I sold my Axe-Fx II Mark I yesterday

GotMetalBoy

Power User
I kept my Axe-Fx II XL+ but sold my Axe-Fx II Mark I to new forum member @bismuth and he picked it up last night. I'm kind of sad to see it go because it was my first FAS gear and now I can no longer say I have a vintage Axe-Fx II. I need to get a new furnace and AC for my house but once that's paid for I'll probably save up for another Axe-Fx II XL+ or maybe by that time there will be an Axe-Fx III XL++ :rolleyes:. It was fun using 2 Axe-Fx II's at once and nice to be lazy and have one for practice and one for my music room and not have to carry anything back and forth.

I'm going to probably invest in a patch panel, so I don't wear out the jacks on my XL+. Anyone know any good priced online stores in the USA that sells the parts to make a patch panel or makes custom ones?

I'm going to need:
* 12 hole Punched Patch Panel
* 4x Female TS 1/4"
* 2x Female TRS 1/4"
* 2x Female RCA SPDIF
* 2x Male XLR
* Female USB
* Female MIDI 7pin
 
If http://www.vafamsound.com/ is still producing panels they're my #1 recommendation. They're site is still up but their owner passed away last year and I'm not sure if the kids have kept the business going or not. Worth asking though because, if they are, it'll be a great panel at a great price.

If not, you can try BTPA: https://btpa.com/Patch-Panels/ -- who are generally excellent for cables so probably good for panels.

And then Redco Audio is the standby option: https://www.redco.com/Redco-Custom-Panel-Designer.html -- I find them pretty pricey though.
 
or if you are crafty you can buy the parts and do it yourself a little cheaper. partsexpress.com has a lot of the stuff if not all you would need.
 
I kept my Axe-Fx II XL+ but sold my Axe-Fx II Mark I to new forum member @bismuth and he picked it up last night. I'm kind of sad to see it go because it was my first FAS gear and now I can no longer say I have a vintage Axe-Fx II. I need to get a new furnace and AC for my house but once that's paid for I'll probably save up for another Axe-Fx II XL+ or maybe by that time there will be an Axe-Fx III XL++ :rolleyes:. It was fun using 2 Axe-Fx II's at once and nice to be lazy and have one for practice and one for my music room and not have to carry anything back and forth.

I'm going to probably invest in a patch panel, so I don't wear out the jacks on my XL+. Anyone know any good priced online stores in the USA that sells the parts to make a patch panel or makes custom ones?

I'm going to need:
* 12 hole Punched Patch Panel
* 4x Female TS 1/4"
* 2x Female TRS 1/4"
* 2x Female RCA SPDIF
* 2x Male XLR
* Female USB
* Female MIDI 7pin

I only had a few hours last night to flip thru and tweak a few presets. I have it running through my Yamaha mixer and Presonus 8" monitors. Wow, it sounds even better than I was hoping for!!
 
If http://www.vafamsound.com/ is still producing panels they're my #1 recommendation. They're site is still up but their owner passed away last year and I'm not sure if the kids have kept the business going or not. Worth asking though because, if they are, it'll be a great panel at a great price.

If not, you can try BTPA: https://btpa.com/Patch-Panels/ -- who are generally excellent for cables so probably good for panels.

And then Redco Audio is the standby option: https://www.redco.com/Redco-Custom-Panel-Designer.html -- I find them pretty pricey though.

Thanks for the links. I was looking into getting a patch panel a few years ago and those were the 3 places most people recommended but I ended up getting the XL+ instead.

I'm going to contact Vafam Sound because they have Patch Panels specifically made for the Axe-Fx II:
* http://www.vafamsound.com/axe-fx
* http://www.vafamsound.com/axe-fx/panel-configuration.htm

Here's an alternative to PowerCon: http://www.vafamsound.com/Rack_Panels_Power_Connectors


Do you know if it's safe to use the Axe-Fx II without opening the back of my 4 space rack or will it over heat? If I were to get PowerCon or the panel with power connectors, I wouldn't need to open the back of my rack because all connections would be made from the panel.
 
Thanks for the links. I was looking into getting a patch panel a few years ago and those were the 3 places most people recommended but I ended up getting the XL+ instead.

I'm going to contact Vafam Sound because they have Patch Panels specifically made for the Axe-Fx II:
* http://www.vafamsound.com/axe-fx
* http://www.vafamsound.com/axe-fx/panel-configuration.htm

Here's an alternative to PowerCon: http://www.vafamsound.com/Rack_Panels_Power_Connectors


Do you know if it's safe to use the Axe-Fx II without opening the back of my 4 space rack or will it over heat? If I were to get PowerCon or the panel with power connectors, I wouldn't need to open the back of my rack because all connections would be made from the panel.
Been running mine like that since I got my VAFAM panel about 4 years ago. No issues.

But, I don't think VAFAM is actually operational even though the site is up.

The business was pretty much the passion of Hans and from talking with him before he passed it didn't sound like the family was much interested... I think it was mostly a 1 man show.

And there have been a few threads here regarding lack of response to queries...

Good luck but don't hold your breath :)
 
Indeed, do NOT order from Vafamsound!

Hans was a terrific guy, but the company has gone down since.

I ordered a panel earlier this year, but it came incomplete and partly broken.
After some mails they just stopped communicating.

Try Best-Tronics (USA) or DesignACable.com (UK).
 
Been running mine like that since I got my VAFAM panel about 4 years ago. No issues.

But, I don't think VAFAM is actually operational even though the site is up.

The business was pretty much the passion of Hans and from talking with him before he passed it didn't sound like the family was much interested... I think it was mostly a 1 man show.

And there have been a few threads here regarding lack of response to queries...

Good luck but don't hold your breath :)

Indeed, do NOT order from Vafamsound!

Hans was a terrific guy, but the company has gone down since.

I ordered a panel earlier this year, but it came incomplete and partly broken.
After some mails they just stopped communicating.

Try Best-Tronics (USA) or DesignACable.com (UK).

Thanks for the warning! At least I can look at all their panels on the website to get ideas for what I want. I may just attempt to build my own because I already have enough supplies for the cabling, connectors and soldering and just need the panel and the panel connectors.
 
Here's mine:

01 - USB power for Zoom recorder
02 - USB power for iPhone
03 - USB Axe-Fx
04 - USB for iPad data
05 - MIDI
06 - MIDI
07 - (spare XLR, i.e. FASLINK)
08 - OUT 2 L (1/4)
09 - IN 2 L (1/4)
10 - IN 2 R (1/4)
11 - OUT 1 R (1/4)
12 - OUT 1 L (XLR)
13 - OUT 1 R (XLR)
14 - SPEAKER OUT
15 - POWERCON


IMG_0906.jpg
 
Indeed, do NOT order from Vafamsound!

Hans was a terrific guy, but the company has gone down since.

I ordered a panel earlier this year, but it came incomplete and partly broken.
After some mails they just stopped communicating.

Try Best-Tronics (USA) or DesignACable.com (UK).
That's a bummer to hear.

Go for BTPA IMHO then. Or RedCo if you've got the $$$. :)
 
Here's mine:

01 - USB power for Zoom recorder
02 - USB power for iPhone
03 - USB Axe-Fx
04 - USB for iPad data
05 - MIDI
06 - MIDI
07 - (spare XLR, i.e. FASLINK)
08 - OUT 2 L (1/4)
09 - IN 2 L (1/4)
10 - IN 2 R (1/4)
11 - OUT 1 R (1/4)
12 - OUT 1 L (XLR)
13 - OUT 1 R (XLR)
14 - SPEAKER OUT
15 - POWERCON


View attachment 43345

That's a great idea having the USB power! I would have never thought of that.

Any chance you could take a pic of the back of your rig? How are you powering the USB ports?

Also, is there a special way the connectors should go in order to avoid noise? Like should I keep anything specific away from the PowerCon or MIDI?
 
Power is simple: I've got a 19" power strip at the rear. The wall warts for USB power go in there.

No noise at all.

Sorry, no picture at the moment. My rack is always upside down.
 
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