New Friedman IR-X preamp

[jellodog]

I just realized we have similar guitars in our avatars!

Sir, your taste is exquisite.

 

[GTR37]

Come on guys one is practically dripping with authentic tube tone and the other is harsh brittle and sterile!

It’s really hard in a mix with drums bass and fx , maybe the Freidman Is A if I had to pick , it sounded a bit fuller in the mids but it’s close
If you put them in isolation I might have a better guess but in a mix A

 

[Baba]

Two things:

First: I NEVER record, so listening to clips means absolutely nothing to me, it's all about what does it sound and feel like, live, at the house, to my fingers, and in my ears.

Second: A was the IRX

 

[Mongillo19]

But isn't the end goal of music what it sounds like together in a mix yeah it's cool to have a tone that sounds killer when riffing by yourself but the final test (to me) is how it sounds in a practical setting

 

[Jarick]

Isolated mix you say?

 

[Mongillo19]

Isolated mix you say?

This is when you tell us both were the Axe Fx or some plot twist

 

[Jarick]

This is when you tell us both were the Axe Fx or some plot twist

Which one was the Kemper???

 

[mavrick102000]

AxeFX is the one with the Upper Mids/High's smoothed off (B)

 

[Jarick]

Isolated guitars version:

 

[Jarick]

Holy crap the guitars sound way different outside of the mix! It's almost the opposite!

 

[saarangnarayan]

I still hear it in the IR X even with tight on there is the low resonance
It just sounds a bit woofy
And the top end is a bit thin

You’re right about the woofyness but that’s the low-mid woofyness that I think still remains despite the tight switch. I don’t exactly like it for modern high gain but it works so very well for mid gain and even 80s high gain tones.

 

[saarangnarayan]

with many people complaining about the Friedman BE suddenly sounding boomy and bloated. I don't know what it sounded like before that big update as I hadn't tried it before that was released.

That’s me. I’m many people. The HBE was my lifeblood in older firmwares and also on the Axe Fx II. But anyway. You can read my long-winded lament here if you want. The post also has a comparison of the sounds between firmwares.

I've found that pushing the Master volume on the BE models pretty high (I go to 7) fixes this mostly, at the suggestion of some other people on the Fractal forum.

This doesn’t really work for higher gain tones.

 

[norminal]

I prefer A for the intro and edge of breakup stuff and B for the heavier riffs. Both sound great!

 

[Mongillo19]

Isolated guitars version:

Definitely A for me outside the mix

 

[GTR37]

Holy crap the guitars sound way different outside of the mix! It's almost the opposite!

Agreed in isolation I would guess IRX is B on the heavy stuff if they were going through save Ir
Almost sounds like on the cleans it’s reversed A is IRX
But the heavy parts I would say B Friedman and if it is Fractal then I concede that Cliff has the better tones by a lot

I will have to listen on higher quality speakers when I get home

 

[Mongillo19]

@Jarick are you using the same IR or nah?

 

[Jarick]

@Jarick are you using the same IR or nah?

No different impulses trying to keep it stock.

 

[GTR37]

You’re right about the woofyness but that’s the low-mid woofyness that I think still remains despite the tight switch. I don’t exactly like it for modern high gain but it works so very well for mid gain and even 80s high gain tones.

Yes I think even Cliff mentioned that it something to do with the NFB, that just makes it boomy and it kind of smears, some players will love that .to me I like more articulation , I Find Freidman and Bogner kind of similar , the Bogner has a lot of lows and low mids but the voicing and the way it fits together its like this big growl , but there is so much articulation that it doesn't really blur or smear .The lows just kind of have enough attack

 

[dbagchee]

The comments are interesting, A is my preferred as to me it's has a little more sparkle to it (but not harsh). It's interesting how the brightness almost inverts on the heavier parts - probably just the IR differences I suppose.

 

[Jarick]

I’ll make part three later