Tranformer Drive

FractalAudio

Administrator
Fractal Audio Systems
Moderator
Don't overlook this when striving for "vintage" tones. I was playing around with this last night and it's very powerful in making edge-of-breakup tones sound like an old, well-played amp (if that's your thing).
 
Don't overlook this when striving for "vintage" tones. I was playing around with this last night and it's very powerful in making edge-of-breakup tones sound like an old, well-played amp (if that's your thing).
thanks for the cool insight! what does this parameter equate to in a real amp, exactly? basically just an inverse proportion to core sizing?

does it have a similar tonal effect to browning the b+? what about the feel/response of the power section?

don't have the ii yet, so i can't fiddle with it, but i'll certainly keep it in mind for the tweed patches i make.
 
thanks for the cool insight! what does this parameter equate to in a real amp, exactly? basically just an inverse proportion to core sizing?

does it have a similar tonal effect to browning the b+? what about the feel/response of the power section?

don't have the ii yet, so i can't fiddle with it, but i'll certainly keep it in mind for the tweed patches i make.

Yes, basically inverse to core size. The higher you set the drive the more it saturates the virtual transformer's core. It doesn't affect the B+, that's done with the Sag parameter.
 
A seriously good tip/reminder. I had fiddled a bit with this parameter when trying to sort out my Plexi model, but now I realize it deserves more attention than I gave it.

Thanks
 
Don't overlook this when striving for "vintage" tones. I was playing around with this last night and it's very powerful in making edge-of-breakup tones sound like an old, well-played amp (if that's your thing).

Quit giving out my tone secrets!!! :)

Don't forget when you push a real transformer the bandwidth narrows, so raise the LF and lower the HF reponse. Thankfully Cliff added these critical parameters.
 
Don't forget when you push a real transformer the bandwidth narrows, so raise the LF and lower the HF reponse. Thankfully Cliff added these critical parameters.

I've wondered if the AFX dynamically models that behavior with the new Transformer Drive...a lot of knowledgeable tube guys talk about this effect, especially on old Fender amps with the small output transformers, some Marshalls, etc.
 
are you talking about Transformer LF and HF ? and if the bandwidth narrows, wouldn't that have to be the other way around ?

Yup and Nope. Both highs and lows roll off as you run out of headroom (i.e. the power bandwidth narrows) so you can raise the LF above 100Hz or so and lower the HF to around 10kHz or lower (where I like it).
 
Last edited:
Yup and Nope. Both highs and lows roll off as you run out of headroom (i.e. the power bandwidth narrows) so you can raise the LF above 100Hz or so and lower the HF to around 10kHz or lower (where I like it).
all right, gotcha ! so you're actually going "with" the effect of a narrower bandwith when pushing the transformer rather than going against it (that's how I understood it at first). cool !
 
Back
Top Bottom