Some hardness in the way the amps feel

[guirarist1977]

Hi All,

Here is how the story goes. 6 month ago I purchased AX8 and played for 2 month then due to some financial problems I had to sell it. Now recently I purchased another unit, but it does not sound the same.

I feel differently when playing the same presets I made on my first unit. There is some hardness in the feel when having gain set low (especially when playing low 3 strings). This happens with all models. Especially when using headphones (I tried Byerdynamics DT990, DT250 and Senheizer HD600). I happens on all my guitars, which are set up the same way when I used them with the first unit.

The only difference that I see is FW version. On my first unit I used FW 3.x

Hardness maybe is a wrong word, but this is the best term I came up with.

Any ideas, suggestions.

Thanks,
Alex

 

[Molekiller]

Can you reload the old 3.x firmware? Maybe there was just something you preferred there or you could compare.

What amps are you using?

 

[dbun]

+1 to reloading the old firmware to see if that gets you back to what you were used to.

Things do change from FW to FW

 

[Rex]

Headphones rob your feel of vital nutrients.

 

[fourtet]

I hear you OP. This was my impression with 2nd unit as well.

 

[guirarist1977]

I hear you OP. This was my impression with 2nd unit as well.

So what did you do about it?

 

[guirarist1977]

This weekend I went and installed FW 3.52. I thought that the feel was a little softer. Then reinstalled 5.0.1 and I think it feels the same as 3.52.

Then I went back to 3.52 and recorded to my computer a short clip, then did the same with 5.0.1. The recordings were identical.

I guess it is something in my head

 

[Deadpan]

Chinese vs American

 

[guirarist1977]

Chinese vs American

Exactly. Those chinese builds just suck the tone. I guess they replace good NOS virtual capacitors with cheap chinese ones.

 

[Geosh]

Exactly. Those chinese builds just suck the tone. I guess they replace good NOS virtual capacitors with cheap chinese ones.

Don't forget about the tubes! The new ones have cheap Chinese tube sims, where the original models all use NOS tube sims.

 

[guirarist1977]

Don't forget about the tubes! The new ones have cheap Chinese tube sims, where the original models all use NOS tube sims.

Also true. I believe that the main reason is that chinese is poorly made pcb, while true US unit has everything point to point.

 

[fourtet]

Also true. I believe that the main reason is that chinese is poorly made pcb, while true US unit has everything point to point.

It definitely feels differently between MIC and MIA. I should upgrade probably power cable which will soften sag and open up room acoustics.

 

[fourtet]

So what did you do about it?

Sold it. If it ain't feeling perfect then I don't mess with it.

 

[mmpete]

 

[GiRa]

@OP: Have you been playing less than usual? I always felt my gear (analog or Fractal) like how you describe when I wasn't up to my usual playing level. Good amplification does not mask your little mistakes.