‘Studio Diary’ is an occasional series where I talk about building a home recording setup for hobbyists and enthusiasts like us. I share my personal experiences, and the thinking behind some of the decisions that I’ve made along the way.
Fractal Audio have recently overhauled their amp modelling in the Axe-FX 3 / FM-9 / FM-3. And my recent dive into the Orange Getaway Driver has shown me that I need to revoice my signal chain. I’m taking this as an opportunity to re-evaluate everything about the pedal preset I’ve built for the Axe-FX 3.
Last time, I covered how I’ve split my old ’65 Clean’ pedal platform preset into two, by adding a new ’65 Vintage’ preset based on the two Deluxe Reverb amp models. Yeah, turns out there’s a bit more mileage to be had out of those amp models …
Series Tracker
This is the 16th blog post in this series.
You can see the full list of these blog posts over on the dedicated FW 25 Pedal Platform Preset page.
Table of Contents
- Series Tracker
- What Inspired Me To Add Another Pedal Platform Preset?
- Keeping The Same Structure As My 65 Vintage Preset
- What Am I Using For Cabs?
- What Is This Preset Good For?
- Tricks And Tips For EQing Guitars
- How Does It Sound?
- My Rig Today
- Reference Sounds: My 65 Modern Preset
- My 65 Vintage Preset With DynaCab IRs
- My 65 Vintage Preset With Celestion Impulse Responses
- Comparing The Two Sets of 65 Vintage Scenes
- Quickly Revoicing Scene 1, 65 Vintage Preset
- The 65 Nashville With V30 Speaker IRs
- The 65 Nashville Preset With V-Type IRs
- Side-By-Side-By-Side Comparison
- Final Thoughts
What Inspired Me To Add Another Pedal Platform Preset?
What Do The Pros Use In Their Deluxe Reverb Amps?
If you’re a regular user of YouTube for research / background reading, then I’m sure you’re familiar with how fickle the Recommendations algorithm is. Watch a couple of videos on a topic that’s new to you, and the YouTube algorithm will think that’s all you’re interested in, flooding your recommendations with videos that it thinks are on the same topic.
That happened to me recently, while doing the research on my new Telecaster.
Normally, I find YouTube’s behaviour here to be very unhelpful (to be polite). I wouldn’t mind quite so much if the algorithm actually recommended related videos. Unfortunately, YouTube’s underlying video topic classifications are (at best) a mixed bag, and often have me scratching my head in bewilderment.
This time, one of these recommended-but-misclassified videos turned out to be very useful to me. It showed me a video where Zak Childs talks about speaker choices for Fender’s Deluxe Reverb amp.
He canvassed professional players who work in Nashville, and Celestion’s Vintage 30 (V30 for short) got the most votes. I happen to already own some excellent impulse responses of an open-backed V30 in a 1×12 cab, so I thought “why not put something together and see what it can do?”
Putting My Own Spin On It
I’m not a fan of the V30. I’ve got one in a 1×12 cab, but I never use it. I just don’t get on with it. I don’t think there’s anything ‘vintage’ about its tonal character, and it’s far too mid-focused for me to enjoy when just playing guitar on my own at home.
But I thought I’d give it a go, and I decided to throw in a second speaker type too while I was at it. And I’m glad I did, because it turns out that both speakers work really well with the Deluxe Reverb amp models.
That other speaker type? Celestion’s V-Type speaker.
I’m mostly familiar with the V-Type as a budget speaker that was popular in the affordable valve combo amp explosion of the late 2010’s. There was a time when it seemed to be the de facto choice of amp makers whenever a sub-£1000 combo amp was launched.
To my ears, it’s less mid-focused than the V30. It’s got slightly-extended highs and a bit more emphasis in the upper-mids, which gives it a sweeter and more vintage sound, with a glassy top-end that I can’t get out of a V30. I also think it sounds richer, more complex and less caveman-club-over-the-head than a V30 does.
The V-Type is probably not as good as the V30 if you use a lot of gain, but very attractive to me as someone who works with clean and low-gain rhythm tones.
Keeping The Same Structure As My 65 Vintage Preset
I’m very happy with the way I’ve organised my recent 65 Vintage preset:
- Scenes 1-3 use the speaker that the preset is built around, while
- Scenes 5-7 use the speaker(s) that I prefer
I’m going with the same approach for this ’65 Nashville’ preset:
- Scenes 1-3 use the Celestion V30, while
- Scenes 5-7 use the Celestion V-Type
Here’s the full list of scenes, along with their differences:
| Scene number | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scene 1 | 65NN Normal | Deluxe Normal amp model, no bright cap, V30 |
| Scene 2 | 65NM Vibrato Mod | Deluxe Vibrato amp model, no bright cap, V30 |
| Scene 3 | 65NB Vibrato Bright | Deluxe Vibrato amp model, bright cap, V30 |
| Scene 5 | 65NN Hermits Cave | Deluxe Normal amp model, no bright cap, V-Type |
| Scene 6 | 65NM Hermits Cave | Deluxe Vibrato amp model, no bright cap, V-Type |
| Scene 7 | 65NB Hermits Cave | Deluxe Vibrato amp model, bright cap, V-Type |
What Am I Using For Cabs?
Official Celestion Impulse Response Packs
I couldn’t find 1×12 DynaCabs of either of these speakers in the Axe-FX 3, so instead I’ve turned to the official Celestion Vintage 30 and V-Type impulse responses.
1×12 Cabs All The Way
As with all my other presets, I’m using the 1×12 open back captures for both speakers, rather than any 2×12 or 4×12 options.
My real speaker cabs at home are all 1×12 open back cabs. I originally went with 1×12 cabs for practical reasons (space, weight), and open back cabs because that’s what I found on the second-hand market.
It’s the sound that I’m most used to, and the sound that I’ve been building my rig around for the last 8 years now.
What Is This Preset Good For?
Voiced For Cleaner, Single-Coil Tones
I’ve no idea what a real Deluxe Reverb amp sounds like through a Celestion V30 – or through a V-Type for that matter. So what I’ve done here is follow Fractal Audio’s regular advice on their forums, and just gone with my ears.
What I’ve ended up with is a preset that (so far at least – it’s very early days!) seems to take clean Strats and Teles very well, along with pedals that are adding a little bit of grit to the tone (like a Klon).
Works Great With Les Pauls and Overdrive Pedals Too
When you hear the audio demos later on, I hope you’ll agree that both my 65 Vintage and 65 Nashville presets work really well with a Les Paul and a decent amount of overdrive too.
That was a surprise to me, as I never tested either preset with a Les Paul at any point. Hopefully it means that I’m doing something right? At the very least, I got lucky, and I’ll happily take that 😁
V30 or V-Type? It Depends …
So far, I don’t have a single go-to scene in my 65 Nashville preset.
I’ve found myself using different scenes for different guitars and/or different pickup positions. I prefer some of the guitars that I’ve tried through the V30 scenes; others, I felt sounded best through one of the V-Type scenes.
I can’t even generalise – for example, by saying that the V-Type scenes sound richer and glassier while the V30 scenes sound more focused and direct. Sometimes that’s true, and sometimes it’s the other way around.
The Three Amp Channels Go From Darker To Very Bright
Regardless of the speaker IR that I’m using, the three Deluxe Verb amp channels offer quite a bit of variety in the top-end tone:
| Scene | Amp Channel | Voicing |
|---|---|---|
| Scenes 1 & 5 | Normal | Darker |
| Scenes 2 & 6 | Vibrato (no bright cap) | Balanced |
| Scenes 3 & 7 | Vibrato (with bright cap) | Bright |
I find myself always starting with Scene 6 (V-Type Speaker, Vibrato channel with no bright cap) and going from there. If the tone’s too bright, I’ll drop down to Scene 5 to hear how that sounds. If the tone’s lacking top-end snap, I’ll move up to Scene 7.
And I’ll switch back and forth between the V-Type and equivalent V30 scene until I’ve found what works best for that guitar, pickup selection and drive pedals in my signal chain.
Tricks And Tips For EQing Guitars
Why I Try Not To Touch The Amp Controls
With the Princeton amp model that I use in my 57 Vintage and 65 Modern presets, it’s simple: if I want less bass, I can just turn the bass down; if I want less top-end, I can just turn the treble down. Tweaking the controls on the amp doesn’t radically change the overall tone.
My experience with the Deluxe Reverb amp model is the exact opposite.
If I turn the bass down on the Deluxe Reverb amp models, I find that the whole EQ shifts. That mid-range that I wrote about last time really pushes through, and the tone ends up sounding drastically different to me.
So, with this preset, I’m EQing my guitars with three different techniques:
- tame the top-end with the guitar’s volume and/or tone controls,
- tame the top-end by turning my Klon KTR’s treble control down below 12 o’clock, and
- tame the bottom end by using a variable Tilt EQ effect in front of the amp.
Ride The Volume & Tone Controls
Because I’m using traditional ‘snapshot’ IRs (and not DynaCab IRs), I can’t use the IRs to dial in the top-end to the ideal sweet spot for my guitars and taste. (A bit like how I can’t change the character of my real speakers.)
So if there’s a little bit too much top-end, the first thing I do is work my guitar’s volume and/or tone control. Dialling them back a little can make all the difference.
Turn Down The Klon Treble
For the last decade, I’ve used my Klon KTR in the classic clean boost configuration – with the Treble control up around 1 o’clock for a little bit of top-end boost.
With my 65 Nashville preset, I find that some (not all) guitars sound better if I turn the treble down on my Klon KTR to 11 o’clock instead. It just takes the edge off of the top-end.
If I’m boosting a drive pedal into my 65 Nashville preset, I nearly always turn the Klon KTR’s treble down to 11 o’clock – or lower! There’s more than enough top-end coming out of the amp as it is; adding more from a drive pedal quickly becomes harsh and fatiguing to my ears.
Taming The Low-End With A Tilt-EQ
(I’ll cover this in a lot more detail in an upcoming blog post, when I write about the EQ toys that I build into my presets.)
Earlier this year, I started using a Parametric EQ block (PEQ for short) as a tilt EQ between my pedalboard and the front of the amp block. It’s very handy for taming the low-end that comes out of a drive pedal.
Until now, it’s either been ON or OFF. I’ve been using it with fixed settings the entire time.
While I was putting this preset together, I found that these fixed settings didn’t suit every signal chain that I was testing. Some guitars and/or drive pedals needed less low-end reduction, while some needed more.
So, for this preset, I’ve tweaked my Tilt EQ so that I can adjust the amount of low-end cut from the front panel of the Axe-FX 3. And, if I feel the need, I can now boost the low-end instead.
I’ve tried two other techniques to reduce low-end:
- turn down the bass control on the amp model, or
- turn up the low cut on the cab block
My ears prefer the Tilt EQ approach over them both.
How Does It Sound?
My Rig Today
For these quick demos, I’m playing:
- my Les Paul CR8 (aka GP)
- into the Axe-FX 3 (just for the tuner)
- out to my pedalboard
- back into the Axe-FX 3 (for amp, cab, delay and reverb)
- and out to my DAW.
I’m on the bridge pickup of GP for all of these demos. I have the bridge pickup volume and tone controls both around 9.5 / 10.
On the pedalboard, I have the Ceriatone Centura (my usual Klon klone) setup as a clean boost, with the Treble control turned up to around 1 o’clock. That’s running into the Rockbox Baby Blues (a bluesbreaker-type drive pedal). I’m using the exact same settings for every audio clip.
On the Axe-FX 3, I’m switching between three presets:
- my 65 Modern preset (aka the 65 Clean preset that I’ve used regularly all year),
- my 65 Vintage preset, and
- my 65 Nashville preset
The idea here is to demonstrate how the presets are similar, and where they sound different.
All the delay and reverb in the demos is from the Axe-FX 3. There is no post-processing applied at all. I will have level-matched the demos before uploading them.
Reference Sounds: My 65 Modern Preset
Before I get to the 65 Nashville preset, let’s start with my 65 Modern preset. This (along with my 57 Vintage preset for some tweed-tone pedals) is the kind of thing that I’ve been posting for audio demos for most of this year.
To my ears, that’s a nice and thick sound that’s filling out the mid-range quite nicely. It’s got a nice amount of top-end without being harsh. And, most importantly to me, it doesn’t sound muffled at all; it doesn’t sound like there’s blanket thrown over the speaker.
I think there’s a little too much low-end though at the 65 Modern’s default settings, so I’m going to turn down the bass control on the virtual amp, to get this:
It’s still filling my room nicely, even with the bass control turned down. Maybe it’s still too much for a mix? I wouldn’t know. That’s the kind of sound that works for me as a home hobbyist player who just noodles at home.
Now that I have something to use in comparisons, let’s hear how my two new Deluxe Reverb presets sound.
My 65 Vintage Preset With DynaCab IRs
Scenes 1-3 of my 65 Vintage preset use the Axe-FX 3’s DynaCab IRs. Here’s how they sound, and how they compare to my 65 Modern preset.
Listening to them back-to-back like this, my immediate reaction is that Scene 1 sounds far too dark to me. It’s the only scene that only uses the stock Deluxe Verb IRs, and I really struggle to dial in great sounds with them. I think I’ll go back and revoice this at some point.
My other immediate reaction is that I really like the contrast between my 65 Modern preset and my 65 Vintage preset. To my ears, the mid-range energy in the 65 Vintage preset has moved into the higher mids, and it feels like there’s a nice space further down the mids for other instruments (such as bass and drums).
Once I’ve revoiced Scene 1, I think I’ll be happy.
My 65 Vintage Preset With Celestion Impulse Responses
The other three scenes in my 65 Preset use third-party impulse responses that I’ve loaded into my Axe-FX 3: the Celestion A-Type and Celestion Blue speakers. I have these in a pair of 1×12 open-backed cabs at home, and I’m a big fan of how they complement each other.
Here’s how they sound, and how they compare to my 65 Modern preset:
I really like what this amp & impulse response combination does to this particular pedal. I think the Celestion Blue gives the final result more of a tweed-ish tone, while the A-Type rounds out the top-end a bit.
I haven’t decided yet how much I’ll use these scenes when I’m making audio demos in 2025. I’m worried that they’re a bit too much “my” tone, a bit too far away from the kind of tones you might be getting from your own signal chains.
Comparing The Two Sets of 65 Vintage Scenes
Before I move on to my new 65 Nashville preset, I want to quickly compare the two banks of scenes in my 65 Vintage preset.
To start with, here are the two scenes that use the Deluxe Reverb’s normal channel:
Yeah, I really need to revoice Scene 1 here. Nothing more needs to be said.
Here are the two scenes that use the Deluxe Reverb’s vibrato channel with the bright cap disabled (simulating a modded amp):
Listening back, I’m happy with the overall tonal balance. I think they’re both voiced quite similarly – which is what I wanted. If anything, I’m surprised at just how similar both scenes sound.
Finally, here are the two scenes that use the Deluxe Reverb’s vibrato channel with the bright cap enabled (simulating a stock amp):
Again, I’m happy that I got both scenes voiced quite similarly: I don’t think either one of them is too bright or too muddy compared to the other.
Yes, both of these are too bright for this signal chain. That’s not a fault, it’s a feature. That’s why I’ve built three scenes based on different amp channels: I can choose the one that suits the rest of the signal chain.
Before I (finally!) get to demo the 65 Nashville preset, I need to revoice Scene 1 of this 65 Vintage preset. It’s bugging me too much to let it go.
Quickly Revoicing Scene 1, 65 Vintage Preset
A couple of days later, and I’ve settled on this revoiced Scene 1. I’ll probably tweak it a bit more as time goes on, but I feel like (at least) it’s a lot closer now to where it probably should be.
For comparison, I’ve also included the original Scene 1 voicing, along with the Scene 5 voicing.
The reworked Scene 1 still has that dark character, but it no longer sounds dull and boomy. I’m pleased with those improvements.
In the room, I was still hearing a lot of low-end when recording the new Scene 1 demo, so I’ve also recorded a couple of additional demos. These demos feature added EQ toys to take away a bit more of the low-end.
This next demo has a Tilt EQ between the pedalboard and the amp:
and, to clean up the low-end even more, this next demo also has a Tilt EQ between my Les Paul and the pedalboard, to reduce the amount of low-end going into the Baby Blues:
I’m very happy with how the overall tone holds up, even with these added EQ toys in the signal chain.
The 65 Nashville With V30 Speaker IRs
So how does a Deluxe Reverb sound with a Celestion V30 speaker? This is what I’ve dialled in, along with the 65 Modern demo for reference:
I’m happy with the voicing of all three scenes. I feel they progress nicely, and each one offers enough of a difference to give me choices to suit whatever signal chain I’m using them with.
The thing I’m struck by the most is how different these V30-based scenes feel to me. They feel far more direct and focused than any of the scenes in my 65 Vintage preset. They almost sound like they lack complexity, simply because it’s not as wide a tonality as the other demos.
I’m really surprised at how well this combination of a Deluxe Reverb and Celestion V30 works. I honestly expected to hate it. I think it sounds great.
The 65 Nashville Preset With V-Type IRs
The second bank of scenes in my 65 Nashville preset use Celestion V-Type impulse responses instead. Here’s how that sounds:
These sounded better in the room to me than they do when I listen back to them. I don’t think they sound bad at all. I think that, for this particular signal chain, the V30-based scenes sound a little bit better.
Side-By-Side-By-Side Comparison
To finish off, here are all the audio demos grouped together by the Deluxe Reverb channel they use, so that I can hear the difference between each set of speaker IRs. I’ve included my 65 Modern audio demo again too as a reference, to help me hear the differences between all the different scenes.
Starting with the Deluxe Reverb normal channel:
Next, here is the Deluxe Reverb vibrato channel, with the bright cap disabled:
and finally, here is the Deluxe Reverb vibrato channel with the bright cap enabled:
The main thing I want to get across here is that there isn’t a single scene that always sounds the best. It all depends on the rest of the signal chain.
I really do need all these options to fit whatever guitar, pickup selector position, and/or pedal(s) that I’m playing through. Sometimes, my choice isn’t about the gear being fed into the amp; sometimes, it’s about the mood or feel of the piece that I’m playing.
Final Thoughts
These two presets – 65 Vintage and 65 Nashville – have been a journey for me.
What started out of necessity (the Hitchhike Drive just didn’t go well with my 65 Modern preset) became a journey of discovery, really. Once I started to learn how to work with the Deluxe Reverb amp models, I just wanted to keep exploring and see where it would lead.
I’ve ended up with four new sounds, all of which I’ll be using a lot in 2025.
My main takeaway from this is that us home hobbyists are so lucky to have access to advice and feedback from working professional musicians. I would never have tried the Deluxe Reverb with a V30 speaker if I hadn’t seen just how many Nashville pros recommended it. The digital amp and speaker models are so good now that us hobbyists can take advice about real amps and try it out for ourselves.
I’ve still got a couple of Celestion IR packs to try with the Deluxe Reverb models (Celestion Gold and Celestion Cream). As they’re both very niche speaker choices for a Deluxe Reverb amp, I’ll save those for some time next year.