Paid Presets

boz52

boz52

Experienced
Is it still worth buying presets? Seems like with all the firmware updates, they have a short self life unless you stay on a particular version.
 
I have purchased some that have worked out well for me. I have learned little tricks from some of these that have helped me tweak my own presets regardless of FW versions, or whatnot. I have learned considerably more from Cooper Carter's Masterclasses. Ultimately, it's your money. Is it worth it to you?
 
It’s not like they’re gonna sound alot worse / different after an update.

Unless the preset was made before lots of major algorithm updates of course

See notes here

https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Firmware_release_notes_-_Axe-Fx_III

Usually cliff notes what algorithm / parameter he worked on and you just have to adjust it manually a bit to sound similar to before.

It’s not like the preset you hear from a demo is going to sound exactly the same because…

1 they’re the ones playing the preset and not you.

2 the guitar you’re using is different if not the same from them.

So tweak the preset to taste.

Preset just provides the foundation of the tone , you have to tweak/make it work with you and your guitar that’s hooked up to it.
 
Also depends on if you want to learn/tweak it yourself or if you’re more interested in playing. Both take time to do well. That said, the factory presets are gems and some are creations of the pro preset sellers themselves. My AF3 is far better than I’ll ever be worthy of, so I tend to rely on the work of others so I can work on myself.

Time Is Money… 👍
 
At the current state of the firmware, playing with the Axe-FX through the appropriate monitoring system is the same experience as pluggin into a real amplifier with a miked CAB, and having a store with all the available effects free for you to take them.

The question is: do you need someone to choose that amp and cab for you and tweak the buttons for you, or do you want to do it yourself?

Since the Axe-FX Standard I've spent on presets more than the cost of the Axe-FX. I am currently using none. They never sound like I want
 
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Piing said:
At the current state of the firmware, playing with the Axe-FX through the appropriate monitoring system is the same experience as pluggin into a real amplifier with a miked CAB, and having a store with all the available effects free for you to take them.

The question is: do you need someone to choose that amp and cab for you and tweak the buttons for you, or do you want to do it yourself?

Since the Axe-FX Standard I've spent on presets more than the cost of the Axe-FX. I am currently using none. They never sound like I want
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Some serve as a base template, when I get a preset its always changed and modded to how I want
YMMV
 
Almost every preset I’ve downloaded or bought needed adjustments for my ears and situation. I know some of these were good since there were video demos. But in my hands and rig they were just so so. So I adjusted them or moved on. Not trashing presets vendors but there are no bought presets in my line up. I see these packages as a start until you learn to make your own. Just my opinion.
 
I would say it depends on what you buy. I'm completely comfortable tweaking presets, but realized the ones I created sounded too harsh live. I bought Austin Buddy's Live Gold and realized I really needed to cut more of the highs.

Seeing and being able to hear examples of what works helps me immensely. Hell, being able to see multiple examples of all the IIC and Mark IVs dialed in, made me realize what I was missing out on. There were too many options for me to give the amps a chance. I would say I got my money's worth in this instance.
 
Many factors influence the preset
the player (most important)
they type of guitar and pickups
your type of speakers
your room acoustics
so what you hear on YouTube will never sound the same
that being said though some creators are really good and require little tweaking to make it sound right to you
 
Of course it’s worth it.
Just look at the commitment @austinbuddy puts into not only creating his presets, but maintaining them to keep up with firmware updates. Fantastic amount of work, and you get a baseline set of presets for many real life rigs.
I’m not saying they don’t get tweaked, but they sure are a wonderful place to start.

Thanks
Pauly
boz52 said:
Is it still worth buying presets? Seems like with all the firmware updates, they have a short self life unless you stay on a particular version.
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It is, but I think they’re not gonna be plug and play. Impossible for the vendor to know your guitar and your taste. But if you get one close, (say made for a strat), and you are ok tweaking basic tone controls a bit, it can be a really good way to learn what the possibilities are.
 
I've never bothered because I've learned to work the unit myself.

You aren't going to have a situation where you can just download a preset and it will be perfect for your playing style, guitar, output system, volume level etc. At best you will get something close enough you can tweak for yourself.

The default settings for many Fractal effects are good to go out of the box (maybe some mix adjustment needed) while the amp and cab blocks, especially with the new Dyna-Cabs, require just picking an amp and cab you like and adjusting them a bit without venturing into anything advanced.

Majority of my presets look like IN1 -> Amp1 -> Cab1 -> Reverb/Delay in parallel -> OUT1. Then an occasional modulation, drive, compressor etc in the mix. I think that basic setup can be made to work for pretty much any style of music you might play.

Due to all the options available I think a lot of people make things too complicated for them, thinking they need to sculpt every point of their signal with EQ blocks or run multiple amps in parallel or have every effect in a single preset but that's not the case.

You can start small and simple, grow as you get more experience.
 
I purchased the @austinbuddy Live Gold and Bass packs. I absolutely love the Bass pack and have used it on almost every one of close to 30 songs I have writen in the last two years. There are some great tones in the Live Gold as well. I have the factory presets in bank one Live gold in 2-3 and the bass presets in 4. Great stuff and highly recommended.
 
boz52 said:
Is it still worth buying presets?
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Depends on your experience and goals. If you are in a cover band and need a lot of songs already dialed in, why not? This will save you months of time.

If you are someone who's after "his own sound" and ready to invest time in learning, maybe not so much. With the Gift of Tone series on top of factory presets, you have everything you need from gig-ready presets to the sounds straight from the best people in biz. And you have (at very least) Leon Todd, Cooper Carter and Rosh Roslin putting out great educational videos regularly, which will give you more presets than you probably ever need for yourself.

But still the price of pretty much everything AB or Moke released is more than reasonable to at least try!
 
boz52 said:
Is it still worth buying presets? Seems like with all the firmware updates, they have a short self life unless you stay on a particular version.
Click to expand...
Unless there is something really specific you want or a signal chain that is complex to design (that you could learn from)? Probably not.

There are so many good tutorials on YouTube already, you are better off learning how to get what you want that way IMHO.

Remember you PAID for the presets in the box and the Gift of Tone already! Don't sleep on them just b/c they were included. This is Fractal, not some guitar center brand with all the FX on by default to impress the kids who can't tell a flanger from a wah.
 
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