Burned out

[la szum]

Tone-X is gross. Don't do it.

Yup. I look askew at anyone who dares wield that piece of kit after my brief foray into IK Purgatory.

 

[Mongillo19]

Did you try my capture?

I don't think the issue was tones for JT, more so the process of getting to tones lol

 

[paisleywookiee]

I don't think the issue was tones for JT, more so the process of getting to tones lol

Yes, as you know I’ve found it’s quite the pain in the penis region.

 

[Mongillo19]

Yes, as you know I’ve found it’s quite the pain in the penis region.

I haven't attempted capturing but honestly havent had an issue getting stuff loaded on the pedal itself

 

[northern_fox]

Its not actually that bad, it's just annoying honestly

 

[metropolis_4]

I feel this post hard - I have an axe 3, QC, tonex, HX, just got rid of a kemper, and a mobile NAM setup and I've used fractal gear since 2016. I'm almost just over the whole thing at this point and want to just plugin one of my amps and like 2 pedals and be done. The only thing that's stopping me is gigging and size/weight/stage volume and setup time. As soon as I start thinking about doing extra lines for FX loop and extra pedals for gates/tuner/etc and miking amps for IEM live, I end up just coming back to using a digital option for speed and consistency. The control we have now is a blessing and a curse. And the worst part is, nobody actually really cares except me and my own headspace - live tone is practically irrelevant in many cases

This is exactly the thought process I’ve been going through. I’ve come so close to ditching the digital and just going with an amp and a few pedals, but then I start thinking about what I’ll actually need I realize it’s not that simple and I end up sticking with digital.

At this point I kind of love and hate digital at the same time

 

[the swede]

This is exactly the thought process I’ve been going through. I’ve come so close to ditching the digital and just going with an amp and a few pedals, but then I start thinking about what I’ll actually need I realize it’s not that simple and I end up sticking with digital.

At this point I kind of love and hate digital at the same time

Ive been thinking naughty lately about a ME90+Reverb pedal combination…

 

[metropolis_4]

Well, what I’m picking up as he wants to channel the show’s vibe through his guitar sounds; philosophically.

Making the presets/sounds design to support the vibe of the show

Working on that takes a little bit of thoughtful consideration about how to get that vibe. Rigs, guitars, changes, consistency.

If I’m reading accurately…

Yep, 100%. Sometimes to a fault. Mostly it’s just finding the sounds I hear fitting the music best, but sometimes I also get too deep in the philosophical. For some reason I enjoy making a connection between the vibe of the show and the gear. Especially when it’s a period show.

I once bought a Jackson Rhoads for a show with some ‘80s metal.

I played another show with a Fender Princeton because the main character was named Princeton.

And when I was part of a ‘50s orchestra on stage I decided a Les Paul would have been a sophisticated choice for a session player who might have been hired for such an event back in the day. And even replaced hardware to make my LP as period correct as possible

 

[EOengineer]

One small tip I’ve found to help manage option paralysis is to stick to one cab/IR for the set. I’ve always found switching between different amps & cabs to be jarring through a full range system.

Keeping the same cab and swapping out the amp is a little bit like having an amp with an infinite number of channels. While that might not sound helpful when trying to minimize complexity, I’ve found that removing the cab and mic as a variable helps streamline my selection of amps that cough up the goods with that cab.

I usually end up with something like a Deluxe Reverb for my cleans, a matchless for mid gain, a Plexi or 800 for crunch, and a Mark IV or maybe Recto to bring the pain.

 

[metropolis_4]

I haven't attempted capturing but honestly havent had an issue getting stuff loaded on the pedal itself

I feel like I could probably get along with one. If I had one I wouldn’t be capturing anything, I’d just be loading in 2-3 amp sounds I need and not touching it again.

Tone Junkie has a new Bad Cat Black Cat 30 pack and it almost feels like a sign. That was the amp I have the best memories of and the one I miss the most. I could probably buy just that pack and never need anything else

 

[Mongillo19]

I feel like I could probably get along with one. If I had one I wouldn’t be capturing anything, I’d just be loading in 2-3 amp sounds I need and not touching it again.

Tone Junkie has a new Bad Cat Black Cat 30 pack and it almost feels like a sign. That was the amp I have the best memories of and the one I miss the most. I could probably buy just that pack and never need anything else

I'm telling you, try the software risk free before dropping $400 on the pedal if you decide to go that route! I really think you'll enjoy it

 

[EOengineer]

Tone Junkie has a new Bad Cat Black Cat 30 pack and it almost feels like a sign. That was the amp I have the best memories of and the one I miss the most. I could probably buy just that pack and never need anything else

IIRC Tone Junkie has a couple free Bad Cat captures you can try too. It’s been a bit but I remember being impressed when I last played through one.

The studio rats also has some great Bad Cat and Matchless captures.

 

[paisleywookiee]

One small tip I’ve found to help manage option paralysis is to stick to one cab/IR for the set. I’ve always found switching between different amps & cabs to be jarring through a full range system.

Keeping the same cab and swapping out the amp is a little bit like having an amp with an infinite number of channels. While that might not sound helpful when trying to minimize complexity, I’ve found that removing the cab and mic as a variable helps streamline my selection of amps that cough up the goods with that cab.

I usually end up with something like a Deluxe Reverb for my cleans, a matchless for mid gain, a Plexi or 800 for crunch, and a Mark IV or maybe Recto to bring the pain.

Switching IRs constantly is silly, so I agree.

 

[creative360]

If memory serves, Metro occasionally comes at the boards with psychological overhaul posts. But they’re usually about him seeking commiseration, not technical advice.

Dude knows what gear is available to him, to us. And the problem is, the people who truly keep it simple and sound great, and who can do pretty much any gig with those simple setups, those dudes can sometimes act smug about it, and that doesn’t sell the approach.

The higher up the chain of heroes that I ponder, the simpler their rigs are, and the more reliably iconic their tones. But that’s only half the story. There’s always an arc, always a trajectory, always a path that got them there. Very few of their first stops was fuzz > compressor > tube screamer > eq > mod’d deluxe reverb or other mid size vintage tube amp.

The guys who I envy are the ones who stay focused on a single, consistent, ideal tone, above everything else.

And it’s true, if you can do that, whatever gear you’re using to get there, a lot of other peripheral bs inevitably falls to the wayside. And as it turns out that ideal tone works for pretty much anything one would ever want to play, for art or for clients and commerce, (outside of metal).

It’s definitely a mindset and maybe a discipline, but following your tone should make it gratifying, and at that point all the other particular variables may end-up having less to do with it than the forums would have us believe.

ymmv

 

[ejecta]

Yes, as you know I’ve found it’s quite the pain in the penis region.

What about the taint? If the pain doesn’t creep through the balls towards that region I could tolerate a little penis pain. Just passed a kidney stone not to long ago so my pain threshold is higher then normal.

In all seriousness I’m like JT in that I don’t want to fight something and that’s a big turn off but if I can get over the curve and figure it out and the penis pain subsides… I think I’d like to try one. I have a radial re amp unit so I won’t have to deal with their box. The levels thing is always something with modeling too so I’m used to that. Profiling and capturing IR’s is my next area to try and explore more… I’ve never really explored it at all since a long time ago when I had a Kemper. But then I didn’t do much trying to capture my amps.

 

[ejecta]

This is exactly the thought process I’ve been going through. I’ve come so close to ditching the digital and just going with an amp and a few pedals, but then I start thinking about what I’ll actually need I realize it’s not that simple and I end up sticking with digital.

At this point I kind of love and hate digital at the same time

I just ran my SLO 30 this morning using a Fryette load and a Helix, which could be switched for choice pedals and IR loader on a board, either one could work for post FX and IRs. It’s not really anymore hassle.

Yes I could have only walked in there with just the two guitars and the modeler. But I put the head on my flight carryon roller case that I use hold my cables, iPad, expression pedals, Fryette load etc inside it, and Helix bag on top of the amp. Tilt it back and wheeled right in easy. Setup was two more power plugs and a speaker cable but two less guitar cables, so wasn’t any more of a set up. Running straight into that amp and with effects lined out off the Fryette load TO ME was more fun and sounded better which lead to a more enjoyable playing experience.

 

[paisleywookiee]

What about the taint? If the pain doesn’t creep through the balls towards that region I could tolerate a little penis pain. Just passed a kidney stone not to long ago so my pain threshold is higher then normal.

In all seriousness I’m like JT in that I don’t want to fight something and that’s a big turn off but if I can get over the curve and figure it out and the penis pain subsides… I think I’d like to try one. I have a radial re amp unit so I won’t have to deal with their box. The levels thing is always something with modeling too so I’m used to that. Profiling and capturing IR’s is my next area to try and explore more… I’ve never really explored it at all since a long time ago when I had a Kemper. But then I didn’t do much trying to capture my amps.

No lie, was watching a commercial for a medication that one of its side effects is serious infection of the taint, up to death.


Death by taint.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

No lie, was watching a commercial for a medication that one of its side effects is serious infection of the taint, up to death.


Death by taint.

Tainted love? Tainted death.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Imma get controversial here: stop trying to pretend your digital box is a music room full of analog gear. That advice is useful for dudes that are seriously overthinking it and slapping 5 parametric eq blocks in a row and putting stuff in parallel just because they can even though they aren’t actually doing any parallel processing, are running dual amps all the time, stereo everything, etc. But for folks that are already keeping it fairly straightforward, that advice leads to “but when I put pedal X in front of amp Y it’s just isn’t quite the same as when I do it with the real deal.”

Do what you did when you had a few pedals and an AC15 - really figure out how to use those tools to get the sound you want. My guess is to that you did a fair amount of experimentation you found the sounds you liked/needed and then lived with them long enough that they became your gold standard.

You have been using the fractal eco system long enough to have a grasp of a sub-set of the tools in that box that sound pretty darn good to you. Use those tools to dial in sounds that work, however you have to do it. Experiment beyond what you would have done with “the real gear”. Dial in sounds you like and judge whether they fit the context of the music, NOT based on whether they sound better/worse than an amp and pedals would.

Because every time you’ve tried to go back to amp/pedals it has been good for a very short period and then you’ve remembered why, for what you do, digital makes so much more sense.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Imma get controversial here: stop trying to pretend your digital box is a music room full of analog gear. That advice is useful for dudes that are seriously overthinking it and slapping 5 parametric eq blocks in a row and putting stuff in parallel just because they can even though they aren’t actually doing any parallel processing, are running dual amps all the time, stereo everything, etc. But for folks that are already keeping it fairly straightforward, that advice leads to “but when I put pedal X in front of amp Y it’s just isn’t quite the same as when I do it with the real deal.”

Do what you did when you had a few pedals and an AC15 - really figure out how to use those tools to get the sound you want. My guess is to that you did a fair amount of experimentation you found the sounds you liked/needed and then lived with them long enough that they became your gold standard.

You have been using the fractal eco system long enough to have a grasp of a sub-set of the tools in that box that sound pretty darn good to you. Use those tools to dial in sounds that work, however you have to do it. Experiment beyond what you would have done with “the real gear”. Dial in sounds you like and judge whether they fit the context of the music, NOT based on whether they sound better/worse than an amp and pedals would.

Because every time you’ve tried to go back to amp/pedals it has been good for a very short period and then you’ve remembered why, for what you do, digital makes so much more sense.