I was all ears when the Fractal Audio Systems Axe-FX came out because part of my work revolves around recreating classic and modern guitar tones. I was also excited because the unit has the potential to solve a few problems at once for me. |
Check this out - the studio I work out of is often booked solid so I try to arrive before sessions start for the day - sometimes that’s the only way I can get in. Obviously, this isn’t ideal as most musician-types prefer to work later in the day. To top that off, by the time I set up the amp, mics and board for the tone I’m looking for, I usually have precious little time left for the actual performance. This has led me down many roads, from re-amping, to post-processing to matching tones, to recording multiple amps as a backup plan. Don’t get me wrong, re-amping is great for the convenience of getting tone after-the-fact, but you still have to have an inspiring tone when putting down the D.I. tracks, even if it’s not the final one. Sometimes the plug-in amp modelers do the trick but I’ve yet to use any that consistently meet my personal expectations of what a real amp should sound and record like, which is exactly what I need if I want a good performance captured to “tape”.
Tech Specs
Fractal calls the Axe-FX an advanced guitar effects processor. While that’s certainly true, it’s really an understatement. Housed in a two rack unit, the Axe-FX runs a 500MHz, dual-core processor and is able to process 2 billion floating-point instructions per second. The Ultra model that I tested runs a 600MHz version capable of 2.4 billion instructions per second. Comparing this to a plug-in amp simulator running on a PC or MAC isn’t even fair. Not only does it provide 49 amp types, 23 cabs and 25 effects, it also allows you to combine and route them in just about every possible combination imaginable. I should mention that of the 25 effect types, there are multiple iterations of each which brings the number up more toward 100. There are two sets of stereo unbalanced inputs, two unbalanced and one balanced stereo analog output(s), digital I/O in the form of S/PDIF input and AES outputs, MIDI in/out/through and a pair of pedal inputs for real-time control of parameters. Conveniently located on the front panel are level controls for both the stereo ins and outs as well as an instrument jack on the far right. A large scrub wheel is positioned just to the right of the LCD graphical interface.
The Axe-FX is so deep and full of options that even after weeks of exploring it seemed like there were still dozens of new sounds to experiment with - and I mean great, usable sounds. For the most part, the interface couldn’t be much easier to use. At first I was a bit concerned with the size of the display on the unit since I do most of my work on two 22” flat panel monitors, but I was pleasantly surprised by the intuitive layout and clear graphics. In the case of a dimly-lit studio or stage you would never have a problem seeing what you were editing. On top of that, you can download a free editor (https://www.axechange.net/ ) to do all your tone-shaping on your PC or Mac as well as share presets with other users and get the latest firmware. Mighty cool!
In Use
After the initial setup, which involved getting the inputs and outputs routed to my mixer and MIDI interface (for Sysex dumps and patch editing on a large screen), I did a casual stroll through the various patches. There was a wide variety of tones represented. Everything from classic to modern amp sounds, to crazy ambient patches that would be suitable for movie soundtrack work. Some of the patches transformed the guitar into a completely different instrument that you’d be hard pressed to guess that a guitar was even involved. Most of the sounds were very usable and switching from Les Paul to Strat, I was able to use the input control to get the right amount of gain into the Axe-FX to really make the guitar sing. Dialing up the “Hell’s Bells” preset, I immediately noticed how much clearer and defined the sounds were coming right out of the box. There was no digital hash and no blanket over the tone of my guitar. It also felt a lot like the response of one of my old Superleads. You can dig in for more gain and bite, or roll off the volume and the tone cleans up very nice. It felt like I had my amp in the control room and a mic’d up 4x12 in the live room.
After I had enough basic tone-shaping I opened the floodgates to the effects portion of the tone. Fractal offers everything from compressors to flangers to vocoders and everything in between. It was refreshing to see that the effects were not specifically modeled after classic units but made to be what the original effects strove to be. Without the coloration of resistors, caps and layout you get the option of clear and focused sounds. I immediately enjoyed the ability to have infinite control over the flanging type as well as using a studio quality compressor before hitting the amp.
Speaking of FX, the Axe-FX really shines in the reverb department. Not only do all of the rooms sound convincingly smooth and artifact-less, they have incredible flexibility to be tweaked into just about any sound you would want. I liked the reverb so much I ended up using the Axe-FX as a reverb unit for a mix of a recent song. It totally stood up against my best plug-in ’verbs as well as a few hardware units we have at the studio. Nice!
Final Mojo
I can’t say enough good things about this box. Top to bottom, the box itself is extremely tough. Electronics-wise, it has headroom and processing power to spare. The models of the amps, speakers, mics and all the FX are top-notch. Listen to the audio examples on the fractal audio website and you''ll see what I mean. (I''m told the company is going to revamp their website and add a slew of new clips September 1st)
The user interface is clean and easy to read and the PC editor, even in beta, is super easy to use. You can use it in the studio as well as in any live situation (try using a laptop and plug-in modeler sometime). It also doubles as a killer studio FX processor on its own. One thing I had an issue with was the fan noise coming from the unit. After speaking with Tom King from Fractal, he mentioned that they are planning to offer a silent fan upgrade at a nominal charge.
Buy if...
you are looking for a road-worthy all-in-one guitar preamp/effects processor
Skip if...
you are cool with plug-in amp modelers
Rating...
MSRP $2299.95 - Fractal Audio Systems - fractalaudio.com |
Supro Montauk 15-watt 1 x 10-inch Tube Combo Amplifier - Blue Rhino Hide Tolex with Silver Grille
This month’s mod Dan’s uses a 500k linear pot, a 1.5H inductor (L) with a 0.039 µF (39nF) cap (C), and a 220k resistor (R) in parallel.
Don’t let the name fool you, this is a purely passive device—nothing is going to be boosted. In general, you can’t increase anything with passive electronics that isn’t already there. Period. But you can reshape the tone by deemphasizing certain frequencies and making others more prominent (so … “boost” in guitar marketing language). Removing highs makes lows more apparent, and vice versa. In addition, the use of inductors (which create the magnetic field in a guitar circuit) and capacitors will create resonant peaks and valleys (bandpasses and notches), further coloring the overall tone. This type of bandpass filter only allows certain frequencies to pass through, while others are blocked, and it all works at unity gain.
“You can’t increase anything with passive electronics that isn’t already there … but you can reshape the tone by deemphasizing certain frequencies and making others more prominent.”
All the systems I mentioned above are doing more or less the same thing, using different approaches and slightly different component values. They are all meant to be updated tone controls. Our common tone circuit is usually a variable low-pass filter (aka treble-cut filter), which only allows the low frequencies to pass through, while the high frequencies get sent to ground via the tone cap. Most of these systems are LCR networks, which means that there is not only a capacitor (C), like on our standard tone controls, but also an inductor (L) and a resistor (R).
In general, all these systems are meant to control the midrange in order to scoop the mids, creating a mid-cut. This can be a cool sounding option, e.g. on a Strat for that mid-scooped neck and middle tone.
Dan Torres offered his “midrange kit” via an internet shop that is no longer online, same with his business website. The Torres design is a typical LCR network and looks like the illustration at the top of this column.
Dan’s design uses a 500k linear pot, a 1.5H inductor (L) with a 0.039 µF (39nF) cap (C), and a 220k resistor (R) in parallel. Let’s break down the parts piece by piece:
Any 500k linear pot will do the trick, in one of the rare scenarios where a linear pot works better in a passive guitar system than an audio pot.
(C) 0.039µF cap: This is kind of an odd value. Keeping production tolerances of up to 20 percent in mind, any value that is close will do, so you can use any small cap you want for this. I would prefer a small metallized film cap, and any voltage rating will do. If you want to stay as close as possible to the original design, use any 0.039 µF low-tolerance film cap.
(L) 1.5H inductor: The original design uses a Xicon 42TL021 inductor, which is easy to find and fairly priced. This one is also used in the Bill Lawrence Q-Filter design, the Gibson standard Varitone, and many other systems like this. It’s very small, so it will fit in virtually every electronic compartment of a guitar. It has a frequency range of 300 Hz up to 3.4 kHz, with a primary impedance of 4k ohms (that’s the one we want to use) and a secondary impedance of 600 ohms. Snip off the three secondary leads and the center tap of the primary side and use the two remaining outer primary leads; the primary side is marked with a “P.” On the pic, you can see the two leads you need marked in red, all other leads can be snipped off. You can connect the two remaining leads to the pot either way; it doesn’t matter which of them is going to ground when using it this way.
Drawing courtesy of singlecoil.com
(R) 220k: use a small axial metal film resistor (0.25 W), which is easy to find and is the quasi-standard.
Other designs use slightly different part values—the Bill Lawrence Q-filter has a 1.8H L, 0.02 µF C and 8k R, while the old RA Gresco Tone Qube from the ’80s has a 1.5H L, 0.0033 µF C, and a 180k R, so this is a wide field for experimentation to tweak it for your personal tone.
This mid-cut system can be put into any electric guitar not only as a master tone, but also together with a regular tone control or something like the Fender Greasebucket, or it can be assigned only to a certain pickup. It can be a great way to enhance your sonic palette, so give it a try.
That’s it! Next month, we’ll take a deeper look into how to fight feedback on a Telecaster. It’s a common issue, so stay tuned!
Until then ... keep on modding!