HELP - Most Hi Gain Amps Sound Over-Driven, Muddy and Fuzzy

[clarky]

try a filter block in front of the these amps
set to null
low cut = 700
high cut = 880

in the amp block switch on the cut switch, turn down the bass to 3 or less
in the amp block EQ page, make a -3dB cut at 500Hz, and put back the missing low end by adding 1dB or 2dB to the bands below 500Hz
these amps should then tighten up

also.. when choosing the cab, pick a cab that don't strongly emphasise the lows
pick a cab that's tighter in the lows like the 4x12 TV mix or 4x12 AX mix

M4John - the lil' tricks I threw in above are good for any hi-gain amp that get's woolly in the low end..
this is pretty much all Mesa's plus a few others..
the FILTER block with those settings replicates a Tube Screamer set 'clean' - which is a tone tightening trick that was common in the 80's / 90's..
the idea is to strip the extreme hi's and lo's from the guitar's dry signal prior to the amp so that only the mids get strongly "excited" by the amp's gain..

if the suggested Amp settings [cut switch, low bass setting, Amp: EQ] are not enough on their own to tighten the tone, then go for the FILTER block with those settings to finish the job..

note though that other hi-gain amps [5150, 5153Red, VH4 ch4, Herbert ch3, HBE and some others I guess] don't need the FILTER..
these guys are generally tight by nature.. and if they're still a little loose, the cut switch is usually enough on it's own..

Cut Switch note: this will strip a little low end from the signal before it enters the amp.. so when it's on, the tone will tighten but thin out a little.. again, this is fixed by going to the Amp: EQ page to put the low end back..
the EQ page works because it does not affect the gain.
so this is different to the bass control in the basic page - turn up the bass control and not only does the bass increase, but it also gets more gain / distortion.. in fact this applies to all the basic page 'tone stack' EQ controls [bass, mid, treble, presence]..

the deal here is to use the Input-gain and B, M, T, P controls, along with the MV control to shape the voice of your tone in terms of how much dirt there is, and where in the freq range you want the dirt to be strong [or not]..
then the EQ page [because it's after the tone stack] can be used to fix-up the EQ..

Clarky likes the lo's to be lightly dirty, and the mids and hi's to get fried..

 

[yek]

I think that most of the advice given in this thread is over the OP's head.
After a month's use.

There's probably something wrong in the basic settings.
No need for advanced EQ-ing, Room reverb etc. at this stage.

Start with a reset and check levels and cables.

 

[M4John]

DING DING DING we have a winnahhh!
Turns out most of the sounds on the FX are totaly over driven for those guitars, and by starting from scrach i was able to easily get some pretty killer ton, with out all the snow and fizz of the high gain side. I feel sorry for wasting your guys time, but I SURE APPRECIATE all the great feedback ( no punn intended) i received! thanks everyone! the best part is, I dont have to post how shitty the sound was, nor do you have to listen to my sorry as play LOL Cheers you guys ! thanks again !

 

[6stringscott]

I'm a geek and into nerd knobs, but was initially overwhelmed with my new Axe Fx II XL purchase, and struggled with getting a usable tone.

I skimmed through the presets and wasn't impressed, most didn't match my countryish rock style of playing. I started building my patches from scratch. I was over ambitious in the beginning, and after struggling with my live sound in rehearsal/shows when it sounded good at low volume home practice, I changed my strategy.

Just stripped everything back to barebones amp+cab, not mucking with parallel combinations of cabs, only doing a mono setup, and took time to tune the little things and understand how they affect the sound. Basically, just noodling with the box, while playing at a high volume level while tweaking:
- input noise gate parameters
-basic controls on the amps
-add a simple drive in front, play with those parameters (drive/tone/level) to hear changes in the flavor of the distortion

Then you can get fancier with filters or EQs before and after the amp/cab or within those blocks, to address specific problems such as overly booming bass or too grating high end. And then you can refine a little more to make the EQ only kick in when you play harder, e.g. To take off the harsh high end when playing hard but leave some crisp high end when you are not playing as hard. After you dial in tones you like, be very careful to adjust the loudness of each patch and scene. I found that my failure to do this well up front caused me to be too loud or quiet in rehearsals and shows, and this affects my confidence/playing.

In any case, this is not a box where you use it as-is out of the box. I had a Line6 Ax2 2x12 that I used for a decade and barely customized anything. I found a handful of out of the box patches I liked, and that was it. I never thought about equalizing volume levels between patches.

I'm very happy with my Axe now, but you have to invest yourself to get it dialed. It can take you you anywhere you want to go, but you have to have to be able to articulate what you want and know how to translate that into signal processing concepts. That takes some outside reading along with time noodling I front of the box while playing. I'm still in the midst of that journey, but it just keeps getting better and better the more I dig into it.

 

[guitvai1]

Glad you figured out how to get some great tone out of the Axe Fx. I have a an EBMM JP6 (2014) and yes you have to dial back the gain a bit. Another great tip that was posted in a thread a few weeks ago by the guy who is programming the Axe Fx units for Mettallica is to go into the Cab block and cut the bass to between 80-100 and cut the treble to 15000. Although you may not immediately notice this difference my sound guy came up to me after the first set and said everything sounded so clear and that he did not have to apply any eq to my sound to make it sit in the mix.

 

[Rex]

Just stripped everything back to barebones amp+cab, not mucking with parallel combinations of cabs, only doing a mono setup, and took time to tune the little things and understand how they affect the sound. Basically, just noodling with the box, while playing at a high volume level while tweaking:
- input noise gate parameters
-basic controls on the amps
-add a simple drive in front, play with those parameters (drive/tone/level) to hear changes in the flavor of the distortion

I think everyone who owns an Axe-Fx should do this in the first week. By doing this, you learn the fundamentals of the box, and your confidence goes way up.

 

[M4John]

Add Room Level 70 - 100% when using headphones. Page 2 in Cab Block

great advice here ! seems to have removed some of that raspy fizzy fuzzy from the front of the tone. thank you !

 

[Klausi]

I had the same problem in the beginning. Read this: Connecting headphones - Axe-Fx II Wiki

 

[jwg]

I will try to figure out if I can post a few examples. Id be curious what it was you figured out, I have never gotten anything that im happy about.
Ill see what I can do for an example.
thanks !

First of all thank you for all reading this with the intent to help a brother out. I am using 3 Petrucci BFR's and a 6 and a 7 string Majesty, all exhibit a harsh over driven sound using presets such as Euro-Uber, FAS, Modern, Petrucci or Most of the USA (mesa) type amps/presets, or any for that matter that are set to a high gain (Distortion) type feel. I have lowered the line in for my instruments, tried tweaking input gain levels on various presets, and all Im really doing in making an already so-so sound, and crap sound.
I can not for the life of me achieve a nice tight chunka chunka distortion sound to save my life. It sounds like I have the input level cranked, the gain cranked and the brightness cranked, giving me this fizzy un-defined distorted mess. Im looking for a Petrucci as well as a Hetfield distortion / Amp sound.
I have also noticed that the Majesty's are brighter than the other JP's and the Majesty 7 sounds the worst (on the lower notes b and e strings)
what am I missing here???
My set up is as follows... All guitars are connected via a instrument cable direct to the front of the FX XL, the out put (1) both left and right go to a 4 channel mixer (1&2). the Output level for that output(1) block is set in the 9 to 10 o clock position. I come out of the mixer using the headset jack in to a headset. I also have a Ipad connected to channels 3 and 4 on the mixer that I mix in what ever music it is Im practicing.
Sorry to not be more familiar with things here, I have only had the unit about a month, and am at my wits end. Im breaking down and asking for help.
thanks in advance guys,
JOhn

Hi John - I am wondering if you ever figured out what the problem is. I have an AX8 but have been experiencing the same distorted fizzy fuzziness from day 1. Thanks for any input you may have.

Jim