Anyone here got an AX8

[neilli]

My option just came through, and am wondering what experiences people have of them..

[Hellbat]

I don't have an AX8, but I'm still in a honeymoon phase with my Axe-FX 2 after using it for over 2 years and jamming/gigging it with 3 bands. Any questions about the individual effect blocks or overall modeling I think I can probably answer.

[paranoid]

Got an AX-8 on Friday, haven't had much time to play with it yet but took a program that was made by an individual and moved a few presets from my XL and took it to band practice on Saturday. it sounded just like my XL. It doesn't have the horse power of the axe fx. most people on the fractal forum are complaining about the reverbs taking so much cpu, which they do on high Quality, but on normal quality with the density turned down it worked fine for me and I couldn't here any difference playing with the band. I am excited to get a board put together with a sp-1 mission and 1 momentary switch, and my wireless set up, so set up and tear down will be 1 trip from the car and 1 trip back to the car.

[neilli]

Thanks guys - this would be my first foray into modelling, and I'm a complete ludite who gets driven insane by tech, so I'm kind of on the fence about it to be honest. I wondered about buying a used Ultra or whatever and save some money, but then you're into foot controllers etc.

[Hellbat]

I think the AX-8 would be a good first step into the modeling world. The Ultra is a little behind the times and like you say, then you also have to set up and program an external foot controller. The AX-8 is the most up to date modeling and effects and has the footswitch and programming built in. All you need to add is an external foot controller or two and some monitoring solution and you are off to the races.

Don't get caught up in the advanced options either. These days with the Axe, you can get fine sounds without being a tweak freak. I prefer to use the computer interface for setting up presets, but the AX-8 adds a bunch of quick controls to the unit itself which makes on the fly tweaking a lot more 'amp-like'. No need to go into menus to adjust bass/middle/treble etc.

If you don't decide to go ahead with it and ever want to check out my axe-2 to see if modeling is for you or not just drop me a PM and we can try to get together. If you do go ahead with it and have some questions about various effect blocks and their parameters, I'll be happy to share my experience.

[Axewielder]

Don't get caught up in the advanced options either. These days with the Axe, you can get fine sounds without being a tweak freak.

+1...The first two preset banks (A+B) on the AFX-II are all basic amps tones which cover a lot of ground and are usable as-is.

Bank C does have your obligatory space invaders going on though. That's where I load my own crap in.

I'll bet the AX-8 is even better that way. One design flaw on the AFX-II (in my opinion) was the lack of an empty user preset bank. That would spare those getting started from having to decide which factory presets to overwrite. Maybe they have addressed that?

[neilli]

Thanks guys! Hellbat - I tried to PM you but your inbox is full. This is what I was asking:

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I want to get the AX8 connected to the computer to record things, but under Digital Outputs, the manual states:

Connector: RCA Coaxial Type for S/PDIF
Format: S/PDIF 24-bit, 48 kHz fixed

So, the USB connection is for computer connection only (Axe edit or whatever it's called) i.e. it's not an audio link. Which means that I would need a S/PCIF to USB converter right?

Also, do you use powered studio monitors for your AXEII, or a power amp or what?

[paranoid]

Yes you will need an interface for recording digital. if you are not in to tech though why would you record digital. the AX-8 is not as user friendly on the front panel as the helix, you may want to look at that if you have trouble with tech. the helix in my opinion tone wise is not even close to the axe fx or axe-8 but it is stupid simple to manage on the front panel, and can be an interface. they do not have an editor yet though. the axe-8 edit is very similar to the axe fx edit, and is pretty user friendly but you still have to navigate the front panel controls for I/O options and setup. the foot switch options are good on the ax-8 you can set switches on a preset basis just like the helix but there is no expression pedal, so the helix is 1 up there, if you do not want separate expression pedals. as far as monitors you can use what ever you choose. I use a small pa at home, I carry powered speakers when I goto jam, and plug straight into the house board at gigs with the band.

[neilli]

What's confusing me is that the S/PDIF converters I can find are all about converting a digital signal to analogue and I don't want that surely - the PC wants digital input, and the AX8 would be outputting digital, so I don't need to 'convert' it as such, I just need to connect it to the computer. I thought there would be a S/PDIF to USB cable or something..

I need to record digital because I live in an apartment and have 2 small kids, so having a mic'd up amp is impractical for a bunch of reasons. I realise there will be a steep learning curve, adopting modelling and learning recording software, but I'm gonna have to do the later sooner or later and I figure getting a decent tone input is a good way to keep my interest, rather than having something that sounds less than I'd like.

[Hellbat]

Thanks guys! Hellbat - I tried to PM you but your inbox is full. This is what I was asking:

#############

I want to get the AX8 connected to the computer to record things, but under Digital Outputs, the manual states:

Connector: RCA Coaxial Type for S/PDIF
Format: S/PDIF 24-bit, 48 kHz fixed

So, the USB connection is for computer connection only (Axe edit or whatever it's called) i.e. it's not an audio link. Which means that I would need a S/PCIF to USB converter right?

Also, do you use powered studio monitors for your AXEII, or a power amp or what?

Yeah, sorry about the full inbox, I forgot to clean it up after my platinum lapsed.

With the AX-8, the USB is only for the editor software. It doesn't pass digital audio, so you'd need a digital interface for that. The 2 has the interface built in. For playing at home I'm just using cheap KRK monitors. When I gig, I have a Yamaha DXR-10 powered monitor that I use for stage sound/backline, in addition to going to FOH.

[paranoid]

you can quietly record analogue. many of us did that back in the day, amp load box direct to a fostex or Tascam. the good old days. Ok back to the present. I have an ultra, an axe fx II mkII, an XL, and an ax-8. if I was buying a modeler for studio use I would coin up for the axe fx XL+. the direct usb and the 4 trac send alone are enough for me but add the ability for dual amps, usb reamping. cpu enough to run 2 high quality reverbs at the same time if you wanted to and computer play back through axe fx for monitoring through usb or jamming with tracs. if using in the studio the high tech floor controller would not be really important.

[neilli]

Yeah, sorry about the full inbox, I forgot to clean it up after my platinum lapsed.

Do I already have your email somewhere?

For interest, what audio interface do you use? I emailed fractal before I saw your reply and they told me that's what I'd need, but all I found (admittedly from a quick search) had no USB outs..

[Hellbat]

The SPDIF interface is the killer. Most cheaper interfaces only have analog connections. The ones with SPDIF come in around $300+.

I don't need an interface with the Axe-FX 2 because the interface is built in on them.

Here is the least expensive one with SPDIF at L&M...

https://www.long-mcquade.com/27109/Pro_Audio_Recording/Audio_Interfaces/Tascam/4_In_Out_24_192_USB_2_0_Audio_Interface.htm

[neilli]

If I have to get an interface anyway, I don't think I need the SPDIF connection, as I can just use the XLR. As long as the interface has a digital out to USB? Otherwise I'd need to do something more drastic to my PC because it has nothing other than the 1/8" jacks (the iPod headphone size)..

[Hellbat]

Yeah, thats the whole purpose of the interface. To get the audio signals (in either digital or analog input) to the computer over USB. As paranoid pointed out, the full blown Axe-FX is a better studio tool due to its ability to simultaneously record dry and modeled tracks. This lets you re-amp them later if you suddenly dial in a new favorite tone and don't want to have to do the performance again.

The AX-8 is more meant to be a grab'n'go live performance tool. It can also get the job done for recording, it's just not quite as powerful as the Axe-2 in that respect and requires some outboard hardware. In the end, it is capable of producing essentially the same tone as the 2, with some cpu based limitations such as single amp block and the possibility of having to lower some quality settings if you are using large amounts of effects. For me it wouldn't be a big deal because my typical presets are just amp-cab-reverb, with a bit of delay and OD thrown in for solos.