Kelleys Heroes
Experienced
I just received this and have started to explore using the presets on my Axe-FX iii. FYI, I'm brand new to the modeling/frfr speaker world, so my only basis for comparison is playing the Axe through my inexpensive JBL studio monitors. Other than that I have spent decades using vintage Fenders, pretty much exclusively.
I picked this up for a few reasons: price ($450), weight (~25 lbs.), and its purported ability to handle both guitar and bass (one of my main criteria). The fact that this unit has tone control, low and high pass filters and pad seemed like very useful things for making quick adjustments (esp. when switching from guitar to bass during a gig). Also, as a brand new product I figure I will be able to sell this pretty easily down the road if it does not meet my needs.
First I spent some time playing my Strat through more straightforward amp settings on the Axe: Fender Twin, Bassman, AC15, DR and Princeton. Mostly clean, with OD and reverb. Some of the presets sounded really good, the Twin for instance. Others have a sort of strange metallic sound to them, like the Princeton. Unnatural, unpleasant and reminiscent of some other Class D amps I have played in the past. I am too new to this to know if the issue is with the amp, the Axe or perhaps just with the individual presets. With the presets I liked, I really liked the amount of clean headroom this amp has!
I then played my Fender Jazz bass through the one bass amp model I could find on the Axe-FX. It was reminiscent of playing direct with a sans amp- certainly not a bad starting point. It got pretty loud, but I can't really tell how this will hold up in a whole band situation.
I'm not too impressed with the size and layout of the whole thing. It is a fairly large cube, so actually less easy to transport than a heavier and slimmer amp (like my vintage DR). The handle and the Input jack being on the top also make it awkward to stack a rack on top and still have access to the controls.
Next up is testing this with acoustic guitar and vocal for solo gigs, and then getting experience on an actual electric gig. I still have a way to go to get comfortable playing my III in a live situation, but at least I am confident that this will work as a starting point!
I picked this up for a few reasons: price ($450), weight (~25 lbs.), and its purported ability to handle both guitar and bass (one of my main criteria). The fact that this unit has tone control, low and high pass filters and pad seemed like very useful things for making quick adjustments (esp. when switching from guitar to bass during a gig). Also, as a brand new product I figure I will be able to sell this pretty easily down the road if it does not meet my needs.
First I spent some time playing my Strat through more straightforward amp settings on the Axe: Fender Twin, Bassman, AC15, DR and Princeton. Mostly clean, with OD and reverb. Some of the presets sounded really good, the Twin for instance. Others have a sort of strange metallic sound to them, like the Princeton. Unnatural, unpleasant and reminiscent of some other Class D amps I have played in the past. I am too new to this to know if the issue is with the amp, the Axe or perhaps just with the individual presets. With the presets I liked, I really liked the amount of clean headroom this amp has!
I then played my Fender Jazz bass through the one bass amp model I could find on the Axe-FX. It was reminiscent of playing direct with a sans amp- certainly not a bad starting point. It got pretty loud, but I can't really tell how this will hold up in a whole band situation.
I'm not too impressed with the size and layout of the whole thing. It is a fairly large cube, so actually less easy to transport than a heavier and slimmer amp (like my vintage DR). The handle and the Input jack being on the top also make it awkward to stack a rack on top and still have access to the controls.
Next up is testing this with acoustic guitar and vocal for solo gigs, and then getting experience on an actual electric gig. I still have a way to go to get comfortable playing my III in a live situation, but at least I am confident that this will work as a starting point!
