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So I got my Axe FX today... questions.

KsE fan said:
why would I want to disable the power amp sims? I'm using a PA power amp and everyone's told me to keep them on... I've made some half decent clean patches... sounds like I can hear my fret buzz through the amp (i hope it's fret buzz!) but the distortion tones are god awful!
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you just said it..."but the distortion tones are god awful!"
dont ask for help if your not willing to try what is recommended.
you've not tried one single step in a process of elimination.
have you tried turning off or resetting global eq's, amps?
 
Frozen said:
a clip of your problematic high gain sound would be more helpful i guess
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it's just a harsh sound... upper mid range maybe.. i don't think anythings wrong I guess it's just i never realized how hard it would be to get a simple high gain sound out of it.
 
global eq's are all flat, ive only tried the pvh 5105 so far.. haven't touched anything advanced just page 1 and 2 but im just shocked that I'm most likely gonna have to go into these "advanced" settings to get a "basic" tone.
 
KsE fan said:
global eq's are all flat, ive only tried the pvh 5105 so far.. haven't touched anything advanced just page 1 and 2 but im just shocked that I'm most likely gonna have to go into these "advanced" settings to get a "basic" tone.
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as previously suggested, posting a clip like you did with the clean would definitely help the rest of us hear what you think is wrong...
 
Hi KsE. I'm the guy who sold it to you (I still have an Ultra).
I use it with a FRFR system (2 QSC K10s), and I really think the Axe sounds
best that way, but I know you are using a guitar cab, so here is my advice to start:

First thing to try is press the Global button, and then on the config page for Global,
try turning the Power Amp and Cabinet settings each on and off and see what combination you like best.
Once you have that dialed in, go to out1 or out2 (also under Global)
and adjust the graphic EQ to taste for which ever of out1 or out2 you are using as your output.
If you like the clean tones but not the distorted, you probably want to roll off some of the highs
in the Global graphic EQ.
Also if you are using Cabinet on, make sure in your current patch that the Drive setting
for Cabinet is set to something higher than 0, otherwise it can sound kind of sterile.
 
My 2p on your sound.

Firstly, Back of the Master and copmpensate with the gain. it "sounds" like the power amp is too high for that kind of sound.

Secondly - your using a SS power amp. Nothing wrong with theis, but I found valve power amps worked better with stock settings. There is a "feel" thinkg going on - that the Matrix GT800FX seems to have sorted - however, there is an EQ difference between valve amnd SS power amps. Again nothing wriong here - actually the SS ones are better but can take more tweeking initially.

Suggestion set your Global out EQ like this:

65hz +1db
125 hz + 0.8db
250 hz + 0.2db
500 hz -0.3db
2khz +0.2db
4khz +0.8bd
8 Khz +1db

Now - that will give you more body and bite like a valve amp does. It may exadurate your high mid issue, but Im guessing not. The added bottom, and prescence will actually change the was the upper mids sound too. If its still not right, then play with the 2k and 4k range.

After that:

65hz +1db
125 hz + 0.8db
250 hz + 0.2db
500 hz -0.3db
2khz +0.2db
4khz +0.8bd
8 Khz +1db

Then - lower the B+ in advanced by a point (so from 4.33 to 3.33 for instance)
Raise the damp slightly if you want a more open/harder sound and reduce it for a more compressed softer sound.

These will go some way to givin back the feel of a valve power stage, which should help.

Also, do you have the bright switch engaged? Not sure if that amp has it as standard. If you do - first take it off - and compensate by adding som epresscence. If its gone too dark turn it back on again - then lower the Bright Cap value if possible. If its not (say its already on its lowest value) reduce the trebble (which also reduces the bright) but leave the prescence up to compensate.





Then - lower the B+ in advanced by a point (so from 4.33 to 3.33 for instance)
Raise the damp slightly if you want a tighter, harder soud - lower it for a softer, bouncier sound.
 
Dont know what happend at the end there.

Hopwever, forgot to say. Disable the TS808 as well. Get the amps core sound right first. It may eb its the 808 block doing this. If it is, use the EQ secion (bass, trebble and para mids) in the advanced to remove the offendig freqs - or use a different drive block. IMO there not as close to the "originals" as the amps are.
 
Also remember that the controls on the Axe FX amps don't necessarily correspond to a real amp, so dialling in a sound with your ears rather than visually is very important. Don't worry if the controls on the Axe looked F'ed up compared to what your used to dialling in with a real amp is what I'm saying.
 
and... in case it hasn't been mentioned.. DO NOT MESS with the advanced parameters in the AMP block... stick with bass, mid, treble, drive, presence and level... until you get it right! :)
 
s0c9 said:
and... in case it hasn't been mentioned.. DO NOT MESS with the advanced parameters in the AMP block... stick with bass, mid, treble, drive, presence and level... until you get it right! :)
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absolutely impossible... if i just stick to page 1 and 2 the tones are terrible... I just tried chris broderick's patch that he uses for rhythm you can see the settings on his rig tour video and i copied them and that's the only way i could get a good tone was by setting up the advanced settings... if i go to the pvh 5105 model and just stick to the first 2 pages it's crap.
 
KsE fan said:
absolutely impossible... if i just stick to page 1 and 2 the tones are terrible... I just tried chris broderick's patch that he uses for rhythm you can see the settings on his rig tour video and i copied them and that's the only way i could get a good tone was by setting up the advanced settings... if i go to the pvh 5105 model and just stick to the first 2 pages it's crap.
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OK.. so "absolutely impossible... if i just stick to page 1 and 2 the tones are terrible." Maybe you've caused you own problems?

Try a different amp model perhaps? If you mess with the advanced parameters without knowing what you are doing (and what those parameters do in conjunction with each other), then you will end up causing yourself more grief. Might be where you are now?
Crap happens to be a 4-letter relative word, just like awesome is! :)

As I posted earlier, give us an example of what you are calling "crap" and some of the more experienced folks on the forum can weigh in on a solution.

PS: (no offence intended - too much of that happening on this forum right now) but.. if you're not even sure how to hook up the Axe to an amp/cab, and have to post here for confirmation that all is correct, indications are that you should DEFINITELY NOT be messing around with advanced amp parameters. Keep it simple.
 
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Lightningboy said:
Also remember that the controls on the Axe FX amps don't necessarily correspond to a real amp, so dialling in a sound with your ears rather than visually is very important. Don't worry if the controls on the Axe looked F'ed up compared to what your used to dialling in with a real amp is what I'm saying.
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i just got my ultra about a week ago, and this bit of information is paramount to obtaining a good tone out of it. tweak the eq settings in small increments. using the active tone stack helped a bit as well. remember, this is quite a sophisticated piece of equipment, with a steep learning curve (compared to a real amp). so be patient, and post a reference clip for the folk here to help you figure out what's wrong.

also, as suggested, keep your master setting low if you plan on having a lot of preamp gain. it'll be a while before you get a tone comparable to your 5150, heck, its gonna be a while before i get a tone that rivals my 2 channel dual rectifier! happy tweaking!!!!
 
i think the problem is the solidstate power amp... ill try it into a buddies triple rec soon.. tones sound fine at lower volumes but go to shit at high volumes :(
 
KsE fan said:
i think the problem is the solidstate power amp... ill try it into a buddies triple rec soon.. tones sound fine at lower volumes but go to shit at high volumes :(
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Could that be Fletcher Munson effect?

Patches tweaked at lower volumes will sound markedly different when played at higher levels. Google it if your not aware of it. With the 5150 model I usually kill the bright switch and add a bit more treble and prescence, if the bass is too flubby and undefined then try lowering the speaker res in advanced, and/or tweaking the low res. Warmth and thump at about 2-3 each. Master volume about 4-5. See how that works.
 
I agree it could well be the FM curve if your patches are fine at lowe volume.

You can compensate a little.

Set one of the global outputs for a Flat EQ, use this when you play loud. Set the other OP global eq like this:

65hz - +3db
125 Hz - +1.5db
250 Hz - flat
500hz - -0.4db
1k - flat
2k - flat
4k - +2.5db
8k - +5db

use this one for low volume. Only tweek patches using the output for you playing location. Its not perfect, and will affect different gain levels differently - BUt its a decent compromise to get high and low volume playing to sound closer.
 
Ya I usually tweak my other amps when they're loud but those amps take very little time I don't want to have to kill my ears for 3 hours
 
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