Axe FX III - the Blog

Roland · August 2021

Our rehearsal was a revelation. I knew that the sound would be clearer, but not this good. For years I’ve struggled to get that warm neck pickup sound, even from valve amps. Today it just leaped out. Everything else seemed easier to play. I didn’t have to work as hard riding the volume to get the guitar to cut through without dominating. The clarity means that I can use more overdrive and lower mids without the sound turning into mush.

I didn’t encounter the EQ problem which almost caused @FarleyUK to send his AxeFX back. There are probably two reasons for this. First, I don’t play the same type of music. Ours is a pop covers band rather than rock. Secondly, I’d already put in a PEQ between Amp and Cab, which I wrote about a few days ago. This was set up with initial values, but also because I was fully expecting to need emergency EQ changes during our rehearsal, and wanted to have a place to do it rather than adjust Output block EQ.

I was also expecting to have a list of adjustments to make following the rehearsal, but there’s only one: the acoustic scene needs more volume.

With the AFX2 I had to craft several different patches, using different amp models, to get the range of sounds I wanted. Today I stayed on one patch all through the rehearsal, just changing scenes or adding effects as needed. Which was just as well because a different foot switch on the FC12 failed. This time the one on the top right which I’d set up for changing presets. It’s being swapped on Tuesday.

There’s still work to do. (Isn’t there always?) The lighting controls need improving. The AFX3 is sending colour changes, but I haven’t sorted the Tap Tempo problem yet. Cycle and Tempo buttons on my pedal board are a bit close to the FC12 and Wah for comfort.

TeleMaster · August 2021

I don’t use any EQ blocks. I just EQ like a normal amp. But I’m not really doing anything through the PA as of yet.

paulmapp8306 · August 2021

Roland said:

You’ll notice that the FC12 still has plastic over the LEDs. That’s because it’s going back on Tuesday.

Mine still has them on now - and Ive had it 2 months.... My AFX3 still has its screen cover on as well..... Once Sukh has finalised his FC12 design Ill get a set of his protectors. always used his products (and I know him personally which helps lol).

robbs1977 · August 2021

Well just ordered my Axefx3 and FC12, I had one before and sold it to downsize to an FM3. Decided to go back.

paulmapp8306 · August 2021

TeleMaster said:

I don’t use any EQ blocks. I just EQ like a normal amp. But I’m not really doing anything through the PA as of yet.

Thats the reason

When I go amp/cab I dont use EQ blocks at all BUT when i use irs/cabs (recording) I always need one to fine tune. Just remember most recorded guitar sounds not only have the cab mic'd - and all the variations of mics/distances/position that entails - but then EQ in the mix as well. Thats the bit I use the EQ blocks for.

TeleMaster · August 2021

paulmapp8306 said:

TeleMaster said:

I don’t use any EQ blocks. I just EQ like a normal amp. But I’m not really doing anything through the PA as of yet.

Thats the reason When I go amp/cab I dont use EQ blocks at all BUT when i use irs/cabs (recording) I always need one to fine tune. Just remember most recorded guitar sounds not only have the cab mic'd - and all the variations of mics/distances/position that entails - but then EQ in the mix as well. Thats the bit I use the EQ blocks for.

Yea I know. The singer uses in ears but she wouldn’t care if I spent 5 mins on the tone or 5 hours lol.

Roland · September 2021

The FC12 changeover was a non-event. A courier turned up yesterday morning with a new one, and took the old away. Plug in, turn on, and I was back to auditioning amp models.

FarleyUK · September 2021

Had my first gig with the AFX3 and my RedSound RSLG12s last weekend - and it sounded glorious. I stayed mostly on Plexi models (1959SLP jumped, 1970 100w) but also used the modded JCM and AFD100 for a couple of songs. All of them sounded great, especially in stereo in a large space.

Now I just have to try and resist the temptation to tweak them....!

DavusPG · September 2021

FarleyUK said:

Had my first gig with the AFX3 and my RedSound RSLG12s last weekend - and it sounded glorious. I stayed mostly on Plexi models (1959SLP jumped, 1970 100w) but also used the modded JCM and AFD100 for a couple of songs. All of them sounded great, especially in stereo in a large space.

Now I just have to try and resist the temptation to tweak them....!

Are the Redsounds for monitoring or is that how your sound is reaching the audience? I love my Redsound but yet to use it at a gig?

Played our first 2 post Covid gigs at the weekend. First with our new PA (RCF Evox 12) which sounded great and the second was a mini festival with a shared PA - a reminder that for all the tone tweaking we do, the final sound is also dependant on the FOH speakers!

paulmapp8306 · September 2021

a reminder that for all the tone tweaking we do, the final sound is also dependant on the FOH speakers!

absolutely..... all the tone searching (on whatever amp) very rarely translates. PA/soundmen make a big difference, and even if its backline providing FOH sound in a pub, where you sit/stand to listen makes vast changes.

Theres a reason most pro musicians dont use top end gear, or chase tone so much live. in a studio absolutely, but live..... rarely pays off.

Now - from a players perspective... if it makes you happier and makes you play better its worth it, but I came to the conclusion long ago that as long as the sound is decent, and (more importantly) replicatable then its good.

FarleyUK · September 2021

DavusPG said:

FarleyUK said:

Had my first gig with the AFX3 and my RedSound RSLG12s last weekend - and it sounded glorious. I stayed mostly on Plexi models (1959SLP jumped, 1970 100w) but also used the modded JCM and AFD100 for a couple of songs. All of them sounded great, especially in stereo in a large space.

Now I just have to try and resist the temptation to tweak them....!

Are the Redsounds for monitoring or is that how your sound is reaching the audience? I love my Redsound but yet to use it at a gig?

Played our first 2 post Covid gigs at the weekend. First with our new PA (RCF Evox 12) which sounded great and the second was a mini festival with a shared PA - a reminder that for all the tone tweaking we do, the final sound is also dependant on the FOH speakers!

Yeah, using two as backline so running stereo. We're a three piece, so it makes it sound HUGE, especially as the cabs are about 5 metres apart (one by me, one by the bassist / singer). Also helps the bass uses two cabs in the same configuration.

I was very concerned about the sound, as it seemed very very shrill when I tried it myself. I ended up cutting about 8dB at around 1500hZ on the output, and that's helped massively. Doesn't 'bark' as much.

exocet · September 2021

Roland said:

One of the differences between the AFX2 and AFX3 is that the guitar input is mono. His means that I can’t have a customer filter on the wireless input, and have to rely on the Line 6 Relay’s “cable tone” feature. This simplifies my grid:

The up side is that the tuner works on both cable and wireless inputs.

When you were running a filter on input to compensate for lack of cable - what frequencies did you attenuate? I've been running a Sure Wireless setup for a while and feel that I could probably do with trimming "something" above about 3KHz but not sure what I'm aiming for - obvs it's all variable according to other things but just interested in what you do / did - simple low pass filter with 6dB / octave fall off?

Roland · September 2021

It was a Tilt at 11.5kHz, with 0.707 Q, and -2.3dB gain. I’m not sure how helpful that is because of two qualifications:

My hearing is very poor above 3.5kHz. I can hardly tell the difference between cable and Relay G55 wireless. The filter was set up when I bought the Relay through the Classifieds, which must have been at least five years ago. My hearing would have been better at the time, but not perfect.

Nowadays I use shorter, lower capacitance cables than I did then, so my plugged in tone is brighter. My presets are EQd for the new cable.

exocet · September 2021

Roland said:

It was a Tilt at 11.5kHz, with 0.707 Q, and -2.3dB gain. I’m not sure how helpful that is because of two qualifications:

My hearing is very poor above 3.5kHz. I can hardly tell the difference between cable and Relay G55 wireless. The filter was set up when I bought the Relay through the Classifieds, which must have been at least five years ago. My hearing would have been better at the time, but not perfect.

Nowadays I use shorter, lower capacitance cables than I did then, so my plugged in tone is brighter. My presets are EQd for the new cable.

Thanks Roland - I'm going to experiment a bit - thinking about it, I might just revisit what I was originally planning to do which was to mimic the cable effect by soldering a 420pF capacitor inside the 1/4 inch jack that feeds the Wireless Tx unit. To my mind this is something that impacts Single Coil Pickups more than Humbuckers and recently I have found myself thinking "this is sounding a bit thin".

FarleyUK · September 2021

Maybe a stupid question - but if you're gigging with the AFX3... why not just set the presets using either the wireless or cable (whichever you use live)?

exocet · September 2021

FarleyUK said:

Maybe a stupid question - but if you're gigging with the AFX3... why not just set the presets using either the wireless or cable (whichever you use live)?

That's the other option - it's on of those things that I planned to do but never got round to. I've been playing a few more gigs recently so I slowly getting used to the "variables". I've finally ironed out the level disparities between clean / rhythm / lead boost etc. Now I'm fine tuning the input - going to try the cap in cable first then replicate with a Filter / EQ block - if that works, I'll create dedicate presets for Cable / Wireless.....I'm still on FM3. Looking at Fractal history, if I change, I'll move to Axe 3 rather than FM9 - it appears that "more horsepower = longer platform support life".

DefaultM · September 2021

paulmapp8306 said:

a reminder that for all the tone tweaking we do, the final sound is also dependant on the FOH speakers!

absolutely..... all the tone searching (on whatever amp) very rarely translates. PA/soundmen make a big difference, and even if its backline providing FOH sound in a pub, where you sit/stand to listen makes vast changes.

Theres a reason most pro musicians dont use top end gear, or chase tone so much live. in a studio absolutely, but live..... rarely pays off.

Now - from a players perspective... if it makes you happier and makes you play better its worth it, but I came to the conclusion long ago that as long as the sound is decent, and (more importantly) replicatable then its good.

Exactly why I never used it direct live. No one in a pub audience really gives a shit about your tone, it's mainly for you and being comfortable with your own playing. I'm not going to hand control over to some guy and hope he knows how to get my painstakingly crafted presets to sound exactly right through a Peavey PA.

Roland · September 2021

DefaultM said: ... I'm not going to hand control over to some guy and hope he knows how to get my painstakingly crafted presets to sound exactly right through a Peavey PA.

It’s not about the guitar in isolation. It’s about how the guitar fits with the rest of the band. Yesterday we did a full day rehearsal in a large hall, and started by EQing the band so that everything fitted together. I don’t think my guitar needed much work, but a lot of low end was taken out of the bass guitar to leave room for the drums. Weather permitting Saturday’s gig will be on an outdoor stage, and I’m expecting to adjust the EQ and Reverb during soundcheck because there will be no reflections coming off walls.

FarleyUK said:

Maybe a stupid question - but if you're gigging with the AFX3... why not just set the presets using either the wireless or cable (whichever you use live)?

It’s not a stupid question, but it’s an extra complication. I’ve had several occasions where the wireless has gone down during a song, and I’ve switched to cable in less than eight bars. I’d rather put an EQ between wireless receiver and input socket, or dedicate a footswitch to an EQ block, than have to think about changing patches and scenes mid song. Then there’s the effort of maintaining parallel patches.

Roland · September 2021

So we rehearsed yesterday. I made some quick notes about a couple of levels, and I thought the Flanger was too bright. I’ll wait for the video so that I can hear how it sounds in the FoH mix before making adjustments.

I know that the next bit won’t interest most guitarists, but it illustrates the point about making the band fit together. Yesterday ran a midi clock from the keyboard. This was a big improvement to my personal workflow. I use song tempo to set Delay repeat times, and to synchronise the lights to the beat. For years I’ve had to tap in the tempo at the start of each song. All I have to do is cue the lighting pattern changes as we move between verse, chorus and bridge.

Roland · September 2021

The AxeFX3 doesn’t merge MIDI messages as the AxeFX2 does. It sends from MIDI Out, and passes the external clock messages from MIDI Thru. For the AxeFX2 I’ve been using a Midisport for MIDI to USB conversion. The Midisport also does MIDI merge, but can’t do merge and conversion at the same time. I’ve bought a SubZero MB44 which does, and Velcro’d it into the back of the rack box, alongside the mains power block. I need a block to provide mains for the AxeFX, Line6 Relay, powered monitor, and lighting controller, and emergency USB charger for my iPad. This rack is now quite heavy, but not as bad as a 2x12 combo.

TeleMaster · September 2021

Do you have a picture of your rack setup? Out of interest.

Roland · September 2021

@TeleMaster Rack box with lighting controller on top.

Roland · September 2021

Minor panic this evening. The day before a gig I run through the set list with everything turned on. With the AxeFX2 the USB used CPU cycles. It was too easy to make some minor change to the sound of a block, and only find out under gig conditions that the change had pushed the CPU over the limit.

So I ran through the set. Two songs sounded wrong. Somehow I’ve overwritten the channel A amp on preset 3 with channel A from preset 1. Safety first. Do I want to mess with this so close to a gig? Yes, because I simply want to revert the amp setting.

First step is to make that sure I’ve got a live backup, which I could use at the gig if need be, by copying the problem preset to a new slot. (I keep overwriting factory presets. One day I’ll audition them).

Second step is to make another backup of the offending preset, this time to disk. The belt and braces approach. Then restore the earlier version and note the amp settings. I won’t actually use the restored copy because I might have made other changes to it.

Thirdly, I updated the offending settings in the problem preset, leaving the rest of the preset unchanged. Then I backed up all of the presets I’ll be using tomorrow.

It sounds tedious. It’s got nothing to do with guitar playing. It’s all about minimising the risk of something going wrong at the show.

Roland · September 2021

It’s two o’clock in the morning, and I’m settling down with a post gig whisky. Don’t ask me what the AxeFX sounded like to the audience. I heard it through IEMs, and will have to wait for the videos before I know what the out front sound was like.

The only problem I had, and it’s a serious one, was with the Tap and Hold functions of the FC12. Under gig conditions I tend to hold a pedal for longer, just to make sure it’s engaged. So a couple of times I ended up in Eb, which was quickly solved. But there was worse ... the singer and I played Superstition in E instead of Eb. So the Hold function has to go. Instead I’ll create an Eb preset. Yes, I could change the time setting of the Hold.

Anyway, the Pub manager liked us. By the end of the soundcheck he’d already offered us future bookings, so it was a success.

Roland · September 2021

Venue videos have just gone up. I’m going to bed, and will look at them them tomorrow. This was the encore:
https://fb.watch/7Z3S7lIZXm/

TeleMaster · September 2021

I thought it sounded good mate. I couldn’t tell you in isolation as I couldn’t hear it, but in the mix, perfectly good!

Nicely done with the stage invasion, btw.

Roland · September 2021

Roland said:

... The tuner is now turned on whenever the volume pedal is on zero. I tried this years ago with an FCB1010, but the treadles kept moving out of tolerance, and wouldn’t always give me the tuner. I’m expecting the FC12 and Mission treadles to be better.

This afternoon I had to recalibrate the wah pedal. It took 5 seconds. Trying to remember how to do it, and eventually looking at the manual, took about 20 minutes.

Roland · September 2021

Grüsse aus Berlin. Getting away from my guitar is always useful in providing some perspective. Before leaving I created an Eb preset for Superstition, and deactivated Hold on the buttons, which puts me back to five scenes to preset. I can cope with that.

Listening back to the gig videos I wonder whether a Telecaster is the right guitar for our line-up. With male singers I've always used a brighter guitar sound, and with female singers I’ve always gone warmer. Having changed the singer I’m wondering about switch from Tele to PRS. My McCarty doesn’t work with any of my presets. It’s too powerful, and causes break up, even on very clean sounds. Before leaving I dug out a preset which has a mixture of Bognor Ecstacy Blue and Red. It worked immediately with the PRS, which was a surprise because I was expecting to tweak.

One thing I will have to do if I’m going to use the PRS is change the Acoustic IR. I could create a new IR, or I could Tone Match neck pickups on the Tele and PRS, or I could adjust the PEQ. Answers on a postcard please. Likely outcome is that I’ll try all three, and see which sounds best.

FarleyUK · September 2021

As much as I love Fractal products, Cliff really is a f*cking bellend. I expect he's just an incredibly angry person, who will one day snap.

For example - a quite pathetic passive-aggressive shot at 'a new device' (*cough*Quad Cortex*cough*) - https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/ooooh-charts-and-graphs-redux.176959/

Even if it's true, I'm not quite sure why he feels the need to post it...?

Roland · September 2021

He doesn’t come across as angry. More that he’s pleased to discover what he sees as a flaw with a competing product.

My take is that it depends how the human ear perceives the even harmonics. We used to say that transistors produced odd harmonics, but valves were less harsh because they produced more even harmonics. So whilst, according to Cliff, the Quad Cortex is producing more even harmonics artefacts than the AxeFX, that doesn’t tell me which sound I would prefer.

It’s a question where @WiresDreamDisasters, who has experienced both, might have a view.

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