Axefx Ultra after 2 hours of plugging in...

[Trem]

Win Win Win until you have a software glitch or your internal battery craps out.
One of the shows we did last year featured a warm up band that was traveling the country. They used alot of laptop computer sample stuff and even some ipods plugged into these little funky mixers along with an entire band. Anyway.. something happened to one of their computer programs and they couldn't even do the show. My bands real tube amps worked great and if one of them crapped out we always carry a spare 5150II head with us. What do you do at a gig when your Ax FX craps out? I guess you would need to call the GEEK SQUAD!!

My tubes crapped out mid practice last week.. and Is why i took the axe to practice this week.

Will always have a backup for playing shows that's a given.
So really dude just suck it up and buy one, were waiting...and btw that big looong post i made was aimed directly at you... and you bit sucka

[Rupe]

You back up your rig no matter what. I carry an original POD around like a first aid kit...just in case.

[Rupe]

Uploaded firmaware 10.01 last night...WOW!!! The Shiva clean and both Marsha models (Brown Eye and Hairy Brown Eye) are just sick (The Marsha is a hot-rodded Marshall type amp built by Dave Friedman). They also tweaked the presence to react more like the real deal...I don't think it changed anything tonally as much as it now functions more intuitively like an amps presence control. Tonight I'm going to sub the Marsha models for my "Brown" models (the basis for my live tones) and see what happens.

[emperor_black]

Rupe,
you must try the new USA Clean and Euro Uber models. Just for kicks. You'll be pleasantly suprised.

And I found out about the internal battery...its typical lifespan is 10 yrs. My AXE is just a few months old, I dont need to worry anytime soon. And even if the battery dies, only your presets are gone. The AXE Editor makes it a one click process to save presets and stuff.

Backup is definitely necessary with any gear. I went to watch some local bands a couple of months ago. A guy playing a les paul into a Dual Rec was sounding fantastic until about 3 or so songs later, his volume dropped to 1/4th the original volume and it died completely. He did not have a backup and they almost cut short the gig.

[Rupe]

I did try the new Euro Uber last night...absolutely brutal!!! It's not ideal for what I do (70's-80's hard rock/metal) but it sure was fun...I'll probably build a patch around it in case I need to scare women and children

I'll give the USA Clean a try tonight...thanks for the tip

[emperor_black]

Cliff has re-worked many of the amps but I (and many others) was aware of only the Euro Uber because it was a huge let-down for many folks and was the most discussed. After the update, I played a clean patch that I had create using Fender Sim and was blown away by how organic it felt and sounded. Once I posted about it, Cliff 'fessed up that he has indeed re-worked a lot of models.

Also, the Sag and Damp in the Advanced section makes a BIG difference in the feel with 10.0. I have a "stiff" feeling DK2T and created a patch using the Uberschall sim. When I plugged in my DK2M with fatter strings tuned to B-standard, it felt very loose and note definition was lost. Reducing the sag, and B+ capacitance made the patch playable with that guitar. Love the versatility of the AXE. I dont think you can do such a thing with a real tube amp and would just end up searching for the right pedal to go in front of the amp.

[bronz79]

I own an Eventide Eclipse for FX.
Intricate,a bit obsolete interface but awesome fx and deep..deep editing and controll.
Axe fx had a more user friendly interface,more routing possibility and effect placement
but less editing on parameters modifiers.
Axe fx is a top notch amp sim and fx, if they relese a version without amp and cab sim
i'll put it in my rack for sure.

[jgcable]

jeez, did any of you hear the clip on Youtube of the guy with the Axe FX getting the Van Halen You Really Got Me tone?? Its absolutely exact. Amazing. I was listening to clips all last night on Youtube. I gotta stop doing that or there will be a massive liquidation sale around here!!

[nateb]

I own an Eventide Eclipse for FX.
Intricate,a bit obsolete interface but awesome fx and deep..deep editing and controll.
Axe fx had a more user friendly interface,more routing possibility and effect placement
but less editing on parameters modifiers.
Axe fx is a top notch amp sim and fx, if they relese a version without amp and cab sim
i'll put it in my rack for sure.

How about just don't use em... nothing stopping you there.

-Nate

[emperor_black]

I think he means if the AXE were to be sold without any of the amps and cabs and priced slightly cheaper, he might buy it.

[roodyrocker]

I think he means if the AXE were to be sold without any of the amps and cabs and priced slightly cheaper, he might buy it.

But if he buys the Axe FX as it is now, there's his "back up" amp

[Rupe]

jeez, did any of you hear the clip on Youtube of the guy with the Axe FX getting the Van Halen You Really Got Me tone?? Its absolutely exact. Amazing. I was listening to clips all last night on Youtube. I gotta stop doing that or there will be a massive liquidation sale around here!!

Do it...you won't regret it!!!

[Rupe]

Here's a clip with some cool medium gain tones...typically elusive in the digital realm:

[Econ]

I'm seriously thinking about getting an Ultra, but have some questions for the folks with more experience with this piece of gear. If the Ultra is only going to be used with studio monitors, do you still need a poweramp? For bedroom playing at low volume levels, is it bst to use studio monitors or wedges? If wedges are the way to go, is it better to get passive wedges or active wedges? I posted these questions on the Fractal Forum, but te server appears to be down. Thanks in advance for your help folks.

[emperor_black]

If you want to you a Solid state Power amp like the ART SLA-2, just turn off cabs in the global setting. You can then plug in the ART to your fav cab(s).

if you want to use tube power amps, you can turn off both cabs and power amp in the global setting.

You can still get great tone at bedroom levels with the above setup. You dont have to have active monitors to do it.

Reason to go active monitors - you can use the cab sims that comes with AXE or expand your cabs using Redwirez cabs. Lets face it, both my Uberschall rev blue and my Mark iv even though totally different amps had a similiarity about the tone because they were plugged into my 2x12's. You can't escape the cabs' tone. With Active monitors and using the supplied cabs you can get totally different tones. The redwirezs are a whole different ball-game. Not only do those cabs sound better, they even "feel" great.

Wedges, pole mounted, etc. are all personal options.

That's what impresses people about the AXE. It "feels" exactly like playing through a tube amp. There is the sag, the slight delay in the highs, etc. plus its all configurable.