Need help/advice on getting good Triaxis tone

[SliderJeff]

Hey guys,

Well.. I guess it's time for my annual "Why the friggin hell can't I get anything remotely close to the tones that other people are getting with their Triaxis preamp setups?" thread.

Here's the scoop. I've got a Triaxis version 2.0 without the fat mod. I run it straight through a Mesa 20/20 power amp with Monster Cable Studio Pro 1000 speaker cable into a Mesa Recto Vertical 2x12. I mic the top speaker near the edge of the cone, straight on.

Ok, so my all time favorite prog metal tone is Petrucci's from Images and Words. I've also got lots of love for Evergrey's In Search of Truth and Nevermore's Politics of Ecstacy tone... all of which are supposedly Triaxis. Now I heard that Diablo's Eternium tone is also Triaxis.

Bearing all this in mind, I'm wondering what the hell is the deal with me not being able to dial in anything even remotely resembling any of these tones??!?!? Is it because I am not running my power amp at stage levels? Is it because I have an EL84 tubed 20/20 and not an EL34 2:90? Is it the lack of a fat mod (doubt it)? IS it all about post preamp EQ? Is it all studio magic and the true tone that these guys recorded to tape/hard drive/whatever doesn't even remotely resemble the finished product?

Sooooooo... I'd love to hear from any and all of you that have dealt with recording the Triaxis... especially if any of you guys play through them yourselves. For additional info, I am using one of several older Ibanez guitars when using this setup... an S540LTD with stock IBZ/USA F1 and F2 pickups, an Ibanez USRG30 with Tone Zone and PAF Pro pickups and also a Fender HM Strat with Tone Zone and PAF Pro as well.

Love to hear anything you guys have to say.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Nostalgiaplatz]

Hi,

I don't have a triaxis or any other boogie and neither do I reckon the tone of the bands you mentioned but boogies get a rather fine tone from having a tube screamer (w/mod kenny wayne shepherd) in the chain. Have you tried one already?

Good luck finding your tone

 

[SliderJeff]

A couple more things that may or may not matter info-wise. I am aware of the wonders of multitracking for thickening the sound. I'm also aware of using more than one mode/tone/amp/preamp to change the overall tonal character and frequency response of the guitars... but to MY ears, that's not the whole picture as far as what the bands I mentioned did/are doing when recording their guitars. It certainly helps to do all of the above though. I'll try to ask NK over in his forum about how he went about getting Loomis' tone on PoE... see if there is anything I'm missing from that standpoint.

Thanks for any help you can throw my way.

Regs,
Jeff

PS - FWIW, I DID crank the ever loving bejeezus out of my 20/20 a couple months ago and recorded that to disc, but tonally speaking, there was little to no difference between the cranked recording and the "I can stand to be in the same room and not get evicted or have my ears bleed" level one.

 

[Matt Smith]

What mode are you using, and what settings (for a main sound)?
The TriAxis is VERY picky in the way all the controls interact with each other, but I'm sure you already knew that.

"In Search of Truth" was actually 5150. "Recreation Day" was TriAxis mixed with a Marshall head, however.

 

[SliderJeff]

Matt,

Thanks. No kidding??? Weird, when I talked to Henrik about it back at PP2 or 3 (they all blend in my mind), he had said that it was all TA. Nothing like a little confusion, eh?

As for the modes... I mainly stick to Ld2 red, as that seems to be the most shredderiffic one. I don't see the allure of Ld2 yellow... it sure as heck doesn't sound anything like Master of Puppets to me... or DT's SFAM... or pretty much anything that used a real Mark 2 C+. I also dabble with Ld1 red, which is the Vintage Recto Lead Channel on my TA. I think we spoke about what you use on your cd... and IIRC, you are/were using the 50/50 with EL34 tubes?

Yeah, I know all the wonderful little interdependencies on the TA controls. I spent about 4 hours tweaking the other night with manual in hand... still didn't get very close to what I am looking for. I think you had sent me a lead and a rhythm patch that you use a while ago... I'll see if I can dig that up again. If not, I might just email you and ask you to send it again.

Thanks, bro.

Later,
Jeff

PS - Darn it if I don't have Little Drummer Boy going through my head as I type this.

PPS - You should really re-track the snare on that one with that kick ass metal folding chair. Now THAT would be a pretty cool addition to the "Behind the Music" footage. ;P

PPPS - Forgot to mention that everything I have is running fairly new JJ tubes from Bob at Eurotubes. I have the "high gain" 12AX7's in the TA, normal 12AX7's and EL84's in the 20/20. Everything is matched from Bob.

 

[SliderJeff]

Crud,

No luck finding those presets you sent me ages ago, Matt. If you could, can you PM me a lead and a rhythm one that you dig and I'll try to record some simple riffing or something for you to take a listen to?

Thanks, bro.

Other than that.. I take it that no one uses a TA or really has much to say other than "double track it and pan it to thicken it"? I'll play around some more and see if it gets any better. It's gotten to the point that when other people talk about the TA and I tell them about my inability to find a good tone they reply, "Are you SURE you have a Triaxis?"

Fun fun fun.

Late,
Jeff

 

[Razorjack]

Have you tried the guitargeek.com forums? There are alot of guys over there with Tri-Axis pre's.

 

[SliderJeff]

Razor,

Nope.. hadn't tried that yet. Thanks for the tip. It's been ages since I was over there.

Thanks again,
Jeff

 

[silverwulf]

I've owned a couple Mark IIC+ heads, and I used to use a Triaxis/2:90 combo. I can say that the LD2 Yellow is pretty damn close. It's all a matter of how you tweak it. I personally liked the LD2 Red and LD1 Red modes the best.

Crank it up and give it some time. The Triaxis isn't some plug in and play head unit. It could take months before you nail your exact tone with it.

For the people who characterize the Recto's as "fuzzy" and "buzzy," they need to spend more time with them. I've since switched to an older model Recto and I constantly get compliments on my tone. I suggest swapping out the stock tubes and leanring to properly EQ them. I really like a combo of JJ's in the pre and Sovtek's in the power amp myself.

 

[Matt Smith]

SliderJeff,
I sold the TriAxis setup quite a while ago, so I don't really remember exactly. I'm really diggin' on the simplicity of the head/cabinet combo (I have a Mark IV and 5150 now). I remember gain was usually around 8, treble/mid/bass around 5/4/3.5-ISH (obviously VERY tentative), I think the presence was pretty cranked, and the Dynamic Voice was also usually 8 or more, I think. Usually used Lead 2 Yellow and Red.

Good luck!

 

[SliderJeff]

Fair enough. Thanks, Matt.

I hope to tweak some more this coming weekend... but free time is at a minimum these days. We'll see.

Thanks,
Jeff