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

Not saying I get the best tone... But ampwise I basically use the most basic controls, I bet I'm missing out
Same - but I don't feel like we're missing out - that's the beauty of it - it CAN be complicated if you want it to be, but I can dial up a sound that I really dig - more than any actual amp I've had - very quickly and have a blast just playing!
 
If people start with the presets I do find them overall way too dark. Easily fixed. To me, the first thing I do on any amp is flick the "cut" switch. Much better.
 
Because the iii tapped their funds. Not hard to figure out.

It'd be cool if people stopped ragging on users who cant splash cash on everything.
I get what you're saying here, but I see so many people saying that a given piece of entry-level gear "sounds fantastic" when it's objectively not true. People who are trying to sort out what's what in modelling and monitoring options can get really confused by people making this sort of statement.

I am completely open that my monitor choice (DXR12) is cost driven. I am equally open that they aren't as accurate as RCF or CLR would be. Purchasing to a price point is absolutely fine and not something to guilt-shame someone over, but be honest about it.

Don't call your '83 Chevette a "'Vette" and tell everyone it's really fast and handles great.
 
The number of IRs is pretty overwhelming, it's easy to fall down a rabbit hole and get frustrated with that. Even more so if you get into third-party IRs. But when it comes to "dialing in tone," I find a lot of the amps sound good with everything at noon anyway. The 5150, Savage, and pretty much all the Fractal models sound good on their default settings if I'm using an IR I like.

In my experience the amps that require the most dialing in are...the ones that require the most dialing in IRL too. It takes me FOREVER to get a Dual Rec to sound the way I want, either on the AxeFX or back when I was using one live.

And then there are a lot of models that have counterintuitive controls IF you don't know how the real amp responds to them. I thought the Uberschall sounded like garbage until I read Yek's guide and realized I was using the controls all wrong. Hell, my favorite high gain amp, the Savage 2, has a presence control that works differently than every other presence control in the box. Set it anywhere above 3 and it's fizzy mid-scooped garbage, but turn it down (turn it ALL THE WAY DOWN!) and it sounds huge.
 
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I get what you're saying here, but I see so many people saying that a given piece of entry-level gear "sounds fantastic" when it's objectively not true. People who are trying to sort out what's what in modelling and monitoring options can get really confused by people making this sort of statement.

I am completely open that my monitor choice (DXR12) is cost driven. I am equally open that they aren't as accurate as RCF or CLR would be. Purchasing to a price point is absolutely fine and not something to guilt-shame someone over, but be honest about it.

Don't call your '83 Chevette a "'Vette" and tell everyone it's really fast and handles great.
Facepalming as I look at my Headrush 108 lmao haha
 
In my personal experience, the issue for me was that this is the first ever modelling gear i bought switching from all tube amps and pedals. So when i look at brett kingman or leon todd or other veteran of the modelling gear specifically the fractal products while being veteran players and warriors of tone in general, it is hard to find "IT". To help with this, i really think there should be an AMP+Cab block or a default cab for that amp which in Cliff's opinion is the best fit. That will help
Second is too high expectations, or like somebody said, need a talent block in this. Seeking SRV and gilmour and other legendary tones just coz you have all the relative amp emulations there, right in front of you.
I also dont like the sound of studio monitors turned up in my yet untreated room.
But anyways, i am not giving up on this and will get somewhere good!!!
 
I get what you're saying here, but I see so many people saying that a given piece of entry-level gear "sounds fantastic" when it's objectively not true. People who are trying to sort out what's what in modelling and monitoring options can get really confused by people making this sort of statement.

I am completely open that my monitor choice (DXR12) is cost driven. I am equally open that they aren't as accurate as RCF or CLR would be. Purchasing to a price point is absolutely fine and not something to guilt-shame someone over, but be honest about it.

Don't call your '83 Chevette a "'Vette" and tell everyone it's really fast and handles great.

If it sounds fantastic on budget gear (I have mackie CR4s and my iii sounds fantastic btw) then it can only improve. I have no reason to believe a 3 or fm3 doesnt sound great on budget-friendly speakers.

And budget friendly means different things to different people.

If your product wows people who dont have $300+ into their speaker setup then you're doing something right imo.
 
Yeah one big difference with more accurate monitors is how well your presets will translate to other systems. The flatter and more accurate your monitors are, the less bias you will tend to have in the way you dial in your sounds. The copious EQ capabilities in the Axe III allows you to compensate for the response of just about any system, however, the more you have to compensate to get back to a flat reference, the more skewed your presets will sound on other systems.
 
The Ir's is where it ''can'' take more time. But for exploration of the various amps and getting to learn how they sound individually, you could just stick with the IRs already in the presets.

Now 2 more things. Developing your ears is very critical. What works in a mix isn't always what we'd expect.

And finally Having the RIGHT GUITAR will get you the right tone. For instance, I got a San Dimas with a JB at the bridge. Never gelled much with a JB but this was a revelation in the Charvel. So I thought, this would be perfect in a Strat for an upcoming project. Had a custom shop ( real nice one ) where i put a JB jr. EQ seemed the same but it was dead compared to the Charvel. So I removed it, got a regular sized ( trembucker ) for an HSS Strat and even with the right pots ( the trick to get the pick-ups to see the right pot value ). The Charvel still is 10% better ( at least for the 80's rock tones I am going for ).

Long story short. You still need to find that ''magical'' guitar. Just like with real amps. And testing guitars with the Axe FX is so much easier than dealing with a real amp ( deafening volume to hit the sweet spot etc... ) and truly is an amazing experience.
 
I also would say that until I had a Fractal unit, I wasn’t hearing all my mistakes / crap guitar as easily. So for sure my playing has improved, bought some better setup instruments. But for me being able to clearly hear an amp/cab combo with blowing my ears off has been a godsend. Still on an Ax8 and know that I’m looking forward to an FM3 in my near future
 
Some low cost gear is great. Some is really bad.

It is true though that if you compare a $200 modeling device to a $2000 modeling device through a $100 speaker, you may not notice much of a difference due to how much a speaker like that can actually reproduce.

I’ve played gigs on pretty much every type of speaker and PA system out there. $400 total behringer PA system, and $50,000 pro stage setups. The Axe always sounds good through them, if I understand the limitations of the speaker system.
 
It's probably been said already, but using your ears, not your eyes to dial things in. I've read so many posts referencing issues with what they are seeing, not what they are hearing.
 
I agree , you put a cab and an amp and it sound already good .
and then you begin to try , compare , try , compare , and the day after you tweak , and re tweak because « maybe you can do better « and then You spend more than half of the time tweaking more then playing . So I understand what they mean . I have done months of tweaks before being happy with my presets . Because you have a lot of things to try and experiment
 
Biggest problem I hear people it doesn’t sound like an amp in the room, it doesn’t bloom, blah blah...that’s cause a mic’d up amp doesn’t sound like it’s in a room.
this is the main « problem « . If the user don’t understand that a miced amp don’t sound like an amp in a room .. sure playing for real with a head and 2 stacks is not the same than playing with the axe and 2 krk monitoring lol . These are live and recording tools. Amps in the room is another dimension that why they still sell amps .
 
Sometimes, simply making changes is part of having great tone, because this can help you to stay freshly connected to your material. I heard an interview with someone who used to tour with George Burns. He used to constantly tweak his jokes in ways that only he would notice. The interviewer's comment was about how this helped keep connected to a living craft. Who wants to be a mere tape recording?
 
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.
what if you sound terrible? and the ones who tried but werent happy sound even better than you? Alone the fact that how advanced this gear is...should help you understand, for many reasons it can be too complicated, hard to use for some people. ...If your post is about “understanding”.

There are many world class players out there, who can NOT play thru FRFR and they need their cab, amp right next to them. On stage or in studio.

And there are many experienced users posting stuff here...sound good
/ok on computer/phone speakers...than i listen in my studio, and the low end is a mess. (to my ears ofcourse...but up to a certain point it is also measurable/sceintifically clear, those tones wont work neither on stage nor in recording in most cases)

FYI, I don’t own a real amp anymore, even no pedals/fx and been 11 years almost i do all with axe fx. Mostly FRFR, sometimes hook axe to a traditional cab...super happy but is doesnt mean everybody has to like Axe Fx, or find it easy to use. People have different backround, experience...

I try/want also my bass/guitar player friends understand, see how great Axe Fx is...and probably made 10 people buy fractal products already....but it just simply doesnt work for some and they can’t get what they want to out of it.
 
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