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1) For high gain rock tones - using the input EQ in the Amp block for a low cut is crucial to tighten up some amps.
2) Sometimes less gain is better. Sitting at your desk with studio monitors, it's always fun to crank the gain (and hide my mistakes). But in a live setting, a little less gain adds clarity and let's me cut through the mix better.
 
York Audio said:
My biggest “aha-moment” for live stuff was implementing Global Amp and Cab blocks. I had about 40 presets to cover the songs we would normally choose from, and adjusting a parameter on one preset meant going through every song in the set, adjusting that one thing, and saving them one at a time (which took forever).

Linkin Park’s tech was filling in for a run of shows and asked why I wasn’t using Global Blocks. I didn’t know that was a thing, so he helped me set up Globals for my Amp and Cab blocks so that changing Amp settings or an IR would automatically populate to all 40 song presets. It made tweaking a lot easier, more efficient, and let me treat my digital rig just like my previous analog setup.

From a tonal standpoint, the best tip I can offer is to keep things simple. Start with the cab/mic-up you want (low cut around 80Hz and no high cut), pick the amp you want, and tweak it to the IR. The amp modeling is fantastic, so this approach will give you the most authentic sound and playing experience. Use the basic amp controls for EQ adjustments and try not to use any EQ blocks (I doubt many of us used EQ pedals in our “real” rigs, so see if you can get away with not using one in your digital rig). Allowing the amp and cab to speak naturally will help you sit nicely in the mix and make FOH’s job a lot easier.
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Sounds like I need to look into Global Amp/Cab...
 
Admin M@ said:
Nahh, the guys I do this with are just old friends. Nothing beats testing your tones at gig level with real drums and bass.
I do another group thing where one guy brings a tube combo. (He has also since bought an FM3 ;-)
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Nothing beats old friends, but…you gotta admit, sitting around with well known guitarist’s and their techs., dialing in tones, is pretty damn cool too!
 
State of Epicicity said:
2: If you have trouble using traditional IRs without heavy cab smoothing, try changing the resonant frequency of your pickups with trimpots in parallel to (connected to the outer lugs of) your volume pot (with a cap if needed) to tune out inherent harshness by ear.
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The Cab Smoothing parameter actually increases top end harshness to my ears. It could be the IR you're using. I attached my Gift of Tone 2x12 Greenback IR in case you want to try something different without using any Cab Smoothing. I like it with the 2x12 Godzilla and 4x12 Basketweave Impedance curves. The IR is pretty balanced without excessive top end harshness, so hopefully it'll work for you. Start a preset from scratch with only an Amp and Cab block. I like using a Looper at the front of the chain so I can dial in the tone without the guitar's acoustic volume/frequencies affecting what I'm hearing.

For high gain, try the Solo 100 Lead. Set gain around 3.5, BMT all at 5, and Depth/Presence to taste for the low end and top end response you want. If it has a little too much midrange, try lowering the Master Volume to around 4.5.

For mid gain, try the Brit 800. I like the Master Volume around 3, Gain between7-9.5, Bass around 9, Mid around 7, Treble around 5, and Presence between 9-10 (affects gain and top end). You can use these as starting points and tweak them for your guitar, playing technique, and listening environment. I recommend listening through studio monitors instead of headphones or FRFR cabs.

Hopefully this helps.
 

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sixtystring said:
Sounds like I need to look into Global Amp/Cab...
Click to expand...
It'll change your life and make bandmates happy that you don't have to take a 10 minute break just to turn down the gain a single notch. :)

After you load/link the Global Amps and Cabs, go through your preset's scenes and make sure the bypass states and channels are correct and save it. You only have to do this once per preset and then changes will populate automatically without affecting bypass states and channels.
 
KISS. When I started with the Axe-Fx II, I had one preset per song.

Now with the FM9, I just have one preset. I have one button reserved for switching between clean and dirty, one button for giving a solo boost, and four buttons to switch between scenes (mostly for different clean sounds).

I understand the one-preset approach is not for everyone. For me, it helped with the constant leveling issue, and otherwise general preset maintenance.
 
York Audio said:
The Cab Smoothing parameter actually increases top end harshness to my ears. It could be the IR you're using. I attached my Gift of Tone 2x12 Greenback IR in case you want to try something different without using any Cab Smoothing. I like it with the 2x12 Godzilla and 4x12 Basketweave Impedance curves. The IR is pretty balanced without excessive top end harshness, so hopefully it'll work for you. Start a preset from scratch with only an Amp and Cab block. I like using a Looper at the front of the chain so I can dial in the tone without the guitar's acoustic volume/frequencies affecting what I'm hearing.

For high gain, try the Solo 100 Lead. Set gain around 3.5, BMT all at 5, and Depth/Presence to taste for the low end and top end response you want. If it has a little too much midrange, try lowering the Master Volume to around 4.5.

For mid gain, try the Brit 800. I like the Master Volume around 3, Gain between7-9.5, Bass around 9, Mid around 7, Treble around 5, and Presence between 9-10 (affects gain and top end). You can use these as starting points and tweak them for your guitar, playing technique, and listening environment. I recommend listening through studio monitors instead of headphones or FRFR cabs.

Hopefully this helps.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much Justin! I hadn't yet tried any of the Gift of Tone stuff because I knew there was a harshness in my guitar I wanted to eliminate first. Right now I'm still working on my guitar to fine tune the resonant frequency of each pickup (I got interrupted and haven't been able to finish), and choosing now if I'm going to switch picks, which I think will factor in to my trimpot settings. Once I have that set, I'll try this dry with your recommendations here and let you know how it sounded.

Already, in the resonant peak tweaks I detailed in that thread, I was right away finding that IRs that previously sounded harsh all of a sudden were singing for me; I know for sure at least a couple were from your factory IRs of the Rectifier with 70W V30s from the BiPolar pack. So I'm pretty sure once I finish tweaking my resonant frequencies, I'll find the same thing you're describing, that for most IRs smoothing is harsher than the naked IR. I think that for me, I really did find the answer as to why traditional IRs were not sitting right for me, and I conjecture that it's a mismatch in overtones between the resonant peaks in my pickups clashing with the resonance of the guitar body and neck; for me that meant just lowering the resonant peaks of the pickups by ear with trimpots "harmonized" the pickups with the body, if you will. Again, total conjecture as to the reason this is the case, but it absolutely does have the effect of making my guitar not harsh any more, to my ears, and making IRs act the way they're intended.
 
York Audio said:
My biggest “aha-moment” for live stuff was implementing Global Amp and Cab blocks. I had about 40 presets to cover the songs we would normally choose from, and adjusting a parameter on one preset meant going through every song in the set, adjusting that one thing, and saving them one at a time (which took forever).

Linkin Park’s tech was filling in for a run of shows and asked why I wasn’t using Global Blocks. I didn’t know that was a thing, so he helped me set up Globals for my Amp and Cab blocks so that changing Amp settings or an IR would automatically populate to all 40 song presets. It made tweaking a lot easier, more efficient, and let me treat my digital rig just like my previous analog setup.

From a tonal standpoint, the best tip I can offer is to keep things simple. Start with the cab/mic-up you want (low cut around 80Hz and no high cut), pick the amp you want, and tweak it to the IR. The amp modeling is fantastic, so this approach will give you the most authentic sound and playing experience. Use the basic amp controls for EQ adjustments and try not to use any EQ blocks (I doubt many of us used EQ pedals in our “real” rigs, so see if you can get away with not using one in your digital rig). Allowing the amp and cab to speak naturally will help you sit nicely in the mix and make FOH’s job a lot easier.
Click to expand...

Been using your Gift Of Tone Preset/Scenes a bunch at band rehearsal. 🍻
 
York Audio said:
It'll change your life and make bandmates happy that you don't have to take a 10 minute break just to turn down the gain a single notch. :)

After you load/link the Global Amps and Cabs, go through your preset's scenes and make sure the bypass states and channels are correct and save it. You only have to do this once per preset and then changes will populate automatically without affecting bypass states and channels.
Click to expand...
I have been using my FM3 for almost 3 years and I didn't know this was a thing. I'm going to research this tonight. BTW, if I may "fanboy" for a sec, your MRSH 412 M25 mix 3 is my absolute favorite IR. I've purchased an embarrassing amount of IRs. So, thank you very much.
 
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