Joe, I was going to go off on you about some of your statements, vbut have refrained for fear of coming across too strong or harsh, and I'm not looking for a confrontation here.
Hey man, feel free to do what you feel you've got to do.
But there's no need for it.
I'm not looking for ideas on how to get a bass sound at this time, though your input is greatly appreciated.
Maybe not.
But you don't seem to be aware of the power you've already got in your hands to be able to get the sound of virtually any bass amplifier that's already in existence.
I'm just trying to help point you in the right direction.
Again, simply stated, it would be nice to know that bassists are at least considered just a teeny tiny little bit with a couple more amp/cab sims, that's all. I'm fine with it if it never happens, but I'd be pretty stoked if it DID.
The algorithms used within the Axe-FX's Amp Block are all designed to be able to replicate the signal that a tube preamp coupled with a tube power amp puts out.
Sure, there is lip service payed to one solid state guitar amp, the Roland JC-120.
But check out the parameters that are available within the amp block for tweaking the JC-120 sim.
They are all based on tube amps.
You can defeat the power amp sim in the JC-120 sim (turn Sag to 0) so that there is no effect of the tube power amp simulation being heard.
But even the preamp section of the JC-120 sim is based around a tube preamp paradigm.
The only real similarities between the Axe's JC-120 preamp sim and the real thing is the gain structure and the tone stack.
I.e. The JC-120's preamp sim within the Axe is kind of like a JC-120 with at least 1 preamp tube in it.
I.e. There is no way to completely bypass the tube simulation within the Amp Block except to bypass the Amp Block itself.
Now, how many bass amps have you played through that use tubes either in the preamp or in the power amp?
Sure, there are hybrid designs out there that use a tube preamp coupled with a solid state power amp or a solid state preamp with a tube power amp.
And there was a time when all bass amps were all-tube designs.
But, by-and-large, most bass amps nowadays are all solid state designs.
The Axe's Amp Block is simply not designed to replicate an all solid-state amplifier.
Now, to the extant that certain models of ss/tube hybrid amps are popular within the bass playing community, I would agree that some fashion of representing these within the Amp Block would be cool.
A hybrid amp with tube preamp and ss power amp is already possible in the Axe by simply turning the Sag parameter in the Amp Block to 0.
Whether or not the tube preamp sim you're working with is suitable for a bass guitar (or string bass) depends on the sim, but I'm sure that many of the clean amp sims' preamp sims (eg. Tube Preamp, JC-120, Bassman, USA Clean, etc.), especially since you have the option of changing the tone stack, would get you in the ballpark.
Even in the Axe-II you won't be able to defeat the tube preamp sim within the Amp Block to create a hybrid amp with SS preamp and tube power amp though.
As a jazz guitar player myself, I tend to favor SS amps for jazz.
I even sent Cliff the schematics for a Pearce G2r, hoping to see it in the Axe's firmware at some point.
I'm sure that one of the reasons he's chosen not to model that amp is because it's all solid state and it just won't parse with the current Amp Block algorithms. He may have others reasons as well, but my guess is that that is at the top of the list.
To imply that bass guitarists wouldn't benefit from the same qualities of amp/cabinet simulation as 6 string guitarists is wrong, IMO, and borderline insulting. I'm sorry, and it really bothers me to say that.
It might be nice to have a few more IRs available of commonly used bass cabs.
But again, aren't most bass cabs simply designed for full-range frequency response?
I.e. Bass cabs do not filter the tone in the same fashion that a guitar cab does.
In a guitar amp, the cabinet is probably the single most important thing that shapes the tone that is heard by the listener.
In the studio, most bass players just plug into the mixer.
A guitar player would never do that, unless he was trying get a special effect of a really spanky kind of sound.
Perhaps there are serious technical reasons why bass amp and cabinet sims are just not a workable item for the Axe Fx. I wouldn't know, but perhaps someone could enlighten me. I do know that it would be cool to be able to dial up a couple of signature bass rigs without needing to spend countless hours of tweaking, or having an degree in electrical engineering to understand how to make the Axe Fx accomplish something "kind of like" the same thing. 6 string guitarists post incessantly about their quest for "just that tone" on this forum.
Regardless, FAS makes fine equipment, and I'm glad I own an Ultra. that is all.
So which bass amps that are out there in the real world would you like to see modeled within the Axe's Amp block?
Name a few of them please.
How many of them use tubes anywhere within their signal path?
I think the Mesa Walkabout series has a tube in its preamp, so there's 1.
How many of them use speaker cabs that are not essentially FRFR designs, with a tweeter of some sort?
Do bass players still use those Harte cabs with the 4 10" speakers with the aluminum dust caps? There's 1. But isn't there already an IR of that in the Axe?
The original 4 X 10" Fender Bassman was a bass amp.
So there's 2 of the bass cabs that don't use tweeters already available in the Axe.
What other, non-tweeter bass cabs would you like to see?
And, have you even tried to get your tone without using the Amp Block at all yet?
The signal path of a non-high-gain ss amp is very simple.
Input > EQ > Power Amp.
You don't need an amp block to do that on the Axe.
