More - Firmware 7 vs Firmware 8 Beta

Paul Bradshaw

Paul Bradshaw

Experienced




First off , huge hats off and thanks to FAS on the new firmware,
unfortunately I've spent most of my time so far making this video :D but since upgrading to Firmware 8beta, CPU usage is down on my main presets, stuff feels snappier/more responsive, and the gapless update is absolutely huge , and i've only scratched the surface, got to tweak my main preset a bit more now, and really enjoying how things are sounding/playing out, we'll see at band practice this evening,

huge thanks in any case for such great work 🙏
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** edit **
i made an updated video with 2 revised tests with properly reset amp blocks compared to the first video (thanks to the comments on the first video) the takeaways however are still pretty much the same with regards to the voicing of the amp,

i have a feeling that gain1(voicing) is somewhat different here too, i'll be comparing things to the real amp soon to see how that checks out

i'll leave the first video up as it contains amp page settings of the mk1 amp from the previous amp in case it's useful
i'll keep updating this thread as i keep testing in any case

wish thread to have mk1 alongside mk2 in a future update
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/vht-fryette-d60-mk1-model-alongside-mk2.203727/

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notes
-changing the high cut in the preamp page of firmware 8 can bring back some of that high end extension
Firmware 8 : low cut : 10hz high cut is at 8600hz
Firmware 7 : low cut: 40hz high cut is at 10khz

-Gain1/voicing in Firmware 8 is somewhat different and doesn't react the same way, it feels more saturated/forgiving overall and less of that dry/hollow mids vibe that firmware7 (mk1) seems to exhibit , you can get away with less gain in the new model but it doesn't hollow out as much
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I was very curious about this update as it makes a potential significant change to one of my favourite amps on there the Fryette d60 More
I decided to use the looper and film the comparison between Firmware 7 on a basic preset and then after the update on Firmware 8 beta

This is without proper tweaking of course, there's quite a difference in voicing especially in the mids and upper extension, also more low end/low mids, I'm not sure if this is just down to the Mark II series, or also an addition of the newer amp modelling on top of that, but i explored some of the amp page settings more in detail to see and tried to tweak Firmware 8 amp to be closer to the Firmware 7

I filmed the amp page settings of firmware 7 compared to firmware 8 beta as well to see what sort of differences were there (if any)
some of the big ones are the Input EQ and Preamp page Low Cut EQ + High Cut EQ
there were various small differences as well with regards to the power amp settings ,

I made a note of these settings and imported them into the preset i attached below, it has the Firmware 7 amp block settings, + tweaks to the EQ to more closely match the previous firmware, but there's a lot going on in the mid voicing i think

otherwise the updated amp model with the new firmware has
-a slightly different voicing in the mids (less hollow ? more low mid chunk in there and more bass/depth)
-bit more gain (can definitely dial things back here, although the previous model needed a higher input trim to better match the real amp)
-amp level has been 'fixed' i guess, in that firmware 7 model had a ton of level compared to other amps

I'm still dialing things in, trying things out, the feel of the new amp model is great, and i have a feeling these tweaks will also translate even better through a loud PA, but just at the start of things here

after more testing i feel things are different enough to warrant the possible inclusion of the Mark1 model of the d60 to be alongside the updated Mark2 model, it'd be amazing if that would be possible =)

happy to hear your thoughts on it, now back to playing more guitar :D
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Riccardo Ros said:
great comparison!
You made me curious to try this amp... I know how to spend the night ;)
Click to expand...
thanks 🙏 try the d60 less as well, i didn't get round to trying that yet, but i have a feeling with the changes and the amount of gain on tap, it might be really cool

i'll check this in a follow up video at some point i think, just wanted to post this as firmware is still really fresh
 
What i listened here is not monosemantic. The old FW sounds more clear and in the last comparrison part i definitely prefer old version, but i belive new can be tweaked in right way
 
Alex M said:
What i listened here is not monosemantic. The old FW sounds more clear and in the last comparrison part i definitely prefer old version, but i belive new can be tweaked in right way
Click to expand...
thanks for the feedback, yeah on first glance , with the same settings the differences are considerable, and favours the clarity of the older version of the amp


i'll definitely be tweaking things further in any case, and i'll do a follow up to this soon, i have a feeling i can use different settings and maybe switch up IRs for some brighter ones as well, but the mids voicing is something that can't be tweaked as much as it's inherent to the amp
 
first band practice with the new amp model and stereo (Stereo IEMs are amazing, highly recommended =) was a success , sounds and feels great,

things are certainly different however, there's more chunk in the lower mids and voicing, and the high end is less extended but very juicy if that makes sense, sounds great

I do feel it would be amazing if the previous mk1 model could sit alongside the newer mk2 in a future firmware, there's something in the hollower mids/percussive nature , that i think could warrant having both in there, it would be amazing

i made a thread in the WISH part of the forum if anyone using this amp model is similarly inclined :

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/vht-fryette-d60-mk1-model-alongside-mk2.203727/

Thanks
 
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Anton Karelin said:
It's a good comparison. I like the sound of Firmware 7 better. The sound of the Firmware 8 seems to need to increase the Low Cut and decrease the Mid. And try reducing master volume.
Click to expand...
thanks, I'm still experimenting, low cut adjustments /bass/depth make a nice difference, there's certainly more saturation/gain to the newer model
the older one has this almost hollow/drier thing in the mids going on that i can't seem to replicate, i have a feeling it's the newer voicing of the mark2 version of the amp more so than just the firmware update
 
So far not my amp,
but I really have to try it out after this demo.

I can still remember the discussion in the Axe-FX III thread about the firmware with the change and maybe
this
will provide an approach for tweaks.

There are more suggestions in this thread.
And please also write if you have found suitable adaptations for yourself.
 
wolk said:
So far not my amp,
but I really have to try it out after this demo.

I can still remember the discussion in the Axe-FX III thread about the firmware with the change and maybe
this
will provide an approach for tweaks.

There are more suggestions in this thread.
And please also write if you have found suitable adaptations for yourself.
Click to expand...
thanks, i'll have a closer look at those tweaks and see how it translates

on my main preset (where i have a low cut filter as a boost in front of the amp for example) the biggest change was
-less boost into the amp (i was using input trim on top of boosts for this so put that back down to 1 from 1.6)
-more presence
-more treble
-using a slightly brighter sounding cab mix for my IR
-i lowered the depth and bass a bit more as well, but still testing on that

but the mids voicing is still a bit different, newer model is a lot chunkier sounding for better or for worse, there's some hollow mids i can't replicate without using some creative EQ , at least in my initial tests, i'll keep testing in any case as i really like the amp
 
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D60 Less.... is more....:)

The Less channel can get pretty gainy and it keeps the clarity. On the More channel, cutting bass, boost treble & presence + increasing the bright cap value does the trick.

Years ago I owned a VHT Pitbull ULX which was Steve Fryette's company at the time. It had 3 channels. The difference between channel 2 and 3 was very much what I hear in this video. D60 more is darker, more compressed and saturated. Stick to the less channel for the clarity but consider adding boost or upping the input trim for more saturation.

Sean Meredith-Jones
 
smj said:
D60 Less.... is more....:)

The Less channel can get pretty gainy and it keeps the clarity. On the More channel, cutting bass, boost treble & presence + increasing the bright cap value does the trick.

Years ago I owned a VHT Pitbull ULX which was Steve Fryette's company at the time. It had 3 channels. The difference between channel 2 and 3 was very much what I hear in this video. D60 more is darker, more compressed and saturated. Stick to the less channel for the clarity but consider adding boost or upping the input trim for more saturation.

Sean Meredith-Jones
Click to expand...
thanks Sean, i'll give those things a go,

i just updated this thread and a new video with better tests (amp block properly reset..doh🫣)

i still feel that the voicing itself is somewhat different, 'hollow' mids i guess is the word that i can't seem to dial in with the newer model, even with some creative EQ, the way Gain1 responds is different, it'll maybe be more apparent when testing against the real amp that i have (which however is an OG mark1 from 2005)
 
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