There's something about a Strat and a Fender amp...

iaresee

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It's like honey on toast: so sweet and so right.

I was in the mood for some new tones so I spent time today auditioning Fender amp models and speaker IR combinations to get a new feel going. Landed on a very nice amp pair: the Vibrato Lux model and the Vibra-King Fat model.

Together they cover a nice bit of ground. The Vibrato Lux gets a slightly scooped, clean tone that works so well for comping quick, funky stuff. And the Vibra-King brings a fuzzier, nastier thing to the tonal pallet that gets you into wild lead territory nicely when you push it with a drive at stage volumes.

I'm running both of them into a factory IR: the 1x12 Brown M160. I must have run through several hundred IRs here, solo and in mix combinations, and I kept coming back to this one factory IR. It seems to have the right amount of bottom end response and high frequency content and works well with both amp models across a range of tones.

I've got everything dialed in using my Suhr Class Pro. It's nice to find some fresh tones on a pleasant, Sunday afternoon. I'm looking forward to using these with the band this week.

I've split things across four presets. On every preset, Pedal 1 is set up for Wha and Pedal 2 is setup for the volume block. You'll need at least Pedal 1 attached or the wah will automatically engage in every preset. If Pedal 2 isn't attached the volume block just opens wide up which is fine.

Fenders - Drives -- two drive blocks for 4 drive sounds. Drive 1 has a microboost on X for some chime and a little more oomph at the amp block input and an Eternal Love on Y for some classic overdrive tones. Drive 2 has a hotter Shimmer Drive for leads on X and a Hard Fuzz on Y so you can do that Gary Clark Jr. thing with the Vibra-King Fat amp model.

Fenders - Chorus -- Swaps the tremolo block from the Drives preset for a Chorus block that does some 80s Dimension 1 and CE-2 tones on it.

Fenders - MuTron -- Funky ducks like to quack, right? When you've got a fire on your mountain or you want to woo that special lady with your softer, side that can't trust yourself with loving her, this is the preset you want to call up. Also nice for the lead on that Edie Brickell tune everyone loves but won't admit to loving.

Fenders - Space -- Here is where the fun really starts. Pedal 1 no longer controls the wah. Instead it controls the feedback level of the drive block which is setup for stereo tape mode. Push the toe all the way down the delay will start to self-oscillate in that beautiful way only tape delays can do. It won't "take off" so you don't need to worry about it ripping your speakers apart -- it'll just turn into an awesome, ambient wash. The reverb is also huuuuuge in this one. It's running the Deep Space algorithm for maximum...um...space. Try flipping to the Vibra-King and engage the tremolo while all this is going on for tones of ambient fun.

You can get all four presets here: [iaresee] Fender Four Pack - AX8 - FW 9.04.zip

They're built for the AX8 but would convert handily to any other Fractal product (in fact, I built this as a single preset on the III first and then back ported it manually to the AX8 because I'm only gigging with the AX8 at the moment).

Enjoy!
 
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Agreed on the twin . Im using the silverface through the marshall basketweave cab and the timothy pedal for various presets of gain . From sparkling clean to ripping leads in one setup. Great amp!
 
Thanks for posting these presets @iaresee .
I was playing around with the Pan Left and Pan Right in the Mixer section of the filter block in the MuTron preset, and was surprised to see a change in the graph in the Monitor section. I checked the wiki far an explanation of that behavior to no avail. No big deal. I look forward to trying the Clapton and Boston settings in the wiki, as I've only used a filter block to boost pre or post amp. Very cool block, especially when using modifiers/controllers like you have.
 
It's like honey on toast: so sweet and so right.


They're built for the AX8 but would convert handily to any other Fractal product (in fact, I built this as a single preset on the III first and then back ported it manually to the AX8 because I'm only gigging with the AX8 at the moment).

Enjoy!
Can you post the III preset you created? My classic Pro is begging for it. Thanks bro.
 
Can you post the III preset you created? My classic Pro is begging for it. Thanks bro.
Sure can. I’m fairly certain I started with the factory Vibro Verb preset though. AX8 users wouldn’t have this one IIRC, but III users have it there. And then built up my effects preferences around it and tuned it to the Suhr.
 
I have never played an American clean amp I got along with. I might try this even though I usually don't even bother with people's presets
 
Thanks Ian. Great post and I will certainly try your presets. I have a Suhr Classic (ML pickups and roasted maple neck) that really satisfies my Strat itch (and then some). I'll be anxious to give your presets a go.
 
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