Gorilla
Experienced
Axe II review from a Metal Head….:lol Hope this helps at least one guitarist out. If not, I hope it's a good read...
Ultra? Axe Fx II? Ultra? Axe Fx II? Ultra? Axe Fx II? That's been my big question since the II's came out. Well I had two Ultra's both were awesome! Is the Axe Fx II better? I dunno. I'm still tweaking and finding things out in it. At first I thought, gawd I should of kept my Ultra. But, just like any amp sim with a ton of stuff in it. You aint scratched the surface of what it can do in the first few weeks!
The Ultra is awesome and always will be, but I think it's ran it's course as far as updates. There may not be any more updates for them and they're at the plateau of performance. They DO sound awesome for sure. The Axe Fx II's are Fractal's new babies so yeah. They'll get updates for a few years. I heard Fractal has a foot controlled efx only unit about to drop soon.
The big question about the Axe Fx II my Buds ask me? Was it worth all the $$$?
Yes.
If I could afford a real Diezel and a real 5150 and a real Engl and a real ______(fill in the blank fifty times). I'd have them. But this Axe Fx II does the trick for me. Does it sound spot on to all these amps? No. But pretty damn close. It may not pass a seasoned guitarists or band members ears. But they sound crazy ass close anyways! With the stock cabinets it's great… with third party cabinets it's really great. With plugins in your D.A.W. while mixing crazy awesome! I have like four project bands and I try to make sure each ones guitars sound badass, but don't sound the same. With the Axe Fx II this is easier than expected.
Thru my headphones it sounds big… thru my monitors this thing sounds huge. Direct thru a P.A. it sounds IN-feaking-SANE!
A few things though ….
The Axe Fx II comes packed great from Fractal along with a decent manual. If you plan on using Axe Edit expect to spend more of your $$ on a special USB cable. And if you have a MFC 101 prepare yourself to go out and buy a cat5 cable (And they ain't cheap!)
And your really missing out on like over I would say 40% of what this machine can do if you don't have a MFC 101 or some type of a midi foot controller. And add another umm… 15% missing out if you don't have at least 1 expression pedal hooked up. Man I love controlling shit with a expression pedal! Or kicking in the looper ((It always freaks out at least 10 people when ya' use it! ))
Bottom line. It's not for everyone. And I doubt if even 8% of us owners will use even half the stuff in it. But it has totally re-sized my setup!
HELLS YEAHS!
NO MORE Big ass heavy ass cabinets yee haww! No more mass efx pedals and wiring and batteries and taping shit all down! Yee haawww! I remember bitching at my old vocalist because all he had basically was his friction' mic! We had heavy ass cabinets and heavy heads and big cases of pedals and guitar cases and my drummer had all his kit.
Now, I have a 2u rack a pedalboard case and two guitars Bee-itches!!!!!!!! Stuff will fit on the front seat on my car and still sound Hellish badass!
My whole Axe Fx II / MFC 101 and Agile 9 stringers rig was expensive to me. But I sold so much stuff to complete it ( 5 guitars, a bunch of studio equipment, and a HD camcorder.... hahaha two Ultra's!) that I think I spent a total of $350 out of pocket to get it all. I had a few bumps gettin' Her going. But the Community here is really great. And Fractal Tech Support is da' BOMB!
If your on the fence about getting one all I gotta say is.... Yeah, $$$ adds up quick and not everyone will or can justify it. But if you really want one, you can either just go out and get it….. or keep on dreaming about it!
Ultra? Axe Fx II? Ultra? Axe Fx II? Ultra? Axe Fx II? That's been my big question since the II's came out. Well I had two Ultra's both were awesome! Is the Axe Fx II better? I dunno. I'm still tweaking and finding things out in it. At first I thought, gawd I should of kept my Ultra. But, just like any amp sim with a ton of stuff in it. You aint scratched the surface of what it can do in the first few weeks!
The Ultra is awesome and always will be, but I think it's ran it's course as far as updates. There may not be any more updates for them and they're at the plateau of performance. They DO sound awesome for sure. The Axe Fx II's are Fractal's new babies so yeah. They'll get updates for a few years. I heard Fractal has a foot controlled efx only unit about to drop soon.
The big question about the Axe Fx II my Buds ask me? Was it worth all the $$$?
Yes.
If I could afford a real Diezel and a real 5150 and a real Engl and a real ______(fill in the blank fifty times). I'd have them. But this Axe Fx II does the trick for me. Does it sound spot on to all these amps? No. But pretty damn close. It may not pass a seasoned guitarists or band members ears. But they sound crazy ass close anyways! With the stock cabinets it's great… with third party cabinets it's really great. With plugins in your D.A.W. while mixing crazy awesome! I have like four project bands and I try to make sure each ones guitars sound badass, but don't sound the same. With the Axe Fx II this is easier than expected.
Thru my headphones it sounds big… thru my monitors this thing sounds huge. Direct thru a P.A. it sounds IN-feaking-SANE!
A few things though ….
The Axe Fx II comes packed great from Fractal along with a decent manual. If you plan on using Axe Edit expect to spend more of your $$ on a special USB cable. And if you have a MFC 101 prepare yourself to go out and buy a cat5 cable (And they ain't cheap!)
And your really missing out on like over I would say 40% of what this machine can do if you don't have a MFC 101 or some type of a midi foot controller. And add another umm… 15% missing out if you don't have at least 1 expression pedal hooked up. Man I love controlling shit with a expression pedal! Or kicking in the looper ((It always freaks out at least 10 people when ya' use it! ))
Bottom line. It's not for everyone. And I doubt if even 8% of us owners will use even half the stuff in it. But it has totally re-sized my setup!
NO MORE Big ass heavy ass cabinets yee haww! No more mass efx pedals and wiring and batteries and taping shit all down! Yee haawww! I remember bitching at my old vocalist because all he had basically was his friction' mic! We had heavy ass cabinets and heavy heads and big cases of pedals and guitar cases and my drummer had all his kit.
Now, I have a 2u rack a pedalboard case and two guitars Bee-itches!!!!!!!! Stuff will fit on the front seat on my car and still sound Hellish badass!
My whole Axe Fx II / MFC 101 and Agile 9 stringers rig was expensive to me. But I sold so much stuff to complete it ( 5 guitars, a bunch of studio equipment, and a HD camcorder.... hahaha two Ultra's!) that I think I spent a total of $350 out of pocket to get it all. I had a few bumps gettin' Her going. But the Community here is really great. And Fractal Tech Support is da' BOMB!
If your on the fence about getting one all I gotta say is.... Yeah, $$$ adds up quick and not everyone will or can justify it. But if you really want one, you can either just go out and get it….. or keep on dreaming about it!
how do you tune it?
