I'm sorry i can't upload the patch...i don't have an interface with working midi. My focusrite saffire liquid 56 keeps giving me bad checksum error.
I'm happy to give you a breakdown of the patch though (i would prefer this because this way you learn more rather than just getting the patch and not knowing how you got there lol)
First i use a compressor. Relatively fast attack so dial the knob to around 7-8. Fast release, but a little slower than the attack so it doesn't distort. Pull the threshold down to about -30dB depending on how hard you drive the input on the axe...pull it back a little. Then the level i have set at about 8dB. This really helps when getting those big 6 string chords to ring out clearly.
So next would be the Drive pedal, most importantly turn the drive knob all the way down to 0. Get the tone knob set between 6 and 8 and level and mix can be full.
The high and low cut can be left to default but if you want to clean up the bottom end a little more, just turn up the low cut between 400 and 600Hz. This gets rid of some of the 'flubbiness'. In the drive EQ, leave everything at noon, but feel free to boost the mids by 3-4dB, set the mid frequency between 1200 and 1500Hz. Now most people suggest boosting these frequencies without knowing why. In a nutshell it is because the core of a guitar tone is between 200 and 2000Hz. The reason people boost around 1400Hz is because around this area the mid-range sounds the sweetest and this is where a lot of your pick attack/definition shines through. Sorry if you didn't want to know that but at least you do now.
Next I use a gate, again this is preference but i usually have mine pretty tight....take the threshold to between -45 and -30. Fast attack, so anything between 1 and 5 ms. Turn the hold right down to 10ms. And always have the release a little slower than the attack just so the signal doesn't distort. So i usually go between 20 and 30 ms. Ratio is between 3 and 5.
Now onto the amp,
Firstly go to the second page in the amp block, leave the depth at noon but here is where it changes and this is something i never used to do but now i do it all the time with distortion patches. Turn the damp control right down, i started doing this after reading a long post on these forums about what it actually does....i cant quote it but i know it sounds a tonne better!
Take the sag up between 3 and 5, this compresses the amp a little more and gives it a more 'spongy' sound. It feels a little more organic to me. The Master always keep between 3 and 4 on distorted amps, that is something the fractal guys suggested in the very beginning and i've always stuck by it. Turning the master right up on clean or low gain patches definitely works a treat but NOT high gain.
Bass and treble can stay around noon, have the bright switch on depending on your guitar and be a little generous with the mids, so between 6 and 7.
Most importantly, for that big high gain sound that you hear on recordings, it is double tracked at least and tracked with low gain to keep it tight. So between 2 and 4 and everything will become a lot more responsive, cleaner and defined particularly on big chords....it also allows you to dig in so your distortion can still be relatively dynamic.
Now on the really technical page of the amp block, firstly take the low cut up around 100Hz, cleans up the bottom end, makes it a lot tighter and allows the bass gutiar to have its rightful space.
I always boost the power tube bias more than default, so around 0.650. It just sounds a lot fuller to me with it turned up.
Take the HF resonance down to about 3, this stops some of the awful ringing around 2 and 3k on the higher notes particularly in big chords.
Lastly set the speaker res frequency to 85Hz if you are using the ownhammer cab, it is a V30 speaker and that particular speaker's resonant frequency is around 75Hz. It is recommended to set it higher according to a big post by scott peterson a few months back on this topic and there were many calculations that proved this was the best way to set it. As well as this, it actually sounds right and stops the really resonant notes on low strings and cause huge peaks on your pre-amp/DAW.
On that dream theater recording i used the sm57 W F 5 impulse, clearly labeled in the folder when you download them.
The Last thing in the chain is a PEQ. Now this is used mainly for live purposes and sometimes studio if i dont want to post-process them.
I set a block at 70Hz just to make sure the bottom end is clean and tight. I usually pull down by about 1.5dB at 2000Hz, because this is one of the most sensitive frequencies to the human ear. There is a nick-name for it but i cant remember it! The final thing is i set another block at the end and roll off at 11K just so there are know really high frequencies occupying that area. It is also because a real cabinet naturally starts to roll off between 8 and 9K. So leaving it at 11K on the axe fx just lets some of that extra 'air' through.
Hope that covers it all haha
Anyway, to me the most important thing out of all that is using the gain sparingly and the cabinet impulse....if you haven't already checked out the free ownhammer beta impulses (bogner v30 cab i think) then do it because honestly, they are the best impulses i've ever heard and i can't wait for the full release!
