Thanks Tex Axe! I have a lot of experience with the axe fx. I have about 60 different presets for live usage with my band, all different. I'm not a newb haha. I didn't to try different tubes or tone stacks. I'll try this. Though fw18 really got me close to it. What a difference!
Try that presence knob and mess with tubes.. el 34s vs 6550s for instance you would have faster break up with 34s they would sound darker
then 6550s which would stay clean having more headroom..
I am new to alot of things in the axe for instance some patches I make all the efx on mfc 101 work just fine
then I might make one and some efx are not lit up..
Or if I go in and add delay for instance on a patch its on all the time and the switch on mfc does not work or has no control over it being on or off its
just on all the time.
I dont get that in my head yet so I dont fully get how to do that.
Granted the mfc needs to be upgraded on my system.
I dont know this well enough to loose everything and start over so I do back up..
If someone sat a new one in front of me and said can you hook this up I could do it
but not as fast as the one who taught me.
Once I saw how to edit I felt if the foot switch was laid out with internal patches
I could go do all the rest and did. That said I dont fully grasp how to go in build a patch
from scratch and make it where the mfc 101 efx all light up work each patch I try to make.
Im not sure if thats because the mfc has not been upgraded OR those presets
or patches most factory were setup differently then the other patches..
Each time John came to help I would ask for say 50 or 60 of the same type patches
thinking if I had 100 or 150 different amps id never play them all anyway unless
I had a different amp per patch and forced myself to play them.
I then thought if you did that and had enough for 4 sets of music then if someone complimented the band
you could say thank you for noticing you just heard 100 different amps.
My goal was to get at least 150 made up even if some were the same amps but different tone stacks
or tubes and entirely different settings the sounds would be different.
Discussing this with John he felt it best to have consistent sound overall and not have aburpt tone changes
during the set as it train wrecked the listener or stopped the flow somewhat so I can see his point..
I then brought up I wonder if im unknowingly making each amp sound the same ?
I dont want to do that either dont think I am because of all the different songs
sound different have different gear..
So then I adapted the do it anyway save it and move on idea..
To see how many different amps cabs speakers I could stack up after doing this
till 18 came out.
i got too 113 amps Now im going back and re setting levels..
The amps all improved sound better.
I did not think Id hear a big difference but I did in the Dumble settings and Plexi
Wreck and fender amps first thing I heard was plexi and some van halen
patches and things I downloaded to try.
I dont know how to play van halen note for note but watched a panama video
and started learning it just to be able to do it.
When the sound was there I was not worried about that.
Worried about the entire song learning it in pieces and putting it all together.
To own that.
I felt the patch the person posted was so spot on I tried it
but I had tried before dialing in a Plexi and using the same gear
now phaser flanger chorus all different for van halen
so I just name it after the artist while saving it in library.
If I adjust the settings to my guitar and playing then it becomes more to my specs not
the one who posted it but if I name it say van halen chorus or flanger and put title of song in
it all stacks up in library and if I go into library suddenly there is 20 different delay times
or as many flanger settings or uni vibe or reverb settings..
Each is different and during that I forced myself to learn how to set those
just below red line on the level and then I mess with the mix %
I was going through some landau sounds.
Wound up finding one using a BB pedal now id have not reached for that first
trying to nail Landau but I dont know why not its tube screamer type pedal
it just has more low end. But I was playing the patch and voicing that too
landau live and thinking wow what drive pedal is that ?
My point to this long ass story is you also might try other pedals speakers cabs mics ect
that you would think ah im not going to use that...
I did an the BB pedal was dialed in to get Burning Water type sound if you are familiar with landau.
its dialed into my guitars and I grabbed my e flat guitar and I thought what the hell happened too this
guitar it sucks now tone wise.
Not as good as my standard tuning guitar.
I adjusted my pickups in the e flat guitar and viola its a giant killer again.
I did this after 18 was installed so I bring it up in this diatribe so others might try it.
Only do that if you think the sound changed and not for better in my case my e flat guitar
sounded like ca ca and I re adjusted the pups and got right into Landau territory.
I only found that sound after making my own amp though inside the axe it had to be built
and not only that I own the tube amps and I matched those by ear sitting right here recorded those dry and with efx Fet ect
and have reference too build the amp in virtual world.
I did so matching the type amp I had in my head for 25 years..
it was a Dumble but it was not an over drive special.
I kept getting those and even had a 150 watt ODS made
then 100 watt ODSR which was better after we put old glass and known D parts in it.
But I was still after another sound..
The difference for the person in my head was ods vs sss voicing.
SSS is brighter but has a vast eq range.
Only when I had that amp to go by and reference some could I match something close inside axe fx to meet the demands of the lil bastard in my head.
I then started messing with tone caps tone stacks and tubes and wattage.
Increase wattage, headroom increases 150 watts or 300 watts more head room stays clean longer.
So that spawned many more amps id have never had unless I learned how to go in and coax them out of the monolith.
In doing that I was able to tone match every tube amp Ive ever owned as I know how they sounded for the most part
and the ones I have and recorded I have dry reference too.
If I tone matched all those amps id bet the amp settings alone would change where I would not like them
but such is the case for many recordings I heard some dry tracks of original songs and thought thats it ?
Thats the big hoopla ? Its thin and sounds like poo what gives ?
Well thats how the amp was set in the studio when they recorded it. The rest was all control room tricks.
I would have never guessed that.
But I did not tone match past what I matched by ear I did not re amp
I stuck with what I saved in 17.4 and then got 18 beta and went back
and adjusted that.
When I did I heard how much Greater the Dumbles sounded.
Now my SSS type amp sounded 100 % spot on too the tube amp
I sold.
In fact I surpassed that tube amp nailing it spot on and then improving that within the Axe fx II
When I played it after 18 beta was in and adjustments were made, It felt like the amp
was in the room again sitting here with me same feel same tones only I got 1000% better mix
with the axe fx II.
The real tube amp did not have a real efx loop.
I like plate reverb as well spring but wanted both
the tube amp is not useable for me if there is no Efx loop worth a damn.
asta lavista tube amp.
BTW if someone wants to pay me to make them a patch id be more then honored to try.
Someone posted asking for a reverb sound for a Queen song they were covering to me it sounded like london plate
so I dialed it in too the original song and made the patch and sent the person the settings..
He said it was spot on sounded exactly like it and thanked me for the help.
Now I just tried london plate when it came out dinked the settings and pleased the lil bastard in my head.
So when someone asked for help on that instance it took me 15 min and he had a usable patch.
I spent weeks trying to get a van halen sound and they sucked.
Then heard someone here post several clips were posted and all just tromped my patch to bits.
So I suck dialing in van halen amps burn me at the stake..
lol
I was lame and downloaded the others patches syx files and cheated like the dog I am
and owned that by setting those sounds too my guitar..
Now when I try to hamfist my way through Panama the sound is right at least.
which inspires me to learn the Fing song right or die trying..
I dont mind trying to make patches for others because it keeps my mind wide open and
I learn something every time I do it.
it sinks in after repetitive efforts even if you get stumped a second it comes too you
cause its muscle memory and before long you can blaze through a patch set it up and have it
smoking in no time flat.
Unless you suck at van halen patches and beat your head against that wall for weeks.
guilty as charged.
I also sucked at dialing in Jimmy Page amps but I still can get the led out .
I might not be using the amps I should be or efx to get it but I can still get the sounds .
Good example mkII or bender fuzz.. I would not have thought that sounds great for say
a Hendrix tune or something other then Zeppelin but it does.
perhaps even better then fuzz face in some cases as its a bit brighter overall.
Had I not tried that pedal id have never known.
Someone suggested it was their favorite on stage and I should try it I did and liked it better then the fuzz Face
I had at the time all of those improved sound wise to me.
If someone needs help with a patch or several Pm me
I will be glad to help.
I say that knowing full well many many others here can surpass me now at doing that but id be willing to try to help.
I use monitors tuned too the room they are flat response jbl pro studio monitors and I use eon 15s for my axe also
flat response.
Be glad to try to help anyone as Id learn in the process.
