What are your go to drives?

AxeMan007

AxeMan007

New Member
Hey all, new AxeFX owner here.

With so many drives in this unit, I'm a bit unsure where to start.
Can anybody share what there go to units are how they are using them?
Like a TS9 to tighten up a Mesa, or a bigmuff in front of a clean channel.

I've not really used any good drives on my amps before, so it's all a little overwhelming.
I'm happy to audition a few, but I'm hoping to find a few standouts to start with.
 
TS808 and BB Pre are my favorites. I have the TS808 matched to my IRL Analogman-modded TS-9 and it's every bit as awesome in the AFII as it is in real life.
 
Try:
Ruckus with a clean amp
BB with a mid- to high-gain "juicy" tone
T808 with a high-gain "metal" tone if the amp isn't tight (ie, I wouldn't boost the 5153 Red but I definitely would lower the gain on a Recto and boost it)
 
the FET boost infront of an edge of breakup tone thickens it up and when you crank the drive you get a very nice overdrive flavor. the face fuzz and bender fuzz sound awesome infront of an edge of breakup tone as well (I like the rt 66 model with all 3).
 
Right now my go to is the ACB into edge of breakup amps, although lately I've been really having fun with FAS Boost, too. Try setting Mix to 60% or so...

Looking forward to trying the Timmy in the new firmware!
 
Full OD on top of a dirty amp.
BB on top of a clean amp.
SDD for chime.

Facefuzz on top of dirty amp.
Bender fuzz on top of clean amp.
 
Albion said:
Anyone using fas lead for lead tone?
Any other suggestion?
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bdrepko said:
The Mesa Boogie models have a nice thick lead tone if you dial them in properly. I would try the USA IIC+ as it is the easiest to get a good sound.
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jlynnb1 said:
he's asking about drives, this thread is about drives
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The point being made is that the thread is about Drive blocks, not Amp blocks.

The FAS Lead and USA IIC+ are Amp blocks not Drive blocks.
 
For adding color to clean and breakup tones I like Mid Boost and Tape Dist. For more distinctive flavors I like the Super OD, 3 and 4 knob Tube Drivers. I find I prefer the germanium clip type universally.
 
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improb_driver said:
For adding color to clean to breakup tones I like Mid Boost and Tape Dist. For more distinctive flavors I like the Super OD, 3 and 4 knob Tube Drivers. I find I prefer the germanium clip type universally.
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The tape distortion at the end of your chain with a 50/50 mix is a very cool sound as well. Makes dirty tones feel chewy and clean tones hairy
 
G'day @AxeMan007. Welcome to the club.

If you haven't seen it already, there is some really great general content about the drives on the wiki

Also, @MDProd produced a nice table in his Amp Model Gallery, showing some of the famous players that use(d) the various models (Page 28 in this version).

Something else that helped me get my head around all the different options was the opening paragraph in the Drive section in the manual:
  • The overdrive (“OD” or “DRIVE”) types are based on a cold-cathode tube model and give a warm, mellow overdrive tone.
  • The BOOST types don’t distort much unless the drive is set quite high. BOOST types are primarily tone-shaping devices useful for “pushing” an amp.
  • Distortion types (“DIST”) are based on a variety of tube and solid-state models and give classic distortion tones.
  • The fuzz (“FUZZ”) types are based on a hard-clipping distortion and give a raspy sound.
Some of the more recent additions don't stick to this naming convention but it is a good place to start.

And lastly, That Pedal Show has helped me understand what to listen out for. For example, here is one demo'ing the newly added Timmy through a couple of different amps.

Good luck and have fun! :)
 
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