How can I get the tone of my Axe Fx 2 preset with my new Axe Fx 3? Axe Fx 2 still sounds better :(

Georg80

Member
Hi everybody,
although I know that the Axe FX 3 should sound superior to the older Axe FX 2 in all possible ways I just can't get the sound of the preset that I attached with my new Axe FX 3. I converted it for my new Axe via Fractool and tweaked it for hours, but it still sounds different (not as good as with my old Axe FX 2).

Did anybody experience the same?
Can anybody help me?

Big thanks in advance
 

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@Petrocelli thanks for your advice but that made it worse. The gain structure is now completely different, even if I dial in the exact same value that are in my Axe FX 2 preset - it's got sooo much less gain now.
I am afraid the whole amp is different in the Axe FX 3 :(
ODS-100 HRM was soooo great on the Axe FX 2 ... bummer
 
@Petrocelli thanks for your advice but that made it worse. The gain structure is now completely different, even if I dial in the exact same value that are in my Axe FX 2 preset - it's got sooo much less gain now.
I am afraid the whole amp is different in the Axe FX 3 :(
ODS-100 HRM was soooo great on the Axe FX 2 ... bummer
Don't use your eyes & dial in the same numbers as your old preset. Cygnus & Ares for the II are night & day different, especially the amp block but a number of other blocks like the drive, delay, reverb & compressor blocks have undergone major changes too. Use your ears as to what works.
 
Ok yes that makes sense. On the Axe FX 2 I went back to Quantum 10.01 which was the perfect sound ... didn't like the Ares Firmware at all.
So seems I just can't recreate that sound on my Axe FX 3, right?

The old preset sounded so great, perfect overdrive really like you hit it with a Klon centaur - really nice mid emphasis and great dynamic gain structure - and on the Axe Fx 3 everything sounds so much hi-fi, even a little sterile
 
Maybe start with a factory preset in the III that's based on the amp in your II preset? Turn off the effects, check the amp channels to find which one you like best, then tweak to your liking?
 
Too many variables, a lot of hidden parameters and settings, that it's hard to expect a 3rd party program to accurately convert to a completely different platform. If Fractal provided and supported a conversion program I'd have different expectations. I tried one AX8 preset and ended up starting from scratch on the Axe III. Much quicker, stress-free results in my opinion.

I took advantage of channels by setting up a core tone for an amp, then saving that tone to the other 3 channels then adjusted gain, eq and/or other parameters for different types of tones needed. Now that the Block Library also supports individual channels, it's just that much easier.
 
I just went through this man. I had a ton of presets dialed in nicely on my Axe II XL+, and I made the jump to the Axe III a few months ago.

I researched a bit about using FracTool to import presets from Axe II. However, as many are saying here: So many settings and nuances are way different in Cygnus compared to Ares on the Axe II. Enough to make it worth the painstaking task of rebuilding all of your presets from scratch on the Axe III.

Initially I goofed around a bit with stock presets and amps/cabs on the Axe III before even thinking about converting from Axe II. I was amazed that a lot of the stock amp/cabs sound WAY BETTER in Cygnus than Ares on the Axe II. This gave me motivation to want to reconstruct all of my presets.

Specifically, using Scene Controllers, and Control Switches to manipulate the use of PreAmp Boost, and Boost Levels alongside Amp Drive levels to set sweet gain stages per scene has been amazing. The tube amp emulation, and "squishiness" you can get with your playing dynamics is so much better on Cygnus imo.

Rebuilding also allowed me to really learn all the new stuff on the Axe III and Cygnus. I can also do stuff on the Axe III that I was hitting CPU power limit on Axe II which has been incredibly refreshing having that CPU headroom on the Axe III. I just had my first gig last weekend with the Axe III, and it was a blast.

Hang in there!
 
I might even suggest downloading the most recent Dumble preset created by Burgs, #8766 on Axe-Change, and see if one of the 8 included scenes might get you somewhat closer to the tones you were getting on your II. Best of luck! Lee
 
If you can’t find a great tone with Cygnus simply by randomly pulling up a preset, something is definitely wrong! I am simply terrible in terms of software management and changing preset minutia. However, with Cygnus I treat it like a tube amp and it responds in spectacular fashion and frankly sounds more authentic than my version II. It sounds better than any tube amp I own (Marshall; Friedman’s; and Diezel Herbie)…perhaps you should just start over…
 
Treat it as when you buy a new amplifier. Do not copy the settings of the old one. Listen to it, and start from scratch. You will appreciate the results
 
Ok yes that makes sense. On the Axe FX 2 I went back to Quantum 10.01 which was the perfect sound ... didn't like the Ares Firmware at all.
So seems I just can't recreate that sound on my Axe FX 3, right?

The old preset sounded so great, perfect overdrive really like you hit it with a Klon centaur - really nice mid emphasis and great dynamic gain structure - and on the Axe Fx 3 everything sounds so much hi-fi, even a little sterile
You'll have to use your ears and forget about replicating fx2 settings. Went through that phase also and it just like that.
 
With a slight dose of imagination you can use close to the same effect block settings of Axe Fx2 as parameter names are not 100% identical, but do not replicate disto and amp settings. Logarithmic settings of the pots differ often; what can lead to big apparent differences in pot positions. So the best is to redo completely your amp and disto settings.
 
Thanks for all your helpful advices.
It seems like the OD-HRM model is just completely different within the 2 versions. Can't get the gain structure like it was on my Axe FX 2.

I never said the Axe Fx 3 doesn't sound good - it just can't nail some of the old nice tones that the Axe Fx 2 did which is a little bit of a bummer.

Thanks anyway.

Maybe someone who still has the Axe Fx 2 can have a listen to the old preset and give me some advice on how to archieve this gain structure.
That would be so awesome.
 
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