Has the Axe changed your tonal palette?

Speaking for myself, I only experienced the amps I could afford to buy. Throughout the years, the amps got better because I could afford better. So before the AxeIII I had experienced some Fenders, some Marshalls and some Mesas. I currently have a 5150 III and a Mark V. Both awesome amps.
But now, the world is at my feet and I'm experiencing sounds I've never heard before. My mind is absolutely blown by the diversity in this little box (ok not so little) and the instantly accessible tones. But I honestly can't imagine needing anything else at this point, and my perpetual GAS is completely gone. Now instead of looking for the next thing, I just want to play!
 
Fractal products definitely changed/expanded/improved my tonal palette. I have been playing over 40 years. I do studio work and play in a cover band and now original music in another band. Bottom line: I need a wide variety of tones. Over the years I have owned and used Fender, Peavey, Marshall and Mesa amps. I always had to learn to get the most tones possible from whatever amp I was using. The best one I had in my opinion was the Mesa Mk IV. It could cover all the tones I needed pretty well. I started with a used Ax Fx II and it blew my mind. I then bought an Ax8 and still use this as my main gig rig. I now have an Ax III primarily for recording. I am now able to use a wide variety of amps to dial in specific tones. I use 10 different amp models (Fenders, Marshalls, Friedmans, Vox, Morgan, Trainwrecks, Solos, OD, Carol Ann, Bogner). The next level was Cabs/IR’s. I’m just starting to scratch the surface but finding many really cool IR’s for specific tones. This Fractal experience has allowed me to learn so much about sculpting tone and using effects, EQ. Although I’m tweaking more these days, I’m also more inspired to play more than ever before. This thing is freakin cool!
 
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Yes. Now I can just push a button and get about any amp I could name.

For the largest portion of my guitar-playing life, I had to make whatever was around for cheap work for the sound I was trying to get.

Typically, this meant rewiring a cheaply acquired, undesirable SF Fender amp's preamp to get in the ballpark I was trying to get.

An old Fisher integrated HIFI amp, upgraded with Hammond 1620 output transformers, also served as my main amp for a couple years, with the preamp rewired like a HIWATT, and a mono-send/stereo-return loop for my Quadraverb.

I played through a modified old tube DuKane PA amp for a while, too. I built a 1x12" combo from scratch, about 40W of EL34 power into a G12M70 Celestion. I ran dry center channel through it and pulled a signal off its speaker output to run FX through a DECA512 stereo power amp and a couple 1x12" cabs.

Eventually, I ended up with a Hafler Hellrazor, a slaved modified Knight KM15 EL84-based HIFI monoblock, and a Quadraverb II, and that stereo power amp, all crammed into a 6 space SKB.

Then I tried the Vox ToneLab floorboard processor (the big blue one). That was an eye-opener. Suddenly things were easier to manipulate....

Now I am here. Every good bit from all of the different iterations of my late '80s and '90s rigs are in one preset, are easier to control, and sound/feel better, with less noise and better clarity, and which took me a couple hours to assemble and tweak....
 
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I'd have to say "somewhat". I'm still a fan of the same categories of tones. It's just that now I'm able to more easily have more of them, and sounding better than ever.
 
I don’t think my preferences have changed, but my ability to achieve them certainly has. I live in the city and don’t have access to a studio or jam space regularly, so I’ve always had pretty tame or lame tones available to me since I couldn’t exactly set up a Mesa stack in my living room. Now with the Axe FX I can get that sound in my practice and in my recordings. I’ve had compliments on my tone every time I’ve played out or jammed with people too, it’s simply an awesome device.
 
I never have gone for the over the top distortion amps. Before amp switching, I used a Fender Twin and a Marshall 800 and selected between them with a double pole double throw switch. Then later on I had a Mesa Road King and a Mesa MK4 in stereo, using the Mk 4 preamp, and the power section of both for stereo. With my rack, pedals and this set up, I was taking 1.5 hours setting up. You ask, why would you do all of that. For superior tone in a massive stereo field.

With all the amps in the Axe, I can still be happy with a Fender clean, and three more channels )Atomic, Friedman, Bogner, and Mesa all with different levels of gain. I have two rhythm channels and two lead. I load my presets down with as much as I can effect wise. This way I have have just a few presets for all night. I always have 4 channels of Amps, delays, reverbs and most of my other effects, so I have the same preset basically with different scenes. In other words I have a template and the only thing that changes is the structure of the scenes. I take full advantage of channels. I wish we had 8 channels and 16 scenes. With this I would only need one preset with 8 channel of all my amps and effects. I would then buy another FC12 and use one preset for all my gigs. I already have three expression pedals. This is consolidation and control in one preset
 
I load my presets down with as much as I can effect wise. This way I have have just a few presets for all night. I always have 4 channels of Amps, delays, reverbs and most of my other effects, so I have the same preset basically with different scenes. In other words I have a template and the only thing that changes is the structure of the scenes. I take full advantage of channels. I wish we had 8 channels and 16 scenes. With this I would only need one preset with 8 channel of all my amps and effects. I would then buy another FC12 and use one preset for all my gigs. I already have three expression pedals. This is consolidation and control in one preset

Your approach sounds similar to what I am doing in my main preset template. I have different versions with different amps, and have every other thing the same (and flexible enough to do a whole gig with), while I am zeroing in on which amps are my favorites.

Love those scenes for being able to reduce a complicated Fred Estaire routine to a single button tap! Scenes are the little plastic thingie that holds the 6-pack together, which I could only dream of in the '90s.

That said, I used to have one preset per song in the old days, and may set up some specialized ones for certain songs. The majority of one of my two FC12 templates is per-preset switches, too, so it is very flexible....
 
As others have noted, it has not changed my core tastes much but it has allowed me to form preferences in categories I would never have tone chased in otherwise.

I was always picky and tone chasing in my region of interest and my big ticket items are the same... but now I can form stronger affinities for stuff I never would have sought out or purchased by taste testing an authentic model of it; as well as sample and compare a wider range of amps in my main area of interest than I ever would have.
 
It has definitely changed my pallet for tone. I find that it has tested my resolve more than anything. When you get an AXE you are getting every major guitar tone ever created (for the most part). It takes self control to NOT get lost in tonal nirvana. I have to stop myself sometimes from going insane with my little AXE Lab.

Classic example is Leon’s post about the Quad Tape delay. after watching that video I got to tweaking and couldn’t stop trying new subtleties to get very different results (thanks Leon) two hours down the tubes:). The challenge is to make a clear decision of what sounds “the best”, because they all sound great in my opinion.

Yes I have decreased the gain on most all of my setting over time. Not because I’m to old for gainey sounds but because I like the nuance in pick attack and playing flavor with lower gain sounds. Much more expressive. Probably a result of the AXE factor.
 
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