Moving backward?

As long as it includes Line 6 PodFarm, that was the true peak modeling
Am lol'ing. Pod farm was what I did most of my home playing on for the decade prior to getting my III almost a year ago. It was passable for high gain jamming but what made it good was the little interface handling the processing. Never had to think about buffer sizes and latency. Not a fan of native shenanigans. It was quite good for a mix tool too. It's mic pre models/EQ had some charm. My old Mac Pro has burnt out another graphics card now and I will be moving forwards, not back. RIP Pod Farm and Pro Tools 10, we had good times together.
 
Cygnus, after 3 years on the FX III, is when I said fuck it, I want real amps again. Luckily, I was able to get a Dual Recto 2channel before they skyrocketed in price end of last year, and I got to say I find it so much easier to dial in a tone that actually sounds good in and out of a mix high-gain or clean. I still process pre and post amp through the FX though. Having some real amps again, I think I would have a much easier time dialing in actually good tones on the FX III itself per each of my guitars/basses.
 
Cygnus, after 3 years on the FX III, is when I said fuck it, I want real amps again. Luckily, I was able to get a Dual Recto 2channel before they skyrocketed in price end of last year, and I got to say I find it so much easier to dial in a tone that actually sounds good in and out of a mix high-gain or clean. I still process pre and post amp through the FX though. Having some real amps again, I think I would have a much easier time dialing in actually good tones on the FX III itself per each of my guitars/basses.
I never gave up real amps but don't feel like bailing on the Axe-FX at all. I like having both - and bought an FX8 for the amps. But I'm not gigging, just playing with a nice home recording setup. I've gotta admit I never build presets and tweak tones on the unit itself; I use Axe-Edit all the way.

Glad you're getting tones you like. I'm sure the Axe-FX is a great processor even if you're not using amp and cab models.
 
Cygnus, after 3 years on the FX III, is when I said fuck it, I want real amps again. Luckily, I was able to get a Dual Recto 2channel before they skyrocketed in price end of last year, and I got to say I find it so much easier to dial in a tone that actually sounds good in and out of a mix high-gain or clean. I still process pre and post amp through the FX though. Having some real amps again, I think I would have a much easier time dialing in actually good tones on the FX III itself per each of my guitars/basses.
I wonder if it’s the joy of an amp in the room that was missing. I guess that’s why many people prefer a guitar cab to FRFR?
 
Update on the FW pilgrimage: After loading and toying with 15.01 for the past several days, making a few adjustments, I've got it nailed and sounding great. Next I compare the tone to what I have on my FM3...and it is damn near identical, but with one difference. The FM3 Cygnus tone was just more on point, authentic, and alive. Meaning, as much as I enjoyed revisiting the smoothness of 15, ultimately I had to adjust it to get the tone I wanted to hear...and that was already there with 18.03. Loaded that back in with my backups today. Cliff is a genius, Fractal and Co are amazing, and firmwares are continuously evolving! Bottom line, FW18.03 is the latest and greatest (at the moment)
 
Update on the FW pilgrimage: After loading and toying with 15.01 for the past several days, making a few adjustments, I've got it nailed and sounding great. Next I compare the tone to what I have on my FM3...and it is damn near identical, but with one difference. The FM3 Cygnus tone was just more on point, authentic, and alive. Meaning, as much as I enjoyed revisiting the smoothness of 15, ultimately I had to adjust it to get the tone I wanted to hear...and that was already there with 18.03. Loaded that back in with my backups today. Cliff is a genius, Fractal and Co are amazing, and firmwares are continuously evolving! Bottom line, FW18.03 is the latest and greatest (at the moment)

Lol the way this is written, I'd have guessed some guys in suits showed up at your door recently. Blink twice if you still prefer 15.01
 
And just in time for 19 with a completely rewritten power amp algo 😵‍💫 Though it seems the odd number firmwares are usually my favorites for some reason. Might give the beta a go tonight or tomorrow.
 
And just in time for 19 with a completely rewritten power amp algo 😵‍💫 Though it seems the odd number firmwares are usually my favorites for some reason. Might give the beta a go tonight or tomorrow.
Absolutely! Gotta try it... I've got everything backed up so I can go back to 15 anytime. It would be ridiculous not to give the update a shot.
 
Absolutely! Gotta try it... I've got everything backed up so I can go back to 15 anytime. It would be ridiculous not to give the update a shot.
I'm with you 18.03 was not for me even though at first I thought it was - went back to17.02 - happy again

Of course Ill have to try 19 beta 2 - no big deal as you say always go back :)
 
Well I’m still preferring 15.01. I don’t know what it is, it’s just this “stuck to the speaker” thing I feel/hear inherent in any of the models. I went through quite a few (mostly high gainers) with just amp/cab setups and just am block to a real cab. But as I said before, even 15.01 sounds stellar to me. Just falling further back from current 😑
 
I've been hanging with 15.01 for a while now, I think it sounds better. Not necessarily more realistic than Cygnus, but better cleaner and easier to manage overall. We can always go back to Cygnus later on if we get bored and want something new.
 
Guys, Cygnus already becomes history. There is no new name now for the new stuff, but it's the future, that much is obvious. Get back on the party?
 
Guys, Cygnus already becomes history. There is no new name now for the new stuff, but it's the future, that much is obvious. Get back on the party?
Of course I’ll try out the new firmware. I’m just not in a big hurry and will likely wait until they’re done with the betas.

BTW, I brain-farted earlier when I said I reverted to 15.03. I’m on 15.01… having a great time!
 
The reason some people likely prefer 15.01 is because it doesn't have as much bias excursion. 16.00 and after use a new bias excursion algorithm which is much more accurate but also generates greater amounts of bias excursion.

You'll never get 15.01 to get that choked 5E3 Tweed sound whereas 16.00 and later replicate it very accurately.

Bias excursion reduces clarity and string separation but it's necessary for a realistic sound.

I've said it before but I guess I need to say it again, if you want that 15.01 sound simply turn down Master Bias Excursion. That's why the control was added.
 
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.)

This has been going on for years- way back to the Axe-FX II. One version will be "more open" and another version will be "tighter" and its almost like an oscillation at this point where things go back and forth from one version to the next. I have no doubt that the accuracy is improving upward, though I expect if you could graph it you might see something like the volatility of a tech stock. :)

The biggest problem with just stepping off the train is that you miss out on all the other improvements and fixes along the way and there have been major improvements.

I compared the Axe-FX IIxl+ to the Axe-FX III last year and found myself thinking that Fractal had the amp sim part of the problem licked years ago. The biggest reason why I couldn't just keep the IIxl+ is all the other stuff that has been fixed and added.

I've been encouraged by the extra attention [edit: BY FRACTAL AUDIO] to effects in recent times. I'd like to see Fractal spend six months or a year ignoring the amp modeling and just focusing on effects and utility improvements. The amp stuff has long long long since been beyond good enough and those other areas would probably enjoy leaps and bounds. It may be that effects aren't as interesting to work on.
 
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This has been going on for years- way back to the Axe-FX II. One version will be "more open" and another version will be "tighter" and its almost like an oscillation at this point where things go back and forth from one version to the next. I have no doubt that the accuracy is improving upward, though I expect if you could graph it you might see something like the volatility of a tech stock. :)

The biggest problem with just stepping off the train is that you miss out on all the other improvements and fixes along the way and there have been major improvements.

I compared the Axe-FX IIxl+ to the Axe-FX III last year and found myself thinking that Fractal had the amp sim part of the problem licked years ago. The biggest reason why I couldn't just keep the IIxl+ is all the other stuff that has been fixed and added.

I've been encouraged by the extra attention to effects in recent times. I'd like to see Fractal spend six months or a year ignoring the amp modeling and just focusing on effects and utility improvements. The amp stuff has long long long since been beyond good enough and those other areas would probably enjoy leaps and bounds. It may be that effects aren't as interesting to work on.
Even if older releases were really good, eminently usable, newer ones do evolve in texture and feel. Many people have reported that about Cygnus for instance.

When you buy a physical amp, and the designer has a new "better" idea, you typically don't have the option to try it out, except by buying these latest version of the amp. And if you do, you have to send yours back to the factory, and often pay for the update.

This is better :)

You always have the option to ignore newer releases. I don't think you're going to talk Cliff out of evolving any part if the firmware that catches his eye.
 
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