Fractal Talk

[jellodog]

So I have a question concerning something in Fractaland that I've been wondering about for weeks:

Suppose I have an FX block. It's a compressor. If I put the Comp early in the signal chain, before the Amp Block and no super high boosts before it, then obviously it's set to Instrument level and not Line level right? No different to using a real stomp.

If I have the Comp after the Amp Block then I would expect the signal to be much higher... so selecting Line Level for the comp might make sense.

But now, what if I have the Comp block following the Cab Block, as if it was after a Mic in front of a speaker in the studio?

We've jumped the air gap. How high is the virtual signal now? Is it a weak signal from a Mic... or is a little stronger after some virtual Mic preamps? Should the Comp Block after a Cab be set to Intrument or Line Level?

Or perhaps it just doesn't matter and the two settings are essentially just useful as a trim or input scale control in the virtual world?

I've tried Line and it doesn't seem quite right in terms of behaviour or the sound that I want, so I usually drop back to Instrument level. But I'm still wondering about that. And I'm still wondering what sort of range virtual signal level is both after the Amp Block, and then after the Cab Block - do they reflect the real world at all?

Hope this question makes sense.

 

[la szum]

Fractal is Plug-n-Play. The end.

 

[Orvillain]

So I have a question concerning something in Fractaland that I've been wondering about for weeks:

Suppose I have an FX block. It's a compressor. If I put the Comp early in the signal chain, before the Amp Block and no super high boosts before it, then obviously it's set to Instrument level and not Line level right? No different to using a real stomp.

If I have the Comp after the Amp Block then I would expect the signal to be much higher... so selecting Line Level for the comp might make sense.

But now, what if I have the Comp block following the Cab Block, as if it was after a Mic in front of a speaker in the studio?

We've jumped the air gap. How high is the virtual signal now? Is it a weak signal from a Mic... or is a little stronger after some virtual Mic preamps? Should the Comp Block after a Cab be set to Intrument or Line Level?

Or perhaps it just doesn't matter and the two settings are essentially just useful as a trim or input scale control in the virtual world?

I've tried Line and it doesn't seem quite right in terms of behaviour or the sound that I want, so I usually drop back to Instrument level. But I'm still wondering about that. And I'm still wondering what sort of range virtual signal level is both after the Amp Block, and then after the Cab Block - do they reflect the real world at all?

Hope this question makes sense.

 

[laxu]

So I have a question concerning something in Fractaland that I've been wondering about for weeks:

Suppose I have an FX block. It's a compressor. If I put the Comp early in the signal chain, before the Amp Block and no super high boosts before it, then obviously it's set to Instrument level and not Line level right? No different to using a real stomp.

If I have the Comp after the Amp Block then I would expect the signal to be much higher... so selecting Line Level for the comp might make sense.

But now, what if I have the Comp block following the Cab Block, as if it was after a Mic in front of a speaker in the studio?

We've jumped the air gap. How high is the virtual signal now? Is it a weak signal from a Mic... or is a little stronger after some virtual Mic preamps? Should the Comp Block after a Cab be set to Intrument or Line Level?

Or perhaps it just doesn't matter and the two settings are essentially just useful as a trim or input scale control in the virtual world?

I've tried Line and it doesn't seem quite right in terms of behaviour or the sound that I want, so I usually drop back to Instrument level. But I'm still wondering about that. And I'm still wondering what sort of range virtual signal level is both after the Amp Block, and then after the Cab Block - do they reflect the real world at all?

Hope this question makes sense.

Straight from the blocks guide for Compressor:

"Input Level - When set to “INSTRUMENT” the detector is optimized for guitar-level signals, i.e., before an ampblock. When set to “LINE” the detector is optimized for post-amp level signals."

I don't think there's something like mic level signal going on in the Fractal, just instrument and line level.

 

[KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!]

Hmm where do I start
Lets see
Ok
the Amp Block is so powerful
Input boost have some really powerful FAS only Drives Shimmer comes to mind Tweak the tube hardness and Woot!!
Negative Feedback is also a great tone shaping function
Power Supply Sag to get that Saturation
and OFC SIC is absolutely Sick !!
Now the Dynamics Gain enhancer is also incredible it does not really increase the distortion or gain but rather sets a different feel for the gain
So just with one block, one has so much tweakability its insane in the membrane
if you cant get your tone with a Fractal then it cant be done

 

[Orvillain]

Silly cabling question - how can I connect an external pedal to the Axe3 whilst doing 4-cable-method at the same time??

 

[Orvillain]

Yeah it was a silly question - just use output 1 and input 2, duhhhhh.

 

[Stone]

Yes, Not much you cant do with AXE FX

 

[Orvillain]

It's a beast. I was dialing in the Megatap delay to try and match against my Hardwire RV-7 Reverse algorithm. I got very close, and very quickly!

 

[DrewJD82]

Getting an AxeFX was pretty big for me, definitely the most important piece of gear I've ever bought and one that has inspired me to expand as a guitar player. I was mainly interested in the metal tones I could get from it, it didn't take very long after I bought it that I wanted to venture into other tones and genres. This is exactly why I say people can grow into it and tend to dismiss the "is it too overpowered?", you'll never know what the future brings and having all the endless possibilities there certainly influences me to explore other areas I previously hadn't.

My biggest tip is something I'm sure everyone here has read over and over, but picking the IR/Cab with the amp knobs at noon always gets me where I want to go the quickest. Unless it's a Mesa and you need to dial it in like a Mark...or a Dual Rec, in those cases I just do a general V curve in the 5-band and drop the bass in the pre-amp, then find the cab. With the DynaCabs it's even quicker of a process. The amount of tweaking time has dwindled considerably in the last 4 years, that can't be overstated, really.

 

[Stone]

Getting an AxeFX was pretty big for me, definitely the most important piece of gear I've ever bought and one that has inspired me to expand as a guitar player. I was mainly interested in the metal tones I could get from it, it didn't take very long after I bought it that I wanted to venture into other tones and genres. This is exactly why I say people can grow into it and tend to dismiss the "is it too overpowered?", you'll never know what the future brings and having all the endless possibilities there certainly influences me to explore other areas I previously hadn't.

My biggest tip is something I'm sure everyone here has read over and over, but picking the IR/Cab with the amp knobs at noon always gets me where I want to go the quickest. Unless it's a Mesa and you need to dial it in like a Mark...or a Dual Rec, in those cases I just do a general V curve in the 5-band and drop the bass in the pre-amp, then find the cab. With the DynaCabs it's even quicker of a process. The amount of tweaking time has dwindled considerably in the last 4 years, that can't be overstated, really.

So nothing like this huh Drew :)

 

[TSJMajesty]

you'll never know what the future brings and having all the endless possibilities there certainly influences me to explore other areas I previously hadn't.

Yes. That was a big reason I opted for the Axe over the FM3.

The amount of tweaking time has dwindled considerably in the last 4 years, that can't be overstated, really.

I rarely adjust presets any more. I sometimes get tired of using a tone that sounds absolutely glorious though. Which, in that case, I just switch to another.

 

[TSJMajesty]

So nothing like this huh Drew :)

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What about the Input & Output EQ, hmmm? Aside from the Tone and Input Boost, those 2 get the most use for me, back when I was still dialing in my favorites.

 

[laxu]

Yeah it was a silly question - just use output 1 and input 2, duhhhhh.

I'd use in/out 3 and 4 as they are intended for unity gain.

I use Out1 for headphones since it's hardwired for that and Out 2 to my studio monitors.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Fractal is Plug-n-Play. The end.

 

[laxu]

Getting an AxeFX was pretty big for me, definitely the most important piece of gear I've ever bought and one that has inspired me to expand as a guitar player. I was mainly interested in the metal tones I could get from it, it didn't take very long after I bought it that I wanted to venture into other tones and genres. This is exactly why I say people can grow into it and tend to dismiss the "is it too overpowered?", you'll never know what the future brings and having all the endless possibilities there certainly influences me to explore other areas I previously hadn't.

The FM9 is the sweet spot product. I only went Axe-Fx 3 because FM9 wasn't available in EU at the time and I found the Axe for a good price.

FM3 after the CPU usage reduction update was good enough for about 90% of what I'd want to do. I thought I would use things like Fullres IRs and dual amps/cabs and whatnot more, but I just don't.

My tip for FM3 users is to not build "everything but the kitchen sink" presets. You can do it, but it ends up in "block Tetris", trying to figure out what you can adjust or remove to fit what you need when your CPU is always close to maxed. If you instead do more modest presets that do a couple of things really well, it will be easier to manage.

 

[paisleywookiee]

The FM9 is the sweet spot product. I only went Axe-Fx 3 because FM9 wasn't available in EU at the time and I found the Axe for a good price.

FM3 after the CPU usage reduction update was good enough for about 90% of what I'd want to do. I thought I would use things like Fullres IRs and dual amps/cabs and whatnot more, but I just don't.

My tip for FM3 users is to not build "everything but the kitchen sink" presets. You can do it, but it ends up in "block Tetris", trying to figure out what you can adjust or remove to fit what you need when your CPU is always close to maxed. If you instead do more modest presets that do a couple of things really well, it will be easier to manage.

Yeah I agree. The FM9 was really the modeler I wanted all along. The ability to create a complete rig, with the per-preset switching turning off effects like a pedalboard, and then other switches changing channels, allows me to treat it like an amp and pedalboard for me.

 

[Stone]

90% of what I'd want to do

Still not 100%

 

[Orvillain]

I'd use in/out 3 and 4 as they are intended for unity gain.

I use Out1 for headphones since it's hardwired for that and Out 2 to my studio monitors.

Yeah ordinarily I would, but those are already in use because I'm running 4cm with the recto. Hence the question. But I thought sod it, and just tried out 1 and in 2 with the Hardwire pedal and it worked fine enough. I just wanted to see if I could clone the reverse reverb sound from it. Got quite close!

 

[Orvillain]

Setting up a layout for my band. So scene 1-5 will be recto amp channels and various boosts/eqs in the preset. All the other effects have scene ignore enabled, so basically this is a kind of "amp+pedals" emulation approach, which I think will work best for me to get started using the rig.