New to fx3, struggling with cleans

O

Oddacious

Member
Just picked up a used fx3 mk2, and I'm trying to get clean amp, and struggling. right now, I'm using an lp traditional pro V and it has a version of paf burstbuckers, unsure which. in my line6 pod go, my goto model for cleans was soldano100. on the axe, there is a faint distortion that I can't seem to shake off. things that i've tried:

gone to global setup and reduced input gain to 50%
backed off the gain of the clean channel to 2-3 on various models, going to low, Im losing quite a bit of volume
putting a compressor block after the input block, reduced attack

still not impressed with the clarity using the above options. The most success i've had has been rolling the guitar volume down to 8.5-9, which kinda sucks in some cases

In the input block, its auto detecting 1M input resistance, unsure what this means.

I'm using audio technica ATH-M50X studio headphones for output right now

thoughts?
 
T
Oddacious said:
Just picked up a used fx3 mk2, and I'm trying to get clean amp, and struggling. right now, I'm using an lp traditional pro V and it has a version of paf burstbuckers, unsure which. in my line6 pod go, my goto model for cleans was soldano100. on the axe, there is a faint distortion that I can't seem to shake off. things that i've tried:

gone to global setup and reduced input gain to 50%
backed off the gain of the clean channel to 2-3 on various models, going to low, Im losing quite a bit of volume
putting a compressor block after the input block, reduced attack

still not impressed with the clarity using the above options. The most success i've had has been rolling the guitar volume down to 8.5-9, which kinda sucks in some cases

In the input block, its auto detecting 1M input resistance, unsure what this means.

I'm using audio technica ATH-M50X studio headphones for output right now

thoughts?
Click to expand...
The Lp with hum buckers certainly will be thick and midrangy and will not help
Maybe try a few other models ?
The CAE clean , The Shiver
The Archon all those are pretty clear
 
Try the Shiver Clean model, it’s pretty clean. Also reduce the Drive parameter in amp blocks to reduce distortion.

Don’t worry what the number ends up. So many start with a modeler and think “drive of 1? I shouldn’t have to do that.” There is no “shouldn’t have to” really in modeling.

After reducing the drive, increase the Level parameter to get the level back.

Many amps can get very clean, many amps don’t clean up.
 
Check the Master Volume as well as the Level control in the Amp block. Since you're losing volume by reducing the gain/input drive, increase the Level to compensate.

EDIT: Jinx Chris!!
 
One more thing I would suggest is not comparing Line 6 amps to Fractal. While there are similar models, how they are modeled is quite different which leads to a different response and tone from the amps, even with similar settings. This is coming from someone who used an XT Live for many years.
 
Oddacious said:
Just picked up a used fx3 mk2, and I'm trying to get clean amp, and struggling. right now, I'm using an lp traditional pro V and it has a version of paf burstbuckers, unsure which. in my line6 pod go, my goto model for cleans was soldano100. on the axe, there is a faint distortion that I can't seem to shake off. things that i've tried:

gone to global setup and reduced input gain to 50%
backed off the gain of the clean channel to 2-3 on various models, going to low, Im losing quite a bit of volume
putting a compressor block after the input block, reduced attack

still not impressed with the clarity using the above options. The most success i've had has been rolling the guitar volume down to 8.5-9, which kinda sucks in some cases

In the input block, its auto detecting 1M input resistance, unsure what this means.

I'm using audio technica ATH-M50X studio headphones for output right now

thoughts?
Click to expand...
  1. Search Factory presets in the Wiki for "Clean" and explore what you find.
  2. Since it's a used FX3, resetting it to factory settings is probably a good idea, also I'd erase all the presets and cabs and reinstall them to make sure they're what Fractal ships with the unit. P. 82 in the manual describes where to find that functionality. Also, if the firmware installed on your FX3 isn't the current full release, I'd suggest moving to the latest release (not beta) as it sounds much better. "Fractal-Bot", under the "Tools" menu in Axe-Edit III is your friend for those tasks. P. 92 in the manual will help 'splain.
  3. Reducing global input gain to 50% is rarely needed unless you're using active pickups. Reading "Input Trim" will probably help along with "Ears not Eyes" and "Understanding All the Different Gain Controls".
  4. Auto detecting is useful to match the pickup's impedance going into various pedals when they're first in the chain, like Wah or Compressor, otherwise, force it to 1M input impedance to preserve the sound of the pickups. That should also help keep the fidelity when you roll down a pickup's volume. Also, consider using a treble-bleed capacitor on your guitar's volume pot as it can make a wonderful difference when you roll down the pot. Input impedance in the Wiki is useful.
The headphone choice isn't affecting the clean sound of the amps. Adding a compensating curve for the headphones to your preset when adjusting EQ will help set the tone correctly, but remember to adjust at a stage volume or the Fletcher-Munson effect will foil your attempts.
 
Another one you could try that I have been loving lately for touch sensitivity is the Nuclear Tone
That’s a great amp w a lot of character IMO
 
Randalljax said:
Another one you could try that I have been loving lately for touch sensitivity is the Nuclear Tone
That’s a great amp w a lot of character IMO
Click to expand...

Love this amp model. Haven’t really tried it for cleans though, just EOB which it excels at. With greenback speaker curves and IRs it sounds pretty Marshall-ish with the gain up.
 
I like Scene 6 of Preset 0082, Petrucci Rig, for clean tones: "The Miracle and the Clean Chorus." you could customize that to your satisfaction.
 
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If you want absolute crystal clean, you can always skip the amp and Cab blocks entirely and sculpt the DI tone with a graphic or parametric eq block. That's what I use for my 80s sparkling chorused crystal clean sound.
 
All good advice. These guys know what they are doing.
Plenty of nice clean amp presets out of the box.
 
The issue isn't the presets. I did do a factory reset when I got it, updated the firmware from 20 to 21, deleted all the presets and applied the fw19 factory presets back on it. (I actually backed up the presets first, deleted them, updated the firmware, and then restored the factory presets)

Anyway, I ran the axe through a powercab212plus that I have and no distortion issues. I believe the problem is my headphones. thank you all for your input. I'm wondering if the 35ohm resistance is making the headphone power section work harder and distort, my work around is I'll patch it through my mixer when I want to use headphones. No issues with it
 
Your volume control on your instrument is extremely powerful for cleans. Don't be afraid to roll it back when playing through mid-gain or high-gain amps with the added benefit of natural saturation compression.
 
To achieve maximum "cleanliness" on any given amp model, I tend to reduce Input Trim, Gain, and Master Volume with a corresponding increase in amp block output level. Try this one:
 

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