A Axe-FX Review

[sebby123]

So i got my Axe-Fx maybe two or three months ago, From a fellow member now i dont like to post reviews until i feel im comfrotable with a item, Of course a amp usually takes a week or two to get to know pretty well espically when you play way to damn much like I do . Anyways the Axe was a different story it took this time to get to the point of me getting the sound in my head.
The Axe Fx can be made to sound very bad quiet easily...
But i think since 9.02 you can actully get a pretty good sound with just a amp simple amp block, im planning on recording with it but 99% of the time im using it for live, After hearing SamHills videos i decided to go with the art-sla 2 and at first it was quite a challenge getting rig of that solid state high end, But after reading countless thread's especially the whole "Countour your sound" Thread which i have to say there is 2 PEQ In every single one of my chains, Simply because with the Art or any SS PA for that matter theres more of a balancing act then with Tube PA's, A SS PA doesnt sit as well in a mix live and you find yourseld either being to loud or to quiet, (And its not a lack of mids or to much gain because i use lots and lots of mids) Its just something in the high end,But once you spend some time with it you can dial it out, Ive yet to try the Axe with a Tube PA, and i plan to try out a VHT in the near future, But i couldnt imagine it getting much better!
My sound is the best its every been and ive owned, A Mark IV, XTC, Shiva, Jcm 800 & 2000 and some others i cant think of. So i Have tube counterparts to compare it to. Also my other guitarist has some tube amps that i tweak side to side with the Axe and im pretty blown away at how accurate the axe is, 40-60 Hours of tweaking in and tonal heaven: 2 compressors 1 on each amp: Brown and Hi-watt amp sims, With 2 PEQ's Im in love


Heres Some Crappy Laptop Pictures:

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

"40-60 Hours of tweaking" I would have sold it if it took me that long....I am the "set my amp and forget it" guy

 

[saxxamafone]

I own this Axe-Fx/SLA-2 combo and I have barely played it coz I can't be fukt doing all the tweaking.

I do think it's cool alot of guys can get this to sound great though.

 

[sebby123]

When i say 40-60 hours i mean ive gone through every parameter to the point that i could tell you what they do to the sound in my ears at least, I mean if you buy something i think you should get to know it in every way, You can get a good sound out of it in a couple of minutes but of course with a SS PA its a little bit tricker for the reasons i posted above, i tweak to much but thats because im obessed with a good mix live, and im very content where i am.
The AxeFx isnt for everyone if you want the most out of it your going to have to spend some time with it.
I dont want to discourage anyone, Its a an amazing unit, and very user friendly but its very easy to get lost with all the options it can be a little overwhelming at first, but once you get it to know it, Most if not all GAS will be killed which for me is worth the time tweaking alone

 

[mentoneman]

i've had mine since november and i haven't even come close to spending quality time with every amp in it.

 

[sebby123]

i've had mine since november and i haven't even come close to spending quality time with every amp in it.

Im a medium gain EL34 type of guy, so ive played with all those, havent messed with the rectos, marks or other super high gainers much though.

 

[mentoneman]

i've had mine since november and i haven't even come close to spending quality time with every amp in it.

Im a medium gain EL34 type of guy, so ive played with all those, havent messed with the rectos, marks or other super high gainers much though.

+1

 

[sebby123]

i've had mine since november and i haven't even come close to spending quality time with every amp in it.

Im a medium gain EL34 type of guy, so ive played with all those, havent messed with the rectos, marks or other super high gainers much though.

+1

Try a Cranked Brown patch and hi watt as a dirty clean for string clarity it sounds massive!

 

[prsdiezel]

I think its a digital thing.

Some people can get past it others will keep selling and trading there amps for the perfect tone!!!

 

[ejecta]

I think its a digital thing.

Some people can get past it others will keep selling and trading there amps for the perfect tone!!!

And some can't get past it because to them it doesn't doesn't give them the playing experience they enjoy that a tube amp gives them no matter how much they read, tweak, read, add pre and post eq's, update firmware, tweak, new IR's, try it through an actual power amp, tweak, tweak, tweak, tweak, tweak months on end......... wash, rinse, repeat. I thought it was very cool unit that has stellar effects and a great great unit for direct recording. I'm glad many have found their sound with it but for some..... "getting past" it being digital had nothing to do with it. It was "getting past" that it didnt give me the same playing experience I can only seem to find in a tube amp. If I could find that in the digital realm I have no problem at all it not having tubes in it.

 

[dfrattaroli]

It's just another amp guys. Some like it, some don't. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[jcj]

I think its a digital thing.

Some people can get past it others will keep selling and trading there amps for the perfect tone!!!

And some can't get past it because to them it doesn't doesn't give them the playing experience they enjoy that a tube amp gives them no matter how much they read, tweak, read, add pre and post eq's, update firmware, tweak, new IR's, try it through an actual power amp, tweak, tweak, tweak, tweak, tweak months on end......... wash, rinse, repeat. I thought it was very cool unit that has stellar effects and a great great unit for direct recording. I'm glad many have found their sound with it but for some..... "getting past" it being digital had nothing to do with it. It was "getting past" that it didnt give me the same playing experience I can only seem to find in a tube amp. If I could find that in the digital realm I have no problem at all it not having tubes in it.

I agree.

I've had (or played) plenty of tube amps that didn't do a thing for me. Doesn't mean I don't like tubes.

FWIW, I have no problem getting a sound I like out of the Axe (operative word here is "I") with almost no tweaking, but I keep it VERY basic.

I also have some great tube amps

 

[Sixstring]

The AxeFx isnt for everyone if you want the most out of it your going to have to spend some time with it.
I dont want to discourage anyone, Its a an amazing unit, and very user friendly but its very easy to get lost with all the options it can be a little overwhelming at first, but once you get it to know it, Most if not all GAS will be killed which for me is worth the time tweaking alone

The best sentance to sum up the Axe right there^^^^^

With a pice of gear that is so deep and complex in every way it can possably be for guitar use, it's not really a plug and play type of deal. Especially when everyone has a sound in their head that they are going for. Yes you can drop in an amp block and a few Fx and hook up to a PA and cab and get a pretty good sound fairly quick but chances are it wont be exactly what "your" looking for without some kind of tunning.

I'd be willing to bet that sebby123 can dial in a sound with just about any amp sim in that Axe in just a few minutes now that he knows the unit. With 40+ amps at his finger tips, when he gets board with one he go to the next without spending a dime not to mention all the crazy signal routing and connections you could never do with a traditional analog rig. So yes it's more work up front but the benifets far out weigh the work in the longrun. On a side note it has really developed my ear when working with EQ's.
Though I disagree it will kill ALL your GAS, now that I have all this tonal freedom I find my self needing more guitars... dammit

 

[ejecta]

I have to be honest... the whole "You probably didn't like it because you didn't spend enough time with it to find your tone in a unit as deep as the Axe." is getting real old. As if people know what a person's ability is or experience with effect units or dialing tones in is let alone how much time is enough.

 

[Sixstring]

I have to be honest... the whole "You probably didn't like it because you didn't spend enough time with it to find your tone in a unit as deep as the Axe." is getting real old. As if people know what a person's ability is or experience with effect units or dialing tones in is let alone how much time is enough.

Seriously... old or not it is what it is. Regardless to wether you know how to or not to manipulate frequency and tone, if you don't spend time with a tool that has so manny possibilities how can you possibly think you know how to use or work with it?

 

[tweed]

Bah, i'm fooking broke and I have mad gas for an ultra. Yeah H, I know you are probably lurking in this thread, no I don't need a pic of your Ultra shot to my phone, and no I don't need a voicemail telling me how much I would benefit from having one.

 

[ejecta]

I have to be honest... the whole "You probably didn't like it because you didn't spend enough time with it to find your tone in a unit as deep as the Axe." is getting real old. As if people know what a person's ability is or experience with effect units or dialing tones in is let alone how much time is enough.

Seriously... old or not it is what it is. Regardless to wether you know how to or not to manipulate frequency and tone, if you don't spend time with a tool that has so manny possibilities how can you possibly think you know how to use or work with it?

Like I said as if people on forums know what a person's ability is or experience with effect units or dialing tones in is let alone how much time is enough. You may feel you know that but I don't think you do.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Are the same people who complain about tweaking an Ax-Fx the same people who complained about tweaking a Mesa Mark IV? I laughed at the comments that it took endless tweaking to get a IV to sound decent.

I don't know anything about the Ax-Fx but let me ask a question. Is it that hard to just start with the Ax, Poweramp, Cab.....then pull up an amp sim, tweak some EQ controls, add some reverb and go with it? Do you have to do much more than that for a basic sound?

 

[ttosh]

I have to be honest... the whole "You probably didn't like it because you didn't spend enough time with it to find your tone in a unit as deep as the Axe." is getting real old. As if people know what a person's ability is or experience with effect units or dialing tones in is let alone how much time is enough.

Seriously... old or not it is what it is. Regardless to wether you know how to or not to manipulate frequency and tone, if you don't spend time with a tool that has so manny possibilities how can you possibly think you know how to use or work with it?

Like I said as if people on forums know what a person's ability is or experience with effect units or dialing tones in is let alone how much time is enough. You may feel you know that but I don't think you do.

I know I didn't spend enough time with it because people told me that I didn't. I'm for certain that if I really spent enough time with it or if I ran it through an Eleven Rack then to a real amp like Ed D., I would have even more realer tones.

The tones are great and it feels like a real amp. The Standard and the Ultra both are great. I sold mine and I am back to Wizard Amplifiers. I cannot get the Wizard to sound or feel digital but I am sure I have just not spent enough time with it.

 

[Rogue]

The tones are great and it feels like a real amp. The Standard and the Ultra both are great. I sold mine and I am back to Wizard Amplifiers. I cannot get the Wizard to sound or feel digital but I am sure I have just not spent enough time with it.