New user - looking for an AC30 TB sound

P

Pedalsnomore

Member
Hi everybody. I need some advice or even help. I am desperately looking for a good cutting though AC30 TB live sound and I just can't seem to be able to achieve this with my new fm9. What am I doing wrong? I m quite new to fractal Amp modelling. I come from real amps but my main rig has been based around Kempers, for about the last 6 years. The reason why I want the gear switch is the smaller and better all in one form factor. Also the routing and the FX in the fm9 are absolutely world class. But man, whatever I do there is not only that blanket before the amp tone with only barely briliance and chime as I know it from my main rig with Kemper. The amp sound in the fm9 seems to also be more distant (if this makes sense) and does not cut through in a live setting in the way I want it. I tried different cabs and an EQ after the amp and cab section but after hours of tweaking I get ear fatigued and nothing sounds good, any more. When I switch to the Kemper the amp sound immediately shines and cuts through the live mix like a knive. Can anybody help with some tips or with a good basic AC30 TB patch? What am I missing? Thanks a lot in advance.
 
Haven’t got access to my FM3, but I have an EQ within the Amp block, I’ll grab a picture of it when I’m back home tomorrow.

Should be able to find a EQ for a AC30 around here somewhere though
 
Pedalsnomore said:
Hi everybody. I need some advice or even help. I am desperately looking for a good cutting though AC30 TB live sound and I just can't seem to be able to achieve this with my new fm9. What am I doing wrong? I m quite new to fractal Amp modelling. I come from real amps but my main rig has been based around Kempers, for about the last 6 years. The reason why I want the gear switch is the smaller and better all in one form factor. Also the routing and the FX in the fm9 are absolutely world class. But man, whatever I do there is not only that blanket before the amp tone with only barely briliance and chime as I know it from my main rig with Kemper. The amp sound in the fm9 seems to also be more distant (if this makes sense) and does not cut through in a live setting in the way I want it. I tried different cabs and an EQ after the amp and cab section but after hours of tweaking I get ear fatigued and nothing sounds good, any more. When I switch to the Kemper the amp sound immediately shines and cuts through the live mix like a knive. Can anybody help with some tips or with a good basic AC30 TB patch? What am I missing? Thanks a lot in advance.
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Hi and welcome to the Fractalverse.

More information needed please. What are you monitoring through? What volume are you dialing in tones at? What does your signal chain look like? Are you using a particular factory preset or one you made from scratch? What are the amp and cab block settings? Etc. give as much detail as you can and these fine folks can likely help.

You might even export your preset and attach it here so folks can load it up and see how it works for them and see if anything stands out as needing a tweak.
 
Assuming you're monitoring the Kemper and the Axe through the same speaker setup, attaching some presets would probably be best.
And maybe a clip of the Kemper profile(s) you like, or a link to them.
 
I just searched in the Axe-Fx III Recordings for "tb", and there were several clips I thought sounded pretty good, clear and bright.
Really depends on what sort of TB tone you're after.
Brian May? Edge? Someone else?
 
Deadpool_25 said:
Hi and welcome to the Fractalverse.

More information needed please. What are you monitoring through? What volume are you dialing in tones at? What does your signal chain look like? Are you using a particular factory preset or one you made from scratch? What are the amp and cab block settings? Etc. give as much detail as you can and these fine folks can likely help.

You might even export your preset and attach it here so folks can load it up and see how it works for them and see if anything stands out as needing a tweak.
Click to expand...
+1

Finding the right IR seems to be prime. Did you use the high and low cuts in the cab block? Hi cut usually should not be more than 6-8'000Hz, experiment with Low cut especially if the sound is too muddy. Make sure that in the amp block the high cut setting is 0 and the bright switch in the ideal page is on.

I do not have any problems in achieving a nice tone cutting through in the context of my band with the AC30 TB model (mostly with rather standard settings).
 
Wow, thanks for the quick responses. Usually I create patches from scratch using my headphones and my Yamaha HS5 studio monitors. Then I listen to the results through the mixing console / PA in the rehearsal room with the whole band and go back home to adjust again if needed. I always try to set things mid range focused. Kemper profiles already come with a mid push, most of the time. So far I used Michael Britt profiles of his 65 Vox AC30, in case anybody is familiar with those, but I also put an EQ after the stack to lower the heavy base of those profiles and pronounce the mids / upper mids and the brilliance.

In this case with my fm9 I am looking for a basic Edge sound for one of my bands (U2 tribute). I haven´t found Michael Britt´s AC30 on Youtube to show you but here is another example on how the core sound of the amp could or should sound, IMHO - though I find the sound with the Strat in the video slightly too bright, for my taste. But that should be a minor tweak, really:



I attached my first fm9 AC30 / U2 patch here. One may think it is too dripping wet but IMO if done correctly (also still looking for this point) that is one of the keys for the Edge´s sound. The best sounding Cab channel to my ears is Channel B. Guitars I used while creating this were a LP Standard with 57 PUs and a Strat with HW60/63. I hope all this makes sense.

Any tips, suggestions and help is much appreciated, thanks a lot.
 

Attachments

  • VOX AC30 - HB - My First U2 Attemps.syx
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Here's a pretty good free AC30 preset to mess around with. Should get you in the ballpark. You can experiment with the other Class A 30W models in the FM9 using different channels in the amp block so you don't lose the core tone.

https://worshiptutorials.com/product/free-pack-fractal-fm9-preset-bundle/

You can also save the amp and cab to your Block Library for quick access for other presets as well.
 
Like Toopy I also used to spend a lot of time to recreate U2 sounds with the Axe. You can buy some U2 presets from Edo (link below). That's a good starting point. However, every equipment needs its own tweaks. If the tips I mentioned above still leave you unsatisfied, I'd suggest you to try more and other IRs, including variants of the same speaker/cab. Be open, just scan them through (the looper helps you with that - there are youtube tutorials about it), don't exclude anything, just follow your ear and taste. It's not always going to be that blue bulldog from the 60ties.

https://www.edosounds.com/
 
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The AC30 for my 'Edge' tone is very plug and play on the fm9. All you need to do is adjust the treble and bass, and of course gain. That 66 kemper sound imo misses the mark. Too much treble, too little bass.
 
What songs do you play with your tribute band? Any difficulties with specific presets? I for example haven't really seen a satisfying preset so far for Mysterious Ways (although the are quite close meanwhile) or for the intro of Elevation.
 
macky7tyseven said:
What songs do you play with your tribute band? Any difficulties with specific presets? I for example haven't really seen a satisfying preset so far for Mysterious Ways (although the are quite close meanwhile) or for the intro of Elevation.
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By now our setlist includes about 40 (there it was again 🙂) songs from every decade right from Out of Control until You're the best thing about me. And all the classics between. We have a new drummer and a new Bassplayer, so I have a couple of weeks to only focus on my new fm9, until they catch up with the setlist. Yes, I also totally struggle with Mysterious Ways, to this day, but there is a usable simulation of the Korg A3 withing the HX Stomp which I also use with my Kemper. This combination gave me a, well, let's say okay-ish preset, but it is still far off for my taste. There are way better patches of this song here in the forum but you cannot use them right away before finding your own satisfying live tone with the fm9, first. And even after that you have to bring that song into the whole tonal ballpark to fit into a live show.
Allow me to add this, concerning the "Edge tone": IMHO, there is not only one specific Edge sound. Even U2 themselves sound different trough the years from Tour to Tour, not to mention the Album sounds, which I totally do not like at all. My goal was never to sound exactly like The Edge, I don't even like many of his sounds themselves. My aim with the fm9 is to find a rich and chimy midrange AC30 sound that perfectly fills the gap between Base and cimballs. Sorry for the arrogance but I like my sound with the Kemper and the pedals in many cases more than U2's sound and that's all about, IMO. The goal is to perfectly remind of U2, soundwise, while the sound itself should fit your tadte, be rich, pleasing and at the same time the tone engineer's AC30 dream. Exaggerating totally here, but you hopefully get the point.
 
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