My Journey from Analog to Digital
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- Опубликовано: 8 июл 2024
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Here's my personal story about how I went from analog tone snob to digital disciple, why I chose Fractal over other options, and how these incredible devices make my life as a performer, teacher, creator, and gear nerd much, much easier. What is your preferred guitar rig? Are you all in on digital, or are you all-or-nothing analog? The best guitar rig, however, is the one that gets you playing and inspired to make music!
#MathewDale #Fractal #AxeFX3 #FM9 #FM3 #Guitar #Tone
THE SOCIALS...
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/ mathewdale Mat's Trusted Gear...
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GUITARS
PRS DGT sweetwater.sjv.io/KjdaXe
PRS McCarty 594 sweetwater.sjv.io/DKd9eb
Strandberg Fusion NX sweetwater.sjv.io/9gd4zE
Strandberg Original NX sweetwater.sjv.io/5g02Z1
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GUITAR GEAR
Line6 HX Stomp sweetwater.sjv.io/AWMx3a
Shure GLXD Guitar Wireless sweetwater.sjv.io/VmDzYj
Mono Electric Guitar Gig Bag sweetwater.sjv.io/ZQjnKz
Mono Acoustic Guitar Gig Bag sweetwater.sjv.io/oq6mLW
Electric Strings sweetwater.sjv.io/zNmZbG
Acoustic Strings sweetwater.sjv.io/0ZKEjN
Music Nomad Set up Kit sweetwater.sjv.io/EKdreD
Fred Kelly Bumblebee Jazz Picks amzn.to/41sE5Eq
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STUDIO GEAR
Studiolive 32C sweetwater.sjv.io/OrdVKP
StudioLive 32R sweetwater.sjv.io/R5dgnv
Eris E5 sweetwater.sjv.io/daJNV2
Rode PodMic sweetwater.sjv.io/MmdGyn
QSC K10.2 sweetwater.sjv.io/xk6VQy
QSC K12.2 sweetwater.sjv.io/PydJ4R
Behringer P1 Personal Monitor Amp sweetwater.sjv.io/q465ZN
Presonus HP4 Headphone Amp sweetwater.sjv.io/5g02Y3
Studio One+ sweetwater.sjv.io/eKZygX 
Видеоклипы
That 594 sounds so thick and creamy
Wow! Thank you so much for watching! I owe much of my Fractal obsession and understanding of the gear to you!
And yes, I love my 594! The 58/15 Lt pickups are my absolute favorite.
In perfect circumstances analog sounds great, but the dependability, convenience, flexibility, and tone of modelers really makes them attractive.
Before I acquired my Axe FX III (inspired to do so by Leon Todd) I had my Mesa JP2C, 8 or so different pedals and a Boss ES-8. While that worked, the cabling was extensive. Once I realized how flexible the Axe was, I sold most of the pedals and the ES-8 and used the proceeds to grab a Core PRS Tremonti (well worth it). Right now I'm just a 58 year old bedroom player, although I hope to start getting together with other musicians soon. I will say that, being the Petrucci fanboy that I am, I'll never give up my real JP2C. Killer amp and when combined with the Axe using 4CM it's an absolute monster. Overkill for the bedroom for sure, but overkill is way better than underkill in my mind.
A Petrucci fanboy over here as well. How do the JP2C models from the Fractal unit compare to the real thing?
@bro wot They sound great, but tough for me to do a 1 to 1 comparison as I'm running the physical Amp through a real recto 4x12 while the Axe is going to a Line 6 Powercab Plus.
Wait till you hear the Boogies in the Fractal. The Mark series, Rectifier, and Triaxis are really cool models.
@cunjoz I considerably preferred the Fractal Mark models over my Mark V 90w when I was using both. Not the exact comparison you were looking for. And note, this is obviously comparing running through and IR and into studio monitors. You can of course run the Axe Fx into a poweramp to get the cab in the room experience.
All of this said, I have moved from a Mark series obsession onto a collection of Wizard amps and using captures of them in a Quad Cortex or ToneX for digital needs.
great choice and as a Dream Theater JP fan as well, I have the EBMM JP Majesty guitar which is a real masterpiece and Mesa Mark V amp as it was less expensive than a JP2C amp at the time and an HX Stomp along with many pedals and other tube amps and guitars. But love the simplicity of a modeler and space saving aspect and plan to sell off my other amps and just use a power amp with new modeler whether I get Kemper or Fractal leaning toward the Fractal.
Fantastic playing
Great video Matthew! 🎸👏👍
Thanks for the video. I still have my 1965 Fender Bandmaster that I got in the early 80’s a PRS Hendrix 100 head and a Mesa Triple Crown. But I primarily use my Fractal Axe III now. I used to have a refrigerator size rack like everyone else but that was sold off when I discovered Fractal Audio. The Axe III does everything my amps do and more. I keep them around just to toy with.
Thanks for this! I took a similar journey. I was becoming obsessed with pedal review, and knob tweaking in search of "tone perfection". I was doing that much more than playing music. The FM-9 allowed me to get amazing tones, and just save them, and recall them up at-will. All the way from fender champs to Boogie Stacks. It keeps the knob-turning away, and lets me just Go....
Great video. I also went from amps and pedals, to the boss gt 100, line 6 and is on the waiting list for the Fractal FM9.
Also love the Axe Fx for recording too cause its very consistent and sounds amazing i still use the 2
Digital deciple ;-) love it ! My experience with Fractal was almost the exact same story ! My back has been thanking me ever since I quit hauling around the big tube amp gear ! I also get a lot more compliments on my tones now than ever before with the Marshalls and Boogies.
Fractal is the way to go Literally sounds just as good if not better then the amps it’s modeling and then it has the ideal setting page
Same here! Fm9 now GigRig 3 with 20 pedals before. I am loving it! Soundcheck is 10? Minute setup now. Sounds are killer.
Hey Mathew, loved hearing your journey into Fractal land. I toured for several years ,and caring on my pedalboard because I had a Fender Twin as my backline on my rider. I got very frustrated with getting amps with monophonic tubes or bad speakers that caused me grief during the entire performance, that I purchased an Amplitube pedal board which used a Mac mini to run the software thru a stereo speaker system. I then purchased my first Fractal Axe FX 2 and the amps, cabs and effects won me over. I then purchased an Axe FX 2 +, then the Axe FX 3 and now I am using an FM9 thru an RCF NX- SMA 12 floor wedge and an XLR to front of house and I am loving the tone, and ease of set up and break down. By the way, I purchased one of your preset packs and love what you have done
, very useful presets, so thank you! I also had in the past several Marshall heads and cabs, Hughes and Kettner El Diablo head, and several Fender Twins and Tweeds. I miss NONE of them...Carry on brother.
Thanks so much! Glad to hear you are enjoying the presets!
I used to run a gt1000 in front of a mess triple rec. I had to sell it all, and my new rig is a quad cortex paired with an hx effects in 4CM.
I absolutely love it, I run through a decent Friedman powered cab and I throw a clean tube boost in one of my FX loops for some of that tubeness. I really love it, my sound has never been better.
I sold my Axe FX 3 after about 3 years for almost as much as I bought it for new. Reason...it will drop like a rock in value soon enough. Just like all the other digital processors have since the 1980s. They're pretty cool for a brief time and then quickly forgotten when the next shiny toy comes out. My traditional amps and effects have pretty much held their value, sound great and serve the purpose I need. I get why people use and like processors but true quality hardware stands the test of time.
Thank you for sharing your journey and process. I'm 61 and have been playing for 52 years and have had a million amps, had a full fridge size Bradshaw system when I was doing lots of sessions in the 80s/90s, to a pair of great tube amps I use live currently (Dr. Z Stang Ray and Mahalo Katy66), but my recent purchase of the FM9 is probably going to be the one that gets me to take modeling into my live performance space (I play locally in 12 projects of various genres/styles). I'm going to try it through the power section of my amps first and then shop FRFR speakers for a good stereo pair.
Very wise choice in the FM9. There are many good FRFR solutions- check out the fractal forum to narrow down the list. You can also go out to your amp using the effects loop and or use a ABY pedal. It can do whatever you need it to do and do it better than most.
What speaker did you go with? I'm trying to figure out what I want...
I can relate to what your saying. I play AFX3 now. I spent heaps of money on 100 watt tube heads to play in my bedroom and wondered why it didn’t sound good despite having high end amps. Don’t get me wrong playing a loud tube amp sounds and feels good but for playing at home it’s a no brainer.
So I have the fm3 and when I got it I got the expression pedal and the 6 button foot board two months later the fm9 came out and I was like damn only because it has the bi amp abilities and the 25 % more cpu granted I never run into cpu problems. I forget the name of the effect that the axe 3 and the fm9!have maybe it’s called the resonator? You up a penny on you can and chug and adjust to where you can moves that penny the most. But no one would probably noticed and usually the cab is just for me everyone in the crowd and on stage hears my direct out anyways so not a big deal. And I don’t need to have 16 effects playing at once so the cpu isn’t an issue but if I was still touring I’d get the afx 3 rack for sure it’s like the best unit available to buy. But anyways keep on rocking
Just what I needed to hear as a fellow tone snob who doesn't want to deal with multiple analog pedals, heavy amps etc. Appreciation, great detail, great succinct delivery.
Thanks for watching!
Great it worked for you. I changed to an Axe FX III from analog and did a 180 turn after touching my guitar less and less and lost inspiration completely in a year using the digital stuff. Happy owner of a JP2C now.
So buy a pod lol.
Loved this video. And I love my axe fx 3. Technology really has come very far
100% agree with your assessment of Fractal Audio and the benefits + audio quality. I only have FM3, but I am blown away by the number of options and alternatives, both in amps + cabs but also FX. One under-appreciated capability, IMO, is the ability to connect a single external controller (expression pedal) to multiple controls, on one or more blocks, and also to custom design the response curves on each. E.g. Wah + Formant + "drive" on Overdrive + tone on Amp. Result: sultry, complex, spooky expressiveness! Way more expressive that simple Wah or other simple expression.
I love my fm3. I don’t tour anymore and I’m not trying to be. A rock star Thr fm9 came out like two months after I got my fm3 and the 6 pedal foot switch from fractal plus I have there expression pedal but with the fm3 and the 6 switch foot switch it’s basically an fm9 with a detachable foot switch granted the fm9 has like 25% more cpu and you
Can make bi amp so if you
Play stereo one side could be one amp and the other could be another amp. But when I bought my fm3 it was like 3 months before fm9 came out but still I love my fm3 and it does anything I need the cpu being a little less then thr fm9 isn’t an issue because until your using some serious effects at once that have looong durations then yea you can max it out but I use a flange delay and then that multdelay some reverb and trempan chorus and a wah obviously I don’t use them all at the same time. But I never use them all at the same time ya know. I use the 6 button foot switch as like a pedal board. And I use the hold button to switch to certain presets depending on which band I’m playing in at the time. Or like different genres If need be or if I feel like it. And then I use two of the three button on thr fm3 to go up and down the scenes and one for rap tempo and hold that one fore a tuner and man I love it can play any place any style of music and sound absolutely amazing. It’s funny you see people with huge tube amps that basically only have two channels and cost the same at the fractal maybe more but don’t sound as good. Every guitar player
Should have a fractal. Sorry this is so long I can talk about it for hours
Oh and when I want to use a cab I have a mesa 4 12s and I’ll use my synergy rack mount power amp it has 4 power tubes and 2 pre amp tubes so when I tell people they should use a fractal they’re llile but the tube amps just sound so good and though you don’t need a tube power head it does give it that feel granted it also did on my gt1000 power head and that wasn’t a tube power head. When I play smaller shows like cover band at a bar somtimes with no pa for the instruments I just bring my 2 12s fender hot rod deville and bam tubes And that hot rod deville is super loud if you turn it up so there’s no reason anyone should be buying super expensive tube amps when you can buy a fractal and it sounds better then the heads it models and you have way more options. Again sorry it’s so long. I just love my fractal
Great review. I, too, was surprised at how I kept gravitating towards my modeler (I started with an HX Stomp…still got it) over my wonderful pedalboard/amps. I’ve still got an excellent small board…but rarely play through it.
Love my Stomp and the other modelers I’ve tried, but the amps clean up best on my FM9. They just behave like the real thing. The 800 and Green REVV are incredible in that respect.
Just the fact that you don’t need to crank up an amp to 10, makes the modelers better (with them both sounding exactly the same). But, the fractal has more tone shaping
Because you are smart and Fractal remains the KING. Love my FM9. UI could use an update but otherwise it rocks.
I'm about to jump on the Fractal freight train , not looking forward to tearing down the singers' PA at every gig because I'm using his rig lol
I own tube amps and the maintenance is the painful part as few techs know how to work on tube amps and the good ones have long wait times to repair or replace tubes. Modelers are the future.
I was on the original Fractal Ultra waiting list and I haven’t looked back. (Now I use the AX8) Fractal gear makes gigging an absolute breeze.
I remember the first time hearing the Axe FX II XL via Adam A7X in a local music shop.. My mind was blowned away. The sound was so clean and massive, each note was articulate.. The ease of switching presets was also an amazing exprience.
At this point I had quite an expensive rig: Engl E560 Blackmore, Mesa 212 cab, Stryomon Timeline, Analogman Chorus, Redpanda Context delay/reverb, Dunlop. Q535, MXR 10 band eq, Amptweaker Tightmetal.. I am sure that I forgot something. Not to mention the number of tube I invested in.. Soldano, EVH, Carvin, Genz Benz.. I sold all of them and bought the Ax8 and with the money I saved bought an ESP Explorer from 94. It was the best thing I did, and I never looked back. My focus is on playing and I was able collect rare guitars which is much more fun to do.
I just bought a used AX8, my first Fractal product, and was floored how beautiful the tones are. Wow! I still have alot of top tube heads, but they all stay home while my AX8, Headrush, or even RP360XP goes with me to play out. Technology has changed everything.
Great video. I've been fortunate to have owned several now collectible tube amps, including a Mesa Boogie Mk IIC+ head (i got it in high school in 1990 for $400 - mint condition!!) and later a Rev F Dual Recto head. Some classic Marshalls and others mixed in there too over the years. I built up a huge pedalboard over time, with GigRig G2 switcher, 2 Strymons, an H9Max, and assorted boutique drives, wah etc. I gigged that with a tube halfstack for years, then switched the board out for a Helix and gigged that for almost 5 years too. Eventually, I sold off my board and ran the Helix into the fx return of the tube amp, because I was convinced after 30 years that I still needed tubes. Eventually, I sold off my amps too, and just gig a modeler with an FRFR cab, or solid state tube amp and Marshall cab. I've been with Fractal now for a couple years (FM3 & FM9) and couldn't be happier. I've taken both of them with me on the airlines across the country to jam with friends. Something I could never have done with a traditional rig. Plus, my tones are always consistently great from recording to live. Never going back LOL
Hey, before I forget, tell me about that thumb pick you're using. I've debating giving that a try since it seems like it would make hybrid picking easier, and less dropping.
Sure thing, I use Fred Kelly Bumblebee Jazz picks... fredkellypicks.com
@@mathew_dale thanks!
I still have my JCM 2000 and a nice pedal set up but I just got the FM9 Turbo after being on the waitlist for over a year. I bought Cooper Carter's class on this unit so that I can learn it better and faster and I'm just blown away with what this can do. I had the Helix LT a few years ago and it was ok but the sounds I get out of this are extraordinary. I won't get rid of my analog rig but I'll be playing my FM9 most of the time for a while and then I'll probably go back and forth. If I put a band together, I'm definitely going to be using the FM9 as my rig. Love this thing.
I have a JCM2000… It’s now garbage lol!
@@noahchasinguitar5831 I've had to have a few minor repairs made to it over the last couple of years but mine is about 19ish years old and sounds amazing. I never use the crunch or lead channels - I get all my tones with pedals and just use the clean channel. I love my FM9 but definitely prefer my amp/pedal set-up.
Hey!!, why don't you find out how many updates they did for AX8 and revise your opinion on quality of Fractal Audio's support.
I’m a Headrush user. I just come here for your epic playing!
Thanks so much!
sorry for the typo. Carying on my pedalboard. oops!
Personally I'm down to one tube amp...a real 65 Deluxe Reverb. I don't play out, haven't in years so out went the Marshall, Peavey, etc. My first digital was Line6 Podxt, even had the Bass PODxt... boy have things progressed.
I watch all the youtube videos still but mainly for the playing and the ideas to use on my AxeFXIII Mk2 Turbo (thanks Matthew AND Leon Todd).. We can't all be Josh from JHS; can't afford that rabbit hole. I have nice monitors and I also have a Mission Engineering Gemini II. Couldn't be happier and my wife says it doesn't look like Sweetwater threw up in my office/studio. I've played most of the good amps but who can afford the 300 that's in the Fractal?
I'm 60 years old and sure appreciate pointing and clicking on Edit as opposed to crawling around trying to figure out cables...having said that I still have a Keeley Halo and D&M Drive sitting beside my FC's and in a loop. I have it because my non-playing wife watches That Pedal Show, saw Andy Timmons on it and bought me the Halo and got the D&M Drive because of Dan and Mick...if wife buys you pedals never tell her you do not need them!
That is a good point. Using modelling and minimising analog gear freed up not only my wallet but my apartment as well. When you're single you can live in a mess of gear but when you're sharing the place with your partner it isn't really fair to them. I have all the sounds I need and it doesn't bother anyone else anymore. Of course still have analog gear but I sold about 80%.
Also, wonderful that your wife bought you those pedals. What a beautiful gesture.
Hi Matthew..
I just found you by accident. .. I'm 62 and just play at home now, but I can see why you did what you did. We live in a great time for guitar.. Back when I was playing in small gigs in the Indy area, I used a Fender Twin originally and a Rat pedal believe it or not. Then I went to an ADA preamp and I don't remember the tube power amp, but loved that tone.. Talk about being a pain though.. I also had many different tube amps, mostly 2 x 12's or 1 x 12s.. So just recently (the last few years) I've been thinking about a modeler and I'm looking hard at the boss since I'm just playing at home and the occasional get together with friends to gig out.. I'm debating the FM3 or the Boss Core you had there.. I just care about tone.. I would use it for like 3 sounds on three different scenes or channels.. My cousin owns a studio near chicago and I played thru his Kemper.. He has every high gain and fender type tube amp known to man so that people he produces and records can use if they want, and he has the Kemper.. I tried to a/ b them and I was shocked at how good the Kemper sounded.. It didn't totally have the feel, but it was close.. I've not tried the axeFx but I want to.. My friend from australia who's online "Leon Todd" has an amazing channel and he uses all Fractal stuff and loves it..
Anyway, great story man.. I subscribed..
Have a great week man.. Be safe and be well sir.
Regards from South Central Indiana. USA
Tim
Gave the AxeFX III a really solid try with many solid state power amps. The Fractal tech is incredible. The flexibility, sound quality of the effects and clean tones. The interface and application are phenominal. But, playing metal, sorry, just does not replicate the thud and punch of valve power and pre. CAN you play direct? Sure. Does it sound good? Sure... but it doesn't sound or FEEL awesome. It's just missing that thump. Maybe I'm not setting the presets up or using the right IRs. But I think I have a good handle on it. And can't reproduce the physicality of analog.
Wise words from a young man. Convenience is the way. And yes those George L's were a bust 😅
Funny enough i went the complete opposite direction. Startet on pods, then kemper, then helix kemper again helix again. Now have a really nice pedalboard really nice tube amps, and i could not be happier. So much more fun to play. Use helix for practice still. Im not touring, but i play live gigs once every second month
Nice! The best rig is the one you want to play every day and fits your needs and preferences! Thanks for watching!
Looking forward to your journey from PRS to 50s Les Paul Standards.
LOL if only!
the best tone is either a real amp into a reactive load then into the Axe or a good tube pre into the Axe (like vai does).
If I could afford the FM9, I'd get it in a heart beat!
The more cables /connections you have the more problems will show up. AND the signal will be less, I have always used monster or mogami cables. When you buy expensive gear ,cheap cables is NOT the right thing to do. (It pays to purchase good quality cables), ALWAYS. - RJ.
Subbed great review and my journey is similar from tube amps to software modeling to hardware modelers back to tube amps and now looking at selling most of my big tube amps and cabs to fund a new guitar and Fractal Axe FX IIII or FM9. The FM3 is too small. Reason is the ease of recording, conveniences, no tube maintenance and portable.
Man, my journey to Fractal was VERY similar - tube amps from BadCat, Fender, and Marshall, pedals from AnalogMan, Keeley, Red Witch, etc. (and George L cables too). I had to downsize drastically and picked up a Headrush purely for it's simple interface. It sounded pretty darn good but that was how I learned about IRs, got into basic modeling tweaking, etc. When the Fractal FM3 came out, I jumped from the Headrush and I've been using the FM3 for about 2 years now. I love it and because I run very simple setups (I don't run many blocks at the same time) I have no need to upgrade to an Axe III. I'm still learning all the tweaking options but I can't see myself ever leaving the Fractal ecosystem.
How big a difference in tones btw Headrush and FM3?
@@Bridging_the_Political_Divide Not a real big difference, esp when comparing the same amp models, but the FM3 sounds more authentic based on my experience with tube amps. The Headrush is hard to beat for the money, esp if all you want is a few really good tones. The FM3 will get you closer to the real amp tones and has 100x more tweakability.
@@maverick_trail. Good thoughts, appreciate it. 👍
I use an FM9 .. Superb , just needed a Fuzz pedal in front of it and I am set !! Modellers do not do Fuzz very well........
I think to make an analog rig to always sound good in every live conditions, you need your ( very experienced) personal tech looking after it. Only few can afford that. If you setting everything up yourself, with digital modeller is so much easier to achieve good and consistent sound.
Dude my story to a teeeeeee except for the church thing lol right on the money the amps in the fm are unbelievable after I heard my buddies I sold my gt that night and have never looked back I couldn’t dial in a heavy rock tone with the gt that didn’t sound tinny the fm is unreal to many amps to choose from and actually easier to use with the app funny word for word my thought process except I used tube amps for 40 years lol sold all my pedals and amps best thing I ever did
Tubes color sound. That's all they do.
There is no magic. Just compression and colored tone. There is no "squishing" of "fragile harmonics" in a SS transistor's lattice. It's all voodoo and psychoacoustics. Pareidolia for the ears.
_....and I'm a Hi-Res music fan. 96k, 192k, do contribute a noticeable improvement to the intricacies of sound/music._
Not sure what it is, Nyquist Theorem aside.
At the end of the day, you can keep thine holy toobz. Solid state crystal lattice is just fine for me.
The Axe 3 is outstanding. The feel, the "squish", the note bloom, it's all outstanding and in a blind A/B there isn't a single player on Earth whom could tell the difference.
The experiments have been done and redone. Modeling is already top notch and it just gets more powerful and the algorithms get more exact and down the rabbit hole of perfection every month.
Fractal, Cliff Chase, leads the pack in the modeling ecosphere. They have for over a decade and no one is even close to catching up.
Tubes have the sound! SS amps sound harsh compared to tubes. Explain that smart ass!
No doubt the fractal units are amazing. I think Fractal has the modeling down so well they are more focusing on quality of life improvements.
I also look forward to even more power in an FM9 type footprint like the QC has and the ability to make more complex patches and limitless block options.
Aren't the neural archetypes good? Much less customizable but I always like those sounds more than fractal for some reason
Hi Mathew,
Thank you for taking the time to share and explain at the same time of the floor boards through out the years.
I have a question though. What are you using for your power source to run your fractal units? I have an old Carvin TS-100
I most certainly would love to upgrade . My first fractal was the first edition I bought at a pawn shop. No warranty no instructions. And no software upgrades.
So that did leave me a bit frustrated with trying to get behind the learning curve. But now the newer models are loaded with software updates galore. And I can most
defiantly get behind that. Are you using a midi for your switching. I did notice some pedals with your floor fractal. I thank you for your time and wishing you much success in the future be well and be good to yourself.
Thanks for watching and for the comment! I'm actually not running to a power amp, rather I'm sending OUT 1 on each of my fractals to a mixer and the mixer is connected to powered PA speakers (QSC K10s or K12s depending on the situation.) This is why it's important to really find some good IRs for the Cab Block and to dial in the Cab for FRFR use. If you are using a your TS-100 going to a guitar cab, you actually wouldn't need to use the Cab Block because a guitar cab is already a part of your signal (avoid "double cabbing"). You might also want to disable "Power Amp Modeling" in the Setup menu since the Carvin is a tube amp. If you are plugging the Carving into a full range passive cabinet then you will want to use the Cab Block but still might want to disable the "Power Amp Modeling."
As far as switching goes, I mostly use the FC-6 which is specifically for all 3rd gen Fractal products (Axe-FX III, FM9, FM3). These still use Midi, but it's set up to be very easy to edit, and has preloaded switching layouts from the factory so it's very "Plug and Play." I really like that just a single XLR powers and communicates with the FC so its a very clean and simple stage run. I also use so simple switches that I built. These aren't Midi, just a simple on or off momentary switch plugged into the "pedal" jack on the units and I have the device set up to use them a certain way. I have a video on them if you want to check that out... ruclips.net/video/6LbCcJNhf-Q/видео.html
You can also use any midi switch, but you'll also need to take the time to program all the switches which can be tedious but effective. Might do a video on that in the future. Hope this was informative! Cheers!
Strange he never mentions the Kemper...the best sounding one of them all, at least to my ears. Cool story and I can relate.....I use modellers and tube amps and love both.
The Kemper is definitely cool and holds its place as the first and most prolific "profiler", but it was never really on my radar. I wanted an all-in-one solution and, for me, the entire library of Fractal effects was hard to pass up. Thanks for watching!
Back in the day when the kemper came out it was awesome. But now the fm3 whoops it. It’s just far superior but when you first get a fractal it’s like learning Chinese for a bit but once you learn how to use it then wow
Good for you dude. For me, there’s a place for both. I can’t say I love my Fractal or plugins - they are there for pure convenience but love every single one of my amps.
Your journey is very similar to mine except at 57 mine was spread out over a much longer time. I was a tube amp guy from the start in 1980 with a Fender Bassman, Bandmaster, then various years of Twins. Then onto the Mesa Boogie scene. At around this time (late 90’s - 2000) I was going through many pedals and to inexpensive to expensive Multi-FX systems. Digitech to TC Electronics GForce. I also tried this new fangled red kidney bean shaped thing called a POD. Immediately hated it. Mostly due to the latency and lousy clean tones. I was also going to school in my 30’s and getting an electronics degree and got into building amps. This is when I became the biggest tube amp only and never anything else junkie. Building Dumble clones, etc..
Well like I said time marches on and I wasn’t getting younger and lugging tons of equipment was becoming very tiresome and painful. I had known of Fractal due to many bands I love using them and also understanding the technology and possibilities. The only thing to find out was whether it would pass the sound and most of all the feel/tactile test. In May of 2021 I pulled the trigger on an FM3 and have not looked back. As you said FAS keeps improving and adding functionality and features for free. I have dealt with many music equipment manufacturers and I haven’t dealt with a better company.
BTW
Love your preset pack (great presets and layout plus I like deconstructing other people’s presets and seeing how they do things) and doing your theory video class. I like it. It’s never too late to learn something new.
Thanks so much @AudioAtmos! Great to hear you are enjoying my presets and Theory Logic!
I actually was thinking about getting Fm9 over my Helix Lt. But I am quite confused with FM9 or QUAD CORTEX
what do you think about the QC over fractal?
I’ve heard good, but mixed things about the QC. It’s definitely capable and powerful, but I would suggest that the fractal is more tried and true. Fractal has been doing both hardware and software for a long time and it shows. While Neural is killing the plug-in market, they are new to the hardware game. Not saying it’s not good. Just that new things can have an unknown factor.
The FM9 is amazing, you will be blown away
I dont get those people 1:40 I have my FM3 going into a Mesa Badlander clean channel and its great.
Too late now, of course, but you might have tried Evidence Audio Monorail cable & plugs for your analog pedalboard. They are very stable. Haven't had one fail on me yet. If you ever go back, or want to kind of bulletproof the old board, give them a try.
I love your hoodie. Where did you get it? I want one.☺️
Express I believe- Been a few years so not sure they have one currently like it.
Great segment, all points true. Honestly, technology is very rapidly making tube amps obsolete.
Funny thing is I have a GT1000 I am thinking of getting rid of for a FX3
Nice!!
Same from POD XT in 2005 to Cheap tube amps to a BADCAT £3600 Hotcat 30R withn 2x12 cab to a kemper then to an Axe-FX III could NEVER put up with a tube amp now. not that it's bad but dosent get you where or what you need easily and often Digital sounds better at the end of the chain...down on recorded.
I never understand quite how some of this works....if I'm at home , I'd still need an amp and speaker to get the digital modeller to make a sound. What do people use if not a guitar amp?
This is a good point and I actually bring it up in my "Don't by and Axe-FX" video. I run my modelers into studio monitors and FRFR or PA speakers (QSC k10s or K12s for me). You could also run modelers into an amp input for only effects, or into an FX return of an amp with the proper setting, but most modelers are set up to run direct to a mixer or flat speakers from the get go. So if you are a player with a few real amps at home wanting to dip into modeling, that may come at the additional price of some more gear.
@@mathew_dale Thanks for that. I'm only really interested because I'm told how good sounding and convenient modellers are but I don't think it would be worth my while investing too much as I really only look for one or two sounds at most from an amp and only a few effects. Nice to play around with but I'd end up not using 95% of it.
Quick question. Does the million dollar pack contain the premium presets?
Nope they are unique presets in each pack.
Not diggin’ the PRS…..
You're right, I see the error of my ways now...
@@mathew_dale ...better late than never....
If Fractal had better "Clean Amp sounds" I would get one. Tried the AXE FX II , Then the AXE FX III. The cleans just fell short. If the clean amp sounds were as good as the Overdrive amp sounds, I would get one and not return it ! Also the On Board Compressor on the AXE FX is a Joke ! If Fractal would Improve the Clean amp sounds and the Compressor , the AXE FX would be the only choice !
Dave, I think you maybe just didn’t know how to use the unit to get the sound that you wanted. These units have a somewhat steep learning curve and a good starting point is paid patches that you like the demos of and watching videos of guys that play music that you like.
Honestly, in a mix you’d never know the stock preset was a stock preset.
It’s well worth learning.
I also want to add that no modeling unit does “amp in the room” sounds unless you plug it in to a real cabinet. Through a monitor, they sound like a mic’d up guitar cab as intended. My buddy hates modeling because of this. We are bedroom rock stars and I love modeling and real amps and he won’t touch a modeler with a 10 foot pole.
nothing sounds better than a tube amp for the guy standing in front of it, but there is a whole bunch of down side being
Inconsistent sound in different venues
Stage rucus, and inevitably you turn up the amp mega loud and then everyone else turns up and its just a big mess
Way harder to mix
More expensive
Less tools at your disposal
less volume control
more time setting up more parts
Less reliable
more maintenence
harder on your back
cant muck around tweaking live sound at home
less aware of what your amp is doing to FOH.
more I can't think of, I have a helix. I would never gig with an amp.
Hate PRS ..ughh
To each his own. Thanks for watching though!
intro sound is so muffled and lacking clarity. the problem with moste people using modellers.FOH will thank you if you add a tad more presence to your tone, it will make it easier to fit in the mix. otherwise you fight with the vocals too much
Never had an issue with FOH or getting lost in the mix before with Fractal, but thanks for the heads up.
i'm glad walter white saved you.
Bla, Bla, Bla, You'll go back to yr valve gear sooner or later!
I use a quad cortex with a bluguitar amp 1 iridium. The amp 1 is amazing. It’s a real tube amp. Check it out. Amp x is out soon too
I ALMOST got a bluguitar amp1 just before I went with the FM3! Still need to check it out one day...
@@mathew_dale honestly it’s well worth it
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