When I got my Helix I jumped down the IR rabbit hole with both feet and bought a load, drowning in options.
When I got my Axe FX 3, I swore I wouldn’t do it again, especially with the vast collection of factory cabs. I’ve been more than satisfied with what’s available. Then the thread about Phil X and Mark Days BE100 cropped up and, try as I might, I was struggling to get “that” tone. I did my usual exhaustive research and kept coming back to York Audio (for a few reasons) and took the plunge with the Friedman and Marshall M25 packs as I have a love for everything remotely Marshally.
Based on a lot of comments, and trying to keep things simple, I went with the mixes to start with.....
Honestly, I wasn’t impressed with any and was a bit disheartened. It was probably something I was doing, but couldn’t find any I liked. Even tried Justin’s BE100 preset and recommended cab, but no joy. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t remotely bad, just wasn’t blown away like I was expecting and much preferred the factory cabs I’d been using.
I should probably say that I’m not a tweaker AT ALL, and one of the (many) reasons I love the Axe FX is how you can just pick an amp and appropriate cab and with a quick tweak of the basic controls, you’re good to go. I don’t even bother with hi/lo cuts or basics like that.
Anyway, had some time this afternoon, so loaded up the full selection of single mic ir’s and had a play. First stop was a 100w jumped plexi with the M25 pack. A quick audition of the 57 and 121 captures and quickly found I preferred number 3 of each. When I say preferred, I mean LOVE!
Any Marshall I threw at it sounded tremendous, even with everything at noon. Tried the same mics in the Friedman pack with the BE100 and ohhhhh boy. There “it” is.
I haven’t even tried any another mics yet, but have redone all my Marshally presets with the 57 & 121 and am over the moon. Lost count of how many times I literally said “WOAH!” out loud and looked at my guitar and Axe Fx like some secret magic was at work. I’ve been trying to find words to describe the differences to my ears, but the best I can come up with is it makes everything even more Marshally, if that makes sense. More bark, honk, grit, etc and maybe a more dynamic feel as well?
I know I’m a bit late to the party and apologies for the long post, but I’m sure there’s others that like to keep it very simple. Very, very impressed. Thanks for all the work Justin.