Amp Match Question
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Why does amp match reset to the standard settings even after I set the original amp to certain settings?
I’ve been matching bass amps and I set up a Bias Amp as close as possible to the source amp sound.
I make sure to change the preamp, power amp, and transformer to the bass settings and after the amp match is done they are all set to standard settings except for the tone stack.
Thanks for any input! -
currently amp match in BA2 forces a specific set of hardware and tweaks the settings on them to suit the match. I think I read that they're working on tweaking it so that it can retain your pre-match selections though.
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That would be great!
Cuz the tone definitely matches, yet it’s missing the meat and potatoes for bass guitar until I turn everything back on.Do you have any idea if using the bass settings helps match the tone, or can you use any amp to start with?
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well i mean, that's kind of the problem, you can start with any amp, but amp match will do you the courtesy(?) of changing it for you =)
afaik the guitar/bass options just determine which preset chain it switches to. -
@eph Yeah, I created a thread about it when BA2 was released. It is actually a big step backward for amp matching. They acknowledged it and said they are working on a fix to allow the match to use the current amp settings rather than reset everything.
I've pretty much stopped using Amp match until they release a fix. Hoping for it soon.
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@elric It’s new to me so I’m still having a blast with it.
But I am looking forward to the next update...hopefully they will release a manual too. -
@elric Can you explain exactly what's happening? I haven't used BA2's Ampmatch yet. Exactly what resets (or is not saved)?
Thanks!]
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@mark-meyers if you change the module types or their settings and run the amp match, it will ignore your module selections and settings and change them to a predefined set depending on the type of amp match you chose to do. If you then change them back to what you had, it won't sound right since it was built around the predefined settings.
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@ash-wolford
It is way more of an issue with guitar from what I’ve experienced so far.
When you change the modules for guitar it has way more effect than that of the bass modules it seems. -
@ash-wolford OMG! That's a huge issue. Just so I'm understanding this: Ex. You wanna Ampmatch say, the 'Highway To Hell' intro. You pick an amp to start with. I'd go for a JTM or Plexi depending or 800 depending on the era. You dial it in, to a rough match, then you run the Ampmatch(?) It ignores your original outline? Or it matches it, well, but when you save it and recall it, all of your gain & eq is different(?) And you're suspecting it's ignoring you before it clones the amp as you return to the preset and it sounds nothing like you intend. I get it. I was trying to figure out when/where it decides to go rogue. It doesn't matter. Either way, that is a huge issue for a flagship feature. I'm not even going to try to match an amp until its fixed. I do have faith that if they've acknowledged it, they'll fix it. Even if it takes longer than we'd like. Darn, that is a bummer. (does it reset all the internal guts settings too? Or just the front panel?) Thanks, guys!
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@mark-meyers
What’s weird is that initially the tone is extremely close to the sound you are matching, even with the standard modules only. -
been a while since i actually messed with it (I use the Bias Head so BA2 isn't all that relevant to me yet until the compatibility update), but yeah, if you pick an amp with a certain preamp/poweramp/etc (or change them yourself) it will just change those modules to whichever ones are part of the preset defined for the type of amp match you picked. I didn't pay close enough attention to note whether it messed with the individual module settings, but I assume it does since afaik it just clobbers the chain altogether.
But yeah, in my limited tests it seems Eph is correct in that the amp match generally seems to get pretty spot-on with the sound you're trying to match; you just can't tweak the modeling chain after matching without throwing the sound way off.
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@ash-wolford I see, I think. So, it's like no matter what you do prior, will be ignored and it'll come out cloned with all different (default?) settings. So if you reset your EQ as it was, it'd make it way off.
Now, If you just pick a close amp to start, will it clone an exact copy regardless of the settings? And it's pretty spot on? Or does it come out screwy and reset to default? Lastly, does it ever actually make a good, savable clone at all right now? And 2nd question: If it comes out cloned to your satisfaction, is there a need to adjust the knobs? I guess I need to just try it, lol. Thanks for the tutorial(!)
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i only used BA2's amp match two or three times, on some very different sorts of tones. The results i got were quite good, and matched the target tone quite well. but yeah, it clobbers your settings to do so. I don't remember the exact things it picks since it's been a while since i did it. Just as a generic example for illustration purposes though, if you pick a Marshall-ish amp preset with creambacks and then fire up Amp Match with the High Gain option, it might replace the whole thing with, say, a Mesa/V30 style chain and then the amp match system would shape the precise sound on top of that. If you then change e.g. the cabinet back to the setting you wanted to use, it will mess up the sound because the amp-match process is expecting to be dealing with (and perhaps compensating for) the specific coloration of a V30 cab. Again, just an example.
Basically just assume it doesn't matter what you do before you run Amp Match for now, as it will clobber all that with its own preset options. At least until they update it to work otherwise. You can make tweaks to individual modules to adjust the sound, but major changes could mess with the tone in very not-nice ways.
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@eph said in Amp Match Question:
@mark-meyers
What’s weird is that initially the tone is extremely close to the sound you are matching, even with the standard modules only.Depending on how exactly this is working, that might be exactly the behaviour it should be doing.
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@pipelineaudio I considered that as well to begin with after I did a few guitar amp matches.
But when you do a bass amp match, the modules reset to the guitar modules instead of staying on the bass modules that you set up before starting amp match.
Although, if you don’t mess with the preamp module and you only change back the power amp and transformer to the bass settings you can keep the tone very similar to the initial tone match.
Amp match does change the tone stack and the cabinet to bass modules though. Although it always seems to pick the same cabinet, even when you know that the original source amp sound is not using the one that Bias Amp 2 suggests.
Typically the preamp is reset to the standard module and the tone stack is set to the bass module.
This does makes sense for a couple of the bass amp tones I was matching though, since I was matching some very high gain bass amp sounds. -
I see. That's def. an issue. Though, I see what you're suspecting: no matter what amp model you choose, AMpmatch will just replace it with what IT thinks should be used - then of course if you put an alternate cab on it, it'll not be the same. Defeating the purpose, right? But! Ar you guys saying the clones that are being produced are spot on? Pretty much? Better than BA1?
I could live with that sonically, I guess(?) But I think I'd have to be a Saint to try and match an old =V//= riff with an SPL 100watt Super Lead or something close and it gave me a Triple Rectifier w/Treadplate cab, lol. But if it sounded AND responded accurately? Isn't that all that matter? I'm being Pollyanna, lol.
Or a Plexi that gives you a Randall? A MK.V combo spit out as a Hiwatt half stack? Ugh. This would kill me..
..Unless you're really trying to push it - like trying to match a Slayer song w/a/ JC120. That'd call for direct intervention. Ain't nobody got time for that!?Thanks for the breakdown, guys.
When I get a sec. I'm gonna share, we'll say an "observation" RE: Ampmatch & DAWS. I think I'll wait a bit until this gets sorted out. I'd hate to misspeak on something like that.
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@mark-meyers said in Amp Match Question:
I see. That's def. an issue. Though, I see what you're suspecting: no matter what amp model you choose, AMpmatch will just replace it with what IT thinks should be used - then of course if you put an alternate cab on it, it'll not be the same. Defeating the purpose, right? But! Ar you guys saying the clones that are being produced are spot on? Pretty much? Better than BA1?
No. That is my issue, personally. I think BA2 has a better sound and feel in general but the amp matching in BA1 was superior at providing a more accurate match because of the way it kept your settings, especially when I have adjusted things in the amp to give a more accurate feel and response which the frequency matcher in amp match cannot measure.
By changing things like the preamp settings, tone stack etc, things like pick attack, compression, etc are completely changed.
The cab choices and mic positions are a mess, too; which makes it difficult to swap cabs on a matched amp which I could easily do in BA1 without things getting instantly weird.
This is basically a huge bug. It is like they set it up for 'kid mode' with the genre buttons but did not leave any avenue for folks that really want an accurate match. Exact reverse of BA1 where noobs found it confusing but you could go deep and get a solid virtual version of the target amp.