This preset uses the YA BGNR 412 V30 57-3 IR from YA Audio. Get it here:
Bogna 412
The Rig
What's represented
Soldano X88R preamp
DBX 160X compressor
Eventide H3000SE micropitchshift
TC Electronic 1210 chorus
2 Lexicon PCM70 delays
Roland SRV2000 reverb
Some kind of EQ/BBE 441 Sonic Maximizer
HH V800 Mos-fet power amp
2 Marshall 4x12 w/ Celestion Vintage 30
Not included
Wah
Yamaha SPX900
Rocktron PRO GAP preamp
Routing
The routing is based on the very first rig with the CAE 3+ preamp (done after a real CAE schematic). That rig is almost identical to the last incarnation of the X88R rig. Everything is even housed in the same gray fabric covered rack, in the same order etc. They probably just pulled out the Soldano/HH and popped in the 3+/VHT, plus added the John Suhr modded Marshall head (which was used just for the preamp). Back to the Soldano rig: There was a Rocktron preamp, which I don't know what it was used for. I'm guessing for DI clean tones in the studio (pure speculation). Also don't know about the SPX900. Maybe if he needed something weird or extra in the studio? Both units were removed after the KOD tour.
Preamp
Soldano X88R preamp, prototype. It had a bunch of different values compared to stock. Different output section (separate outputs for all 3 channels), different output transformer. Long story short, it had more compression and gain. I tweaked the amp models with this in mind, and also used pics of his settings, and fine tuned by ear. CH2 is much cleaner than you'd think, also a bit stiff and tubby. CH3 is just over the top distortion, with a lot of low end. Even more than his rhythm tones.
Power amp
Solid state power amp, so power amp modelling is turned off. I don't know what (if any) colouration the HH imparted, but I think that turning off the power amp modelling is enough.
Pitch
Pretty much everyone back then just set their H3000s to the original micropitchshift preset and left it there (there are 2 versions). Matched to real hardware (Leon Todds H3500, which is a H3000 + sampling capability). Pitch was always on.
Chorus
Matched to the TC1210 plugin and real hardware. Settings are the same as Luke used. It was always engaged on clean tones, and he kicked it on for leads sometimes.
Compressor
Loosely based on the DBX 160X that Luke used. Same ratio, and then the rest is a bit by ear, and a bit by technical information about the unit. Always on for clean, not used for distorted sounds.
Reverb
He used a big room reverb on his SRV2000. Stole the settings that were visible in pictures, did the rest by ear. Always on.
Delay
Based on real clips of PCM70s from users who were kind enough to help me. Leon Todd also helped out with his PCM81 to confirm a few things about the PCM architecture. Luke used a 1/8 & 1/4 delay most of the time, somewhat synced to the song (Bob Bradshaw changed presets backstage, and also rode the volume of the delays depending on the song). The PCM70 doesn't have tap tempo, but a BPM function on certain presets where you enter the BPM, and the unit adjusts the delay times. Occasionally, Luke would use a kind of bouncing delay (Out of Love live is an example), so I put that in there too.
The presets that he later became famous for using (pan delay and circular dlys), were rarely used. He used them for improvised stuff like the Hendrix tribute (Little Wing & Red House), and nothing else. Nonetheless, they've been painstakingly recreated. The only real difference is that the diffusion in the Axe is not as grainy, but it's tweaked as close as it can get. The weird levels of the delays (the left channel being louder than the right) is a quirk of the older PCM units. It's wonky, but it's part of the character.
DLY 1 CH A = Pan delay
DLY 1 CH B = 1/4 & 1/8 delay
DLY 1 CH C = 1/4 & 1/8 delay, louder
MTD 2 CH A = Circular dlys
MTD 2 CH B = "Bounce" delay
EQ/Sonic Maximizer
He did in fact use the BBE 441 for a while in the beginning of the 1990s. It was even in the early CAE 3+ rig. Before that, he used Rane Eqs for extra tone shaping. I stole the settings for a Sonic Maximizer from Jason Scott, and bumped it up a bit. Always on.
Cabs
He used old 1970s Marshall 4x12s, with after market Celestion Vintage 30s (not the Marshall Vintage by Celestion, which are different). The grill cloths were painted black, originally salt and pepper. I tried to find a suitable factory or free IR, but nothing sounds as good as the Bogna 412 pack by YA Audio. The specific IR is YA BGNR 412 V30 57-3.
EDIT 2021-10-18: Updated delays ahead of 17.01. Increased pitch and reverb levels.
EDIT 2021-11-01: Ported the Pan Delays to the regular delay block so that MTD 1 could handle the TC1210 chorus. Updated TC1210 and Eventide micropitchshift emulations based on real hardware.
Can't believe this is for free, this will be my gems as far as I'm owning AXE-FX III.
