IIC+, where's the gain?

[iaresee]

Okay. I'm officially frustrated. My tone is significantly less distorted using the vid settings with my HFS equipped PRS Custom 24. Using the Cali 4x12 cab & sm57 helps but I have to set input trim to at least 2 to even get in the ballpark. All of my tones feel like they are single coil/low output. This confirms to me something is messed up.... I had posted a thread earlier and kept convincing myself it was my imagination etc. I have multiple guitars all with high output buckets and the II sounds weaker across the board than my old setup wrt input/preamp gain.

Did you check your input gain settings? First tab in the IO menu. Make sure the front instrument input gain is set to 50%. That's default.

 

[jeppekristoffer]

Okay. I'm officially frustrated. My tone is significantly less distorted using the vid settings with my HFS equipped PRS Custom 24. Using the Cali 4x12 cab & sm57 helps but I have to set input trim to at least 2 to even get in the ballpark. All of my tones feel like they are single coil/low output. This confirms to me something is messed up.... I had posted a thread earlier and kept convincing myself it was my imagination etc. I have multiple guitars all with high output buckets and the II sounds weaker across the board than my old setup wrt input/preamp gain.

Connect your guitar with cable only direct to front input on Axe.
Press I/O button on Axe front panel.
On the second page named "Audio" make sure that the "Main input source" is set to "Analog (In 1)", and that "Input 1 left select" is set to "Front" and that "Input 1 mode" is set to "Left only".

Go to the "Input" page of the "I/O" pages.

While bashing your guitar using your hottest pickup and your guitar volume and tone on max, set the "Instr in" on the first page so that the Input 1 leds on the front panel "tickle" the red lights when strumming your hardest.
For more info check the Manual page 15 about "setting levels"

Good luck!

 

[MaxTwang]

Last year, when tone matching a Mark IIB, I compared the Boogie's Slave Output and the Axe's Amp block output using a spectral analyzer. I would expect a little discrepancy as this was a real IIB vs the Axe's IIC+ model the best I could dial them in to sound alike (this is before the Amp block had the Boogie style 5 band eq) - and the results were pretty impressive (as close as one real amp is to another real amp). I used the Axe's synth block to feed white noise to the Boogie and the Amp block.

After the Tone Match I compared the Axe and Boogie with the synth block level at 100% and at 25% to see how the Axe and Boogie responded to differing input levels - responses are shown in the 2nd and 3rd image.

Axe is on the left, Boogie on the right.



Before the Tone Match there's some discrepancy above 7000 hz and below 120 hz. 500hz down to 200hz is a little different but this could be IIB vs IIC+ or possibly attributed to the 5 band EQ on the amp which wasn't modeled in the Axe at this time.



After the Tone Match with Synth level at 100%



Tone Match with Synth level at 25%

 

[barhrecords]

Okay. I'm officially frustrated. My tone is significantly less distorted using the vid settings with my HFS equipped PRS Custom 24. Using the Cali 4x12 cab & sm57 helps but I have to set input trim to at least 2 to even get in the ballpark. All of my tones feel like they are single coil/low output. This confirms to me something is messed up.... I had posted a thread earlier and kept convincing myself it was my imagination etc. I have multiple guitars all with high output buckets and the II sounds weaker across the board than my old setup wrt input/preamp gain.

Try my preset from post 77.

I've got the input and overdrive around 8. Plenty of gain with low output vintage Gibson PAF humbuckers on my Gibson 335.

 

[Kriig]

Don`t forget that adding treble is also adding gain. If you go low on treble=lower gain. (just like a real boogie)

 

[gibsonash]

take a look here (MK2C+) patch inside ; http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-recordings/78352-mesa-mark-v-tone.html
Great sound i must say .

 

[FractalAudio]

Okay. I'm officially frustrated. My tone is significantly less distorted using the vid settings with my HFS equipped PRS Custom 24. Using the Cali 4x12 cab & sm57 helps but I have to set input trim to at least 2 to even get in the ballpark. All of my tones feel like they are single coil/low output. This confirms to me something is messed up.... I had posted a thread earlier and kept convincing myself it was my imagination etc. I have multiple guitars all with high output buckets and the II sounds weaker across the board than my old setup wrt input/preamp gain.

Make sure your Input 1 Mode is set to Left Only.

If you continue to have issues you may want to contact support and have your unit evaluated.

 

[zenaxe]

Thanks Cliff et al. I will give this a shot this weekend when I get home and have some time to play around with the setup.

 

[zenaxe]

Don`t forget that adding treble is also adding gain. If you go low on treble=lower gain. (just like a real boogie)

Just wanted to throw out some likes and follow up, since I had complained earlier in this thread. I think I have my level issues sorted and was subsequently able to get a pretty darn aggressive tone out of the IIc+ model with no input trim tweaks, drives, etc. In particular, I was pretty amazed at the truth of the tip above, since I had not been expecting it (never spent much time with a Mark amp IRL). The treble control has a huge effect on that amp's distortion level/character. I guess that MIMIC stuff works! This was a really educational thread for me. Thx OP and all.

 

[stm113]

I was just poppin' in to see if the OP ever got the MkIIC+ model working for him... I never really did much with that amp myself but my cover band is working on a Metallica medley so I was laying down some demo tracks and turned to the MKIIC+ . I did engage the sat switch, I left the overdrive at about noon and turned the input drive to about 3:00, set the 5 band eq in the obligatory v shape then t/m/b to taste... puppets tone was so there!

 

[Kriig]

Just wanted to throw out some likes and follow up, since I had complained earlier in this thread. I think I have my level issues sorted and was subsequently able to get a pretty darn aggressive tone out of the IIc+ model with no input trim tweaks, drives, etc. In particular, I was pretty amazed at the truth of the tip above, since I had not been expecting it (never spent much time with a Mark amp IRL). The treble control has a huge effect on that amp's distortion level/character. I guess that MIMIC stuff works! This was a really educational thread for me. Thx OP and all.

Great to see that it`s working for you. If you have not played with real boogies or the likes, you usually don`t think that the treble adds gain/drive.

The whole eq has a big impact on the whole amp on most, if not all, Mesa amps.