First Gig with AX8

dkenin

dkenin

Inspired
Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in for gigging live with this.

Pros -
Got to the gig and made one trip from my car to the stage and set up in under 10 minutes.
Sounds exactly the same as my AXE FX II.
Sound guy was very happy that he only had to send a cable to the front of the stage, so my area of the stage was extremely clean, no sloppy cables.
Packed and out of the gig in one trip in 5 minutes.
Sound wise exactly what I wanted and needed in a smaller package.

Cons -
Protection Bar - Giant Pain in the ass when trying to get the top 4 buttons, you basically have to press them with your toes and not ball of your foot. (Bigger deal than I thought when tap dancing songs)
I will need to do some re-tuning of patches with less processing power, I cut some corners which made my patches different from AXE FX II. (i.e. you absolutely need a compression block for cleans)
New Instant Access and Preset config on the small screen can be difficult to see and need some getting used to. Sukh where are the kicktags for the AX8 :)


Observations -
Might be unique to my sound guy, but I send him a 12 o'clock signal, just as I did with the AXE FX II, and he said this one was much hotter, so I'm keeping at 9 o'clock for him (not a big deal)
Make sure you have a good wireless system. I used the Line6 G30 and I wasn't very happy with it, burns through batteries, cable is stiff and was cutting in and out when it was bending.
The levels in the utility, for whatever reason weren't as consistent, again probably user error, but my leads at 4db higher really didn't stick out.

I'll be getting a new wireless, tweaking my presets, and getting used to the AX8. Ultimately, I think this will be a great gigging rig and my only "unfixable" issue is the protection bar which isn't a deal breaker

YMMV

Dave
 
Good to know about the Bar... I'm a "Toes" pedal stepper anyway.... (if I try to stomp a pedal in my bare/sock feet... the button goes in the space between my big toe and second toe.) Hopefully pointy shoes don't make it weird.
 
TRTTRTTRT said:
That bar is definitely something I had to get used to on the FX8... took a few gigs... now it seems normal :)
Click to expand...

Agree fully, takes practice but you get used to it. Still a bit tricky when stomping while singing.. if I was a non-singer I'd have no trouble with it at all.
 
FYI, I was using the Line 6 Relay system and recently switched to the Shure GLX system and it performed great. Our other guitarist has been using one for a while. Battery life is killer - it has a rechargeable battery.
 
Good for you! I was going to use my AX8 for the first time Saturday at a big wedding and chickened out. I had to do all the DJ'ing for the wedding as well and had a lot going on. Didn't want to be uncomfortable with my guitar rig. I was very close though, my practices with it went pretty well. Its a bit of an adjustment for me going with the 20ish footswitches on my lf pro down to the 11 on the AX8. I also didn't have all of my patches setup yet. I'm taking my time making the commitment. Its a change going from my unlimited Axe II presets to downsizing. Like you say though, that setup time and ease is so awesome. Right now I have a 6 space rack and pedalboard and cab. Ditching that heavy 6 space will definitely be worth it.
 
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hippietim said:
FYI, I was using the Line 6 Relay system and recently switched to the Shure GLX system and it performed great. Our other guitarist has been using one for a while. Battery life is killer - it has a rechargeable battery.
Click to expand...

Done deal, you get what you pay for, thanks for the review, that will be on my board soon
 
Keg8605 said:
Good for you! I was going to use my AX8 for the first time Saturday at a big wedding and chickened out. I had to do all the DJ'ing for the wedding as well and had a lot going on. Didn't want to be uncomfortable with my guitar rig. I was very close though, my practices with it went pretty well. Its a bit of an adjustment for me going with the 20ish footswitches on my lf pro down to the 11 on the AX8. I also didn't have all of my patches setup yet. I'm taking my time making the commitment. Its a change going from my unlimited Axe II presets to downsizing. Like you say though, that setup time and ease is so awesome. Right now I have a 6 space rack and pedalboard and cab. Ditching that heavy 6 space will definitely be worth it.
Click to expand...

Yeah it's really a matter of getting used it, the bar might take a while, but everything else is cozy just like the AXE FX II
 
dkenin said:
Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in for gigging live with this.

Pros -
Got to the gig and made one trip from my car to the stage and set up in under 10 minutes.
Sounds exactly the same as my AXE FX II.
Sound guy was very happy that he only had to send a cable to the front of the stage, so my area of the stage was extremely clean, no sloppy cables.
Packed and out of the gig in one trip in 5 minutes.
Sound wise exactly what I wanted and needed in a smaller package.

Cons -
Protection Bar - Giant Pain in the ass when trying to get the top 4 buttons, you basically have to press them with your toes and not ball of your foot. (Bigger deal than I thought when tap dancing songs)
I will need to do some re-tuning of patches with less processing power, I cut some corners which made my patches different from AXE FX II. (i.e. you absolutely need a compression block for cleans)
New Instant Access and Preset config on the small screen can be difficult to see and need some getting used to. Sukh where are the kicktags for the AX8 :)


Observations -
Might be unique to my sound guy, but I send him a 12 o'clock signal, just as I did with the AXE FX II, and he said this one was much hotter, so I'm keeping at 9 o'clock for him (not a big deal)
Make sure you have a good wireless system. I used the Line6 G30 and I wasn't very happy with it, burns through batteries, cable is stiff and was cutting in and out when it was bending.
The levels in the utility, for whatever reason weren't as consistent, again probably user error, but my leads at 4db higher really didn't stick out.

I'll be getting a new wireless, tweaking my presets, and getting used to the AX8. Ultimately, I think this will be a great gigging rig and my only "unfixable" issue is the protection bar which isn't a deal breaker

YMMV

Dave
Click to expand...


You might check with Besttronics for a replacement wireless cable no matter what you buy. I don't think I've ever purchased a wireless where I was satisfied with the stock cable.
 
hippietim said:
FYI, I was using the Line 6 Relay system and recently switched to the Shure GLX system and it performed great. Our other guitarist has been using one for a while. Battery life is killer - it has a rechargeable battery.
Click to expand...

Do you keep a replacement rechargeable battery on hand just in case? Is the battery proprietary?
 
I don't know about the AX8, but generally you want to have the output knob on anything turned up a decent way to maximise the SNR.
Any decent desk will be able to handle the signal.
 
DavidE said:
You might check with Besttronics for a replacement wireless cable no matter what you buy. I don't think I've ever purchased a wireless where I was satisfied with the stock cable.
Click to expand...
good call, I usually do that.. (my line 6 rack unit) no reason to cheap out after coming this far
 
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