iohanr said:
I need to have a notebook next to me and start jotting down the presets with the tones that I like that can be a basis for tweaking. Some of them though are just fine as is... I especially liked the Brian May lead sound preset... it's a tone that I've never been able to replicate with the equipment I had, and there it was... one twist of the knob and I was playing the Bohemian Rhapsody solo. I also need to learn "Where the Streets Have No Name" just so I can demo that preset to my friends... hahaha
Different opinion here; Exploring the presets to see what they can do is fine, but I don't recommend that a beginner start by tweaking existing presets. To me, that's like deciding to learn to swim when you arrive in the middle of the ocean for a scuba diving trip. The factory presets were built with a thorough knowledge of what the unit can do. Most of those will leave the beginner asking why certain things were done and the answers to those questions are not directly answered in the documentation. You might be able to surmise the answers by reading about every element used in the preset, but it begs the question: why should one choose to reverse engineer an application in order to figure out how to use a new computer?
I recommend a simpler and more intuitive path. Find - or figure out how to make - an empty slot. Figuring out how to clear a preset of everything is a good introduction to navigating the Axe-Fx, because it immediately teaches you how to get yourself OUT of confusion or trouble.
Once you have an empty slot, figure out how to add an amp block, then a cabinet block, and wire them together input through to output. Amp and cab, nothing else. Then sit and play with the basic amp controls and make it sound as good as you can. Don't touch the advanced tab, don't get into the arcanities of the transformer controls or B+ capacitance or any of that. Pretend you're sitting in a music store trying out an amplifier. Once you've figured out the basics of one amp and cab, explore other amp types and cabinets the same way, as if you were working your way through the amplifier stock of a music store. The amp and cab models are, for most folks who buy the Axe-FX, the heart of everything. So start there.
When you've got a handle on one amp/one cab. Then start adding more elements. Add a drive block in front of the amp, as if you'd just plugged in a footpedal. Get a handle on that. Add a reverb block at the other end. These are natural exploration paths - many amplifiers have built in reverb and most guitarists have used pedals. These are not the foreign concepts that, say, a filter block, a sequencer, or the issues that arise when using multiple amps can very well be.
Start from what you know and work forward, don't try to start from what Cliff knows and work backwards. That would be very hard work. We aren't guitar WORKERS. We're guitar PLAYERS.
So play. Have fun. Getting an Axe-FX is like inheriting a candy store. You don't start by chemically analyzing the caramels. First you unlock the door. Then you start sampling the merchandise.
That's my advice, anyway.
As for learning about tweaking amps and what effects go where and when and why, these are excellent questions to get answered here. Search the threads and read. And if you don't find an answer, politely post your question in the appropriate forum. You'll get a wealth of support here - provided you don't act like an ass. You might very well even get your question answered by the man who designed this magic box. That's what's cool about living in Axe-FX world.
There is a return policy if you want to try before you commit. Wherever you want to go the Axe can probably get you there.
