SOLVED: Can I Use The Axe III as an Interface, Using a Stand-Alone Plugin? (No DAW)

[la szum]

No problem!

New guitar karma at work!!

 

[TSJMajesty]

Do you have any clips so we can have an idea of the fizz? And is it in a mix or just you jamming?

No, sorry. It's just me playing alone.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Do you have any clips so we can have an idea of the fizz? And is it in a mix or just you jamming?

The best way I can describe it is, it sounds like clipping, and that it sort of 'floats' separately from the main tone. It can be filtered somewhat via high-cuts, or rolling back the gain, but I'm really starting to understand, 1) It's meant to be there (i.e., part of the way a modeler sounds due to emulating a miked up cab, and 2) It's also amplified when playing at low volumes and/or using headphones.

And ironically, back when this was really driving me crazy, and I went searching in the Fractal Wiki to find out what parameters I could use to reduce it, it was characterized the SAME way I heard it: as if it was floating above the tone.

 

[Mongillo19]

No, sorry. It's just me playing alone.

No worries. If you ever feel like posting something it might help but I get it. I don't like posting either but I've branched out here and there. See if you can put it in a mix. I doubt the fizz will be noticeable

 

[TSJMajesty]

No worries. If you ever feel like posting something it might help but I get it. I don't like posting either but I've branched out here and there. See if you can put it in a mix. I doubt the fizz will be noticeable

I wouldn't have a problem posting a clip; It's just that that would involve me getting a DAW and learning how to use it, and I just don't want to invest the time into that aspect of playing guitar right now. But it is something I want to do in the future. And I know where to ask questions!!

 

[Mongillo19]

I wouldn't have a problem posting a clip; It's just that that would involve me getting a DAW and learning how to use it, and I just don't want to invest the time into that aspect of playing guitar right now. But it is something I want to do in the future. And I know where to ask questions!!

Well if you ever do get curious, Reaper is fantastic and "free". But for a later discussion

 

[GuitarDave]

Well if you ever do get curious, Reaper is fantastic and "free". But for a later discussion

Audacity is a really simple free option.

I wouldn't have a problem posting a clip; It's just that that would involve me getting a DAW and learning how to use it, and I just don't want to invest the time into that aspect of playing guitar right now. But it is something I want to do in the future. And I know where to ask questions!!

It's way easier than you think!

 

[JT]

The best way I can describe it is, it sounds like clipping, and that it sort of 'floats' separately from the main tone. It can be filtered somewhat via high-cuts, or rolling back the gain, but I'm really starting to understand, 1) It's meant to be there (i.e., part of the way a modeler sounds due to emulating a miked up cab, and 2) It's also amplified when playing at low volumes and/or using headphones.

And ironically, back when this was really driving me crazy, and I went searching in the Fractal Wiki to find out what parameters I could use to reduce it, it was characterized the SAME way I heard it: as if it was floating above the tone.

Saw this yesterday and mentally tagged myself to reply.


This was an issue for me since the dawn of the Helix. Disembodied distortion is what I call it. The root note is chugging along with a fizzy disconnected note riding "above" it. This is not, ime; what real amps sound like. No matter how loud or how quiet. One of the biggest draws for me for FAS gear was the fact that it doesn't exhibit this phenomenon. Like, at all.

The cause of it in the Helix I now think is a combination of undersampling and a desire for me to correct it and make the Helix "feel" better. Do you have like 3 drive pedals stacked into an already gained to oblivion amp model? That has the built in boost engaged? For the Helix; there was a dead feel. Coupled with a feeling that there never seemed like there was enough gain. So I would stack 2 minotaurs in front of the 5150 model. Throw gain blocks, stacked eqs, compressors; blahblahblah. The end result would need so much noise gating because, while I felt like I finally had "enough gain" to make it "feel" right; the end result was a horrific fizzy nightmare. It could also be some digital clipping happening as well. Or a combination of too much gain + digital clipping.

This has been largely corrected in the Helix. I don't find myself CRANKING the gain knob or even using a boost in front the amp to get it where it needs to be to where I feel comfortable. I would check to make sure you aren't clipping anywhere in the chain and I would also maybe give your ears a reset and see if you are, in fact; hammering the amps with just too much of everything? If everyone told you this 2 years ago; apologies in advance for blabbering on

 

[TSJMajesty]

Do you have like 3 drive pedals stacked into an already gained to oblivion amp model?

No. I rarely even use drives.

That has the built in boost engaged?

Occasionally. But I hear it even in non-tweaked, factory presets.

give your ears a reset

Funny thing is, it seems most noticeable when I start playing. Then I get used to it. Most of the time. Sometimes it drives me up the wall.

If everyone told you this 2 years ago; apologies in advance for blabbering on

No worries. I appreciate the effort.

 

[Bruce]

Honestly, there’s nothing in that VST that you can’t do with your AxeFX. A lot of people dug that doubler effect but it felt like a novelty to me, I can’t think of any application I’d ever use that. I downloaded the demo when it came out, played with it for 10 minutes and uninstalled it because it felt dirty having anything related to NDSP on my computer. It’s like buying frozen White Castle burgers when you live next door to a craft burger joint.*

It IS cool that they managed to get some presets in their VST’s that work for a lot of people, but I’m not a fan of the limited amount of control they offer.

*I’m only using that analogy because I‘m eating this f*cking amazing burger, The Friendly Ghost: ghost pepper jack cheese, pineapple/ghost pepper chutney, candied bacon on Challuh bread, it’s damn good, but not as spicy as I was hoping it’d be.

Had my pals JP2C for a bit and compared the model to the amp. I used to want a JP2C, but now it would have to be someone on smack selling it for less than a grand for me to buy one. The sounds already in the box.

 

[JT]

Had my pals JP2C for a bit and compared the model to the amp. I used to want a JP2C, but now it would have to be someone on smack selling it for less than a grand for me to buy one. The sounds already in the box.

You know what I like the most by a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong shot on the JP2C? Dat Simuclass power amp

 

[Bruce]

You know what I like the most by a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong shot on the JP2C? Dat Simuclass power amp

I have the Mark V. I get it. The amps are indeed really nice. They're just not 3k nice for a sound I already have 99% of the way. Same holds true for most amps these days. I'd rather go on vacation!

 

[la szum]

So what are your conclusions @TSJMajesty ... or is it too soon to tell?

 

[TSJMajesty]

So what are your conclusions @TSJMajesty ... or is it too soon to tell?

I really like it. It too has that "grainy" aspect to the tones, but it's different. It's not as jarring to my ears.
There's a sh!t-ton of presets (some of which are from JP songs), and I actually like a much larger % of them than the ones in the Axe. And not just because they're Mesa-based; There are several that are straight-up, classic-rock sounding. LOTS of different variations of clean, ambient sounds. I just find a preset and PLAY. In the Axe, I still have to tweak, even though it's not a lot.

High-gain palm-mutes actually stop the note, as opposed to that lingering 'flub' I still hear in the Axe, despite what seems like every FW update claiming to "tighten up the low end."

Oh and something we've discussed... It is SO nice having a graphical representation of the hardware, with just the most-used knobs.

And one other thing I noticed is that when playing a high-gain tone for a solo, if I'm not extremely accurate when releasing my note prior to playing the next note on another string, in the Axe I get this terrible dissonance. No surprise there. But in the plugin, it's more forgiving, and less noticeable. It could just be the way the preset is dialed in, but I don't know how to fix that in an Axe preset. In the plugin, I don't have to.

It's like, have you ever played 2 amps that both sounded fantastic, but on one it just seemed everything you played was easier, and more forgiving? And not because it smeared the notes either. That's how it is.

So yeah, I like it a lot. Enough to buy it? I'm not sure yet. And btw, I doubt very seriously if I'd post this at Fractal, cuz I don't wanna hear a bunch of BS, or more importantly, a bunch of excuses.

Edit: I should add, this is all based on playing through headphones at low-to-mid volume. Levels that don't make my ears ring after playing for an hour and a half. If I ran everything through an amp & cabs, it may generate different results.

 

[Mongillo19]

yeah, I like it a lot. Enough to buy it? I'm not sure yet. And btw, I doubt very seriously if I'd post this at Fractal, cuz I don't wanna hear a bunch of BS, or more importantly, a bunch of excuses.

You'd get roasted alive lol

 

[TSJMajesty]

You'd get roasted alive lol

You know it!

Well, have you tried this, or have you tried that? Or, read page X in the manual. Well guess what? I didn't have to do any of those things! And I'm one of the hugest Axe Fx fans out there. But just like with my Silverburst LP, and my PRS after that, as you play with gear for a while, your initial honeymoon phase wears off, as you discover its shortcomings.

 

[Los-D]

You know it!

Well, have you tried this, or have you tried that? Or, read page X in the manual. Well guess what? I didn't have to do any of those things! And I'm one of the hugest Axe Fx fans out there. But just like with my Silverburst LP, and my PRS after that, as you play with gear for a while, your initial honeymoon phase wears off, as you discover its shortcomings.

Sorry ahead of time for the long post but here’s my personal opinion (YMMV!). I bought the Petrucci plugin earlier this year on another 50% off sale and I thought it was really good. As I’ve said before, to me the best thing about NDSP are it’s presets / curated tones. So it sounded great from the get-go.

The doubler is a really neat tool for headphones usage and the effects are really nice (finally a chorus, for example). For recording and jamming, the polished (forgiving tones) are really cool. The transpose option is pretty handy and fun.

Once the honeymoon period ended I noticed a few things. The effects, for example, are good but don’t compare to Fractal, Valhalla, Eventide, Strymon, L6 (and many more). The doubler is cool for jamming but doesn’t sound as good as dual tracking for recording. The transpose pitch shifter was good but not better than the Virtual and Poly Capos on the Fractal or Line 6 Hx family.

The amp tones sound great at recording/headphones levels, but cranked up with a BAM200 + V30 cab, my JP preset on the FM3 sounded a lot better and alive (Fletcher Munson?), especially jamming with people (the plugin could be retweaked to sound great in that context, but then you lose those immediate dialed-in tones). Funny thing is, I had a QC for a while at my home and felt the same way about the JP2C captures: I preferred them over the FM3… until I cranked both up with a real cab. If you get tired of the polished amp tone btw, I thought the ML5 plugin from ML Soundlab sounded raw and more amp-like. Again, YMMV.

Still, I think it’s a very neat plugin with a lot of built in features (doubler, metronome, capo) for people that don’t like using a DAW to jam on plugins. It’d be the one I would recommend if you wanted to get just one plugin from NDSP. I personally don’t find myself firing it up as often anymore (and it’s my last remaining NDSP plugin) but was pretty handy in a pinch on a laptop while moving a few months ago.