Help With DIscouragement

Tyler Box

Tyler Box

Member
Hey guys, bit of help needed. I know this is an awesome community so I thought I would give this a shot.

Im currently in a state im going to call "Tone Confused". I simply cannot find a metal tone that I like out of my Axe Fx 2 Mk2. Ive owned it for about 6 months, and im close to giving up. Ive tried making new patches by myself, ive tried the axe change patches. Nothing sounds right to me. My current patch is attached below, if anyone can please tell me what im doing wrong I would love to hear it.

Perhaps some random global setting is wrong, perhaps im just dumb. But ive seen every band, every youtuber, EVERYBODY get a good metal tone out of the AXE FX.... except me. My in room tone with the current patch is really meh, but can sound awful depending on where I have the cab facing. My recorded tone is awful. Clipping galore and recording dry with no EQ sounds nothing like in the room and is simply atrocious. (Direct USB Into Reaper)

Literally any help would be so much appreciated. A new patch for me to try, a new setting to adjust, a 101 on how to set up a good metal patch. I have so many questions is hard to ask all of them in one post. So please comment down below and I will provide specific answers to any questions you may have. Im going for a tight, bright, heavy tone (Like Periphery, Veil Of Maya, etc) with a heavy noise gate.

Current Signal Chain

Mark Holcomb SIgnaature PRS SE (Duncan Pickups)
Axe FX 2 Mk 2
Crest Audio Lt 1000 Power Amp
Bugera 2x12
 

Attachments

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I will have to say that is at least part of the issue right there.

You NEED a decent set of monitors in order to hear what’s really going on. Without them, your getting only some of the information/ audio your axe fx is producing. If you are serious about recording at least get yourself a decent pair of headphones. I would also recommend using your 2x12 cab for live performance only. There are plenty of amazing cab IRs you can use. I’m not at my Axe right now. I’ll be happy to share a couple of my favorite presets that I’ve built. I also have some posted on Axechange. Tbh though, they are really simple, straightforward builds and not a lot going on, I don’t mess with advance settings except for the low and high pass filters on the cab. I bring the HP to about 100hz and the LP to around 6khz.

Is your Main Out from Reaper going to your 2x12 as well?
 
jlynnb1 said:
post clips
Click to expand...
I know right, it’s time to bite the bullet on monitors. So your suggesting that I ditch the cab and just use monitors instead? The only issue with that is I have no idea what it will sound like until I make that purchase.

And no, I have a pair of Shure SE215’s that I use when “mixing” and I say that word generously.

So should I not have a cab block on the patch when using my cab in my room? Are you saying that is only used with monitors?
 
Tyler Box said:
I know right, it’s time to bite the bullet on monitors. So your suggesting that I ditch the cab and just use monitors instead? The only issue with that is I have no idea what it will sound like until I make that purchase.

And no, I have a pair of Shure SE215’s that I use when “mixing” and I say that word generously.

So should I not have a cab block on the patch when using my cab in my room? Are you saying that is only used with monitors?
Click to expand...
yes, no cab block when using a real cab. how are you powering the cab?
 
A power amp, Crest Audio Lt1000.

And I’m so sorry guys new to this world I sound like a complete dumbass. I appreciate everything so far though
 
No worries, man. Happy to help out.

If your using the USB cable and recording direct into Reaper, and using a CAB block; then what your hear out of your 2x12 bugera and what you hear playback from Reaper will always sound different. Because Reaper is not recording your Bugera cabinet. It is recording whatever CAB IR you choose in the Axe FX.
 
I noticed your presets have 2 x cabs. If you're running in to your Bugera, either disable the cab blocks or turn cab modeling to OFF in the Global settings.

Also, you may want to start with the basics. In your case, that would be just dialing in an amp that your familiar with - disable the rest of the chain; gate, comp, drive.
 
To clarify : my post was addressing your in room tone, not your recorded tone. If you don't have monitors yet, you may want to hold off on your recorded tone.
 
Ok. Thank you all!! So tomorrow when I have my axe my plan of action will be....

1. Disable Cab IR’s for in room cab sound
2. Get rid of all drives comps etc blocks in front of the amp.
3. Start fresh with a new amp (Either
Ok. Thank you all!! So tomorrow when I have my axe my plan of action will be....

1. Disable Cab IR’s for in room cab sound
2. Get rid of all drives comps etc blocks in front of the amp.
3. Start fresh with a new amp (Either a FAS modern or 6160 Block)

I will hold off on recording serously until I get monitors!

Any good amps to try for that heavy tone? Is my power amp in any way tied into this? If so how?
 
Also, I forgot to mention. Don’t let it discourage you. You’ll get there. It’s just a matter of learning what you need to do to get the results your after. Tons of help here on the forum and a plethora of threads to sift through. If you haven’t already, search out some threads discussing Amp in the Room vs IR.
 
Coupla things... like Tyler Box said, no cab sims when using a real cab - or - leave the cabs there in your chain, BUT turn off cab modeling via the front panel GLOBAL switch, then go to the CONFIG folder.

Also, PAGE > over one more GLOBAL folder to OUT1 and play with the EQ sliders. Note: the last slider is GAIN. Far left sliders are for bass, the middle for mids and the right end is the crispy stuff. Even scooped metal sounds don't need the 10-band sliders in the middle to go too far below the flat line. Bear in mind though, this is a global setting so it will use this EQ on any other patch you call up. But it does help you dial in the tone pretty quick.

Watch your "dirt/gain" levels in your chain because you are using a hot amp AND a drive pedal. Each should be kind of low, well below half, more like 1/3.

The gate threshold can also tweak your tone in a bad way if you push it too far to kill the noise from a hot amp that is front-ended with a drive pedal.

I have found that "dialed-in" tones will sound wildly different, depending on your hook-up. I have a great tone that I dialed-in using the tube amp as the listening source and it sounds awful (waaaay loud, in a bad way, and far too bassy) through the headphones. Conversely, I've done some great headphone stuff that feels kind of flat when I ran it through the amp, even though I adjusted the GLOBAL settings when I changed the hook-up method.

You're on the right track, keeping things fairly simple in the chain until you get the base tone dialed-in.

Hope you have good luck!! Keep at it!
 
Tyler Box said:
Ok. Thank you all!! So tomorrow when I have my axe my plan of action will be....

1. Disable Cab IR’s for in room cab sound
2. Get rid of all drives comps etc blocks in front of the amp.
3. Start fresh with a new amp (Either
Ok. Thank you all!! So tomorrow when I have my axe my plan of action will be....

1. Disable Cab IR’s for in room cab sound
2. Get rid of all drives comps etc blocks in front of the amp.
3. Start fresh with a new amp (Either a FAS modern or 6160 Block)

I will hold off on recording serously until I get monitors!

Any good amps to try for that heavy tone? Is my power amp in any way tied into this? If so how?
Click to expand...


My Fav Amp for Metal has been the Fredman BE v1 I think? If you use the CUT switch, you don’t even need a Drive block. The block letter 5150 is pretty cool too.
 
Awesome guys I’m feeling a lot better about this whole situation!!

Last and final thing for the night, and I will keep you guys posted tomorrow on how it works out.

How does my power amp work into this equation? Does it color the tone in a bad way? I’ve always looked at it as simply applying power to my rig but I guess it literally IS the base tone for everything!
 
Tyler Box said:
Awesome guys I’m feeling a lot better about this whole situation!!

Last and final thing for the night, and I will keep you guys posted tomorrow on how it works out.

How does my power amp work into this equation? Does it color the tone in a bad way? I’ve always looked at it as simply applying power to my rig but I guess it literally IS the base tone for everything!
Click to expand...


You’re right, the power amp definitely colors your tone. Whether or not it’s good or bad will be up to you to decide.
 
Tyler Box said:
How does my power amp work into this equation? Does it color the tone in a bad way? I’ve always looked at it as simply applying power to my rig but I guess it literally IS the base tone for everything!
Click to expand...

Your Crest power amp will have minimal effect on your tone. It's basically a PA amp. Even if it adds some coloration, it's a constant in your rig. Work with it.
 
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