Axe FX II Live Rigs

EricGlass

EricGlass

Inspired
I am curious to see what other members are using for live rigs and especially those who have tried both Full Range speakers and guitar speakers (celestions etc) and what types of power amps work best.

I got my Axe FX II a few weeks ago and have played a few gigs out already. My set up is the Axe-FX II into a Rocktron Velocity 300 into a 4x12 cab with celestion V30s. Compared to what I was used to (Cornford MK-50 head) the sound is bright, hot and a bit brittle/fizzy on all patches I've made so far. I have been dilligently reading this forum and the wiki and I am still going to give a shot at reprogramming the presets I have but I am wondering if I am barking up the wrong tree and should be using FR speaks.

The Velocity 300 is a SS power amp but it is supossed to have some of the color of a tube power amp so I am not sure if it's great either for the Axe FX.

Opinions are appreciated.
 
You might want to do a little forum searching. There are bunches of threads about what people are using and why. Some people can't live without power amps and cabs. Other people swear by FRFR. Some people use both at different times. Current fav of the moment FRFR (with a good but not crazy budget) seems to be RCF NX12-SMA or NX10-SMA (see Mike at AudioPyle.com if you go that route to save $). I've used NX10s for the last month and they're a huge step up from original Mackie 450s, RCF 310as, Tech 21 Power Engine 60s which I'd used before in sound quality, form factor and headroom. In a couple of months supposedly, Atomic is going to bring out some Jay Mitchell (prominent speaker designer and former forumite) coaxial designs that people who heard them at an Axe gathering in Dallas totally loved.


FRFR is unlikely to solve your "bright, hot and brittle/fizzy" issue though. That sounds like patch design issue for which there are a million threads.

Best of luck getting your tone down.
 
For at least some people, there is a learning curve. I had a Velocity 300 for a while and there wasn't anything wrong with it- the front panel controls were quite convenient.

For me personally, I really like a few of the models through and through, a like a few others on a lesser degree and then the rest of them not so much... but those that I really like, I really like. Currently, these are the Friedman BE and Buttery. I'm just thrilled with what I'm getting out of these and how pliable they are from one day to the next as my ears and mood changes.

I'm not familiar with the Cornford that you used to have or how well the axe-fx Cornford compares. Others will chime in. I just wanted to convey that while some people may say that they didn't have any trouble dialing anything in or even perhaps that "maybe its just not right for you", at least some people experience a learning curve or period of adjustment and it doesn't necessarily have to be "either you love it immediately or its not right for you"
 
I use my Axe FX II into the power amp of my 5150 2x12 combo. The patches seem dark at first but I kinda like it more than hearing way too much high end. Id like to go FRFR speakers one day but it just doesn't have the same appeal as having an amp behind me.
 
EricGlass said:
I am curious to see what other members are using for live rigs and especially those who have tried both Full Range speakers and guitar speakers (celestions etc) and what types of power amps work best.

I got my Axe FX II a few weeks ago and have played a few gigs out already. My set up is the Axe-FX II into a Rocktron Velocity 300 into a 4x12 cab with celestion V30s. Compared to what I was used to (Cornford MK-50 head) the sound is bright, hot and a bit brittle/fizzy on all patches I've made so far. I have been dilligently reading this forum and the wiki and I am still going to give a shot at reprogramming the presets I have but I am wondering if I am barking up the wrong tree and should be using FR speaks.

The Velocity 300 is a SS power amp but it is supossed to have some of the color of a tube power amp so I am not sure if it's great either for the Axe FX.

Opinions are appreciated.
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What FW are your running? When I got mine (running through VHT 2502 Power amp w/ Scumback speakers)... I too thought it was very shrill and bright sounding on all patches. I disabled the power sims and that helped a lot. But after upgrading to 5.04b, I was able to turn power sims back on and it wasn't shrill at all, it sounded great. Plus, I could take advantage of all the power amp sims stuff. Anyways, one thing I did do however, was I noticed I was doing a lot of EQ'ing to almost every patch, so I put them all back to default settings, and went into the Global EQ and bumped some lower Frequencies and cut some high ones and after that, I only needed to slightly tweak individual preset EQ's.
 
i run my axe II stright into the front of my redplate blackloop 1x12 amp. i only use the axe fx for effects so i have the amp and cab blocks turned off. sounds great!
 
I had a Peavy 50/50 Tube Amp Pushing a Marshall 2x12 (Celestion Speakers).
I now have my AxeFX2 running straight to the PA (FOH) and I use 2 QSC K8s on Stage.
1 QSC Side washes so the Drummer can Hear, the 2nd is a Floor Monitor (After #10 Bolt Mod) with My Axe in 1 input and Vocals from Aux Feed in the other input.

I like the FR-FR + FOH setup much better than running Power-Amp and Marshall 2x12.
The other setup didn't sound bad, but it did not match what I was pumping to the PA, so it makes it difficult to Tweak Sound since the 2x12 was Coloring the sound...

Also running it with the Behringer FCB1010 Foot Controller
 
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In pictures:

What was:

Axe-FX-Clips-Recording-Setu.jpg


What is:

IMAG0412.jpg


IMAG0406.jpg


Shown for more recent pedal controller setup (home studio setup):

Picture8.jpg
 
See signature below... plus an MFC-101. Have never tried power amp and cab, but would like to.
 
Awesome replys everyone, please keep them coming.

nater said:
What FW are your running? When I got mine (running through VHT 2502 Power amp w/ Scumback speakers)... I too thought it was very shrill and bright sounding on all patches. I disabled the power sims and that helped a lot. But after upgrading to 5.04b, I was able to turn power sims back on and it wasn't shrill at all, it sounded great. Plus, I could take advantage of all the power amp sims stuff. Anyways, one thing I did do however, was I noticed I was doing a lot of EQ'ing to almost every patch, so I put them all back to default settings, and went into the Global EQ and bumped some lower Frequencies and cut some high ones and after that, I only needed to slightly tweak individual preset EQ's.
Click to expand...

I'm running 5.01. I'll try the update, should the current one 5.07 or w/e be the same in that regard? I need to learn how to export my presets so I can reload them after update first (I'm sure that's a simple process). I had planned to mess with the eq a bit. I'll try the global as well. I had tried turning off the power amp sims but thought it dulled things a bit much, but maybe that's closer to how it should sound. One problem is I am not A/Bing things and I am thinking maybe I should record some clips of my cornford and use those for a base for eq at least.
 
Yes I would update to 5.07...sound wise it's the same as 5.04b. Updating FW won't override your presets but you will probably have to tweak afterward. Although I would update any of the factory presets your using.
 
^ Did the update thanks.

Thanks to all for your responses, this is by far the best product specific gear forum on the net.

What I finally found worked for me was setting up my old head and doing A/B tests. I used my Cornford MK50 which I know sounds good to my ears, into my cab and miked it with an AKG C414-B-XLS (a mic that doesn't add a lot of color) and recorded some rhythm tracks and then plugged the AXE FX II & power amp into the same cab/mic and recorded the same tracks so I could A/B the 2. I learned A LOT tonight doing that, it helps tremendously to have a reference. One thing I immediately learned was the power amp sims and cabs sims had to go. I had heard different opinions on that but it was extremely clear that they didn't help.

I was able to nail the Cornford sound, surprisingly with the Cameron Channel 2 lol, the Cornford model is really close though, maybe my power amp colors it a bit though. A learned a ton about all the tans under the amps and what everything does, I highly recommend the A/B thing for live rigs if you have a head you like or can borrow one.

my work station tonight:

IMG-20120306-00017.jpg
 
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EricGlass said:
One thing I immediately learned was the power amp and cabs sims had to go. I had heard different opinions on that but it was extremely clear that they didn't help.
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You mean power amp simulation?
 
Yeas, it's great to be able to do a comparison and have a reference.
But it surprises me that you switched off power amp sim., using that Rocktron.
 
My setup is FOH with KS CPA1M floor monitors. It's a german high end PA company. Sounds is top notch, I play it stereo. If you have questions about my setup I'll be glad to answer.
P1110723.jpg
 
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