How do I get closer to my real SLO?

Bruce Sokolovic said:
I’d really like to hear audio of both.
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People never do these a/b's correct. You'd need to shoot an ir of the real cab, then track a di to reamp through both rigs. Reamp through the real amp/cab and the axe w/ the cab ir. People never do that... When they do, its VERY close and 50/50 which people prefer...

Instead, they post a room mic of the amp/cab and compare to the fractal in a daw.

And even then, if it sounds very similar, they say things like "it isnt as punchy" or "not as organic", "doesnt explode" as they compare their headrush 10" speaker to an oversized 4x12. 🤷‍♂️
 
Feflicker said:
People never do these a/b's correct. You'd need to shoot an ir of the real cab, then track a di to reamp through both rigs. Reamp through the real amp/cab and the axe w/ the cab ir. People never do that... When they do, its VERY close and 50/50 which people prefer...

Instead, they post a room mic of the amp/cab and compare to the fractal in a daw.

And even then, if it sounds very similar, they say things like "it isnt as punchy" or "not as organic", "doesnt explode" as they compare their headrush 10" speaker to an oversized 4x12. 🤷‍♂️
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He did clarify he is testing both using IRs, not a real cabinet, and still likes the real one better.
 
When I compare I just play the amp and the FAS model thru the same IR. Record the results, then make adjustments until they’re as close to the same as I can get. I COULD send a DI to both but it’s easier to just play and listen.
 
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axes said:
I've been lucky enough to snag up a technically new SLO-100 which is one of my all-time dream amps. I could never really bond with the SLO models in any gear but the real one loaded with the Fractal LB-2 with my fav IRs sounds absolutely glorious.
I've tried matching the Axe model to it to no real avail. I went as deep as it made sense to me, not matching with my eyes but my ears and changing the speaker impedance curve to the LB-2's UK curve but I'm still not close enough.
The real amp has a kind of roughness that I simply don't get with the Axe model. The Axe model sounds like the "bowtie elegant kid" version of my real amp. It's just smoother, more rounded, less visceral and girthy. It's almost as if the real amp would always want to fall apart and while it doesn't it gets almost all the way there while the Axe model has a similar tone and distortion texture but always stays cool and calculated. The model also sounds considerably tighter which could also contribute to my percepted difference.
Is there a parameter (or are there multiple parameters) in the Axe that I could tweak and it would get me closer to this kind of "explosive" behavior?
Cheers :)
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IIRC the SLO model is one of those where the MV has huge control over the sound (pretty sure I read that on here).

Whereas most of the models perform better around 2-3, where you still have a bit of headroom, the SLO thickens up around 5-7. Also try tinkering with negative feedback, speaker drive/compression, speaker breakup, etc. to get that gnarly sound you crave (and deserve!).
 
axes said:
I've been lucky enough to snag up a technically new SLO-100 which is one of my all-time dream amps. I could never really bond with the SLO models in any gear but the real one loaded with the Fractal LB-2 with my fav IRs sounds absolutely glorious.
I've tried matching the Axe model to it to no real avail. I went as deep as it made sense to me, not matching with my eyes but my ears and changing the speaker impedance curve to the LB-2's UK curve but I'm still not close enough.
The real amp has a kind of roughness that I simply don't get with the Axe model. The Axe model sounds like the "bowtie elegant kid" version of my real amp. It's just smoother, more rounded, less visceral and girthy. It's almost as if the real amp would always want to fall apart and while it doesn't it gets almost all the way there while the Axe model has a similar tone and distortion texture but always stays cool and calculated. The model also sounds considerably tighter which could also contribute to my percepted difference.
Is there a parameter (or are there multiple parameters) in the Axe that I could tweak and it would get me closer to this kind of "explosive" behavior?
Cheers :)
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I don't know if this will help, but I just tried matching the Solo 100 Lead model to my early 00's Soldano Avenger (single channel amp with just the SLO Lead channel) and here's what I found:

First off, check the ground lift button on your LB-2. I prefer the sound with it in the "out" position (deeper lows, less 600Hz midrange honk, and more top end air, whereas pushing it in loses lows, adds mids, and loses top end), but I'm guessing that it was pushed in when Cliff was taking measurements of the reference amp. If you have it pushed in, it'll probably be closer to the model.

If you do like the ground lift button in the "out" position like I do, here's what I did to match the model to my amp:

1. Set the model's Master Volume lower than where you have it on the real amp. I have mine set a little past 3 on my amp and have it at 2.2 on the model. Lowering the MV will bring back deeper lows, get rid of some midrange honk, and open up the top end a bit more.

2. My go-to starting settings on my real amp are basically Gain and BMT all at 5 and presence, depth, and master volume to taste. Since the amp's knobs go to 11 and the model's go to 10, you'll need to reduce the values on the model a little bit to match where the pot on the amp is set. However, I had to set the mids on the model much lower than the bass and treble to match my real amp with everything at 5. Also, the gain at 5 on the amp is about 3.35 on the model.

3. Like others have said, make sure you turn speaker drive, speaker compression, and speaker thump OFF when you making your comparison, otherwise you're hearing extra stuff that the amp and LB-2 don't have.

4. I found that reducing the Speaker Impedance a bit (Power Amp page) also reduces some midrange honk and brings back more of the deeper lows and top end air. You don't have to go nuts with it, but it's a great tool for tone shaping that deserves more attention.

Anyway, I hope some of this is helpful and gets you closer to your real SLO. Once you get it dialed in, it's bonkers how close you'll be able to get them. :)
 
I like your premise of 'How can I get it closer'... The slo 100 is a beast, punchy and massive sounding. The fAS model is close but unless your using a real power amp into cabs or a massive PA it can't push that kind of air. Even in that scenario it's close but

Here is a baseline tone to shoot for!

 
Hey everybody,
Sorry for the delay (and the reverb as well :cool:). I haven't been feeling well for the last 2 weeks.
Thank you all for chiming in, especially @York Audio for the plethora of tips.
I've decided to cease the efforts until I can get a good Y splitter box to be able to do the A/B testing and tweaking in "realtime".
 
axes said:
Hey everybody,
Sorry for the delay (and the reverb as well :cool:). I haven't been feeling well for the last 2 weeks.
Thank you all for chiming in, especially @York Audio for the plethora of tips.
I've decided to cease the efforts until I can get a good Y splitter box to be able to do the A/B testing and tweaking in "realtime".
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Get well! Then you can proceed on the quest! 👊
Lee
 
axes said:
Hey everybody,
Sorry for the delay (and the reverb as well :cool:). I haven't been feeling well for the last 2 weeks.
Thank you all for chiming in, especially @York Audio for the plethora of tips.
I've decided to cease the efforts until I can get a good Y splitter box to be able to do the A/B testing and tweaking in "realtime".
Click to expand...
I love my Morley Tripler. One Input with Three Ouptuts, each with their own on/off footswitch. Plus a booster.
 
axes said:
Hey everybody,
Sorry for the delay (and the reverb as well :cool:). I haven't been feeling well for the last 2 weeks.
Thank you all for chiming in, especially @York Audio for the plethora of tips.
I've decided to cease the efforts until I can get a good Y splitter box to be able to do the A/B testing and tweaking in "realtime".
Click to expand...
Did you get a chance to dial in the SLO yet? Also, if you're looking for an amp switcher, I HIGHLY recommend checking out the KHE stuff. I've tried three different high end amp switching brands and that one is easily the best one and isn't a tone sucker.
 
axes said:
Thank you for your suggestion.
Maybe I was confusing in my original post but I'm not trying to go from real amp and cab to the Axe 3 - I'm using the SLO with Fractal's LB-2 reactive load into my audio interface and using the same IR for both the Axe and the real head and trying to match them this way. I did the same back then with my Mesa JP2C with immediately great results which eventually ended up being sold. So I'm not essentially a newbie to doing this, I'm just finding the SLO models sounding very different to my amp compared to the JP2C for example.
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Just Reamp out of the fractal into your SLO into your LB 2?
 
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