Gift of Tone #15 - PHIL COLLEN of DEF LEPPARD

ak301 said:
As I understand it Phil heard the III being played by John Pettrucci on the G3 tour and was blown away by it and I think they bought some soon after
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I remember him saying that but they were using Axe III for just effects weren't they, so was it John Petrucci that convinced Phil to use the amp sims or just to get the unit for effects, before he had one etc? JP only uses effects on the Axe III himself as far as I'm aware.
 
Paulzx said:
I remember him saying that but they were using Axe III for just effects weren't they, so was it John Petrucci that convinced Phil to use the amp sims or just to get the unit for effects, before he had one etc? JP only uses effects on the Axe III himself as far as I'm aware.
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He uses it for everything in his practice room
 
Paulzx said:
I remember him saying that but they were using Axe III for just effects weren't they, so was it John Petrucci that convinced Phil to use the amp sims or just to get the unit for effects, before he had one etc? JP only uses effects on the Axe III himself as far as I'm aware.
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My understanding was, John had an early III as this was the first time Phil had come across the unit and was blown away by it, and DL adopted it soon after replacing the JMP AxfxII rigs
 
Can we talk about the pre set??

Who is decreasing the depth to noon at least? I feel like that is why it is a bit dark. Odd thing is the guitar they design it with should not need more depth. I find above noon depth kills mids, but it could be the best method to get a stadium pa to goose the goods from a modeler??
 
Paulzx said:
Hey John, I was wondering seeing as the guys were using the fractal previously but just for effects, who's idea was it to actually start using
the amp sims?
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While we were on the G3 tour in early 2018 John Petrucci had gotten an early Axe Fx 3. We were walking by his dressing room and heard it so we popped in to see it, and Phil loved it. I pulled up a Leppard setlist and he sat down and played bits and pieces of a bunch of Lep tunes. I remember him turning to me and saying "I could gig with this right now." He had always preferred the JMP rackmount preamp, but the modeling in the 3 finally convinced him to go all-in.
 
jzguitar said:
While we were on the G3 tour in early 2018 John Petrucci had gotten an early Axe Fx 3. We were walking by his dressing room and heard it so we popped in to see it, and Phil loved it. I pulled up a Leppard setlist and he sat down and played bits and pieces of a bunch of Lep tunes. I remember him turning to me and saying "I could gig with this right now." He had always preferred the JMP rackmount preamp, but the modeling in the 3 finally convinced him to go all-in.
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That's a great story, the biggest names associated with Fractal now!
 
Thank you to fractal, Phil and John! I play in a Def lep tribute and these will definitely help. The fm9 file I downloaded only had one stock can though.
 
Leppard Live June 30, 2022

This was my band’s first show and I’m pretty sure it was my first show using the fm9. I like the tone I’m getting but I’m also going to a/b this with the Phil preset at my next gig on the 6th at a theater to compare. I think I was pretty close then as I was using the same amp block and similar cabs.
 
skyhighrocks said:
Leppard Live June 30, 2022

This was my band’s first show and I’m pretty sure it was my first show using the fm9. I like the tone I’m getting but I’m also going to a/b this with the Phil preset at my next gig on the 6th at a theater to compare. I think I was pretty close then as I was using the same amp block and similar cabs.
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Good effort on that live show clip - a lot better than some tribute bands out there. I like the guitar tone, sounds more like the record tone than the live tone. That's probably a bit of a dilemma if you're a tribute band. Most people who see you probably don't know that Leppard's live sound has changed over the years quite drastically so it's probably more recognisable to try and sound like the records you're covering rather than your own personal favourite tones etc.

I'm not sure the Phil preset would work in that context. When you go and see Leppard, the draw is seeing the real band however they perform those songs at that time. When it's a tribute band, you're not really going to see legendary musician's, you're going to listen to familiar songs delivered in a fashion reminiscent to the records you grew up listening to, therefore your aim should be to sound as much like the records as you can, rather than sound like the real band live - in my opinion anyway. It's an interesting dilemma isn't it?
 
Paulzx said:
Good effort on that live show clip - a lot better than some tribute bands out there. I like the guitar tone, sounds more like the record tone than the live tone. That's probably a bit of a dilemma if you're a tribute band. Most people who see you probably don't know that Leppard's live sound has changed over the years quite drastically so it's probably more recognisable to try and sound like the records you're covering rather than your own personal favourite tones etc.

I'm not sure the Phil preset would work in that context. When you go and see Leppard, the draw is seeing the real band however they perform those songs at that time. When it's a tribute band, you're not really going to see legendary musician's, you're going to listen to familiar songs delivered in a fashion reminiscent to the records you grew up listening to, therefore your aim should be to sound as much like the records as you can, rather than sound like the real band live - in my opinion anyway. It's an interesting dilemma isn't it?
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Also, like the real band live as they sound now, or when those hits came out?
 
Dave Merrill said:
Also, like the real band live as they sound now, or when those hits came out?
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That's exactly what I was getting at, I think a tribute band would have to aim for the record tones on the hits as people know them as opposed to the live sound of the band now. The Phil preset is very interesting to us guitarists who admire Phil and love the way they sound live. It's two different audiences though isn't it?
 
Paulzx said:
That's exactly what I was getting at, I think a tribute band would have to aim for the record tones on the hits as people know them as opposed to the live sound of the band now. The Phil preset is very interesting to us guitarists who admire Phil and love the way they sound live. It's two different audiences though isn't it?
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Three options really: Like the original record, like the band live at that time, or like the live band now. That's about the playing too not just the tones.

Most people only know the record, but I bet what's most important is the energy and enthusiasm you put into it, whatever tones you've got going on.
 
A little late to the party but I want to jump in and also send a sincere thanks to @jzguitar, and the FAS team for providing this amazing patch and support! I am a long time Helix user, and just got my FM9. I am a big Leppard fan and my main guitar for a number of years is a PC-1.

When I loaded this patch and played the opening riff to Photograph, I couldn't stop giggling. :)

Still learning the different workflow but the FM9 sounds great! This thread alone has a provided a bunch of insights not only on Phil's rig but also on settings in the unit itself.

Thanks again!
 
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