I had mentioned something similar today in a reply to someone on the recordings page here on the Fractal forums. I thought that the general idea was worthy of discussion here for the sake of people who are new to using the AXE FX direct (FRFR) and also to just share tips. With regards to trying to "nail" certain tones that you hear recorded somewhere, it's really easy just to think to yourself, "Oh - He's using a blackface with jensen speakers (or whatever). I can recreate that in the AXE FX exactly." ...and, then proceed to build a patch using those exact amp models and cabinet IR's. You then tweak a little and play, but find yourself disappointed and confused that it doesn't sound like what you were trying to copy.
Your tone may sound good, but it's "different" from the exact thing that you were after. The difference may be the high end. It may be the saturation of the gain. It may be that it doesn't "ring" the same way. It may not sound as powerful. It might drive you crazy trying to figure out why a patch with a JCM800 block into a Marshall 4x12 IR doesn't sound like a live Guns 'N Roses clip from the late 80's that you're trying to match. The thing that it sometimes takes people a little while to realize is that a recorded tone has many more factors involed than just the types of guitar, amp, and cabinet used. The sound of the original recording that you're hearing and comparing your sound to may be influenced a camera mic, recording device, or numerous other things. If your goal is to sound the same, you may have to try and figure out what's different about it and start asking yourself what can be tweaked in the AXE FX to get you closer to that. This might even involve using a different amp block or cabinet sim than what you think the original artist had used. For example - whenever I can't get something to sound close, I often will try a different cabinet IR. If you can't seem to get that distinct sound, maybe the IR that you're presently using has too "dark" of a coloring to reproduce the sound that was captured in the original (or vice versa)?
It sometimes takes a while to wrap your head around all of this. For example: In the case of someone who's trying to match what they hear on a live demo or lesson from their favorite artist, they shouldn't necessarily be trying to just create what his rig may have sounded like that day "in the room". Rather, they should be trying to mimic what got recorded for his demonstration, which you may even be hearing on Youtube or something similar. If that's what you think sounded good, that's what you should strive for. But, who knows how that person's amp/speaker was mic'ed up (if at all) that day? What kind of mic(s)? How many? At what angle(s)? These will all affect what we're hearing. Trying to copy the end result isn't as simple as just figuring out which amp and speaker someone used and dialing up "the same thing" in the AXE FX. If you were there and standing off to the side while a live gear demo was actually being performed, you may have heard something different (tonally) from what we hear when we click on a link to that clip online. Anyway, my hope was to start a discussion about people's similar experiences and see if we can compile some useful advice for people who are new to the whole concept of trying to use the AXE FX to recreate their favorite recorded or live tones. Does anyone else have something to add?
Your tone may sound good, but it's "different" from the exact thing that you were after. The difference may be the high end. It may be the saturation of the gain. It may be that it doesn't "ring" the same way. It may not sound as powerful. It might drive you crazy trying to figure out why a patch with a JCM800 block into a Marshall 4x12 IR doesn't sound like a live Guns 'N Roses clip from the late 80's that you're trying to match. The thing that it sometimes takes people a little while to realize is that a recorded tone has many more factors involed than just the types of guitar, amp, and cabinet used. The sound of the original recording that you're hearing and comparing your sound to may be influenced a camera mic, recording device, or numerous other things. If your goal is to sound the same, you may have to try and figure out what's different about it and start asking yourself what can be tweaked in the AXE FX to get you closer to that. This might even involve using a different amp block or cabinet sim than what you think the original artist had used. For example - whenever I can't get something to sound close, I often will try a different cabinet IR. If you can't seem to get that distinct sound, maybe the IR that you're presently using has too "dark" of a coloring to reproduce the sound that was captured in the original (or vice versa)?
It sometimes takes a while to wrap your head around all of this. For example: In the case of someone who's trying to match what they hear on a live demo or lesson from their favorite artist, they shouldn't necessarily be trying to just create what his rig may have sounded like that day "in the room". Rather, they should be trying to mimic what got recorded for his demonstration, which you may even be hearing on Youtube or something similar. If that's what you think sounded good, that's what you should strive for. But, who knows how that person's amp/speaker was mic'ed up (if at all) that day? What kind of mic(s)? How many? At what angle(s)? These will all affect what we're hearing. Trying to copy the end result isn't as simple as just figuring out which amp and speaker someone used and dialing up "the same thing" in the AXE FX. If you were there and standing off to the side while a live gear demo was actually being performed, you may have heard something different (tonally) from what we hear when we click on a link to that clip online. Anyway, my hope was to start a discussion about people's similar experiences and see if we can compile some useful advice for people who are new to the whole concept of trying to use the AXE FX to recreate their favorite recorded or live tones. Does anyone else have something to add?
