Stymon Timeline

AdamCook said:
I admit it is a great sounding pedal (and the Pete Thorn demo is awesome) but I'm really not hearing anything that can't be done with an Axe-FX II.

The fact that you guys are GAS'ing for it despite having an Axe-FX II makes me feel like we at Fractal need to do a better job teaching our users what the Axe-FX II is really capable of. I gotta get to work on more tutorial videos I guess...
Click to expand...


As we say in my country 'yuh done know!' LOL

I actually just tried your settings albeit on the ultra and not the II, and it gets me in the ballpark. Will need quite a bit of tweaking, but thanks for that, we'd appreciate more stuff like that :p
 
AdamCook said:
The fact that you guys are GAS'ing for it despite having an Axe-FX II makes me feel like we at Fractal need to do a better job teaching our users what the Axe-FX II is really capable of. I gotta get to work on more tutorial videos I guess...
Click to expand...


This is really a biggie..i could own an F1 racing car but of what use is that to me without the key to start it up! :)


It's not that i personally believe Fractal owe me a thing, they don't..but surely guys who have the mind and ability to create such a product are only hurting themselves and the Ax in the long run by not using their experience in a creative sense as well.


The presets are great on the Ax and many shared user presets are fantastic..but you listen to presets like Simeon has made and a few others that don't share (entirely their right with no complaints at all) but it makes you realise the box is capable of SOO much more in the right hands..


Now you see something like the TimeLine and you have an awful lot already there done for you, and you don't need to spend so much time trying to achieve something you may never accomplish..if i had a career in music i would gladly spend the time necessary..but i don't and only have a limited amount of time to spend playing and want to enjoy the time with the best tones i can get with limited amount spent on creating those tones, there is one thing tweaking, but there is something total different in creating beautiful presets..i want to spend my time playing and enjoying the time i am able to devote to playing.


I speak only personally with these thoughts, it could appropriately be suggested to me to "try something else" but i'm guessing there are many people with similar thoughts and situations.
 
Last edited:
Nah I don't have much time to dabble in the axe either, but I do like to! :D I experiment, and I've learned a lot from my experiences and mistakes, and the same from others experience and mistakes.

I think a good thing would be to do like Eventide does, and always have a vid of something every month or so of something interesting or new or inspiring that the product is capable of, whether it's from FAS officially or a 3rd party being interviewed by FAS. No doubt this is great advertising/demonstration and will keep people interested in the axe, and obviously will help sell units - the more people understand about what something can do is the more inclined they might be to fork over 2200+

Eventide does this, and I learn a lot of little tricks about the product every time. I'm a pretty decent tweaker now, but I'm always finding new things the axe can do, which is ALWAYS a pleasant surprise! :)

I also prefer to see players who are making great and interesting sounds rather than 'hot' players - I always want to see more of what a product can DO, not a display of flash. That's just me tho, I know most others might prefer the opposite.
 
jon said:
I think a good thing would be to do like Eventide does, and always have a vid of something every month or so of something interesting or new or inspiring that the product is capable of, whether it's from FAS officially or a 3rd party being interviewed by FAS.
Click to expand...

Now THAT would be awesome!!!
 
mark_melling said:
This is really a biggie..i could own an F1 racing car but of what use is that to me without the key to start it up! :)


It's not that i personally believe Fractal owe me a thing, they don't..but surely guys who have the mind and ability to create such a product are only hurting themselves and the Ax in the long run by not using their experience in a creative sense as well.


The presets are great on the Ax and many shared user presets are fantastic..but you listen to presets like Simeon has made and a few others that don't share (entirely their right with no complaints at all) but it makes you realise the box is capable of SOO much more in the right hands..


Now you see something like the TimeLine and you have an awful lot already there done for you, and you don't need to spend so much time trying to achieve something you may never accomplish..if i had a career in music i would gladly spend the time necessary..but i don't and only have a limited amount of time to spend playing and want to enjoy the time with the best tones i can get with limited amount spent on creating those tones, there is one thing tweaking, but there is something total different in creating beautiful presets..i want to spend my time playing and enjoying the time i am able to devote to playing.


I speak only personally with these thoughts, it could appropriately be suggested to me to "try something else" but i'm guessing there are many people with similar thoughts and situations.
Click to expand...

This is the main reason I think that there are two camps, Amp, cab and effects and all-in one processors. Some like to just plug in and play, turn a few knobs without having to do all the work to get that sound that they want to hear. Down side with that rig type is there are a lot more places for mechanical failures to happen.
 
AdamCook said:
The fact that you guys are GAS'ing for it despite having an Axe-FX II makes me feel like we at Fractal need to do a better job teaching our users what the Axe-FX II is really capable of. I gotta get to work on more tutorial videos I guess...
Click to expand...
This. Some helpful videos would not only be a benefit to Axe-FX users; it would also broaden the market for Fractal products.

The Axe II brought the product a long way down the ease-of-use path, but it still takes some engineering knowledge to get the most out of the box. That makes a whole class of right-brained guitarists who would love an Axe-FX but aren't in the market for one. A few thoughtful videos that break down the knowledge into digestible chunks would really open things up.
 
Yup. It's easy for a lot of us because a lot of forum users are professionals, or have been playing a long time and know the ins and outs of gear so it's natural, or have a background in studios, session work, audio and sound engineering, etc. Some even have expertise in programming in several languages and are pretty tech savvy.

But there are a lot of new users who only know about playing guitar, and are trying to figure things out, videos will def help them. And for the more advanced and experienced guys, some videos showing how users can get really great sounds or even vids explaining how some of the more creative and professional sounds out there are achieved will do wonders. Some vids with little tricks and tips won't hurt either.

Doesn't have to be anything crazy - could do a 3-5 min vid every other week or so, I'm sure just about every single forum user will love that lol
 
Not trying to tell anyone how to suck eggs here, but ...

IMHO, relying mostly on presets (AxeFX, Timeline, or whatever) is like relying on chugging 5th chords for your music. It all takes time, effort, practise, trial and error to advance our musical skills. Learning how to get the best from our equipment is no different.

Of course, the AxeFX replaces many racks worth of equipment in a single box, so there is plenty to learn and discover. In the old days, we'd buy one rack at a time and learn how to use it. In the Axe FX that just means learning one block at a time - it's worth the effort :D

So select a preset that sounds ok to you then bypass everything except the amp, cab and a block you want to learn about, say Delay. Then select a basic type (eg Digital Mono for the Delay block) and learn what every setting does and find out how they work together. Then advance to more sophisticated Delay model types.

Read up on the net about what these settings actually do. You don't need to know all the details, but understanding the concept that feedback creates additional delays by mixing a fraction of the delayed signal back into the input will help you think of new creative effects. What would happen if I put a phaser in the feedback loop? Soon you’ll be using your own original effects to enhance your original music!
 
I think both approaches have merit (i.e. the preset only user vs the programmer).

You'd be surprised how many of the pro guitarists we work with don't really know much about programming. But they sure come up with some damn creative stuff using mostly presets.
 
I like both approaches too - presets for instant gratification and if you're doing sessions or on the spot and need something quick, and also to inspire creativity - the more I understand some of the presets and how they're made is the more I'm likely to make something good on my own. That's why presets are so important to me - to inspire and understand a little more about what's going on under the hood....

I also won't doubt that a lot of pro guitarists are programming inclined either lol
 
Most of the gear I've had in the past I usually get a grasp of what it's capable of fairly quick. I love the idea of having something I haven't figured everything out and have so many possibilities... and still sounds so great out of the box.
With all the effects and controllers there are so many things that can be done. You can almost come up with new effects, but I still hope to see Fractal add more new and unique effects in the future.
 
AdamCook said:
I admit it is a great sounding pedal (and the Pete Thorn demo is awesome) but I'm really not hearing anything that can't be done with an Axe-FX II.

The fact that you guys are GAS'ing for it despite having an Axe-FX II makes me feel like we at Fractal need to do a better job teaching our users what the Axe-FX II is really capable of. I gotta get to work on more tutorial videos I guess...
Click to expand...

i agree, the strymon is an amazing delay, but i think a lot of those could be done with the ultra (with a few filters and send/return loops) and i'm sure the II could do them just with the delay/multidelay blocks.

it's a tricky one though isn't it...what's the best way to help people get the most out of the unit? post patches? make vids? create sounds to inspire and show the capabilities?

people will always have GAS, but it's silly to lust after something you already have! :)

sim
 
For me presets are a fantastic way to learn what the possibilities are and to learn new ways of doing things that might not occur to me.

Must admit I don't use others presets for my own songs ... But I like to get inspiration from other ideas.

A Fractal Academy of video tutorials would be great.

Personally I would like to see tips on how to dial in great effect blocks and combinations of effect blocks.

Cheers

Martin
 
BadMelonFarmer said:
For me presets are a fantastic way to learn what the possibilities are and to learn new ways of doing things that might not occur to me.

Must admit I don't use others presets for my own songs ... But I like to get inspiration from other ideas.

A Fractal Academy of video tutorials would be great.

Personally I would like to see tips on how to dial in great effect blocks and combinations of effect blocks.

Cheers

Martin
Click to expand...

I agree--post a clip of the sound, the preset, and what each component of the preset is doing
 
I always have started with the presets and then edited for myself.

I also feel that for the right person (not me) that delay would be doable on the II. Then once this nice person has the basic sound we heard, we can all download it and start messing with variations. I would also put my $$ on Don P.
 
simeon said:
i agree, the strymon is an amazing delay, but i think a lot of those could be done with the ultra (with a few filters and send/return loops) and i'm sure the II could do them just with the delay/multidelay blocks.
Click to expand...

I haven't had a chance to post a soundclip, but I was able to get the sound in the video by copying/pasting some FX from some existing patches on the II. IIRC, I grabbed the reverb from the "Ultraverb" preset, and then grabbed the delay from the "Stereo Tape Delay 2" (or "Stereo Tape Echo 2" - can't recall). The delay went in front of the reverb in series, and I think I turned up the diffusion some, along with the feedback - time was around 380ms. I may have mucked with the EQ on the delay and reverb as well. I found that I didn't need the multi-delay setup that Adam pursued.

I agree that the Strymon stuff is great, and I would own some if money were no option, just to learn from. But the stuff that I've heard so far from Strymon I've been able to get out of the II and I'm pretty patch-challenged. Ditto w/ the Ultra - I had an El Capistan, and while it sounded nice, the Ultra already had what I was looking for.
 
one block

i have no doubt i can get it done with my II, i just wish i could dial it in
with a single block. can more parameters or presets be added to the delay block to
get in the ballpark quickly? hard to get this sound thrown together quickly on the fly.
 
I think the point has been well made what people would be interested in seeing further developed in this thread, (for me anyway) it is not about doubting that some of the tones and effects can be reproduced, to a greater or lesser degree i'm sure that they can.


But there is a very big difference of what something CAN do to what it actually IS doing for any given individual, and this is not a complaint in any shape or form..i mean who in their right mind wants to spend $800 (converted European price) on something when they have a capable unit right in front of them at their disposal.


I love my Ax II and all things Fractal, not with so-called "fanboy" mentality, but from genuine pleasure from the products and service i have received, and any progress in the area's mentioned would be great addition to everyone. :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom