Anyone else have the AxeFXII change your style

shasha

shasha

Fractal Fanatic
Used to be a super high gain type of guy. I can't get enough of that mid gain breakup where it cleans up with your attack and then barks at you when you dig in. It's almost to the point that it's a problem because damn near every patch I build has the same type of dynamics because it's just so frickin' easy to dial and it's so much fun to play. It's like cheating because you can be more expressive with how you play than having to try to make something interesting with just more notes; i.e., I can be lazy and still be rewarded. :)

Another is that I never ever really cared for Fender amps; especially sims of them. The bassman models are so epically amazing that I spend an entire month on just the first factory preset when I got it. I know that sounds insane and probably like complete BS, but it's never been about quantity to me as much as quality and once I find something that works I don't feel compelled to find reasons for it not to work.

I keep telling myself that I need to quit being lazy and work on a patch that'll rip someone's head off, but I just end up playing whenever I fire the damn box of magic up.
 
100% agreed. I have played dozens of Marshall amps, including some with pretty expensive mods. And I've NEVER gotten a tone out of one that I liked at all. Since getting my AxeFX, I've discovered some incredible Marshall tones.

The AxeFX has definitely changed my playing. The amps are so responsive that I've adjusted my technique to them. Amazing machine.
 
I experienced this last night when creating a new preset. I ended up playing for an hour longer than I wanted to because I was so into the new sound!
 
shasha said:
Used to be a super high gain type of guy. I can't get enough of that mid gain breakup where it cleans up with your attack and then barks at you when you dig in.
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I don't know if I would say it's changing your style so much as it's expanding your tonal pallet! It's always fun to gravitate to what you like but when you find that theres more then high gain that's a good thing!
 
shasha said:
Used to be a super high gain type of guy. I can't get enough of that mid gain breakup where it cleans up with your attack and then barks at you when you dig in. It's almost to the point that it's a problem because damn near every patch I build has the same type of dynamics because it's just so frickin' easy to dial and it's so much fun to play. It's like cheating because you can be more expressive with how you play than having to try to make something interesting with just more notes; i.e., I can be lazy and still be rewarded. :)

Another is that I never ever really cared for Fender amps; especially sims of them. The bassman models are so epically amazing that I spend an entire month on just the first factory preset when I got it. I know that sounds insane and probably like complete BS, but it's never been about quantity to me as much as quality and once I find something that works I don't feel compelled to find reasons for it not to work.

I keep telling myself that I need to quit being lazy and work on a patch that'll rip someone's head off, but I just end up playing whenever I fire the damn box of magic up.
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Nah, you just getting more mature ;)
 
When I went to the triaxis (from a JCM 900) I had to change my style. Everything had a beautiful articulation and clarity with the Triaxis, but damn if it didn't make any sloppiness really obvious. Made me a better player though.
 
I've found that I use the coil tap/split setting on my JPs constantly now. I never really bonded with the tone from that position with previous setups, but now it's almost always in the pulled position. The Axe adds sooo much character to that pickup selection on clean patches.
 
That's nothing - I used to be a bass player!!... Now I cannot stop playing guitar dangnabbit.. sounds so good!
Pauly
 
Moke said:
I discovered the volume knob on my guitar.
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Agreed. The power of the volume knob is soo incredible. I was doing a sound check recently and wandered off from the stage to hear my sound coming through the PA, the sound guys were like 'how are you changing between such a good clean sound and then fat distortion when you are so far away from your pedal board?'. Ha ha!

I've found that I sometimes use a heavy drive, and don't even bother changing to a cleaner sound because I can dial in just the right amount of gain with the volume knob. And this allows me to control exactly how much power I want to put out there. Big improvement on my playing style and the results are good.
 
shasha said:
Used to be a super high gain type of guy. I can't get enough of that mid gain breakup where it cleans up with your attack and then barks at you when you dig in. It's almost to the point that it's a problem because damn near every patch I build has the same type of dynamics because it's just so frickin' easy to dial and it's so much fun to play. It's like cheating because you can be more expressive with how you play than having to try to make something interesting with just more notes; i.e., I can be lazy and still be rewarded. :)

Another is that I never ever really cared for Fender amps; especially sims of them. The bassman models are so epically amazing that I spend an entire month on just the first factory preset when I got it. I know that sounds insane and probably like complete BS, but it's never been about quantity to me as much as quality and once I find something that works I don't feel compelled to find reasons for it not to work.

I keep telling myself that I need to quit being lazy and work on a patch that'll rip someone's head off, but I just end up playing whenever I fire the damn box of magic up.
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+1
 
shasha said:
Used to be a super high gain type of guy. I can't get enough of that mid gain breakup where it cleans up with your attack and then barks at you when you dig in. It's almost to the point that it's a problem because damn near every patch I build has the same type of dynamics because it's just so frickin' easy to dial and it's so much fun to play. It's like cheating because you can be more expressive with how you play than having to try to make something interesting with just more notes; i.e., I can be lazy and still be rewarded. :)

Another is that I never ever really cared for Fender amps; especially sims of them. The bassman models are so epically amazing that I spend an entire month on just the first factory preset when I got it. I know that sounds insane and probably like complete BS, but it's never been about quantity to me as much as quality and once I find something that works I don't feel compelled to find reasons for it not to work.

I keep telling myself that I need to quit being lazy and work on a patch that'll rip someone's head off, but I just end up playing whenever I fire the damn box of magic up.
Click to expand...

It's not really cheating if you end up playing with more dynamics in your style, it's actually more musical and pleasing to the ears. As I get older and more musically mature, I find those dynamics to be much more interesting than a lot of notes played. Don't get me wrong though, I still like me some good ole classic shreddin', just not as much as I used too...

And yes, agreed, my style has also changed with the new palettes at my disposal. It's amazing to have a single piece of equipment for ~4 years and still view it as a new toy each time you turn it on; I've never experienced this feeling before with any other piece of gear...
 
I've come from the other direction. Exploring cleaner patches and low to mid gain amps. I've ventured into some higher gain amps just because they are there. Nothing super high gain but modded Marshall types. Some of the best finds have been some of the class A amps. Really different OD qualities to be had.
 
Since I play in a cover band that does a wide range of material from the 1950's to modern pop it lets me cop authentic period correct tones for the most part.

Like others, I've started using the volume knob on my guitar a lot more. I now tend to dial up a tone that barks when you really spank it, but cleans right up with a slight volume adjustment. Then it's just a matter of deciding whether to go with a drive or second amp model if a lead tone is also required.
 
Hellbat said:
Like others, I've started using the volume knob on my guitar a lot more. I now tend to dial up a tone that barks when you really spank it, but cleans right up with a slight volume adjustment. Then it's just a matter of deciding whether to go with a drive or second amp model if a lead tone is also required.
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I have always done something similar, especially when I ran tube amps. Being that I use PRS volume pots in everything, the taper of their volume pots really allows you to adjust things with the volume knob. I usually set my guitars volume knob on about 7-8 and dial my tone in. What that allows me to do is roll back a tad to clean up, or roll up the rest of the way for more output for leads.
 
I would venture to say that everyone who has played the Axe more than a couple of hours has discovered a sound that has taken him/her in a different direction, even if only briefly. I've been lost for hours on a tangent that I never thought I'd be on. Even if I never revisit it again, it's probably changed the way I think and play at least a little. Not many products you can say that about.
 
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