My Experience: The Ultra, and why I did not buy the II

Give the XL a try. It might just surprise you! There have been many improvements lately that most of us user are ecstatic over. If you're still not satisfied, return it for a refund and
consider moving out of the city so you can have the room environment of your choice (without pissing off your neighbors)
 
FractalMammal said:
I think there's too broad an objective and the end result is that the sound lacked musical overtones, clarity, and separation in a mix. As they say, your mileage may very well vary. Imo, there's great pedals out there and I don't need to emulate those. They're affordable, and they're fun. What I did want is an amp I could crank without waking the neighbors, for recording.
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For me personally the Axe is ideally suited for recording incredible sounding amps without the neighbors complaining or the police knocking on the door.

If you feel the effects are clouding the amp sound you're looking to achieve I suggest turning them off and go the minimalist approach, less is more. It works well for me and often is the difference needed to get an amp to fit better in the mix while remaining clear and defined. If it's too dry I'll add the effects back a little at a time while I listen to the sound in the mix, rather than the guitar sound alone.

I love sounds and how effects themselves can essentially create a new instrument. But I've heard, both live and in studio, musicians who use way too many effects, or effects that don't work well with the music and detract from the final sound. It's hard to not speak subjectively when it comes to creativity, but often there is a consensus with players when it comes to how effects fit or don't fit, especially time-based effects (delay, chorus, flanger and reverb).
 
The Axe, like any piece of musical equipment, is not for everybody. It really boils to that. For me, I went away from a tube amp and floor pedals because I prefer to have everything in one box and switching multiple fx on and off without tap dancing. FractalMammal, if you have not played a II, then know that the technology has improved considerably. It still might not be right FOR YOU, but the Ultra quit being representative of the technology a long, long time ago.
 
I had a very accomplished engineer ask me after I demoed a feature on the computer to him if that was me playing guitar and what I was playing it thru. Said it was one of the best guitar tones he had ever heard. He is also an accomplished picker in addition to his producer/engineer skills producing albums that went 13X platinum.

It was my Ultra. 6 or 7 years ago. I consistently read about all of the improvements of the new models and I do now have the XL also. And it is indeed sweet but my point is you can pretty much rest assured if you can not find a handful of tones in the Fractal, that will cover any situation you encounter, and do them as well or better than any amp rig effect combo you have plugged into.... then you're just plain doing something wrong.
 
Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it.

I wonder if the OP ever took just one amp in the Axe and learned it inside and out, the way you would if you bought just that amp. Personally, I'm always blown away by how good a simple amp->cab->verb sounds coming from this box.
 
Gotta wonder why you wait years into a newer version to post opinions about FAS' current world based on an older device. We're 17 firmwares and a world away from the Ultra. Agreed that too many effects bury basic amp tone. That's no revelation in the Axe or with any other setup. To me this is a journey with the best amp emulation coder I've heard by far. With every firmware there are improvements to amp modeling and it sounds better and better. Is it perfect? Of course not or Cliff wouldn't keep having epiphanies. The quality is plenty good to make excellent recordings and the feel has gotten better and better.

Also, it's ridiculous for someone who lives in NYC for whom a quiet playing and recording solution would be worth as much as you say to not try a II. Completely ridiculous. As noted, NYC is crazy expensive, so the fact that you won't spend 2k to try the Axe II after getting at least some use out of the Ultra says more about you than about the Axe II.
 
FractalMammal said:
I don't want to make anybody angry, but I think the Fractal Audio company would do well to choose a path between being a processing effects company and an amp emulation company.
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But seriously, you should do it like they do on the discovery channel (gettin' scorny now).

Just because something does not work for you does not mean you go to a forum with seasoned musicians using a tool to help shape the world of accurate emulation and make these statements/claims. I feel you, out of pure default, should post a video/recording/sample of how your amazing hand wired tube amps sound to show us you are not just full of it. Below is one of my earlier performances in the early 80's:

 
The Ultra has been out of production for four years now. The only thing common between the Axe-Fx Ultra and the Axe-Fx II is the word Axe-Fx. The hardware is completely different. The algorithms are completely different. The amp modeling is the BEST in the world. The reverb, delays, chorus, etc., etc., etc. are world-class now. I've had engineers tell me that our reverb is among the best they've ever heard and that includes Lexicon and Bricasti.

I guess it's just odd that someone would decide to write a product review on a four year old product, especially in a field where changes are occurring so rapidly.
 
FractalMammal said:
...I'm discouraged that instead of focusing on amp emulation, there's continual r&d on effect emulation.
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Rex said:
You must have missed the last four years, when the main focus was on amp emulation, and customers were saying. "Hey, why not spend a little more effort on effects, too?".
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I was just as confused by OPs statement! I feel the exact opposite is true, vs his statement (as Rex said). From lurking since last year, and now owning a unit... I've heard (and enjoyed) the amp sim/IR updates, but would like to see equal (or lesser but still some) expansions in the FX. Yes, they are superb in noise floor, top quality, and most often "more than good enough," but we know Cliff never stops there :)

For me, both being able to record the sound of a cranked amp, AND have studio quality FX is important. I agree, that for the investment, it would be MORE important to nail the amp sim than the FX. Since as OP says, FX may be had cheaper for those who need a few. Could I have used the G-Force or 2101 for my FX and just used the Axe as an amp sim? Yes, but then I wouldn't have purchased one either. Why? If I has happy with my decades old FX, then I'd have just bought a load box/cab sim. Then kept using pedals/rack gear with my amps, accomplishing my goal of recording quietly, whilst being cheaper overall.

In fact though, compared to newer pedals and rack gear, mine were sounding outdated. I actually priced out buying newer FX racks (no pre-amp) and/or pedals. To get ALL my sounds, I'd be over the price of the Axe-II. So why not buy the Axe, get all the FX needed, PLUS every godly amp i can't afford, plus all kinds of pedals I'd never afforded to own.

So in conclusion, I bought the Axe FX for the all-in-one god mode package. If they'd focused on just amp sims, I wouldn't have been a customer. To OP they didn't focus enough (but doesn't sound like he reviewed the latest), and thus he won't be a customer. Each to his own, and companies are going to go where the business is. The FX8 wouldn't exist if there wasn't an customer need for FX.
 
ibanezfreak4 said:
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But seriously, you should do it like they do on the discovery channel (gettin' scorny now).

Just because something does not work for you does not mean you go to a forum with seasoned musicians using a tool to help shape the world of accurate emulation and make these statements/claims. I feel you, out of pure default, should post a video/recording/sample of how your amazing hand wired tube amps sound to show us you are not just full of it. Below is one of my earlier performances in the early 80's:

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Wow. Imagine having to learn the lyrics to that song... How do you ever remember all of that?
 
Funny to try to come up with analogies to this. Like somebody telling GM how to build cars because he used to drive a 1989 Trans Am.

Actually pretty hard to make one without discrediting the Gen1 AxeFx too much. Was and is still a magnificent machine.
 
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