Struggling with clean & semi-driven tones with Studio Monitors.

Zelja

Inspired
Sorry in advance for the long post but I thought I do the one rather than start 3 or 4 separate topics.

I have had a Standard for a while though have used it sparingly (especially recently) & am now into my 10th or 11th day on the AXE II & trying to determine whether to keep it or not. I am struggling a bit with mostly my clean & semi-driven tones when used with ADAM A7 monitors. I have a '64 Fender Vibrolux (2 x 10s combo) & a Valvetech Hayseed 30 (Vox AC30 clone) Head & Cab which I get great clean & pushed clean & semi-driven sounds out of. I'd like to gt the same out of the AXE II through monitors but am failing & getting a bit dis-heartened.

I'm pretty sure the AXE II amp sims are not the thing causing my problems - when I play through the same cabs by using a (probably a pretty crappy) Peavey 2600 solid state amp for amplification, then I can get reasonably close to my actual amp sounds. It's playing using cab sims & the monitors which is so far unsatisfying but unfortunately this is what I need to get happening, as I want to use the II primarily for practicing & recording. My issues are explained below:

Clean Sounds - I can get reasonable clean sounds when I'm not digging in. The trebles can sound a bit "hard" & overly "steely" though. When I hit the strings harder I get an unpleasant harsh crack through the monitors - maybe it's the same thing that nikki-k mentions in her review about the "attack issue". This doesn't happen when going through the actual cabs. I need to somehow soften these highs, get them more rounded while still being bright & jangley & temper the unpleasant attack when digging in.


Semi-driven sounds - Finding it difficult to balance clarity, drive & fullness. If I drive the amps too much it gets a bit muddy, buzzy & flat sounding for the Top Boost sim, while the Fenders can get very harsh. If don't drive it enough it gets hard & clangy like the cleans. The same amps seem less overdriven at the same settings when going through the real cabs compared to when using IRs (no, I don't think I'm distorting the mixer or the monitors)

Note - motsly using the AC30Tb & Fendrer Amps sims for teh above tones. The JTM45 as well (probably my favourite clean amp sim).

Higher gain - I have used the JCM 800 & Friedman BE models to get quite OK "Back in Black" type tones. They can be a bit fizzy but actual recordings of those type of amps sound fizzy to me as well. Also use the Wrecker for leads & stuff when playing along to recorded songs & it sounds fine.


General - I get this noise - a crackling distortion - when playing 2 or more notes at a time, especially noticeable on the lower strings - say a G on the 6th & a B on the 5th. Happens on clean & dirty settings. I think Yek mentioned that he had a similar issue on the Maz38 amp in V2. As I'm doing mostly chordal work & lots of arpeggios with notes ringing out, it's quite bothersome. Doesn't happen noticeably when using the real cabs, just with the IRs & monitors. I noticed some IRs are worse than others in this regards - e.g. with the Redwires cabs in the 59 Bassguy & Top Boost presets the issue seems more pronounced than their standard equivalent Fractal IRs.

I have tried different things with EQ & amp parameters. What seems to help was using 2 cabs - a near field & one of the far field IRs. For the semi-driven tones using the Top Boost amps best results so far have been with using the 2 cabs AND 2 amps - one set with a bit of drive & one set pretty clean. Setting MV to less than max also stopped them from getting too woofy in the low end when driven.

Also everything sounds better to me (fuller, more chimey) when played very loud but then I'm hurting!

For the record:
Unit came with V3.02, i have updated the System Parameters
Power Amp & Cab Sims are enabled.
Input adjusted - "tickling the red"
Careful not to internally clip AXE - Global outputs set to -6dB.
Unless my peak meters on the mixer are lying to me, I am not clipping the input or output of the mixer.
Have bypassed the mixer & gone straight to the monitors. No real change.
Using guitars with relatively low output HBs (TV Jones Classic Plus & Powertron) or P90s, Jazzmaster.
Trying to dial these sounds in just using Amp & Cab blocks - all else bypassed.

So I understand that "in the room sound" & "FRFR sound" is different. Just looking for tips to get closer to where I want to be, especially when just playing alone, practicing etc. I know a lot of the harshness/hardness I am hearing would be masked in a fully recorded track but am still looking to get those rounder highs & the bright but full, harmonically rich tone.

Anyway, anybody got some advice for me? Any help is appreciated. Anyone also using the AXE II for power pop sort of stuff (e.g. Tom Petty, REM, Stone Roses, Teenage Fanclub, Posies, Zutons etc)

Here are a few youtube clips to give an idea of the sort of sounds I'm into:

Even - 'Stop And Go Man' - YouTube
The Stone Roses - She Bangs the Drums - YouTube
Teenage Fanclub - Don't Look Back - YouTube
The Someloves "Know You Now" - YouTube

Thanks for any help/advice anyone can provide.
 
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