Updated - For you guys: 242 amps - 242 presets - on Axe Fx II Mark 1

To me the attack part of the note/tone feels more natural without the noise gate active. Since I for the most part use clean -> somewhat distorted sounds I haven't felt the need for gating the tone, so when I remember I shut it off. Well I forget at times since that is something I never have used before and it's default on - which is a bit backwards for me, shouldn't it be something you add if you need it?
 
I also forgot that there is a gate at the input active by default when I did these presets!
My first few patches were high gain patches, Energyball and the likes, and I felt the gate was really useful there. And that is how basically the whole thing started - I took one of those patches as a template so that I had the frame for Gate - Amp - Cab - Medium Room, and copied and pasted it 241 times.
I did not feel that it hinders the attack, and that it does not even cut off the decay of the reverb tail (which is fairly short anyway)*, since I set the threshold very low, like -60 or -80 db, don't remember anymore. Or was it 40? Anyway, it was just carried on by copying and pasting the high gain presets I started the process from.
So, there is definitely lots of room to improve on what I did - luckily stuff like deleting the gate is failry easy. :) Bring on more suggestions! :) I might collect them and make an updated version of the banks (going through the presets just to delete the gate would be quick for example - just copy a shunt and paste it 242 times. Done in 30 minutes or so.)

*Edit: Just realized, the gate is before the reverb, it will not cut off the tail anyway. Self-facepalm.
 
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parlopower : I wasn't commenting your presets - I haven't tried them yet.

But to my ears there is definitely something happening to the sound when having the default gate on. That might be a preferred sound to many but not to me. I don't mean it's the same but it changes the sound like it does when you e.g uses a compressor - no not in the same way but it's a change anyhow. A more choked attack I would call it.
 
No worries, I didn't take offence or so. The thing with the gate is definitely a valid point. Especially since I had the gate block inserted after the input gate was already active.
I thought it is better to remove the gates, so I went over the presets again and did that. :) I will upload them to a new thread with different file names to avoid confusion.
 
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Thanks for all your efforts, Parlopower!

I've already spent about 2 hours spinning the dial and grinning. It has really helped me better realize exactly how much power is in this box. So many presets sound amazing right from the start!

FWIW, I kept the versions with the active gate. I figured that it makes for quieter, more pleasant knob-spinning and testing, and I can then remove the gates if/as necessary. (Presuming I ever get past exploring, which has kept me thoroughly entertained. ;))
 
@Fleece - good to know you're having fun with it! :) I agree, a lot of times just amp and cab sound awesome, no need for anything else. When I did this, I started from the assumption that the actual amps sound really really close to the way the Axe models them (doh!!! lol). And I wanted to find out - how does a Fender Twin actually sound? Or a 40+ years old Plexi? A Tucana, Comet or Trainwreck (amps I never heard about before the Axe)? That's why I left everything so raw and tried to combine the amp with the most authentic cab.

For me, the fun part starts now, too - picking my favourite presets for use in my recordings.

Can I also submit a request here?
Somebody who has a lot of experience with Mesa Boogie amps... especially the IIC+ or Mark IV... can you tell me what cabs to use and how to dial it in? To my taste, my presets sound like crap, and I can't believe the actual amps sound like my presets. I will also check the stock presets and Axechange tonight... maybe I will find a good one there that is also pretty raw! I think what you definitely need to dial in those amps properly is the graphic EQ, right?
Same goes for the Rectos... I don't think my presets sound good, and I don't think they do the amp justice!
 
I should have shot myself in the knee instead of doing this.

I am sitting here going through the presets and wonder which ones to pick. It's a total overkill of options. I find 40 presets I don't like and can delete quickly, but then it's 200 shades of great. Graham Cochrane from the Recording Revolution advises to limit options and make music instead, an advice I have followed thus far and it increased my productivity indeed. And now I do this... o_O

Aaaarrrrrrgh!
 
Somebody who has a lot of experience with Mesa Boogie amps... especially the IIC+ or Mark IV... can you tell me what cabs to use and how to dial it in?

Ok, I'm looking the cabs you're using now, F009 studio 1x12 and F108 petrucci mix....studio 1x12 is nice but maybe you dig more the 4x12 grip! the petrucci mix is favourite for many users...but in my opinion lacks something...

You tried F037 4x12 Basketweave G12M25 (RW) with this mesa models? and F060 4x12 Fractal Gb M160? I have lot of fun with this cabs!

Iwknives user posted a chart of amps and recommended cabs:
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/recommended-cabs-for-each-amp.108751/

Try this cabs:
USA clean/lead (Mesa Mk IV):
-V30: F074, F177, F178, F179,
-CL80: F065, F104, F128, F139
-C90: F150
-EVM: F008, F105, F106, F144, F166-171

USA IIC+ (Mesa Mk IIC+):
-EVM 12Ls: F008, F105, F166, F168
-CL80s: F065, F104, F128,
-C90s: F009, F019, F150


Other field of exploration is the FAT switch:
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/mesa-boogie-jp-2c.109816/page-2#post-1321926

Some settings from Yek:
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threa...-john-petrucci-amp-video.109904/#post-1315805



Graham Cochrane from the Recording Revolution advises to limit options and make music instead, an advice I have followed thus far and it increased my productivity indeed.

I've never heard of this guy, and judging from his advice this fact don't surprises me!

I think is more complex, recording have a previous stage that is programming the songs and researching tones, it may be tedious but pay good fruits, start with good planification saves time in long term, once you have your songs structured and your favourite tones sculpted you can relax, simplify and enjoy your music when you grab your guitar and put the red light...when you have your tracks recorded there is the mixing stage that requires concentration and atention to details, variety of tones allows you to "picture" the mix with textures.
In a home studio you are musician but at the same time producer/mixer: versatility is rewarded!!
 
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Ok, I'm looking the cabs you're using now, F009 studio 1x12 and F108 petrucci mix....studio 1x12 is nice but maybe you dig more the 4x12 grip! the petrucci mix is favourite for many users...but in my opinion lacks something...

You tried F037 4x12 Basketweave G12M25 (RW) with this mesa models? and F060 4x12 Fractal Gb M160? I have lot of fun with this cabs!

Iwknives user posted a chart of amps and recommended cabs:
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/recommended-cabs-for-each-amp.108751/

Try this cabs:
USA clean/lead (Mesa Mk IV):
-V30: F074, F177, F178, F179,
-CL80: F065, F104, F128, F139
-C90: F150
-EVM: F008, F105, F106, F144, F166-171

USA IIC+ (Mesa Mk IIC+):
-EVM 12Ls: F008, F105, F166, F168
-CL80s: F065, F104, F128,
-C90s: F009, F019, F150


Other field of exploration is the FAT switch:
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/mesa-boogie-jp-2c.109816/page-2#post-1321926

Some settings from Yek:
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threa...-john-petrucci-amp-video.109904/#post-1315805





I've never heard of this guy, and judging from his advice this fact don't surprises me!

I think is more complex, recording have a previous stage that is programming the songs and researching tones, it may be tedious but pay good fruits, start with good planification saves time in long term, once you have your songs structured and your favourite tones sculpted you can relax, simplify and enjoy your music when you grab your guitar and put the red light...when you have your tracks recorded there is the mixing stage that requires concentration and atention to details, variety of tones allows you to "picture" the mix with textures.
In a home studio you are musician but at the same time producer/mixer: versatility is rewarded!!


Thanks for all the links and cab suggestions! Definitely going to try them all out!

Regarding Graham from the Recording Revolution... eerrrrrr... that guy was invited as a guest star on Pensado's Place, he has a recording blog with thousands of followers all over the world, he is extremely well known on audio and studio related forums like gearslutz etc... he's quite a celebrity.

And what he writes about voluntarily limiting options is spot on.

In the "golden age" of music production, not even the biggest studio facilities producing one revered hit song after the other had even a fraction of the options the typical home studio owner has today. They had a studio desk with a limited amount of channels which had the same pres and onboard EQs on every track, they might have had a few Pultecs and 1176's and LA2A's as outboard, and that was it. They had to make decisions - when we bounce the master to tape, do we use the black face 1176 on the snare or on the vocals? Does the LA2A go on the backing vocals or the bass?
The secret was not having many options, but knowing the craft, making decisions, committing to stuff and work with it. The recording engineers did not take days to mess around with the guitar sound, they had a collection of good amps or used the amps the band brought, took a few minutes for dialing them in and for mic placement and that was it. They operated on a budget and a schedule and had deadlines to keep. And with all these limitations, they put out all the great albums we still love today.

The guys I work with were until recently on a totally outdated Pro Tools 8 rig (now they have finally upgraded to PT11). They had two channels of Universal Audio 610 pres (drum recordings that required more channels were done in a large studio here in the area), two or three mics, a few very standard Waves (Renaissance stuff) and McDSP plugins, and they typically make a four song EP production from songwriting to radio ready master in a week with that stuff. And the production is on the highest commercial level, they work with top names in the industry.

The typical home studio owner is indeed musician, producer and mixer of his own stuff at the same time. He has 120+ plugins and no deadline. He has a million options with total recall and does not need to commit. And that is his problem. I am actually more mixing than playing guitar (guitar is on the side besides writing, arranging, singing and mixing), and my leap from amateur sounding to radio ready mix came exactly when I voluntarily dumped 1/2 of my gear and plugins and instead made good use and intuitive commitments with a few selected tools.
 
Regarding Graham from the Recording Revolution... eerrrrrr... he's quite a celebrity.

Don't take my words 100% seriously, today is rainy and cloudy here (very atypical weather in Barcelona) and I was kidding to compensate...I won't offend Mr Cochrane.

Instead of limiting options that sounds...well...limiting I like more the idea of "simplify".

But I see your point, limiting factors of analog studios like tape and rental time pushed this decisions, demanded that the artist entered to the studio with homework made. The producer have to be clear of ideas and find quick solution to unforeseen problems that came on the way.

The million options...the rabbit hole...what I can tell you, I was inside!!!
In my case don't separate this facets (one-person-studio-thing) was kind of problematic because I could'nt be centered to the concrete task that the song demand, now I have assigned to myself separated tasks and the whole process is quicker and simpler in this manner, depending of the stage workflow I change my brain chip: songwriting chip, arranging chip, playing chip, mixing chip....or I try!
But don't overlook the comodity and the versatility that today's technology brings to us, used with taste gives excellent results! Find a solid Axe tone in the initial phase can make so easy the mixing phase!
I don't think we have opposite views, instead of endless tweaking is better do some brain work, clear ideas and draw a deadline.
 
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"simplify"
"artist entered to the studio with homework made"
1000 times thumbs up! :)

"The million options...the rabbit hole...what I can tell you, I was inside!!!
In my case don't separate this facets (one-person-studio-thing) was kind of problematic because I could'nt be centered to the concrete task that the song demand..."
I tried to produce my own stuff from A to Z and it was a horrible experience. Almost impossible to get anything finished out of perfectionism, insecurity etc. Only after I divided the work with others and focused on my strengths (I don't even track the guitars anymore! - one of my friends tracks them through my Axe Fx II in his house, he's ten times better than me at it) I started making progress and got professionally sounding results.
 
Great job indeed!!

I have detected a minor problem though: some of the presets have the reverb block set as "normal quality" instead of "high quality". It´s not a big deal, you can change it easily, but i thought you may wanna correct that in the future (or not) ;)

Thanks for your work, man.
 
I should have shot myself in the knee instead of doing this.

I am sitting here going through the presets and wonder which ones to pick. It's a total overkill of options. I find 40 presets I don't like and can delete quickly, but then it's 200 shades of great. Graham Cochrane from the Recording Revolution advises to limit options and make music instead, an advice I have followed thus far and it increased my productivity indeed. And now I do this... o_O

Aaaarrrrrrgh!
Research by companies like Adobe support what Graham Cochrane says (though I have never heard of him). From a marketing point of view, they found that there is an optimal number of products within a product category that stores should carry. Too few and people feel that the store is not fully supplied. The solution you may think is then to just carry a lot of different products within a product category, but they found that when they exceeded an optimal number, not only did sales suffer but people's satisfaction with the products they did purchase dropped significantly over stores with a more limited selection. Human nature is complex, fickle and often if you get to understand it, predictable!
 
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