VIDEO: Axe-Fx Harmonic Knob behavior

[Bakerman]

Great example. Thanks for taking the time to make that video. I have an unrelated question. Why do you have the input select set to Sum L+R. I notice most patches people share have it set that way and its the default setting however I read a thing that Cliff wrote about it sounding better being set to left. Left sounds better to me in my patches too but I am thinking I am missing something if every one else seems to have it set to Sum. Sorry for being off topic but I thought I would ask since you seem to have a lot of knowledge.

Amp block input select setting doesn't matter when L & R are identical.

You're probably thinking of global Input 1 Mode, which should generally be "left only" if you're only using one guitar to the left/instr input. Sum L & R would just add a bit of noise from the unused R channel.

 

[unix-guy]

I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I miss your posts and videos and would love to see how your presets/workflow might ha've changed with our current firmware.

Agreed.

@Danny Danzi - I always appreciated your posts.

Have you moved over to Axe Fx III yet?

 

[Danny Danzi]

I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I miss your posts and videos and would love to see how your presets/workflow might ha've changed with our current firmware.

Thank you, much appreciated. Well, my workflow and presets today are sort of hybrids. My AxeII and XL+ just don't sound right with the latest FW for me and the tones I need. I wish I could put my finger on what I don't particularly care for, but I just struggle with being happy using it. I even tried totally redoing my sounds from scratch. It's simply not for me.

Now that said, my AX8 is updated to the latest and it's the best sound I've ever gotten out of it. Copping the AX8 preset exactly in the AxeII or XL+ using the current FW and it's amazing how different it sounds compared to the AX8. It's pretty drastic. Whatever the case, I'm perfectly happy using older FW for my racks and the latest for the AX8. I've had to make a few changes in the amps I used to use as well as the gain in them using the latest FW in the AX8. Some I had to take away some gain, others I needed more. All for the better in that unit though.

But for the most part, not much has changed for me once the core tone is where I need it to be. Unlike the in depth, monster preset guys around here that are just insane with that, I go more for the tone than any bells or whistles and my effects in my presets are pretty straight forward. I have tones that I can't touch from FW 16 all the way up to Quantum 4 that are just perfect the way they are for my rack units. Yet the AX8 got better and better with each FW update. I'm still baffled by that, but I've stopped questioning and researching what could be the cause.

There comes a time for some of us where tweaking just isn't important. It's actually frustrating and a complete downer at times. Writing songs and completing things is where I need to be. I've tweaked my brains out with this stuff over the years and have put in more time trying to get back what I've lost at times, it's silly. Other times, I've had great success. I have all the FW logged with hours worth of recording, tweaking and pages of notes etc. One day I just said "screw it, pick a FW, stick with it and play you're freakin' guitar." Best decision I ever made.

I normally run my AxeII or AX8 into a few Marshall Greenback cabs or for smaller gigs, a Fender 100 watt Champion combo where I just tap the power section, (return) which totally disables the front panel of the amp. That thing sounds so sick, people come up to me and say "there's no way you're getting that from that Fender" which is true, it's all AX8 totally ripping the paint off the walls. So in a nutshell, my AXII (which has been my live workhorse) at any given time can have FW 16xx, Quantum 2.0 or Quantum 4.0 on it. The XL+ has either 2.0, 4.0 or current on it right now I believe, and as I said, we're current on the AX8. I love the ability to just switch back at any given time and be totally in love with my tones. Sort of like owning multiple amps.

Agreed.

@Danny Danzi - I always appreciated your posts.

Have you moved over to Axe Fx III yet?

Thank you! No, I had hoped being on the beta team would have landed me one, but unfortunately that never happened. With nearly 5k invested in what I have, I think I've spent enough.

 

[Danny Danzi]

Great example. Thanks for taking the time to make that video. I have an unrelated question. Why do you have the input select set to Sum L+R. I notice most patches people share have it set that way and its the default setting however I read a thing that Cliff wrote about it sounding better being set to left. Left sounds better to me in my patches too but I am thinking I am missing something if every one else seems to have it set to Sum. Sorry for being off topic but I thought I would ask since you seem to have a lot of knowledge.

@Decimator sincere apologies for the response I gave you yesterday in my post about Sum and Left. My response was in reference to the way I use Sum and Left in the I/O options, and I totally misread your question The question you asked about seeing it on the preset, I don't have an answer for. I tried messing with both of those options in the past but really don't hear a difference using either one. If I had to take a guess, I would think it has something to do with signal routing and how things are sent out to the next block in the chain. I should know the real answer to that but I'm just an ear guy that messes around until things sound good. I mess with an option and if it makes a drastic difference, I go with it. If it doesn't I leave it alone. That's one I always seem to leave alone in all my presets.

 

[crisgmusic]

Yo i know this is an old thread but i just got the champion 100 and use it with fm3 in fx loop. Any tips or recommendations to get the best sound throught the champion 100?

 

[Danny Danzi]

Yo i know this is an old thread but i just got the champion 100 and use it with fm3 in fx loop. Any tips or recommendations to get the best sound throught the champion 100?

None that I can think of. I just run my out of my AX8 into return on the Fender. This bypasses the front panel of the amp and allows my AX8 to run the show. All I'm using the Fender for is the power section and the 2x12's. If your sound doesn't sound good, you'll need to tweak your fm3.

Only tips I can give you are these: You can't use a studio sound you love in your amp. You have to create a sound specifically for the Champion and its speakers/power amp section. What I suggest is, if you have a studio sound you love, you can try it and tweak it so it sounds good through the Champion. I have always created separate sounds for live and studio. That said, I usually use the same stuff like modeled amps, effects etc. But the sounds are drastically different than my studio tones. You'll need more bass in your live tone, but be careful not to use too much. Especially in the 80hz and below area. If you feel rumble, you're using the wrong low end for your tone. It's ok to feel a little something, but we as guitarists always seem to go for that "all alone sound" which is, the sound that sounds great all by itself but sucks in a mix of other instruments.

You'll also need less gain than you normally use. Those speakers break up quite nicely so you can use less gain so if you use high gain, it would sound like a run on sentence that's tripping all over itself. You'll also use less effect levels. The reason being, you'll lose sight of your sound with too much verb, delay or chorus going on. It's different than what you get in your studio. You'll see what I mean when you mess around a bit. You'll notice if you're not careful, effects will wash your sound right out and sort of mask it. You don't want that. Just be careful.

Experiment with your cab sim off and on, Sometimes off is the better option but it depends on how your IR's get along with the Fender speakers. I have my own IR's that I made, so they sound pretty cool in my 25 watt Greenback cabs as well as whatever those speakers are in the Champion we have. I'm actually quite surprised at how good that little amp sounds. You can't beat it.....2x12, 100 watts for under $400! And, if you plug straight in, it sounds great too! If God forbid my AX8 died, I could plug right into that thing and get a killer tone. You can go from Van Halen to Metallica in one click. I hope some of this helps. Good luck!

AX8 and Champion

 

[crisgmusic]

None that I can think of. I just run my out of my AX8 into return on the Fender. This bypasses the front panel of the amp and allows my AX8 to run the show. All I'm using the Fender for is the power section and the 2x12's. If your sound doesn't sound good, you'll need to tweak your fm3.

Only tips I can give you are these: You can't use a studio sound you love in your amp. You have to create a sound specifically for the Champion and its speakers/power amp section. What I suggest is, if you have a studio sound you love, you can try it and tweak it so it sounds good through the Champion. I have always created separate sounds for live and studio. That said, I usually use the same stuff like modeled amps, effects etc. But the sounds are drastically different than my studio tones. You'll need more bass in your live tone, but be careful not to use too much. Especially in the 80hz and below area. If you feel rumble, you're using the wrong low end for your tone. It's ok to feel a little something, but we as guitarists always seem to go for that "all alone sound" which is, the sound that sounds great all by itself but sucks in a mix of other instruments.

You'll also need less gain than you normally use. Those speakers break up quite nicely so you can use less gain so if you use high gain, it would sound like a run on sentence that's tripping all over itself. You'll also use less effect levels. The reason being, you'll lose sight of your sound with too much verb, delay or chorus going on. It's different than what you get in your studio. You'll see what I mean when you mess around a bit. You'll notice if you're not careful, effects will wash your sound right out and sort of mask it. You don't want that. Just be careful.

Experiment with your cab sim off and on, Sometimes off is the better option but it depends on how your IR's get along with the Fender speakers. I have my own IR's that I made, so they sound pretty cool in my 25 watt Greenback cabs as well as whatever those speakers are in the Champion we have. I'm actually quite surprised at how good that little amp sounds. You can't beat it.....2x12, 100 watts for under $400! And, if you plug straight in, it sounds great too! If God forbid my AX8 died, I could plug right into that thing and get a killer tone. You can go from Van Halen to Metallica in one click. I hope some of this helps. Good luck!

AX8 and Champion

Dude youre awesome, i appreciate all this!! Cant wait to dive in

 

[Danny Danzi]

Dude youre awesome, i appreciate all this!! Cant wait to dive in

You're very welcome! Wish I had the fm3 so I could help you more, but you'll be ok. It shouldn't take you more than a day or two to get what you're looking for. Maybe even sooner.