NGD: Well, that was quick...

[Iron1]

[Tony]

Anal beads?

[Mahler]

I see Gibson Custom Shop has upped their game

[bigdave]

Anal beads .... that was my guess as well.

[scole]

It’s a Fractal Audio product but you telegraphed that based on the conversation in another thread

[Valtteri]

[Iron1]

It’s a Fractal Audio product but you telegraphed that based on the conversation in another thread

Yes - that and I bought this for myself, not someone else, which rules out the other guesses...

[bigdave]

Which one did you get?

[Snoop Travvy Travv]

You had me at anal.

[Iron1]

Which one did you get?

I was waiting for Randy to come along and spoil it for everyone. But, he must be out recharging his Google'Fu Infinity Stone.

It's an FXII XL+.

So far, I'm kinda regretting it. While there are a lot of tones I like, they all sound muffled, like you're sitting in a studio control room and the guitar amp is in the isolation booth next door and you're hearing it through the walls. My HD500x had this same issue and I just got used to it, but the HX Stomp doesn't so this at all. So, If I can't figure out how to get rid of the muffle, I'll be selling this and getting a Helix Rack.

Hopefully I can figure it out, though, cause it seems like it's way better than the Helix - but if I can't output a non-muffled tone, it's not.

[Tony]

I was waiting for Randy to come along and spoil it for everyone. But, he must be out recharging his Google'Fu Infinity Stone.

It's an FXII XL+.

So far, I'm kinda regretting it. While there are a lot of tones I like, they all sound muffled, like you're sitting in a studio control room and the guitar amp is in the isolation booth next door and you're hearing it through the walls. My HD500x had this same issue and I just got used to it, but the HX Stomp doesn't so this at all. So, If I can't figure out how to get rid of the muffle, I'll be selling this and getting a Helix Rack.

Hopefully I can figure it out, though, cause it seems like it's way better than the Helix - but if I can't output a non-muffled tone, it's not.

Maybe it's the IRs that you are using. Maybe they don't play nice with the axe algorithms

[Iron1]

Maybe it's the IRs that you are using. Maybe they don't play nice with the axe algorithms

I wasn't using any IRs, just the presets in it already (both factory & from the prior owner)

====== UPDATE======

So, after messing with it and playing the same riffs for hours upon end last night (went to bed with smoke coming off my fingertips... ) I got up early and had at it again.

Following the advice of Chris and a few others, I did the whole "Reset Parameters" thing... still sounded muffled.

So, then I found a post in the bowels of the internet, where someone mentioned erasing the user presets before you did the reset.

Ok, seems easy - commence erasing presets.... oops... now ALL the presets are gone.

After a microsecond of freaking out, I decided to re-install Aries - ok - now we're cooking...

Except...

No presets at all.

Oh crap.

Then, more Twittering of the Google led to a download for all factory presets.

Download those, install and go back to jamming.

Definitely corrected most, if not all, of the muffled thing.

Here's a super short comp - Helix to one side, Axe to the other. Same guitar, amp sims, pedals etc. Which do you prefer, left or right?

[Budda]

Muffled makes me wonder if there was a shelf EQ on or something.

Time for you to watch leon todd videos

[Chris]

I was waiting for Randy to come along and spoil it for everyone. But, he must be out recharging his Google'Fu Infinity Stone.

It's an FXII XL+.

So far, I'm kinda regretting it. While there are a lot of tones I like, they all sound muffled, like you're sitting in a studio control room and the guitar amp is in the isolation booth next door and you're hearing it through the walls. My HD500x had this same issue and I just got used to it, but the HX Stomp doesn't so this at all. So, If I can't figure out how to get rid of the muffle, I'll be selling this and getting a Helix Rack.

Hopefully I can figure it out, though, cause it seems like it's way better than the Helix - but if I can't output a non-muffled tone, it's not.

I'm glad you gave one of the most powerful processors ever made more than a few hours before selling it for a Line 6 product man. Seriously, RTFM bro! The Axe is amazing. Print out the manual and keep a copy in the bathroom or something.

There's a whole global I/O section in the Axe. It sounds like either yours had a global EQ set, or the previous owner changed the input levels.

[Iron1]

Seriously, RTFM bro! The Axe is amazing. Print out the manual and keep a copy in the bathroom or something.

I would if the thing wasn't 211 pages long.

But, I have read quite a bit of it. And, on the surface this thing is pretty user-friendly. It's the deep dive stuff that baffles my rocket surgery skills.

Which of the tones above did you prefer?

Budda - yeah, I think he goofed up something in the Global settings, cause even trying to EQ it out at the preset level wasn't working.

[Lee]

I wasn't using any IRs, just the presets in it already (both factory & from the prior owner)

Fyi, anything that uses a cab block is using an impulse file (unless it's been unloaded or the file is missing), factory or user preset. The factory impulse files are ok, but lots of third party ones are better.

To me, all the heavy amp sounds in the Axe has a certain sound. It's a bit of a weird scoop. Is it that you're hearing and don't dig?

In that clip, assuming my tablet speakers correspond properly, the left sounded better. That's the Helix, right?

[Chris]

I would if the thing was 211 pages long.

But, I have read quite a bit of it. And, on the surface this thing is pretty user-friendly. It's the deep dive stuff that baffles my rocket surgery skills.

Which of the tones above did you prefer?

I dig the first one, but I'm listening on my phone so it's hard to tell.

If you sell the FAS for a fucking Line 6 thing I'm never talking to you again.

[Lee]

Read the manual? Who the fuck does that?

[Iron1]

Fyi, anything that uses a cab block is using an impulse file (unless it's been unloaded or the file is missing), factory or user preset. The factory impulse files are ok, but lots of third party ones are better.

To me, all the heavy amp sounds in the Axe has a certain sound. It's a bit of a weird scoop. Is it that you're hearing and don't dig?

In that clip, assuming my tablet speakers correspond properly, the left sounded better. That's the Helix, right?

Ah, makes sense. I was meaning aftermarket IRs. I have a number of good IRs I've gotten from Ola and a few places recommended on here. But haven't even tried to install any of them on this thing yet.

And, yes, left it is. There's still a hint of the muffled effect on the Axe, but it's dramatically better than it was before. Imagine you have a killer amp tone going from a tube amp atop a 412, but you're listening to it in the next room... sort of that bad reverb/hi cut thing you get when the air between you and the cab are interrupted by some sort of barrier. Reminds me of when I tracked the Scab tunes in Moose's studio, but I sat and played in the control room while my stack was in the vocal booth with the door shut.

[Iron1]

I dig the first one, but I'm listening on my phone so it's hard to tell.

If you sell the FAS for a fucking Line 6 thing I'm never talking to you again.

Might be good revenge - since I can't see this thread title and not hear some creeper saying "anal bLeeds"...

[Chris]

Does the muffled effect go away if you plug your monitors straight into it?

There's a thousand threads on the FAS forums with people figuring this out on their own, so I'm sure you'll get it sorted. It's not the Axe-Fx, it's some setting or something else in your chain. What are your global EQ settings?

That clip doesn't sound muffled at all to me.

[Iron1]

Does the muffled effect go away if you plug your monitors straight into it?

There's a thousand threads on the FAS forums with people figuring this out on their own, so I'm sure you'll get it sorted. It's not the Axe-Fx, it's some setting or something else in your chain. What are your global EQ settings?

That clip doesn't sound muffled at all to me.

Yeah, I came across a lot of people saying the same thing. The words "muffled" and "Axe FX" generate a ton of search engine fodder. But, like I said, the reinstall seems to have gotten rid of most it and brought me to a place I can build from. It'll just take time to get back to where I was with the Helix, but I think the ceiling is much higher here.

On a tangent, the clean tones I've messed with in this thing utterly destroy the options in the Stomp. Like, no contest at all.

[Budda]

Does the ii have the cab/room tab in axe edit? That may become your best friend if so.

[Chris]

On a tangent, the clean tones I've messed with in this thing utterly destroy the options in the Stomp. Like, no contest at all.

[/quote]

That's because the Helix has Line 6... Written across the front bezel. And you've got Fractal Audio. Axe Eff Exx Two.. Written across the front of yours...

[Budda]

Honestly, read the whole manual. Not in one go, but read the whole thing. It should be available as PDF on the site so you can search specific things as they come up. Keep it open in a tab and away you go.

There's a ton of options, and it's good to know how the blocks work and what the amps are based on (yek's amp guide wiki is key there). The fractal forum is very useful too!