Motor Drive

jlynnb1

jlynnb1

Axe-Master
Never used this parameter before, at all. After seeing so many guys rave about the improvements, decided to give it a go. I don't really know what it's doing, but I do think I like what it does....where are you guys usually running it? I know its a "use you ears" type thing, but just curious.
 
I have been putting it almost halfway up with the new ownhammers. It adds a nice girth to the sound.
 
I've always set it, along with speaker drive in the amp block, at 3.33. I haven't updated to 19 beta 3 yet to see the improvement for myself, but I really liked it before, so I'm sure it sounds even better. I also don't know what it's doing, but it feels like it compresses a small bit and, as you said, adds girth. For what it's worth, the manual says this about motor drive:

Motor Drive: this models the effect of high power levels on the tone of the speaker. The motor drive parameter controls the relative drive level and, therefor, the intensity of the effect.

Hopefully that makes sense to someone.

Edit: JMA's Axe FX reference guide says this about motor drive:

MOTOR DRIVE – Models the effect of high power levels on speaker tone. Simulates the impedance and distortion effects that occur when the speaker is pushed hard. Be aware this setting adds a little compression as you increase it.
This parameter appears on the ROOM page for stereo cabs
 
In 19.3 it does add much more compression than previous fw's. Up to the point that it sounds more like a post cab comp than a natural amp compression. I prefer the openness of the sound without motor drive, but I'm sure some people will find it useful for their tone
 
So in my experience with the Motor Drive, I've found that it does add the upper harmonics to the cabinet that help punch through a mix. Though there are so many things you can do to help an amp/rig punch through a mix, I find that his works subtly, but it does add that extra something to the cabinet that give it an extra sparkle on top. Since the update, I've found myself reaching for this knob a little more.
 
Just started playing with motor drive and it really does add that 'something' to the tone.
I've been running it at 3 or sometimes a touch lower.
 
edo said:
In 19.3 it does add much more compression than previous fw's. Up to the point that it sounds more like a post cab comp than a natural amp compression. I prefer the openness of the sound without motor drive, but I'm sure some people will find it useful for their tone
Click to expand...

Was it in 19.3?
I've been meaning to post about this for a while now but somewhere along the firmware continuum the Motor Drive parameter in the Cab Block changed dramatically.
It used to just be a dynamically controlled distortion to the Cab Block signal's output, perhaps with a little bit of compression as well.
Nowadays though (post 19.3?), it just seems like a badly setup compressor that severely restricts the dynamic range of the Block's output.
E.g. If you have a Reverb Block in front of the Cab Block, then adding any Motor Drive at all drastically increases the audible level of the reverb tail making it sound like your Reverb Block's Mix parameter is cranked way higher than it actually is.

I first thought that it must be a bug that would be corrected in later firmware but it's still like this.

What's that all about?
 
  • Like
Reactions: edo
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom