Even though I use the Axe-Fx III every day (literally), I’ve also been incorporating real amps with the Fractal X-Load back into my rig (ones that aren’t found in the unit) and have discovered some things that would be cool to see in the Fractal.
1. The ability to change V1 and Phase Inverter preamp tubes.
Reason: While playing around with different preamp tube combinations, I found that putting a 12at7 in the PI slot opened up the amp a bit more and made distortion less congested. Putting the 12at7 in V1 cleaned up the amp a bit and made the gain sweep more usable. I know that you can kind of simulate this with the input trim, but having the modeled tube give you an accurate level of decreased input trim would be great.
2. Output Transformer “swap” when changing power tubes.
Reason: I know Cliff has said that all power tubes are relatively flat and all basically sound the same, which is why swapping power amp tubes in the Axe doesn’t change the tonality very much. I may be completely off on the technical side of this, but I was under the impression that the relationship of the OT and the power amp tubes are what cause the tonal change when, for example, using a Dual Rec and comparing the sounds using 6L6 vs EL34 tubes. Back when I had an old Dual Rec, I did this and found that the 6L6 had more low end and sounded bigger and meaner while the EL34 had less low end, a more prominent midrange, and more pick attack and felt more “British.”
Whatever the component relationship is that brings that tonal change would be great to see and open up some really cool tonal options for the amp models we love.
EDIT: If the preamp tube wish can happen, adding a 12at7 to the mix would be fantastic!
1. The ability to change V1 and Phase Inverter preamp tubes.
Reason: While playing around with different preamp tube combinations, I found that putting a 12at7 in the PI slot opened up the amp a bit more and made distortion less congested. Putting the 12at7 in V1 cleaned up the amp a bit and made the gain sweep more usable. I know that you can kind of simulate this with the input trim, but having the modeled tube give you an accurate level of decreased input trim would be great.
2. Output Transformer “swap” when changing power tubes.
Reason: I know Cliff has said that all power tubes are relatively flat and all basically sound the same, which is why swapping power amp tubes in the Axe doesn’t change the tonality very much. I may be completely off on the technical side of this, but I was under the impression that the relationship of the OT and the power amp tubes are what cause the tonal change when, for example, using a Dual Rec and comparing the sounds using 6L6 vs EL34 tubes. Back when I had an old Dual Rec, I did this and found that the 6L6 had more low end and sounded bigger and meaner while the EL34 had less low end, a more prominent midrange, and more pick attack and felt more “British.”
Whatever the component relationship is that brings that tonal change would be great to see and open up some really cool tonal options for the amp models we love.
EDIT: If the preamp tube wish can happen, adding a 12at7 to the mix would be fantastic!
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