FX-II / Matrix GT1000FX ---> Marshall 4x12 with Vintage 30s

P

Prysma

Member
Hey folks,

Let me start by saying that I'm new to the AXE FX-II. I've been spending as much time as I can with it, and so far it's been great. I've got the pedalboard all programmed with the I.A. buttons and have been learning to use the front panel for simple editing instead of the AXE-Edit.

I bought the Matrix (after reading your posts) to make sure the power amp would not color the sound. I have a bunch of 4X12s loaded with Celestion Vintange 30s and wanted to used one of these instead of buying a Full Range speaker setup (I have too many speaker cabs already). I figure the AXE FX-II should STILL sound amazing even though I'm running a regular guitar cabinet. I want to replace all my tube gear with the AXE FX-II and the Matrix (light 4 space rack) and not just use the FX-II as an effect processor.

So far the clean sounds do sound great (PS:I didn't notice much difference turning speaker simulation on/off for clean sounds). But the dirty sounds are still not matching my marshalls or VHT amps. If I leave speaker sim on, it sounds muddy. When I turn it off, it sounds "fryed". Some preset sounds are actually pretty OK, but still not what I was expecting for a total replacement of my amps. :?

I know the FX-II sounds amazing and that I am the one doing something wrong, so I look for your help. Strange too, when I plugged in a couple old headphones it sounds terrible (I made sure speaker sim was ON for this). The phones are actually OK, so what could be wrong here too?

I'll be buying new phones and I'm up for suggestions. I don't want to spend $1,000.00 on a pair ( I saw a member posting a nice one), but I'm willing to spend "good money" as I do play at home late at night (besides the live gigs).

Thanks for the help folks. I'm really enjoying this "whole new world". No more pedals mounted on racks, Ground control or CAE stuff to bring effects in and out, Egnater SS4 to use 4 amps into one cab etc. :D
 
When you're plugging into a poweramp and speaker cab, leave the speaker cab sims in the Axe-Fx off, always.

It's the poweramp sim in the Axe-Fx you want to leave on. Turn the Sag control in the Amp block to anything higher than 0 and that will enable the poweramp sim. Also, make sure that poweramp sims are enabled in the global menu as well.
 
I'm leaving the poweramp sim ON (because of the Solid State amp) and I'll leave the speaker sim off. I'm doing this via the global menu, but if I understood you correctly, I have to make sure that the SAG is set to "0" on the Amp block of the presets I'm using. Otherwise, even though the sim may be off under the Global setting, it will be enabled if Sag is higher than "0" correct?

Can these sims be set elsewhere besides the Global menu? I've only changed it under the Global menu on a few factory presets.

Thanks again GreatGreen
 
Same-setup, but I leave cab sims ON(because some patches sound good with it) and instead stick an FXloop in the patch. That sends an output to OUT2 that is predicated on the placement of the loop, so place in just in front of your cab(or just under it, connecting to the same point) and you have a cab-free output on OUT2, leaving cab sims on for OUT1 and FOH or whatever. Violin sounds better to me with the gtrbody cab in the mix, so I just put the fxloop at the end of that patch.

To just quick test patches, I either stick a powered speaker(RCF, QSC) on out1, or turn on COPY OUT1->OUT2 and turn off cabs for the test. Keep in mind TMA blocks and how they factor into this mess ;)
 
Carydad, thank you for your reply. I'll certainly give this a try.

It's interesting to see you leave the cab sims ON sometimes. In one of the presets I was playing with, it sounded better with it ON, but as I said, not good enough just yet. I'll keep trying. Thank you!
 
Prysma said:
I'm leaving the poweramp sim ON (because of the Solid State amp) and I'll leave the speaker sim off. I'm doing this via the global menu, but if I understood you correctly, I have to make sure that the SAG is set to "0" on the Amp block of the presets I'm using. Otherwise, even though the sim may be off under the Global setting, it will be enabled if Sag is higher than "0" correct?

Can these sims be set elsewhere besides the Global menu? I've only changed it under the Global menu on a few factory presets.



Thanks again GreatGreen
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If you want power amp sims to work, sag needs to be greater than zero. If you have power amp sims turned off in the global menu, it won't matter what sag is set to. They will be off until you change it in the global menu. I also use a power amp & guitar cabs & always have the power amp sims ON & cab sims OFF. That's what works best for me.
 
Notalemming, understood (and yes, power sims ON for me on this Matrix Solid State amp setup - I had it off while using the FX-II with the Mesa 2:90 Power Amp). Thank you.
 
Where's your output level on the Axe? Make sure you don't run too hot into the Matrix as it will likely overload the input stage.
 
Prysma said:
Notalemming, understood (and yes, power sims ON for me on this Matrix Solid State amp setup - I had it off while using the FX-II with the Mesa 2:90 Power Amp). Thank you.
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Prysma, how did the setup with the Mesa 2:90 sound? Assuming you used that config with speaker sims off as well as power amp sims?
 
The Matrix amps are not neutral. They emphasize the lows and highs. You will need to compensate for this.
 
You mentioned that it sounds "fried", I assume that you are implying that it sounds thin and raspy?

Try running a Filter or a Parameteric EQ after your amp block. Run the AXE with the power amp sim's on/cabinet sim's off. Set the filter as a highpass filter and start cutting off the higher end frequencies, you can do the same with a Para-Eq and you can set band 5 as a blocking filter.

This will cut off the higher frequencies that tend to make your tones sound thin, raspy, and fried. Do you run a boost in front of your higher gain amp patches? If you do try running a para-eq instead. Set a band to 770, .35, 5 or more and set it to peaking", this will give you the nice frown curve to act as a mid boost in front of the amp. I find this helps keep the body of the amp tone with giving it a boost. I find that the Drive pedals such as the tubescreamers tend to thin the tone out even more.

It is all about trial and error.
 
Prysma said:
Carydad, thank you for your reply. I'll certainly give this a try.

It's interesting to see you leave the cab sims ON sometimes. In one of the presets I was playing with, it sounded better with it ON, but as I said, not good enough just yet. I'll keep trying. Thank you!
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That is really the exception. Some patches dont have cabs, heck some dont have amps! All patches I use have the fxloop-it's all a matter of where I put it. So the cab sim is always on-I just route out2 before the cab. Except for violin. That might be the only one off the top of my head anyway.
 
FractalAudio said:
The Matrix amps are not neutral. They emphasize the lows and highs. You will need to compensate for this.
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Ooops. New information out of the blue. I think Matrix has some explanation to do here. Or is the relationship between the two companies changing?
 
Um. As far as i can tell the Matrix amps are pretty flat. Certainly a lot flatter than my old VHT power amps. I remember Jay Mitchell measuring the response of the Matrix, and saying it was nothing special, just a well designed flat response amp (his idea of nothing special though is generally pretty good).

Consequently Im surprised Cliff thinks they emphasize highs and lows. Not that I doubt his ear, and he will have head a few recently.
 
As for the OP - have you designed any patches yourself yet or just using factory ones. If you have made one, post it for us to have a look at/listen to on our systems. If you havent - then do. The factory presets are OK, but i only find a small handfull of tones I can work with (and in fact have never used one even as a base).
 
Nothing out of the blue. Cliff said this at least once before:

Cliff said:
Note that the Matrix power amps aren't really flat response. They are a bit tube-like so they will emphasize the speaker's impedance. So you may need to compensate a bit in your patches.
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the simplest fix may be to just lower the top and bottom bands of the global eq a bit. i would also advocate starting from scratch, so your patches match the system you're playing through. the presets are designed for FRFR, so may not translate that well.
 
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