LIFE’S GOOD, BUT MANY GLAD GUITARISTS KNOW
THAT EVEN GOOD THINGS CAN
STILL GET BETTER.
2017 AD.
The year is 2017 AD and an unyielding inventor from New Hampshire simply will not stop improving his world-class effects processors. And even though life is good, many glad guitarists understand that even good things can still get better.
The last firmware update, Quantum 8, was a fairly small one in the great scheme of things. Nevertheless let’s take a look at what Cliff Chase packed into it for us.
AMPS
Straight off we have a tasty morsel for all you Clapton fans: the inclusion of the “5f1 Tweed EC” means there is now a model of the Fender EC Vibro-Champ.
The general modelling of amps has been improved once again and especially amps without a master volume benefit from the changes. Of course, the same applies to master volume amps when these are turned all the way up. The tone is now clearer and more open. Most of the modelled amps have been newly measured and analysed and more detailed data has been added to the firmware to make the simulations even more authentic.
CABS
XL and XL+ users can try out five new Cabs from Celestion’s Plus Selection. These custom mixes offer a wonderful cross-section of Celestion’s finely tuned IRs and bring the total number of factory Cabs to an unbelievable 189
FINE DETAILS
Speaking of fine-tuning: users who regularly employ the Cab block’s Delay parameter will be pleased to hear that the resolution of the delay time has been increased to 0.001 milliseconds. The Compressor block has also been reworked so that all compressor types now include Filter and Emphasis parameters. And the Amp block’s output compression parameter can now be controlled by a modifier.
FIXES
As always, several small bugs have been fixed – there isn’t much that can escape Cliff Chase’s notice. And once again we can say with pride that the current firmware, Quantum 8.02, is the best Axe-Fx firmware there has ever been