New AXE FX 2 Owner - help a man out!

Velokki

Inspired
So, I finally got it. The whole lot, Axe II + MFC + Mission SP-1. And I must say that I've been having mixed feelings. Some of it sounds good, but all the high-gain metal sounds have really lacked some of what I was after. They're definitely AAA quality in other people's videos and recordings, but mine seem to lack that magical something. Mine seems to lack some serious gain and the notes' distortion dies quite quickly, turning into clean. I've checked my I/O, but am still unsure where the problem is. Input Gain should also be adjusted properly.

Just to troubleshoot, here's a quick recording involving three different presets:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0effj236d8mv25d/HelpAManOut.mp3
The first is Wes Hauch's (The Faceless) Picky Riffs preset. It's a preset he uses live - it just CAN'T sound like that. I know there's a massive noisegate which blocks and interferes with the arpeggios in the recording and makes it sound crap - but there's got to be other stuff involved, too - stuff that's more or less wrong in my end. And not just my sucky playing =D The second one is the stock FAS Modern and the third is a Brit JVM OD2 patch.


Now, I'm asking for HELP. Anything to make the situation better!

What I think would be the best - is for you to do a quick 20~ second something clip of a high-gain metal recording and post the patch. So I could make a recording of my own and see where the problem lies.

I'd really appreciate it, I'm in the beginning of a huge learning experience, and ANY ADVICE WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED!

P.S. I'm not really feeling disappointed. I'm just feeling challenged and quite excited about it too :lol

Thanks a lot guys,
-Velo
 
Go into LAYOUT and scroll to the IN/GTE (GATE) tab. Check that your Global gate settings aren't too hard. Also check the I/O button and check if your input level is strong. You should be tickling the reds in the input meter next to the front panel screen.
 
Haha, sorry - that first one made me laugh. It sounds like one of those shred parodies on YouTube...



Anyway, I digress. A couple of things to check:

What firmware are you currently running? 11.0 should be out any day now, but in the meantime you can load the beta version. It sounds killer even with stock presets.

How did you load the first preset? You should be using FractalBot and not Axe Edit.

Do a system reset under the Utility menu.

Try the 5153 Red preset (#057 I think). It has plenty of gain on tap even without a drive pedal and sounds very similar to my 5153 head.
 
yah, something is off....obviously can't tell what without seeing everything in person, but it isn't supposed sound like that.

what fw are you on?

as far as the input, i know "tickling the reds" gets thrown around a lot, and is a good general rule.....but none of my guitars ever "tickle the reds" and my Axe sounds fantastic. Don't trip if it doesn't happen....
 
Whereabouts in the UK are you (temporarily) Velo..?
First problem - not in U.K anymore =D Just came yesterday back to my home country, Finland! Thanks for the generous offer to come to take a look at it yourself (I read between the lines! ;D)

Second, Webb.... MADE YOU LAUGH?!?! YOU COULD NEVARRR SHRED LIEK DAT!!!!! Haha, yeah, I was playing The Faceless's Ancient Covenant at first, then did some basic sweeps. As you can hear, it sounds fan-f'n-tastic when the signal cuts between each note (like a killswitch without the switching noise) and even skips entire notes =D

And first step - system reset? Done - no changes. Tickling the reds? Affirmative. Also made sure that cables work properly etc.

My IN/GTE settings are as follows:
THRSH = -77,9db
RATIO = 1,56
ATT = 1.0ms
VAL REL = 191.1ms
INPUT IMP = AUTO: 1M

Heeealp!
 
I would start with a blank preset and just use an amp and cab block and see where that gets you. Have you tried changing guitar and cables?
 
Start with this... unhook the MFC...exp pedals...everything...
plug the guitar in with headphones...

Also- maybe you're jumping into presets too soon- how do the factory ones sound?

The version of axe edit might not work with your firmware... or you're using axe edit to upload presets it doesn't support- and there is something getting lost in translation...

If you're using usb disconnect it- just start with guitar in to axe with headphones using your hand to move the big dial across the factory presets....

the presets/axeedit/firmware might be bad/not jelling properly and causing issues- you mention you're new to the axe- so you might not be aware of the axe edit problems- or needing to reset the amp blocks/etc...

and i'm guessing you're using axe edit because you got the faceless presets and so on...

anyway- keep it simple and get back to page 1
 
I would start with a blank preset and just use an amp and cab block and see where that gets you. Have you tried changing guitar and cables?

I agree. Start from scratch, take just one amp and a cab. Try first some clean amp out and go to layout menu and set noise gate to none. If clean sound works, you can either add a drive block in front to test the response further or just change the amp into 5153 Red for instance and then tweak until you're satisfied. The problem could also be that you've maybe copied the same preset around, where something was not clear.

I am also a new owner (3 weeks) and had sometimes during this time mixed feelings. These Yeks how-tos helped me also build a decent sound and now I can say I am happy and feel the magic again (thanks Yek):

Yeks How Tos - Fractal Audio Systems Wiki

(I couldn't hear your sound but I hope this helps)
 
Agreed. Blank preset, no fx, no gate. Just amp and cab. When that sounds good; start adding.
 
First problem - not in U.K anymore =D Just came yesterday back to my home country, Finland! Thanks for the generous offer to come to take a look at it yourself (I read between the lines! ;D)

No worries :)


My IN/GTE settings are as follows:
THRSH = -77,9db
RATIO = 1,56
ATT = 1.0ms
VAL REL = 191.1ms
INPUT IMP = AUTO: 1M

Yep, they look fine

Other guys have chimed in with good suggestions, but it sounds to me as though there is another Gate / Expander Block somewhere in that preset you used to do the clip... so perhaps look for that and bypass (FX BYP) or remove it
 
I haven't used Axe Edit at all, only the newest Fractal Bot and newest driver.

I changed the battery on my guitar... no help.

Could someone please download that Picky Riffs patch (The Faceless patch) and do a little recording on your own, so I can compare how it should sound? Or any recording for that matter, the important thing would be to have the patch with it so I can compare.

And oh yes, I'm using FW 10.12. So it should sound good and all. If anyone has a good metal patch and a little recording, I'd love if you could share. I seriously want to get going with this magical box!

EDIT: Here's the preset:
http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=1575

How does it sound for you?
 
I haven't used Axe Edit at all, only the newest Fractal Bot and newest driver.

I changed the battery on my guitar... no help.

Could someone please download that Picky Riffs patch (The Faceless patch) and do a little recording on your own, so I can compare how it should sound? Or any recording for that matter, the important thing would be to have the patch with it so I can compare.

And oh yes, I'm using FW 10.12. So it should sound good and all. If anyone has a good metal patch and a little recording, I'd love if you could share. I seriously want to get going with this magical box!

EDIT: Here's the preset:
Axe-Change - Download Preset - Picky Riffs 1 - by WesTheFaceless

How does it sound for you?

i'm not where i can make a recording right now, but i tried that patch a few days ago and even though it's not my cup of tea, it definitely DID NOT sound like that. even though the highest output pup i have is a SD JB in the bridge of an Eclipse, and the gate settings on most metal patches are pretty extreme, i've never heard anything like that.

i'll echo what others have said, start with a totally blank preset (383) and just pull up an amp and cab. no gate, nothing. if it's still acting that way there is something seriously wrong somewhere.
 
I can't remember the settings (guys please help me, I'm at work and not with my gear) but the Axe defaults to something like stereo in, but you have to change it to Left only, or L+R to get the input to tickle the red, or at least I did with a humbucker. Once I changed the input from the factory default, my stuff sounded better.
 
I kind of know what you mean too. I like good clean sounds, but also mostly play with distortion (80's type sound stuff). I had this a week or two but only have 3 hours on it.

I just turn the dials on the front and also have 10.X version. I knwo what you mean that I wish there were some better pre-sets that just scremed. for that type of guitar. I dowloaded a Patch with a USB called Snake2, or something like that. That sounded GREAT after I backed off the over the top delay and reverb.

So it's in there, but just need to figure it out myself. The guitar makes a difference too. My Charvel So Cal sounde great on distorted pre sets, but not so much on clean (since it is a dual HB), but my ErnieBall Luke (95) sounds great on cleans. Just replaced a string and finally tried the clean patches and they sounded gREAT, and way different than before.

I hope 11 makes things better. I am happy with my AFX II and won't sell it, but I need more time so that I am blown away.


Also, RodZimguitar, I haven't changed anything like you were saying? I didn't know I need to? I am playing with 2 1/4" OUTS from the back of the AFX-II into studio monitors. Have a pair of Equator D5's coming from a forum memeber this week.
 
An update of sorts.

I've been happier with my Axe now, but I just find it very curious that whereas in other people's videos the distortion seems to be much more present and the notes last longer, mine seems to die out. Have done all kinds of troubleshooting with no real results. I've just ended up in making one patch that is very distorted and using that. It kinda satisfies, but the thing is, I can get similar kind of ridiculous, distortion with my Spider III (which is surprisingly good and well defined(don't laugh, I know what a real Powerball or 6505 sounds like!)). It's just that some distortions on the Axe are so well defined and sound brilliant, but the notes die too fast and the distortion doesn't last.

But I think I've found a definitive test, with what I could locate the problem easily.

I know this is going to be a big favor to ask, but I'll to ask anyway.

Could someone post me a dry audio track, which I'd re-amp and listen to, and I'd do the same for you. Just to see how your guitar signal works in my Axe and how my guitar signal works in yours. We'd do it on the same patch, same firmware (11) with the same settings. This way we could compare the re-amped signals and get my setup sorted, if anything is out of place.

Thanks if anyone is up for it. I'm really kind of sad about the Axe now until I get this sorted. If it means that my guitar is just shit (which I doubt, it's a Washburn WM526, I've also tested it with an ESP MH-1000 and couple of others) and that I'll need to buy a new one... fine, I'd do it. If it means that my Axe is fried - well, I'll get it sorted right away! If it means that the settings were out of place - easiest problem ever, solved. But since I have no possibility for a comparison right now, I'm kind of helpless!

Thanks for anyone who'd bother! I'd REALLY, REALLY appreciate it!
 
Velokki,
Have day off today, thought I would take a peek as I love all of the presets Wes has posted.
Cant remember :? setting up for dry/reamp at the moment, but...
What I noticed is that your setting in the input/section should not be utilized as Wes has a Gate/Expander block with very aggressive settings.
I would think those plus Wes settings would be too much gating?
I did try using only your settings*** in the input /gate section and turning off the gate/expander block and due to this preset being so "hot" I cant even hear those settings doing anything?

Notice in the preset this is all turned off
Input-Gate Page Picky Riffs.JPG

Wes has what I believe very aggressive settings for very fast repetitive chord riffing
Gate-Expander Page Picky Riffs.JPG

***My IN/GTE settings are as follows:
THRSH = -77,9db
RATIO = 1,56
ATT = 1.0ms
VAL REL = 191.1ms
INPUT IMP = AUTO: 1M
 
Back
Top Bottom