Axefx Ultra after 2 hours of plugging in...

[emperor_black]

Feedback is one main reason i would be interested in this unit as i figured if i could get the same tones as a full tube stack, but not have to deal with feedback or noise suppressors?

oh, I gave the wrong impression I think. The noise suppressor is simply super! I've used the ISP Decimator and MXR Smart gate pedals and the AXE's NS is beyond what I've ever come across. Just by increasing the threshold, you can go from super quiet to super LOUD with no noise whatsoever. My el-cheapo ESP/LTD makes a horrible noise plugged into the Uberschall but is super quiet thru the AXE. I just said you can set it up such that you get a nice controlled feedback. In my previous band, we had a song where the feedback would lead to a higher tempo part of the song.

[beachjammer]

And it responds just like an amp! You turn up the volume, you get lots of feedback and you have to turn either the gain or your guitar's volume down. I dont recollect this happening with either the POD's or the GT-8.

And its pickup/guitar sensitive; a LOT! I created a few patches and labeled them "Dark" because I used a DK2M, 13's tuned to C-standard. When I plug in a Mahogany guitar with a very Bright pup, 10's and tuned to E-standard, all my patches sound BRIGHT! Just as expected.

This says alot about the AxeFx to me. One of my main complaints about other modeler pieces were that you could basically plug a tinker toy with a pickup and strings in one and not tell much difference than if you plugged in a $2000 guitar. It's like all they were looking for was a signal and note. They never portrayed the organic textures of what kind of wood the guitar was made out of or how the pickups were wound. From what I've been hearing from people the AxeFx portrays each guitar and setup as it should be.

[Robert Burns]

Ok...now after 3 and 1/2 months with this thing, i have the baddest
Robin Trower, Gary Moore tone ive ever heard! Just this one patch
makes the purchase worth it imo.. Its searing...breaks up at any time
within 4 seconds its screaming feedback (but controlled) Cant really
describe it...having problems with Youtube, so i cant make a new video.
(even have new underware, dammit!
But think "Shark Island"... "Paris Calling"...or "Heartbreak Blvd"...
Yep, its that badassed! If i never was able to make this Ultra any better, i would still be completely satisfied with spending $2071.00 for it!
But i know, the journey is only 1/2 way done. Next year i'll be laughing
at this patch, thinking how thin it is!

Oh...and as of March 28th there is a "Standard" for sale on the Gear Page
for $1275.00 They dont come around often, as us owners love them too
much!

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=696287

[Matt_B]

This says alot about the AxeFx to me. One of my main complaints about other modeler pieces were that you could basically plug a tinker toy with a pickup and strings in one and not tell much difference than if you plugged in a $2000 guitar. It's like all they were looking for was a signal and note. They never portrayed the organic textures of what kind of wood the guitar was made out of or how the pickups were wound. From what I've been hearing from people the AxeFx portrays each guitar and setup as it should be.

The Axe-FX really does lets the guitar's voice come through, even more so than some amps. I sometimes create patch variations created for specific guitars just for that very reason.

[emperor_black]

The Axe-FX really does lets the guitar's voice come through, even more so than some amps. I sometimes create patch variations created for specific guitars just for that very reason.

Amen Brother! Just last night that idea dawned on me. That's the best way to go. Create rhythm, lead and clean patches for like-sounding guitars. You can thus avoid frustration of creating patches with one guitar and playing with another and thinking it needs change and get into an endless tweaking game and ultimately frustration with the gear. :ROTF:

After two weeks of using it, I'm totally convinced I dont miss my tube amps anymore. However, the MIDI interface on the AXE is a total freakin joke!! So many people, includiing myself are having trouble with the axe talking to their computers, downloading patches, etc. I've tried Macbook Pro, Win XP Sp4 and Vista. I cant get the axe-edit software to talk to my axe and tweak/download patches. I've tried two different midi-usb cables and neither work. I remember how easy it was to connect the GT-8 and a Marshall JMP-1 to the exact same M-audio UNO. Those units are what at least 10 yrs old? If this thing wasn't sounding so damn good, it would be on the package back to fractal. Completely disgusting. This is one thing you guys have to be prepared for. I dont have any other complaints so far!

[Trem]

i been studying up on these, it seems that after buying one it doesn't stop there, full range speakers are suggested and 4x12's are not, to get the full
effect of the unit - a lot of money - also most seem to say that playing thru headphones which is all i can do at home is not suggested for making patches ect...also a SS poweramp seems suggested to use the different power amp models and stuff.
means getting rid of everything, and starting from scratch - to hope it is gonna work.

i'm convinced from clips it does sound basically perfect, the feel is unknown till you play one i guess.

just curious is anyones using them for live loud metal, with what and how.

i don't know if monitor speakers would fly with my bandmates as they are hell bent on us having the look of traditional full stacks ect.., tho a half stack is enough for me with having to lug around

it would be sweet to just have a rack with an Axe and a poweramp to worry about but it's gotta push air and thump like a tube amp thru a cab playing metal.

[emperor_black]

well, that's the problem with internet. You get both right and wrong information. I'm strictly gonna use traditional cabs and nothing else. No FSFS shit with me. To my ears A/B'ing the AXE+SLA-2 vs Bogner Uber and Mark IV plugged into the same cabs, the axe sounds just like any other amp with all the tube feel and punch and sag and what-not. So, you can go the regular Power amp + cab route as well.

through headphones, you can listen. Just use a $50 mixer. But , I did create a patch with headphones and it wasnt that bad.

[MOSHWITZ]

SUP?

i been studying up on these, it seems that after buying one it doesn't stop there, full range speakers are suggested and 4x12's are not, to get the full
effect of the unit - a lot of money - also most seem to say that playing thru headphones which is all i can do at home is not suggested for making patches ect...also a SS poweramp seems suggested to use the different power amp models and stuff.
means getting rid of everything, and starting from scratch - to hope it is gonna work.

i'm convinced from clips it does sound basically perfect, the feel is unknown till you play one i guess.

just curious is anyones using them for live loud metal, with what and how.

i don't know if monitor speakers would fly with my bandmates as they are hell bent on us having the look of traditional full stacks ect.., tho a half stack is enough for me with having to lug around

it would be sweet to just have a rack with an Axe and a poweramp to worry about but it's gotta push air and thump like a tube amp thru a cab playing metal.

well, that's the problem with internet. You get both right and wrong information. I'm strictly gonna use traditional cabs and nothing else. No FSFS shit with me. To my ears A/B'ing the AXE+SLA-2 vs Bogner Uber and Mark IV plugged into the same cabs, the axe sounds just like any other amp with all the tube feel and punch and sag and what-not. So, you can go the regular Power amp + cab route as well.

through headphones, you can listen. Just use a $50 mixer. But , I did create a patch with headphones and it wasnt that bad.

The main reason guys are going for the FRFR rigs are so they can use the Cab IR's. in their rigs Live. which would be the only thing that would separate the FRFR/4x12,,,as you wouldn't use a cab IR into a real cab.
so you would run one output into your amp+cab rig without Cab IRs, then send the other output with the cab IRs direct to the board(unless you still want to mic your cab,,,,which is fine to).

I agree with Sam that the Axe sounds/ feels/ and reacts just like any real amp through a 4x12. I run my Ultra's OUT1 into my DAW with the cab sims on for recording and run OUT2 without the cab sims into the return of my Engl Savage120(or an ADA microfet) into a couple of my 4x12's and they sound wicked. There is no "you have to run it like this" ways to go about it, go with what you know and are comfortable with. As far as the Tube vrs SS poweramp thing I get great results with both sooooo......once again do what ever you feel comfortable with.

As far as the MIDI thing, I myself have never(knocks on wood) had anything fail with mine, and I shoot patches back and forth to the DAW, and have loaded firmwares new and old all the time and not so much as a hiccup, But I use the MIDI from my soundcard which is an RME HDSP 9652 and RME are known for their rock solid drivers and such,,,,so?,,,I dont know what else to say about it.

As for the Headphones ,,,,the axe sounds fine to me through my AKG's
But if you do have an amp you can run the axe into,,even if it is a massive 4x12 rig,,,,you can still get wicked full cranked tone at whisper volumes for home jamming.

MOSHON
DAVE

[Robert Burns]

Agree with Mosh on his last statement. When i first plugged into my Ultra,
it was thru the VHT 2/90/2 (with the AMP sims off") and out to a VHT 4/12 cab. Sounded killer!
Then about 3 weeks later, i was curious about the SS amp, and turning
on' the amp sims.. so i switched over, and imo..(not worth much!)
The overall tone sounds about 20% better to my ears WITH the AMP
Sims "On"...over just letting the VHT work its tube magic.
Now my poor VHT sits all alone on the floor... unplugged...and
quiet... Hey, my tubes arent going bad that way! I'll save a ton in 5 years...LOL

[jgcable]

Still waiting to hear one live. Have not seen one in this area. Don't know a single person that has one that plays in a band live. It appears that most of the owners buy these rigs for home use.

[Chad]

^Yeah, almost nobody is using them live. Amongst another unknowns, Chris Broderick is currently using one on tour with Megadeth....and word is that Dave might be as well, but it hasn't been 100% confirmed.

Here is a whole list of unknowns:

http://fractalaudio.com/artist.html

Dweezil Zappa? Who? Devin Townsend? Who is that guy? Marty Friedman? Never heard of him either. I also heard that some garage band called Meshuggah or something has been using them live for quite some time.

[roodyrocker]

I have used mine live, I'm not famous though Anyway, someone mentioned the midi thing. Yeah, this is frustrating to me as well. I tried to update my firmware a couple nights ago (I still have v5.06 on my Ultra now ) and can't get it to work. I tried an M-Audio Uno only to discover that in the Axe Fx notes for the firmware they state this unit has been problematic so I returned the Uno and got an M-Audio 2x2 Anniversary Edition. Still can't get it to work and keep getting "Bad Checksum" messages when I try to update it
As far as how to run the Axe Fx. You have tons of choices. I initially tried mine through my Mesa 2:90 tube power amp with a Mesa 4x12 cab but then went with the QSC powered monitors which sound even better to me. But you don't have to run it that way. Some use solid state power amps, some just record, some use it live with powered monitors, etc...
BTW, any of you guys use the A-Audio midisport 2x2 that might be able to tell me what I'm doing wrong? I need to update to v9.03, I'm WAY behind on firmware updates. I'm sure its something simple but I know little about Midi-Ox and this stuff. In the next couple days I'll do a search on the Axe forum if I need to.

[emperor_black]

Hey Rudy, I'm the one who mentioned about the MIDI issues. Someone on the forum replied back saying they had success with the Mididsport 2x2 but you're saying you have issues? Drat. that's another device out the window!

BTW, for updating firmware, someone suggest MidiOx, a stand-alone windows program. Installed the damn thing today and even though it recognized the midi ports and started spewing out tons of info, I have no freakin clue WTF is happening. Maybe you'll have better luck? Thankfully, I'm already on 9.03 and dont have to worry about upgrade for sometime.

Also, the sysex librarian on mac seems to have helped some people with firmware upgrade. give that a shot if you have a macbook.

[Chad]

^I've been upgrading firmware with an Emu Xmidi 1x1 and MIDI-OX since I got my Ultra in May 2009. I've done probably 10 or so firmware updates and they have all been flawless. The 1x1 can be bought for around $30 new or even less on the used market. My computer runs Windows XP MCE.

[roodyrocker]

Hey Rudy, I'm the one who mentioned about the MIDI issues. Someone on the forum replied back saying they had success with the Mididsport 2x2 but you're saying you have issues? Drat. that's another device out the window!

BTW, for updating firmware, someone suggest MidiOx, a stand-alone windows program. Installed the damn thing today and even though it recognized the midi ports and started spewing out tons of info, I have no freakin clue WTF is happening. Maybe you'll have better luck? Thankfully, I'm already on 9.03 and dont have to worry about upgrade for sometime.

Also, the sysex librarian on mac seems to have helped some people with firmware upgrade. give that a shot if you have a macbook.

The first time I updated my Axe Fx Ultra I borrowed a friend's MT4 and used that in combination with Midi-Ox to go from v4.0x to 5.06. It worked right away. Now I have a different laptop, still a PC not MAC, and tried to update from v5.06 to 9.03 using Midi-Ox and the MT4 again. It didn't work and I guess drivers are an issue to find for the MT4 and Windows XP. So I bought the Midisport Uno and tried again which didn't work. I read that the Uno has issues so I took it back and bought the Midisport 2x2 Anniversary Edition and tried with Midi-Ox again but I still get "Bad Checksum" after it looks like it was nearly completely loaded then I get the bad checksum again. I'm not sure what settings I have to adjust to get it to work