Glassy/Pristine High-Gain Lead Tone (The Human Abstract, Art by Numbers, BTBAM)

C

Century

Member
Hey guys, brand new to FAS forum. I got my Axe Fx II XL this week and have been really loving playing with it. The obstacle for me so far has been the enormous amount of options - I've been reading everything I can and experimenting with all the settings to figure out what does what, but it's slow-moving.

Anyways, I've been trying to nail my dream lead tone, which is the incredibly clean high-gain solo tone found on albums like Digital Veil by THA, Alaska by BtBAM, Reticence by Art by Numbers, etc. Think DiMarzio Liquifire in the neck (too bad, since I'm running BKP Aftermaths...).

Right now, I have a studio compression, a T808 mod, a gate, a 5153 Red amp, a variety of cabs, and reverb/delay. I've been tweaking the settings, but balancing the gain such that the tone is clean but compressed and the EQ such that the tone is dark but not muddy has been nearly impossible. I suspect my cab settings are giving me difficulty, but I have little to no experience tweaking that. Any tips or suggestions?

I can upload a report of my current patch if anyone is interested.

Thanks for any help!

EDIT: I should mention that I've seen Art by Numbers play Peavey 5150s into Mesa Rectifier cabs. I've heard that THA uses Diezel VH4s, Dual Recs and 5150s in their Axe Fxs, but no confirmation.
 
Hi, and welcome to the Land of Ah's !!

Lots of ways to dial in high-gain . . . I go thru each parameter to give it a tweak. After 5 yrs, I can go right it . . be patient and give yourself time to discover it all.
 
Hi and welcome, Century
I can't really help with your question but if I'm not mistaken you may be in the wrong section of the forum for what you are seeking. Tone Matching is a specific process using the Tone Matching block. To use it you first get your tone as accurate as possible by tweaking, then match it to a recording of the target tone.
To ask tweaking-type questions go to the Discussion section or the Preset section to get a download of someone's preset. Hope this helps, sorry if I'm wrong about what you are asking.
Cheers, and happy hunting!
 
I cannot over-emphasis the importance of pre-EQ. Insert a GEQ before the amp block to get rid of flabby bass and reinsert it after with a PEQ. Works like a charm every time. There's also the power amp cut in the amp block which is helpful.

It would be incredibly beneficial for you to post a patch and let me/us have a look at it for you. But really, we need to know what you are using for monitoring, so we can rule out any false bass or anything non axe related, before we start.

Do you have any third party cab impulses (IR's)?
 
Fabio KTG said:
I cannot over-emphasis the importance of pre-EQ. Insert a GEQ before the amp block to get rid of flabby bass and reinsert it after with a PEQ. Works like a charm every time. There's also the power amp cut in the amp block which is helpful.

It would be incredibly beneficial for you to post a patch and let me/us have a look at it for you. But really, we need to know what you are using for monitoring, so we can rule out any false bass or anything non axe related, before we start.

Do you have any third party cab impulses (IR's)?
Click to expand...

What do you usually EQ to get rid of the flabby bass?
 
Wow, sorry for the late bump, I've been travelling and didn't think to check this thread after the first week or so. Since creating this topic I've gotten a lot more proficient at tweaking with the Axe-Fx, but I would still love some input/helpful criticism of my patch strategy.

Here is a patch I created a few months ago that I haven't tweaked too much since the recent firmware updates. It's based off the Art by Numbers lead tone on Reticence the Musical. I've done some research and they are now using a 5153 Red as their amp, and based on past usage I'm guessing they're using a Rectifier cab or IR. I'm using the Ownhammer High-gain Essentials Mesa V30-ENs as my main IRs, specifically the SLST ST 01. The signal-chain is Studio Compression - T808 Mod - Gate - Amp - Cab - Reverb - Delay. My main problem with it is that it's not nearly as smooth as I'd like it to be, and tends to be a bit fizzy.

The second patch is a Human Abstract patch I made that has been giving me a ton of trouble. Same basic set-up, but with the Recto 1 Org Norm. My problem with it is an excess of punch, and the same lack of smoothness. They actually used Framus Cobras on their album Digital Veil, but I've read that the Recto is the closest to the Cobra that we can get in our black box.

Fabio: for monitoring right now I'm using some mid-range headphones. No studio monitors. When I want to play loud I play through some Logitech speakers. Believe me, some nice studio monitors will be on their way once I work off travel expenses. I've heard about the EQ technique you mentioned, but I've tried to stay away from it for the sake of

To be clear, I'm not asking anyone to build me a patch, I just want to know how some veterans would go about doing it, especially with these specific amp models. Thanks for the advice so far!

Sorry for posting in the wrong area, I wasn't quite sure based on the topic names so I guessed.
 

Attachments

  • Art by Numbers Lead.syx
    12.6 KB · Views: 58
  • The Human Abstract Lead.syx
    12.6 KB · Views: 48
Thanks for sharing these, I can't seem to get them to work though. Were these created on the ax II mark II?
-Brent
 
Made on a II XL, FW 15.03 if I'm not mistaken... what happens when you try to load them?

Looks like I didn't finish my thought up there - I meant to say I haven't tried the EQ technique because I want to see if I can hone in on the tone I want using just amp/effect controls. Just one of those compulsions, I'll make sure to try it in the near future!
 
As Andy Sneap says: "It's all about taming the low end." Fix the low end, and you'll find your crystal clear high-gain tones. (My personal favorites are from Opeth's Deliverance album).
 
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