parlopower
Inspired
I received my Axe from G66 last Thursday, unpacked it Friday. Contained the usual box of chocolates and personalized letter. G66 are awesome, Jaques provides great service.
Set it up in my lounge for now since my small studio room is currently stuffed full with things I need to bring to the recycling center, dispose of, etc. etc. and I will only get back to working in there in a few weeks again. That means: For now, only headphones.
Connection to my Macbook Pro seamless, integration into Cubase 9.5 Pro perfect.
First I did a listening test, played back some music to check out the converter quality (and headphones amp quality in that case). Sound better than the DA of the Axe Fx II, definitely audible. I found the conversion of the Axe II quite average compared to other audio interfaces, it was good but nothing special, but the III is definitely a step up. Really looking forward to use it with my studio monitors! (It will be the new center piece of my studio, will be used as audio interface a lot.)
Then plugged the guitar in. First impression is that everything sounded more pristine, more defined and clearer than on the II. Not too much of a difference, rather subtle, but I thought I noticed it. Amp sim quality on the II was already so good that I wondered how it could still be improved upon. Well, I must confess I only had time to test a few models (mostly EVH 5153s, Brit 800s) and I did not notice that much of a difference yet. Maybe it becomes more obvious with other amps (vintage Fenders maybe?), maybe it will come with future Ares versions.
User interface on both display and Axe Edit is a dream. So easy to dial something up. Love the new options regarding scene and channel switching, makes the box much more powerful.
What is a real problem for me right now is the crazy amount of cabs. I am fiddling around and around and cannot decide which cab (or even combination of cabs!) I like best. I must say that that was way easier for me on the II, the limitation in numbers helped me to make decisions. I think for starters, I will stick in many cases with the Legacy cabs, especially those that have already cab mixes like the TV Mix, 5153 Mix etc., and then my all time favourite for any Marshall type amp, the Legacy Pre-Rola 55 M160. I mean, just because now they are "Legacy", they have not become bad, have they...
All in all, I am very happy I sold my II and upgraded to the III. The best has just become better.
Set it up in my lounge for now since my small studio room is currently stuffed full with things I need to bring to the recycling center, dispose of, etc. etc. and I will only get back to working in there in a few weeks again. That means: For now, only headphones.
Connection to my Macbook Pro seamless, integration into Cubase 9.5 Pro perfect.
First I did a listening test, played back some music to check out the converter quality (and headphones amp quality in that case). Sound better than the DA of the Axe Fx II, definitely audible. I found the conversion of the Axe II quite average compared to other audio interfaces, it was good but nothing special, but the III is definitely a step up. Really looking forward to use it with my studio monitors! (It will be the new center piece of my studio, will be used as audio interface a lot.)
Then plugged the guitar in. First impression is that everything sounded more pristine, more defined and clearer than on the II. Not too much of a difference, rather subtle, but I thought I noticed it. Amp sim quality on the II was already so good that I wondered how it could still be improved upon. Well, I must confess I only had time to test a few models (mostly EVH 5153s, Brit 800s) and I did not notice that much of a difference yet. Maybe it becomes more obvious with other amps (vintage Fenders maybe?), maybe it will come with future Ares versions.
User interface on both display and Axe Edit is a dream. So easy to dial something up. Love the new options regarding scene and channel switching, makes the box much more powerful.
What is a real problem for me right now is the crazy amount of cabs. I am fiddling around and around and cannot decide which cab (or even combination of cabs!) I like best. I must say that that was way easier for me on the II, the limitation in numbers helped me to make decisions. I think for starters, I will stick in many cases with the Legacy cabs, especially those that have already cab mixes like the TV Mix, 5153 Mix etc., and then my all time favourite for any Marshall type amp, the Legacy Pre-Rola 55 M160. I mean, just because now they are "Legacy", they have not become bad, have they...
All in all, I am very happy I sold my II and upgraded to the III. The best has just become better.