Advise needed...

U

underbrush

New Member
Hey everyone, I just joined and need some advise.

Some background....I've been playing around on the guitar for about 28 years and like to mess with everything from ambient space music to jazz to new metal. I do not play in a band any longer but do a lot of recording in the basement.

Here's the kicker....i have never owned or played through a tube amplifier... :oops:
My current amp is a Vox avt60 digital hybrid that I've had for years, and I have through a fair amount of tweaking, gotten some pretty decent recorded sounds out of it.

Just recently I decided to buy an all tube head / combo for recording and figured I'd spend anywhere from $1100 to $2000 depending on what I decided on. Then I stumbled on Axe-Fx and now I'm intrigued.

The big question.....does this thing really sound THAT good?? Or put another way, now that i've finally decided to blow the coin on an all tube amp should I get this instead?

I've listened to and watched the demos and youtube clips but what I want are testimonials from guys like you who have owned and played through high end gear. I love the idea of having lots of sonic options and this certainly seems to have it in spades.

Anyway sorry for the rambling post and thanks in advance for the help.
 
Does it sound that good... well yes it does.
Don't expect to unpack, plug in and find tonal nirvana first time!
Take your time to learn it, it's shitloads to learn.. trust me ;)
But sounds good.. definitive YES!

Do remember that that you need not only the Axe..
You need, Axe, power-amp, speaker, midi-board, expression pedal(s).. to start with ;)
 
Thanks for the response Burner,

I don't mind tweaking and searching, in fact I really enjoy it so the learning curve doesn't worry me. As long as the fabled "sound" and "feel" of the tube amps it models is there.

About the list of other needed stuff, I'm glad you brought that up. What seems to be the power amp of choice for low wattage needs? I have read that a solid state amp is preferable because it doesn't color the tone, is that right? Am I right in assuming that I'll need the Axe system, power amp and speaker right away then later on I can add the expression pedals and midi-board etc. ?
 
underbrush said:
Thanks for the response Burner,

I don't mind tweaking and searching, in fact I really enjoy it so the learning curve doesn't worry me. As long as the fabled "sound" and "feel" of the tube amps it models is there.

About the list of other needed stuff, I'm glad you brought that up. What seems to be the power amp of choice for low wattage needs? I have read that a solid state amp is preferable because it doesn't color the tone, is that right? Am I right in assuming that I'll need the Axe system, power amp and speaker right away then later on I can add the expression pedals and midi-board etc. ?
Click to expand...

Save your self and your wallet, buy the Axe Standard, Ultra which ever floats your boat and dive in and loose your self. Don't worry about not have played though all the real amps that this has though it's nice to have done it if your not that into it you will save your self a boat load of cash buying and trying tube amps.
 
If you are using it for recording you really don't need a power amp or the other items mentioned. What are you using today to record with? Do you have good monitors? If so, you can record direct with the AxeFx.

With a DAW setup you don't even need a MIDI pedalboard. You can program your DAW to send patch changes on the fly to the Axe-FX and you don't have to step on anything. You may or may not need any of what was mentioned.
 
Sixstring said:
Save your self and your wallet, buy the Axe Standard, Ultra which ever floats your boat and dive in and loose your self. Don't worry about not have played though all the real amps that this has though it's nice to have done it if your not that into it you will save your self a boat load of cash buying and trying tube amps.
Click to expand...


oh absolutely...I'd have to sell my house to afford all the amps/cabs/mics that this thing models.


Jack Napalm said:
If you are using it for recording you really don't need a power amp or the other items mentioned. What are you using today to record with? Do you have good monitors? If so, you can record direct with the AxeFx.

With a DAW setup you don't even need a MIDI pedalboard. You can program your DAW to send patch changes on the fly to the Axe-FX and you don't have to step on anything. You may or may not need any of what was mentioned.
Click to expand...

Right now I'm micing my amp with an Audix i5 into a Presonus interface into a Mac with Logic Express. I have a pair of KRK monitors that do pretty well for my ability level (and my room's temporary lack of treatment).

I have to admit I have enjoyed learning mic placement when micing a speaker. It has opened my eyes to what's REALLY coming out of the speaker as opposed to what it sounds like 20 feet away at an angle. I think I'd like to continue to have the option to do that so I suppose I will need an amp and a good speaker / cab.
 
Buy the ultra..the extra is not necessary for most people..but its sure fun to have!! :D From what your saying you really don't need to worry about the power amp and cab at the moment, if you have decent monitors and audio interface it will get you started and take it from there.
Also maybe a mission engineering expression pedal or two and you will be flying..many have said don't expect miracles straight away..but i'm not sure how true that is..even the presets that come with the ultra i was completely blown away and there are many patches being shared that are awesome!! :)
 
Regarding mic options, keep in mind if you go with something like Redwire IR's, you still get to play with selecting and postioning a whole locker full of expensive/classic/standard mics on a huge variety of speakers/enclosures.

It's just all done in the box, instead of in the room. ;)

TT
 
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