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Fractal AXE-FX II Quick reference manual

Manual is about: preamp/FX processor

Summary of AXE-FX II

  • Page 1

    Axe-fx ii amp & cab quick reference guide for axe-edit amp and cab block parameters explained amp and cab descriptions recommended speaker type for each amp cliff’s gain controls guide drive block descriptions cc assigments sorted by function & cc content compiled from the axe-fx ii manual, wiki and...

  • Page 2

    Input drive – also known as drive, volume, gain, etc. It is the knob closest to the input jack. In many cases it has a bright cap so the frequency response will be dependent on the knob position. As the gain increases the tone shifts from a treble and upper mid emphasis to a bass and lower mid empha...

  • Page 3

    Low res freq/q/resonance – guitar loudspeakers have a low-frequency resonance, typically about 100 hz. This shifts up slightly when the speaker is mounted in an enclosure and is typically lower for open back cabs. This resonance causes an increase in the power amplifier response due to the finite ou...

  • Page 4

    Cf comp 1 – controls the amount of preamp compression and sets the compression threshold of the cathode follower. Many models default to zero as they do not have measureable compression. Crunch – makes things more crunchy. It controls the distortion texture when you hit a note or chord. Dynamics – c...

  • Page 5

    Presence shift – only available on mesa boogie mark iv’s with a “pull shift” on the presence knob (usa lead and usa rhythm). When engaged, it normalizes the amount of high frequencies produced in the power section. Presence will be more effective and will act on a higher frequency range. Note that i...

  • Page 6

    Low cut freq – reduces the amount of low frequency (10-1000hz) before the preamp input. Use this is to tighten up a tubby bass end. Somewhere between 10-150hz is generally where it will sound best for standard guitar tones. Also see cut (basic page). High cut freq – reduces the amount of high freque...

  • Page 7

    Top row bottom row tremolo freq/depth (bias tremolo) – works by varying the bias of the virtual power tubes, resulting in a particularly “organic” sound. Most importantly, the tremolo is “self-ducking” and decreases at higher signal amplitudes. On some amps high values of bias trem depth can result ...

  • Page 8

    Low/high cut – adjusts the cutoff point of first order low/high pass filters. Increase the low cut if the sound is too “bassy” or “boomy.” decrease the high cut for a darker cab tone. Common settings are 80-150 hz for high pass, and 5-7 khz for low pass. Proximity – causes an increase in bass or low...

  • Page 9

    Effect type hi-/ultra-res – mono processing of hi res irs (2048 samples, 43ms), or ultrares irs (up to 8000 samples, 167ms). Normal res – mono processing of normal resolution irs (1024 samples, 21ms). Stereo ultrares – stereo processing of ultrares irs. Stereo – stereo processing at normal resolutio...

  • Page 10

    1959slp jump . . . . . . . . . . Marshall 1959slp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reissuse of a late 60’s 100w marshall super lead model 1959. See plexi 100w for the original. Emulates “jumpering the inputs” on a 4-hole amp. 1959slp normal . . . . . . . . Marshall 1959slp . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

  • Page 11

    Brit afs100 2 . . . . . . . . . . . Marshall afd100sce . . . . . . . . . . . . . .#34/afd switch set to afd mode (led = on), adds extra gain stage. 6550 tubes. Brit brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Van halen’s marshall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Faithful recreation of the legendary “brown sound” ...

  • Page 12

    Axe-fx amp based on description citrus bass 200 . . . . . . . . . . Orange ad200b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200w valve bass head, 6550 tubes. Citrus rv50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Orange rockerverb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“dirty” channel of the 50w head known for warmth and rich harm...

  • Page 13

    Axe-fx amp based on description fas lead 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mesa boogie triaxis (presumed) . . .Neutral high-gain lead with a tight midrange. Fas lead 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mesa boogie triaxis (presumed) . . .Hot-rodded british lead sound with a tonestack by bob bradshaw (custom a...

  • Page 14

    Axe-fx amp based on description plexi 50w nrml . . . . . . . . . . Marshall super lead 1959 . . . . . . . . .Normal channel. Prince tone b . . . . . . . . . . . Fender princeton (tweed) . . . . . . . . .Class a, 5w. 5f2-a, aa964 circuits. Modeled after early cbs “silverface” model, pre-cbs design an...

  • Page 15

    Axe-fx amp based on description tube pre $ . . . . . . . . . . . . . Generic tube preamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Completely neutral, low-gain tube preamp useful for “warming up” various sources. Two stone j35 1 9 . . . . . . Two-rock jet 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35w, 6l6. Lead mode...

  • Page 16

    1 1x6 oval 2 1x8 tweed 3 1x10 prince tone at4047 4 1x10 prince tone m160 5 1x12 brown m160 6 1x12 black sm57 7 1x12 g12t r121 8 1x12 e12l (rw) 9 1x12 studio 10 1x12 emi open back (jm) 11 1x12 bludo mix 12 1x12 boogafunk e12l (oh) 13 1x12 tweed blue (rw) 14 1x12 tweed deluxe (rw) 15 1x12 brit blue (r...

  • Page 17

    1 1x6 oval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6” supro, 6x9 oval speaker used in some early amps (supro). Combine with a plexi for some zep. 2 1x8 tweed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fender blues jr. Really thin and cutting for roots blues leads. 3 1x10...

  • Page 18

    43 4x12 recto sm57 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oversized mesa rectifier cabinet with four celestion vintage 30s. 44 4x12 recto m160 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mesa boogie rectifier with celestion vintage 30s. 45 4x12 solo v12 (rw) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soldano ...

  • Page 19

    88 1x15 empire mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15” eminence speaker (producer pack). 89 2x10 super tweed mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fender super reverb with two 10” speakers (producer pack). 90 2x10 vibrato lux mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fender vibrolux with two 10” s...

  • Page 20

    Axe-fx cab (xl-only) description 133 1x8 ec champlifier i5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fender champ. 134 1x12 tweed-verb r121 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fender deluxe tweed. 135 1x12 ac-20 dlx m160 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Morgan ac-20 deluxe. 136 1x12 roamer r121 reverse . . . . . ....

  • Page 21

    1959slp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G12m, g12h, g12l 1987x. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G12m, g12h, g12l 5153 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G12-evh (g12h30) 59/65 bassguy . . . . . . . . . 4x10, 2x12 5f1 tweed . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8” speakers 5f8 tweed . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

  • Page 22

    Understanding all the different gain controls the amp block in the axe-fx has a variety of gain controls that change depending upon the amp model selected. These controls are: input drive input trim overdrive master volume these various controls are located at fixed points in the virtual amplifier c...

  • Page 23

    Drive block description bb pre * . . . . . . . . . . . . . Xotic bb preamp bender fuzz . . . . . . . . Classic tonebender circuit bit crusher . . . . . . . . . . A black box we found lying in the trash outside studio harshclip blues od . . . . . . . . . . . Marshall bluesbreaker esoteric acb . . . ....

  • Page 24

    Amp 1 bypass . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 amp 1 x/y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 amp 2 bypass . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 amp 2 x/y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 bypass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 cab 1 bypass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 cab 1 x/y . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

  • Page 25

    Input volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 out 1 volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 out 2 volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 bypass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 tempo tap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 tuner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 external control 1 . . . . . . . ....

  • Page 27

    Revision history red text in a parameter description indicates a new function not yet accessible in axe-edit. 2015-06-21 – firmware 19.00 update, axe-edit 3.2.0 update. New parameters: “comp type” and “comp clarity”. New feature: “preset-cab bundle”. 2015-05-04 – firmware 18.12 update. 2015-04-21 – ...