High end fizz...is this normal?

I don't own a Plexi myself, but have heard many of them. Don't remember them sounding quite that fizzy. From doing some reading online it seems like the Marshall Plexi's are not very consistent. Some people complain of having a fizz with the real plexi. People either say that their amp is going bad, while others say that is how a plexi sounds. One even posted some clips. Sounds like some plexi's are worse about it than others. I am sure one of our fellow forum members have owned multiple plexi's in there lifetime can chime in and help you.

Fizzy Plexi Reissue - AMPAGE Archive

Vintage Amps Bulletin Board • View topic - How do I get rid of the fizz on my ol' Plexi?
 
The second track sounds normal to me. The one in your first post, to me, definitely has something nasty going on in the background on the distorted tone. It's barely audible but it's there. I fight this when listening through headphones and recording on my standard, bringing the cab and amp block levels down helps, then adding stuff from there making sure not to clip.
 
babuka said:
I don't own a Plexi myself, but have heard many of them. Don't remember them sounding quite that fizzy. From doing some reading online it seems like the Marshall Plexi's are not very consistent. Some people complain of having a fizz with the real plexi. People either say that their amp is going bad, while others say that is how a plexi sounds. One even posted some clips. Sounds like some plexi's are worse about it than others. I am sure one of our fellow forum members have owned multiple plexi's in there lifetime can chime in and help you.

Fizzy Plexi Reissue - AMPAGE Archive

Vintage Amps Bulletin Board • View topic - How do I get rid of the fizz on my ol' Plexi?
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I own three of them and they are that fizzy.
 
FractalAudio said:
I own three of them and they are that fizzy.
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Well there you go OP. From the man himself. 8)

What's the third amp, a second Super Lead 1959, a second 1987?
But I guess that depends on the definition since some people only refer to the super leads as a plexi, while others refer to any of Marshall's with a Plexiglass front as a plexi.
 
(babuka)From doing some reading online it seems like the Marshall Plexi's are not very consistent.
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Yet another beautiful thing about the Axe. I like all sorts of recordings I have heard of various Marshall amps. I used to be a Michael Schenker and Ulrich Roth junkie but I was never personally able to get right with any Marshall I tried in live performance. The Axe lets any given player design their own version of the "perfect" Marshall (or any amp). I now have idealized Marshalls at my disposal that I can enjoy in performance.

My suggestions to chancefx:

~If you absolutely must use the Plexi model (even though you don't seem to be happy with its basic character) spend a lot of time with the advanced amp parameters. Create the "Chancefx Idealized Plexi" and leave it at that.
~If you work an amp model for a while and can't get there even with the advanced parameters, let it go and find one you more easily resonate with. No sense beating it to death and frustrating yourself.
~I believe a lot of us get hung up on the names; "...ooo a Plexi. I liked my old Plexi (and/or) I like the recording of (?) and he used a Plexi. I'll use the Axe Plexi model..." Try all the Axe Marshall models. You might be able to get a better version of the Plexi you hear in your mind with a non-Plexi model.
 
Another tip, find a cab that doesn't accentuate those frequencies. I can make that fizz get worse or better by choosing different cabs.
 
Thanks everyone for chiming in. I really appreciate the thoughts. Maybe the plexi was a poor example due to the nature of the amp itself.

I want to make sure I'm communicating it correctly. I am not referring to the core tone of each of the samples I posted...those amps' tones are amazing as always. So, it's not about the flavor of each amp. I'm hearing a "fizz" that seems to float above the amp tone. It is most apparent as the notes start to decay. I've posted a few samples only to demonstrate that it exists across seemingly every amp that has at least a little break up. I used Stock presets to see if it is consistent (or not) with other users.

This is not consistent with my 1 1/2 years with the Axe 1.

Hopefully, I'm not giving the impression of a Axe 2 naysayer. Not that at all! I'm all in.
 
FractalAudio said:
That's what real amps sound like. I spent months trying to figure out how to replicate that. You're overanalyzing things. Just play and be happy.
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made me smile, good or not, its sorta funny. The irony is some people dont really like the sound of real amps, they are used to produced sounds on albums. It's an ongoing debate here, frfr, produced sound , live sound, sound alone, sound in a mix. Funny there are all these multi-thousand dollar amps out there, and yet live most sound sucks in my opinion, so do I want the sound of a concert live sucky I cant hear that lead sound? Do I want the mass produced clear and polished sound of a 30,000 dollar mixed album? Thats what I like about the axe, I can try at least to get a mix of all worlds.

Than being said I hold no opinion on yer fuzz sound and dont want to start putting things in my ears. Its like my patients when I put them on a new medicine, they say what are the side affects, I tell em if yer eyeballs dont fall out keep taking it (if they read or hear about side effects they will "have them".)
 
chancefx said:
I'm hearing a "fizz" that seems to float above the amp tone.
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I'd suspect your hearing a more accurate representation of a real tube amp with the II and FW3 including all of it's 'unpleasant' artifacts. I hear all sorts of strange artifacts like this in tube amps, and, FWIW, when I heard your clips my first thought was 'hmmm, I've heard that from tube amps too'...
 
I just fired up my old late 70's era jmp 1987. Sure enough, very similar to the clip above.
Fired up my AC30 and compared it to the axe-fx, very comparable.
 
Yesterday, before posting the plexi (again, poor discernment on my part by using the plexi as an example), other users said they hear what I hear on my clips from the top boost and Mr Z. Suggestions were fret buzz, output levels etc., but folks acknowledged there was something. Now, it seems like people think I'm hearing things.

I do like the sound of real amps...that's why I invested in an Axe Fx (2 of them actually). I just want to play and have fun, really. I love these boxes. I've helped to convert other die hard amp guys to sell gear and buy an Axe Fx.

I don't want this to be a debate...it's not the spirit of my question. So, I won't continue to post on this thread unless I'm asked a specific question.

Thanks again and happy playing!
 
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All the amps you are referring to have cathode followers. That rasp is a characteristic of cathode followers.
 
chancefx said:
Yesterday, before posting the plexi (again, poor discernment on my part by using the plexi as an example), other users said they hear what I hear on my clips from the top boost and Mr Z. Suggestions were fret buzz, output levels etc., but folks acknowledged there was something. Now, it seems like people think I'm hearing things.

I do like the sound of real amps...that's why I invested in an Axe Fx (2 of them actually). I just want to play and have fun, really. I love these boxes. I've helped to convert other die hard amp guys to sell gear and buy an Axe Fx.

I don't want this to be a debate...it's not the spirit of my question. So, I won't continue to post on this thread unless I'm asked a specific question.

Thanks again and happy playing!
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I did think I heard some digital clipping on the mr z one. I didn't hear that on your plexi example. People were listening for things out of the ordinary. Once your clarified (the plexi really stands out in this area) the thing you were hearing, Cliff told you it was normal. No one thinks your hearing things. It is just what you were hearing happens in the real amp. I plugged into my real amps for an ear refresher (they don't get a whole lot of use these days) and to have some fun. The fizz you were describing existed on my Marshall. I then dialed up the Ac30TB on the II and compared to my AC30, the distortion characteristics were pretty close. You should hear the fizz I can get out of my Orange OD50!
 
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FractalAudio said:
All the amps you are referring to have cathode followers. That rasp is a characteristic of cathode followers.
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Okay, thanks. That's helpful info.

Guess I was wrong about not posting on this anymore!
 
Yeah. I know that, honestly, the overtones that were present along with the high-end rasp threw me for a loop as well. Then I realized that it sounded like an amp being recorded. And then I sighed and kept playing.
 
Perhaps I'm guessing that those with buzzy high gain tones *might* have drive settings too high, master volumes too low (or too high) and other such issues if you getting buzzy high gain tones. Start from scratch, forget all the conventions you followed before 3.0. Time to relearn the box, it is all different with completely new modeling underneath.
 
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