How long will this take to get a live tone???

I completely agree with the advice regarding building your own presets, this was a game changer for me (and I was already blown away). The catalyst for me to grow my own was Cooper Carter's video series, you might want to check this out. FWIW I downloaded Cooper's presets from the tutorials and even though I watched him build them and liked them fine in the video, they were drastically different on my Axe with me playing. You will get there

This.

and welcome to the family Rivertownrocker, and to this awesome forum!

I only use downloaded presets for routing ideas and strategies..... rarely for live or recording purposes.
I've been using the AxeFx for years and I am constantly blown away by the tones available to me through my CLR's and all the different instruments I use. Various steel & nylon string guitars, bass guitars, dobro, ukelele, electric thumb pianos, etc etc.

As was suggested above, create your own patches, keep them simple and season to taste.
Cooper Carters video series is awesome for the beginner. Lots of great stuff to learn about this awesome black box.
 
I'm also the PA guy so I'm running those cable from board too.

I understand its not something to complain about and I might have to do it but was not seeing a big difference in my rig using board or going direct to QSC.

Where i'm at now I cant imagine the big acts just going to a front of room monitor and loving the tone by say the same monitor on the floor I could be wrong but just bummed and not inspired with what i'm getting now.
 
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Thanks sound like I sill have some hope with CLR's. I might have too try and sell the QSC's for the CLR's are they good for Vocals and Bass my giging band just brings two mains and that's what the whole band plays through it to save backs and time.

I'll Check back in tomorrow Thanks
 
Hey River,

I'm pretty new to the Axe Fx. I have an XL and only been using it since Halloween of this year. I was able to dial in really good tone pretty fast. The trick and others have mentioned this already but just start with a amp and cab block. Don't even consider messing with the advanced stuff until you have the basic tone. Everyone on this forum has there favorite amps I'll give you what I'm using my band plays in casinos so we cover every thing from rock country to pop to classic rock.

My clean amp is the Suhr badger 18. my low gain for that light rock stuff like CCR has been the matchbox 20 amp cliff made my ear. I'm using the Marshall AFD for the bulk of my medium gain stuff. Main lead is the 5150 3 red that is a monster amp. And for the high gain stuff that new Fractal modern III with the new Clark Kent IR the 57 is a monster.

I don't do anything special with my presets although I have found that sticking a passive 5 band eq after the cab block gives me a nice sound but other wise I don't play around in the advanced section at all I haven't found a need to. As was mentioned above be sure your monitors are set to flat. And really the IR's are such a huge part of your tone. Just go through them it may take you a few days to to find a combo that sounds good to you but the tone you want is in this box you just have to dig it out.

Thanks I will try a lot of these tomorrow.
 
Thanks are you a QSC 12 or 10 user I have a low cut filter and Hi cut filter in all my presets and did not know the EXT sub switch on QSC is a hi pass good to know thanks!

Definitely need the QSC on normal mode and no vocal boost engaged or anything like that. NO bass boost and no bass cut(sub ext). Just as plain jane as you can get it. I've had the best results by setting the input to line over the mic selection. I think that is just a power setting anyway, but i think it helps.
 
Hey OP. You're not alone, I'm new to Axe too and still finding my feet.

I have had/having the same issues as you, I know the tones are in there but I just can't find them! If you're used to a live amp it's a massive learning curve going to an Axe, there is a lot more to consider because you're aiming to get the sound of a miced guitar cabinet out of a PA rather than just the cab itself.

I find that if I'm tweaking for hours on end my brain gets fried and sound loses all meaning! I have to give my ears a break and come back to it to realise how it sounds. Especially with headphones.

I also go through a mixer and use an aux buss to my monitor so I can have vocal too. I construct my patches at home but to be sure they will work live I set up as per gig, then tweak from there. What can sound amazing on headphones/monitors can sound way different through the PA.

Good luck.
 
If you go to google and put in Axe FX 2 "Clean to mid-gain amp clips" if you here the first note Pete plays on tele for shiver clean (his E is tuned down) there is a new string tone almost player piano clean but transparent grit to the note I can not replicate.

I know the video of which you speak. Coincidentally I was fooling around with a new preset this weekend using (I think ) the JTM 45 and specifically I was going after a clean(er) tone for use with my Les Paul. I stumbled upon a cab (I cant recall which) which with a bit of EQ'ing resulted in this very "Fenderesque" chimey tone which really pleased me (and here's the coincidental bit) and I thought to myself, "wow its like I just put on fresh strings and I swear I can actually hear the wraps on the wound strings".
 
If you go to google and put in Axe FX 2 "Clean to mid-gain amp clips" if you here the first note Pete plays on tele for shiver clean (his E is tuned down) there is a new string tone almost player piano clean but transparent grit to the note I can not replicate.

This device (the Axe FX) is not the primary component of Thorn's tone- are you as adept a player as he? His technique is impeccable...

At any rate, which pickups are installed in your main guitar? Are you able to acheive desirable tone utilizing this guitar with other equipment at your disposal?

I purchased an Axe FX II XL in July of this year. Upon receiving the unit, I auditioned several factory presets using a Warmoth Stratocaster with EMG SAV and 89 pickups through ATH-M50 headphones. The sound was akin to well-executed flatulence: thin, listless- utterly unadorned.

Sensing that something was horribly amiss, I connected my Godin LGTX with Seymour Duncan Jazz II/Custom Custom pickups and was thoroughly impressed by the tones emanating from the device. I then proceeded to connect my '89 American Deluxe Strat with EMG 60/SAV/81 pickups and was shocked by the tenfold improvement in tone (seemingly) compared to that which the Warmoth could muster. Upon further investigation, a cursory examination of the Warmoth's wiring revealed that it was not electrically viable...
 
One other thing to consider, the axe fx gives you more of a recorded tone rather than a live amp in the room sound that you are used to. It took me a little bit to get used to it. I had used tube amps for ever and the axe sounds more like a studio recording than a half stack.
 
I'm also the PA guy so I'm running those cable from board too.

I understand its not something to complain about and I might have to do it but was not seeing a big difference in my rig using board or going direct to QSC.

Where i'm at now I cant imagine the big acts just going to a front of room monitor and loving the tone by say the same monitor on the floor I could be wrong but just bummed and not inspired with what i'm getting now.

Big acts usually have decent quality monitors, if not in-ear's....

If its some dive bar where the floor monitors are some POS no-name things that have been there 15 years, puked on and beer dumped on them etc, then, no, not going to probably reproduce a very good tone. I know a lot of guys who bring their own wedges to solve those very issues, and when your using an Axe, it makes it easy to run an out to them so you can control just what you hear and your levels instead of having to deal with the sound guy.

Certainly lots of decent products short of CLR prices too
 
I don't have a clr. Not yet I'll get one once I get through the holidays but I bought a ev zlx powered 12 and it has a DSP chip and I set that to flat and I get good tones. So if you have k12 your speakers shouldn't be a problem.
 
The Axe-Fx is extremely accurate in duplicating the sound of a mic'd amp. Your monitoring thus becomes an essential part of the chain and accuracy is paramount. Many "FRFR" monitors are neither FR nor FR. The Atomic CLR is regarded as among the best for monitoring modelers as it is very FR and also very FR. I haven't tried a K12 but I've heard good things.

The list of A-list bands using the Axe-Fx for their shows is impressive and growing so you can assured of the Axe-Fx's stellar sound quality: Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, Madonna, Taylor Swift, Megadeth, Failure, Devin Townsend, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.........
 
Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, Madonna, Taylor Swift, Megadeth, Failure, Devin Townsend, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.........

The list, it just KEEPS. ON. GROWING!!!

I have yet to try out the Atomic CLR's to replicate. Does FAS utilize them for amp/cab sims often?? Just curious.. Thanks Cliff-a-nator.
 
I have yet to try out the Atomic CLR's to replicate. Does FAS utilize them for amp/cab sims often?? Just curious.. Thanks Cliff-a-nator.

No, we use studio monitors for all critical listening. CLRs are great for live use but they are too big for near-field use.
 
That's great to know Cliff. I really want to get decent (but economical) 1st set of studio monitors, for tweaking my sounds. I have access to the main sound system that I normally play through, so I would be able to get a feel for what to program at home, that will translate well to the PA. I wasn't sure it you did your listening at stage volumes or more at near field listening volumes.
 
That's great to know Cliff. I really want to get decent (but economical) 1st set of studio monitors, for tweaking my sounds. I have access to the main sound system that I normally play through, so I would be able to get a feel for what to program at home, that will translate well to the PA. I wasn't sure it you did your listening at stage volumes or more at near field listening volumes.

I've been using Atomic CLRs for home studio monitoring because of their transparency until lately, when a friend brought one his Mackie HR 824 active monitors (the old US made version) for comparing. We found out that this is a smaller monitor that shows the same transparency the CLR has (of course not the same SPL, but you don't need that much in a studio). If you find the right position, it fits small rooms better. If you can, try one of these too.
 
That's great to know Cliff. I really want to get decent (but economical) 1st set of studio monitors, for tweaking my sounds. I have access to the main sound system that I normally play through, so I would be able to get a feel for what to program at home, that will translate well to the PA. I wasn't sure it you did your listening at stage volumes or more at near field listening volumes.

Near field listening volumes are not "bedroom levels " ...
In a recording studio you need to listen at quit high volumes .
A 12inch speaker moves too much air ... We don't want to unscrew everything is mounted in our home/ studio/ listenig room [emoji1]

I have 8inch and 5 inch ... 8 can be ridiculously high [emoji106]
 
I like 8" monitors for near-field applications because of the better bass response.
 
I have 8" LF drivers in my main near fields.

I have two CLR's also.

Both sets of speakers are calibrated to 83db SPL C weighted for my "0" reference at the middle listening position.

The CLR works well for me in this application and I don't have issue with the bass response. In my room the CLR's reveal more mid bass than my NS10's.

The physical footprint of the CLR's are a little large for my room / furniture. But that is not the fault of the CLR per se.

When first starting out, I would recommend studying the acoustics of your listening space and consider room treatments. For critical listening I've found the space / room to be as much or even more of a factor than the speakers.
 
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