It's on the way! Axe-FX 2!!!!!!!!!!!

[Evol]

Sooooo.......how are you diggin it so far?

Alright, mine came with firmware v7.0 already installed, I've been playing with it since about 8PM and it's 2:20AM now, so my fingers are a little sore.

So, first impressions, I only checked out all the presets, like 380 something of them with one guitar, my GMW. Alder body, SD custom in the bridge and a hot rails in the neck.

First of fucking all, I have to say this thing sounds absolutely amazing. No amount of youtube audio, etc can convey what this damn thing actually sounds like. For tonight I only used headphones , Sennheiser HD 280's. It really pushes them hard too, I couldn't take the output more than 1/4 of the way up without my head wanting to explode. So that was nice.

The effects. Wow. World-class, top notch, A-1, stellar, blah blah, you get it!

The amp models. First thing you notice is the dynamics, which was a big deal with v7.0. However, I was quite surprised at how the unit reacted when I switched pickup positions, I wasn't expecting such a dramatic change in the sound.

As far as the individual amps go, here's my very first opinion on them. Keep in mind this is factory presets only, with one guitar. This weekend I will go back through them with my Strat, then maybe the Yammie with Piezo's.

The Fenders - Meh. While they're ok sounding to my ears they just don't "feel" like any real Fender I've ever had/played. Will see what happens when I use the Strat tomorrow.
Vox - Once again they're ok, they feel a little more like a real Vox.
Marshalls - I didn't care too much for them, EXCEPT the plexi. Holy cow, they put in some work on this one. It's fucking brilliant, so damn close to the real thing.

Boogie Cleans - Jesus Christ these sound so good.
Boogie Leads - Again, damn near spot on.

Mesa RectalFire - Bleh, flub flub flub. But I guess they sound like the real flubby thing!

Dr.Z - So damn nice.
Dumble - Sounds pretty good, I really want to try this one with the Strat though.

Diezel - Not bad, might be interesting to blend this one with another amp
ENGL - Meh, I don't like the real ones anyway.

All the rest sound pretty good to me, but the stand outs are :

The Uber-fucking-schall - Oh man this amp kicks ass
The 5150.
The Soldano's.
Fryette!
And a surprise, the FAS Modern. I would love to tweak around on this one, they have a good foundation going.


So, next up tomorrow is trying different guitars, then maybe downloading some patches. After that weeding out what I like the most and tinkering around until I come up with the ones that will work for me. Oh, and doing some tone matching if I get to it.

[chrisolson]

Dig into the Friedman HBE. So awesome. Boosted Cameron kills too, as does the 5153 - blue channel. The VH4 gets outta control quick - keep the bass low, and watch the gain, and you'll love it. The Mark IV is great too, and I absolutely LOVE the "Mr Floyd" preset.

I think I have been on 7.xx for over 3 weeks now, and I still haven't set up any of my own presets yet! I'm just cruising through the factory ones, tweaking, and just having fun with it. It's nice to not be "on a mission"... Have fun with the journey. Use Axe Edit. Remember to SAVE USING THE UNIT, not the editor.

[Evol]

Awesome advice, thanks for the tips!

[Hellbat]

A thin layer of CA glue will help keep your fingertips from exploding!

[dvscool]

I cannot tell you how incredibly sick it makes me that you guys have this and I don’t.

I mean that in the nicest possible way.

[nateb]

Dig into the Friedman HBE. So awesome. Boosted Cameron kills too, as does the 5153 - blue channel. The VH4 gets outta control quick - keep the bass low, and watch the gain, and you'll love it. The Mark IV is great too, and I absolutely LOVE the "Mr Floyd" preset.

I think I have been on 7.xx for over 3 weeks now, and I still haven't set up any of my own presets yet! I'm just cruising through the factory ones, tweaking, and just having fun with it. It's nice to not be "on a mission"... Have fun with the journey. Use Axe Edit. Remember to SAVE USING THE UNIT, not the editor.

For all other metal needs.... FAS Modern is your friend. I live by it.

[chrisolson]

Yes, the FAS stuff is really cool. You can tell that Cliff has a soft spot for all things Mesa.

[kmanick]

Congrats!
I can't stop playing ever since 7.0 came out
5153 red kicks ass
I can't believe you don't like the Marshall sims
the new Marshall super and the JCM 800 are 2 of my favorites
the Cameron lead and the Friedman HBE rock too and the JVM
the New VH4 sims, shit there's so much fun in this thing.
I've got to go back to playing (trying to nail Cacophonys "Concerto") been working on this one for about 4 days now
ever since that guy on the FAS forum posted the Cacophony patch LOL!

[Evol]

The part about not liking the Marshalls may very well be from this being a first going through of the unit. I will say the Plexi is phenomenal right out of the box. I played Marshalls for many years until the 5150 came out, so I know what I like to hear out of them, I'm just not getting it in the out of box experience. More tweaking may sway my opinion, it could also be the guitar I used.

This weekend I ran through a bunch of presets with my Strat. USA Strat w/maple fretboard, Warmoth chambered mahogany body and Lace Sensor pickups. Also, a big block brass sustain block, brass claw and noiseless springs.

The cleans, especially the Fender stuff I was not a huge fan of earlier just jumped to life with this setup. I was shocked at how well it responded to a different guitar, it was night and day. That says a fuck ton about the Axe II alone. Chords were clear, even bell-like on many presets, so very lush.

I messed around and dl'ed some presets, didn't like too many, once again I think the guitar used comes into play more than on other units. So, I ended up doing some tweaking, and more tweaking, and playing with more options, then more. Holy cow, this thing goes freakin' deep. It's going to take me alot more time than I had thought to really dial in my particular sounds, but damn what I've done so far sounds amazing.

Still no time to do tone matching.

Next up, my Yamaha w/piezo.

[nateb]

The part about not liking the Marshalls may very well be from this being a first going through of the unit. I will say the Plexi is phenomenal right out of the box. I played Marshalls for many years until the 5150 came out, so I know what I like to hear out of them, I'm just not getting it in the out of box experience. More tweaking may sway my opinion, it could also be the guitar I used.

This weekend I ran through a bunch of presets with my Strat. USA Strat w/maple fretboard, Warmoth chambered mahogany body and Lace Sensor pickups. Also, a big block brass sustain block, brass claw and noiseless springs.

The cleans, especially the Fender stuff I was not a huge fan of earlier just jumped to life with this setup. I was shocked at how well it responded to a different guitar, it was night and day. That says a fuck ton about the Axe II alone. Chords were clear, even bell-like on many presets, so very lush.

I messed around and dl'ed some presets, didn't like too many, once again I think the guitar used comes into play more than on other units. So, I ended up doing some tweaking, and more tweaking, and playing with more options, then more. Holy cow, this thing goes freakin' deep. It's going to take me alot more time than I had thought to really dial in my particular sounds, but damn what I've done so far sounds amazing.

Still no time to do tone matching.

Next up, my Yamaha w/piezo.

There are very few posted presets that I liked. I always had better results just doing it myself. Start simple with an amp, cab, and drive pedal and take it from there. Such a great experience with this unit. Best money I have ever spent on gear. I wish I had this thing 6 years ago. It would have saved me about 10 grand in amps/cabs.

-Nate

[Evol]

Amen to that!

[kmanick]

same here I don't use any of the "stock Presets"

[KINGSFAN]

I am really diggin the AXE FX II!! Been jammin with my Ultra / Mesa 2:90 rig with great results and will be doing the swap soon to the Axe FX II. I haven't plugged into my Mark IV, V or JCM amps in months. Interested in trying the Matrix GT 1000.

[kmanick]

I'm leaning towards the upcoming Fryette 1U ower amp.
I love my Mesa 50/50 but it's not neutral.
A more neutral tube power amp with an "enhanced" mode to get the 6l6 flavor if you want it sounds like
a win/win to me.
I just wish it was a bit less expensive.

[Evol]

And now FW v8 is out. Installing and checking out everything again.