Fractal Talk

[Frodebro]

I have a few presets in my Axe 3 that are centered on the JVM410 model, I should port them over to the FM9 (which is what I use with the band) and run it into the insert input on the combo.

 

[Whizzinby]

I don’t consider the noise excessive for a high gain amp. I haven’t even bothered throwing a gate into the loop on mine. Brilliant amp.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

The main thing I hated about the original JVM was the gap of silence when switching channels. Really got on my nerves. It is WAY less noticeable on the Satriani JVM because they ditched the built in reverb, which I think meant the pop reduction didn't need to be as extreme.

Awesome amp otherwise.

It's not bothered me as much as I thought it would tbh. Probably because I'd read about how horrendous the gap was I think I was expecting something worse than what I ended up getting.

Fingers crossed that makes sense.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

The 50w JVM sounds killer, but it's noisy AF. They're so damn "cheap" for a British made head though.

The amp tech who modded mine also changed out a few parts to lower the noise floor. It still sounded the same on the crunch channel but was noticeably quieter.

 

[Joshual-L]

That 59Slp is just a dream to me... can't believe I can get that tone with a modeler... that dynamic...

Bridge pickup (paf36) full volume just picking dynamic.

Love that small FM3 toybox

 

[saarangnarayan]

gap of silence when switching channels

So what you’re saying is we need an “authentic non-gapless” version of the JVM in the Fractal to keep with the recent “100% accurate warts and all” approach?
/s

 

[Piing]

I've spent more than a couple of hours A/B'xperimenting with many different amp models, trying to find out why my old preset with JS410 Lead Red sounds better than anything else for high liquid smooth solos that cut through the mix like a knife, without a can of bees in the high frequencies. I have even browsed through the Asustin Buddie's and many other shit that I've paid for.

Simple preset. Same IR, no FX...

Then l have thought that maybe that happened because my JS410 preset was made with an old firmware version, so I copied it to another channel, reset the channel... and then the sound was like the other amps: a can of buzzing bees without juice.

Then I have started comparing all the advanced parameters one by one, until I have have found this:

The secret of the flawless magic lead tone!!

I am getting old. I forgot that. But there it is. Now I can make many other amps sound as good as this one

 

[jellodog]

I've spent more than couple of hours A/B'xperimenting with many different amplifiers trying to find out why my old preset with JS410 Lead Red sounds better than anything else for high liquid smooth solos that cut through the mix like a knife, without a can of bees in the high frequencies. I have even browsed through the Asustin Buddie's and many other shit that I've paid for.

Simple preset. Same IR, no FX...

Then l have thought that maybe that happened because my JS410 preset was made with an old firmware version, so I copied it to another channel, reset the channel... and then the sound was like the other amps: a can of buzzing bees without juice.

So I have started comparing all the advanced parameters one by one, until I have have found this:


The secret of the flawless magic lead tone!!

I am getting old. I forgot that. But there it is. Now I can make many other amps sound as good as this one

This happens to me a lot. I often forget that I've made changes in this area.

I feel that there perhaps there should be a subtle indicator next to Output EQ, Dynamics, Input EQ etc. tabs that highlight that there are non-zero or non-default settings in there; so I don't have to go hunting around.

But maybe that would make the UI too busy.

 

[laxu]

I've spent more than a couple of hours A/B'xperimenting with many different amp models, trying to find out why my old preset with JS410 Lead Red sounds better than anything else for high liquid smooth solos that cut through the mix like a knife, without a can of bees in the high frequencies. I have even browsed through the Asustin Buddie's and many other shit that I've paid for.

Simple preset. Same IR, no FX...

Then l have thought that maybe that happened because my JS410 preset was made with an old firmware version, so I copied it to another channel, reset the channel... and then the sound was like the other amps: a can of buzzing bees without juice.

Then I have started comparing all the advanced parameters one by one, until I have have found this:
View attachment 31018

The secret of the flawless magic lead tone!!

I am getting old. I forgot that. But there it is. Now I can make many other amps sound as good as this one

So you basically cut some highs and made it louder. You could probably tweak e.g your cab sim with more high cut and just turn up the output level a bit more to get similar results.

 

[Piing]

So you basically cut some highs and made it louder. You could probably tweak e.g your cab sim with more high cut and just turn up the output level a bit more to get similar results.

I've tried. Pushing the cab with more mids is not the same as post-cab EQ

 

[DLC86]

I've tried. Pushing the cab with more mids is not the same as post-cab EQ

Unless you use the preamp in the cab, putting an EQ before or after the cab is the exact same thing

 

[OrganicZed]

I've spent more than a couple of hours A/B'xperimenting with many different amp models, trying to find out why my old preset with JS410 Lead Red sounds better than anything else for high liquid smooth solos that cut through the mix like a knife, without a can of bees in the high frequencies. I have even browsed through the Asustin Buddie's and many other shit that I've paid for.

Simple preset. Same IR, no FX...

Then l have thought that maybe that happened because my JS410 preset was made with an old firmware version, so I copied it to another channel, reset the channel... and then the sound was like the other amps: a can of buzzing bees without juice.

Then I have started comparing all the advanced parameters one by one, until I have have found this:
View attachment 31018

The secret of the flawless magic lead tone!!

I am getting old. I forgot that. But there it is. Now I can make many other amps sound as good as this one

I have had similar experiences. It is difficult to downplay just how powerful an output EQ can be for shaping the tone.

The tube amp purist in me wants to hear the amp models exactly as the real amp would sound, so I leave the output EQ flat most of the time, but when I do break down and adjust the EQ I find that it solves so many problems. I should probably be using it more often.

 

[Piing]

Unless you use the preamp in the cab, putting an EQ before or after the cab is the exact same thing

I always use the cab preamp

 

[Joshual-L]

I've spent more than a couple of hours A/B'xperimenting with many different amp models, trying to find out why my old preset with JS410 Lead Red sounds better than anything else for high liquid smooth solos that cut through the mix like a knife, without a can of bees in the high frequencies. I have even browsed through the Asustin Buddie's and many other shit that I've paid for.

Simple preset. Same IR, no FX...

Then l have thought that maybe that happened because my JS410 preset was made with an old firmware version, so I copied it to another channel, reset the channel... and then the sound was like the other amps: a can of buzzing bees without juice.

Then I have started comparing all the advanced parameters one by one, until I have have found this:
View attachment 31018

The secret of the flawless magic lead tone!!

I am getting old. I forgot that. But there it is. Now I can make many other amps sound as good as this one

lol, that's how I tweak the eq of the micro boost drive.

I don't really like drive so I've found just the micro boost with this eq works fantastic with a 59slp

 

[iaresee]

I have had similar experiences. It is difficult to downplay just how powerful an output EQ can be for shaping the tone.

I'll ball park my IR mix and then use the output EQ to finish the sound I'm searching for. I that approach is far easier and faster than moving mics around on the DynaCabs or flipping through endless IRs in my IR library.

 

[saarangnarayan]

Holy crap, folks, don’t sleep on the FET Boost in the drive block. It is deceptively simple but can cop a lot of low-to-mid-gain tones. I had a great time using it in front of the ODS Clean and 2203 High. It can do underdrive, too (or maybe my ears are broken) while not sounding anaemic.

I used to use the FET Preamp in front of clean amps to get that “lift” for solo spots without any gain boost but with some added fairy dust. But the FET Boost seems to do that in an even more pleasant manner.

 

[DrewJD82]

Holy crap, folks, don’t sleep on the FET Boost in the drive block. It is deceptively simple but can cop a lot of low-to-mid-gain tones. I had a great time using it in front of the ODS Clean and 2203 High. It can do underdrive, too (or maybe my ears are broken) while not sounding anaemic.

I used to use the FET Preamp in front of clean amps to get that “lift” for solo spots without any gain boost but with some added fairy dust. But the FET Boost seems to do that in an even more pleasant manner.

I think the FET Boost is my most commonly used OD/Boost, I even use that thing on the high gain, chugga stuff, but more so on anything I do with single coils/edge of breakup tones.

 

[saarangnarayan]

even use that thing on the high gain, chugga stuff

Good shout. I’ll have to try this one out! Might even be useful to tighten up extra-bloated amps like the Friedmans, Splawn Nitro etc. [edit]: which I currently use a Timmy for

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

 

[Fractal M@]

Be sure to listen to that video in >STEREO<