Part III: Smilefan Patch Thread

Wanted to echo other’s sentiments about you getting some official support.

Am I understanding correctly:
You are not an employee/contractor of Fractal in any way?
Receive no support/sanction/encouragement/acknowledgement
from Fractal in any way? You just do this out of the goodness of your heart?
Really?

As a former business owner I paid people thru the nose to hype/support my products like this
(and they didn’t do it half as well as you). Whether anyone at the company has made this
connection or not, your extraordinary efforts are as valuable to them as any of their
big name endorsees (none of whom I see participating on this Board, except Larry Mitchell). Typically, in any long waiting list situation, a portion of customers tire of waiting and go elsewhere. IMHO, the interest and excitement generated by your threads have in some part prevented that from happening with Axe II. Fractal has benefited in a very tangible way.

Not trying to tell anyone what to do, but it seems in their best interest to give you the
means to keep your threads going. Whether they are aware or care about what you are
doing, the rest of us here do, and are deeply appreciative. Your threads have doubled the
fun I get out of Axe II. Your outstanding "how to" advise seems like the kind of advanced
aftermarket support that a premium product maker, like Fractal, should itself be providing to us.
They are lucky to have a customer like you. Seems a little help to you is in order.

P.S. - I love the "Everyone Can Do It" ethos of your posts!
 
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Smilefan,

I got a brief few minutes to play with the Neil's rig patch at volume... Nice! Thanks!!!

Its much closer than I have ever gotten. Still think a modded 5E3 model would get there too though :)

Thanks again,
Richard
 
As an addendum to my SPKR impedance page post, I took one
of my patches many of you have heard, “AC30 Glory”, and redid the
Impedance settings considerably from stock. The patch now sounds
better than ever. As a quick comparison:

Stock AC30 / AC Glory

Low Freq- 110.0Hz / 110.5Hz
Low Q- 2.50 / 3.425
Low Res- 4.17 / 4.06
Mid Freq- 1000Hz / 986.6Hz
Mid Q- 0.707 / 0.100
Mid Res- 0.00db / 1.70db
Hi Freq- 10999Hz / 12731Hz
Hi Q- 0.270 / 0.285
Hi Res- 6.25 / 6.30

Ideal setting for any patch will vary from system to system, but you can
hear for yourself that the patch sounds great, despite some values being moved
far from stock settings. So don’t be hesitant to try tweaking this amp page.

Also new to this patch is a Klon-style booster and a very unique Tremolo,
which sounds exactly like an old vintage Ampeg “Echo Twin” I had.
(found this sound by experimenting with the “Duty” and “LFO Phase” positions)
 

Attachments

  • AC30 Glory w Klon + Trem.syx
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smilefan said:
As an addendum to my SPKR impedance page post, I took one
of my patches many of you have heard, “AC30 Glory”, and redid the
Impedance settings considerably from stock. The patch now sounds
better than ever.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm
 
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Smile, I really want to hear a good take on the Plexi tone Lincoln Brewster gets. He did go back to Line 6 -saw him live last summer and spoke with him too. Anyhow if you have seen him play on the instructional videos he has out, it will blow your mind how good he gets a sub standard unit to sound. Trying to keep the
plexi big sound means I have too much gain and cleaner sounding = too thin. Not sure how to find the right mix?
 
metalpriest said:
Wanted to echo other’s sentiments about you getting some official support.

Am I understanding correctly:
You are not an employee/contractor of Fractal in any way?
Receive no support/sanction/encouragement/acknowledgement
from Fractal in any way? You just do this out of the goodness of your heart?
Really?
Click to expand...

Really! Smilefan does it all out of goodness and we all reap the benefits! Amazing to say the least...
 
Loved the Spkr page tutorial!

From a thread on TGP, Jay alluded that there are distinct Spkr page settings for each particular IR. In other words, for Jay, the Spkr page parameters are set for the IR and not necessarily by ear.

What is your take on the Spkr page settings being more static and IR based vs. your (great) by ear method?

Richard
 
smilefan said:
Well, Jay's idea is solid, in that each speaker/amp combo will have a real world setting. In other words,
preset the Impedance values where they would naturally fall when using X amp & Y speaker. I'm sure
that's doable if Cliff wanted to take the time. For most users, a no-brainer approach like this is probably
for the best.

Me, I want control, and am willing to put in a little sweat equity to figure out where I'm at and where I can go
if I want.
Click to expand...

I don't have the expertise like Jay to determine what the actual values might be so your tutorial was a huge help for me... I am going to conquer my fears and change the spkr page :)
 
Smilefan--I'm going to spend some more time tonight A/B'ing (Actually X/Y'ing) your AC-30 stock/tweaked patch, but it is perplexing me so far.

While I can hear a difference for the better in the tweaked amp, as I make the adjustments one by one, I can't hear a bit of difference. Therefore, while the sum of the parts seems to work, I still have no idea what change each little nuance is making, and how to use this information to help with other amp models. Also, some of the changes are so tiny I can't imagine they really have any marked influence on the final sound.

If you could explain why you changed what you did and what you expected/gained from each flip of the dial it might help. If you have the time, of course.
 
I'll add Jay's mentioned opinion here, if I may:

Jay Mitchell, 1/2012: Speaker-related LF and HF resonance parameters have been present since Gen 1 firmware rev. 9.03. Firmware Rev. 3.0 in the Axe-Fx II added a midrange resonance parameter, as well as frequency values for mid and HF resonance and Q for all three. There is now a graphic representation of the reflected (IOW, as translated through the virtual output transformer) virtual impedance seen by the power tubes. Because the contribution of the output transformer is not separated from this curve, it is impossible to duplicate the effect of a given real-world speaker if all you have is a graph of impedance vs. frequency for that speaker.

> barhrecords: I assumed the data required to set the Spkr parameters to match the IR was not already part of the Axe II firmware.

Jay Mitchell: Not only is it not part of the firmware, the required (IR-specific) data was not taken for most, if not all, of the factory IRs and - most importantly - the effect on response of the resonance parameters is exaggerated as compared to what happens with a physical amp/speaker combination. The graphic picture shown on the Axe-Fx screen ostensibly represents the impedance seen by the power tubes, which is something else altogether than the impedance of the speaker (because the output transformer has a major effect); so, even if you did have the impedance vs. frequency of a cab, that would not be enough. In any case, the testing I have done so far indicates that the most realistic settings for the resonance values are substantially lower than the default values for a given amp sim. Obviously that is subject to variation from sim to sim, and I have no intention of testing all of them, so don't try to generalize too much from what I'm saying here. The tools are there to produce a realistic result, but knowing how to use those tools is another matter altogether. You cannot rely on the default settings to produce realistic results, even if you use the "typical" cab sim with a given amp sim.

Another Axe/Kemper Comparison Clip - Page 21 - The Gear Page
 
Mott said:
Therefore, while the sum of the parts seems to work, I still have no idea what change each little nuance is making, and how to use this information to help with other amp models. Also, some of the changes are so tiny I can't imagine they really have any marked influence on the final sound.

If you could explain why you changed what you did and what you expected/gained from each flip of the dial it might help.
Click to expand...

Stock AC30 / AC Glory

Low Freq- 110.0Hz / 110.5Hz
Low Q- 2.50 / 3.425
Low Res- 4.17 / 4.06

I tightened up the bass by raising the Q quite a bit. This causes a narrowing (needle shaped peak) of that band,
and dropped the height of the peak a bit.

Mid Freq- 1000Hz / 986.6Hz
Mid Q- 0.707 / 0.100
Mid Res- 0.00db / 1.70db

I brought the mid response up in the sonic picture by dropping the Q all the way (causes the broadest response),
and raised the Mid Resonance to make this broad 'hill' audible.

Hi Freq- 10999Hz / 12731Hz
Hi Q- 0.270 / 0.285
Hi Res- 6.25 / 6.30

I left the amount of highs almost the same, but moved the emphasis on the Hi curve up.
This will help bring out the characteristic high treble "chime" qualities in the AC30, while scooping the
midrange a bit. This makes the midrange cleaner sounding, and the treble response a bit
less, "in your face".
 
Wow, smilefan... so much knowledge... thank you! I wish I didn't have to start thinking about going to bed.
 
I’d like to ask for some help for a green newbie (me).
Short story – I am in a recording situation with clock ticking
and need a particular sound, but am screwing it up. Can't seem
to get the elements I'm looking for in balance.

Any advice appreciated but am really hoping for a patch!

You said be specific with requests so –
Need a clean sound that is super warm , super fat and midrange-y.
Set back in a dreamy, atmospheric mix so that you just make out
some note clarity. Sort of like a warm bath, if that makes any sense.

Love any help, but hoping to beg for a patch at the feet of the mighty Oz!
 
Try the Solar Eclipse factory preset as a starting point. You may want to back down the "wet" to increasenote clarity. You can fatten the tone by changing to the Shiver Clean amp sim.
 
I redid the SPKR impedance page for another well known patch of mine
to make the "chime" quality in that amp really pop out. Just another example
of how you can manipulate and showcase the specific qualities of the amp models
using the Impedance curve.

Stock "Boutique 1"/ Smilefan's Matchless

Low Freq- 90.0Hz / 91.2Hz
Low Q- 2.50 / 1.841
Low Res- 4.17 / 3.83
Mid Freq- 1000Hz / 982.1Hz
Mid Q- 0.707 / 10.00
Mid Res- 0.00db / -0.05
Hi Freq- 19999Hz / 8625Hz
Hi Q- 0.190 / 0.763
Hi Res- 7.50 / 7.53

Note how I tightened up the bass, scooped the mids a bit, and brought the
treble response WAY down in register to put the highs of the amp right in your face.
 

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  • Matchless DC30 Chime.syx
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metalpriest said:
Need a clean sound that is super warm , super fat and midrange-y.
Set back in a dreamy, atmospheric mix so that you just make out
some note clarity. Sort of like a warm bath, if that makes any sense.

Love any help, but hoping to beg for a patch at the feet of the mighty Oz!
Click to expand...

The Mighty Oz says, “here is your patch, Dorothy!”

This is really basic patchmaking. Not going to leave this one up long,
as I am at the end of the Welfare line of attachment space.

Among our amp models, the one most closely fitting your
description is the “Vibroverb”. You control an amp model’s
volume in the sonic picture with its Level control (page 2 of the
Axe amp models or “Basic” heading in Axe Edit). You can also adjust
your Cab model’s volume, similarly, with its Level control (“Mix” pg. of the Cab models).

We have a range of great Delay models which cover a range of clarity/thickness
options. You should select a dry patch you like, then add a delay block and
listen to each of the choices so you know what’s in your toolkit. The more you
raise the ‘Mix’ value of the delay, the more awash your amp/cab sound will be.

Based on your description, this should be close to what you had in mind.
 

Attachments

  • Warm Bath Clean.syx
    6.3 KB · Views: 67
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