Purchased Patches

I think that it's possible to get good sound through headphones, but it's a very different experience. It'll never sound exactly like an amp, because it's going straight into your ears.

I don't play metal, and I don't know what's responsible for the chug sound. But, unless I'm mistaken, there are a LOT of touring metal artists who have switched to IEMs through one method or another....so it must be possible to at least set up something capable.
 
I plugged my cigar box guitar into my FM3 this evening, threw on the Petrucci Rig preset, and it didn’t sound anything like John Petrucci. I even switched the cabinets to the IR’s of his. Nope. Still don’t sound like John Petrucci. What gives?
 
One answer would be for the vendor to post a video of them playing one patch and posting it free as a sample.
If it sounded the same or near enough for you at home (or playing out) you could then buy from that vendor knowing that their stuff translates for you.
It only involves giving one patch away so I can't imagine why they don't do this.
I like this idea, but couldn't one take it a few steps further? Meaning, code it in such a way that you only have say, 6 uses of it, and you cannot download it more than once or twice...? Maybe make your site also limit the number of times a person can do that with your sample presets, before they have to make an actual purchase?
 
I'm mostly disappointed with downloaded presets as well but I know why. 1) I played through headphones and they don't. 2)Their presets are made to be used in a band or with backing tracks and I do neither. They do make great "get you in the ballpark" starting points though.
I should add that when I do play along with backing tracks all presets sound a lot better, but Im a noodleler and backing tracks tend to get in my way.
 
I plugged my cigar box guitar into my FM3 this evening, threw on the Petrucci Rig preset, and it didn’t sound anything like John Petrucci. I even switched the cabinets to the IR’s of his. Nope. Still don’t sound like John Petrucci. What gives?
I think you should check your instrument cable, that's probably it. 😃
 
I like this idea, but couldn't one take it a few steps further? Meaning, code it in such a way that you only have say, 6 uses of it, and you cannot download it more than once or twice...? Maybe make your site also limit the number of times a person can do that with your sample presets, before they have to make an actual purchase?
That would require the modeler to implement/verify something like DRM/licensing for presets. At leas for me, that would mean that I would never even think about buying it.

The presets are just files, and I like it that way.

There are a few software things that do something similar....e.g., you send in a recording (in this case a guitar DI), they process it and send it back, and you can listen to it or compare it to competitors (ideally from the same DI). But, AFAIK, that's hard to automate. They probably don't do it because their time is worth more than the sales they're potentially losing.

It might actually be better to go with honor-system refunds or lose out on the sales from people who don't want to take a chance. But...idk...I haven't run a store like this and have no plans to do so.
 
I mean dial in your preset on the playback method you'll be using. If it sounds great on monitors and trash on headphones, copy it to another slot, tweak for the headphones and save.
Damn. I thought maybe some Angel from Heaven created some presets specifically for headphone use. Of course the problem would be they would sound different on every model of phones and you're back to square one.
 
I plugged my cigar box guitar into my FM3 this evening, threw on the Petrucci Rig preset, and it didn’t sound anything like John Petrucci. I even switched the cabinets to the IR’s of his. Nope. Still don’t sound like John Petrucci. What gives?
I never understand why people make sarcastic posts like this
 
Damn. I thought maybe some Angel from Heaven created some presets specifically for headphone use. Of course the problem would be they would sound different on every model of phones and you're back to square one.

That's probably why no one's bothered haha.
 
Patch sellers that post here often seem to be pretty active as forum members and help with advice etc (i.e. I'm reminded of Moke's great tip on preserving input impedance by moving blocks further down the chain up/down a row to be in line of sight of the input block). Not sure anyone get's rich or can make a living doing these patches (I suspect it can be a labour of love given a lot of the sellers redo previously sold patches for customers after a big fw drops).

Thanks Mr Mud/NKP for the Marshall sample (see post above) - sounds good. So as an example of how a 3rd party patch can be useful even if you tend to do your own, I'll use this one:
  • Out of the box it sounded good with SG Standard monitored thru Yamaha HS8s - good for me means: not too dark / I could hear+feel the sizzle which I like and the balance of sizzle/growl/oomph was even on the distorted scenes. The clean scene is bright which I also like.
  • The advanced settings were pretty stock to reset values on the amp block but, on the distorted scene it makes use of the cut parameter on the ideal page which makes the overall tone a tad brighter with my guitar - I have tended to push treble/presence to add brightness but may start using the cut switch more as I like what it does here in comparison.
  • The drive (808) is a good choice to get an 80s Marshall into hi-gain - the drive/amp tone in the hi-gain scene sounds like one amalgamated hi-gain tone which is great, as opposed to the sound of a gainy amp tone with a boost in front if that makes sense - getting that consistency has also been a struggle for me at times dialing in my own.
  • The cab block has a rear capture mixed in - I've generally shy'd away from using these as I don't know what I'm doing with them but here it seems to help with keeping the warmth that may get a little scarce for those that like a sizzlier top end on higher gain patches.

So, as has been my experience with other 3rd party presets I've bought/received, using them enough to understand their construction can often provide some good ideas going forward with tweaking on my own. I've not bought a whole lot of patches but have a couple of packs and feel that I have gotten my $ worth in this way.

Edit- re fx - this one seemed to be focused on the amp sound so I ignored the fx other than comp/drive/eq. For fx patches, I'd like to see more sellers building patches the that showcase typical fx that modeller users may tend to struggle with emulating (ie specific flanger flavours (evh comes to mind like used a lot on Fair Warning), rotary (ie Frampton mid gain with rotary), delays (the edge) ...).
 
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Ok to set the record straight (if anyone cares) - I really regret calling Fremen's work garbage as him and I have been in correspondence via email, and he genuinely wants me to be happy with his work.

I guess my sticking point is that I'm coming from combo modeling amps that are plug-and-play to the Axe. I have no knowledge of how to pair amps and cabs, what settings to adjust, etc. I'm just a guy who likes glassy cleans, heavy tones (KSE/LoG), and then a nice lead tone like Vai or something. Anyone have advice? Currently drinking water from a fire hose.
 
Ok to set the record straight (if anyone cares) - I really regret calling Fremen's work garbage as him and I have been in correspondence via email, and he genuinely wants me to be happy with his work.

I guess my sticking point is that I'm coming from combo modeling amps that are plug-and-play to the Axe. I have no knowledge of how to pair amps and cabs, what settings to adjust, etc. I'm just a guy who likes glassy cleans, heavy tones (KSE/LoG), and then a nice lead tone like Vai or something. Anyone have advice? Currently drinking water from a fire hose.
Start simple. Preset with an Amp -> Cab. Add a Reverb if you feel like, it can add a bit of thickness with a low mix setting. For leads add a delay in parallel with the reverb. Or into the reverb if you want to keep it extra simple.

The 5153 amp models are IMO a good do-it-all amp to start with. Then it's just rolling through some cabs.

Go to the factory bank with 4x12 cabs, roll the big wheel on the FM3 like a wheel of fortune. Pick that cab. Now do the same for the other cab slot. See how that sounds. If you like it, try messing with the high and low cut settings. High cut can help bring it closer to that "amp in the room" experience. Low cut will help avoid mud for palm mutes. Try panning them a bit left and right.

It's all a journey to learn how things sound and how to combine them together to work for you.
 
I plugged my cigar box guitar into my FM3 this evening, threw on the Petrucci Rig preset, and it didn’t sound anything like John Petrucci. I even switched the cabinets to the IR’s of his. Nope. Still don’t sound like John Petrucci. What gives?
Petrucci probably uses a different brand of cigars. :D
 
Patch sellers that post here often seem to be pretty active as forum members and help with advice etc (i.e. I'm reminded of Moke's great tip on preserving input impedance by moving blocks further down the chain up/down a row to be in line of sight of the input block). Not sure anyone get's rich or can make a living doing these patches (I suspect it can be a labour of love given a lot of the sellers redo previously sold patches for customers after a big fw drops).

Thanks Mr Mud/NPK for the Marshall sample (see post above) - sounds good. So as an example of how a 3rd party patch can be useful even if you tend to do your own, I'll use this one:
  • Out of the box it sounded good with SG Standard monitored thru Yamaha HS8s - good for me means: not too dark / I could hear+feel the sizzle which I like and the balance of sizzle/growl/oomph was even on the distorted scenes. The clean scene is bright which I also like.
  • The advanced settings were pretty stock to reset values on the amp block but, on the distorted scene it makes use of the cut parameter on the ideal page which makes the overall tone a tad brighter with my guitar - I have tended to push treble/presence to add brightness but may start using the cut switch more as I like what it does here in comparison.
  • The drive (808) is a good choice to get an 80s Marshall into hi-gain - the drive/amp tone in the hi-gain scene sounds like one amalgamated hi-gain tone which is great, as opposed to the sound of a gainy amp tone with a boost in front if that makes sense - getting that consistency has also been a struggle for me at times dialing in my own.
  • The cab block has a rear capture mixed in - I've generally shy'd away from using these as I don't know what I'm doing with them but here it seems to help with keeping the warmth that may get a little scarce for those that like a sizzlier top end on higher gain patches.

So, as has been my experience with other 3rd party presets I've bought/received, using them enough to understand their construction can often provide some good ideas going forward with tweaking on my own. I've not bought a whole lot of patches but have a couple of packs and feel that I have gotten my $ worth in this way.

Edit- re fx - this one seemed to be focused on the amp sound so I ignored the fx other than comp/drive/eq. For fx patches, I'd like to see more sellers building patches the that showcase typical fx that modeller users may tend to struggle with emulating (ie specific flanger flavours (evh comes to mind like used a lot on Fair Warning), rotary (ie Frampton mid gain with rotary), delays (the edge) ...).
Thank you for this review of one of my NKP preset .
As you said, just in one preset they are details and things to say . Sometimes just a detail save your life. So when you do this for 150 presets, with different details for each amps…that’s time. The cab combinaison is not the same for every amp (cause I do it by « amps » and « artist ») all that I learn with the time are in them .
The flanger/phaser etc blocks that are bypassed, I use them sometimes
 
Anyone have advice? Currently drinking water from a fire hose.
I'll suggest this, then I'll stop bothering you with stuff you don't want to hear.

Make a very simple patch based on laxu's post above, if you don't like it, then post it here describing with precision what you don't like / what it's not providing that u want - people here will try to help you dial it in - lot's including me have HS8s (I would forget about headphones for now as I think that would just be a distraction to the task of initially dialing in a good tone).
 
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