Have we reached the end of new amp models in the Axe 3?

Larry Ball said:
That is the beauty of owning a Fractal. If the internet died tomorrow and there was no more updates, I would still be making presets in 10 years with it and finding satisfaction.
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giantslayer said:
If Keith Richards had one of these back in the day…
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sprint said:
would've been a waste - always running on a dryish Fender Twin patch - set up for a 5 string'd tele - all he needs
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I don’t think anyone got my joke… I was referring to the song “satisfaction.”
 
toneseeker911 said:
I’m hoping fractal can think of a better way to handle IRs. Maybe a GUI type interface like the two notes stuff. Auditioning hundreds of files while keeping your ears honest is not the greatest experience. And the cab has such a big impact on tone.
Prefer some more of these quality of life updates, since the amp modeling problem is pretty much solved (in my books)
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The only thing I liked about the Quad Cortex was how easy the IRs were to dial in. You pick a cab you like and the mics you like and move them to where it sounds good and you're done.
 
I've watched a lot of Helix / Line 6 videos. When they first came out with the Revv amp models I can remember the huge hype. I also remember how long the hype lasted. Didn't take long for the majority of people to go back to other amp models for their high gain tones.

I want someone to convince me Revv amps are actually that good. Why are they so good? Why the most requested amp model ever but in the Helix not one of the most used amp models after hype machine died down?

To me the whole purpose of the amp seems to be. Heres a more versatile 6505 type amp. The high gain channels come across extremely 6505/5150 sounding to me. Then you have lower gain channels and clean.

I feel like a bitter old man and I'm only 25. I remember the first time I saw the Revv amps. It was the Keith Merrow demo. I still remember exactly how I thought about it. I was like wow, a 6505 sound with more versatility in the amp.... Keith was / is an avid 5150 guy. If you were to actually separate my younger self from the hype and my eyes looking at the amp. I would've said I still preferred the 5150s gain channel at least slightly. Lot of people were saying that back then, but the versatility meant the amp was worth it overall.
 
ruso said:
I’m waiting for a Plexi model.
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🤪 Yeah right!
Truth be told, if the FM3 would only contain the Plexis (and was called the Plexinator or something like that), I would still beg FAS to take my money, same amount of dough. Long story short, I for one, as an avid Plexiboy, am good…. 😀
 
I long-ago learned, to service amps I own, and build amps that I couldn’t find (until I found Fractal). I want to understand what we think that we need.

Amps (and pedals) are mostly iterations of what’s been done before. They are all based on a few early designs, with tweaks and additions. Fractal has modeled so many amps, and has also provided the ability to edit both fundamental and esoteric parementers, it’s difficult to believe more models are necessary (versus perhaps nice).

Example: I love my Traynor YBA-1. It sounds beautiful. It is a very early model, with tube rectification. I live close to Canada, so I scored lucky. It is somewhere between a Tweed Bassman and an early Marshall. It uses three 7025A’s, two 7027A’s and a 5AR4. Plus some other bits here and there. I have been able to get it into my III, so the satisfaction of my old ears and brain. 4F361E93-C69E-46FA-BA01-F2AD33A1609C.jpeg
 
cole lewis said:
I've watched a lot of Helix / Line 6 videos. When they first came out with the Revv amp models I can remember the huge hype. I also remember how long the hype lasted. Didn't take long for the majority of people to go back to other amp models for their high gain tones.

I want someone to convince me Revv amps are actually that good. Why are they so good? Why the most requested amp model ever but in the Helix not one of the most used amp models after hype machine died down?

To me the whole purpose of the amp seems to be. Heres a more versatile 6505 type amp. The high gain channels come across extremely 6505/5150 sounding to me. Then you have lower gain channels and clean.

I feel like a bitter old man and I'm only 25. I remember the first time I saw the Revv amps. It was the Keith Merrow demo. I still remember exactly how I thought about it. I was like wow, a 6505 sound with more versatility in the amp.... Keith was / is an avid 5150 guy. If you were to actually separate my younger self from the hype and my eyes looking at the amp. I would've said I still preferred the 5150s gain channel at least slightly. Lot of people were saying that back then, but the versatility meant the amp was worth it overall.
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Amazing how that effect applies more generally. With all the 100s of amps avalable these days, modelled or real, many still gravitate back to 3 iconic 50yo+ amp choices that can be set up / augmented with pedals to do a really wide range of sounds: Vox AC, Marshall Plexi, Fender. That simplicity is why I like my Strymon Iridium Pedal - it just has those 3 sounds in it with some extended range on the Plexi/Vox for hotrodded sounds without adding pedals - of course Axefx can have this simplicity as well if one chooses to use it that way, but Iridium is interesting in that it's a small modelling pedal limited to just that, + with basic tactile controls only, but pretty powerful within that if you set up the midi preset switching on it (that requires the totally p.i.t.a. proprietary 1/4" midi cable - grrr 😡)
 
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skydog said:
I long-ago learned, to service amps I own, and build amps that I couldn’t find (until I found Fractal). I want to understand what we think that we need.

Amps (and pedals) are mostly iterations of what’s been done before. They are all based on a few early designs, with tweaks and additions. Fractal has modeled so many amps, and has also provided the ability to edit both fundamental and esoteric parementers, it’s difficult to believe more models are necessary (versus perhaps nice).

Example: I love my Traynor YBA-1. It sounds beautiful. It is a very early model, with tube rectification. I live close to Canada, so I scored lucky. It is somewhere between a Tweed Bassman and an early Marshall. It uses three 7025A’s, two 7027A’s and a 5AR4. Plus some other bits here and there. I have been able to get it into my III, so the satisfaction of my old ears and brain. View attachment 102716
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Never played it, but I've heard good things about this one.

Care to share your Axe version?
 
I would also love to know how to YBA in the axe!

Cliff already gave us idealized fenders, mesa, marshall, peavey, SVT - what other idealized mainstream things are in demand?
 
I suspect more amps will be modeled eventually although Cliff's attention currently seems more engaged in modeling improvements.
 
skydog said:
I long-ago learned, to service amps I own, and build amps that I couldn’t find (until I found Fractal). I want to understand what we think that we need.

Amps (and pedals) are mostly iterations of what’s been done before. They are all based on a few early designs, with tweaks and additions. Fractal has modeled so many amps, and has also provided the ability to edit both fundamental and esoteric parementers, it’s difficult to believe more models are necessary (versus perhaps nice).

Example: I love my Traynor YBA-1. It sounds beautiful. It is a very early model, with tube rectification. I live close to Canada, so I scored lucky. It is somewhere between a Tweed Bassman and an early Marshall. It uses three 7025A’s, two 7027A’s and a 5AR4. Plus some other bits here and there. I have been able to get it into my III, so the satisfaction of my old ears and brain. View attachment 102716
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This is a perfect candidate for what I wrote about earlier in this thread, to create a repository in the wiki for recreating particular amps through tweaks, either through preset or block channel uploads or instructions. Very cool!
 
Variable said:
The Axe has way more amp models than anyone else, and they all sound amazing. But I have noticed that it's been some time since we've had a flush of new models (not just expansions of existing models) and I'm wondering if this is it, or if Cliff has some super secret amp models up his sleeve.
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There are lots of amp wishes here and I hope everyone gets their wish.
But personally, I'd rather the time was spent on usability improvements. Many of us have been talking about a more readable screen for nearly four years. Navigation improvements (some that have been made recently are awesome). Efficiency improvements, both in usability, and in CPU usage.
These things would be of wider benefit, IMO.
 
cole lewis said:
I've watched a lot of Helix / Line 6 videos. When they first came out with the Revv amp models I can remember the huge hype. I also remember how long the hype lasted. Didn't take long for the majority of people to go back to other amp models for their high gain tones.

I want someone to convince me Revv amps are actually that good. Why are they so good? Why the most requested amp model ever but in the Helix not one of the most used amp models after hype machine died down?

To me the whole purpose of the amp seems to be. Heres a more versatile 6505 type amp. The high gain channels come across extremely 6505/5150 sounding to me. Then you have lower gain channels and clean.

I feel like a bitter old man and I'm only 25. I remember the first time I saw the Revv amps. It was the Keith Merrow demo. I still remember exactly how I thought about it. I was like wow, a 6505 sound with more versatility in the amp.... Keith was / is an avid 5150 guy. If you were to actually separate my younger self from the hype and my eyes looking at the amp. I would've said I still preferred the 5150s gain channel at least slightly. Lot of people were saying that back then, but the versatility meant the amp was worth it overall.
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I've got a Revv head and it just sounds like a dual rec with the bass rolled all the way off, to me. Would sound great in a live context with a loud band, but nothing particularly special out of the box.
 
skydog said:
Amps (and pedals) are mostly iterations of what’s been done before. They are all based on a few early designs, with tweaks and additions. Fractal has modeled so many amps, and has also provided the ability to edit both fundamental and esoteric parementers, it’s difficult to believe more models are necessary (versus perhaps nice).
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Yep.

I think the vast majority of requests for new or different amps come from people who don’t understand ^^that^^.
 
260+ amps is not enough? I mean, sure...I would love a couple of them that aren't there now but to be honest, there is a lot more of what I like in the box then not, so I'm good with what is there! No complaints!
 
sprint said:
what's not readable / navigable? Is your first name Rhett?
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Nothing on the AXE is readable for me from 6 feet away, on stage.
The Helix and Neural units are much better in this regard. Larger, bolder type, better use of screen space (a third of the Fractal screen is largely blank, unless your scene names are long).
Heck, I don't even need to read the words. If I could just tell if it were on Scene 2 or Scene 3, that would be a big help.
I think Fractal knows it can be a problem for folks and they posted a possible solution they have been working on last year. But still nothing concrete yet.
It's a big issue for some people. And for me personally, the ONLY area where Fractal falls short of competitors.
 
You could probably cut the list of amps down to 1/3 without really losing any unique sound. I don't think there's that many brands that could truly bring something new to the unit. A huge ton of amps are a variation of some Marshall, Fender, Vox etc.

As an example, I have dialed in the Bogner Goldfinger 45 Superlead and my Victory VC35 pretty nicely on the Axe-Fx despite neither amp being modeled. How? I knew the Bogner is basically a Fender Super Reverb clean channel paired with a very versatile overdrive channel spanning Superlead, JCM800 and Bogner Shiva sounds. The Victory on the other hand is pretty similar to the Morgan AC-20 Deluxe model but you can get Vox AC30 and Matchless DC30 models to similar directions too. You have lots of tools in the Amp block to work out the little variations and tweaks manufacturers put to make their amps sound different.

There's value in having those kind of sound combinations in the real amp as well as the extra controls offered but in the digital modeling realm, not so much when you can basically stuff any combination of amps into your preset at any settings, even ones not possible on the real thing. So many amps are about doing something more practical compared to all the old classics you find in modelers. I don't want a heavy ass real AC30 so the VC35 is perfect as an 8.2 kg head.
 
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