I have been working intensely on this and was eager to share it; but wanted to play test it first. Suffice to say, the concept passed muster here. I have to give most of the credit to Jay Mitchell, whom not only took my emails and phone calls; but took the time to talk to me in depth about speaker impedance and it's importance and then provided me the settings to start my own take on this. Thank you Jay, I cannot express my appreciation enough. I got his ok to share this once I was ready... so here we go.
In the Axe-FX II we have a Speaker Resonance Page in the Amp Block. Long story short, it's not a frequency response or PEQ curve; it's the parameter set that makes working with the Cab block IR's dynamic - it is what tells the amp how to react to the speakers via the transformer. There are lots of things going on in the connected amp/cab/speaker that we have control over with the Axe-FX II. The stock settings for these are great; these are where I ended up after lots of listening, questioning, discussion with Jay and research. The result of it all is IMHO a dramatic "Eureka!" moment for all guys that go direct to FOH/FRFR or record direct.
First a little graphical background to make this clear; this looks like small differences... don't be fooled. This is a big difference:
If you look at the Axe-FX II's Speaker Resonance Page you see some settings on the left and a graphical representation of the actual impedance curve to the right. Let's not focus on the values of the curve for now, but the shape. In many of the default curves you see this shape:
Now we focus only on the NF speaker in my cab block formula; it's the 'character' IR. Let's go look at what the curve looks like from Jensen's site for the P12N:
Notice the difference in the *shape* of the impedance curve (**NOT the frequency curve; that's not relevant to this topic**). I want to also point out that the more you look around the net at these speaker impedance resonance curves (just Google that) the more you will see that even vastly different speakers all have essentially the exact same 'curve' shape; the difference is the resonance... and to this discussion and application, the Low Frequency setting in the cab block.
Now look at this revised impedance curve for this amp block:
For reference... here's my cab block at a glance (Note: I am a proponent of the NF/FF mix as you see here):
The speaker resonance curve is NOT a frequency curve, it is NOT a parametric EQ curve; it is a curve that dictates the manner in which the amp dynamically interacts with the speaker - it is the 'map' the amp follows for the speaker response. Other boxes either ignore this aspect or 'bake it in'; the Axe-FX II allows you control over it. This is - not trying to overstate this - perhaps the most important group of settings to how the amp will act and feel at volume. I am very excited about this; I've been gigging this hard for a few weeks and refining it to my taste post Jay's initial settings. Jay approved my sharing this; I am very confident that the investment in effort in trying this out for your amp presets will result in *highly* satisfactory results. You might even smile.
So how does this work on different amp types and speaker cab IR's? Follow the guide below. You can adjust to taste; don't be shy! IMHO, the key is setting everything to what I suggest here; then finding the 'fs' (Free Standing) speaker resonance frequency from whatever NF (Near Field) IR you have in your cab block. Add 10Hz to that number and use that as your starting reference point. The other settings remain the same no matter what speaker you choose (though again, if you tweak it and it sounds/feels better to you... it is better for you!).
Down to Brass Tacks for the Impatient:
Speaker Resonance Tab
Suggested settings:
Low Res Freq: Find the Resonant Frequency of the NF (Near Field Speaker) you use in your Cab block. (Sources are the manufacturer's of the speakers). Add 10Hz to that value.
Low Res Q: 1.556
Low Resonance: 3.55
Mid Res Freq: 726Hz
Mid Res Q: 0.355
Mid Resonance: -1.20db
Hi Freq: 2900Hz
Hi Resonance: 1.56
Cab Block:
NF/FF cab suggestions by amp/tone
Fender (or Fender Like tones): NF) C12N (RW) or whatever you prefer / (FF) JM 112 EMI Open Back
Vox (or Vox like tones): (NF) Top Boost Blue (RW) or whatever you prefer / (FF) JM EMI 112 Open Back
Marshall: (NF) OH 412 SLM G65; though I really go by taste on this, also use the H75 OH a lot / (FF) JM 212 G12-65
Higher Gain:(NF) OH SLM V30 or whatever you prefer / (FF) JM 212 G12-65 (FF)
Cab Block Settings:
CAB MODE - STEREO
MIC (TYPE) – NONE (both)
MOTOR DRIVE - 2.25
PAN L/PAN R – 0.00/0.00 (center)
LEVEL L/LEVEL R – NF cab choice -6.00 db/FF cab choice 0.00 db
ROOM LEVEL/ROOM SIZE – Default settings
AIR/AIR FREQ – Default settings
Reverb:
Use a reverb block and with an expression pedal to control the wet/dry. Use the modifier on the "Input Gain" control parameter of the reverb block to mix in the wet/dry with an expression pedal to get real time control.
Small Room:
Run in parallel
TIME - 1.00 sec. (*short, I do this on purpose)
MIX - 100%
LEVEL – 0.00db
BYPASS MODE - MUTE FX IN
Early Level: -9.00db
Reverb Level: -12db
In the Axe-FX II we have a Speaker Resonance Page in the Amp Block. Long story short, it's not a frequency response or PEQ curve; it's the parameter set that makes working with the Cab block IR's dynamic - it is what tells the amp how to react to the speakers via the transformer. There are lots of things going on in the connected amp/cab/speaker that we have control over with the Axe-FX II. The stock settings for these are great; these are where I ended up after lots of listening, questioning, discussion with Jay and research. The result of it all is IMHO a dramatic "Eureka!" moment for all guys that go direct to FOH/FRFR or record direct.
First a little graphical background to make this clear; this looks like small differences... don't be fooled. This is a big difference:
If you look at the Axe-FX II's Speaker Resonance Page you see some settings on the left and a graphical representation of the actual impedance curve to the right. Let's not focus on the values of the curve for now, but the shape. In many of the default curves you see this shape:
Now we focus only on the NF speaker in my cab block formula; it's the 'character' IR. Let's go look at what the curve looks like from Jensen's site for the P12N:
Notice the difference in the *shape* of the impedance curve (**NOT the frequency curve; that's not relevant to this topic**). I want to also point out that the more you look around the net at these speaker impedance resonance curves (just Google that) the more you will see that even vastly different speakers all have essentially the exact same 'curve' shape; the difference is the resonance... and to this discussion and application, the Low Frequency setting in the cab block.
Now look at this revised impedance curve for this amp block:
For reference... here's my cab block at a glance (Note: I am a proponent of the NF/FF mix as you see here):
The speaker resonance curve is NOT a frequency curve, it is NOT a parametric EQ curve; it is a curve that dictates the manner in which the amp dynamically interacts with the speaker - it is the 'map' the amp follows for the speaker response. Other boxes either ignore this aspect or 'bake it in'; the Axe-FX II allows you control over it. This is - not trying to overstate this - perhaps the most important group of settings to how the amp will act and feel at volume. I am very excited about this; I've been gigging this hard for a few weeks and refining it to my taste post Jay's initial settings. Jay approved my sharing this; I am very confident that the investment in effort in trying this out for your amp presets will result in *highly* satisfactory results. You might even smile.
So how does this work on different amp types and speaker cab IR's? Follow the guide below. You can adjust to taste; don't be shy! IMHO, the key is setting everything to what I suggest here; then finding the 'fs' (Free Standing) speaker resonance frequency from whatever NF (Near Field) IR you have in your cab block. Add 10Hz to that number and use that as your starting reference point. The other settings remain the same no matter what speaker you choose (though again, if you tweak it and it sounds/feels better to you... it is better for you!).
Down to Brass Tacks for the Impatient:
Speaker Resonance Tab
Suggested settings:
Low Res Freq: Find the Resonant Frequency of the NF (Near Field Speaker) you use in your Cab block. (Sources are the manufacturer's of the speakers). Add 10Hz to that value.
Low Res Q: 1.556
Low Resonance: 3.55
Mid Res Freq: 726Hz
Mid Res Q: 0.355
Mid Resonance: -1.20db
Hi Freq: 2900Hz
Hi Resonance: 1.56
Cab Block:
NF/FF cab suggestions by amp/tone
Fender (or Fender Like tones): NF) C12N (RW) or whatever you prefer / (FF) JM 112 EMI Open Back
Vox (or Vox like tones): (NF) Top Boost Blue (RW) or whatever you prefer / (FF) JM EMI 112 Open Back
Marshall: (NF) OH 412 SLM G65; though I really go by taste on this, also use the H75 OH a lot / (FF) JM 212 G12-65
Higher Gain:(NF) OH SLM V30 or whatever you prefer / (FF) JM 212 G12-65 (FF)
Cab Block Settings:
CAB MODE - STEREO
MIC (TYPE) – NONE (both)
MOTOR DRIVE - 2.25
PAN L/PAN R – 0.00/0.00 (center)
LEVEL L/LEVEL R – NF cab choice -6.00 db/FF cab choice 0.00 db
ROOM LEVEL/ROOM SIZE – Default settings
AIR/AIR FREQ – Default settings
Reverb:
Use a reverb block and with an expression pedal to control the wet/dry. Use the modifier on the "Input Gain" control parameter of the reverb block to mix in the wet/dry with an expression pedal to get real time control.
Small Room:
Run in parallel
TIME - 1.00 sec. (*short, I do this on purpose)
MIX - 100%
LEVEL – 0.00db
BYPASS MODE - MUTE FX IN
Early Level: -9.00db
Reverb Level: -12db