Although I'm mostly an "amp distortion" kind of player, I thought about doing this shootout for a while, and specially when the drive models were "G3'd" in firmware 19. This is a general overview, not an exhaustive one, as some models works better as boosters, others as drive pedals in clean amps ; and some pedals works better with specific amp models etc. : the Xotic BB Preamp works great on a Mesa Lonestar (Andy Timmons), MXR Distortion+ on a Hiwatt (David Gilmour) etc...
Here's the timeline of this demo :
0:00 The "BB pre" model in a slightly tweaked stock preset (I only touched the delay and reverb settings, amp and cab are stock) (also check this thread : http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-preset-exchange/101673-what-some-tweaks-can-do-stock-patch.html )
0:59 Various drive models as distortion pedals in a dual clean amp custom preset
5:57 Various drive models used to tighten/boost high gain amps. I used a "Rose of Sharyn" DI track for that.
Monday, 13 July 2015
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
18.12 - Focus on 5 scenes presets collection
I recorded a proper demo for the "5 scenes" presets :
One more video for the road :
One more video for the road :
Saturday, 9 May 2015
Firmware 18.12 presets
'sup guys ?
Time for a little update...
Pay attention to new presets 074 to 096 (74 and 75 were already there but I tweaked them a little), I worked a lot on these. And it wasn't always easy :
Above, I'm trying to work on preset 078, 5153 green 5 SC. It's from a new collection of presets where I use one amp, one cab, and set it with various amount of gain through five scenes - from clean (or almost clean) to high distortion. Scene 1 is clean, and from scene 2 to 5 it goes dirtier. It was an interesting experiment : first, most of the time, the clean sound (scene 1) is not as clean as I'm used to on my basic presets ; and the lead sound (scene 5), too, is often less polished (more raw) than what I normally use. Having to use one IR for the various amount of gain was also interesting. I find these presets very useful for jamming in many styles.
I also updated presets 131 to 134, which are tonematches of free Kemper profiles using the MKIIC+. Those from my firmware 18.08 banks were OK but as the amp model changed, I had to redo the amp matching, and borrow my friend's KPA for this.
Also new : presets 072 and 073, and some more KPA tonematches (presets 204, 205, 264, 268, 272, 285)
See my previous posts (firmware 18.07 and 18.08) for more details.
Time for a little update...
Pay attention to new presets 074 to 096 (74 and 75 were already there but I tweaked them a little), I worked a lot on these. And it wasn't always easy :
Above, I'm trying to work on preset 078, 5153 green 5 SC. It's from a new collection of presets where I use one amp, one cab, and set it with various amount of gain through five scenes - from clean (or almost clean) to high distortion. Scene 1 is clean, and from scene 2 to 5 it goes dirtier. It was an interesting experiment : first, most of the time, the clean sound (scene 1) is not as clean as I'm used to on my basic presets ; and the lead sound (scene 5), too, is often less polished (more raw) than what I normally use. Having to use one IR for the various amount of gain was also interesting. I find these presets very useful for jamming in many styles.
I also updated presets 131 to 134, which are tonematches of free Kemper profiles using the MKIIC+. Those from my firmware 18.08 banks were OK but as the amp model changed, I had to redo the amp matching, and borrow my friend's KPA for this.
Also new : presets 072 and 073, and some more KPA tonematches (presets 204, 205, 264, 268, 272, 285)
See my previous posts (firmware 18.07 and 18.08) for more details.
Saturday, 25 April 2015
Firmware 18.08 update
This is a small update, but an important one, as my main high gain amp, the MKIIC+, as been G3'ed in firmware 18.08. This mean changes to 33 presets in bank A.
Here's a video I did while I was tweaking the MKIIC+ (I use the Bright/Deep version). The final version is slightly different.
Apologies for the low framerate, I recorded that to test a capture mode of my webcam. As the clothes I'm wearing suggest, I didn't plan on uploading it, but as it was a fun jam. Apologies also for the clams and "oops" moments, I'm not in my comfort zone when I improvise over jazzy chord changes...
Besides the MKIIC+ updates, the novelties are :
- a test preset in bank A called "Mesa LD paracomp" where I'm testing post-amp parallel compression, focused on the mids (that's why I used a filter block in bandpass mode)
- Bulb's presets in bank B and C. I changed the user cab for the clean one in bank C
- small tweaks to the Herbie stock presets in bank B
And two new presets, using the D30 and AC20 :
Here, each scene selects various input trim and input drive settings, from clean (scene 1) to crunch (scene 2-3) to lead (scenes 4-5)
Check my previous post ( http://axefremen.blogspot.com/2015/04/firmware-1807-presets.html ) for other details regarding my banks and user IRs
Here's a video I did while I was tweaking the MKIIC+ (I use the Bright/Deep version). The final version is slightly different.
Apologies for the low framerate, I recorded that to test a capture mode of my webcam. As the clothes I'm wearing suggest, I didn't plan on uploading it, but as it was a fun jam. Apologies also for the clams and "oops" moments, I'm not in my comfort zone when I improvise over jazzy chord changes...
Besides the MKIIC+ updates, the novelties are :
- a test preset in bank A called "Mesa LD paracomp" where I'm testing post-amp parallel compression, focused on the mids (that's why I used a filter block in bandpass mode)
- Bulb's presets in bank B and C. I changed the user cab for the clean one in bank C
- small tweaks to the Herbie stock presets in bank B
And two new presets, using the D30 and AC20 :
Here, each scene selects various input trim and input drive settings, from clean (scene 1) to crunch (scene 2-3) to lead (scenes 4-5)
Check my previous post ( http://axefremen.blogspot.com/2015/04/firmware-1807-presets.html ) for other details regarding my banks and user IRs
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Firmware 18.07 presets
You know the drill...
About the presets
Bank A
1-69 : main presets, for live. Many are song-specific.
70-99 : blank presets, I do the programming here.
100-128 : various presets, for the fun or testing purposes.
Bank B
129-203 : high gain presets sorted by amp model.
208-212 : a few Vox amps presets, for U2 etc.
214-256 : blues and fusion presets, sorted by amp model.
Bank C
257-289 : Marshall and Marshall clones presets - some other Marshall-like amps are in 129-203, because used for higher gain)
291-299 : special effects with crunch or high gain amps
301-324 : clean presets
325-362 : special effects with clean amps
363-384 : synth presets
* indicates that the preset is stock or from another user, and not or barely tweaked
** indicates that the preset is stock or from another user, and that I tweaked it a lot. All the 325-362 presets use my own amp and cab settings
About the presets
Bank A
1-69 : main presets, for live. Many are song-specific.
70-99 : blank presets, I do the programming here.
100-128 : various presets, for the fun or testing purposes.
Bank B
129-203 : high gain presets sorted by amp model.
208-212 : a few Vox amps presets, for U2 etc.
214-256 : blues and fusion presets, sorted by amp model.
Bank C
257-289 : Marshall and Marshall clones presets - some other Marshall-like amps are in 129-203, because used for higher gain)
291-299 : special effects with crunch or high gain amps
301-324 : clean presets
325-362 : special effects with clean amps
363-384 : synth presets
* indicates that the preset is stock or from another user, and not or barely tweaked
** indicates that the preset is stock or from another user, and that I tweaked it a lot. All the 325-362 presets use my own amp and cab settings
Some recent videos
I don't update my blog often, I know... Here's a few videos I uploaded these last months.
First, Linley Marthe, a friend pursuing a successful musical career. Among others, he played for Joe Zawinul. I was the first journalist in Mauritius to write an article on him, he was maybe 16 years have a time. While he was in holidays here a few months ago, I invited him to test the Axe-Fx II. The amazing thing is that he didn't touch a bass guitar at all for two months before this day ; I had to borrow a Jazz Bass with almost dead strings for him. Here's a few stolen moments.
I also borrowed a friend's Kemper for some tonematching fun, here's the result. Note that I redid those and a few more since, for firmware 18.07
Here's a short video about an useful Cab-Lab tip. I use the search feature to find specific mics and compare them with the auto audition feature.
Just for the fun, a recent gig in which I was a guest
First, Linley Marthe, a friend pursuing a successful musical career. Among others, he played for Joe Zawinul. I was the first journalist in Mauritius to write an article on him, he was maybe 16 years have a time. While he was in holidays here a few months ago, I invited him to test the Axe-Fx II. The amazing thing is that he didn't touch a bass guitar at all for two months before this day ; I had to borrow a Jazz Bass with almost dead strings for him. Here's a few stolen moments.
I also borrowed a friend's Kemper for some tonematching fun, here's the result. Note that I redid those and a few more since, for firmware 18.07
Here's a short video about an useful Cab-Lab tip. I use the search feature to find specific mics and compare them with the auto audition feature.
Just for the fun, a recent gig in which I was a guest
Thursday, 8 January 2015
Axe-Fx II presets - Firmware 17.03 update
A quick firmware 17.03 update...
What's new :
- a few new personal presets, like the one I used for these videos :
- some presets from other users (Yek, jazzhooligan, Victor Mancini...), identified with a * or ** (* = no or small tweaks, ** = bigger tweaks)
- some new user IRs (see screenshot), mostly from FAS cab pack 7
- presets level in bank B, and beginning of bank C, adjusted using the RMS utility. Most for rhythm playing, some are for lead so a little bit louder.
- The presets from my "high gain starting pack" are now merged with other presets in bank B (sorted by amp model)
What's new :
- a few new personal presets, like the one I used for these videos :
- some presets from other users (Yek, jazzhooligan, Victor Mancini...), identified with a * or ** (* = no or small tweaks, ** = bigger tweaks)
- some new user IRs (see screenshot), mostly from FAS cab pack 7
- presets level in bank B, and beginning of bank C, adjusted using the RMS utility. Most for rhythm playing, some are for lead so a little bit louder.
- The presets from my "high gain starting pack" are now merged with other presets in bank B (sorted by amp model)
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