Version 10.0 Preview

FractalAudio said:
If you believe that product works better then you should sell your Axe-Fx and purchase that product. I work very hard to make the Axe-Fx as best I can. If it doesn't meet your requirements then you should move on.

Furthermore, I don't believe that it has anything to do with amp-cab-interaction. But if you do, then, by all means, use that product.

IMO, the Axe-Fx is vastly superior to all other modelers. I own them all and have done extensive comparisons.
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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!
 
FractalAudio said:
All the amp models will be updated.
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Yes! Major improvements here we come. Would it be weird to email people and tell them they have to send back their CDs they just got because there's a new firmware out and I want to remap my whole album, lol. I'm only half kidding it was recorded on v8 haha
 
guitardoc, I am only trying to help here. Have you tried to turn off the input-gate, getting to know the compressors way of adding sustain with new fresh strings and

playing with volume, in the way it adds sustain and lets the notes ring out longer with natural harmonics? Are you using the right amount of mastervolume for the amp-model

you're using to get that purring crossoverdistortion? The interaction between the guitar and speaker/monitor is key to the beautiful feedback many of us seek.

I only say this because I don't know your situation or if you have tried all of these variables, and because I have not heard of this problem as something reflected by a lot of people.

Just to get things clear, is your problem with the axe-fx that the guitar seems to sing longer and more natural acoustically or through amps and lunchboxes etc. ?
 
FractalAudio said:
One of the challenges (read pain-in-the-ass) aspects of modeling is not day-to-day variations but hour-to-hour and even minute-to-minute variations. As the amp warms up it's tone changes, sometimes dramatically. So I have to let the amps warm up at least 15 minutes before I do the matching procedures.
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Oh god when I first read that I was thinking "OMG Cliff will now add soon an option to choose the number of minutes the amp is powered up to mimic the amp warms up !" :lol:lol:lol
Anyway, very nice clip. The Axe is probably the best piece of equipment I ever spend money into. Sure, price is high but it worth every single euro.
 
macphistoo said:
Oh god when I first read that I was thinking "OMG Cliff will now add soon an option to choose the number of minutes the amp is powered up to mimic the amp warms up !" :lol:lol:lol
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I'm sure eventually when everything else is perfect someone here will demand it. Then we can also add a gyro to the box to simulate the weight of the actual amp and cab too! Let's do it haha. Make it realllllllll ;)
 
The more I listen to this last clip the more I realize that the level of concentration and energy required to differentiate has reached the point of utter stupidity.

Seriously.

Like someone else said, good luck trying to make the same mic'd amp sound that close two times in a row. At some point you have to just enjoy what it does and not look for what it doesn't do because at some point you will find it whether its there or not.
 
macphistoo I think you could say we already have that option with power amp tube bias.

If I'm not mistaken, even though I most likely am, the power amp tube bias is how "hot" you're driving the power-tubes.

"Hot" in this term is more like how much current/voltage you're driving them with but I think the "hot" as in temperature is kind of a parallell to this.

With lower power amp tube bias the tubes run "colder" with less current/voltage but at the same time less temperature (they don't get as warm) so there is a double meaning to it.

I like the power amp tube bias a bit cold at like 0.150 (is the original value 0.330 or something?) for a "colder" sound which I find pleasing.

Even though the tubes in the axe-fx don't get any colder, due to the lack of them being there in the firstplace :lol
 
Did I imagine a recent thread where Cliff said that the modeling couldn't get much better and that everything was IRs from here on out?

...and I thought I was a perfectionist. lol

Great news--and thanks!
 
Cobrango said:
guitardoc, I am only trying to help here. Have you tried to turn off the input-gate, getting to know the compressors way of adding sustain...
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i was actually thinking about the compressor etc too for his issue with strings ringing out etc. everything affects everything :)

any ETA for version 10?
 
yek said:
Nothing wrong here with the sound of dying notes through the Axe-Fx.
Whether it's ultra clean amp settings or high-gain. Just natural fade away.

You need to look at your preset settings, and/or guitar setup.
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same here; sometimes something is wrong, and eventually i find out that's my fault (too high master/drive, noise gate, drive block settings).
on top of that, NOBODY in the audience or listening to a mixed track will ever hear any difference between the clips: it's just us mentals, in our little room, with our earphones or near field monitors, trying to analyse every joule of energy in every hz of the spectrum :-D
you know, it's not our fault: we're guitarists.
if we weren't made this way, we would end up playing drums.
 
All I can say is I hope Cliff eats his vegetables, exercises (not just his mind) and doesn't smoke or drink because he is GOLD to this earth with his contributions to the world of music that we all get to enjoy so much. Thank you Cliff for your undying commitment to bettering your product for all of us. This is truly stellar stuff and I'm really looking forward to it.
 
guitardoc said:
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.
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Clearly you love the Axe-FX, but hear something you don't like. Others say they don't hear it, and AFAIK have never heard of anyone complaining of such an issue.

So here's what you need to do:

  • Start a new thread called "decay issues" or something.
  • Post a recording showing as clearly as possible the decay issue you hear.
  • Post your patch, and details of what guitar you used, etc.
  • Post a recording of the same riff through another modeller that doesn't have the issue, if possible.

If the problem can be heard, others should be able to hear it as well and maybe something constructive can happen.
 
FractalAudio said:
Yes. I start out with the knob low and then bring it up. The idea was to illustrate the accuracy of the dynamics matching.
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Nicely done. This sounds good and I'm happy where this is going.
Johnnyh64 said:
I hope that some have not read too much into this thread. I believe Cliff just wanted to share the new concept he has found for his aptly named multi-doohicky-iteration-whachamakalit that will eventually be released when #10 firmware happens to come out. This does not mean that FW10 is right around the corner or even "soon" for that matter. Have you ever written a piece or played something that just came upon you and you suddenly want to share it with the world? I think that's what this thread is about. Not necessarily that there is a new firmware right around the corner. I'm sure he certainly didn't want to create a new line of inpatient children trying to knock down the door to find the Wizard of Oz is actually naked with thick, tattered wools socks, wearing a soldering iron around his neck.

I say this with humility and respect "Please, let the man and his team work!!" Please! This also goes for Axe Edit! We are not in Junior High school anymore are we? I sometimes forget.

Don't some of you feel like spoiled children? Let me tell you that you are! I am too. I just got my Axe less than a couple months ago, I have seen some amazing developments in that time and I also do want the next release of both the firmware and Axe Edit just because I hear about them and I imagine what it will be like to have MORE. But, I just stay with old firmware and practice my instrument until the next best thing comes along when it's ready and I am so very grateful to have a team that is filled with passion as much as I am. Hope you will join me in that journey!

Love you all and I hope 2013 is a year of appreciation and true happiness for all of us.
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Dude, nobody looks good with brown lipstick on. Just sayin'.

And as for guitardoc's comments - if he finds something that needs some work, good on him for calling it. In the meantime, here's to making music.

V.
 
it's weird how no one can speak positively of FAS or Cliff's efforts without any "brown" comments.

there are many things that people are "calling" these days, but many times it comes out to be user error, especially when few or no other people experience the issue. :)
 
Mr.X said:
Clearly you love the Axe-FX, but hear something you don't like. Others say they don't hear it, and AFAIK have never heard of anyone complaining of such an issue.

So here's what you need to do:

  • Start a new thread called "decay issues" or something.
  • Post a recording showing as clearly as possible the decay issue you hear.
  • Post your patch, and details of what guitar you used, etc.
  • Post a recording of the same riff through another modeller that doesn't have the issue, if possible.

If the problem can be heard, others should be able to hear it as well and maybe something constructive can happen.
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Nice. A sensible and constructive post.
 
What the hell, i'll throw my 2 cents in.

When I first heard the clip, I liked The first better and still do. The reason is simple. It sounded more clear and open. The second sounded a bit darker and more compressed. Less dynamic, but not majorly so. The clips are close and I didn't know going in, so I trust my ears on this one.


That being said, so many things can affect the outcome that I would not speculate as to why. I own a Friedman BE and have been running the Axe through the Fx loop in a way that allows me to switch between the Axe pre and the BE pre. Different application here but I can makes those tones dance around each other all day, never reaching a conclusion about which is better. This is because there is no way to truly match parameters for an unbiased comparison. Every time I make one pre static, I end up leap frogging the other into sounding better my ears. I believe this is a function of ear fatigue and plain sonic disorientation over time. Everybody's gear is different so clips never match what I hear when I play the new firmware through my setup.

I still prefer playing through a tube power section and guitar cab unless I'm recording. For recording I could not even come close to what the Axe can do if I use conventional methods. I'm not a pro so the Axe is just awesome in my little world.
 
this sounds absolutely great, actually it's hard to think that there is that much more room for improvement in the amp modeling section ;) ;) ;)

i hope the next big thing will focus on the cab simulation as in this section we are "not there" yet :)
 
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