Looking for feedback on my preset

To me initial post, can of you, especially the user that said "my ears are bleeding" tell me where I went wrong originally. I didn't think I did anything vastly different from what I've seen Leon do, particularly with his videos about dialing in Rectos. I didn't think I went overboard with gain, treble or presence. For the drive block I though that was the pretty standard gain and tone all the way down and level all the way up?

Is it possible that my monitors tend to run darker and I overcompensated? I'm using Adam Audio T5Vs. I want to get better and dialing in my own tones, so I'd like to know where I went wrong.
Vast subject.
It all depends on your perception, your taste, and the context.
For example, the Axe factory presets are very generous in bass.
Cooper Carter made the Petrucci rig, he uses it as it is in a demo but he applies a 160Hz filter to it when he uses the same sound in a song context.
Leon has settings that emphasize the midrange and work perfectly at very high volume. Fremen does too, but with a bit more bass. (He says he like low end ;-) )
You need a good reference (a real amp, or a recording) and to build your sound on it.
Knowing that, nothing is immutable, depending on the volume, the context, you will remove or add more or less low pass/high pass filter. And sometime more extrem that you think.
This way the 'identity' of your sound will always be more or less preserved.
 
It might work fine for you and that's great, but boosting Q and gain to the max will literally make practically every frequency you sweep jump out, which can be confusing for a lot of people.
Jason, you have your way, and I have mine. I made a suggestion, nothing more, nothing less.

Take care
 
Of course. I'm just giving my opinion about EQ sweeping.
No problem bud. I think it sounded like it was getting a bit passionate haha.

I may actually try your suggestion as I only use spectrum analyses on DAWs, not even sure if the Axe has one but I am anything but constantly learning......
 
Of course. I'm just giving my opinion about EQ sweeping.
It's a very useful tool for quickly dialing out unwanted frequencies. Increase the gain, use the narrowest (largest value) Q and sweep until you hit the frequency that you want to reduce or eliminate. Yes, every frequency is going to sound bad because it's accentuated but it's the fastest method for I've used for initial EQ'ing. RTA's are very useful if you've already set your initial EQ or you're live and can't sweep to find offending frequencies. Different tools for different purposes and approaches.
 
I think sweeping can work if you are trying to find the area that already bugs you. Random sweeping isn't very useful as Jason pointed out. Sometimes I'll also sweep with a cut while listening to the track with another track. This works to uncover areas where one is covering up the other.

I agree with the analyzer comment, too. Very useful, especially in a live situation where it's hard to hear clearly or you can't solo a channel. An RTA is really useful (of topic, sorry) for live bass. I like to watch the RTA while the band is playing. I listen to the bass, and when the sound is not clear and solid you can almost always see it's because the 1st harmonic is too prominent. Seeing it tells you where to cut.
 
To me initial post, can of you, especially the user that said "my ears are bleeding" tell me where I went wrong originally. I didn't think I did anything vastly different from what I've seen Leon do, particularly with his videos about dialing in Rectos. I didn't think I went overboard with gain, treble or presence. For the drive block I though that was the pretty standard gain and tone all the way down and level all the way up?

Is it possible that my monitors tend to run darker and I overcompensated? I'm using Adam Audio T5Vs. I want to get better and dialing in my own tones, so I'd like to know where I went wrong.
The problem could be any number of things. If I had to guess I'd say that you didn't have your monitors loud enough when you dialed the patch in. The IRs that you used may not be the best choice for the type of tone that you are going for. Do you have a reference track to give us a better idea of the tone that you are shooting for?
 
No problem bud. I think it sounded like it was getting a bit passionate haha.

I may actually try your suggestion as I only use spectrum analyses on DAWs, not even sure if the Axe has one but I am anything but constantly learning......
The one in the Axe will give you an overall idea regarding frequency balance, but I almost always look at the frequency spectrum with my go-to plugin in Reaper because the resolution is a lot higher and it also doubles as an EQ, so I can really see and pinpoint exactly where the trouble spots are with surgical precision, then use the PEQ block to quickly duplicate the result.
 
It's a very useful tool for quickly dialing out unwanted frequencies. Increase the gain, use the narrowest (largest value) Q and sweep until you hit the frequency that you want to reduce or eliminate. Yes, every frequency is going to sound bad because it's accentuated but it's the fastest method for I've used for initial EQ'ing. RTA's are very useful if you've already set your initial EQ or you're live and can't sweep to find offending frequencies. Different tools for different purposes and approaches.
If sweeping works for you, I say more power to you. I switched to spectrum analysis years ago because I found it took the guesswork out of the equation. For stuff like fizz, I can literally see and dial it out with surgical precision without affecting unrelated frequencies. Fizz will usually present as one (or more) spikes in the high-end and it's easy to see. If you've never (or rarely) used spectrum analysis to tackle stuff you'd normally sweep, you might give it a shot. Fantastic tool.
 
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To me initial post, can of you, especially the user that said "my ears are bleeding" tell me where I went wrong originally. I didn't think I did anything vastly different from what I've seen Leon do, particularly with his videos about dialing in Rectos. I didn't think I went overboard with gain, treble or presence. For the drive block I though that was the pretty standard gain and tone all the way down and level all the way up?

Is it possible that my monitors tend to run darker and I overcompensated? I'm using Adam Audio T5Vs. I want to get better and dialing in my own tones, so I'd like to know where I went wrong.
I just tried your preset and, after bypassing the Drive block, thought it sounded pretty good. I compensated for the Drive block by turning on the Input Boost in the Preamp section of the Amp 1 block. Very usable to my ears.
 
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The one in the Axe will give you an overall idea regarding frequency balance, but I almost always look at the frequency spectrum with my go-to plugin in Reaper because the resolution is a lot higher and it also doubles as an EQ, so I can really see and pinpoint exactly where the trouble spots are with surgical precision, then use the PEQ block to quickly duplicate the result.
Ooh I think I’ll give this a go. I use the sweep method to find a particularly shrill whistle when (ab?)using my Tele with higher gain. The offending resonant frequency jumps out and makes my teeth rattle, it’s easy to find. But our X-Air mixer app does have an RTA with integrated PEQ and it is super easy to use, I never thought of using Reaper for this.
 
The one in the Axe will give you an overall idea regarding frequency balance, but I almost always look at the frequency spectrum with my go-to plugin in Reaper because the resolution is a lot higher and it also doubles as an EQ, so I can really see and pinpoint exactly where the trouble spots are with surgical precision, then use the PEQ block to quickly duplicate the result.
I used to use the one in cubase all the time. After 25 years I switched to Studio One, haven't checked if it has an analyser.
 
I don't use Studio One, but it appears to have a very usable built-in EQ/spectrum analyzer called Pro EQ2.
Funny enough I have been working on a song in Studio One as a way of getting used to the program (blows Cubase out of the water for me). I ended up removing all of my Waves and FabFilter plugins as the stock are so damn good. I used the EQ2 a lot, just did not notice the spectrum analyser built in (did a little Google).

Cheers for the heads up.
 
Funny enough I have been working on a song in Studio One as a way of getting used to the program (blows Cubase out of the water for me). I ended up removing all of my Waves and FabFilter plugins as the stock are so damn good. I used the EQ2 a lot, just did not notice the spectrum analyser built in (did a little Google).

Cheers for the heads up.
My go to plugin for EQ/spectrum analysis has been Waves H-EQ. I've got FabFilter Pro-Q 2, which is far more feature rich, but I still prefer H-EQ, for whatever reason.
 
Been using Presonus Studio One since version 2.0. I finally joined Presonus Sphere subscription. Best DAW I've ever used hands down!
 
Been using Presonus Studio One since version 2.0. I finally joined Presonus Sphere subscription. Best DAW I've ever used hands down!
I managed to purchase Studio One 5 on eBay for £140, absolute bargain. Coming from Cubase, they are so similar, it takes no time to learn. I never went down the subscription route as I hate the fact I never own the product.

One thing I always loved about Cubase is it never changed, from Cubase 5, SX to 10.5 the interface remained very familiar but I got to the point were updates were not relevant to how I work. When I did upgrade it was for the Vocal Alignment tool which, in typical Stienberg fashion, was half arsely implemented.

That set me on a journey testing Reaper, great but far to complex for someone who dips in and out of recording, Pro-Tools, felt like Cubase, old and past its prime, then Studio One.

Studio One just worked for me, my work flow just worked as it did in Cubase but improved so much with multi selected track to add multiple effects, the Folder to Bus is so handy.... I just can't fault it.

Been looking at purchasing Vocalign. I kind of begrudge it as its in Cubase but now Cubase supports ARA, I imagine it will remain one of those underdeveloped parts of Cubase.

I miss nothing from Cubase, expecially the constant audio dropouts when you add an effect, move an audio part, breath, make a cup of tea, fart.....
 
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