I did my homework reading the manual, lurking here, and watching the Youtube videos prior to ordering, so it's been pretty easy tweaking this thing for killer tones - disclaimer: I am a tweaker by nature, and have spent the past 10 years or so modding and building my own amps and effects from scratch, as well as buying, selling, and hoarding gear for the last 20 years, so the Axe is like giving a huge pile of crack to a drug addict - but in a good way! 
Today, after running through all the presets, I spent most of the time just listening/tweaking the amps dry - for me the amps have to stand on their own first and foremost - and they absolutely do. So far, I have played with the Recto (red) a lot since I owned an original 2 channel rackmount unit very recently, and am quite familiar with it. Also played around with the JCM800 with an SD-1 in front - another setup I currently own and know very well. The Axe is meant to duplicate these amps but with none of the drawbacks - and I think it does - in fact, I like the tones better than the originals, and I have just scratched the surface. I ran the unit with the cab sims off into my Marshall 4x12's and Berg NV412 - it slayed with both of them.
Some quick observations (nothing earth-shattering) - the noise gate rocks! It is so convenient to have one built in, and it works just as good, if not better than my ISP rackmount. The tuner is also great - seems to be very accurate.
Word of advice - if you are running the Axe into a conventional cab type setup, GET A GOOD POWERAMP! You need it to unleash the unit's full potential. You wouldn't put cheap tires on your Ferrari, would ya? Headroom is king, and you need it if you want the same womp of a good 100 W tube head. Now if you are a low volume jazz player, that's another story... I was using it today through my SWR Power 750 which was pushing 450 watts into a pair of 4x12's, so 225 watts per cab, and was similar overall to my big tube heads, though you can keep things tighter and more controlled at stupid volume levels which is a good thing (except for my hearing). BTW, this thing really shines at high volumes, which was another must.
Question - I was suprised at how many presets came on this thing - it appears that there are no blank user banks (I don't think?), so do I have to override factory presets to save my own?
Cheers,
JR
Today, after running through all the presets, I spent most of the time just listening/tweaking the amps dry - for me the amps have to stand on their own first and foremost - and they absolutely do. So far, I have played with the Recto (red) a lot since I owned an original 2 channel rackmount unit very recently, and am quite familiar with it. Also played around with the JCM800 with an SD-1 in front - another setup I currently own and know very well. The Axe is meant to duplicate these amps but with none of the drawbacks - and I think it does - in fact, I like the tones better than the originals, and I have just scratched the surface. I ran the unit with the cab sims off into my Marshall 4x12's and Berg NV412 - it slayed with both of them.
Some quick observations (nothing earth-shattering) - the noise gate rocks! It is so convenient to have one built in, and it works just as good, if not better than my ISP rackmount. The tuner is also great - seems to be very accurate.
Word of advice - if you are running the Axe into a conventional cab type setup, GET A GOOD POWERAMP! You need it to unleash the unit's full potential. You wouldn't put cheap tires on your Ferrari, would ya? Headroom is king, and you need it if you want the same womp of a good 100 W tube head. Now if you are a low volume jazz player, that's another story... I was using it today through my SWR Power 750 which was pushing 450 watts into a pair of 4x12's, so 225 watts per cab, and was similar overall to my big tube heads, though you can keep things tighter and more controlled at stupid volume levels which is a good thing (except for my hearing). BTW, this thing really shines at high volumes, which was another must.
Question - I was suprised at how many presets came on this thing - it appears that there are no blank user banks (I don't think?), so do I have to override factory presets to save my own?
Cheers,
JR
