3 years with a standard - my AFX2 just turned up. Blog.

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paulmapp8306

Fractal Fanatic
Well, the boss gave me time off this morning to wait for Parcelforce to deliver the new toy. After waiting since May 11th for this thing - and despite owning the AFX Standard for over 3 years now I was giddy.

it arrived, and although I had to go into work - I couldnt resist a short (with ended up not so short) look at it. Delivery was to be before 12 - and it turned up at 10 so I figured an hour or 2 playing wouldnt make me late :)

So - out of the box it came - with a large box of "thank you for your patience" chocolates. I think the Wife will get those as shie isnt going to see me much this week ::)

I put it in the rack - and hooked all the cables up. Firstly to my main desktop PC running XP. this is my Music Pc and I run Pro Tools LE7.3 via an MBox. Unfortunately this version of Pro Tools does not cater for 3rd party hardware - so hooking the AFX2 up via USB to make use of the 2 stereo inputs (one fully affected - one dry for re-amping later) and stereo output (to supply that dry track for re-amping, or just for playing Backing Tracks to practice via the AFX2 onboard headphone output) wasnt an option. But I have a cunning plan :thumb: It will still hook up via the XLR outputs on the AFX2 for audio into Pro Tools, and via Midi (in and out) to control the AFX2 via Axe Edit (software editor). Ive been doing this for a liong time with the standard - and the whole thing sinked in no problem.

Next - My Laptop running W7. I havent used this for music before - its my browsing/gaming machine. Well, I had loaded Axe Edit onto this as well, then ran the USB drivers. The AFX2 sinked here no problems either. Axe Edit opened up and controlled the AFX2 over the USB link. So - what I am going to do is all my main music - mixing, plugins etc in Pro-Tools (as all my plugins inc Melodyne, BFD, Ozone etc are all RTAS) - BUT - when I record the guitar, Ill export ithe track in WAV files to the W7 laptiop where I will run a free/cheap DAW. This will allow re-amping and dual tracking and I can then export them back to PT on the desktop for any further work. I had loaded Reaper (Trial Version) to make sure it all worked - and it does. Recording into Reaper via USB is easy as pie and as per advertised I got a stereo wet sound, and a stero dry (no amp sims - just the guitar signal) into seperate track. Whether I pay the Reaper licence or try and find a free DAW (as it doesnt need much functionality) I havent decided. Ill have to see what there is around.

Another touch - the MFC controller will connect to the AFX2 Via Cat45 (Ethernet) - meaning the AFX2 can be hooked up via midi and XLR to the desktop, via USB to the Laptop AND to the MFC for control via the Cat45 all at the same time. Actually in my case, Ethercon not Ethernet as I dont trust the plastic locking ends of Cat45 cables when being plugged in/out a lot. I put converters in my rear patch pannel on the rack, and onto the pedalboard - and the MFC works flawlessly.

Next - sound. The fully sim'd (inc cab sim) sounds via the PCs and my Event TR5s were nice - a little better than the standard but not worlds. Via headphones it wasnt great, but then my phones arnt great either. if I do a lot of work via these Ill need a better pair. Now - into the Matrix GT800fx and my cab - which is how I ran the standard 99% of the time. Running through the presets - the first 40 of which are just amp (and cab which i bypassed globally) and reverb. WOW The clean/just breaking tones are imo quite a big improvement over the gen 1 unit. Amp types I never really got on with sprang to life. OK some patches based on the amps I DO use on the standard wernt such a bit improvement BUT Ive spent 3 years fine tuning those - and these were default patches straight out of the box. The gainy tones were less of an improvement BUT I havent played with the new parameters. it took me 30 minutes to get off the Delux Reverb model (preset 4) alone.

Next - and quickly as I was runnning out of time. played with a sim - the Delux Reverb I couldnt tear myself away from. As well as the old (and I felt quite exaustive) parameters are a whole raft of new ones. Valve hardness, Tetrode/Triode modes, amp characture (neutral, vintage, dark, warm, bright) which each add a "flavour" - and many more. I played a little and its obvious how easy (compared to gen 1 units) you can tune one amp to your own taste. There are X/Y controls as well. This gives you 2 versions of a block that can be toggled via Midi, or front pannel and I intend to use this for amps (though you can do the same with delays, reverbs etc and all at the same time). With the Standard, i used a modifyer attached to the amps gain control so when toggling a switch on my board, the gain level toggled up/down. It worked well but is actually pretty crude - just like turning up the gain on a real amp without touching anything else - and also (inevitably) led to a volume increase. Id got round this using a filter after the amp to compensate (turning on/off automatically when the gain toggled). Well, with the X/Y its GREAT. I can change ALL the parameters - up the gain AND the master (for more power amp crunch) alter the EQ so it doesnt get flubby, turn on the bright switch to help it cut AND change the output level so the volume remains the same. :vim:

Finally in this initial session as work was calling, I decided to see how much I could put in a patch. On the standard I got most of what I wanted - though when I turned the cabs on I sometimes had to diable on of the FX blocks or I ran out of CPU. Well the AFX allows MUCH more. I set up the following patch (I used a feedback loop to make space in the grid):

Compressor - Wah - Shunt(incase I want to add something) - Drive 1 - Drive 2 - Amp - Filter - Filter (Im going to tie these filters to Drive 1 and 2 so the volume stays the same when they engage) - Chorus - Phaser - Flanger - rotary - tremolo - Synth - Shunt (again incase I want to add something) - Delay - Mega tap delay - Revervb - Cab (for recording) - PEQ (para EQ to allow final toneshaping post cab).

I had 2 sets of amp settings in the amp block as well. Total CPU useage - 82%.

So - im now at work typing this, and having mixed thoughts about designing my patches. Mixed bacause I am happy with the ones I had and tended to just play, but now Im a little daunted as Im going to have to work to get them programed on the AFX2, but also (at the same time) happy at all the new parameters to play with.

Ill post some more as I go through things, probably at work over this week as I cant see me being able to drag myself away from the new box for a while.
 
I've been going through half the presets not using X/Y. Do you know if the presets now have been adapted to include this in a meaningful way? Just some, or many? Thx. (not at work, but still too lazy to try ;) No, just wondering...)
 
There not there by default. I jusy copied X to Y, then adjusted the gain/master/EQ/Level parameters so it almost worked like a seconf channel of the same amp. Works a treat.
 
paulmapp8306 said:
But I have a cunning plan :thumb:
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Your name's not Baldrick, is it? ;)

Your inital thought reflect mine, although I noticed a healthy improvement with the high gain sounds.
I'm still in the same boat: happy 'bout all the new features (and of course the sounds) but daunted because of all the work I have to do.
And I don't want to reproduce all my old patches, instead improve them while I'm at it.
 
So - Last night the wife left me alone

Im concious that I should be posting my complete "patch developmet" with the AFX2, as its been covered ain many on many forums by many people. Its more about how the 2 compares with the 1 I guess. Still.

First 2 hours (before the kids went to sleep) were donw with amp/cab. I settled on the Delux Reverb amp block for my "Fender Clean" tone. I developed a "patch" format that Ill use for all patches (initially and spent time not only dialling on the amp tone, but also all the other FX blocks - getting all the contrles right (from the MFC) and all the levels ballanced. i also dug out a graphic representation of the FM curve. I took a reading of my typical home volume level (76 to 80 db if your interested) and guessed at a live gigsd level (110db - is that about right). I then worked out how the ear hears differently at those levels. the graphs show the "lowest volume to detect" a certain freq at certain vol levels - and are pretty much even at 1Khz (so that freq remains flat and is the reference). If the graph showed a freq to be more sensetive at lower volumes (250 and 500 hz) I lowered that slider in the global EQ. if it was less sensitive (low freq and high feqs) I raised it. The ammount was taken from the graphs - so for instance, at both 110db and 80db the 1Khz band showed the lower level to be the same (110 and 80db). At 500hz (for example) following the 110db line, the level of audiability is more like 103db, so -7db from the reference. At the 80db reference, the 500hz freq line was 70db, so -10db. the difference is 3db SO I set the 500hz slider to -3db (because hearing is 3db more sensitive to this freq at that volume level). Sounds complex but it ist. I did this for all the sliders in the graphic. When I play at gig level, Ill use the other output (thats currectly flat) and spend some time EQing that for live use. I can then either leave them, OR transpose the "live" graph to the "home" graph - so If I have to lower the 125hz slider and 8khz slider for live by 2db - Ill then re-set them flat BUT also raise those sliders in the home setting. I may need to re-tune my patches then though - so I may just leave them.

ANYWAY - the patch is:

Compressor:

went for a pedal type (like the Keeley) rather than the studio. Its cruder but for pure guitar tones does what you expect a compressor to do. If Im recording I could use the studio comp instead but for live I think this is the choice.

WAH:

Easy this. Set up a custom sweep in one of the modifyers (similar to what I had in the standard) set start/mid and end frequencies. Set it to auto engage when I move my pedal and thats it - Im done. Sounds really funky with the clean tone but I may beed to change the freq's or sweep with more drive.

Graphic EQ:

Left this flat for now. Its just there so if I need any "pre drive" EQ for any patch I can use this.

Shunt:

In case I want to add a block later

Drive 1:

Set this up using the Xotic BB Pre amp model. Its a smooth full sound but without any mid bump. Perfect on clean amp settings, though I may change this for something more like a straight boost (Fet Drive or Tape drive) OR for something with more characture (either toppier or more middy) with patches based on gainier amps.

Drive 2:

Ditto the above. i used the fulltone Fulldrive block. I set it with less drive but more level than the BB - so Its less of a gain increase but pushes the amp harder.

Amp:

As i said - the Delux Reverb Sim. Included int he Amp block is now an 8 band Graphic. I left it flat for this amp but it will be usefull to finetune higher gain amps. LOTS of fun parameters in this bock - even more than before. i spent some time messing with them (just to see what the effect was) but left them at default for this amp/patch. I may tweek them later when I get to play at volume.

The amp block has an "X/Y" facility. Basically like having 2 amp blocks in one that can be toggled with a switch. I set the "Y" amp the same as above, then changed the gain, EQ settings and level so it was like a second "drive2 channel of the same amp set to the same volume. Less of a gain increase than using the drives and a subtly EQW difference to help it cut a little.

When I tried it I had a "DOH" moment. the MFX controller has twin colour LEDs. Basically the LED is off if the assigned "block" is not present in a preset. Its RED if its there but not engaged and its "GREEN" when its on. This led to a little condfusion, because with the X/Y funcion X is deemed as off and Y as on - so contrary to all my instinct, a RED LED means the clean channel of my amp and GREEN meant dirty. I just felt it shoudl be the other way round. No big deal really, I just changed the settings so the X setting was my dirty sound and the Y was my clean. The Point to note for future patches is that its "normal" to program an amp when you toggle the amp block - which defaults to the X setting. I MUST remember to toggly to Y Before I start designing my amp tones.



Filter 1 then Filter 2.

These are tied to Drive 1 and Drive 2 (that is come on with the same switch on the floorboard). There flat as far as frequency goes, but the level is raised (generally if the drive block has low level but higher drive) or lowered (if the drive block has low drive but hiogh level - so drives the amp block harder) so that when the drive blocks are engaged the overall volume stays the same.


Shunt:

In case I want to add a block later.

Chourus, Phaser, Flanger, Tremolo and Rotory.

5 Blocks, then I left pretty default for now (time constraints). the only things I changed were the mix (where appropriate) the depth and the temp (that I tied to the global tap tempo for each). One note on the flanger - the through Zero is really nice, but I opted fopr the analogue for now. Oh and the phaser has some presets "script 45" and "script 90" may be familiar. I went for the latter.

Delay:

This is a bog standard single delay line. Set the temp to the global tap tempo, and decided on the Analogue Mono model. It has the degrading repeats of analogue units and for the Fender sim I felt it worked. I also liked the digital, the tape and the 2290 delays - all of which will be usefull for other patches.

Multi Tap Delay:

I left this default for now as it will need work to set up. I have also set the Megatap delay to respond to the same footswitch button, so I can substitute this block as necessary.

Reverb:

speaks for itself. I liked the room, hall, plate and spring most. I went for a spring on this one.

Cab:

Ideally, all the modulation FX - particularly the reverb should come after this block - however Im heading off the time I want to sent a feed to a desk with cabs on and one to my amp/cab with them off. Having it last in the chain makes it possible without me missing any FX. I set it default for now though as I was using Amp/Cab.

Para EQ:

Last block, and basically there so I can set my sounds for Amp/Cabuse, BUT all the parameter in the Cab block AND the 5 Band Para EQ to "tune" the tone that would go to Front of house.

So that it. 2 hours down - BUT a better souning clean that I got with the standard. the drives work better as well. Seriously I could use this one patch for a whole gig if it was Blues/funk based (which many are).
 
OK - so after dinner and its on with the headphones.

I started out tuning the Cab block with the Fender patch. There are more parameters here than Gen 1 units as well. I like that you can select the cab size/speaker combination then alter the can size. That is you can select a 1x12 using an EL12l (which I did for this patch) then change the "size" of the cabinet the speaker is loaded in. I found with the EV I needed to make it smaller to bring some sparkle, bit with the 1x12 blackface conbination I needed to enlarge it to give some body. Out of the two methods I prefered the smaller EV sim so thats what I used.

The Mic sim has changed a little as well. The same options but you can now add the proximity of the mic (though not the angle or direction -as in cone, edge of cone etc). Its subtle but usefull to add/remove bas effects.

There is also now a "room" parameter. It basically adds a short reverb which sounds a little odd on single notes - but with a reverb block on as well actually adds a feeling of being more real if that makes sense.

I didnt use the PEQ block - I didnt feel the need. Overall, surprisingly similar to the sound I weas hearing from my real cab - despite that being a 2x12 with V30 and G12H. Strange BUT trust yourears not your eyes.

so where next - well I copied the patch twice, abnd worked on a Marshal crunch tone and a higher gain more modern tone.

for the Marshall Crunch I went for a 1987x model. I did use the EQ section in the amp block for this one as I needed to take out some top end fizz and some flub. Im not reading anything into this as It is probably my headphones not the AFX. I chose a 4x12 G12m loaded cab and it sounded OK. I plugged my MP3 playing into the back of the AFX, and -- well. Iplayed to "smoke on the water" and "boys are back in town". REALLY nice. i kept the same drive blocks though altered the EQ for a bigger push in the higher mids - lovely.

I did the same for the high gain - choosing a Fryette Deliverance sim. Much harder work this. Fizzy, topy, no bottom -- all the horrible things BUT as I say, my phones arnt great and Im not used to mic'd up tones in general. I worked for a while adding some body, and smoothing out the highs until It was more how I liked it. Playing to a couple of 80s hair metal songs and I needed to put back a lot of the things Id changed seemes the sound I didnt like actually fitted perfectly - oh well you live and learn. just prooves to me I wouldnt be happy with an FRFR system (for the higher gain stuff at least) because I wouldnt be happy hearing that sound out of context (which you will to an extent).

Well - where are we. HALF PAST TEN - WHAT !!!. the wife was is bed and I was thirsty. Oh well, DRAG myself away grab a drink and off to bed. Can I pursuade the wife to let me play again tonight ?
 
When I tried it I had a "DOH" moment. the MFX controller has twin colour LEDs. Basically the LED is off if the assigned "block" is not present in a preset. Its RED if its there but not engaged and its "GREEN" when its on. This led to a little condfusion, because with the X/Y funcion X is deemed as off and Y as on - so contrary to all my instinct, a RED LED means the clean channel of my amp and GREEN meant dirty.
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This part is good to know! Im getting mine today!!:p
 
Very nice blog. I like to read things like this.

P.S. Cab Size doesn't simulate changing the size of the Cab but rather the speaker.
 
So - what did I do last night. Not much 2 reasons really. Firstly I was locked away from the familiy Monday night - Im out hooking up with someone to play louder tonight and am working Fri night so i really needed some family time. Secondly the Callaham Tele Bridge turned up and I wanted to get that fitted.

I did get an hour and a half though. First I looked at the two patches Id done via headphones - the Marshall and Fryette driven tones - but with cabs turned off and via my amp/cab. Not quite what I wanted, though in hindsight, they were probably fine for a band situation. I thought there was a lack of body/bass and too much in the high mids/trebble area. These are things that often need changing in a patch to fit in a mix, so maybe I had it right first time. Anyway, I spend 10 minutes or so tweeking them, which was basically flattening the graphic EQ in the amp block that Id used. sounded pretty OK once id done that.

As Im getting the 15 patches I used on the standard re-done Im not being too picky at present. Ill fine tune as Im using them at home later. Next up then were the darker, higher gained but still "classic" tone and the all out modern one.

For the Darker one I used an Orange Rockerverb sim in the Standard so I went for the same amp sim in the AFX2. I just copied the patch from the Marshal one and changed the amp type. The gain was increased (in both X and Y amps) and I tuned the gain a little. Really didnt take much work to get a nice FAT tone. Not in a dumble way - its not that smooth, but theres much more body than the Marshall and the drive is more compressed. Its REALLY good with a Tele, and also with the PRS CU fitted with Mules. Its a little muddy with the HFS fitted PRS CE. Thats not a problem really. The thing Id done with the Standard was create all my patches with the PRS CU (though it had Dragon 2s in at the time) as I didnt own my strat, hardly used my Tele and my PRS CE was more of a backup. I had decided this time I would create patches using the guitar Id most likely use with that patch - then fine tune using another guitar. For the clean tones that meant design the patches on the Strat and confirm with the Tele. For mid gain tones it is design with the PRS/Mule OR Strat (depending on what I intend to use the patch for) and confirm with the other and possible the Tele. for the higher gain patches ill design using the PRS CE (with HFSs) and confirm with the Mule loaded PRS.

Next up modern high gain - I copied the patch again, and changed the amp sim. In the standard Id used the Deizel sim, but when I selected that I wasnt that taken this time round. My tastes may have changed, or Id tweeked the patch quite away from default on the standard. Anyway, I had a flick through the sims on offer (still havent actually listened to them all - I really need to do that), and found a few I liked. The Uber was MUCH nicer on the 2, the FAS Modern was great, as was the Soldano X99 pre, the Cameron and the HBE - but I settled (not least because I wanted more traditional amps in bank 1 - bar the Fryette cos I just like those) for the Recto Modern Red. Really didnt take much dialling in. I needed to loose some bass and add some cut on the higher gain setting, and generally turn the master vol down to 4/5 ( the others were at 7/10 - even the Fryette as there based on mmore vintage style amps). Im not a metal nut so this is something Im not likely to use much live - its just for the odd bit of fun. I dont claim to know that style of music well or what makes a great high gain modern tone BUT it will do for me for now.

So - I have my first 5 patches going from clean through crunch to higher gain classic, to an 80s/90s rock to a modern sound. Banks 2 & 3 will morror those but will use differnt amps (often the more exotic, but I will use an AC30 TB and a Mese Mk2 somewhere as I really like those). that wont be until next week. As i said, tonight Im out playing the 2 with a couple of friends - and will also get to try a Ceriatone Dumble clone. Thursday is my daughters swim club and Im at work Friday night. That said, Friday is an overnight on call thing (though I have to stay in a bunk at work) so Ill take the rack, a guitar and some phones. Ill work on tuning the cab sims and the post cab PEQ to work with the patches Im already fairly happy with in amp/cab mode.
 
If you like the Recto Red, try the Recto Orng Mdrn as well.
Heavy, and an unbelievable amount of sub bass (if you like that).
 
Back from a night with a couple of friends. Had a great time, played the AFX2 LOUD Tried his Ceriatone for a short while nd a lovely Semi (not his).

Kept things fairly simple but really enjoyed things. The AFX2 got very close to the Dumble Clone in only a couple of minutes - this despite me using a 2x12 with V30 and G12h while the Ceriatone was plugged into a 1x12 with an EV12L.

Also prooved that my EQ curve wasnt far off. I had to raise the 125hz band by 1db and also the 4Khz by 1db but that was it. the Matrix fully driving my cab (at 60w ish) with flat EQ - then backed off to my home levels with the EQ curve sounded very very close. you miss the "gut punch" and some of the dynamics but thats a pure sound pressure thing - nothing you can do to compensate really. Tonally though it was fine, and the patches i had programmed at home translated very well to volume for the most part - the exception being the Uber, full on metal gain which i wasnt so keen on loud. need to work on that one.

Heres a post one made on another forun - he has great ears and I value his opinion. He also tried my Strat which has a newly fitted Super Vee Bladerunner Trem and one of the companies Mag-Lok devices:

"Had a great night with Paul & my mate (he's Paul too) putting the Axe II through it's paces with a healthy dose of VOLUME Apologies in advance for my poor descriptions of the tones we tried but they were all good!

What really impressed me about the new unit was the improved chime and dynamics of the cleaner amp models, particularly the Fender Deluxe and the Bognor Shiva. These really responded well to picking dynamics - without having to turn down the guitar volume you could go from nice crystalline cleans by picking lightly, to on the edge of breakup (and a bit more) by digging in a bit more just like a good valve amp. Paul got very close to replicating the clean side of my Bluesmaster and I'd say given time to do a bit more tweaking, he could get even closer as he knows the AxeFX pretty much inside out even though he's only had a week and a bit to play with the new parameters.

I still prefer the clean sound of my amp but as regards drive sounds the Axe wins hands down - it just has all bases covered. Not only do you have every cool amp you can think of but it also has several new models of some very nice vintage and boutique pedals. We tried it most of the night at gig volume but Paul also let us hear some of the patches at his designated 'home' volume and they sounded great too, retaining the character of the amp.

It was great to try Paul's strat too - The Kinman pickups were slighly darker sounding than the Fralins in my strat but they had great upper end chime and harmonics and the hum-cancelling doesnt affect the single coil quality to the sound at all. The Kinmans seem to handle driven sounds especially well.

The Maglock gadget worked flawlessly. To test it I rang an open (top) E string and did some vicious bends on the B and G strings to see if the E note would go flat - happy to report that it didn't. The Bladerunner tremelo bridge was a real eye opener for me - whilst being slightly stiffer in operation than a stock Fender (no biggie there) I was startled by how much abuse it could take, yet return to pitch flawlessly. Very very impressive.

All in all a great night.... thanks again to Paul for coming down and demoing the Axe2 - much appreciated. I know he's also been a great help to my mate Paul in helping him learn how to program the foot controller jobbie.

Paul - you really should be demoing these units - can't imagine many other mortals would have the know-how that you have...

Cheers"


"
 
Looks like you've tamed the beast already, well done. Looking forward to trying some of your presets.
 
I wouldnt say tamed Yek. Ive hardly touched the advanced parameters. i changed the sag a little in some amps as I felt lowering it was a good way of taking out a little harsh top in higher gain amps rather than just using EQ. i also played with the B+ one and the bright cap value on another. i have also used the amp blocks graphic a coupe of times to fine tune a little BUT I havent touched the new grid modelling, valve hardness or grid freqs yet. Once I get my stock 15 patches up and running to a workable level (Ive got 10 so far but the Uber needs changing) ill start to play with the extra goodies on the 2.

Oh - I did play with the saturation on one. We tried a stock patch - cant remember the name but its the one with the ODS and Wrecher in parallel. We upped the gain of the wrecher, and turned on the saturation to make it all "furry" then backed off the volume level compared to the ODS. it was beautifull - a full ODS tone with some fizzly/fur around the edge of the notes when you played hard - really quite dynamic.
 
How does it sound through headphones and/or your studio monitors? I think you mentioned at the outset that through headphones it didn't sound particularly good. I wasn't sure what monitors you had. I have Tannoy Reveals. I'd just be keeping my fingers crossed it'd sound good, but that's a $2100 gamble, so I don't want to dive in blind.

Thanks.
 
My headphones are Sennheiser HD200s - which are OK but nothing special. It sounds better through my monitors which are Event TR5s - so similar standard to the Reveals.

its not BAD, in fact listening to some CDs and paying attention to the guitar tones, its very close. I guess Im just not as happy with "processed2 or "mic'd" tones when Im playing - I like a good old amp feel.
 
OK, possibly the last post in this blog unless something of particular note comes us.

I was working a 24 hour shift Fri/Sat, however this consists mainly of being on call, on site. As such I have a room with a TV, bed and phone in it. I took the opportunity to take the AFX2, a guitar and some headphones in. first off, i completed my 15 main sound choices - though with cab sims. I have tried them today with my Amp/Cab rig at home and most transposed well with minor tweeks. Mostly adding a little gain.

So - what did I settle on, what changed from my Standard set up and why. I run 3 banks of 5 sounds. Each bank has tones running from clean (left) to full on high gain modern stuff (right), and each bank contains different versions of those tones. Each tone has twin gain levels and 2 drive box sims, so I could live with a single patch on some gigs. So they are:

Clean. Generally stay clean however I hit the strings though one does start to drive. the second "channel" of the amp stays clean when played soft, but drives nicely with more attack. The three sims I settled on are: Fender Delux Reverb, Shiva and Dr Z. Thats the same as previously with the exception of the Delux which has replaced a Brownface. Similar tones, but with the G2 sims I just thought the Delux was nicer.

Crunch. Ranging from the "second channel clean" characturistics to crunchy. i settled on a Marshall 1987x, an AC30TB and a HiWatt. Again similar to the standard prifile with the HiWatt taking the place of a Buddah. The Buddah was similar to the Marshall where as the HiWatt is more like the AC30 I guess. It may change back- but at present I really like the HiWatt (could never get it to work in the Gen 1 unit).

Drive. This is from classic Rock Crunch, up to early 80s type sounds. I went for an Orange Rockerverb, a Cameron (Souped Marshall clone) and a Carol Ann. The CA is for smooth sounds a la Dumble. The Orange and Carol Ann were present in the standard profile, but the Cameron has taken the place of a Mesa Mk11c. The Cameron is a new model and for me does what I couldnt quite get the Plexis (and varients) to do so its in.

Traditional high Gain. This is high gain sounds, but not modern. Think late 80s/early 90s. Amps taking these spots are a Fryette(VHT) Deliverance, a Soldano SLO Lean and a Marshall JVM. the fryette was a staple of my gen 1 set and I saw no reason to change. the Soldano was also present in my old set though it used to be the x99 not the SLO. The JVM is a surprise. Its a more modern sound at heart but tweeking it just felt right for its use. it did take the place of another Marshall though - a JCM800.

Modern High Gain. not my Genre but I like to have them available. Amps chosen were a Recto (modern Red), a Bogner Uberchelle, and Fractals own Modern amp. Again, the Recto and FAS Modern were in my old setup, but the Bogner has replaced the Deizel sim. I just think this time round the Bogner has it - and it was close last time.

i may set up a 4th bank with the amps i discarded, as its one from each sound - but that can wait for now.

What else did i do - well I had a really good play with some with the new parameters. I hadnt changed any "advanced" parameters while putting my sounds together as I wanted to understand them first. i wont mention all the options, as I covered a lot of those when I went though the standard, but the ones I will mention really make a difference to the sounds. Most are new, one it old but changed. They tend to go in pairs as well.

1. Transformer Characturistics. this has two parameters - the "match" and the "drive". i wont go into what they actually model (as I might be slightly wrong) but more the effect on the sound. The match when increased saturates the PSU more - and results in a fizzyer tone to the distortion, and the sound distorting earlier. Reducing it makes the amp harder to drive into saturation and when it does its a harder sound. its very useful to tune the amp so that the amp goes into the right amount of crunch when the guitar strings are hit harder, and for that crunch to have the right vibe - be it a soft almost fuzz, to quite a hard distortion. This is the parameters that lead to Kierans comments about reacting to pick dynamics.

2. Valve Hardness. Again two parameters - one for the Preamp section and one for the power. Both do the same thing but to the different valves. Its hard to explain exactly what it does - and it is quite subtle, but useful for tuning. it doesnt affect the attack of the note - but the attack characteristics of the distortion itself. Low values give a soft edge clip - kind of like a tubescreemer and gives a more compressed feel on higher gain tones, where as higher values produce a quicker attack and makes the distortion harsher - more like a Boss SD, or a Rat pedal and privides an "in your face" agression for higher gain tones.. Depending on whether its the pre or post valve you adjust depends whether the drive is always there (pre) or if it changes the distortion fell at higher vol and pick attack levels (power). You can set if us so you get a hard edge drive when picking softly but it gets more compressed and softer as you pick harder - or indeed the opposite.

3. Tetrode grid freq. again two parameters - one for valve one and one for valve 2. You can think of this like a high/trebble cut I guess. its not like a treble or presence control as it doesnt interact with the rest of the tonestack. It means that you can tame the highs of an amp you find too bright, without having to change the overall feel that you like (by having to change amp sims). I tried it on my Fryette patch as that has a treble peak. In the gen 1 units I tamed it by reducing the bright cap value. I felt with the BC off the amp was too dark and adding trbble/presence to compensate didnt work - with the BC on it was too much. Reducing the value helped but you lost some aggression as well. With these new parameters i could roll the Freq back (on one valve only) and it solved the issue much better. Tamed the high freq while retaining the aggression. I also found turning the bright cap off, increasing treble and presence a little while reducing the grid freq a little also gave a really nice classic tone but with more drive.

so -thats about it I guess. A week in (nearly) and i have sorted my patches, played with the cab sims and dived into the new parameters. is it worth the money? well yes I feel. If you buy new then you have no choice, and there is enough of a difference coming from the standard to make it worth the jump. Coming from an Ultra and its closer, though I still thing the G2 amp sims make it worth the jump. i do - however - think given the used prices (and more availability), it is worth going for a Gen 1 unit if your new to modelling. if you dont like it you wont loose much (if anything), and if you do you can move up the the AFX2 - again with little loss on the Gen 1 Unit.
 
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paulmapp8306 said:
My headphones are Sennheiser HD200s - which are OK but nothing special. It sounds better through my monitors which are Event TR5s - so similar standard to the Reveals.

its not BAD, in fact listening to some CDs and paying attention to the guitar tones, its very close. I guess Im just not as happy with "processed2 or "mic'd" tones when Im playing - I like a good old amp feel.
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When listening to the Axe2 through monitors would it be best to turn the mic sims off? I assume you can't (or wouldn't want) to turn the cab sims off.

My main dilemma is as follows: I own just about every real tube amp I could ever want. I'd only be interested in the Axe2 for recording or possibly for playing through my monitors along with backing tracks of my own creation (computer and drum machine are both hooked up to my MOTU 828 MK II, so I would go out from the Axe into the MOTU, I assume, and everything would go to the main MOTU outs, which are my monitors).

Something much cheaper like Amplitube 3 might be plenty for my needs, though. Or maybe not? I guess that's what I'm debating.

Thanks.
 
Yeh - you can do what your asking, and it will sound great. When I record, it sounds great, its just when im jamming - I prefer the real amp sound not the mic'd amp sound. When Im recording im listening to the whole mix - when Im jamming Im paying particular attention to the guitar tones - and I just prefer real tones.

Whether the AFX2 is "too much" for your needs rather than just a plug-in only you can answer. i think the AFX is better - but is it $2k better? OK you get all the FX as well but still.

Id say get a trial version of Amplitude (and possibly revalver as well) so you know what thats like (if you havent already) then if you have the funds get an AFX2. You can send the AFX2 back if you think its not worth the extra cost - then pay for the amplitude/revalver licence.
 
jshirkey said:
When listening to the Axe2 through monitors would it be best to turn the mic sims off? I assume you can't (or wouldn't want) to turn the cab sims off.

My main dilemma is as follows: I own just about every real tube amp I could ever want. I'd only be interested in the Axe2 for recording or possibly for playing through my monitors along with backing tracks of my own creation (computer and drum machine are both hooked up to my MOTU 828 MK II, so I would go out from the Axe into the MOTU, I assume, and everything would go to the main MOTU outs, which are my monitors).

Something much cheaper like Amplitube 3 might be plenty for my needs, though. Or maybe not? I guess that's what I'm debating.

Thanks.
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I own most of the tube amps I want, too, but now I mostly play the Axe II. Only you can know what level of quality and sound are good enough. For sims on computer, I'd try this http://www.scuffhamamps.com/product. Sounds amazing to me.
 
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