All,
- my unit was purchased brand new though an authorised dealer. No issues there with return if need be;
- I will be doing some more analysis/testing this weekend so will post my findings/thoughts after that. Sorry if I am not responding to all posts quickly enough, between work and other commitments I'm trying to solve this issue. I appreciate all your input;
- As mentioned, I A/B'd it with my Matrix vs Mesa 2:fifty - Mesa provides a noticeable improvement, (less brittle, warmer), but still less than perfect;
- Will be A/B'ing with an Axe FX II over weekend;
- I will attempt to post a recording of my unit early next week;
- As regards the presets I've created and the stock basic presets (e.g.: 65 Baseguy), these were of course tweaked as appropriate for my rig and various guitars. Tweaking presets is not the issue, the issue is the thinish/artificial sound - which no amount of tweaking will remove;
- After a gig last Saturday the sound engineer, (who I've worked with for almost 30 years), sent me the following in an email relating to my guitar sound (Strat and Les Paul):
"generally bland and lacking in dynamic breadth - if you know what I mean. You used to used to get a good guitar sound, clear/cutting, which sat right on top of the mix"
(NB: That sound he's referring to was achieved with a real Marshall JCM800 and some pedals).
(NB: All the punters I spoke to said the guitar sounded good...but remember, most punters are tone deaf!)
- I am located in Melbourne, Australia.
I will keep working on this and am determined to solve. I will know more next week. It may be that it is what it is and will therefore become an issue of a compromise between ideal tone vs versatility.
Thanks again.
PS: Can I just say, it's so great to be able to communicate with users worldwide and get different views, opinions and ideas. Thank you all.
The Mesa 2:50 will colour the signal that the Axe-FX produces.
It will colour it specifically in the way that a guitar oriented (as opposed to an audiophile oriented) tube power amp always colours the tone and will also introduce a certain amount of clipping at only 50 watts per side.
Some people like that type of colouring but most do not.
The philosophy of the Axe-FX is that all the desirable colouring and clipping that a tube power imparts on guitar tone should be simulated in the Axe's tube power amp simulation software.
The system you use to monitor the Axe should just amplify that signal w/o colouring it.
As to the rest of your experience with the Axe...
It sounds like something is off somewhere.
Most users have the exact opposite experience from you.
Even though I like the sound of my Bryton power amp more than my GT1000, the GT1000 can still be made to sound really really good with the Axe.
How much time have you spent with the Axe owner's manual?
Are you sure your I/O settings are optimal for what you're trying to achieve?
Have you spent much time with just the most basic Preset Layout possible, namely 1 Amp Block and nothing else going into your Matrix + cabs rig?
For most Amp Block amp types now the default settings sound real good.
Just adjust the Gain and the tone controls like you would on a real amp.
If they don't sound good on your monitoring system then something is either wrong with your monitoring system, or the way you have it cabled or there is something wrong in the Axe's I/O or Global settings?
Have you inadvertently moved any of the sliders on the Global EQs?
Etc. , etc.