Axe-Fx III Deep Dive - Modifiers Tips & Tricks

[@Simeon_Harris]

thanks for the shout out, Leon! if people are interested in downloading my presets for the axe fx III, they're available here at the bottom of the page - www.simeonharris.co.uk/fractal.html

[@rockstarjazzcat]

@Simeon_Harris knows!

[@azzazelo]

And people still insist that other units are competitive, completely ignoring all these features and updates by fractal. So far nothing touches it

[@danielpirone8028]

Very helpful- love the longer form content too!

[@LeonTodd]

Thanks - I'll definitely do more like this if there's interest!

[@Eventual420]

This is why I just subscribe to LT. If you happen to miss this video, you’re missing some of the great details that makes Leon:Leon. End of video... [jaw hanging] uh huh... 😮

[@LeonTodd]

As always, too kind Jim!

[@randallsandmann2579]

Another great video! Thank you Leon for enabling me to get the mot out of my axe III and FM 3. Both you and Bergs are my favorite sources on KZbin... Must be something in the water down under.... Cheers!

[@sk88r18]

Dude, let me just say... i wish I had made the leap to axe fx original over a decade ago... that said... I’m really glad you’re out here and holding folks of all experience levels with this thing. The amount of time you’ve dedicated to this is astounding! Please keep it up! Can’t wait to see where you take this thing next!

[@LeonTodd]

it's my pleasure - it's such an AMAZING unit

[@GurtejSinghGuitar]

Great lesson on the Controllers and Envelope brother! Have bookmarked this video, will surely be visiting this one again. Thank you so much for your content Leon :) That preset at 12:15 - My thoughts exactly, such an awesome sound haha :)

[@LeonTodd]

Would love to hear what you do with some of this stuff man!

[@wahwahcfh]

I follow the comments mentionned just before me....well done, i can follow easily and no matter the lenght, it's a 27min that pass like a 5min... you help me so much to deal or create what i want from my axfx 2xl+...even if you show us from the III. You are my human operation manual!! Thanks 100times

[@LeonTodd]

Moving pictures and sound is always easier than a booklet !

[@wahwahcfh]

@@LeonTodd absolutely!!

[@Smittefar1]

Great video - For the envelope filter, I think the threshold and gain should be viewed together. You set the threshold to get the softest notes to react, and then you set the gain such that the loudest notes to reach the top to get the full reach of the envelope. The random LFO wah is surprisingly convincing. The pitch follower delay and gain trick is just awesome. I should use it, but it almost feels like cheating :) The ADSR verb patch sounded really really good.

[@LeonTodd]

That's a much better explanation!

[@dmcnevin]

LT , you were made for doing these tutorials. What an excellent instructor you are!!!! Thanks for all the content. You've opened doors I didn't even know existed.

[@LeonTodd]

I appreciate that!

[@kylehowdy]

Leon your videos are always an absolute pleasure to watch, thank you for everything you do for the fractal community!

[@matteodigioia6743]

Besides the cool knowledge shot, you're such an absolute pleasure to watch, Leon, keep it up!

[@dan_perry]

Excellent information here! You're doing great work Leon demystifying some of the more advanced abilities of the AXEFX and other similar units.

[@wintermutetwin3808]

More superb content. I knew a lot of this content but it was still enjoyable to watch. I really appreciate the content markers so I can use this as a reference for future tweaking projects.

[@binface9]

Great stuff LT. That ADSR-verb is wild.

[@CreativeSpiral]

Great content, as usual. Love the longer, in depth vids!

[@stevenmgyori3826]

Well done Brother! Very helpful to many I'm Sure! Thank you so much for All You Share! Be Well All!

[@LeonTodd]

Thanks Steve, great to see you in here first as usual :D

[@stevenmgyori3826]

@@LeonTodd Thanks, having a bit of Flotsam and Jetsam for Breakfast! Be Well Brother!

[@sadwingsraging3044]

@@stevenmgyori3826 nothing like a little Ugly Noise with a side of toast!

[@stevenmgyori3826]

@@sadwingsraging3044 " It'll get yer socks a Rockin!" Be Well Brother!

[@6Stringers]

God this thing is genius. So worth the money. Thanks Leon for continually showing us the secret sauce in this

[@LeonTodd]

So much control!!!

[@furryz666]

great stuff ill be watching this more than one time, just learning the box, thanks leon

[@wintermutetwin3808]

Another idea on using the pitch controller is to tie it to a wet path in a mixer block - that way you don't need to assign it to each block for your lead tone. I'm using pitch to add a vibrato effect when I hit my Freqout pedal for feedback. This level of tweakability is not just fun - it is immensely useful. It is maybe a bit complex to set up, but it actually can simplify the creation phase when you have it dialed in.

[@iszacwagner6194]

Hey man. You could record an solo album with the riffs and parts you play in these demonstrations. Awesome piece of natural improvisation. Good to see and listen to your videos.

[@LeonTodd]

It'll hopefully happen soon, I have so many ideas stashed away :)

[@topdarkhorse]

Leon I love all of this help. But that Vibrolux tone just got me to a hells to the yaaaaass

[@LeonTodd]

Those Fenders just purr!

[@fekiee]

Excellent Vid, worth to watch it completely

[@ulfandersson1732]

Dude, you're really good. Keep up the good stuff! :)

[@sadwingsraging3044]

11:29 Charlie Brown's teacher moonlighting as a guitar player in a Gloom Metal Band! :-) What I would do to be able to take two of those pieces of equipment back to the early 80's and hand one to Randy Rhodes and the other to Oliva along with a stern warning and plea to the both of them. :-(

[@LeonTodd]

We'd have nuclear fusion reactors by now if we could do that!

[@sadwingsraging3044]

@@LeonTodd I would just be happy to have Oliva back and playing mate.

[@LeonTodd]

@@sadwingsraging3044 same, I remember bidding Edge of Thorns and HOTMK on CD and reading the line notes - devastated when I first read he'd been killed. Likewise with Randy. So much talent and vision snatched away.

[@HamsterSpanks]

Hey Leon, do you have these pre's posted on the Axe exchange? I would Love that Pitch Follower patch. BADASS! Thank you for another great video brother. ROCK!!

[@LeonTodd]

I think that's up as "cheat codes"

[@wofesc]

great video! Thank you so much!

[@chiefpotpipe]

Is Tape Loops 2 under a different name in the exchange? I'd like to study how both delays are setup.Killer work as usual LT.

[@LeonTodd]

I did a video on it here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/joSxfKqufMSsaK8

[@myhapylife]

🤔 I wonder if there is way to output modifier information via midi? Like you if want to control parameters on other unit.

[@KirkyDrums]

cool preset... channeling "between us" by harry connick .

[@manne3d]

Great video, thanks for showing this. Really powerful and well thought out system for sound design (esp. like the modifier shaping control with the slew for both attack and release and the exp/log control), i am considering the axefx as a combined guitar and synth multi fx unit. I have a few questions. 1. Can we trigger the ADSR's from external midi note on and/or midi cc#. 2. Can we reset the internal LFO's and sequencer from an external sequencer via midi? 3. Maybe even better...Can we reset/trigger (LFO's sequencers and ADSR's) from the physical CTRL in jacks with an analog gate/trigger signal? Thanks

[@LeonTodd]

These are great questions! I'm honestly not sure about any of these as I haven't gone super deep with external midi - the manual and the fractal wiki will be your best bet there. I'm curious now!

[@manne3d]

​@@LeonTodd I did som fast reading about this. Only thing i could not find was triggering the ADSR via midi...but i think not possible. Everything else seems to to be doable with some workarounds. 1. Could not find much info on this but seems to just trigger the ADSR whenever the audio level is passing the threshold parameter of the ADSR. (but since the modifiers are so powerful one could just use the attack/release on incoming midi cc# to generate envelopes i guess) 2. seems like the LFO will reset when the "type" is changed...so one could change the type and back again via midi cc# or pedal to reset it.... On the sequencer we can change the "run" parameter to off and back to "run" again to reset. 3. I think everything that can be assigned to a midi cc# can also be assigned to the CTRL in jacks...so we should be able to reset LFO's and the sequencer by mapping CTRL jack to "run" or "LFO type" parameter. But not sure it would work with attenuated gates and triggers from the eurorack..but probably. I read that many modifiers will eat up processing power...esp when modifiers are set to high update rates. Would be cool if you could do a stresstest of this...maybe with 16 midi cc#'s from sequencers and LFO's from that pink MOD box you have. And compare results if all are set to high updaterate vs low. Also would be really nice to be able to map midi velocity, aftertouch, note on/off, 14bit pitchbend and note number to the modifiers.Maybe in a future update.

[@towardstar]

very much looking forward to more poly digit exploration

[@LeonTodd]

New digit FW today!

[@NudnikShpilkus]

2:18 - I like Medium Position, so that I can leave the wah in a spot for the Michael Schenker cocked-wah filter trick. :)

[@NudnikShpilkus]

4:46 - The Astable sweep is nice for an auto-wah. :)

[@NudnikShpilkus]

9:29 - CSNY's "Wooden Ships" tone in a box....

[@NudnikShpilkus]

16:00 - A useful curve that might also work well with this: set mid to 100%, so that once the pitch gets up into range, the delay input levels out at whatever max setting you choose. I set up my "delay boost" control switch on delay feedback that way, along with a sort-of slow attack in the 70ms area and a very slow decay (anywhere from 1300ms to 2300ms depending on the song) so it shoots the feedback up quickly then hangs out a bit and subsequently wafts down over the decay time, which is nice for the end of the solo to CYA while you hit the button or rock the pedal for the next part of the song.... :) Looks like this: v-z-a.com/sites/default/files/image-image-2020-10/Screen%20Shot%202020-10-18%20at%2010.40.25%20AM.png

[@NudnikShpilkus]

20:09 - About the only song I can think of off the top of my head that does the bip-boop-bip would be "Tales of Brave Ulysses", where EC's rocking the wah on the beat, which would be a great place to use the tempo on the sweep rate in the LFO.... :)

[@NudnikShpilkus]

22:03 - I use rotary A LOT (which the length of this comment will likely attest to), and after a bit of research, i found 48RPM and about 408RPM to be the actual default rotor speeds on a Leslie 122/145, which translates to 0.8Hz and 6.8Hz respectively. I use the settings in the rotary block to set the ramp up/down time, and set the attack/release on the Chorale/Vibrato switch to 0mS. I also utilize Bakerman's suggested trick of setting the Source 2 to allow a second control switch, set to momentary, to *momentarily* flip the speed the other way by setting mid to 100% and setting each source's scale to 50%. This gives a lot more immediate and quick control switch action that flips back to where it was as soon as you lift off the momentary switch. Previous to the addition of the Source 2, I was using Bakerman's stopped-LFO trick to set up the logic for the dual-control-switch setup. The logic is stone simple in analog, but now just as simple with the new Source 2 thingie....

[@Peter-tq7jz]

The sequenced Wah is awesome .. where do we get that patch ?

[@EmptyRoomSessions]

Very helpful Leon thanks for the video! I have a question. Is it possible to creat a 12 string guitar effect using the pitch block?

[@LeonTodd]

Kind of. I did a video a little while back on that when the pitch block got updated.

[@SCYATIC1]

Legendary Leon \m/

[@JC3D]

Did you rename preset 014 from "Recto 1" to "LT Fenders" Leon?

[@2005vinnievincent]

FANTASTIC! THANKS SO MUCH!!!!🤘☠🤘☠🤘☠🤘

[@LeonTodd]

No problem!

[@2005vinnievincent]

@@LeonTodd Your channel is the best man! You play like a bad ass and your tones are amazing! I'm really very very very grateful for you work and help! I always show your videos to anybody i know! THANKS AGAIN! GOD BLESS!

[@Peter-tq7jz]

Hey man can I download patch 107 you have there ?

[@jonashuffer3741]

Any other luck trying to emulate the EHX pog? I’ve heard pitch block from a lot of people but I’m really looking for a way to roll off my attack

[@LeonTodd]

You need to use a volume block set to auto swell to cop that

[@binface9]

The ad before this vid was for haircare to reverse hairloss. I think that ship has already sailed for me

[@LeonTodd]

Hahaha I've been getting ads for products for male incontinence. Not today Satan....

[@oldman0995]

Mine was eat chocolate for prostate problems lol

[@Dejoblue]

21:08 new Tool song preview!!! :)

[@Beddez1]

Longer Leon-vids are better :)

[@Arty_C]

If I had this type of knowledge about the Ax a while ago, I would have made a different purchase. Anybody want to buy a Headrush?😂

[@rolandmengedoth2191]

This is great, but nothing for beginners in the fractal world.

[@LeonTodd]

I've got a series called Axe-Fx basics and another called 5 minute tones which are geared towards beginners