I'll never understand what makes it so difficult...

[unFILTERed]

I posted again w this. I was told the presets were unusable.

presets were all unusuable for me also...i dont even try them anymore and delete them right away when i get a new fractal unit. this doesnt mean axe fx is unusable. So people have to like axe fx and on top they have to love the presets...so you can understand them? )) anyways i am opting out, i don’t get your point at all, if you have one.

 

[Stratman68]

Yesterday I think I was told the factory presets were un useable too LOL

I am an avid advocate for the presets. Been hearing the same stuff since my Standard, eons ago. Their still are those that say that.
Most, imho, leave out the end of the sentence. "The presets are just unusable ex: I just don't sound like Eric Johnson or Stevie Ray no matter what preset I select....

 

[Axe]

At the risk of being ridiculed by Axe IIi M2 owners I'll admit to struggling and failing in achieving the sounds I'm looking for. There's always this chimey artifact in everything I build.. If I EQ it out I lose the "it".. Still chipping away at it but no matter where I place the EQ to eliminate or minimize this I don't get what I'm looking for..

I still have an old Axe Fx Std.. I've tried to recreate a couple patches I absolutely love.. I just can't seem to do it.

Let alone improve on them... Flame away..

 

[Stratman68]

At the risk of being ridiculed by Axe IIi M2 owners I'll admit to struggling and failing in achieving the sounds I'm looking for. There's always this chimey artifact in everything I build.. If I EQ it out I lose the "it".. Still chipping away at it but no matter where I place the EQ to eliminate or minimize this I don't get what I'm looking for..

I still have an old Axe Fx Std.. I've tried to recreate a couple patches I absolutely love.. I just can't seem to do it.

Let alone improve on them... Flame away..

Maybe post the particulars (your guitars\genre\etc, and a sound sample or 2 from your older presets you like. I know folks here will be happy to help if they can.....and I would bet they can.

 

[Stratman68]

To me, the Axe-Fx excels in the quality of its tones, and at being completely, infinitely tweakable.

For recording or playing gigs with your band, having decent soundcheck opportunities, it’s pretty hard to beat.

HOWEVER, if you’re in any kind of environment with new or unknown variables, like where you will need to improv or tweak/adapt your sounds to the musicians around you in real time, and you don’t have a computer running the editor in front of you, there is simply too much menu diving required for most people. I can completely understand some people just not getting along with the workflow. That said, I personally think the front panel is fantastic for what it is, and love Fractal’s overall approach to UI design, but given everything the Axe-Fx can do, there is no front panel interface I can think of that would give you anything approaching a WYSIWYG style, “1 controllable parameter = 1 physical knob/button/switch” traditional interface you get with real amps and pedals.

I love my Axe-Fx and will happily use it if I’m ever recording or playing pre-rehearsed shows. I’d even say that if I had to choose, I’d pick it over my tube amps and real pedals.

But for just having a rig to show up somewhere new with? I’m sticking with a traditional amp and pedalboard with straightforward effects. Even though they are more limited in the total scope of the sounds they can give you, their ability to let you immediately tweak any setting within that smaller scope is preferable and just easier to work with over modeling's infinite sounds that require preparation and menu-diving to achieve. And nobody, nobody, wants to sit around and wait on somebody to poke and prod at their gear to get it to work for them, killing any vibe that might have been building.

tl;dr:
Modeling, or at least Fractal's modeling, is preferable when you have time to tweak. However, traditional rigs are preferable when you need "tonal agility" in new or improv settings.

Curious? Besides BMT, possibly gain and probably reverb, how many things must you change for different environments? With any AXEFX or fm3, etc. Those can v be accessed right from the knobs on the unit. I understand what you are saying but honestly, don't see the issue?

 

[Stratman68]

presets were all unusuable for me also...i dont even try them anymore and delete them right away when i get a new fractal unit. this doesnt mean axe fx is unusable. So people have to like axe fx and on top they have to love the presets...so you can understand them? )) anyways i am opting out, i don’t get your point at all, if you have one.

See I don't get that unless you are ONLY talking high gain. How does a regular Fender or marshal not sound good with any fractal? Maybe not your EXACT sound, but that's why tweaking is a very common thing.
Ex: Jeff Golub; His preference is a Fender Twin-He plays everything, except metal, but I have no doubt he could have.
When asked what he brings to a gig, He said, and I quote< "I use whatever they have there available. Just sayin.

Please, I am NOT trying to argue, I truly do NOT understand. I have been playing guitar for 40+ years.................

 

[jjdpro]

as far as dialing in a tone. Time and time again we hear "I ditched the Fractal because it was too hard to dial in a tone". I heard it yesterday. Twice. (ok I read it twice)

Today, I needed 6 blocks and minimal touching of the dials. Under 5 minutes. I'm rockin' like Dokken.

I hear that crap too.. Frankly, I’m tired of all of the rhetoric from people with other modelers. They all know which modeler sounds the best..

 

[giantslayer]

At the risk of being ridiculed by Axe IIi M2 owners I'll admit to struggling and failing in achieving the sounds I'm looking for. There's always this chimey artifact in everything I build.. If I EQ it out I lose the "it".. Still chipping away at it but no matter where I place the EQ to eliminate or minimize this I don't get what I'm looking for..

I still have an old Axe Fx Std.. I've tried to recreate a couple patches I absolutely love.. I just can't seem to do it.

Let alone improve on them... Flame away..

I couldn’t see anyone flaming you for a post like that. You sound like a guy who wants help, not someone picking a fight. There are a lot of potential variables. Maybe it’s a setting on the III. Maybe it’s a setting on the guitar (off the top of my head, I would say if your tone knob is on 10, try dialing it back to 7).

I would recommend starting your own thread and people here would be happy to help. We may need more info about your rig, your settings, and a sound clip or two would also go a long way.

 

[chris]

At the risk of being ridiculed by Axe IIi M2 owners I'll admit to struggling and failing in achieving the sounds I'm looking for. There's always this chimey artifact in everything I build.. If I EQ it out I lose the "it".. Still chipping away at it but no matter where I place the EQ to eliminate or minimize this I don't get what I'm looking for..

I still have an old Axe Fx Std.. I've tried to recreate a couple patches I absolutely love.. I just can't seem to do it.

Let alone improve on them... Flame away..

Start a new thread. Upload a preset that shows what you hear. Ask for help. We’re here exactly for that.

 

[Simponimas]

as far as dialing in a tone. Time and time again we hear "I ditched the Fractal because it was too hard to dial in a tone". I heard it yesterday. Twice. (ok I read it twice)

Today, I needed 6 blocks and minimal touching of the dials. Under 5 minutes. I'm rockin' like Dokken.

IKR, they should just keep it simple

Choose an amp, a cab IR, dial the amp based on Yek’s guide or wiki, a reverb, and it’s good to go. Don’t stray too far from the recommended cab types if you have a very limited knowledge about it like me.

Also, I’ve never touched the advanced parameters, if I don’t like the sound of an amp I’ll just find another amp that has the sound I’m looking for.

 

[bread]

If you get stuck with IRs I can recommend the Austin buddy presets which have an IR match for each amp.

 

[JWDubois]

I don't find it hard to get great tones out of the Axe III.

I do struggle mightily sometimes when I'm trying to get a specific tone. This is not the fault of the Axe, it gives me all the tools I need. The problem, such as it is, is that are just so many ways to use them and the combinations are limitless.

After using Fractal for over ten years I've developed certain strategies for tweaking, but I can definitely see how some users can get frustrated. I'm still learning different ways to do it all the time.

For me the IR is everything. There's just no substitute for spending the time to find the right ones. I probably spend 75% of my tweaking time in the cab block. With the right IR, the amps just work. But no amount of amp tweaking will fix the wrong IR.

 

[FullThrottle64]

IKR, they should just keep it simple

Choose an amp, a cab IR, dial the amp based on Yek’s guide or wiki, a reverb, and it’s good to go. Don’t stray too far from the recommended cab types if you have a very limited knowledge about it like me.

This.

I've had my AFX for exactly one week. I've already got all but a few of my old basic sounds covered adequately, and have added a few new ones that I couldn't get with my old rig. It just isn't that hard to do.

The one thing I don't quite have dialed in yet is relative levels as I bring FX blocks in and out. That's just a matter of time spent tweaking at performance volume, though, and has nothing to do with the particular platform.

 

[Nik73]

Recently I’ve been finding an ir or combo of irs that I like and then tweaking the amp around that, rather than the other way round. Getting much better results that way, but I suppose Greenbacks work with most things.
The speaker impedance curve helps massively with this and I kept overlooking it.

 

[RDeraz]

Treat this subject as if your going to the store amp shopping. If you can't get what your looking for within 10 min. , move on to the next. I remember when the JCM900 came out, a local studio had one in their live room, so I gave it a go with the band. In less than 2 min. it was a hard no, full stop. Some players love that amp, just not my preference.

The other option is to treat it as an exercise in limitations. Pick an amp model and learn all of it's characteristics. The correct frame of mind here would be "This is what I've got. I'm a broke ass musician and it's all I could afford. Make it work."

 

[Dave Merrill]

I sometimes get into advanced params when I'm trying to build scenes with 4 levels of gain for an amp, which is usually how I build my presets.

For instance, I really like the AC15 TB cleanish, and especially a little dirty, but looking for sounds I like with more gain and that amp takes more exploration. I've ended up with a tiny amount of negative feedback to tighten up those gainier tones, even though that's not what the AC15 is about.

I'm not complaining, not at all, just explaining one path that sometimes leads me to advanced parameters.

 

[spikey]

I'm not complaining, not at all, just explaining one path that sometimes leads me to advanced parameters.

The nice thing I'm starting to realize is there are multiple paths with the Axe-FX III you can go down in making the presets you like tone wise. You just have to pick the one the suits you (once you understand them all).

 

[Axe]

Maybe post the particulars (your guitars\genre\etc, and a sound sample or 2 from your older presets you like. I know folks here will be happy to help if they can.....and I would bet they can.

I couldn’t see anyone flaming you for a post like that. You sound like a guy who wants help, not someone picking a fight. There are a lot of potential variables. Maybe it’s a setting on the III. Maybe it’s a setting on the guitar (off the top of my head, I would say if your tone knob is on 10, try dialing it back to 7).

I would recommend starting your own thread and people here would be happy to help. We may need more info about your rig, your settings, and a sound clip or two would also go a long way.

Stratman, too many instruments to list.. I'm a higher gain fella . What I/we do is in my sig if anyone is interested.. Where I'm hearing the artifact I don't care for is primarily in natural and pinch harmonics.

Giantslayer, I don't really want to start a whole new thread so what I did was build and export a quick patch using my fav amp that I believe will illustrate what I'm trying to eliminate or tame.

Any suggestions aside from "don't quit yer day job" would be welcomed

 

[Stratman68]

Stratman, too many instruments to list.. I'm a higher gain fella . What I/we do is in my sig if anyone is interested.. Where I'm hearing the artifact I don't care for is primarily in natural and pinch harmonics.

Giantslayer, I don't really want to start a whole new thread so what I did was build and export a quick patch using my fav amp that I believe will illustrate what I'm trying to eliminate or tame.

Any suggestions aside from "don't quit yer day job" would be welcomed

Hey Axe,
I am not a hi gain player. Cannot offer much help with this. I liked the tunes I listened to in your link-Edmund fitzgerald and Blackmore. Didn't have much time tonight. You guys sound tight and I like Jens voice and style.
The reason Chris and Giantslayer suggested starting your own thread is to put the focus on your issue and help you. Possibly then Matt (@admin) and others will join in and I bet they can narrow it down for you. I think you should.
BTW, You can quit your day job...............................

 

[Johnkenn]

I find that a common explanation for this is that people thought it would include a TALENT block.
You're still going to sound like you when you plug in to great gear.

EDIT: I'd like to say that in a unique way, the Axe-Fx has actually made me a better player, because I love playing more than ever because it's so easy to sound great.

See, that sounds counter intuitive to me…I have no talent, so I don’t need anything to make it sound less believable. The Axe has been a godsend for getting convincing guitar tones in my productions.