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AX-FX Question

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5K views 47 replies 16 participants last post by  Nemacyst 
#1 ·
I see alot of you guy here use the axfx. What is so great about it and what is needed to make it sound great, like a poweramp and cab? Just wondering what this thing can do and why so many people like it thanks.
 
#2 ·
I advise you to go on to youtube and search axe fx, not much is needed to make it sound awesome, just a good tube poweramp and a cab of your choice. Also you can run it direct into a Audio interface into monitors if you wanted. It's an insane unit that Line 6 can only wish to have made themselves.
 
#6 ·
VHT 2/50/2 and 2/90/2 - Nolly uses one of these

Mesa 2:90 - I think Vince uses this one, I know he has a Mesa poweramp but I'm sure it's this model

Atomic Mono Block 50 - Periphery uses this one.

I've heard it through those and sounded awesome imo
 
#7 ·
Wirelessly posted (A Destroyer of short people: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

What sound are you shooting for man? Axe FX is over kill if all you ever play are slayer covers :lol:
 
#12 ·
Just to quickly answer all your questions in a sentence or two, the Axe FX is basically a top-end effects processor, set of 60 different guitar preamps, and has the best direct-line recording processing available. It will convince most listeners they're listening to a cranked up tube amp in a studio.

That's why it's awesome. It sounds good direct, through a tube amp, or through a solid state amp. It's not a purist's amp, it's very modern, and it's not for everyone, especially at the price.
 
#13 ·
I run an Axe Fx Ultra with a Mesa 2:90 into a 4X12 and I love it. A lot of guys have run them with solid state power amps and have been very happy with the results. I saw Scale the Summit a couple of weeks ago live they ran theirs with solid state carvin power amps into 4x12's and they sounded amazing.

I was very nervous about dropping that much money on something that I had never played before but I have to say I have never been happier with any other piece of equipment I have ever purchased. Both the amp models and the effects sound stunning. If you get one, make sure you invest in a midi foot controller that can be powered via 7-pin midi (like a rocktron midimate). It's really nice to not have an AC adapter coming out of your foot controller.

I have an old school 2-channel Mesa Triple Rectifier and I sold my Mesa Triaxis to swing the Axe Fx so I'm no stranger to great sounding tube gear but I have never looked back since purchasing the Axe Fx.
 
#18 ·
I think that would work great. I've heard that guys have been very happy with the carvins. The fact that the Axe Fx can sound like so many different amps is so great. The other guitar player in my band also run an Axe Fx and we have been messing with the different amp models. For the longest time, we were both running a hotrodded Marshall but recently he started running one of the Mesa Dual Rectifier models and the tone, feel, and response of the different amp models are like night and day. It's truly amazing how different the models within the Axe Fx feel and react.
 
#16 ·
After owning, and selling, two of them, I am somewhat jonesing for another lately.

The AFX is definitely a great unit, and does a lot of things very well. The biggest draw for me was not the amount of amp models, it was the quality of the signal overall, and the fact that it sounds great at low volumes (night time jamming, conversation volume, etc). My Roadster is a phenomenal amp, but it really shines up high. The AFX sounds like the AFX from a whisper to a roar.

Whether you like that tone is completely subjective, but it's so configurable, there's a good chance that you will.
 
#17 ·
I'm selling one, so I'll just throw my 2 cents in.

1. It really does sound badass.
2. It records AWESOME.
3. it can take some real time to make sound amazing.

If you are a person who uses a lot of effects, etc, and does a lot of recording, it is worth it. bedroom jamming is also pretty awesome.

Me, I thought I was going to be recording and gigging with it, but after I got it the band fell apart before it got much use. I still jammed at home a ton, then decided to sell it because I don't really want to do the band thing for a while and I could put the money to better use for the time being.

Also, I'm getting into blues and any small tube amp with a light crunch can do that.

I would recommend the ultra over the standard. There are alot of patches you can download from the fractal forums and a good number require the ultra either because of the specific features or they need all the CPU they can get. If you are gonna drop that much cash on an item.. go all the way lol. Others may disagree with me.
 
#20 ·
I would recommend the ultra over the standard. There are alot of patches you can download from the fractal forums and a good number require the ultra either because of the specific features or they need all the CPU they can get. If you are gonna drop that much cash on an item.. go all the way lol. Others may disagree with me.
I owned both, and I agree to a point. I didn't find much that I used the ultra for that I couldn't do with the standard, other than that awesome violin patch. :lol:

Most of the stuff on the Fractal forums didn't appeal to me, and I tried direct recording layering some of the more popular patches and they were a wall of treble-y, overdriven noise.

I agree with the last part though - if it's going to be your main amp (it wasn't for me, since I 4CM'd it with the Roadster), definitely spend the few extra bones on the Ultra.
 
#23 ·
Last question I hope. And thanks for all the great answers. I might have to sell all my stuff to get this lol. Can I run 2 amp sims at once like "reamp blending" and will I still need my noise gate with this product

send from Droid
 
#25 ·
Last question I hope. And thanks for all the great answers. I might have to sell all my stuff to get this lol. Can I run 2 amp sims at once like "reamp blending" and will I still need my noise gate with this product

send from Droid
Yes to 2 amp blends. No you don't need a noisegate. It has a great gate built in. See link in Soop's post above for manual that can tell you exactly what it does.
 
#29 ·
Cool thanks for all the input guys. Now all I gotta do is get rid of a XXX head, jca100 head, powerball2, decimator pro rack, korg rack tuner,rack Eq, some pedals and decide what cab I wanna keep Marshall or mesa and sell the other and I should be able to afford it lol, oh my its gonna be a lot of work Haha.

send from Droid
 
#35 ·
I might not be I'm doing some research on the fractal I love the way engl sounds but I don't want to have all these heads for different sounds. If I had a piece of gear that could get me all the amps I love in one easy to use place, and not suck like line 6 I would strongly consider changing to it.

send from Droid
 
#37 ·
I might not be I'm doing some research on the fractal I love the way engl sounds but I don't want to have all these heads for different sounds. If I had a piece of gear that could get me all the amps I love in one easy to use place, and not suck like line 6 I would strongly consider changing to it.

send from Droid
listen to Tosin Abasi's performance at the EMG studios.



 
#41 ·
I know what you are saying, but the powerball is a great metal amp not much else. Channels 2 3 4 are voiced slightly,SLIGHTLY, different. So for different rock to metal settings they just sound like lower to higher gain versions of themselves. Sharing the same Eq section. And I don't know if I will get the axe fx, I just know that I like to play through a lot of different amps. Depending on my mood that's why I have so many. I would consider consolidation to 1 unit if that unit is awesome. Lol

send from Droid
 
#43 ·
I know what you are saying, but the powerball is a great metal amp not much else. Channels 2 3 4 are voiced slightly,SLIGHTLY, different. So for different rock to metal settings they just sound like lower to higher gain versions of themselves. Sharing the same Eq section. And I don't know if I will get the axe fx, I just know that I like to play through a lot of different amps. Depending on my mood that's why I have so many. I would consider consolidation to 1 unit if that unit is awesome. Lol

send from Droid
The best scenario, if you have the coin, is to just buy the unit and give it a 30-day workout. You can return it within that window and just eat shipping costs. Otherwise it's a long, slow conversion of the rest of your rig into an Axe-Fx.

IF you can afford a few hours to learn the unit and set up some basic tones, you'll be happy. If you can afford a few more to go deep, you can achieve practically anything you want. It's all a matter of what you need.
 
#42 ·
The Axe-FX totally changed my life. Honestly, it's the best bit of kit I've ever bought. I bought it to use as an effects processer and for recording demos, I was sceptical it could ever beat tube amps in a real life situation, and it sounded so good I now use it with a VHT 2/50/2 as my main rig, and am also recording the final guitar tracks for my bands album with it going direct into the computer.

A lot of people who say it doesn't sound right just haven't spent enough time tweaking it to get it exactly how they want. If there's any criticism that can be given to it, it's that you have an overwhelming amount of options in a 2U space and it's easy to lose sight of what you were aiming for through endless tweaking. However, is this really a bad thing? If you give it the time it demands and deserves it will rewards you by being the ultimate rig.
 
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