An attempt to cop the fuzz tones Norman Greenbaum used on the iconic track Spirit in the Sky using my Axe-Fx III.

See thread here for preset: https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/norman-greenbaums-spirit-in-the-sky-tone.170995/

Sky Spirit

An example of the Mu-Tron emulation on the Axe-Fx III. Tuning the envelope filter is critical to success with this effect.

Mu-Tron Example

An example of using the Space Junk scene from my latest Dad & Co Axe-Fx III preset.

Preset is here: https://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=8796

Space Junk

17.01b5 - Song to the Siren

Take one Fender Bassman, crank. Plug in one outstanding PRS Silver Sky, dimed.

And let rip.

Mike McCready wouldn't mind this tone one bit at all.

Better On A Bassman

A quick rip with an Ibanez FP-777 "Flying Plan" phased tremolo emulation on my Axe-Fx III. The pop from the phaser really makes me feel like using this for funk. But it has all kinds of fun applications.

Thread with the preset is here: https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/ibanez-fp-777.180207/#post-2201829

Frying Plan

FM3 Beta - As - Is Clean - Sample 1

Aiming for something akin to Adrian Utley's live tones in the Jools Holland appearch Portishead made many moons ago.

Simple Twin, wah and a TS-808 does the trick.

Glory Box Tones

The Inquiry

The Inquiry Podcast Intro Track

What can you do with out an amp or a cabinet? A lot!

This is nasty. This is rude. And this was recorded entirely without an AMP block or a CAB block with a proper speaker IR in it. It uses FW17.01 and the new preamp settings in the CAB block, along with a NULL IR, to get the full frequency nasty out of everything being played.

Truly awful. Truly awesome.

Patch: http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=2864

IR: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-wish-list/81633-null-cab.html#post994642

With Nails

Sunday is chill vibes day in our house and that usually means at some point in the morning Khruangbin ends up on the hi-fi.

I was finding myself totally smitten with Mark's utterly unique tones when it came on this morning. It's awful but also truly amazing and it works so well in context.

On rig rundown video later and I was able to whip up this Fractal Audio FM9 preset using the latest 8.0 firmware that dropped this week.

With my humbucker-equipped Ed O'Brien Strat it sounds...wow! Fantastically close!

You can get the preset and discuss this clip on the Fractal forum here: https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/mark-speer-khruangbin-tones.207698/

Mark Speer - Khruangbin

Just a super quick rip with the new envelope filter in firmware 27.00. It's bubbly and sensitive and just everything you'd want from a Mu-Tron type touch filter!

FW27 Envelope Filter

A quick example of some Neil Young 5e3 tones on my Axe-Fx III.

Rust Reprise

A quick take to show how you can use external controllers with your Fractal Audio VP4 to control effect parameters in real time and do whacky stuff like make your delay blast off in to outer space.

VP4 Spaceship Noises

Dynamic! Stereo! Tremolo! Fender!

I wanted to show off one of my favourite features of the Axe-Fx II: the ability to assign performance-dependent controllers to all kinds of parameters in effect blocks to create things that move and breath and change with your playing.

In this example we start with a really nice pair of stereo Fender Vibrolux amps. The amp blocks are just slightly different and they're running through different, hard panned, speaker IRs to give it all some width and variance. 

Out in front of these is a Tremolo/Panner block set in mono Tremolo mode. It has its Depth and Rate parameters attached to an envelope controller that tracks the amplitude of my guitar signal. If I play harder the tremolo goes deeper and faster, and as the signal fades it goes slower and shallower. It's a wonderful feeling sound to play with; the whole setup feels amazingly alive as it changes with your touch and pick attack.

You can do this sort of thing to lots of different parameters on lots of different effects with the Axe-Fx II. Something that's nearly impossible to achieve in the analog equivalent of the world.

You can find the patch I used here: http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=3613

And a discussion post here: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-discussion/103651-going-deeper-dynamic-control-effect-parameters.html

Dynamic Asymetric Tremolo into Stereo Vibroluxes.

Using the tape delay in stereo mode to create a doubled guitar studio effect.

First half is no delay effect. Second half is delay effect. Track was reamp so takes are otherwise identical.

30ms Tape Delay Doubler

My quest for the perfect Strat + Fender tone continues. These days I'm chasing the ghost with a Bandmaster (Band Commander in the Axe-Fx II) model feeding a custom Marshall 4x12 TV Mix (I know! But hey! It works!). You can read more about the IR mix, the patch and hear a sample on the Fractal forum at: 

http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/my-quest-for-the-perfect-strat-fender-tone.105915/

Fender Bandmaster + Marshall 4x12

Someone on the Fractal forum asked how you could get a watery chorus sound akin to what the Earthquaker Devices "Sea Machine" pedal does. It's not hard, really. Just move the mix on a chorus block past 50%, up the depth and rate and that chorus starts to sound like a vibrato. It's got a faux-rotary sound to it that's just wonderful to play with.

You can get the chorus block settings I used on the forum here: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/seasick-chorus.107667/#post-1288408

Watery Chorus

A study of the rotary block in the Axe-Fx II XL+ running Quantum 1.06 firmware.

Signal chain: PRS Hollowbody -> AFIIXL+ -> GarageBand via USB

1. Clean, both pickups
2. Dirty, neck pickup
3. Overdriven, bridge pickup (with a change in drive using volume knob on guitar)

Patch: http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=3975

Heavenly Rotations

A take on that iconic 80s guitar sound: it's all about the Boss pedals and Fender amps and guitars!

Signal chain for this was:  Schecter Strat with the coils tapped -> Axe-Fx II -> Logic X

All processing was done in the Axe-Fx II.

Patch: http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=3982

Thread that prompted delving in to this tone: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/any-idea-how-to-get-that-sound-land-down-under-by-men-at-work.109098

Land Down Under

An acoustic simulation of a nylon string guitar. Signal is an electric guitar, neck humbucker. With and without some tasty delay on the track.

Acoustic Simulation - Nylon String

The reverb algorithms in the new Axe-Fx III are beyond words. Rich and lush. There's processing power to spare so you can run everything at the highest resolution and fidelity.

I just want to be buried in waves of reverberated sounds this dense and delicious.

Axe-Fx III Reverb Sample

An example of chorus, delay and reverb all running at the same time. Signal chain is serial, chorus > delay > reverb, with all three effects running post-cabinet in the Axe-Fx III.

Chorus is is an EHX Small Clone model. Delay is a generic, digital mono model. Reverb is an over-the-top Deep Space algorithm.

Everything is stereo because it sounds best that way.

Chorus - Delay - Reverb

A nasty, spitty, gated fuzz that's fun to wrestle with.

Nasty Spitty Gated Fuzz

A faux pedal steel approach done with a +2 shift whammy pedal setting and a regular old electric guitar. No bar. Somewhat passable?

Steel Geeeeetar

A quick rip with ipressthebutton's High Gear preset.

ipressthebutton - High Gear - quick rip

The FM3 with a Les Paul and me trying to do my best Jimmy Page stank face while I get my Zeppelin on.

Preset is here: https://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=8056

Blank Ship

Not sure how I missed this, but 3 Sigma dropped IR captures of a J45 (my favorite acoustic guitar sound). Grabbed their pack this evening and had a quick whirl with them.

I am impressed! These represent my J45's sound very well!

Signal chain was J45 piezo output into my Axe-Fx. The preset was running a CAB block that had a mix of the J45 soundhole and J45 piezo IRs, equal amounts of each. And then there was some compression and a wee bit of small room reverb. All recorded in Logic X and no post-processing.

3 Sigma J45 IR Test

Drip Drip Drip

Someone said SLO and I immediately thought of Warren Haynes which next lead me to remember Gov'T Mule and Grace Potter doing Gold Dust Woman and well...here we are.

This growly tone has so much in it and the bottom end punches so beautifully it's just ridiculous.

iaresee

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