Boom Just sold some shit and bought a AXE FX 2!! Opinions needed

[xenophobe]

Still waiting for pics and a review.




I just saw this posted on the ESP Forum:

Dunno how it sounds live, but for recording, it sounds pretty damn good to me. The stuff he's playing in the intro is what I like to hear people play, which you almost never hear. Like when I was searching for more Orange clips, all I could find was numetal or metallica.

[Corpsegrinder88]

Ive only fired it up like 5 times. this weekend im going to put some serious time on it. setup a laptop for recording and take the pepsi challenge.

there is soooo much to learn though. so i imagine it will take me a few months. my MFC101 midi controller came in and will have to update the firmware on it. waiting on the kick labels from Germany but if your a tweaker theres so much to mess with.

This video is pretty good too. I saw that one and loved it. but these are pretty sweet as well. and like pete thorn said. theres so many tweaks you can do. and watch part 2 of that I guitar mag review. cool stuff he does. hell of a player!

[xenophobe]

That's the only video that means anything to me, and it still doesn't mean much. I don't do gothenburg... that tone is completely different than modern hi-gain American death metal.

I want to see someone play some tunes that resembles Suffocation, Malevolent Creation, Nile, Immolation, etc... until I hear something along those lines, it's very difficult for me to judge because my playing style is so limited.

[Corpsegrinder88]

Well broaden that style out LOL. yeah Ola is just really good at making videos LOL.. but im sure there will videos coming online soon with all kinds of stuff. Theres a ton of sound bites on soundcloud i found at Fractal site. loads of good tone matching.

[xenophobe]

Well broaden that style out LOL.

lol. Well, I'd say if they played old school thrash that would help me, but it wouldn't. You can play old school thrash on just about anything that sounds half decent.

I have no idea what words are used to describe what I'm looking to hear in tone that I want.... so I'll make them up. Presence bloom when you sustain a note and it gets a little louder, ok, not really getting louder, but the soundfield expands a little, for bass I have a limiter and compressor... I don't like that. Needs to have really fast response time which many cheaper tube amps seem to have problems with. Good natural distortion... many amps distort and create a layer of fuzz/hiss that sounds the same no matter where you're playing. I guess a good tube amp follows the tone with good distortion, not just like an overlay.

Sorry, don't really know how to describe that shit.

[Shawn Lutz]

congratulations. I've heard some great AxeFX II clips and would love to own one. I think I've been a bit more intrigued by the Kemper, I could record (profile) all of my tube amps and carry them all in the Kemper

[Corpsegrinder88]

lol I get ya dude. Im actually trying to lock down a 6 unit case so i can go ahead and get the VHT 2:50:2 amp and keep the SLA solid state as a way to test between the 2.

Then ill be able to take it home and mess around too. I also bought a FRFR atomic passive cab and i have a mesa oversized recto 2x12 and a carvin 2x12 that Frank Gambale owned. not that it matters LOL.

but yeah my buddy who is a tech guru is coming down this weekend and we will put it through the paces. try to USB direct record some stuff and see how it sounds. maybe try tone matching this 5150 with KT88/6L6 tubes i have up here too.

[Hellbat]

The Axe II does that now too Shawn.

[mattsmusiccenter]

I've been toying with the idea of an Axe II, your review is making me think more seriously about it because it's one of the few I've read from a guy that's gigged with it. I'm not currently doing any studio work but am gigging almost every weekend doing everything from Kelly Clarkson and Pink to Priest and Metallica. I'm currently running a G System (4 cable) and a 5150iii. It sounds good in the room but I hate the sound of it through my in ears, there are too many variables involved with mic placement and it's not helping my performance. I tried a POD HD Pro and didn't like it, you think the Axe with a GT800FX is the way to go?

I play live pretty often. For over 4 1/2 years I gigged with an Axe-FX. initially an Ultra with a 2:90 and Port City 2x12, then I went direct with the Ultra with an FBT 12ma on stage, then I switched to an Axe II rig. Every so often I'd play with a tube combo and pedals just for the heck of it.

I got an Axe-FX II when it came out. Shortly before I got the Axe II I picked up a Bogner Ecstasy 20th Anniversary head. So I felt compelled to use the Bogner for a few gigs with a Boogie 2x12 vertical slant cab. Then I decided I'd use the Axe II just for effects since it's much more flexible than using stomp boxes. So I hooked up the Ecstasy and Axe II using the 4-cable method. Sounded great. Then I started using the Axe II for amp sims for a couple patches. Then I stopped using the Ecstasy preamps all together because I was getting better results with the Axe II amp sims. Since I was just using the Ecstasy as a power amp I snagged a Boogie 2:90 again. This is absolutely fucking killer. Then Matrix came out with their 2 space power amp. I did a bunch of A/B testing with the 2:90 - the Matrix won - it's a killer power amp. So the final rig is the Axe II -> Matrix power amp -> Boogie 2x12 vertical slant cab - it is without a doubt the best sounding rig I've ever had - and I haven't even updated my Axe II to the latest firmware. I gigged with this rig in varying configurations for quite some time.

So the Ecstasy and 2:90 have been sitting unused for several months now and are now for sale.

Having said that, I'm not using the Axe II rig much right now. The drummer quit the band I was using that in and we haven't bothered trying to resurrect it. My other band is a Stones tribute band. For that I use a 20-watt single channel Two Rock head with a Bogner 1x12 cab and a couple pedals. The Axe II can actually nail the tones I need a bit better but there is something fundamentally wrong with playing Stones tunes with a modeler

[horns666]

OK, very credible guys swear by these, and the clips sound great.

I'm a simple man with a single digit IQ...I don't even know how to text message someone. Axe-FX..No Way..Fuck You!

[Shawn Lutz]

I know people who gig with them and have great results. Just because the guys on your local circuit don't (probably can't afford it) doesn't mean people don't gig with it. To me it is just a tool to use to get the job done. If you are using a lot of effects with your rig having an AxeFX could be used to replace you effects processor and you'd have a back up option if you ever had multi amp failures Plus you could record realistic tube amp tones at any hour of the day night and not disturb anyone

If I were gigging would I use it live? I really doubt that but I'm old school, being a child of 80's gigging with excess... you never hear me complain about bringing several heads and between two ans four 4x12 cabs regardless of venue size

[xenophobe]

If I were gigging would I use it live? I really doubt that but I'm old school, being a child of 80's gigging with excess... you never hear me complain about bringing several heads and between two ans four 4x12 cabs regardless of venue size

I never cared how much gear I had to lug. I always put wheels on my shit. I even used plastic plumbing strapping tape to attach a collapsible dolly on my Orange 1x12

[kmanick]

I've had mine since christmas week and I've got to say FM7.0 is the shit.
I've gone back and forth between the power amp/FRFR thing and with 7.0 my mesa 50/50 going out to my 2 2X12's it finally sounds thunderous
Being able to record a cranked amp at 11:00 at night without bothering anyone is priceless.
It's so eay to record with this thing it's almost comical. No more mic positions, no more cranking to get that sweet spot.
It does take aome time to figure it out but once you do you can create patches really quickly and tweaking becomes 'routine"
The Cab IR's make all of the difference in the world
The RedWirez and OwnhHammer packages you can buy ($15.00 each) blow away the stock IRs that come with the Axe
and IMO (and others) that's what really makes or breaks this unit when recording with it.
I'm still interested in trying one of these new CLR options that are on the horizon but I'm more interested in that VHT poweramp that was just unveiled.
Being able to go from a Recto to a Mark IV to a Marshall superlead with a click of my footswitch is proving to be a lot more fun than I had anticipated.

[VitaminG]

has anyone tried the Axe with a Randall RT2/50 power amp?