LPD - Adventures In Tone Matching Stuff Part 2

groovenut

groovenut

Power User
Second installment. This one is an amp match. Let me introduce you to the Gearu Half Pint!

GearuHalfPint1.jpg


Now for the Gear Head Geek Speak....

I designed and built this little guy about 2 years ago. He started off life as an AX84 Firefly built for me by our own Chris Hurley (thanks Chris!). I completely gutted the Firefly and started over from scratch. This amp design is 4 gain stages + tonestack into a PI feeding a push pull half watt tube output stage (12AU7). It is cathode biased with feedback loop. It sounds almost exactly like a huge 100 watt head but a lot quieter. It is all point to point wired and has forever been my experimental platform for new circuits. That is until I designed this one.... it stayed put.

So like the Gearu Tube Overdrive pedal, I wanted to get this into the AxeFxII. It also gives me the chance to get better at amp matching.

So here it is:



Just in case the comments from SC dont come through. This was done during the final pass of the amp match, cycling between the two sources with a footswitch. The first example is the AxeFx II the next is the real amp and then they alternate. At lower guitar volumes the Gearu Half Pint tends to load down the highs of the guitar, whereas the AxeFx II does not.

I do apologize for the slight digital clipping. I had torn everything down before I realized it was there. Hopefully it wont detract from you listening pleasure.

Please feel free to let me know what you think!

Thanks,
 
Hey guys! The preset for the Gearu Half Pint is up on Axe-change. Give it a try and let everyone know what you think!

Axe-Change - Download Preset - LPD Gearu Half Pint - by Groovenut

Edit: If you arent getting any sound, go to the front panel click layout and select TMA. In the process page highlight the ref solo and press enter, then change the source to none. Save preset. Sorry for this. I will make sure to reset this parameter before posting to Axe-change from now on.
 
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The Gearu sounds thicker, pretty close though. I'm wondering (seeing how I don't have an Axe ll yet :( and I don't get to play with these functions) is it one of those deals where you have to be there or is it not translating exactly the way you want it to?
 
Sounds good, but not dead on - i think. As Gearu said, the original is thicker in the low end, and like you said: When rolling off guitar volume, the Axe stays brighter ...this may be cooler, but not exactly accurate. I`ve done it a bit different from Cliff (using sine Sweep from the synth-block as Carrier signal instead guitar chords and set time to peak in the TMA block ... wrote a tutorial on that incl. a match-template blablabla ... whole story incl. Match-Comparison here: G66 - MARKUS HOHMANN ).

So, in my experiences i would recommend to switch off the bright (or finetune the bright cap -> Lower it to get more highs rolloff when rolling back volume) and for increase the bass in the Amp Block and match again .... Probobly not the perfect Amp-Sim for your physical head?

just my two cents ...

And Kudos to you! I knwo, what a time-eating work it is to match accurate real counterparts and write it all down with pics (by the way: Really nice, this little monster :) ... and load audio comparisons up .... Appreciate that much and like your work!
 
Morphosis said:
Sounds good, but not dead on - i think. As Gearu said, the original is thicker in the low end, and like you said: When rolling off guitar volume, the Axe stays brighter ...this may be cooler, but not exactly accurate. I`ve done it a bit different from Cliff (using sine Sweep from the synth-block as Carrier signal instead guitar chords and set time to peak in the TMA block ... wrote a tutorial on that incl. a match-template blablabla ... whole story incl. Match-Comparison here: G66 - MARKUS HOHMANN ).

So, in my experiences i would recommend to switch off the bright (or finetune the bright cap -> Lower it to get more highs rolloff when rolling back volume) and for increase the bass in the Amp Block and match again .... Probobly not the perfect Amp-Sim for your physical head?

just my two cents ...

And Kudos to you! I knwo, what a time-eating work it is to match accurate real counterparts and write it all down with pics (by the way: Really nice, this little monster :) ... and load audio comparisons up .... Appreciate that much and like your work!
Click to expand...

Markus

Great tutorial! Very well written and illustrated. Thanks for putting the time in on that!

In the thread http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-tone-match/56742-lpd-now-something-completely-different.html we had a discussion about the differences in the real tone and the IR capture takes. I deduced that essentially the differences between the tones are caused by the interaction between the sound pressure level in the room and the instrument, influencing the tone via mechanical resonance. I hope to do more experiments and equalize the process. Regarding the "change in tone when turning down" remark I made in the OP, I was actually referring to turning the guitars volume down. I tried several different approaches with the Axefx to emulate this, but could not find an accurate result. The real amp loads the guitar signal when the guitar volume is turned down because of the input impedance. I tried all the input impedance options on the Axefx (thanks a ton for those btw Cliff!) but none duplicated the effect. Overall, the tone of the match and amp was 98% for me. I captures all the nuances I needed it to and with just a little tweaking of the tone knobs I was able to dial in the differences. So I am pretty satisfied with it's presentation. I will however continue to refine the match until I cant tell the difference.

Thank you so much for the feedback!!
 
However ... the most funny thing for me is, since we can do easy Amp-Matching and i jumped in the rabbit hole of this whole theme, just to find out, that the Axe Fx II is so damn spot on when Amp-Matching ... is not anymore the wish to Match Amps anymore. It is for myself more like the proof, that the Axe II is absolute accurate. Period. Discussions about that (incl. the "K" thing) is for me since my own matching results needless and just time-wasting.

I think a big issue is that you can TRUST, that the modelling is accurate. The "K" makes that much more easy - if you profile/match your own Amps and do A/B-testing ... I trust in the Axe Fx (and i know why!) ... and there are plenty of superior Amps in it ... so ... no reason anymore to do matches for myself .... and that all after the really hard work with the tutorial and all ...

Perhaps .. you`ll come one day to the same point ... :) But hey ... i really read your threads with most interest! Thanks!
 
I just heard Cliff mention that he is using the TMA in High Resolution mode, so I am hoping in the next firmware update we'll be getting that!
 
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