Version 10.0 Preview

Happy new year!

An idea: in the future, Cliff, you could post comparisons with three parts... if you have the resources, though.
One of them would be the AxeFXII and the other two would be different amps of the same model.
Probably a funny way for most people to find out, that the differences between the same model amps are bigger than the AxeFX against the matched amp.
 
guitardoc said:
I know that you and all other people at fractal work very hard to make this product the best. There is absolutely no doubt about it. And to make it clear, I firmly believe that the Axe is the best modeller around, there is nothing that comes close to what it deliveres. Therefore I would never even think about selling it - it was the best investment in musical gear ever. I have been using it FRFR in front of many people (last time more than 30,000 people) and it is my go to equipment when making recordings - I would not do it if I did not trust in it.

There is only one thing that I consider to be a downside at the moment - and that is what happens when you let the guitar ring. The sound starts dying and this sounds harsh and sometimes even digital. I do not know if it is to do with amp-cab-interaction, I just called it this way. I trust you when you say there is nothing that can be done to make the model closer to the original amp. The cab sims are said to be picked from thousands that are available (and I came to the conclusion that the Axe stock ones are by far better sounding with the Axe than anything else that is available at the moment) so they must be close to what is humanly possible to model. If we have two components (amp and cab) that are superior then any end result that is not superior must have to do with something in between these components I think. Mayby I am completely wrong of course - I am just a musician who trusts his ears and mine say that there is still something that can be done here (if possible though I can not say).

And I am really frustrated to see more and more people spending their money on some ugly lunch box with a tiny percentage of the Axe's capabilities - but with a far more natural dying sound which the buyers claim to be the decision point (and which IMHO is the ONE AND ONLY thing that it does better). Since I know that there is so much more horsepower in the Axe and that some of the best people in the world working to make this already outstanding piece of gear even better I just wanted to point you in a direction I believe crucial at the moment. There was no offence intended and I did not want to say that anyone is not working hard or whatever - I would never dare. If some of my words are used in a strange way than it is solely to do with English being my third language.

At the beginning of March there is the German Axe Fest and I am one of those who organize it. I am doing this because I believe that the Axe is the best musical equipment for guitarists money can buy. But I know that a lot of musicians will come and compare the Axe (FRFR) to tube amps and to that lunchbox (FRFR). I think I already know what the most controversial subject will be... If I knew that the people at Fractal know what is meant by that harsh dying sound and will look into it and may even have some epiphany ;-) as a remedy I would feel much better.

Sorry again for any misunderstandings and Happy New Year to everyone!
Click to expand...

I suggest you:

1) Start a new thread;
2) Post a clip capturing what you think the problem is;
3) Post the patch through which you think the problem is occurring.

If you have the means to tone match it against an amp+cab setup where you *don't* think the problem is occurring, even better. In that case, post a clip of the non-problem for comparison.

Part of the problem here is you're injecting your concerns and criticisms in to the wrong streams of discussion.
 
Love it.

'Clean to mean' is what I look for in an amp. Like to hear the new technology on one of the less gainy models, but that will come in time.

And FWIW to anxious folks here: 10.0 Preview means that it could be up to April before it drops (before the inevitable 'Can we get a release date?' threads.)

And FWIW, I know that last statement will go largely ignored!

R
 
guitardoc said:
There is only one thing that I consider to be a downside at the moment - and that is what happens when you let the guitar ring. The sound starts dying and this sounds harsh and sometimes even digital.
Click to expand...

The Thing is that I would 100% Disagree that there is anything wrong when you let your Guitar Ring...
When I let my Guitar Ring on the Axe2 (Which I do often) It sounds absolutely fine in my Opinion.
It sounds like an Amp to me.
I do not hear either dying of the Signal or the Digital that you speak of, So I wonder what it is that you believe Fractal Should fix???...???
Do you get this for Multiple Guitars?
How are your Noise Gates Set?
 
Thanks to everybody who is looking into this. I'll try and prepare some sound samples tomorrow. I have tried with many different guitars from Gibsons with 57 HBs to Fenders with different SCs. New strings, checked the guitars' electrics, tried with several tube combos which have been gathering dust in the basement since I acquired the Axe... ;-) I think I can eliminate guitar or cable as being the 'culprit'. Loaded the new V9 presets, switched the input gate off and connected several FRFR monitors (from Bose L1 to QSC K12) and different headphones. Once you roll down the volume on the guitar or hit the strings a bit softer it gets harsh when the tone dies starting with preset 1. It is less present or not noticeable with ultra clean or ultra distorted sounds but can be heard clearly with the crunching presets.
The sound sample Cliff posted at the beginning of this thread shows some tiny bit of the same harshness in the second part - the first part is a bit softer, that's why I wrote about it in this thread. You may not recognise it in Cliff's preset but I think one will when the guitar rings out.
But you are right, I'll start a fresh thread tomorrow with some sound samples.
Thank you very much!
 
I for one am perfectly (very) happy with FW 9.02. If something new beyond the pending IR enhancements comes out, I will gladly accept, but not expect it. In the meantime I am gong to continue jamming with all of these great new (and existing) amps I have here in my Axe FX II.

i can't hear any real difference to mention between these clips FWIIW.
 
electronpirate said:
'Clean to mean' is what I look for in an amp. Like to hear the new technology on one of the less gainy models, but that will come in time.
Click to expand...

I too love amps that can go clean to mean with a deft flick of the volume control. I would seem that with the dynamics matching so close a lot of II users are going to feel even more at home with the real amps they are familiar with.
 
iaresee said:
I suggest you:

1) Start a new thread;
2) Post a clip capturing what you think the problem is;
3) Post the patch through which you think the problem is occurring.

If you have the means to tone match it against an amp+cab setup where you *don't* think the problem is occurring, even better. In that case, post a clip of the non-problem for comparison.

Part of the problem here is you're injecting your concerns and criticisms in to the wrong streams of discussion.
Click to expand...
Damn! Wish I'd thought of that! ;)
 
guitardoc said:
There is only one thing that I consider to be a downside at the moment - and that is what happens when you let the guitar ring. The sound starts dying and this sounds harsh and sometimes even digital
Click to expand...

first thing I have to say is....
given that English is your third language I think you are doing great.. better than great in fact..
your third language is vastly better than my second language..
huge respect for that....

now to your comment / observations..
as the note fades there is something that'll impact the tone..
it's the gate..
I'm wondering if you may want to try gentler settings..
maybe a lower ratio, or a more relaxed threshold..
or maybe a little of both
and combine this with a longer release time..

in all honesty, I have no idea if this will impact the 'harshness' you're describing
personally, I'm not hearing it so I can't say that I fully understand what you are trying to describe..
I also don't understand what is meant when people talk about something being digital sounding in terms of what is heard on a waveform..
I totally understand the sound of digital clipping, aliasing, artefacts, down sampling and quantisation error when things are not right [or being deliberately created for fx reasons]
IMHO, the term digital sounding is often over used in order to describe some tonal effect or other that is not fully understood and may not in fact be attributable to something digital at all..
I'm not suggesting this is the case with respect to what you are experiencing, rather I'm describing my own inability to understand what is meant by 'digital sounding' in real terms that are meaningful to me..

I would suggest though that you may want to try to experiment with gate settings in an attempt to improve things..
and hopefully this could help..

Cliff - just a thought [if gating is actually causing / contributing to this issue]
I know that some of the better gates have two thresholds that can be set..
one is the threshold for the gate to release during the attack
the other is the threshold for the gate to trigger as the signal level drops - which you'd generally set a little more gently for a nicer fade out
I was wondering if you think this could possibly be a good idea on the input gate
just a thought.. nothing more..

and....
happy new year guys...
 
guitardoc said:
Thanks to everybody who is looking into this. I'll try and prepare some sound samples tomorrow. I have tried with many different guitars from Gibsons with 57 HBs to Fenders with different SCs. New strings, checked the guitars' electrics, tried with several tube combos which have been gathering dust in the basement since I acquired the Axe... ;-) I think I can eliminate guitar or cable as being the 'culprit'. Loaded the new V9 presets, switched the input gate off and connected several FRFR monitors (from Bose L1 to QSC K12) and different headphones. Once you roll down the volume on the guitar or hit the strings a bit softer it gets harsh when the tone dies starting with preset 1. It is less present or not noticeable with ultra clean or ultra distorted sounds but can be heard clearly with the crunching presets.
The sound sample Cliff posted at the beginning of this thread shows some tiny bit of the same harshness in the second part - the first part is a bit softer, that's why I wrote about it in this thread. You may not recognise it in Cliff's preset but I think one will when the guitar rings out.
But you are right, I'll start a fresh thread tomorrow with some sound samples.
Thank you very much!
Click to expand...

Thanks, but please start another thread and stop derailing this.

My personal opinion is not enough input gain (I have this problem with some guitars, but not all...so I compensate with this....) But start something another one so we can continue discussing killa new software!
 
electronpirate said:
continue discussing killa new software!
Click to expand...

just had a thought....
and here's the beauty of re-amping..

I'm about to start recording an album which is going to take a good few months
my intention is to use 9.02 [cos it's killa]

but if 10.0 shows up in a few months and is even killarer..
I could re-reamp the lot in just a few days...

cool...
 
I'm always excited and greatly appreciate these sneak peeks and what is brewing at FAS!

These previews are great and shows FAS's excitement as well! What commitment and faith in their products!!
Improvements and refinements as we all know are sure to continue!

I hope these previews will be regular.

However, I've resigned myself since FW 8.00 to vigorously play, tweak, enjoy and familiarize with whatever firmware is at hand.

Excitement and anticipation is still there but this keeps anxiousness at bay.

.....and enjoy the news releases and previews...! :)
 
clarky said:
first thing I have to say is....
given that English is your third language I think you are doing great.. better than great in fact..
your third language is vastly better than my second language..
huge respect for that....

now to your comment / observations..
as the note fades there is something that'll impact the tone..
it's the gate..
I'm wondering if you may want to try gentler settings..
maybe a lower ratio, or a more relaxed threshold..
or maybe a little of both
and combine this with a longer release time..

in all honesty, I have no idea if this will impact the 'harshness' you're describing
personally, I'm not hearing it so I can't say that I fully understand what you are trying to describe..
I also don't understand what is meant when people talk about something being digital sounding in terms of what is heard on a waveform..
I totally understand the sound of digital clipping, aliasing, artefacts, down sampling and quantisation error when things are not right [or being deliberately created for fx reasons]
IMHO, the term digital sounding is often over used in order to describe some tonal effect or other that is not fully understood and may not in fact be attributable to something digital at all..
I'm not suggesting this is the case with respect to what you are experiencing, rather I'm describing my own inability to understand what is meant by 'digital sounding' in real terms that are meaningful to me..

I would suggest though that you may want to try to experiment with gate settings in an attempt to improve things..
and hopefully this could help..

Cliff - just a thought [if gating is actually causing / contributing to this issue]
I know that some of the better gates have two thresholds that can be set..
one is the threshold for the gate to release during the attack
the other is the threshold for the gate to trigger as the signal level drops - which you'd generally set a little more gently for a nicer fade out
I was wondering if you think this could possibly be a good idea on the input gate
just a thought.. nothing more..

and....
happy new year guys...
Click to expand...


the 2nd threshold is called hysteresis. I would love to see that in the gate. I have requested it before. However, that should be brought up in the wish list forum.

Cliff made this post to demonstrate his new dynamics matching he came up with. This thread has started to be hijacked by a different topic.
 
The AxeFX platform just keeps getting better and better! This sounds fantastic Cliff - thanks for posting the preview. Happy new year to you and yours! :)
 
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