I'm taking the plunge...Axe II

[bstaley]

Just ordered. Will be here next week. I need to scale down for my gigs. I'm currently taking a 20 space Mesa shockmount rack to gigs and it is a pain in the ass. My back can't take it anymore.

Any advice or tips on how to get up and running quickly?

My Ultra will be for sale in the classifieds shortly.

 

[tweed]

I woke up at 330am thinking about that damn thing. I've been thinking that the Kemper is the way to go, but I'm still very intrigued by the Axe.

 

[BYTOR]

Join the Fractal Forum. Any question you want answered will be. People there are extremely cool, don't listen to the haters!! lol

Your timing is good because the new updated Axe Edit should be available by the time your Axe arrives, as well as the latest firmware 9.0 with new amps and other goodies!!

 

[steve_k]

My rig went from 2 heads, 2 cabs, an 8 space rack with switchers and FX.......to a 4 space rack and 2 XLR cables.

 

[bstaley]

Join the Fractal Forum. Any question you want answered will be. People there are extremely cool, don't listen to the haters!! lol

Your timing is good because the new updated Axe Edit should be available by the time your Axe arrives, as well as the latest firmware 9.0 with new amps and other goodies!!

Version 9? Holy crap. When I was researching them a while back I think they had just gone to verion 6, or whatever version had the "tone matching" feature. It's hard to keep up with technology.

 

[bstaley]

My rig went from 2 heads, 2 cabs, an 8 space rack with switchers and FX.......to a 4 space rack and 2 XLR cables.

I hear you man, my 20 space has a Egnater M4, Triaxis, Engl 570 just for preamps. Then I've got a Mesa amp switcher, a tray of pedals, rack wah, rack interface, wireless, etc...

 

[steve_k]

My rig went from 2 heads, 2 cabs, an 8 space rack with switchers and FX.......to a 4 space rack and 2 XLR cables.

I hear you man, my 20 space has a Egnater M4, Triaxis, Engl 570 just for preamps. Then I've got a Mesa amp switcher, a tray of pedals, rack wah, rack interface, wireless, etc...

You should fall right in with the A2 rig. Had mine about 3 weeks and haven't looked back, yet. I even got an SKB rack with a handle and wheels on it....

 

[The Hoff]

You guys are killing me...

As I am putting together a W/D/W setup (albeit a simple one) you guys are down scaling and loving it. Makes me question it all.

 

[muudrock]

Good vid here on setting it up from Scott Peterson..
Spend some time on the Fractal forum..tons of good info there.
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii ... -only.html

 

[blackba]

Not much of a plunge if you already have an Axe-Fx Ultra. I am sure it will be easy to get the hang of the II in short order. Congrats on the new Axe II

 

[romanianreaper]

Awesome, you'll have an Axe-FX II and be a Steelers fan! That is a win-win!!

Seriously though, I love mine. I run my Axe-FX II into two a Matrix GT1000FX and then two Marshall 4x12 cabs. I would really like to go FRFR but I can't seem to get a feel of what the best choice would be. Everyone uses something different.

 

[Ventura]

Okay, like, what the fk...?!?!?! I'm gone for a DAY and in that time everyone's sippin on the Kool Aid?!?!?! Great videos by Scott Peterson?? Friendly helpful folk at the Fractal Forum?? "I had all this awesome manly gear and now I only have a 2U case with wheels for my pansy ass to tote around"!?!?!?

This is the apocalypse. The end. There are too many men here getting too touchy feely with this lil'digital box.

Snax Zombies, I'm doomed

 

[Ventura]

Just ordered. Will be here next week. I need to scale down for my gigs. I'm currently taking a 20 space Mesa shockmount rack to gigs and it is a pain in the ass. My back can't take it anymore.

Any advice or tips on how to get up and running quickly?

My Ultra will be for sale in the classifieds shortly.

Don't mind me. I've got one already

Congrats. Just remember, tubes are going to be back in fashion in another 20 years

 

[21_guitars]

I think I will be joining you soon. This amp hassle is getting old.

 

[mentoneman]

having owned the ultra and played the II a few times now, i hear you fellas regarding live ease of cartage/setup, it is the undisputed beauty of owning an axe-fx rig.

and as far as effects, i could get some of the most convincing 2290 delays, pcm reverbs, echoplex, memory man, shimmer, tri-stereo glass, acoustic, etc, i've ever heard outside of playing through the real items, as well as amazing cello/violin and synth sounds. for me the effects in it are the star of the show, and the amp tones secondary, though i felt the ultra far surpassed my experience with a triaxis/gforce rack rig.

however i would ALWAYS have a high quality tube amp/pedal rig as well. you can spend a trillion hours toying with the virtual guts of the amps fractal models, or just plug in to a real head and scratch the itch.

 

[steve_k]

Okay, like, what the fk...?!?!?! I'm gone for a DAY and in that time everyone's sippin on the Kool Aid?!?!?! Great videos by Scott Peterson?? Friendly helpful folk at the Fractal Forum?? "I had all this awesome manly gear and now I only have a 2U case with wheels for my pansy ass to tote around"!?!?!?

This is the apocalypse. The end. There are too many men here getting too touchy feely with this lil'digital box.

Snax Zombies, I'm doomed

Snooze = Lose

 

[wizardy]

I love my Axe-FX II and I love my Amps
Both give me something special
The Axe is THE tool for home recording (I've sold all my mics and preamps/ADDA units), home playing (sold my Peavey and Mesa combo), complex live gigs with different routing (Me and my bassist are both using my axe-fx 2 for live playing : 1 unit does it all) , Re-Amping tool etc..

On the other hand, I still keep a few amp heads because they give me that unique look and feel I love..
I just don't use them live or for gigs. I prefer my Axe setup. It does the same job and it way more versatile...
Audience won't notice the difference between the Axe and the Head in a live context..

 

[romanianreaper]

When I first got my Axe-FX II and ran it thru a Mosvalve MV-962, I could tell the difference between that setup and a tube amp setup. Now that I'm running into a Matrix GT1000FX and Cliff has significantly improved certain things in the firmware, it sounds just like a tube amp setup.

With that said, I love playing thru a tube amp. I think when the Axe-FX and Kemper came out, people felt like they needed to pick between these or tube amps. It really is not something people have to choose between. I think having both is a great idea.