G3 FW18 mini review

jharpersj

jharpersj

Inspired
Hey all,

Had a chance to fire up a beta version of the G3 modeling this morning. The short review, at least in my opinion, is that it is a big improvement and sounds and feels amazing.


I got in from a show at 3AM and then woke up and gave it a whirl so I am still a bit hazy today. But here are my thoughts. (keep in mind I loved the axe before but this is what I am hearing so when I say it is better that does not mean i was not 100% happy before but facts are what they are).

Highs are nicer and more pleasing (I am going thru an RCF), smoother but also plenty of nice bite that feels and sounds better.

Amps sound and respond like a super cranked amp in the room. What I mean by that is the sustain and dynamics and note separation are killer and remind me of what you get only with volume on a tube amp and pushing the speakers in a cab. it sustains regarless of your volume knob settings and even when you have the gain backed down. In the past I think you were hearing what an amp sounds like when you put your ear to the speaker, which is not as pleasing in feel or tone to what you actually feel and hear in the room. This version now seems to capture that in the room magic but coming thru the FRFR, and still has fantastic dynamics and clarity's or I could just say it is fucking great to play thru !


Volume knob dynamics are fantastic, and note separation which is super important to me is great. I just did a show last note before the update and thought it sounded great, this is better. Sounds better, feels better. More to come as I have more time with it ! another big leap forward for Cliff and team.
 
That sounds awesome! What amps model did you tested? I guess your beta version does not contains all G2 models since Cliff said it would take several weeks to convert all models to G3 technology so I wonder. Thanks!
 
Wow. Man, I can't wait to get my hands on this. I'm normally not as much of a FW upgrade junkie, (I am, but not like foaming at the mouth crazy ) but this G3 thing has me really curious.
I dig my Axe. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it for recording. I can track in the middle of the night in headphones and end up with great tones on my recording. NEVER could do that before AXE.

Live, I like it a lot. The flexibility, more compact nature of the setup (especially when using IEM!) is AWESOME. It sounds really good, and it's a dream rig of sorts. Lately, I've been KIND of missing my 4x12 cab and that big in the room sound. There is just something about that big power and "fills me up" feeling when all that guitar sound is going on around me. Been thinking of running my Axe that way... I've never tried it. I went with the CLR's from day one. This new update sounds like it could take the experience up a notch.

Any thing you DON'T like??
 
My current plan:

1) Drink every night until FW18 comes out.
2) When it is released, be patient (for about half an hour). Do your last recordings with FW17.04 to upload some comparison recordings.
3) Remember/learn playing, and record that god damn album that couldn't be done for many years.

:)
 
Cool, couple of quick questions, if you are allowed to answer... (NDA, and all)

Did you have to adjust anything at all, or did it work out of the gate with your current presets, as is?

If you did adjust, what did you feel you needed to adjust?
 
I have a question:
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:mrgreen

I did just go through your old posts and figured out a few things. You should put your bands URL in your sig.
 
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Fractal is amazing, but I'm glad I haven't been updating presets this year. The improvements are fantastic, but the constant updating is becoming a real pain. I really hope G3 is the end of the constant addition and changing of controls. A normal amp has so few controls. I like the fact that Fractal exposes more controls to adjust, but at some point I would prefer Fractal lock down one set of controls going forward forever and let any firmware changes "improve" the tone without any new or removed controls that need to be compensated for. There are many advanced and other controls which are fantastic (and have a huge affect on tone between the hi and low setting - a good example is power tube bias) but there are others that when you swing them both to hi and low there is very little discernible difference. The tone will be amazing in G3, so I hope we can simplify controls going forward.

G3 is a charm!
 
Awesome taster, thanks for the information (person I have not heard of before but sounds pretty important). :)

jharpersj said:
This version now seems to capture that in the room magic but coming thru the FRFR, and still has fantastic dynamics and clarity's or I could just say it is fucking great to play thru !
Click to expand...

Question please, how does it sound through headphones? (for us people with kids who have little choice in how we can enjoy our Axes)
 
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Axeman said:
Fractal is amazing, but I'm glad I haven't been updating presets this year. The improvements are fantastic, but the constant updating is becoming a real pain. I really hope G3 is the end of the constant addition and changing of controls. A normal amp has so few controls. I like the fact that Fractal exposes more controls to adjust, but at some point I would prefer Fractal lock down one set of controls going forward forever and let any firmware changes "improve" the tone without any new or removed controls that need to be compensated for. There are many advanced and other controls which are fantastic (and have a huge affect on tone between the hi and low setting - a good example is power tube bias) but there are others that when you swing them both to hi and low there is very little discernible difference. The tone will be amazing in G3, so I hope we can simplify controls going forward.

G3 is a charm!
Click to expand...

Just do what I do, and pick the ones that seem to do what you want, and don't touch the rest. Out of the current 90, or so amp controls, I really only use about 10 or 12 to get the tone I like. The other controls just don't change anything that really needs changing to get what I like to hear, and it's pretty consistent for every amp.
 
Can't come soooooooon enough! Fractal are once again proving that they are streets ahead in advancement and service. Sounds like a fantastic update.
 
Hey guys I will try to answer all the questions - No nothing I did not like about it, exact opposite, instantly loved it. Volume on my RCF was varied from low to more than gig volume (so super quiet to crazy loud). Headphones sorry no clue, my setup is not tweaked for that so I can't comment but I would think if it is good for you now then it will be smoother and warmer after the upgrade. Was right out of the gate for me, tweaking was no big deal, reset amp, set the gain, pulled back the depth moved the amp master around a bit, then just a few tweaks with treb/mid/bass. No advanced parameters were tweaked. Stuck with same cabs. I am OK with tweaking my presets with firmware upgrades, I get some people's frustration but if you are happy then don't upgrade. I will put the time in to get the benefits of the firmware upgrades. I stick to one clean, one mid dirty, one higher gain but still more like a rythym tone and use scenes and " boost pedals" for solo's so I tweak like three presets and I am done. Many times I have upgraded and spent 20 minutes and then off to a gig. I always make sure not to have too much bass/depth and use the high/low cut in the cab block.

Ha ha OK the who is this guy questions are funny, but here goes long time fractal user (on the artist page) lots of my actual amps are in the axe (Carol Ann Triptik, Bogner Shiva, Blue Face Diezel VH4, Carol Ann 1-12 cab). Long time Carol Ann, Fractal and Tom Anderson artist, live in Boston, more of a lurker than a poster but do a lot of studio and live stuff. Here is a link to my original band's music.

https://soundcloud.com/fightingfriday/tracks

Hope this helps you guys are in for a treat with G3
 
I don't think i have ever been more obsessed over anything else, ever!
Its beyond me how anyone can ever want to look back, apart from to laugh about how far its come and how lucky we are to be a part of the Fractal family. Never had any reason to doubt Cliff or the FAS team!
Thanks for the information and a little more insight :)
 
jharpersj said:
Hey guys I will try to answer all the questions - No nothing I did not like about it, exact opposite, instantly loved it. Volume on my RCF was varied from low to more than gig volume (so super quiet to crazy loud). Headphones sorry no clue, my setup is not tweaked for that so I can't comment but I would think if it is good for you now then it will be smoother and warmer after the upgrade. Was right out of the gate for me, tweaking was no big deal, reset amp, set the gain, pulled back the depth moved the amp master around a bit, then just a few tweaks with treb/mid/bass. No advanced parameters were tweaked. Stuck with same cabs. I am OK with tweaking my presets with firmware upgrades, I get some people's frustration but if you are happy then don't upgrade. I will put the time in to get the benefits of the firmware upgrades. I stick to one clean, one mid dirty, one higher gain but still more like a rythym tone and use scenes and " boost pedals" for solo's so I tweak like three presets and I am done. Many times I have upgraded and spent 20 minutes and then off to a gig. I always make sure not to have too much bass/depth and use the high/low cut in the cab block.

Ha ha OK the who is this guy questions are funny, but here goes long time fractal user (on the artist page) lots of my actual amps are in the axe (Carol Ann Triptik, Bogner Shiva, Blue Face Diezel VH4, Carol Ann 1-12 cab). Long time Carol Ann, Fractal and Tom Anderson artist, live in Boston, more of a lurker than a poster but do a lot of studio and live stuff. Here is a link to my original band's music.

https://soundcloud.com/fightingfriday/tracks

Hope this helps you guys are in for a treat with G3
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Spot on. Accurately describes my impressions that's for sure. There are many FW upgrades that are very subtle and for this old guys ears seem somewhat indistinguishable from the previous version. Not so here IMO. The first two things that stood out for me at all volumes was the volume knob dynamics and sustain. jharpers states it much more eloquently than I could so I say again... Spot On!

Be patient and let Cliff do his magic. You will NOT be disappointed!
 
cobbler said:
Be patient and let Cliff do his magic. You will NOT be disappointed!
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Personally, I highly doubt there will be any disappointment from me. For me, it's a matter of knowing how long I'll have to spend tweaking before I can have my patches ready to go live again, so I can set aside the time I need to fiddle with the new stuff between projects. I have a lot going on, so I'd like to get a feeling of what I'm looking forward to, so I can make the time, because everything I've read about G3 so far sounds wonderful.
 
BrainalLeakage said:
Personally, I highly doubt there will be any disappointment from me. For me, it's a matter of knowing how long I'll have to spend tweaking before I can have my patches ready to go live again, so I can set aside the time I need to fiddle with the new stuff between projects. I have a lot going on, so I'd like to get a feeling of what I'm looking forward to, so I can make the time, because everything I've read about G3 so far sounds wonderful.
Click to expand...

I haven't touched an advanced parameter. Gain, Master, Bass, Mid, Treb... done. Then I look up at the clock thinking it's been about 30 minutes only to realize I just spent 3 hours noodling on the Deluxe Tweed.
 
cobbler said:
I haven't touched an advanced parameter. Gain, Master, Bass, Mid, Treb... done. Then I look up at the clock thinking it's been about 30 minutes only to realize I just spent 3 hours noodling on the Deluxe Tweed.
Click to expand...

Knowing me, I will mess with a few advanced parameters. There are just certain things I like to dial out, that even when I used real amps I would dial out. With certain things, realism is fun, but not always practical. I know it sounds a bit backwards, but my theory is that, it's better to start off with the closest you can get to real as possible, and only cut out the small bits you don't like, than it is to start off with less than real trying to find something that was never there.
 
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