Not Really Digging Axe Thru Headphones

[ApocalypticKatana]

Sorry for my ignorance. This is all foreign to me and navigating the github site is like rocket science to me,... I went to the github site and tried to find a download link for these file names you posted here and had no success at all even finding them.... can you post the direct download link(s) for the 3 files?

Active

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au...I (active) minimum phase 48000Hz.wav?raw=true

Active+

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au... (active+) minimum phase 48000Hz.wav?raw=true

Passive

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au... (passive) minimum phase 48000Hz.wav?raw=true

I don't have your headphones but I assume these active, active+, passive modes are recognizable to you

https://www.bluemic.com/en-us/products/mix-fi/ - according to the product page of your headphones I assume it refers to it's "Three All-Analog Amp Modes"

 

[JOHNNYROCKIT]

Thank you for your helpful assistance, it's much appreciated...
Yes, the active, active+, passive modes are recognizable to me....this should do it.

 

[Tone Control]

I love my Axefx3 through my FRFR monitors and sub
Sometimes I play my DC30 for fun too, and the Dumble Clones

Recently I have to be quiet whilst kids revise for exams
I've tried the HD650s and they sound weak, I tried EQ a bit, not happy so far

I bought some Waza air amp sim headphones, they are fun, and do deliver the meaty response I am wanting, but have limited modelling really

I noticed that Roland do a special version of their monitoring closed-back headphones for electronic drummers, with a bigger driver, the

Roland RH-300V V-Drum Headphones​

I wonder if these would give me a bit more of the low-end whack that I get from subs and a real speaker cab?

 

[DaveP]

I love the axe through headphones. I use 600 ohm AKG K240 i've had forever.
I have had more expensive phones but they never sounded as good as these.
Guess it really depends on the phones. More expensive isn't always better.

 

[jamesie]

I love the axe through headphones. I use 600 ohm AKG K240 i've had forever.
I have had more expensive phones but they never sounded as good as these.
Guess it really depends on the phones. More expensive isn't always better.

That‘s true, the AKG K240 and K702 are sounding really good with the Axe.

 

[paulmapp8306]

I dont like any headphone really. Im not that fussed with studio monitors either when just playing. Even FEFE cabs dont do it. A Power amp and real cab and im at home. this is after 12 years playing fractal products.


HOWEVER,,,, decent studio monitors DO sound better playing along to backing tracks. Thats because its like hearing a final recording NOT like listening to an amp. FRFR is also better out from at a gig... its not as good onstage for the player.

FWIW - i have AKG 702s and Senny HD650s. The AKGs have more air and wider seperation - the Senny more bottom end and mid clarity. I think I generally prefer the HDs ... just. Also had some 240s for a couple of years but sold them a couple of months back - wernt getting used.

For monitors I use Neumann's, a pair of KH120s and a KH750 sub

As I say the monitors sound better than either of the headphones (though sometimes you have no choice) and I can live with either just for practice/noodling - but its not as pleasing.

I still tend to just plug my Afx into a Fryette Power station and a 2x12 cab (even at home) if I just want to ENJOY the playing experience. Its just more natural ven after over a decade.

 

[Tone Control]

I dont like any headphone really. Im not that fussed with studio monitors either when just playing. Even FEFE cabs dont do it. A Power amp and real cab and im at home. this is after 12 years playing fractal products.


HOWEVER,,,, decent studio monitors DO sound better playing along to backing tracks. Thats because its like hearing a final recording NOT like listening to an amp. FRFR is also better out from at a gig... its not as good onstage for the player.

FWIW - i have AKG 702s and Senny HD650s. The AKGs have more air and wider seperation - the Senny more bottom end and mid clarity. I think I generally prefer the HDs ... just. Also had some 240s for a couple of years but sold them a couple of months back - wernt getting used.

For monitors I use Neumann's, a pair of KH120s and a KH750 sub

As I say the monitors sound better than either of the headphones (though sometimes you have no choice) and I can live with either just for practice/noodling - but its not as pleasing.

I still tend to just plug my Afx into a Fryette Power station and a 2x12 cab (even at home) if I just want to ENJOY the playing experience. Its just more natural ven after over a decade.

yes, my objective for these headphones is just enjoyable noodling playing, not recording against other tracks in a mix

 

[sacredgeometry]

So I'm not sure if it's just me (my ears being accustomed to the sound of tube amps through 4x12 cabs), but after receiving my Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro headphones, and playing factory presets ~50-100, they all sound a bit "saturated?" Kinda like way back when my amp was at the rehearsal space, and I'd plug into my home stereo (if you've ever done that, you'd probably know what I mean.) Even if I turn down the gain, it still sounds similar. Hard to describe it any better.

I'm brand new to modelling, and I'm still on FW 14.05. I have amp modelling on, and cab modelling active.

Also, in this age of internet shopping, and the fact that you essentially can't audition an Axe Fx 3 before buying, how would one know for certain if there's a problem with some aspect of your new gear? As an example, a long time ago I bought a Road King amp and Recto cab, but there was a slight "buzziness" in the tone. But I was able to troubleshoot the issue by switching amps and cabs. I can't switch to a separate Axe 3 because, well, I don't have 2, and I don't know anyone near me that also owns one (although I seriously doubt what I'm hearing is the fault of the Axe.)

As for the headphones..., who knows? I guess it's possible mine have an issue, but again, I'm leaning to them not being the problem, although I suppose I could see if SW would send me another. But even in the event that some piece of brand new gear is in fact defective, my thinking would be that the next one they pull off the shelf would have the same problem, since the issue would be somehow related to problems, or lack of QC, in that production run.

What do you think? Is what I've described just the way it is with guys like me, coming from tube amps, and also never using headphones in the past? Should I try to locate someone who has this same gear, so I can A/B them? Is there a setting I missed? Try a different brand of headphone? Something else?

Edit: Oh, and I play an EBMM Majesty, which is hot, so I have the input 1 level at around 5%, since it clips when I engage the 20dB boost switch that guitar has. I remember reading in the manual that even very low settings that don't hit the reds at all are no problem (if you switch between hot guitars, and ones that are not, e.g.)

IMHO the factory patches are junk (compared to what the unit is possible of). Most presets that come with any gear is overwhelmingly terrible.
But that is to be expected.

We have different monitoring equipment, different guitars, different taste, different playing styles etc.

Why would you expect to buy a piece of equipment configured by someone else for their gear and for it to sound anywhere near like what you want it to sound like?

 

[sacredgeometry]

That said most of the time i use the axe with a pair of DT150s and it sounds awesome.

I've never liked any guitar tones through headphones. IMO guitars really need that air and separation between you and the speaker to sound and feel their best.

In response to this: I guess it's more akin to playing in a studio with your amp mic'ed up in another room than it is to playing with one sat next to you. Which to me is perfect because thats what amp tones sound like on recordings rather than live which 99% of the time with the axe is exactly what I am trying to replicate.

If you want in the room sound, get a power amp and a cab and have at it. You lose some flexibility but you get the sensation you are after. I dont think you are going to get that from headphones and an amp with cab simulation. It's just not the sound its modelling.

Either that or play with reverb and positioning it in the stereo-field, maybe some filtering/ eq could help faking it a bit.

 

[TSJMajesty]

IMHO the factory patches are junk (compared to what the unit is possible of). Most presets that come with any gear is overwhelmingly terrible.
But that is to be expected.

Haha. I'm starting to get that! Recently I tweaked one of the Recto's and a Plexi 100 to my liking, and they do sound so much better. Even running the Recto's thru my rig (i know it's not going to sound like how it was designed), they sound..., meh. And I have a Recto amp dialed in for a fantastic tone!

I'm getting there.

One thing I have noticed (that I wasn't even thinking about), is when playing through the headphones, and using the metronome in the Axe, it really helps me refine my technique better than listening to the metronome just sitting on my desk. (Not me. The metronome!)