A few questions from an Axe-FX Noob

chadley

chadley

New Member
Hey guys,

Long time lurker - soon to be Axe-FX owner.

I have finally decided to give this thing a whirl. I realized the other day that 99.9% of the time I spend playing is in a situation where my amp is under the stage being monitored through in ears or in a studio using either my amp mic'ed up in another room or some sort of direct solution like Guitar Rig. So, I figured what the heck.....sell the beloved tube amp and go for it.

I have a few questions for you guys, if you would be so kind.

1) Ultra vs. Standard. I know the basic difference between the two (more processor and memory, additional effects, synth, vocoder, etc.). For the most part, in live situations I am going to be using my Axe-FX basically as an amp, running my pedal board into the front end for my effects (I need to keep things pretty flexible and be able to make changes on the fly). In recording situations I plan on having a lot of patches that utilize the internal effects on the unit, especially the more ambient, spacious delays, reverbs, etc. Are patches like "Crystals" possible on the Standard or are a lot of those types of effects possible due to the extra effects included on the Ultra?

2) I would like to run stereo outs from my pedal board into the Axe-FX. I know there are two unbalanced line level inputs on the back of the unit. Sparing any innuendo-esque "putting it in the rear" responses ;) , what are the tonal differences between using the instrument input on the front panel vs. the unbalanced line level inputs on the back. I would really love to use my TC Nova Delay in stereo for the ping pong and pan delay settings.

Thanks so much!
 
chadley said:
Hey guys,

Long time lurker - soon to be Axe-FX owner.

I have finally decided to give this thing a whirl. I realized the other day that 99.9% of the time I spend playing is in a situation where my amp is under the stage being monitored through in ears or in a studio using either my amp mic'ed up in another room or some sort of direct solution like Guitar Rig. So, I figured what the heck.....sell the beloved tube amp and go for it.

I have a few questions for you guys, if you would be so kind.

1) Ultra vs. Standard. I know the basic difference between the two (more processor and memory, additional effects, synth, vocoder, etc.). For the most part, in live situations I am going to be using my Axe-FX basically as an amp, running my pedal board into the front end for my effects (I need to keep things pretty flexible and be able to make changes on the fly). In recording situations I plan on having a lot of patches that utilize the internal effects on the unit, especially the more ambient, spacious delays, reverbs, etc. Are patches like "Crystals" possible on the Standard or are a lot of those types of effects possible due to the extra effects included on the Ultra?

2) I would like to run stereo outs from my pedal board into the Axe-FX. I know there are two unbalanced line level inputs on the back of the unit. Sparing any innuendo-esque "putting it in the rear" responses ;) , what are the tonal differences between using the instrument input on the front panel vs. the unbalanced line level inputs on the back. I would really love to use my TC Nova Delay in stereo for the ping pong and pan delay settings.

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...


Ok I'll start... First off Welcome to the fourm and what might be the best day in your life gear wise.

If all your going to do is run the Axe as an "Amp" I would just get the Standard. If you see your self in the future stepping up to doing more than just an amp sim ie: dual amps and massive effects then the Ultra would make more sence. I have owned them both I didn't use the Ultra to the exstent it was intended for so it went the standard suits me just fine and I'm pretty sure it will do Crystals.

Yes you can run stereo effects from the rear inputs or through the Fx loop send and returns to suite your needs. I will lay odds though if you do go with an Axe with in a few months of using it you will ditch you pedal board for a midi board and use the onboard effects. It's so nice to have a clean board with one cable going to the processer.


Good luck on your decision ;) .
 
Thanks for the response, Sixstring.

I know that I would be able to use stereo effects via the send and returns on the back panel, but what about simply running the signal from my pedal board (stereo instrument level) into the two inputs on the back, bypassing the front instrument input altogether?
 
I personally would put those stereo effects in the effects loop entirely. Out from the axe > outboard stereo effect > back into axe stereo. This will give you more control. Leave your analog boosts, and dirt boxes in front if you must and anything stereo put in the loop. Nothings stopping you from putting that effects block as the first block in your chain. Just remember that not all axe-fx blocks carry a stereo signal. Unless you're doing dual amps there is no point in using a stereo effect in front of your amp model. I gave up on stereo stomp effects because most of them have mono inputs and restrict you from having a proper stereo chain.
 
About those ambient effects, Chrystals is possible on a standard.
If you've been reading about the violins patch, that is the synth and not available on the standard. Neither is the multiband compressor that some use for the finer points in guitar tone manipulation. I haven't missed it yet, but I haven't tried it much yet either.

Just a case of you don't miss what you don't know about.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom