Axefx Ultra after 2 hours of plugging in...

[Matt_B]

Are we witnessing a revolution here?

I am.

[MOSHWITZ]

Are we witnessing a revolution here?

I am.

Welcome to Tomorrow

BTW,,thanks Matt

MOSHON
DAVE

[Shawn Lutz]

Rupe needs to finish painting his basement

[Evol]

Dave man, haha, that was cool as hell! I was headbanging like crazy!

[Robert Burns]

I was impressed after one hour..now a month into it, im really happy with
it. Turned OFF my Compressor (i overdue this, and have always used
too much comp for a nice high end fizzle!) And my notes got huge, defined, and articulate. I may add the Compressor back in..but its going
to be about 8% of it..not the 75% i always used!
If any of you do get the Axefx...use the "Drive Block" !! It gives you
about 20 of the worlds most famous Distortion pedals... FatRat, TS808..
on and on... huge tone shaper! My favorite patch is now 40% better
than it was last week, and i loved it then! I can see that i'll be laying
in a pool of my own drool in 3 months with this Ultra! Its one of those
units, that you just know you are only getting about a 1/3rd of its
possibilities. If all you want is EVERYTHING....then you must have it!

[Robert Burns]

I didn't read this entire thread (I read most of it) so forgive me if I repeat something that has already been said.

John...I hear your concern for live use but trust me whan I say that your concerns are "covered" if you run this thing right. One line to FOH...let's hope the soundman doesn't suck. I also run out to a FRFR monitor (FBT Verve 12ma)...this thing is 400w I believe with a coaxial 12...it can easily hang with my MP1/2:90/4x12 rig for actual stage volume if I need to take the soundman out of the equation. You could play a decent sized room bypassing the PA altogether if necessary. Others use it like the preamp and effects unit in a rack system with a power amp and cab. Although this sounds good, it fails to make use of the true strength of the unit, the IRs (although some still use the IRs along with a power amp/guitar speaker...redundant IMO).

Portability...I've gone from a 100+ lb 8 space rack and 4x12 to a 4 space rack (Axe-Fx, power conditioner, 1 sp rack drawer...it's like carrying a suitcase) and a 42 lb monitor. The main reason I went this route was to save my back. The fringe benefit just happens to be the best sounding rig that I've ever played through, both the amp models and effects (effects are easily on par with TC and Eventide).

You've seen in an earlier post how in-depth the "tweakability" is on this unit. IMO its like having a virtual amp building shop...just break out your cyber soldering iron and go to work. It doesn't let you actually change tube types, but you can simulate those different characteristics by tweaking the IRs so in effect you have the same net result.

Recording is a whole other thing. It offers a bunch of mic sims and even allows you to adjust placement in both distance from and placement on the cone...mindblowing! I recently did a solo with it for a comilation recording on another forum that I'd be happy to share with you guys. Problem is I have it as a WMA file and have no idea how to post it. I'll be happy to send it to somebody if you know how to change it to an MP3 and/or can host it.

Finally, congrats on your purcase Robert! I believe I told you that this was the unit for you!!!

*** Yes, thanks Rupe! You and Hippietim convinced me. He HAS sold off almost everything he had. I have to add, that for the last 5 days
ive been running my rig thru a 20 year old Peavey 1 sp rack 200 watt
SS power amp, instead of the VHT 2/90/2...guess what? Still moves
air thru the 4/12 VHT cab like a TRex and my ears ring after an hour!
Im not rushing into it...but im sure i could sell my VHT, and still be
totally happy! How weird is that? That Fractal can mimic most of the
worlds best tube amps, and make it where you are 95% sure, you still
have your "Baby" boutique amp right with you! Awesome...imagine where
Fractal will be in 5 years?

[emperor_black]

Alright guys, the hype is real! I've had this Ultra since Monday and I'm blown away with its tones. And its super simple to setup. Well, there's nothing I can add that others already haven't told. However, John (jgcable), you need not be worried about not having the "amp in the room" feeling. I dont have FSFS and playing through the Axe into the fx return of the Uberschall sounds just like playing through the Uberschall by itself. There is basically no difference in feel, presence, sag, etc.

On the Upside, there are a million tweaks and tones you can get from this thing. And you dont have to spend hours of tweaking to get great tones! And not to mention the clean sounds & effects! I was just telling DarkSaga and nateb the other day. I played clean for 15 mins which is the most I've played in LONG time! So, the AXE + A good tube power amp should give you all the tones you crave for.

I'm gonna get the ART SLA-2 soon and we'll see how a complete SS setup sounds. Ive been playing through the crate powerblock and even though the PB darkens up the overall sounds, it still sounds great! Which is by itself amazing because the PB is good just for a backup and for nothing else.

Anyways, that was my 2 cents. Cheers!

[Vass]

. I played clean for 15 mins which is the most I've played in LONG time!

I've been lurking on and off in this thread contemplating the Ultra. Not only did this comment make me LOL, because I totally feel ya, but it convinces me it's the right unit.

[emperor_black]

It totally is! And the versatility! For late night practice, you dont have to sacrifice tone by plugging into the POS POD anymore! Hook up the axe's out to a mixer and use the headphones. Sounds every bit like my Uber mic'd with a shure sm57.

Also, check this thing out. Just yesterday I figured out how to route two outputs. One o/p with cabs turned on going to the mixer and the other going into the power amp with cabs turned off. How cool is that!

[Trem]

i knew there was a reason i haven't clicked this thread.

i have all the tone i needs already damnit, but erm... how do the harmony
effects sound and track?
are the amp sounds like pretty convincing, damn good, or, your not going to be able to tell the difference from the real no matter how much you think you will be able too kinda way?

[emperor_black]

I havent looked into much of the effects really but guitar premier says the fx's are on par with the eventide stuff. I wanted something to sound like my Uberschall rev blue with =C= EL34's and I got it in a 10lb box.

In a blind fold test, you wouldn't be able to make out the difference between the real amp and the Axe. That's for sure. It doesnt stop there. The "feel" is there and you can even adjust the tube sag and damp!

[hippietim]

i knew there was a reason i haven't clicked this thread.

i have all the tone i needs already damnit, but erm... how do the harmony
effects sound and track?
are the amp sounds like pretty convincing, damn good, or, your not going to be able to tell the difference from the real no matter how much you think you will be able too kinda way?

The effects are fantastic. They are on par with Eventide - they sound different though so I wouldn't say the Axe-FX is better than Eventide but they are at the same quality level.

The amps sound fantastic. I'm constantly amazed at how cool this thing is.

[beachjammer]

Everybody is killing me talking about these things! HA HA! My buddy just sold his Mark V to get one and he's totally blown away with it. I can't wait til he gets a chance to bring it up so I can finally try one out. I've been reading about these things for over a year!

[emperor_black]

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.

[Trem]

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.

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?