Just bought an Axefx III....SO

[mentoneman]

It almost stresses me out now, remembering all of the things I had to tweak when I had an Axe-Fx II. Now that I have tube amps and solid state amps again, I look back at those days and realize I was adjusting, playing, adjusting, playing, etc. Now I actually sit and play and barely touch a dial.

i learned the hard way over time with fractals to play more than tweak. hard part is keeping your head in the edit system frequently enough to quickly know where to go to make subtle yet meaningful adjustments.

 

[mentoneman]

I can deal with just an amp model, but I was using real drive pedals because the drive model and amp model together just did not feel great (like my picking hand could outrun the sound coming out).

A NAM drive pedal with the FAS amp model is ok. But both NAM drive pedal and amp capture is better still imho.

That said, splitting hairs, I think I prefer the FAS models bloom or sustain. NAM amp captures seem almost a bit flat in comparison. It's close, but ideally something could combine the more immediate response of the NAM captures with the bloom/sustain of the FAS models.

i struggle with the authenticity of fractal drive and comp pedals as well. much prefer the real deal in front of the unit.

 

[Shask]

i remember fighting with that feel factor when i owned the ultra and used it live for a year, direct with stereo frfr stage monitors. 4cm was even worse.

when i “heard” the II being demoed when it came out, it sounded great. then i played through it and wasn’t bowled over by that experience. but now owning the most updated version II XL & MFC 101 MIII i’ve found some great sounds in it.

i dabbled with running my tonex pedal into the fractal fx and would like to integrate the pedal with the II to switch between each unit’s preamps as i think the clean and low gain fender/vox/jtm amps in the tonex sound more lifelike while the fractal classic to high gains and fx are superior.

I dont even like my old Axe II in the loop because it changes the dynamics and makes it feel sluggish. I only use it with a parallel mixer.

The FM3 is similar, but not as dramatic.

However, the VP4 is the best I have found at this. It is far more transparent. I think it is a great unit.

 

[Shask]

It almost stresses me out now, remembering all of the things I had to tweak when I had an Axe-Fx II. Now that I have tube amps and solid state amps again, I look back at those days and realize I was adjusting, playing, adjusting, playing, etc. Now I actually sit and play and barely touch a dial.

This is one reason why I like NAM/ToneX. I can make captures of my actual tube amps, and then get the convenience of using those tones in a digital environment. It takes time to make the captures, but once I have them I dont really tweak.

 

[Shask]

i struggle with the authenticity of fractal drive and comp pedals as well. much prefer the real deal in front of the unit.

I need to do this more. I also always found a real OD in front sounds and feels better.

 

[mentoneman]

I need to do this more. I also always found a real OD in front sounds and feels better.

in the same way, i prefer a real tube power amp and speakers and believe each step of the equation you choose to replace digitally moves you one step further away from the actual experience.

running everything in the box is more a matter of convenience and one stop shopping. but not about feeling and sounding better nor more instinctive that the actual components being emulated.

andy wood recently demoed some killer tones with his fractal:

 

[chumbucket]

There’s a gate applied automatically in the Input Block, if you turn the Threshold all the way down it’ll shut it off entirely. While it’s a sensitive gate that doesn’t fuck with things tonally, it removes a bit of the realism when you’re moving your hands around the neck and not hearing every squeak. Try turning that off, it may allow you to use the other gate in a more natural manner. And note, in the Gate block itself there’s an option to choose where the gate is recieving the signal as well as the Classic,Smart or Modern gate options. There’s some tweakability that’ll let you get where you want to go.

One thing I get lost in doing is going into the Preamp page in the amp block and turning that Saturation switch on for the Plexi’s, it’s a one-click Jose mod and you can then tweak the shit out of it from there if you want. The different Plexi models really highlight how detailed that unit gets. There’s a reason there’s a 1987x, a 1959, a 50-watt and a 100-watt with all their channels jumped/non-jumped/hi/lo instead of just a single “Plexi”

And the best advice I can give for cabs/IR’s and dialing in tones in general-

Pick an amp you’re familiar with and put all the knobs on 5, unless it’s a Mesa Mark, in which case you have to do the whole 5-band thing before the next step, but just load the amp block up and don’t touch the knobs, first go find and IR or DynaCab that’s as close as you can possibly get to the sound you’re going for, that way you’re not relying on the amp knobs to dial in or out what isn’t there.

And while everyone is free to do as they please with these, I’ve found I’m FAR more satisfied dialing them in to NOT sound polished, especially for recording. Putting polished tones in an unpolished song you’re going to apply some polish to later is asking for shitty sounding guitars/walls of high end. I try to get the raw amp tones sounding as close to an amp in the room with some bass build I’ll have to cut off in post.

There’s a juxtaposition at wanting these to be as real as possible, but people get them and dial in idealized tones that don’t exist in real life and say “It doesn’t sound real”

This is great advice. I love using the sat switch on the Marshall models. The Marshalls are worth the price of admission alone.
Your IR suggestions are spot on too. Find a good IR that you like without drastic tone control adjustments on the amp and stick with it. Don't get drawn into the rabbit hole.