I have owned the Axe Fx 2 XL+ for a year, and I am still not satisfied with the tone.

rich2k4

Inspired
I will say that the unit in a recording sounds great, but in terms of just general bedroom practice, there has always been something missing.

I play through JBL 305's. The type of music I play is all over the place, but usually defaults to John Mayer/SRV style blues.

I can never get that bell like tone that is possible with a good fender tube amp in the same room as you.

I have been on the hunt to be able to get srv/john mayer style tones at bedroom/apartment levels.

Sometimes even recorded, the unit doesn't come near some of the videos I see of people playing a tube amp in the room.

take this video for example. John Mayer playing a tele through a dual professional. Even through the recording you can tell that the tone is bell like and that it sounds great in the room.



All I can get through the axe fx is a "hi fi" type of tone, if that makes any sense. There is just something missing. No "omph" like you can hear through that video.
 
JBL 305 will sound to your ears different from a cab in the room and will sound different to compressed audio from YouTube. I bet that video sounds different to John than what he is hearing in his room. I'm not sure what you are looking for. I have 305s, they're great for what they are - reference monitors. Sure, they aren't the nicest things you can buy but for 300 bucks for a pair, woot. Also, they aren't open backed cabs or whatever the crap Mr. Mayer is playing.

Sell it.
 
Can you get bell tone at low bedroom levels? There are many factors to guitar tone and volume is a big one. What kind of guitar and pickups are you using?

Fender 60th anniversary Tele. Not sure what pickups are in there, I think the specs say American Vintage pickups.
 
Post a recording of what you have now. We cant really help if we dont know where you are now. Record yourself playing something similar to what he was and we should be able to help you!
 
You're comparing a mic'd tone (Axe-Fx with cab sim > studio monitors) to an amp-in-the-room.
If you want that, connect the Axe-Fx to a power amp and guitar cabinet.

This. Be sure to set cab sims to off.
 
It sounds to me like he has too much bass and too much reverb. Try turning up the bass a lot and using a spring reverb with a long time value and low mix. You might also try a spring reverb before the amp and a big concert hall reverb after the cab, both with low mix. You should be able to nail the sound from the youtube video.
Keep in mind that if you are playing at a low level your string noise is going to interfere with your perception of your tone.
 
Can you get bell tone at low bedroom levels? There are many factors to guitar tone and volume is a big one.

Totally agree.
For me the axe have given me so many tones at bedroom level that would never have been possible with a real amp without pissing my wife and the neighbours off.
One thing that can "ruin" your tone at low levels is that you also can hear you physical guitar sound.
At my house I have to play at very low db levels at night, so when I really want that omphhh I just put on my headphones :)
 
I remember when you first got the axe and didn't feel comfortable with it.
I remember the video you posted and I have had tones that have that feel. I think you need to the right volume for a start and maybe 'too much' bass like I was getting out of my KRK speakers.
 
I think we are forgetting the fact that it is John Mayer playing, and his personal life aside, he is an amazing guitar player.

I'd wager good money if he came over to any of our places, picked up his guitar, plugged into the Axe-Fx, that he would sound 1) great, and 2) like John Mayer


I mean heck, I have a David Gilmour black strat and I don't sound like David Gimour...whats gives ? Something wrong with the guitar ? No, its just that I have 1/10th his talent for sounding like himself lol


This isn't an Axe-Fx issue, or a JBL issue, its the time old problem of getting all the same guitar as a famous guitar hero, and still not sounding like them.

Look at how many people go and buy a Zakk Wylde LP, a Zakk Wylde signature Marshall, all the Zakk Wylde signature pedals, probably even grow a beard and wear faux biker "Black Label" leather and still don't sound like Zakk Wylde. You can essentially cop every aspect of a guitarist rig, save for his finger and talent.

So long story short, if you don't sound like John Mayer through the Axe, your probably not going to sound like John Mayer through any rig. After all, if anyone could play and sound just like him, then we all would of also had Katy Perry and all his other celeb hookups too right? =)
 
Most of the tone is in his touch. You'd have to approximate his touch with the thumb and other fingers. I know what you are referring to when you say "bell-like" tone, but this has less treble than what I would point to as a bell like tone. It doesn't have a lot of treble. It's got a really sweet mid range (the camera mic is playing a role). I'd say his tone pot is rolled back a hair. ...also if the volume pot is up all the way or not. The pickups are a big factor.

I'd start with an FRFR situation and find the tone there. Then go to headphones or studio monitors.

By the way, for chime: one of my tricks - which I learned on the Yek Drive Block Guide ...SSD drive block can add a bit of chime. I love it on Vox AC30 types. Very low gain setting for me works great (under 2). Play with the tone. ...and the mix parameter if you feel it thins your tone.
 
Because it's the best amp in the world I would just load up the Divided by 13 FTR37 LO model , turn the treble up to 7 and leave everything eles stock. Then add the Divided by 13 cabinet. Add a bunch of room reverb and turn up loud. The final piece of the puzzle is the added room modes.
I swear I've had those kinds of tones...
 
1. The tone
2. Amp in the room
These are two separate issues.

1. Tone
You can approximate that tone. This video is Tyler Grund, who is a member here. The video is SRV, not John Mayer, but you could build your own presets using the same thought process. He has some tutorials on how to get the SRV tone, although they're for an older firmware. The principles should be the same, though.


A couple of things that others have said. I'll repeat it, too.
- Cut the bass
- Play loud

Playing loud is especially important if you want:

2. Amp in the room
Note that "amp in the room" is not a specific tone. It is the physical interaction of the cab/loudspeaker with the listening space. I also have JBL 305s. They are nearfield monitors. Trying to create an "amp in the room" experience with 305 nearfields is using them for the opposite of their intended purpose. You might be able to approach an "amp in the room" experience with enough volume and experimenting with speaker placement, but it's unlikely you'd be able to fully re-create it. Even if you were to get John Mayer's personal Fender amp, but limit its output and physical properties to the equivalent of a nearfield monitor, it's not likely you're going to get the same amp in the room experience. It's more a matter of physics than amp settings.

Even on SRV's studio albums, there is no perception of "amp in the room." It's just the pure up-close beauty of SRV's combo amp, through a studio mic, going into the recording desk. The Axe FX excels at that. The "amp in the room" depends on what comes afterward (your output device)--headphones vs nearfield monitors vs cab & power amp vs stage monitors vs PA speakers.
 
These are exactly the tones and styles I go for, and I have achieved them blissfully since the Ultra. I currently own a blackface bandmaster, and I sold a blackface dual showman too, so plenty of experience with tube amps, and I get the same tones with the axe fx with minimal effort. Then again, I got similar tones and style out of my friends tiny terror and v30 loaded cab too, so I'm used to making round pegs fit square holes

I'd offer help, but you didn't actually ask for any. Seems like you've convinced yourself that the axe won't work, so all I'll say is that maybe menu diving isn't for you, so go buy something that DOES work for you.

All I'll add to that, is go listen to other clips, especially when quantum just rolled out and people were going nuts over the plexi's. You can't tell me that they aren't usable tones. Somewhere on this forum is a clip of a guy nailing your dream tone, so the box isn't the problem. Either renew your faith in its capability, or admit you're not compatible with a gui in music making, sell it and move on.

The biggest gift the axe ever gave me, is the realization that every time I have a problem with its tone, I end up playing tube rigs for an hour and learn the hard and humbling way that it's my hands that are falling short
 
i think a lot of people are seeking an "amp in the room" feel out of a speaker that's very quiet directly in front of them. this is not possible.

the "amp in the room" sound is the physicality of the sound bouncing off... wait for it... the room you are in. it's surround sound. it encompasses you. that's why it sounds so 3-dimensional, because it IS 3-dimensional.

a speaker in front of you that's quiet will sound like a speaker in front of you.

"amp in the room" happens with any sound when you turn the volume up so that you hear the sound bounce off the room you are currently in. most times the real amp is also not facing your ears directly, so you get even less of the speaker itself and more of the room sound.

you can't sit in front of a speaker facing you directly at low volumes and feel like you are surrounded by sound.
 
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