Guitar Track demonstrate the real sound!
Made a nice discovery today and yeah, it does feel like I've been missing out!
A channel on youtube called mastertrack18 have been putting these tracks up for ages and I had no idea!
What they do is release the original recording, guitar only!
I got so excited I made a playlist for you 
First one on the list is Beat It by Michael Jackson and we hear Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather isolated, pretty cool stuff!
This is such great help, what you hear is the raw guitar, and this is very rare, usually you hear the guitar sound in a mix, which means the sound is competing with other frequencies, this makes it very hard to get what the actual sound is if you are on the hunt for detail.
So all you Amplitube and Axe Fx owners out there, if you wanna get a classic sound, start with comparing it to one of these!
The reason I'm so surprised is because I saw these type f things with vocals ages ago and never thought it would happen to guitar, luckily it did!
So before I sign off, here's an example of how isolated vocals sound, Monkey Wrench by Foo Fighters!
-Guru
Why Valve Amp?
In my excitement of purchasing the Axe Fx, trying it out in gigs etc I forgot that maybe some of you out there haven't played a Valve amp!
Or maybe not for enough time to have worked out how to use it.
So I found this guy on Youtube who tries to explain how a valve amp works, or as he calls it: Tube Amp.
It's always good to get the basics down
The point he reference as "too loud" is way lower than where I would run a valve amp at.
The Fender Vibrolux he use for example, I would run that on 6 at least, then push it with a tube screamer or boost pedal.
The sound you get is amazing, the feedback is usually; yeah great, but please...
-Guru
Axe Fx mono block
Strat - Axe Fx - Mono Block - Orange cab
Another gig with the Axe Fx, this time I added the mono block from Atomic amps, which is basically Fractal, so very compatible.
This little beast is a 50W valve amp(!), I got it mainly for its size to be honest.
After the last challenge it was pretty clear to me that using a guitar speaker is definately the way forward with the Axe Fx when playing with a band.
This way I get the best of both worlds, not as in "that valve sound", which yes I do get that, but the main thing is that you say; "its got valves", there's a guitar cab to put a microphone infront of, and suddenly everybody's happy.
It's about familiarity, you give an engineer two xlr out instead and he suddenly look confused!
Since the overdrive is simulated in the Axe fx, it's still pretty much just the same as running a standard power amp, you can get the sound you want at any volume. I mean, it's a bit better, but it's definitely good enough with just a standard power amp.
I can't stress how important this is, nobody likes unfamiliarity!
One of the guys in the last Axe Fx challenge said:
-So how does it sound clean?
Well... it's just not really like that!
You can have any sound you want, at any volume. And that's hard to understand when you've been using valve amps and pedals for years. The sound you want happens at a specific volume, that's just the way it works.
Different room, different speaker, different volume. Usually it'll be too loud for the occasion and the beauty of setting the amp at breaking point immediately has become a problem.
I tried an amp recently called JMI, it's basically a deluxe version of an AC30, and it sounded great, very responsive, just fantastic really.
The sweet spot was very easily detected since this amp basically only has a volume knob, you turn it up until it's enough crunch, simples!
In this scenario we really are looking at getting all tones from the guitar so you have solo volume on full blast, back that off to get your clean rhythm sounds.
As I was playing it I thought to myself, it's pretty loud right now, I bet a sound engineer would tell me to turn down, so I did, and that great sound dissappeared...
This made me think of why I got the Axe Fx in the first place!
It makes electric guitar manageable, which I'm guessing is the biggest argument against it as well!
-Guru
PS. Still no cameras, I will make videos about the axe fx as soon as I get cameras, I'm on a mission!
Spytunestunes on Youtube
As I started uploading all rhythm and finger style videos to Youtube today our stats shot up!
6th most viewed today, please keep the ball rolling by sharing the videos in your most frequented communities.
Spytunestunes are not partners with Youtube, we receive no money on the ads displayed in some of the videos.
We just record more songs because we want to!
Spytunes on Youtube
Two weeks later and I've have redesigned, re exported and re uploaded all exercises of the S-E P R to our Youtube account. All 402 of them should now load quicker and be easier to access in the S-E P R.
For the Conspiracy owner this mean that you can practice guitar with your iPhone or similar device anywhere you want.
We are on the verge of starting a new build of Spytunes where the integration with Youtube will be even greater.
Until then, keep practicing.
-Guru
Video updates on Spytunes
As you might have noticed we are changing our videos over.
We used to stream everything ourselves but have decided to have all videos on Youtube and 5min instead.
This is a preparation for moving Spytunes to a new system.
This new build will begin as soon as all videos have been replaced, and it looks like we shall have completed this by early next week.
The main feature of the new build will be You, you will be able to blog and message other members in a much more sophisticated way.
-Guru
Axe Fx Challenge 1, with a band and valve amps!
Axe Fx with Orange 12" Cab
So the day finally came when we were all going to find out if it can do it!
With the Axe Fx, a power amp, a Strat and Sam's Les Paul in hand I set off to see if the Axe Fx could stand up next to other valve amps.
On the way I picked up Sandy who brought his Blues Junior, I didn't really think this was gonna be a difficult challenge, I was more fearing the AC30 with a pedal board of boost pedals and a Les Paul...
The room we used had at least 20 hi spec Valve amps like Cornford, Marshall, Orange, Cornell and a hand Wired Vox AC30.
In order to make it a fair challenge I decided to use a guitar cab of similar size for different sounds.
So for "Hells Bells" which was requested I used a 4 by 12" Orange Cab, Les Paul and Axe Fx set to Marshall, no cab sim, no over drive pedals, EQ's, nothing.
For my Strat I plugged into a Fender Twin, but only the speaker, not the power amp, the amp wasn't even switched on!
I ran an old fender with a tube screamer infront, tiny bit of reverb on the Axe Fx.
Both these set ups, straight out of the box, changing sounds on the guitars only using a PA power amp, really did sound fantastic.
With tweaking (and you can actually tweak anything) I bet I could get an incredible sound.
I had 3 other guitar players, a bass player and drummer to compete with for volume and it got unbelievably loud, don't think I've ever heard guitar played that loud before, so I didn't really get much of a chance, it was a battle!
The AC30 was pretty much full up, the drummer hit the drums way too hard but I still could barely hear him, and the Axe Fx was cool with that, it did still cut through.
This was kind of the whole point of the test.
You see when projecting sound full range, which the Line 6 Vetta and most digital systems do, be it through monitors or custom made systems, you get the full frequency range.
Big bottom, wide top and punchy mid.
At home, or with the amp running with no other sounds this can sound brilliant, especially with tweaking.
However, as soon as the drummer hits a cymbal all those top frequensies go, when a bass player plays through a valve rig, all the lows in your guitar sound will not have a chance.
So the electric guitar lives in midrange, a guitar speaker only really projects mid range, there is no extreme highs or lows to even make the midrange muddy, unless you tweak poorly.
If I would have run the Axe Fx through a monitor I would simply not have heard it in this "rock band" setting. The highs and lows would take away from the midrange, the sound would have been cab sim wich adds a much more hollow feel, had I used stereo effects you wouldn't had heard a thing. The AC30 is mid range only and would just have killed the Axe Fx.
But since I ran it through guitar cabs, with hardly any fx it was just the same as playing a valve amp!
Since it's digital, the precision you get from the Axe Fx in combination with the speaker really does mean that you can get a great sounding guitar sound, that is still manageable.
Or you could be louder than a hand wired AC30, it's up to you.
So, i my opinion, it's a much better solution. I am still to complete my setup, now after I have tried it with other amps next to it I have a much more clear view of how to complete this incredible unit.
However, and this is a big one. The Axe Fx is not for everyone.
To begin with you have to like computers, if you struggle sending emails then you'll never get the best of this unit.
Sell this to a guy from Hells Angels?
If you love guitar gear like a biker loves his motorcycle then... you wouldn't buy an electric car would you? You'd want a Harley!
And that's what it comes down to; if the amp is just as important to you as the guitar, and all the leads you need to connect your own perfectly made pedal board.
Or if you're a vintage enthusiast who can talk about valve amps with a tear in your eye, then by all means, you stick with it. To you it's all as important, and that is absolutely cool with me!
If you on the other hand want to take electric guitar to the next level, were your perfect sound is merely the beginning, then the Axe Fx is for you.
Come to think of it, all major break throughs in guitar sound have been made by people trying new things...
-Guru
PS.
I have to give credit to Sandy who with his Blues junior and Albert King style picking actually still could be heard throughout, it was proper ice pick!
Whoever said a guitars volume is about Watts is definitely wrong.
I would also like to say sorry, there is no video footage, booth my cameras died that day... Luckily I'll have money to buy new cameras since I don't have to ever buy any more valve amps 
Axe Fx challenge is getting closer!
Axe Fx with Orange 12" Cab
Wednesday the 18th, it's confirmed. We're gonna have a tone party!
It's pretty crazy stuff this, I keep banging on about that Valve amps are too loud, and most guitar players seem to at this point chuckle, as if that's the point! Check previous comments for the latest one.
Once you're digital you can control this stuff, you can be as quit or loud as you want, most Guitarists will probably go for the latter alternative!
If you check fractal forum stuff, most people who buy the Axe Fx have the same experience as me:
1. Yay, it sounds great on headphones!
2. If I run this thing through a monitor I can plug anything into it!
3. I wonder if it sounds just like an amp if you use a cab...
Now, you'd miss out on one really important detail, the volume, but running it like this it's just like an incredibly versatile amp.
If you use the Axe Fx with a monitor system in "full range mode" you'd get the advantage of being able to play on the same volume as all other musicians in the band. I know, I know, this is usually not something Guitarists care about but there are actually other instruments in the band...
The keys player for example, they long ago gave up dragging a piano or Hammond to a gig, it's just not practical!
Give that a few decades of development and the digital piano through a monitor is just something we accept.
I'm sure purists will totally now shout out loud: That's exactly what you're gonna get with digital amps!
And yeah, but with the Axe Fx anything is possible...
Axe Fx with a Guitar Cab
As I said, last gig was cab sim on, very low stage volume, I could actually hear everyone else! The keys player had a small Behringer amp as a monitor, and I could hear it!
When I was in a three piece with an Orange Rocker 30 12" combo I actually never heard what the bass player did... He could have been in a different key, but what a sound... it was loud, it was great, it was a nightmare! Everyone told me I was too loud, which I was
Anyway, back to last gig.
So I ran the Axe Fx with reverbs I made using headphones, cab sims etc, all systems go. Stereo, panned on desk.
Admittedly the Dumble amp was too much so I quickly went back to the fender setup I had programmed after a couple of attempts to switch setting...
And live, this is really how you wanna run this, one amp, some effects, switch these on and off. It sounds really weird to go from an AC30 sound to Marshall to Fender in one set. Just doesn't make any sense. Too schizophrenic for me anyway.
So why not just buy one amp?
Well you could have all those mentioned set ups with the Axe Fx, pick the one that suits the gig!
What you could do, which I think might be my next move, is to use it with different cabs, just like you would with an arsenal of amps, should you be able to afford it.
Most gigs, a 12" would work, but if it's AC/DC style on a festival stage, why not bring the 4 by 12?!? Personally I'm a 4 by 10 open back fan.
So why use it with a cab?
Well the reverbs delays and all the posh effects are way up there in the frequency register and are usually not added until after the guitar sound has hit a microphone. On stage you wouldn't hear that kind of detail, and even if you did, you wouldn't once the drummer starts playing.
So run the Axe Fx with a power amp, into a guitar cab and you get the same feel a normal amp has, this hits a microphone and creates the same sound we are used to dealing with.
On stage, all those reverbs, delays etc will just cloud the signal, this is not just the case with the Axe Fx, it's the case with all amp setups. The more you add, the more you loose.
So step 1 of the Axe Fx challenge is:
Axe Fx - Power amp - Guitar Cab, no fx.
Does it sound and feel like a Valve amp?
I will have the camera on when Sandy tries it.
-Guru
Axe Fx live, what speaker!?!
First gig with the Axe Fx out of the way and this is when things start to get really interesting!
As I've been saying earlier, the Axe Fx is like Pandoras box, all kinds of things come up to the surface and start question most things about music.
Since I spent my life in guitar mode it's pretty tough to get me excited about gear, I feel like I've "seen it all before" and made all the mistakes so when new gadgets like this pop up it takes a lot to get me going!
A few years ago I had the privilege to learn from one of the best when it came to guitar sound.
Even though he has declined going on camera to talk about this stuff he will be attending the Axe Fx challenge which has finally been booked in for Wendnesday, stand by for more!
The thing is, if you know about how the electric guitar amp came about you'll know that there are several different components that led us all to the gear hysteria we see surrounding Guitarists today.
For example, the first amps that are now regarded as classics, the ones we refer to when describing sounds were not built to be used in the way that we use them. Marshall for example, got distortion by mistake!
Same thing with pedals, the intention of the Ibanez Tube Screamer was to get a distorted valve amp sound on lower volumes. Guitar players however found that turning up level, keeping gain down, we push the valves in the amp more and make it distort both from preamp but also power amp stage.
Check SRV for a sound reference. Ibanez certanly didn't manage to get him to turn down!
Another incredibly important part of the sound is the speaker, most amps were actually designed with a specific speaker in mind.
Early Gibson amps for example were designed around a very bright sounding speaker so they made the amp itself very mellow in order to get the two components to balance eachother out.
However, the speaker it was designed around went out of production (Philips) and once Gibson paired the amp with another speaker the sound achieved was very mellow! In the end Gibson created a new type of electric guitar sound this way.
Have you ever thought of why the controls on a Vox are on the back and the wrong way around?
The amp was intended to be in front of you, facing the audience, hence the open back, so the guitarist can hear himself! Beatles actually toured stadiums with AC30s, no PA system!
These days most performing bands aim to keep the stage volume as low as possible, letting the PA do all the work and musicians on stage get whatever they want through their monitor.
Long gone are days were you'd turn up your Vox AC30 to get power amp distortion, it's just too loud.
So there you go, pretty much every component of the Electric guitar signal started out with one concept in mind, ending up being used in a different way.
This is all very confusing stuff for the budding guitarist and more importanlty, very expensive!
So the Axe Fx challenge is on, what can Fractal fix?
In last nights gig were I used the Daedalus as my monitor I had the Axe FX set to speaker simulation since this is not a guitar speaker.
On stage this is basically like having a monitor behind you. It can't and will never feel like an amp, the reason being the speaker. A 12" 25W guitar speaker projects specific frequensies and moves air in a specific way. If you want that feel to remain on stage you have to use the Axe Fx with a guitar speaker.
You can then make the coice of sending Cab sim to PA, or just put a microphone on the cab, just like you would with a normal amp.
On wednseday I'm gonna put this to the test, got a room full of amps to try it against, and more importantly, with!
I'd also like to add that it was nice to hear everyone else in the band for the first time, since i'm used to using valve amps turned way up this was a first!
-Guru
Axe Fx question music itself
Following on from Roger Mayers theory that the only true music can be made using analog techniques I started thinking about this today and it gets pretty scary!
Basically, an electric guitar is just that, electric!
You create a guitar sound like this:
1. The vibrations of string (and wood) in relation to pickups
2. Pedals, leads, Volts, power supplies etc affect the signal in wave forms before it hits the amp.
3. The amp keeps this going through it's components, different amps on different days will produce different results.
4. Speaker projects sound. Different speakers on different days will create different results
5. Microphone picks up sound and surrounding reflexions. Different...
6. Tape records the sound. Different....
7. Mixing desk and outboards further shape our guitar sound. Again, different days, different results.
8. Mix in with the rest of the instruments.
9. Master recording, burn to new format, let's stick with vinyl!
10. Needle reads vinyl.
11. Stereo amplifies signal.
12. Stereo speakers (or headphones) project sound.
13. Ears hear the sound of speakers and surrounding reflexions.
According to Roger Mayers theory, if you put anything digital in that chain it makes assumptions and is no more true music.
Now that's scary in todays loop based, edited and triggered sound samples environment!
According to valve enthusiasts this very much applies to electric guitar.
The Axe Fx claims to emulate almost all the above mentioned paths.
And Valve amp people say: No! It can never work.
This week we are going to try to put it to the test, Bruce said in an early email conversation that if the Axe Fx works he'll "Eat his hat!"
Sandy has now taken a more laid back approach:
"I don't know the science behind it so all I know is that I enjoy dance acts such as The Prodigy and I enjoy playing through valve amps!"
-Guru