Triaxis Users, can i emulate the triaxis tone on the M4?

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rickgk

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Hi All,

I own a mesa triaxis and an egnater m4, unfortunately i can't afford to keep both, i have organised to sell the triaxis but i think i actually like the triaxis better than the m4.

I like the idea of the M4 better with the interchangeable mods etc and i think i get a better clean and heavy rhythm crunch tone from the M4 although it's a close call. But the triaxis absolutely smokes my m4 for leads, it's a very chewey lead tone that is SO easy to play & the sustain on the triaxis is amazing, yes i can get infinite sustain from the m4 but that is more of a feedback loop type sustain that only happens at higher volumes, the triaxis sustain is totally different, at low volumes it sustains but is a very natural sustain, where i still hear the note decay and change but over a long period until the note is almost clean but still sustaining, it also has very even string to string balance and amazing low end clarity.

It's very hard for me to explain so i am hoping that triaxis and m4 owners can chime in and tell me what they think the secret is behind the triaxis tone and if i can emulate it on the M4?
 
Rick,

That's a tough call. I have the Triaxis, and for me it seemed all of the higher gain settings sounded pretty much the same, all very Mesa, with that high end sizzle. The clean channels on the Triaxis are very cool, but I tend to stay out of the Lead 1 and 2 Red zone. I just received my Egnater HG module ( single channel ) and it has that Recto type sound very similar to the Triaxis, the sustain is there, a little mid scooped but it rocks, and thats with the gain at 1:00 , mid at 9:00,bass at 9:00 , and treble at 2:00, master at 12:00. I'm running the M4 thru a Mesa 20/20, so I think with that combo I might get closer to the Triaxis tone than any other combination.
I think the tendancy for most RM4/ M4 users is to crank the gain up to max, then the notes that should sustain harmonically, break up due to the excessive gain. Try your high gain modules at a setting of no more than 2:00 gain, master at least 12:00, then just adjust the 3 band EQ keeping the Bass below 10:00 or so. At least this worked for me. Earlier today I was able to emulate the Vai lead tone from " the Ultra Zone " with nice sustaining notes that did not drop off prematurely. The guitars I used are a 1991 PRS with vintage pickups , and an Ernie Ball Musicman EVH with stock pickups.
Another area to look at it is what type tubes you have in the modules. If you have 2 of the Mesa preamp tubes ( Sovtek) from your Triaxis, try them in your E-Rect and see if that helps.

Hope I helped in some way !

Howard
 
Thanks Howard,

I never go over 12oclock with the gain on my high gain egnater/randall modules, the bottom end turns to mush for some reason. I have mentioned that in my module reviews.
I am thinking the difference is maybe compression? i don't really use the red modes in the triaxis (only for heavy rhythms), even the low gain modes have that very clean articulate sustain i am mentioning. Hmm i might try a compressor pedal.

P.S. did you get that high gain module off pete (10ft tall)? that was mine :) small world. I thought the top end on that one was a little fizzy for my liking, but i am sure you can fix that with the ultracurve, how do you find that piece of gear? I used to own one back when i was trying to get rid of the fizz of the podxt.

Thanks again
 
Rick im totally off point here, but would you please post some pics of your caparison! Im in love with those guitars.
 
sure you can check it out here.

http://rickwhitney.gallery.netspace.net.au/Caparison-Horus-Yellow-Sand
 
Rick,

First- very cool guitar. I see you have the Xpression, doesn't it have a built in compressor limiter? Also, if it's like my Intellifex and Chameleon I always had the Hush " out " for leads, unless I was playing at very high volumes and very high gain to eleminate noise, otherwise it canceled the low signals out completely.
No I didn't get the HG from Pete, I know he was selling an MHG, but I got this one from the Amp Lounge.

Howard
 
Yep the xpression has a compressor, i have yet to mess around with it much though, but it's definitely my next project.

I never use the hush, to use it i have to change the signal routing to digital but i prefer to keep the direct mix analog so that rules out the hush for me. But i may have to have a think about incorporating the hush as a gate to tighten the high gain sounds.

I did have a little success last night running the bass levels on the high gain mods at 9 oclock, direct out of the M4 into the behringer ultrag d.i. then into guitar rigs cab simulators, it tightened the sound up quite a bit, the tone was more controlled, and the bottom end definitely more realistic. I think i am getting somewhere here.
 
A little off topic, but would love a full review of that Caparison. A bunch of guys at Progpower last were wailing on them. Sweet guitars.
 
Hey Strangeland,

Yes the caparison is a sweet guitar, the first thing that struck me is that it has great resonance and sustain for such a small bodied axe, probably more so than my prs custom 24.

As far as tone goes it favours high mids where the prs favours low mids, so it's a real screamer and is great for shredding.

The fingerboard is fairly flat but is very comfortable with a very thick rosewood board, the frets are huge and polished to perfection (almost as silky as the parker i had).
I was told when i purchased the guitar that the fingerboard radius is compund like the parker, if so then i would guess that frets 1 - 12 are about 12" and the ones above 14-16"

The fret access is obviously really good with no problem accessing the 24th fret at all, but be warned this guitar is only a 24 3/4" scale so the fret spacing up high is quite cramped and makes it pretty useless for me and most people to cleanly fret to the 27th fret, why they didn't make this a 25.5 scale is beyond me, it would have made a great guitar an amazing guitar. It's ok up to the 22nd fret with the spacing being about the same as my custom 24 prs, i wish that too had a little more room for clean fretting. If i had the choice i would probably swap this out for the Dellinger model with the 25.5" scale, but with that said i think the dellinger heel might cramp access to the higher frets anyway, living where i do i don't get the chance to try stuff out before i buy it.

The pickups are pretty cool, the humbucker is VERY open sounding and screams on the high strings, but lacks a little gain on the bottom end for me (i may just need to raise the pickup height there) as the bass strings don't fire off harmonics like the high strings. The neck pickup is just fantastic i really like this one, very clean and articulate but not woofy at all.

It came setup pretty bad, i like a low action so had to lower the trem and adjust etc, it's probably still not quite as low as i would like, but as low as i can get without buzzing so i may need to adjust the relief. Having said that it's fairly bloody low and is really quite easy to play.

The trem is as solid as a rock, and is one of the better floyds i have played.

The build quality is great, they even make a battery cavity in case you want to swap the pickups out for actives which alot of people do but i don't think i will.

Hmm i think that pretty much covers everything, let me know if you have any questions

Cheers
 
Thanks Rick that was awesome. I've really been looking at getting an Applehorn model someday. They have a new V model out now also.
 
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