Need New Rig...Help!!!

[Rupe]

I've narrowed my search for a new rig down to three options at this point:

1. Axe-FX Ultra - What I have heard sounds great, people who I respect have raved about it, and it's pretty much an "all-in-one" solution for a live rig. I would be pairing it up with the 2:90 in my current rig, or perhaps going with a powered monitor (thoughts on those options?).

2. ENGL Savage - spent some time playing my buddy's and was blown away. Extremely brutal (it "out-brutals" the Uberschall IMO, and the Uber is one brutal mofo) yet still more versatile than I expected (although nowhere close to the Axe-FX obviously). My love for the guitar tones of Primal Scream lead me to this amp. The downside here would be that I would also have to put together effects and a switching system...I prefer "one stomp" tone changes over tap dancing across a pedal board.

3. Mako Custom Hundred - simply an awesome hot-rodded Marshall sound. I reviewed it here last year: http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/show...highlight=mako

My cover band does primarily 70's and 80's hard rock/classic metal (Ratt, Dokken, Ozzy, Priest, VH, Queen, Kiss, Night Ranger, Crue, etc).

So, I'm looking for opinions on which way to go and why? Am I forgetting anything in my analysis? Thanks!!!

[Hellbat]

In my opinion (which is in no way is respectable or experienced), for what you are doing you would be best served with the Axe-FX and a FRFR speaker setup. That will cover the most sonic ground in a flexible package that you can configure to operate with simple footswitching. It will also be the most adaptable to various settings and house sound situations.

That said, some people will never play well with modelling and need that organic feel of tubes. For that I would say to go with a Randall/Egnater system. That way you have the various sounds contained in the preamp section like a modeller, but it's still tube.

All I know is that if I was a gigging musician that had to cover a lot of different sounds and was trying to acurrately capture the sounds of different bands and periods in time, I would go the modelling route just for simplicity and ease of setup. I'd still want some tube amps for home/studio use though.

[toxikdeth]

Well for what you do there is no need for the savage. This isn't listed but I think a quickrod would be perfect for what you do.

[daisp]

Hey Rupe, if you grab the Mako let me know how you like it..been jonesing for one..having said that, I really love my Elmwood M90.

[Rupe]

Well for what you do there is no need for the savage. This isn't listed but I think a quickrod would be perfect for what you do.

Not sure I understand? Depending on how you dial it in, it can do a lot more than the "Death Metal" stuff that it seems to be mostly associated with. It gets some great Marshall on steroids tones that work perfectly to add some balls to the kind of music I play live, plus it's versatility would make it a great studio tool (We do original material as well but that's not what our crowd wants to hear...yet ). Much like the Uberschall has been pigeonholed as an extreme metal amp, I have heard people use it successfully for more mainstream music (including our own Bill Z getting some cool takes on VH with it).

Thanks for Quickrod suggestion. The guy who owns the Savage I played also has a QR and I was able to A/B the two of them...Savage won for what I want to hear. I love the QR and could easily gig with it, but I just preferred the tones that I was able to dial up with the Savage. Plus, the Mako crushes the QR at its own game...it is a much better amp from a construction standpoint (although it is priced accordingly ) and I prefer its take on Marshall style tone.

The Mako is actually much more organic and "alive" than either the QR or the Savage, but it lacks the unique voice that I hear in the Savage (although its voice is still awesome, I wouldn't call it unique...just a great modded Marshall style tone although with a better feel and smoother high end than the QR IMO). That said, those are traits that are typically lost on audience (and a lot of players). The Mako also has way more gain on tap than the QR...I don't need it but it would allow me to sit in with my son's Death Metal band if I ever wanted to

The wild card here is the Axe-FX. It offers the portability and versatility that I want, but the complication and lack of "ease of use" that I don't care for these days...I'd much rather turn knobs than navigate menus.

[Shawn Lutz]

if I were looking to get a rig (I already have enough) I'd go for the AxeFx because 1) I could use it as effects only in the loop of what I already have and 2) killer direct recorder and 3) could use live with a power amp if I wanted to. My opinion is based on I already have a killer amp head selection

So that RR marshall wont do 80's metal cover songs?

[Rupe]

if I were looking to get a rig (I already have enough) I'd go for the AxeFx because 1) I could use it as effects only in the loop of what I already have and 2) killer direct recorder and 3) could use live with a power amp if I wanted to. My opinion is based on I already have a killer amp head selection

So that RR marshall wont do 80's metal cover songs?

Absolutely, I just don't want to gig with it...trying to keep it in mint condition so its essentially a piece of furniture with great tone I basically got it for the home studio as I didn't have a "pure" Marshall.

[toxikdeth]

Not sure I understand? Depending on how you dial it in, it can do a lot more than the "Death Metal" stuff that it seems to be mostly associated with. It gets some great Marshall on steroids tones that work perfectly to add some balls to the kind of music I play live, plus it's versatility would make it a great studio tool (We do original material as well but that's not what our crowd wants to hear...yet ). Much like the Uberschall has been pigeonholed as an extreme metal amp, I have heard people use it successfully for more mainstream music (including our own Bill Z getting some cool takes on VH with it).

Thanks for Quickrod suggestion. The guy who owns the Savage I played also has a QR and I was able to A/B the two of them...Savage won for what I want to hear. I love the QR and could easily gig with it, but I just preferred the tones that I was able to dial up with the Savage. Plus, the Mako crushes the QR at its own game...it is a much better amp from a construction standpoint (although it is priced accordingly ) and I prefer its take on Marshall style tone.

The Mako is actually much more organic and "alive" than either the QR or the Savage, but it lacks the unique voice that I hear in the Savage (although its voice is still awesome, I wouldn't call it unique...just a great modded Marshall style tone although with a better feel and smoother high end than the QR IMO). That said, those are traits that are typically lost on audience (and a lot of players). The Mako also has way more gain on tap than the QR...I don't need it but it would allow me to sit in with my son's Death Metal band if I ever wanted to

The wild card here is the Axe-FX. It offers the portability and versatility that I want, but the complication and lack of "ease of use" that I don't care for these days...I'd much rather turn knobs than navigate menus.

I see. Most engls are pretty versitile and it seems the savage over excells in the lea area. Those makos look cool with two gain knobs but ive never had the pleasure of trying one out. The custom 100 looks cool. Maybe you should try the nitro its much bigger than the quickrod its the one I have.

[toxikdeth]

Wow just listened to some mako clips...get the mako.

[nateb]

1. Axe-FX Ultra - What I have heard sounds great, people who I respect have raved about it, and it's pretty much an "all-in-one" solution for a live rig. I would be pairing it up with the 2:90 in my current rig, or perhaps going with a powered monitor (thoughts on those options?).

I am currently in the experimentation phases of this thing. I just got away from cabs and trying FRFR (2x 1000 Watt QSC K-12 Series) I made a few mistakes in the way that I had it routed through a mixer and plugged the monitors in direct. After spending a few minutes tweaking the global EQ(hump the lows and the highs out about .5-2), I am finally getting some good punchy metal tones. But, I am thinking about going down to some K-10's instead. I think I have may overdone it a little bit . One thing I will say about this thing through FRFR is...

Oh my fucking God, cleans sound darn right amazing.

I am still fucking with this thing and I need to get a second ear on where I am heading with this. Unfortunately, my normal partner in crime is outta town so I am on my own with this. Couple of things that I am messing around with, and trying to figure out is when it is appropriate to use a MIC in this modeling situation. It seems that everything sounds better without it.

The one thing, Rupe. And this seems to be the case with what I have read myself. A lot of people who gig (unlike a bedroom guitarist like myself) feel that they get most consistant tone between gigs. If they end up going directly into a board, it sounds amazing and the sound guys start to drool a lot, Maintinence is next to zero.

I have not tried, but would like to try running this into a VHT 2902 to see what this thing sounds like. From what I have seen on youtube, it is just some sick shit.

-Nate

[toxikdeth]

Evil axe fx

[nateb]

Mako sounds ebil =)

[toxikdeth]

Mako sounds ebil =)

Im guessing you meant evil

[jk2171]

From your choices and what you are looking for I would say go with the Mako.

You might also want to check out a Peters Chimera as well.

[Rupe]

The Mako is out of contention due to loop and switching issues. If this was a studio amp and tone was the sole consideration, I would probably grab it, but since this needs to be the heart of a live rig, the functionality isn't going to cut it.

I'm doing a "shootout" tomorrow night in State College with:

ENGL Savage 120
ENGL Invader 100
Splawn Quickrod
Mesa/Boogie Mark V
Marshall JVM

...and I may throw the Dual Rec and Stiletto Duece into the mix as well just 'cause I can

I'm fairly confident that I prefer the Savage out of all of these choices but it never hurts to do a bit of extensive A/B-ing when able to.

The more I think about, the more the Axe-FX seems like the right choice. I already have several "cork sniffer" amps at home that cater to the tube snob in me. Having a highly portable/light weight, uber-flexible, practically maintenance free live rig is sounding like the ticket to me right now.