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Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
I tried dialing in a preset there, and it just lacked everything I like about valve amps. I will give it another go, perhaps into the return of the amp again.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
do you have recordings of your band that you can pop into an iPOD [or similar]??
if you think back to when we were in the studio, we were talking about creating live tones.. I crate my 'studio' presets that have all the functionality and tone types I need to practice.. so my practice experience [including how all the controller stuff works] is that same as for live.. when I have the set list, I copy all my studio presets so I can create 'live' versions. I then pop all the songs for the live set into my iPOD, hire a studio, take my whole rig and start dialling in..
first job is just to get the tones through my backline sounding / feeling good at volume...
then the iPOD gets jacked into the PA and I play along with the set.. the tweaks you need often become quite clear.. EQ, gain, gating, levels / wet-dry mix of ambients, soloing tone boost levels etc..
when this is done, I play the set from start to end to verify that everything works properly and hits the spot...
when I get with the band for rehearsal, I may need to make a few more corrections, but these are generally very small / quick / easy ones..
from that point on, my config is essentially 'locked down' and never gets touched.
the reason I do this is because you can piss away too much time dialling in, in a reheasal studio with the band and so you can end up bushwhacking the purpose of the rehearsal.. and with the DC Band, we only have a single rehearsal before we tour, so pissing that away tweaking presets is a major no no...
I reckon you could most likely get the Axe working right for you provided you set it up under the right conditions..
I have to say, after last night... I am kind of in agreement with Si_ ... I'm sure the Axe can get there eventually. But I just don't know why I would want to bother. My Diezel rig sounds bloody fantastic.
What I would say is that we play a *lot* louder than the levels we had in the studio Clarky; I'm wondering if that's it. Whether it was just too loud somewhere along the signal path, and the setup couldn't handle it and just farted out.
I couldn't get away with playing much louder than we did in the studio in Reading.. the sound guys generally don't allow it.. in the studio everythnig was a 1/2 way.. remember when I pushed it to 2/3 it got pretty loud.. that's the absolute upper limit the sound eng's would allow because and more than that and they lose control over the mix out front..
may sound counter intuitive, but did the Axe presets have lots of low end dialled in? cos too much of that can kill the tone.. for better depth, rather than large boosts below 250Hz and a handfull of the depth control, a good cut in either the 250 or 500 bands works better..
at the end of the day, an Axe is not a valve amp and never will be.. it can only emulate them.. and sure it does a pretty good job, but I'm not sure if it'll ever be 100% the same.. but then I never really think about the Axe in those terms..
the questiion is, can it be made to sound amazing?? and the answer is yes.. but like Si points out, it's not a 5 minute job.. however, once you've nailled it, it'll remain the same and be consistent.. just power up and play.. job done..
although the band's studio sound and live sounds are different [same with me and the DC Band / Civilians etc], you are still dialling in with respect to an occupied frequency spectrum.. and you have a good idea too of the relative levels you need for your various tones.. dialing in at home nails the principle tone and functionality.. that gets you 70% there.. dialing in over a backing track gets you to within 5-10% of where you need to be... the final adjustments are with the band.. but these are generally small / quick ones..
given that it's a costly bit of gear.. I'd personally try noodling with it more for a while to see if you can hit onthe magic formula.. and then if it still don't cut it for you, sell it.. what you do know though is that if you can get the tone you're looking for, the Axe is also going to make lots of other cool tones available to you [in your case, the ambients]..
thoughts:
- try using two amb blocks and pan them hard.. Das Metall one side and somethnig like the 5150 or Dual Rec the other.. personally I think this really makes a difference
- try 'lo-fi' settings on your delay.. squeeze it's freq range and distort it a little
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
ahh of course... I keep forgetting that the nature of places the band plays in makes quite a difference.. everywhere I play I get mic'd..
here's a thought though.. even if you're playing in a small place, it's still a good thing to mic the band completely so you all go through the PA.. even if it's simply to make the band louder.. cos when you all go through the PA, it helps glue the band's tones together.. it adds a nice coat of polish on the band's combined voice..
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Which band?