Axe III/FM9/3: Anyone Not Tweaking Settings?

[JT]

So as made painfully clear; my FM hit the FS rack here and a couple of other spots.

I can get what I need out of a bunch of different platforms. And the resale on FAS stuff is so nuts that the GAS shark in me can't resist that much money on tap for a constant gear churn. It's a problem. I admit it.

I started working on my week 2 challenge sunday. I didn't feel like tearing my gigging board apart for the bazillionth time to get to the Stomp. I did some tracking with the FM. The results spoke for themselves.

I rearranged my jam room last night and put the FM up on the table by my interface and did some more work. I'm gonna let it ride for now. I need to empty it of everything other than my recording presets. The tones I am getting are I imported my2 go to IRs, pulled up the JP IIC+ Yellow amp and threw the Chiron in front of it. Then did the same thing with the 5150 lead model. It's punishing and was dead simple. Even with the IIC+ amp in the mix for god's sake! Good stuff

 

[eggpl@nt]

Yeah tis all done, Frank sent me a unit!

Helix + amps is just a really hard combo to break. Axe does it, but isn't as immediate. TBH, I'd love Helix + Axe in a 8U rack, but that'd be stupid overkill tbh wouldn't it!!

Overkill? Yes. Fun? Hell yes.

To address the OP, I don't really use Factory Presets, but when building my own presets, I don't stray beyond the Authentic tab in the Amp block unless I'm turning off the Amp-Cab interaction parameters (thump, compression, impedance curve) when using my Fryette into a 4x12. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to effects, so I just pick--say a different Delay type--until it sounds good, then I just adjust the timing parameters (feedback, temp, decay for Reverb, etc).

That said, shoutout to the Revv Purple Factory Preset in the Helix. It's probably one of the best straight high gain Factory Presets I've ever encountered.

 

[JT]

I cannot get with the HX Rev stuff. Too grainy for my ears

 

[eggpl@nt]

I cannot get with the HX Rev stuff. Too grainy for my ears

You may have a more discerning ear than I do. Also, I just chug on the lowest string doing 0-0-1-0-0-1 riffs all day. I just use a pitch shifter if I want to hit another note.

 

[DrewJD82]

So as made painfully clear; my FM hit the FS rack here and a couple of other spots.

I can get what I need out of a bunch of different platforms. And the resale on FAS stuff is so nuts that the GAS shark in me can't resist that much money on tap for a constant gear churn. It's a problem. I admit it.

I started working on my week 2 challenge sunday. I didn't feel like tearing my gigging board apart for the bazillionth time to get to the Stomp. I did some tracking with the FM. The results spoke for themselves.

I rearranged my jam room last night and put the FM up on the table by my interface and did some more work. I'm gonna let it ride for now. I need to empty it of everything other than my recording presets. The tones I am getting are I imported my2 go to IRs, pulled up the JP IIC+ Yellow amp and threw the Chiron in front of it. Then did the same thing with the 5150 lead model. It's punishing and was dead simple. Even with the IIC+ amp in the mix for god's sake! Good stuff

If you need to text or call me for support when you get the urge to start tweaking just hit me up. I can say NO really loud into my phone.

 

[JT]

You may have a more discerning ear than I do. Also, I just chug on the lowest string doing 0-0-1-0-0-1 riffs all day. I just use a pitch shifter if I want to hit another note.

I do not good sir!

 

[la szum]

What about the Fizz, though???

 

[la szum]

I cannot get with the HX Rev stuff. Too grainy for my ears

I feel that way about all the Helix gain tones. I've heard them weekly
for years and years now--since that is what the other guitarist in the band uses.

I just bite my tongue and plod along, though. There's just a smoothness
to the Fractal (and the Kemper to be fair) that was pretty stark and evident
for me when comparing and contrasting them in the same room. It's most
evident to me in that upper register with the Helix. I had an hard time unhearing
it once I heard it when I owned an Helix.

<splitting hairs here, and only because it mattered to me. doesn't need to matter to anyone else>

 

[Orvillain]

Actually, the smoothness of the Fractal sometimes pisses me off. I find I have to set my mids and treble and presence much higher than I would on a real amp, quite a lot of the time.

 

[Piing]

With so many combinations in some of these factory presets, other than adjusting a few minor parameters, when I want different sounds, I find myself with plenty to work with, by just changing channels on the blocks, and using different combinations of effects other than the ones already set up in the scenes.

Like, in the Petrucci Rig 2023 from Gift of Tone, there's 4 delays already set up, the amp has 3 channels, the phaser & drive blocks aren't even in any scenes, so you could just turn on either of those, etc.

I mean, you've got plenty to work with before you even bother to change settings! And many other presets are the same way.

If it sounds good, I just don't do much with parameters, which up until getting the Axe III, I would've never thought to use a piece of gear in this manner! Like on a Recto preset, I just switch scenes, if one amp model isn't doing it for me. Usually that gets me close enough, and then I go about turning on/off other blocks. Maybe this is just a testament to how well the factory presets have been set up.

What about you? And this could apply to other brands as well I suppose; I just don't know much about the workflow of those. So if you've got one and feel like sharing whether you use it in a similar manner, this doesn't have to be just about the Fractal gear.

I normally have a sound on mind rather than selecting a preset and using it as it is

Pathologic tweaker
Read my signature

 

[JT]

I feel that way about all the Helix gain tones. I've heard them weekly
for years and years now--since that is what the other guitarist in the band uses.

I just bite my tongue and plod along, though. There's just a smoothness
to the Fractal (and the Kemper to be fair) that was pretty stark and evident
for me when comparing and contrasting them in the same room. It's most
evident to me in that upper register with the Helix. I had an hard time unhearing
it once I heard it when I owned an Helix.

<splitting hairs here, and only because it mattered to me. doesn't need to matter to anyone else>

Actually, the smoothness of the Fractal sometimes pisses me off. I find I have to set my mids and treble and presence much higher than I would on a real amp, quite a lot of the time.

It's hit or miss. Getting around on the HX is a breeze. And there are 2-3 amps in it that I'm golden on in a minute. But Getting down to the nitty gritty on Fractal especially for the heavies is

They both have strengths and I love them for different reasons.

 

[TSJMajesty]

What about the Fizz, though???

You know how you mentioned your ears perceiving tones different from one day to the next? That.

Oh, and touche´!

 

[laxu]

Actually, the smoothness of the Fractal sometimes pisses me off. I find I have to set my mids and treble and presence much higher than I would on a real amp, quite a lot of the time.

This sounds like it might be a question of IR choice, output system or the room.

I don't find I have to do anything like that on my Axe-Fx 3 or the FM3 I just sold. Headphones or Genelec studio monitors whereas the FM3 went into a BluGuitar Amp 1 ME poweramp and Bluetone 4x10 cab with 10" Greenbacks.

 

[bdrepko]

I will tweak a little sometimes when new firmware comes out to compensate for changes in sound. Otherwise, I usually dont. I have found the IR that I like and have my settings pretty well established.

 

[Stratzrus]

I try to tweak as little as possible but do so as needed. I dial in the basic tone controls, EQ, reverb, delay and other time based effects then leave them alone unless I hear something I don't like.

I stay away from the deep parameters because I don't have an in depth knowledge of the exact effect they'll have. I use the same principle I use with my computer: don't click on something if you don't know what it does.

 

[DrewJD82]

don't click on something if you don't know what it does.

 

[Piing]

don't click on something if you don't know what it does.

Don't be afraid to click what you don't understand, or you will be dumped as boring and monotonous. But always read her eyes when you explore unknown territory

 

[metropolis_4]

I’m kind of the opposite.

I usually delete all the factory presets as soon as I get a new device and start from a blank canvas.

 

[JT]

I’m kind of the opposite.

I usually delete all the factory presets as soon as I get a new device and start from a blank canvas.

My FM is empty af right now!

 

[Orvillain]

This sounds like it might be a question of IR choice, output system or the room.

I use Ownhammer and York Audio, and typically go for a 57 on the edge of the dust cap, fairly close to the grille cloth. It's a great sound, I just find with the Axe III I often have to go to 3pm on the mids+treble and 2pm on the presence, whereas on a real amp it's more like 1pm on mids and treble, and noon on the presence.

This is to be expected, because the B/M/T/D/P tapers aren't based on the actual amps so far as I know, but are idealised versions of them.