I'm thinking of coming back...

Just Joe

Just Joe

Member
Had an Axe II and controller last Dec. Tried for 3 months to get it together to use live, which is what I need to do with it 99% of the time but couldnt get anything going with it.
Most notably was the delivery system I was trying to use - QSC K12. Always sounded 'brittle' and the thought of hauling my PV 50/50 and 2x12 cab around seemed to defeat the purpose - I was hoping for a powered cab (FRFR?) solution.
That said, I have spent the last 4 months trying every amp I could get my hands on to put a new rig together with no real luck either. All of them lacked something I was looking for be it a better clean or more Marshally crunch etc etc. and then there was the giant FX board to consider...

Sooo, I'm wondering if I should give this another try? I'm am not a tweaker - my ADD kicks in after an hour or less of mindless noodling :) with parameters.
Is it possible to just find an amp and pop a few FX in line like I would with an amp?
And I guess I'd be OK if I had to use a power amp and a cab...

Help?
 
Well, the Firmware updates since last year have definitely made the Axe-Fx much easier to dial in, but you would still want to tweak presets to your liking. There are a ton of shared presets available on Axe-Change, which is now up and running, so essentially you could find presets that are in the ball park and make minor adjustments. Also, there are many more amp and cabinet models to choose from (including some great Marshally sounds).
 
As vaunted as the QSCs were (I had a pair of K10s), they don't seem to work well with the Axe-Fx. I sold mine. They sounded great with my old HD500, though. Go figure. Not the first time I've heard of this matchup falling short.

Sometimes, though, it's a matter of finding the right cabs. When I gig outside of church, I use a Tech 21 Power Engine 60. But I have to change cab sims - my usual FOH cabs don't sound good at all. It seems to like 4x12 Marshall cabs a lot, though. Maybe try those with the QSC? It makes a huge difference with the PE60.
 
I feel your pain. I tried about 10 different power amp/speaker combinations and was always lacking a little something. I finally ponied up for a RCF NX12sma and am VERY happy! One other problem I had was a couple of cleanish patches had a little distortion in them (not in a good way). Turns out that I had to turn down the output in a couple of blocks and the great tone was back again...turning down the input wasn't the problem...this was with no clip lights blinking btw.
 
Watch the video on my YouTube channel about dialing up presets. Tweaking is for customizing; not 'fixing' stuff that is broken or deficient assuming you have an accurate way to monitor yourself (assuming direct-to-FOH/FRFR use/application).
 
I've watched most of your stuff Scott...and I'm seriously jealous that you can dial in, seemingly effortlessly, good usable tones. This was not my case. Frustrating, because I'm seeing all you guys getting great stuff outta this magic box!
Were you running straight to FOH/recording in most those videos?
Again tho, I need to use it live, that's been my issue - a delivery system for it within a live band/gigging scenario...
 
I dialed in Scott's basic brit800 preset from the axe fest video. It sounds great and cuts through a mix perfectly. It's one of my main presets now
 
Just Joe said:
Most notably was the delivery system I was trying to use - QSC K12. Always sounded 'brittle' ...
Click to expand...

I run my Axe through K12s and love them. I don't feel they sound "brittle" at all. In fact, the highs and high-mids sound quite tame to my ear. But, then again, every patch I've created was dialed in using the K12s and not through phones or studio monitors, so I suppose it may be due to the fine tuning of the presets themselves after all...
 
I hardly touch the default settings, minimal tweaking, Scott's video is priceless

MFC-Axe2-RCF NX12SMA has been mine and many others end of the line... for now... very happy
 
For a lot of what I do I use a clean(ish) amp Fender/Vox/Trainwreck and add some pedals...drive/delay/verb/tremolo/comp/eq/cab. If I had to build up a set of patches for a gig I could do it in under an hour from scratch I'm sure. For some gigs I'll use one patches and pedals, just like I would with a real amp. If you're used to getting a good sound with tube gear, it shouldn't be much harder than that for basic sounds. If you have 30 gigging patches you use in a song or segment by segment way, that's another thing, but for basic amp plus pedals sounds, it's gotten really easy.

Agree (as I seem to say every chance I get) that the RCF NX monitors are a beautiful thing with the Axe. I went through a lot of things before arriving at them and since I got them all I do is smile when I hear my tone through them (or fix the patch...which is usually a matter of gain/master/level tweaking).

Welcome back hopefully.
 
Just Joe said:
Had an Axe II and controller last Dec. Tried for 3 months to get it together to use live, which is what I need to do with it 99% of the time but couldnt get anything going with it.
Most notably was the delivery system I was trying to use - QSC K12. Always sounded 'brittle' and the thought of hauling my PV 50/50 and 2x12 cab around seemed to defeat the purpose - I was hoping for a powered cab (FRFR?) solution.
That said, I have spent the last 4 months trying every amp I could get my hands on to put a new rig together with no real luck either. All of them lacked something I was looking for be it a better clean or more Marshally crunch etc etc. and then there was the giant FX board to consider...

Sooo, I'm wondering if I should give this another try? I'm am not a tweaker - my ADD kicks in after an hour or less of mindless noodling :) with parameters.
Is it possible to just find an amp and pop a few FX in line like I would with an amp?
And I guess I'd be OK if I had to use a power amp and a cab...

Help?
Click to expand...

You say you spent four months trying a lot of amps and you don´t call yourself a tweaker? 8)
How many knobs and buttons havent you turned or pressed those 4 months?

Give the Axe four days and you will have great tones.
Give it four hours and you will get great tone without tweaking.
I discovered that you CAN tweak until you cry, but you don´t have to! Thats the beauty with it!

Just take some time and read the manual. That really helps a lot.
 
I am embarrassed to say I may be in the same boat lol.
I had and sold and Axe 2 last December as well ..

One thing I really like is some of the new parameters in the preamp stages .like Compression, dynamics and the new coming pick attack
these things are huge in terms of feel and playing. Being able to make the amp more percussive and sharper or softer attack is killer

Can't wait to hear more 9.0 when released but I am definitely watching the site
 
spufuz said:
You say you spent four months trying a lot of amps and you don´t call yourself a tweaker? 8)
How many knobs and buttons havent you turned or pressed those 4 months?

Ya got me there!! :lol But....there were a limited number of knobs to tweak!!

Give the Axe four days and you will have great tones.
Give it four hours and you will get great tone without tweaking.
I discovered that you CAN tweak until you cry, but you don´t have to! Thats the beauty with it!

Just take some time and read the manual. That really helps a lot.
Click to expand...

I read the manual...or more specifically, looked at it until my brains starting oozing outta my head...was as bad as watching dancing with the stars! But, I downloaded it again and will start to look at it now...
 
I have presets I created using my studio monitors and through the K12's they didn't sound good. Now I am using output 2 for the K12's so they have their own EQ. This helped quite a bit for me. I think the QSC's have boosted low and high end so you have to bump the mids out of the Axe to balance things out. However the QSC's still dont sound as good as my monitors but for the money they arent bad. If I were to replace them I would get a power amp and unpowered speakers.
 
If you are going to use the Axe-II with a monitor, I say just get an RCF NX12SMA and many of the factory presets will sound amazing as is. So much comes down to the speakers you are listening on. I don't think the K12 is going to be as flat, balanced, or clear as a higher end speaker like the NX12SMA. Of course this has all been said before, but that's my advice. Get a really nice speaker.
 
I'd say that, if you aren't finding the sound you need elsewhere, the Axe II and current firmware is a great place to come back to at this point. I'd suggest you consider matching Scott's setup if he is getting sounds you like, as that would eliminate the variables in matching his tones by using his settings or patches (he has shared a lot of them!).

Through no direct intention, I have ended up with a very similar setup to his and am extremely happy with it. Of course, that really only proves it will sound like I want. But if you were asking for a good place to start...
 
Just Joe said:
Sooo, I'm wondering if I should give this another try? I'm am not a tweaker - my ADD kicks in after an hour or less of mindless noodling :) with parameters.
Is it possible to just find an amp and pop a few FX in line like I would with an amp?
And I guess I'd be OK if I had to use a power amp and a cab...

Help?
Click to expand...

Huge red flag.

If you don't have the focus to learn the unit, then you'll be frustrated again. While somewhat close, this is still not plug and play (unless you love the sound of some of the factory presets...) You don't need to intimately know the 5th page of the advanced parameters, but need to understand what things work for YOU...and that takes effort.

All in all, it will depend on how picky you are. If you're the 'it needs to sound great, and I'm VERY particular' kind of guy, then 'I don't want to tweak' is not going to work for this. If you want pretty standard tones, it's not hard.

But like all these things, asking us for advice is a bit pointless...you need to try it and decide whether it works for you. You should not be swayed by any of our opinions; try it, and make your own judgements...there are enough reviews in the 'reviews' section for you to pore over for days.
 
Thanks all!

I exaggerate about not being a tweaker, but I'd really hope I dont have to dig too deep to get the tones I'm looking for (motor drive, tube bias etc - all cool but....)

Again, I think my biggest problem was finding something to play it thru for live gigging. I think I'll be trying a pwr amp/cab setup first.

Gonna order soon...then dig into it...and try to glean as much as I can from this forum and the good folks here....
 
The air parameter is easy to remember and powerful. I`ve hardly touched the advanced parameters on the amp. Just find some ir`s that you like.
Do not hesitate to cut some bass. I`ve cut bass on the global eq, and bass on the amp is never over 12 o`clock, usually 9-10 O`clock.

I`ve cut 16 K too. When i used my real cabs, i could tell no difference when i did that, so I personally have no need for it.

To have a pointer to how your sound is gonna cut. Put on a backing track, turn down your guitar pretty low and switch between your sounds.
Switch between busy and light backings. Then you have an idea what works. You must do this with a band at volum to, but when i do this, i`m not to far away from the truth.
I usually just turn down treble when i go from home to band volume.

Good luck!!
 
Just Joe said:
I read the manual...or more specifically, looked at it until my brains starting oozing outta my head...was as bad as watching dancing with the stars! But, I downloaded it again and will start to look at it now...
Click to expand...

Yes, I get what you mean. When i saw the manual i was thinking how the h*ll am i supposed to memorize this manual.
But you dont have to read it all at once.
First, read through "connections" and "basic operation and editing". Not very much.
Then you can dig into separate effect/amp/cab block explanations in the manual when you feel that you need.
 
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