Tone. At Home.
The magical beast that turns potential into sheer tone!
After last week’s success with my Synergy BMan module, I decided to see if the same approach would work with my Synergy Plexi module and the Axe-FX 3.
This is a bit more of a quick and dirty effort. But hopefully you’ll agree that the results are, at the least, very promising.
Continue reading “#PlexiTone: Synergy Plexi Module + Axe-FX 3 For Reference Marshall Plexi Tones”Recently, I posted about my latest attempt at creating a reference tone for my 5e3 Tweed Deluxe reissue amp. I’m still wrestling with creating a similar 5e3 reference tone purely in the Axe-FX 3. Sadly, I’m nowhere near ready to write up my promised comparison of the two.
I decided to take a break from that, and work on another reference tone that I’m going to need for future #TweedTone blog posts: capturing the mighty 5F6 Tweed Bassman sound.
Here’s how I got on. There’s audio demos to listen to, and a full breakdown of the signal chain that I used, with plenty of photos / screenshots to show you everything.
Continue reading “#TweedTone: Dialling In A 5F6 Bassman Reference Tone For 2025”New year, new (and hopefully improved!) reference tone from my Fender 57 Custom Deluxe amp.
All made possible thanks to a late 2024 freebie from Origin Effects … and me figuring out how I’d been using my Fryette Power Station PS-100 wrong …
Continue reading “#TweedTone: Dialling In A 5e3 Tweed Deluxe Reference Tone For 2025”Quick Listen is where I capture and share guitar tones that I’ve dialled in. No exploration; little discussion – just a quick audio demo or two along with a documented signal chain.
Today, I’ve dusted off the plexi-style amp that I bought back in 2019, and paired it with a Gibson Les Paul and Celestion Creamback impulse responses. Have a listen.
Continue reading “Quick Listen: Plexi-Style Amp with a Les Paul”Rather than do a ‘best of’ style post, every year I’m going to do a rundown of what amps I’m using for pedal platforms, and why. And, this year, I’m expanding it to talk more about using amps for more than just pedals.
Previous years: [2019] [2020] [2021][2022][2023]
Continue reading “2024 Review: Pedal Platforms & Other Amps”‘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 …
Continue reading “Studio Diary #58: Introducing The 65 Nashville Pedal Platform Preset”‘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.
I recently took a look at Umbrella Company’s Hitchhike Drive tweed-in-a-box overdrive pedal. The whole blog post ended up being rescued by the Axe-FX 3’s Deluxe Reverb amp model. Since then, I’ve tried it with a couple of other pedals and had a similar experience.
A single ’65 Clean’ pedal platform patch clearly isn’t enough. I need to split it up into two separate flavours.
Continue reading “Studio Diary #57: Splitting My 65 Clean Pedal Platform Patch In Two”‘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.
Today, I want to briefly talk about the consequences of (what is probably) Fractal Audio’s greatest strength: their regular stream of firmware updates to make their products get closer and closer to the real amps that they’re replacing.
Continue reading “Studio Diary #54: The Challenge Of Keeping Up With Fractal Audio’s Firmware Releases”‘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.
Most pedals that interest me will work best into a clean amp – either my 65 Clean preset or (for many tweed-tone pedals) my 57 Vintage preset. Every now and then, though, I take a look at a pedal that’s designed to run into a dirtier amp.
That’s where my JTM preset comes in.
Continue reading “Studio Diary #50: Dialling In The JTM Amp & Cab”