Mezzabarba Trinity tone chase

Singtall

Singtall

Experienced
Vendor
So....I was watching this video:
which made me start tweaking a preset to try to get near that tone. And it brings me back to that issue I've always had trying to get those crazy tube harmonics. When I had the Axe-FX II, I had a preset that did that harmonic thing pretty well, enough to make me stop chasing after tubes. But that same preset no longer does that thing on the AXE-FX III. So I'm back wondering if I should just break down and put some type of tube preamp in my chain. What's you guy's thoughts on tube harmonics and what's possible in the Axe-fx III to get closer to that tone?
 
Singtall said:
So....I was watching this video:
which made me start tweaking a preset to try to get near that tone. And it brings me back to that issue I've always had trying to get those crazy tube harmonics. When I had the Axe-FX II, I had a preset that did that harmonic thing pretty well, enough to make me stop chasing after tubes. But that same preset no longer does that thing on the AXE-FX III. So I'm back wondering if I should just break down and put some type of tube preamp in my chain. What's you guy's thoughts on tube harmonics and what's possible in the Axe-fx III to get closer to that tone?
Click to expand...

Have you downloaded the new Beta
The thing about Steckel is that he uses and enormous amount of gain
Like 3 or 4 o’clock and then turns on the boost , I don’t know what volume he has but it also pretty likely cranked up
By putting a boost pedal like Maxoff in front of the amps , I can get the harmonics leaping out and almost endless sustain
What amps are you using ?
 
I've been using the Bogner XTC with a couple different boosts up front to get there. tonally, I can get it pretty dead on, but the harmonics of tubes just aren't quite there if you do a pinch harmonic for example.
 
I have the Trinity and coincidentally Eric and gang were just at my place to borrow my Mzero OD a few weeks back for a few north east dates. Yes, Eric plays with a lot of gain and has coined the "blues metal" genre. To get the Trinity thing, you have to really piss off a Bogner or similar model with some kind of drive in front of it. You can get this out of the Fractal, you just have to take the time to do it. Sorry if that sounds cliche. I really believe its just a matter of time until we get a Mezzabarba model. They really are fantastic, modern hi gain masterpieces. really well built and a great company.
 
Singtall said:
I've been using the Bogner XTC with a couple different boosts up front to get there. tonally, I can get it pretty dead on, but the harmonics of tubes just aren't quite there if you do a pinch harmonic for example.
Click to expand...
So you find that the pinches don’t ring out or they are hard to get
What are you listening through
How loud are you playing

I find pinches are great for me
I use an SLO with a JCM800 tonestack which is closer to what the Mezza is
Boost upfront OCD or Maxon,

The XTC red should be able to get you there especially if boosting
You might want to up the bright cap
VAIs amp had it modded to 2200 I believe
 
Randalljax said:
So you find that the pinches don’t ring out or they are hard to get
What are you listening through
How loud are you playing

I find pinches are great for me
I use an SLO with a JCM800 tonestack which is closer to what the Mezza is
Boost upfront OCD or Maxon,

The XTC red should be able to get you there especially if boosting
You might want to up the bright cap
VAIs amp had it modded to 2200 I believe
Click to expand...
When I do pinch Harmonics on my tube amps they have a kind of lowering or compressing of volume on the pinch notes, no so on my modelers. Used to, I could dial up a Cameron amp with SD pedal up front and it would kinda do that thing. Having the pinch harmonics come thru at the same volume or louder isn't the same feel I'm getting with tubes.
 
So, I broke down and bought a Rocktron Piranha preamp to throw in the effects loop, thinking that would solve my tube cravings...but not so much. Yes, I can feel the tube compression a little, but I'm not getting the pinch harmonic thing that I'm talking about. I'm investigating the cause of it now. first off, it appears that I really need to back off the high pass on the cabinet a lot to get it sounding like my cabinet in the room. my cabinet in the room does what I'm talking about. not sure if it's a combination of the lack of highs in the real cabinet making it sound like pinch harmonics compress a bunch, or the speakers slightly distort even at low volume. will report back with a preset if i can get the problem solved.
 
I remember that video your nephew did way back when about whether or not the piranha was a poor man's triaxis (no).

And to echo what someone else said, have you tried the new beta yet? Some amps sound/feel significantly different than before.
 
I have 3 mezzabarba amps.
They are really great.
I have made a quick comparaison between the Axe FX 3 ( SLO lead model) vs my Mezzabarba trinity el34 in the Fractal Loadbox.
Of course i used the same IR and the LB2 impédance curve with the Slo model

https://on.soundcloud.com/BVXd6

To match the Real trinity you have to tweak the output EQ (axe fx models are often cleaner and less agressive than Real amp)
After some tweaks differences were really small.

To me the Real magic is in the room with the matching cab.
 
Tonic said:
Yeah :)
Gain was not too high and I m not using any boost.
Straight in the amp, channel 3, gain at noon
Click to expand...
I am guess the second part after you roll the volume up is the Mezza
Yeah that is a ton of gain to me to get the SLO to do that it would need a boost and maybe depth mod and some lower mids in the 300-400 hz and probably some JJ el34
 
Randalljax said:
I am guess the second part after you roll the volume up is the Mezza
Yeah that is a ton of gain to me to get the SLO to do that it would need a boost and maybe depth mod and some lower mids in the 300-400 hz and probably some JJ el34
Click to expand...
Yes i changed tubes to EL34 and push the gain on the SLO to match the trinity amp.
The mezza is the first part
 
Randalljax said:
Wow did not see that coming
Honestly I think you matched it very well and I actually think I liked the Fractal a bit more in this particular clip , it was the slightly fuller one
Click to expand...
Yes i prefer the axe too on this clip.

That said, i m not a big fan of this loadbox and plugged in the axe fx I always find the sound too mushy.
So playing with a model sound and feel a little bit better than the amp with a loadbox
I really prefer this amp on his 412 miked instead of IR
 
I went off the deep end tonight trying to get everything the Rocktron Piranha has and duplicate it. I figured if I learned anything more about getting the tube sound and feel it would help in my quest.

I started out getting my cabinets converted into IR's. then I did some low/high cut to get it sounding like it does in my room. then I made 2 new IR's reflecting those tweaks. panning the IR's wide definitely help get the room sound.

Next I tried amp after amp looking for the closest "feel". this involves rolling back the guitar volume and seeing how it cleans up and what tonal changes I hear. I was surprised to find that the Fractal Brown with the cut/boost/bright all in was close. but tonally not there yet.

Finally I used tonematch to go between the Piranha and the Axe-fx III and generate another IR for the tonal differences. Yippee! It's pretty dead on. The Piranha tone controls weren't set for anything special, I just found a factory preset to weedle on and went from there. the idea was to capture the essence of the tubes and see if real tubes made any difference. I'll have to rest my ears and try again tomorrow. but for tonight I think it's REALLY close in feel.

For your amusement, I posted the final preset with attached IR's.
 

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My first try at a preset using the SLO100 Lead as advised. I'm pretty damn happy. used my cabinet combo and I think it's about as close I as want to be. attached is my preset/IR bundle.
 

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