Harsh Overtones in Moderate to High Gain Patches

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SteveW said:
I had the issue for years in both my Axe FX III's...I fixed it yesterday, finally, after some good advice here.

I turned the amp block volume down in all my presets...problem solved completely. And they are are all heavy metal distortion tones...Marshall, Mesa, Friedman etc...with distortion blocks.

It was more prevalent once I started to record myself through the USB audio...and I asked that question - the answer was that simple.
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Are you turning down master vol or output level?
 
SteveW said:
Output level
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Hi SteveW :)
I’m having the same problem… How low do you typically set the output? (0, -10, -20 ish?)
And do you know what makes the difference? … The setting should not make tone differences - but maybe you have som info on that?
All the best
Jeppe
 
SteveW said:
Output level
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I'm curious as well as I assume you are raising overall output level to compensate for the reduction in amp block output level. Not sure how the relative overall volume of the amp block to other blocks would affect tone. Will have to tinker with this - I'm wondering if cab input level could affect tone but I understood that the cab tone is not affected by changes in input level...interesting
 
I have also noticed a “crackle” on trailing notes as the noise gate kicks in, so loosening up the gate can help. It’s not even a little bit noticeable at gigs but it used to annoy me in the bedroom (that’s what… never mind)
 
tysonlt said:
I have also noticed a “crackle” on trailing notes as the noise gate kicks in, so loosening up the gate can help. It’s not even a little bit noticeable at gigs but it used to annoy me in the bedroom (that’s what… never mind)
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Noise gate should not result in crackle (does not here) - can be a sign of hitting cpu ceiling or input/output too hot though - "crackle" is a whole different thing than the "harshness" referred to above
 
Jeppe Rørbæk said:
Hi SteveW :)
I’m having the same problem… How low do you typically set the output? (0, -10, -20 ish?)
And do you know what makes the difference? … The setting should not make tone differences - but maybe you have som info on that?
All the best
Jeppe
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I'm typically around -10 to -14 depending on the amp model. Digital clipping of transients later in the signal chain can sound harsh, so I always aim for plenty of headroom. I use a lot of "edge of breakup" tones, which can end up using a lot of dynamic range, especially on the front end of a note if the power amp is compressing the signal very much. Not sure it's necessarily a tone difference as much as an artefact of digital clipping. It's not a sweet sound.

Liam
 
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sprint said:
Noise gate should not result in crackle (does not here) - can be a sign of hitting cpu ceiling or input/output too hot though - "crackle" is a whole different thing than the "harshness" referred to above
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CPU is about 60 on my presets usually. It’s towards the tail end of a held chord, I’ll have to make a recording. I might just be what tube amps sound like but I don’t remember my HRD doing it
 
Another vote that the QSC boxes are gross. They might be ok as vox monitors or even keyboard monitors. But the resonances and hyped upper mids (and weird plastic box 400hz tubb) are vomit for guitar.

That said, I have played through cheap behringers, and super dooper Meyer monitors and none of it makes sense onstage...until your brain adjusts to FRFR.
 
luckymethod said:
Is there a list of FRFR solutions you think do a good job somewhere? I used the search but couldn't find the magic combination of keywords to find it.

What do you think of the JBL EONs? https://jblpro.com/en-US/products/eon612
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I have two JBL EON 610s. Cliff has said elsewhere that they are a bit harsh and I agree. I got in with the Bluetooth app to put a high cut on both speakers which helped, but I haven’t used them since switching to the simple bliss of IEM.
 
LiamH said:
I'm typically around -10 to -14 depending on the amp model. Digital clipping of transients later in the signal chain can sound harsh, so I always aim for plenty of headroom. I use a lot of "edge of breakup" tones, which can end up using a lot of dynamic range, especially on the front end of a note if the power amp is compressing the signal very much. Not sure it's necessarily a tone difference as much as an artefact of digital clipping. It's not a sweet sound.

Liam
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Thank you Liam - I will try that and see what happens at rehersal 👍😊
 
GotMetalBoy said:
I agree. Even the low priced Harbinger powered speakers sound better in my opinion. When I was shopping for FRFR powered speakers, I brought my Axe-Fx II to my local Guitar Center and tested out all their speakers at stage volume. The QSC K12 sounded like they had a high frequency resonance that made my ears hurt and quickly caused ear fatigue.

I ended up buying a pair of Yamaha DXR12 powered speakers. I wanted to buy the smaller and lighter weight DXR10's but GC had a better sale for the DXR12's. The DXR10's ended up having a good sale a few years later, so I bought a pair of them too.

I know some people that use the Harbinger VARI V2315 and Harbinger VARI V2312 powered speakers and they actually sound really good for being a 3rd of the price of the Yamaha DXR12's and QSC K12's. You can usually get a 15% discount from MusiciansFriend.com too.

No matter what FRFR speakers I use, I set the Axe-Fx global EQ to low pass at 8K. This also prevents high squeal feedback from the tweeter/horn and allows you to use controlled feedback like with a real guitar cab.

I also use my speakers on stands, so they're at ear level, so no need to crank the volume or high end to compensate for a speaker on the floor.
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I absolutely love the Yamaha DXR 10 and 12
 
One thing that folks with "crackle" should check is the "Input 1 Gain" on the I/O Menu in Setup. This is a sensitive control (that I don't think is mentioned in the manual) that can wallop the front end of a preset and cause very unpleasant distortion if set much higher than 0dB.
 
Chuck P said:
One thing that folks with "crackle" should check is the "Input 1 Gain" on the I/O Menu in Setup. This is a sensitive control (that I don't think is mentioned in the manual) that can wallop the front end of a preset and cause very unpleasant distortion if set much higher than 0dB.
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Depends on what's in the preset. It adjusts the amp gain, globally, which is handy when using different guitars.

https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Setup_menu#Input_1_Gain
 
Sorry if it has been mentioned but have you tried adding a parametric EQ and doing a sweep for the offending frequency then drop it by 3 - 6db?

All my patches have a parametric eq after the cab for cutting annoying frequencies.

Mike
 
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