kostein
Inspired
I would like to express my gratitude to Cliff and everyone at FAS for this amazing black box called the Axe FX. It has literally changed my life when it comes to playing/writing/recording music. I'd like to share my story of how I came to own one of these awesome boxes. I just feel the need to take this off my chest. Maybe it will be a fun read for some of you.
I've been playing guitar for 17-18 years now. I started at the age of 13 or 14. Before starting on guitar I was learning how to play keyboards for a couple of years. At 12-13 years old a friend of mine started getting me into metal and listening to Metallica inspired me to want to play guitar. My first guitar was a white Squier strat (which I still have to this day, albeit pretty beat up) and a small 15w Fender combo amp. A couple of years later my parents got me my first multi effects pedal, the Zoom 4040. At this point I was writing 'songs' and I was using a tape player to record. Needless to say everything sounded like crap but I was having a blast doing it.
At 18 I got my first PC which I slowly started using to record stuff in Cakewalk and Cubase. It took me a while to get the hang of it, especially learning how to write drums in midi. This eventually lead to the desire of getting better at recording/mixing. I kept at it for a number of years without really being satisfied by the result, everything sounded like a demo. I went through different multi effects pedals in my search for a better tone and recordings that didn't sound like demos. A Digitech RP-21 and another Zoom which I don't remember the model number. I never bought a decent amp and that didn't help either. During this time I had decent guitars but still whatever I did never sounded good enough to my ears.
Enter 2004.
I decided to get more serious about it and spend a lot of cash getting decent recording gear, RME Fireface 800 which I still use to this day, Great River preamp and a few mics. With these my mixes started getting better but they were nowhere near where I was expecting them to be with all the nice gear I had. As time passed I was getting better at it but because I couldn't get a good mix sometimes I would get very frustrated and stop playing/recording for extended periods of time. This went on and on until...
Enter spring 2010. Making the big step forward.
At this point I had a job that was bringing a lot of extra money in. I felt it was time I got a decent amp and embarked on a search for one. I went through all the local shops but to my disappointment they had a very very limited selection. There was only one amp that I liked, a Bugera 6262 combo. So I started looking online to see whether this was a good purchase only to find out that people's opinions were mixed about Bugera. Meanwhile I was reading about this thing called the Axe FX left and right but I never paid attention because I had set a budget and this was well out of my price range (Little did I know :lol). I kept researching online to find something that would suit me and I was almost set on getting a 6505+ 2x12. About that time I made the mistake (glad I did!) of reading about this alien thing called the Axe FX and watching videos of it on YT. The more I dug into it the closer my jaw was getting to the ground. It seemed that it was exactly what I was looking for, great tones and the ease of recording directly without having to mess with micing amps, although the price seemed pretty high. After a couple of months of drooling all over it I decided to take the plunge and submitted my order for an Ultra in mid September. I also ordered my Atomic amp/cab to boot. My bank account was hurting but I was really excited about this black box.
November 2010. The package arrives.
I cannot really describe all the feelings that I was going through when I set it up and strummed those first few chords. It was like sitting in a dark room and suddenly the whole room lights up and you can see every little detail. It was a HUGE jump for me, going from crappy multi effects pedals and a 15w amp to this. I was starstruck by how good this thing sounded. It inspired me to play more, to try harder at getting better with my mixes. So I've been playing a lot more since, writing and recording more and generally enjoying music a lot more since this thing came into my house. That to me says a lot.
After two and a half years being an Axe user I can safely say that I'm at a point where I can say I am really happy with my tones and my mixes. I've recently made the switch to the II and even though I was skeptical at first, now I honestly believe it was a good decision. And to think that it can only get better, that puts a big smile on my face. :mrgreen
And with that giant wall of text out of the way, I want to thank Cliff and everyone at FAS for coming up with a product that has inspired me to further my musical journey and making me enjoy it a lot more. I feel like I owe it to you and the least I could do is to say a big thank you.
I've been playing guitar for 17-18 years now. I started at the age of 13 or 14. Before starting on guitar I was learning how to play keyboards for a couple of years. At 12-13 years old a friend of mine started getting me into metal and listening to Metallica inspired me to want to play guitar. My first guitar was a white Squier strat (which I still have to this day, albeit pretty beat up) and a small 15w Fender combo amp. A couple of years later my parents got me my first multi effects pedal, the Zoom 4040. At this point I was writing 'songs' and I was using a tape player to record. Needless to say everything sounded like crap but I was having a blast doing it.
At 18 I got my first PC which I slowly started using to record stuff in Cakewalk and Cubase. It took me a while to get the hang of it, especially learning how to write drums in midi. This eventually lead to the desire of getting better at recording/mixing. I kept at it for a number of years without really being satisfied by the result, everything sounded like a demo. I went through different multi effects pedals in my search for a better tone and recordings that didn't sound like demos. A Digitech RP-21 and another Zoom which I don't remember the model number. I never bought a decent amp and that didn't help either. During this time I had decent guitars but still whatever I did never sounded good enough to my ears.
Enter 2004.
I decided to get more serious about it and spend a lot of cash getting decent recording gear, RME Fireface 800 which I still use to this day, Great River preamp and a few mics. With these my mixes started getting better but they were nowhere near where I was expecting them to be with all the nice gear I had. As time passed I was getting better at it but because I couldn't get a good mix sometimes I would get very frustrated and stop playing/recording for extended periods of time. This went on and on until...
Enter spring 2010. Making the big step forward.
At this point I had a job that was bringing a lot of extra money in. I felt it was time I got a decent amp and embarked on a search for one. I went through all the local shops but to my disappointment they had a very very limited selection. There was only one amp that I liked, a Bugera 6262 combo. So I started looking online to see whether this was a good purchase only to find out that people's opinions were mixed about Bugera. Meanwhile I was reading about this thing called the Axe FX left and right but I never paid attention because I had set a budget and this was well out of my price range (Little did I know :lol). I kept researching online to find something that would suit me and I was almost set on getting a 6505+ 2x12. About that time I made the mistake (glad I did!) of reading about this alien thing called the Axe FX and watching videos of it on YT. The more I dug into it the closer my jaw was getting to the ground. It seemed that it was exactly what I was looking for, great tones and the ease of recording directly without having to mess with micing amps, although the price seemed pretty high. After a couple of months of drooling all over it I decided to take the plunge and submitted my order for an Ultra in mid September. I also ordered my Atomic amp/cab to boot. My bank account was hurting but I was really excited about this black box.
November 2010. The package arrives.
I cannot really describe all the feelings that I was going through when I set it up and strummed those first few chords. It was like sitting in a dark room and suddenly the whole room lights up and you can see every little detail. It was a HUGE jump for me, going from crappy multi effects pedals and a 15w amp to this. I was starstruck by how good this thing sounded. It inspired me to play more, to try harder at getting better with my mixes. So I've been playing a lot more since, writing and recording more and generally enjoying music a lot more since this thing came into my house. That to me says a lot.
After two and a half years being an Axe user I can safely say that I'm at a point where I can say I am really happy with my tones and my mixes. I've recently made the switch to the II and even though I was skeptical at first, now I honestly believe it was a good decision. And to think that it can only get better, that puts a big smile on my face. :mrgreen
And with that giant wall of text out of the way, I want to thank Cliff and everyone at FAS for coming up with a product that has inspired me to further my musical journey and making me enjoy it a lot more. I feel like I owe it to you and the least I could do is to say a big thank you.
