Moving backward?

Kurt L

Kurt L

Inspired
I burned about 90 minutes this morning running an experiment. I'm coming up on one year with my Axe-FX III and have always been diligent about updating my firmware, preset banks, etc. After a full backup, I reverted to pre-Cygnus firmware (15.03) and presets.

After an hour of playing, running through various presets and re-building a few of my own, I'm pretty sure I like this better. I know our ears (and minds) will play tricks on us and if I want to return to the latest updates I have everything saved.

Of course there are models and features I won't be able to access but there's so much in there that I really don't have much FOMO. I wish I could offer a good description of what I'm hearing or what I'm responding to, but I'm enjoying my Axe-FX more than I did yesterday. At least I think I am... and I LIKE getting updates!

Am i the only one? What's wrong with me??? :eek:

(FWIW, I'm running through a pair of Genelec 8030Bs, sitting right in the sweet spot.)
 
If you like it then no one is stopping you from staying on 15.03. I don't like to give up new features and I trust that FAS is moving things in a positive direction so I have no interest in rolling back.
 
OrganicZed said:
If you like it then no one is stopping you from staying on 15.03. I don't like to give up new features and I trust that FAS is moving things in a positive direction so I have no interest in rolling back.
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Honestly, I'm happy either way. Loving the Axe-FX and also really enjoying the FX8 I picked up last month to use with my amps.

I updated all my amp blocks after Cygnus and tried to do everything properly. And the response to Cygnus has been overwhelmingly positive, it just struck me as a little weird. I may switch back and forth a time or two and make some test recordings... or I might just trust my instincts.
 
Some amps got some of their controls removed even on their ideal page, which means the knob is still there, but it isn't doing anything anymore. Besides that the dynamic presence and dynamic depth got removed.

Some of my older presets got ruined that way and I had to retweak them or even change to a different amp model. It took me a while to discover new models that do the job.

Maybe one of your amps is affected and you didn't find rhe right knobs or models in Cygnus to get it right again?
 
Your liking the older FW, is this only in the context of self-made presets? I waited all the way until all the factory presets also got re-done to load Cygnus, and I noticed a big improvement. Had I had my own presets, I could understand if they might sound better on the older FW.
 
I had a similar thing a while back. Before the FC12 was available in Europe, I reverted from Axe FX III to Axe FX II and MPC-101 for a few rehearsals and gigs. Can't remember how far that dropped me back, but it was definitely before Cygnus arrived, so maybe just a few versions, Definitely lost me some features I loved. But it sounded so much better than I thought it could, given all the improvements of the Axe FX III...

I think it's a trick in our heads that changes the "criticality" of our minds (and ears) when going back to something old and familiar. I play new versions of firmware the way I would amps that I'm not familiar with, listening out for things that I don't like. Going backwards (in analogue or digital) I listen for all the things that I do like, finding magic that I remember.

I honestly cannot remember which version of firmware is in my Axe FX III right now, almost certainly not the latest, probably one of the 17s. I'm trying to avoid updating too often, and to be honest once the drummer starts playing most subtlety seems to go out of the window anyway.

I think nothing wrong with you whatsoever, but as AK has said, you might need a second Axe FX III to get a more perfect match to your favourite 15.03 presets. ;)

Liam
 
TSJMajesty said:
Your liking the older FW, is this only in the context of self-made presets? I waited all the way until all the factory presets also got re-done to load Cygnus, and I noticed a big improvement. Had I had my own presets, I could understand if they might sound better on the older FW.
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It's not just my homemade presets. For example, this morning I noticed the factory preset "Brit Silver" sounds better to me using the old version. I'm not ruling out my ears playing tricks on me - and I did make some tweaks to the preset. And one that I really like... this Wicked Game preset that I snagged from this thread. (I tone down some of the effects and it's just a great Strat preset!)

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...icked-game-guitar-sound-preset-inside.170480/
 
Upgrading to a newer firmware version doesn't make any previous version sound worse. A lot of people get excited when new firmware drops and claim it's the "best tone ever!!" but the fact is, the "old" firmware sounds just as good as when it was new firmware providing the "best tone ever!!".

Features get added along with the enhancements or improvements to the amp modeling which is something to consider as well. Do you need the features or is the current FW giving you everything you need? For me, the new delays and reverbs as well as added parameters like the pitch shift in the reverb block make 18.03 well worth the update.
 
still have Ax2 and sometimes I run thru it and think "hey this sounds really good" - I'd never go backwards though - too many other goodies lost doing that + I'm guessing older fw tones could always be dialed in with newer fw somehow.
 
JoKeR III said:
For me, the new delays and reverbs as well as added parameters like the pitch shift in the reverb block make 18.03 well worth the update.
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Yeah, I'm with you. When I heard Leon Todd demo the new delays, I had to grab that update!
Kurt, I'm curious, what prompted you to revert to an older FW?
 
TSJMajesty said:
Kurt, I'm curious, what prompted you to revert to an older FW?
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You know, I'm not really sure except when I first got the Axe-FX (honeymoon phase) I found a few sounds that just made me say "Wow!" And lately I've been wondering if the honeymoon phase really was better. There have been so many updates in the last year (good thing!) that I wasn't sure my memory was accurate.

Since I could (and did!) back everything up, it was a risk-free proposition to try it.

JoKeR III said:
For me, the new delays and reverbs as well as added parameters like the pitch shift in the reverb block make 18.03 well worth the update.
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Yeah, I'm a reverb junkie so I hate to miss out on anything but there's still plenty for me to work with.
 
I was going to post this same sentiment. I’ve gone back and forth from 15.01 and 18.03 and spent many hours trying to get the same feel out of my own patches to no avail. After a long session of tweaking and thinking “yeah that’s sounding good” I go back later or the next day and it’s just missing some mojo I get with 15.01. I did some recording comparisons of my main tone built on a Triaxis LD2 yellow, and with 18.03 it’s like a wool blanking got pulled over the cab. I’ve started from scratch with it and tried some other models and put quite a bit of time in it, but just not getting there. It’s all good though. Yes I’d like to have the new features available but I’m not missing anything really. To me 15.01 still sounds stellar.
 
Older presets will usually sound better on the older firmware that they were created on. With a new firmware, in most cases, you need to reset the Amp block (or Drive, Comp, Delay, whatever was re-worked) to get the correct default values (visible, and hidden) that are correct for the new modeling algorithm. This wipes out most of the current settings. Even if you put all of the non-advanced parameters back to what you had before as a starting place, they might not sound/react the same.

You have to re-acquaint yourself with the new model a bit. Parameter or models that used to work may not anymore. Parameter or models that didn't work may work now.
 
OP, I did this recently too and... I agree. I play mostly high gain stuff, and 15.01 is just cleaner and more refined to me overall. And I started new presets from scratch for the downgrade and went by sound alone, so it had nothing to do with presets for me. I still love Cygnus though, so I may have to do a double-Axe situation if this becomes problematic in the future.

This opinion is likely blasphemy against the Cygnus orthodoxy, and because of that I hereby preemptively choose exile over death.
 
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