What's all the hype about Axe Fx?

[hippietim]

I recently sat down and played through some tube rigs again. Umm...no thanks.

One was my Straub Cantus which truly sounds glorious if you can crank it up - but I'm past the point where I am willing to go deaf for good tone. Another was a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Sounded great for that one sound but that's all it does. Today I played through a Boogie Road King - talk about an amp that sounds like shit at low volumes. Earlier in the week I played through a Matchless combo - not for me at all, I couldn't find a sound I liked with it. Then it was the new Sewell PRS amp - it was bad at all volumes - I couldn't believe it. Even the salesman said "I can't stand it".

So that's probably $10k worth of amps I played through this week and was thoroughly thrilled to come back to my Axe-FX.

[Robert Burns]

Well this guy on the AXeFX Forum nailed "Erics".. tone..
Looks like im going to have to have one!
Futher down the page to the middle check out this Eric Johnson AxeFx preset! Damn

*Im getting good too...i checked out some of his other songs, and thought..."This guy likes Steve Morse"..
then when i saw his live vid from a state fair...his axe was...(drum roll please)...Musicman Morse! :-))

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=676119&content=music

Ok... Tim must be right! This alone is worth the price of admission! Lynch...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7m0pYtzWC0&fmt=22

[AK47]

I got a Y2KV and cash if someone wants to dump their AxeFX Ultra...

[jgcable]

Hmm...

I've never had the pleasure of having a go at the Rivera Seven.

But at one point I owned a Diezel Herbert, Splawn Quickrod, Fargen Super Collider, CAA OD50, Soldano SLO, EVH 5150 III, and a nice assortment of rack gear (VHT, Boogie, Brunetti, etc.) - oh and a borrowed Bogner Ecstacy.

And I currently have a Bogner Fish and several great tube power amps.

None of those rigs sounded as good and as balanced in all situations as the Axe-FX.

Dialing in dirty tones with the Axe-FX takes some time - mostly it's a matter of finding the right cabinet match. I don't use any of the stock cabinets for dirty tones. The IRs that are available for downloadable make a HUGE difference.

The other critical component to dialing in the good stuff with the Axe-FX is your output chain. I see people trying to use the Axe-FX with Behringer cabs or those wimpy JBL EONs - that's like running the Diezel Herbert through an Epiphone 1x10 open back cabinet - not a good match. The best thing I've found for the Axe-FX is the FBT Verve 12ma.

I will probably never get a chance to try one but it must be pretty kick ass to get rave reviews fom Tim.

[hippietim]

just hotplate it , I do with my red stripe and it sounds killer.
I played thru one of these Axe-FX9the Ultra) units the other night. I was vvery impressed , especially with the wide array of clean tones built into this thing.
but after palying around with it for about an hour we plugged into a Deizel Herbert head (we were using the Diezel cab with the Axe-FX too, and the Deizel sounded huge next to it. then we plugged into Rivera Seven head, same result, modeler are great, I will probably buy one of these at some point for myself but maybe the reason the pros use real tube amps is because they can crank them up and get the full "effect" of the amp. My Mark III sounds better and better as that master goes up.
The Axe FX seems to sound the same at old volumes which I find really nice.
I'd like one of each.

Hmm...

I've never had the pleasure of having a go at the Rivera Seven.

But at one point I owned a Diezel Herbert, Splawn Quickrod, Fargen Super Collider, CAA OD50, Soldano SLO, EVH 5150 III, and a nice assortment of rack gear (VHT, Boogie, Brunetti, etc.) - oh and a borrowed Bogner Ecstacy.

And I currently have a Bogner Fish and several great tube power amps.

None of those rigs sounded as good and as balanced in all situations as the Axe-FX.

Dialing in dirty tones with the Axe-FX takes some time - mostly it's a matter of finding the right cabinet match. I don't use any of the stock cabinets for dirty tones. The IRs that are available for downloadable make a HUGE difference.

The other critical component to dialing in the good stuff with the Axe-FX is your output chain. I see people trying to use the Axe-FX with Behringer cabs or those wimpy JBL EONs - that's like running the Diezel Herbert through an Epiphone 1x10 open back cabinet - not a good match. The best thing I've found for the Axe-FX is the FBT Verve 12ma.

[hippietim]

Dave, don't be ridiculous - according to all the guys that have never used an Axe-FX extensively it is all just hype. What could you, who merely owns an Axe-FX, possibly know about the tones one can achieve with the Axe-FX? Stop drinking the Koolaid my friend and go back to some limited antique gear.

[MOSHWITZ]

I know he still uses his amps during his concerts. This pic was taken from www.rbaraki.com. He has a site dedicated to all things Schenker. This particular picture was from a club type 6th annual celebration that Schenker played without a backing band - not a large venue and played with backing tracks. Who knows what he actually played through, but the Axe-FX is there.

Also, in reference to the Digitech GSP1101, forum member Moshwitz might chime in on this. I think he had two of the GSP1101's and loved them for years before the Axe-FX- I think both of the GCP1101's might have already been sold.

Close...I've had (6) 2120's in all, over the years,,,and they are a wicked preamp if you know them inside and out. I have recently sold 2 of the 3 I had left, and the last one is in the closet. I might keep it for shits and giggles,,,, cause it don't eat nothing,,,,or,, I might sell it..don't know...don't really care. I don't really need anything else anymore but the AXE. I have already sold a good 3/4 of all the gear I was using,,,I have a Boss GT-PRO in a few different classifieds, My ENGL Savage 120 can go too cause i just don't need it anymore either cause,,,, What I do know is,,, the Axe-FX is staying as I can get the same tones I got from all my other gear combined+ a thousand more I couldn't out of any of it....PERIOD.

MOSHON
DAVE

[ulijdavid]

I am not a hater so dont take this wrong but,... he is still emplying a Marshall head in that rig. Perhaps not so happy with the amp sims? I'm just wonderin aloud,...

I know he still uses his amps during his concerts. This pic was taken from www.rbaraki.com. He has a site dedicated to all things Schenker. This particular picture was from a club type 6th annual celebration that Schenker played without a backing band - not a large venue and played with backing tracks. Who knows what he actually played through, but the Axe-FX is there.

Also, in reference to the Digitech GSP1101, forum member Moshwitz might chime in on this. I think he had two of the GSP1101's and loved them for years before the Axe-FX- I think both of the GCP1101's might have already been sold.

[DHardmanJr]

Well, I'm sold on the Ultra. I've managed to replicate the tone I was getting with my 3TM MP-1s and ADA Ampulators. I love the Ultra so much, I'm in the process of selling all my other gear and I'm going to by another Ultra next month. I've always dreamed of an "all-in-one" box and that dream has finally become reality.

Wow ... now that's a glowing endorsement if there ever was one!

Anybody want a JVM410C? ... just kidding ... not trying to break any forum rules

[Matt_B]

Well, I'm sold on the Ultra. I've managed to replicate the tone I was getting with my 3TM MP-1s and ADA Ampulators. I love the Ultra so much, I'm in the process of selling all my other gear and I'm going to by another Ultra next month. I've always dreamed of an "all-in-one" box and that dream has finally become reality.

[thenine]

Yep, Michael has been consulting with me and Tim as you can see

I am not a hater so dont take this wrong but,... he is still emplying a Marshall head in that rig. Perhaps not so happy with the amp sims? I'm just wonderin aloud,...

[hippietim]

Anyone A/B'd a Digitech GSP1101 and Axe Fx side by side?

Yes. Up until fairly recently I had a GSP1101. I also have an Axe-FX, GT-10, and POD X3.

The GSP1101 was the first to go for a reason. Some of the effects were decent enough but the amp/cab sims were pretty weak compared to all the others.

The GT-10 is for sale now and I'm only keeping the X3 as a backup unit (having a backup Axe-FX is a bit cost prohibitive).

Is the Axe Fx 3 times better? I know it's three times the price.

It's hard to quantify "better". But being totally honest I'd have to say that the Axe-FX is not 3 times better than the GSP1101. A more accurate number would be like 27.6 times better.

[DHardmanJr]

Anyone A/B'd a Digitech GSP1101 and Axe Fx side by side?

Is the Axe Fx 3 times better? I know it's three times the price.

Live I have been using a Digitech GNX3000 straight to the PA and with a FRFR passive monitor because it's so much easier than lugging an amp around. My most frequent usage is in an 80s cover band so I use the Marshal JCM800 model a lot. I think my tone is good with the GNX3000 but not great.

So in my recent tonequest I bought a Marshall JVM410C and paired it with the GSP1101 for effects. Still tweaking but the sound is much more "real" and less plasticy than the GNX3000 when using the JVM preamps. Still trying to tame the buzzyness of the JVM gain though ... not quite there yet. Plus the JVM weighs a ton.

I've only just begun to try the GSP1101 internal models but so far I am having trouble dialing in a sound that doesn't get flabby bass when the gain is turned up.

Anyhow ... back to the Axe Fx ... I'm wondering if I should just sell the JVM and GSP and the GNX3000 for that matter and get an Axe FX and call it a day.

[DHardmanJr]

Ahhhh ... now I see the tower behind him.

[hippietim]

Bose L1 system