The Frustration Sets In... Good stress though?

gspencer26

gspencer26

Member
Hi everyone,

As long as I’ve owned and used Fractal Products, it has hit me that I really don’t know sh*t about programming amp tones/IRs. I’m having a really hard time dialing it in. Bands I like/sound like/cover- Def Leppard, Ozzy, Van Halen, Whitesnake, Ratt, Steve Vai, etc... you get it. I like to have one “middle ground” tone to cover all of those. I’m sure you can hear it, or close, in your head.

Good lesson videos I should watch/buy? Is Cooper Carter’s masterclass worth it if I’m happy with effects, clean tones, and other things already? Best IRs to use (in your opinion)?

97% of days I love this unit, but lately I’m finding it so frustrating how easy it is to get lost in it or how complicated it can be. It’s hard to get it to sound “full” with clarity. It just seems to get mucky at some point. I thought I had it figured out but the more I play through it, the less I’m digging what I’ve got.

I run FOH and I like to set the unit up like I would a “real rig”. Amp and cabs on, then add effects(individually, like stomp boxes) in as I go using my RJM. Preset by preset usually. I do not use scenes.
 
It's common when getting a product with such staggering complexity. I struggled between the Axe and a Kemper as I've heard the Kemper can be a lot simpler to dial in. Myself, being a noob (only having my Axe since July) I am in the same boat as you. I have a few settings that do the job but I haven't had the time to really dive in, and spend hours upon hours tweaking and dialing tones and experimenting with IR's. What it really comes down to is experience and time spent with the unit. I don't really see any way around it unfortunately.
 
Check out the FAS Brown model and the related "brown" preset. That will get you a good start to an 80s tone.
 
+1 on Leon Todds videos. Ive learned pretty much everything from him. Ive had my axe for a few weeks now and am much more comfortable having watched his videos.

His idea about using the looper block to test different amps was a god send!
 
With both real amps and Fractal products (had the AX8 before the III) I had days where things didn’t sound great (to my ears) but then a day later, the exact same sounds were awesome. I’ve gone down the tweaking rabbit hole, only to get so far in that I didn’t even know what I was doing and ended up going back to my starting point and being like “yup, sounds great”. Lol!

I know that I can get what I’m hearing in my head out of the Axe, so now instead of selling my amp(s) to get a different sound that I like more, I just walk away and come back later.

I will also say that the Austin Buddy packs really made a difference to me in how much I love playing through both the AX8 and the III.
 
I’m really hoping to buy an Atomic CLR(when available again :/...) so I can keep the “speakers” consistent for what I’m using to tweak sounds through. This seems to be the #1 annoyance of everything. It seems when you dial enough low end to have that “punch in the chest”, the tones become mucky and too much high end makes it sound like a buzz saw.
I’m really looking for a smooth 80’s style tone. A mix of Whitesnake and Ratt tones, but not too trebly/tinty. It needs to be full sounding.
 
I don’t own a III, but for the fm3 the @austinbuddy gold live pack just gave me a great collection of sounds almost ready to gig that I can choose from. Just minor tweaks and adding fx as needed and I don’t need to dig into deep edits with my fm3. I loved it before, but even more after the pack.
 
Rublalup said:
I don’t own a III, but for the fm3 the @austinbuddy gold live pack just gave me a great collection of sounds almost ready to gig that I can choose from. Just minor tweaks and adding fx as needed and I don’t need to dig into deep edits with my fm3. I loved it before, but even more after the pack.
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I was thinking of buying someone’s pack AND Cooper’s masterclass. Classic rock/modern rock is definitely what I’m looking for.
 
As other have said, Leon's videos are a must. Great tutorials plus I love his playing and humor. Same for Cooper's Masterclass. Well worth it.
 
Would it clear things up only having one IR on in the cab block? I think I’ve been trying two, and sometimes both set to the same speaker/settings and sometimes not. Would that muck up the mix?
 
gspencer26 said:
Would it clear things up only having one IR on in the cab block? I think I’ve been trying two, and sometimes both set to the same speaker/settings and sometimes not. Would that muck up the mix?
Click to expand...

The beauty of the Axe FX III is that you can try it and see. Put a Looper block at the beginning of your chain and listen to a loop while you experiment.
 
Sash said:
Just do what you would do with a real Amp and Cab.
I played a Friedman BE 100 Deluxe and I was able to duplicate the sound within minutes, just by choosing the Amp and some matching Cabs.

What sound are you looking for?

Cheers
Sash
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Sash,
I haven't received my 3 yet but would like to know your settings, as the be 100 deluxe is my main tone that i use.
Thanks in advance.
Dale
 
gspencer26 said:
Hi everyone,

As long as I’ve owned and used Fractal Products, it has hit me that I really don’t know sh*t about programming amp tones/IRs. I’m having a really hard time dialing it in. Bands I like/sound like/cover- Def Leppard, Ozzy, Van Halen, Whitesnake, Ratt, Steve Vai, etc... you get it. I like to have one “middle ground” tone to cover all of those. I’m sure you can hear it, or close, in your head.

Good lesson videos I should watch/buy? Is Cooper Carter’s masterclass worth it if I’m happy with effects, clean tones, and other things already? Best IRs to use (in your opinion)?

97% of days I love this unit, but lately I’m finding it so frustrating how easy it is to get lost in it or how complicated it can be. It’s hard to get it to sound “full” with clarity. It just seems to get mucky at some point. I thought I had it figured out but the more I play through it, the less I’m digging what I’ve got.

I run FOH and I like to set the unit up like I would a “real rig”. Amp and cabs on, then add effects(individually, like stomp boxes) in as I go using my RJM. Preset by preset usually. I do not use scenes.
Click to expand...
Cooper Carter’s masterclass is on my "to do" list. 100%
 
gspencer26 said:
Would it clear things up only having one IR on in the cab block? I think I’ve been trying two, and sometimes both set to the same speaker/settings and sometimes not. Would that muck up the mix?
Click to expand...

It shouldnt. High cuts and low cuts are your friend.

That said, i think Leon has a whitesnake 5m tones video - use the search function of axechange, put in 2112 as the author and see whats posted. His IRs are also available for free.

Ive seen a lot of "80s tones?" threads so the work is already done for you in that regard. Next step is figuring out what affects what in the downloaded preset so you can build your own if you want to.
 
Just for getting started you might want to move away from the Factory 1/2 banks of IRs (which are mainly individual mics) and check out the Legacy bank (which has a lot more IR Mixes of multiple mics). From there, pick a neutral sounding amp (like a Be100 with the dials on 5), start a loop running into the amp, then explore the cabs until something sounds good.

Then when you have a good cab, you can choose amps or tweak amp settings.
 
IronSean said:
Just for getting started you might want to move away from the Factory 1/2 banks of IRs (which are mainly individual mics) and check out the Legacy bank (which has a lot more IR Mixes of multiple mics). From there, pick a neutral sounding amp (like a Be100 with the dials on 5), start a loop running into the amp, then explore the cabs until something sounds good.

Then when you have a good cab, you can choose amps or tweak amp settings.
Click to expand...

Also save whatever IR settings you like as cab blocks for easy recall later.
 
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