I wish I hadn't heard of the Axe-FX II...

M

Mewcenary

Member
... because I now want one!

Weird thing is, I only recently bought a Line 6 Pod HD500. I had a PODxt prior to that. I'm reasonably happy with the HD500, and perhaps it is silly for me to be contemplating dropping about £2000 (I'm in the UK) on the Axe FX II. I'm pretty much just a bedroom guitarist at the moment, although looking to get back into a band after a bit of a lay-off, and doing most playing through headphones....

But.... so...so....tempting.....

Oh, of course then I'd need the footboard.... and a rack (with Matrix stuff most likely?).. and...and...and....

Madness, but the call is strong...

Help!
 
If you can afford it comfortably and you really want it then just get it. I spent a year umming and ahhing over getting an Ultra because of the price (which actually worked out pretty well because by the time I decided to get one and my turn on the list came up the II had come out), and I can tell you now that the money is long forgotten, but I've been playing guitar 10 times more and having a lot more fun.

I'd actually say it's perfect if you're a bedroom guitarist and I prefer playing it there. I think it's a pain in the arse carting Axe II, Poweramp, 2x12 and pedalboard to practice every week when all I used to take was an Engl combo and a delay pedal. It's unavoidable though because the effects I've created can't be reproduced with anything else.
 
...and yet it can't reproduce other effects(brands) too... people think of it like its COPIER its not its a different beast all togheter it cant do exactly same but comes very close.

I Had Ultra now i have II but there's few things im unhappy about and one of them is Axe FX ASIO driver... honestly one of the crappiest ones so far my 100 pound worth got better not native drivers but no crackles etc I hope that will be looked in the future.

Where do you stay mate?
 
sickindian said:
...and yet it can't reproduce other effects(brands) too... people think of it like its COPIER its not its a different beast all togheter it cant do exactly same but comes very close.

I Had Ultra now i have II but there's few things im unhappy about and one of them is Axe FX ASIO driver... honestly one of the crappiest ones so far my 100 pound worth got better not native drivers but no crackles etc I hope that will be looked in the future.

Where do you stay mate?
Click to expand...

?
 
@OP
That's exactly how I felt 3 1/2 years ago while using my new new Boss GT 10 I frequented the forums at Boss. Kept hearing about this thing called axeFX? when I saw the price I was amazed. But everytime I went to the Boss GT forum someone would bring up the darn axeFX again.
So I bought a standard-then an upgraded to the Ultra and finally the II. I have never looked back - I have been playing a long, long time and the Axe is by far the best purchase I have ever made- musically :)
 
Look at it as saving money in the long run. Once you get it, you will sell all your amps and effects and never need anything past your initial investment. Barring wanting more guitars, that has been my experience.
 
I had an HD500 for about a year + and then started drooling on the ULTRA until I had some money available and couldn’t help it and got one.
As time went by and I understood that the AXE is the real thing, I sold the ULTRA and got myself the II.
Then I thought I'm gona keep the HD500 as its very comfortable to carry and its sound very good and it's nice to have for small jams etc…
But…..
After some more time when I finely understood that I'm not touching the HD500 anymore, I decided to sell it and never looked back and man, I was a big fan of line 6 PODS for many years.

If you can afford it, buy it!
If not, keep the HD500, it’s a very good unit.
 
I have to agree with all of my contemporaries here, if avoiding the Axe-Fx is your aim then you are on the wrong side of town buddy! I too am in the UK and, despite being perpetually skint, worked my ass off at the olympics and put all of the funds towards my II. There will never be a regret, it's by far the best thing I've ever done for guitar.

tl;dr: BUY IT!
 
hussamd said:
Look at it as saving money in the long run. Once you get it, you will sell all your amps and effects and never need anything past your initial investment. Barring wanting more guitars, that has been my experience.
Click to expand...

Sadly, I can't really use that particular excuse. I sold a suite of guitars and effects in order to finance a few new guitars and the HD500. I currently just have a trusty old Marshall Valvestate 8080 as my amplification (modeller into FX Return). Partly why I am a big fan of modelling stuff - no valves to screw things up from a reliability point of view.

The shopping list doesn't really get any better, as I would 'need'...

* Axe FX 2
* Rackmount case
* Power amp (mostly likely Matrix)
* Speakers!! Probably take the Matrix route again, as I don't have any cabs kicking around.

Hmm !
(That said, it could be argued I need some of the above to get the best sound output of the HD500 live too....)
 
Good stuff. If good means bad for my wallet ;-) Out of interest, if you are using any Furman stuff, what UK supplier did you recommend?
 
How often would you be gigging it? If the answer is "not very often" then all you need is the axe and a midi controller and just use it with monitors!
 
Mewcenary said:
The shopping list doesn't really get any better, as I would 'need'...

* Axe FX 2 YES
* Rackmount case YES (small money)
* Power amp (mostly likely Matrix) Not @ the moment, use the Marshall
* Speakers!! Probably take the Matrix route again, as I don't have any cabs kicking around. Not @ the moment, use the Marshall

Hmm !
(That said, it could be argued I need some of the above to get the best sound output of the HD500 live too....)
Click to expand...






:)
 
Stratman68 said:
@OP
That's exactly how I felt 3 1/2 years ago while using my new new Boss GT 10 I frequented the forums at Boss. Kept hearing about this thing called axeFX? when I saw the price I was amazed. But everytime I went to the Boss GT forum someone would bring up the darn axeFX again.
So I bought a standard-then an upgraded to the Ultra and finally the II. I have never looked back - I have been playing a long, long time and the Axe is by far the best purchase I have ever made- musically :)
Click to expand...

EXACTLY the same thing here! Thank you so much BOSS for never updating your product or caring about your consumer base. I'm now a PROUD FAS user and have never been happier!!!
 
I was in the Same boat. Except I play in a Band Practice some and in Local Bars every once in a while.
I bought an Eleven Rack and Ended up wanting the AxeFX2.
I ended up using the Eleven Rack for my Singer/Rhythm Guitarist and bought the Axe2.
The Eleven Rack sounds good, but the Axe2 is so much more.
 
Stratman68 said:
@OP
That's exactly how I felt 3 1/2 years ago while using my new new Boss GT 10 I frequented the forums at Boss. Kept hearing about this thing called axeFX? when I saw the price I was amazed. But everytime I went to the Boss GT forum someone would bring up the darn axeFX again.
So I bought a standard-then an upgraded to the Ultra and finally the II. I have never looked back - I have been playing a long, long time and the Axe is by far the best purchase I have ever made- musically :)
Click to expand...
Same situation here... altho' coming from L6... took me 18 months to convince the boss and come up with the $$ and I was still unsure after I ordered my Ultra. When the Axe-II came out, there was NO HESITATION at all.. sold the Ultra. Bingo!
 
Similar to Roadrunner: I was a Line 6 user for many, many years. Over a dozen, actually.

I had moved from Guitarport>Toneport>Pod>Pod XT>PodHD500. In honesty, I loved them all EXCEPT the 500. It sounded better, for sure, but was harder to dial in, didn't have ANY of my favorite models in it (although they did just add the Soldano), the build quality was not nearly as solid (the middle part of the USB output just fell off - and it's a pretty common issue if you search their forums).

I too ended up buying the AxeII because I had the extra money. I too thought I'd be keeping the Pod HD as another source of sounds, as I had quite a few good presets I had been tweaking for the last 2 years.

I had the Axe FX for TWO DAYS when I sold the Pod, realizing I would never want to touch it again.

I hate hype. Every time I saw someone say the A-Fx "kills" or "blows away" the HD500, I assumed it was exaggeration. It is not. I wish I had bought it the second they came out, and had never settled for the HD500 for two years.
 
Run away! Run away! Or you will be pulled into the force of the black box!




Actually, not so bad. I've had mine for over three years. Best decision I ever made. And it took me a year to make it!
 
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