Am I one of the few Fractal Artists who uses the AFX II for Everyhing?

Radley said:
To Clarify: The AFX II is promoted to be a TOTAL solution for the modern guitarist - A Mutlieffects powerhouse, A state-of-the-art Amp & Cab emulator, and an overall digital sound quality second to none. I have found this to be true on all levels, so again I ask why aren't more users/endorsees committing to 'the full package'? Oh well, if you want to hear what a Fractal-Only system sounds like direct to the House, please come to a Neil Diamond concert, because that is exactly what you will hear, night after night.
Click to expand...

But, the tour is over now. Does this mean you're confirming that Neil will be doing another tour soon? :)

Now, be honest, you miss the cocked wah sound of the Boss products just a little bit, don't you? :lol
 
Some people go and order fish at the finest of steak houses. You never know what people will ever do or why. ;)

That said, some folks have longstanding endorsements with "fish" and just might be sneaking 'steak'... you really don't know. Even if they tell you one thing or another.

As a touring/recording pro Radley, you know as well as anyone that the endorsement game *can be* more perception than reality.

And in the end, it doesn't validate nor invalidate gear at the same time. It's just essentially marketing for the artist and the gear companies.
 
Devin Townsend has said that he just goes Axe straight into PA.

On a recent gear overview thing Vai said (loosely paraphrasing as I'm too lazy to look it up), "It's my whole rig."

I'm still using my amp live, as I'm waiting for my spot to come up on the MFC waitlist, but once it does...I'll be 100% Axe.
 
I only use one big stomp box with the Axe II, which is the MFC-101!

I have no issue with those who want more on the floor, rack, or behind them, but I am quite happy with just the Axe II, MFC, a Mission pedal to the MFC, and an RCF monitor. I have played without the RCF, bringing everything back through my stage vocal monitor, on really small venue stages. I can't see going back to the mass of cables, boxes, and complexity... I get a better sound now with much less hassle. All the complexity is neatly stashed inside one black, two space tall storage solution. It is no more expensive than my old rig, is more versatile, and suits my 52 year old lumbar region a lot better!
 
AxeHappy said:
Devin Townsend has said that he just goes Axe straight into PA.
Click to expand...

Excellent. That's actually what I was referring to - using the AFX II alone into a full range system. The amazing thing is that I feel I'm still just scratching the surface, especially with 7.0. As I said in my 'tour updates', it was straight from my AFX II to the mains system - both me and my bandmates thought it sounded totally natural (like a real miked amp). The problems I had at the start of the tour were simply technical issues and operator error... I had to experiment a lot to find the best MFC configuration for the type of show we do (ended up using 15 presets per bank, although I may try reducing it to 12 or 13 in the future). Everything was urgent at the time because I committed to making the rig change so late in the game! :(

The video in this thread is me playing with some of the other original members of the fusion band 'Koinonia' at the Baked Potato club in N. Hollywood - I was using a GT-8 into my '65 Super Reverb amp. (I had not yet set up my AFX for playing live gigs). I love to play clean solos with a fair amount of compression so the notes can sing out and sustain similar to an OD. I have never played through an amp I liked better than my old Super Reverbs (set fairly clean, using pedals for OD).

I plan to be at the west coast AXE-Fest on Sat, Oct 6th, although I wish I could be there both days :( I feel it will be a great chance to learn and hang with a lot of AFX experts! It is also possible I will be 'participating' in some manner - we'll see...
 
Radley said:
... The amazing thing is that I feel I'm still just scratching the surface, especially with 7.0. ...
Click to expand...

With the regular firmware updates Fractal always ensures we're always just scratching the surface. Nice not having to buy new gear to get new features to play with.
 
Radley said:
I plan to be at the west coast AXE-Fest on Sat, Oct 6th, although I wish I could be there both days :( I feel it will be a great chance to learn and hang with a lot of AFX experts! It is also possible I will be 'participating' in some manner - we'll see...
Click to expand...

That's great to hear. It should be a great way to gain a lot of useful information in a short amount of time.
 
You're not alone Radley. I shelved everything in 2007, Axe-Fx only with acoustic and electric.

My problem is I also shelved my A/B footswitch.

The Axe-Fx has yet to include front input capability on input 1 rear left/right, or the ability to switch input selection per-patch. In short, that's what an a/b switch gets you. But outside of using the fx loop on input 2 and all the shortcomings involved with that, the Axe-Fx doesn't really give you what a good old a/b switch does, even though it has all those inputs.

But we've already been over this. Love the unit regardless, and V7 is very, very musical.
 
@ Radley: You are not alone :)
@soloact: I use a axxess electronics midi switcher/ looper to make the guitar selection part of my AXE patch( It switches by midi) Works excellent.

AAEN
 
I honestly don't see a reason to give up my awesome tube amps. As a player I get something different out of them, and if it's in my head I hope it stays that way. I like it all for different reasons.
 
I'm not well-versed in all things Neil Diamond, so apologies if this is a dumb question, but will there be any new recordings with Hadley and the Axe II coming out from Mr. Diamond? Or is this strictly a live, touring situation?
 
I´m one.. all my studio works are done with the Axe and so most of my live sessions. My amps are still here for nostalgia.. I use them live with a couple of stompboxes when I want to feel somehow "old school". But I usually end using the Axe for almost anything. The new reverb is so nice I´m using it on some vocals right now.. G66 uses to list me as a Fractal artist
 
I dumped a refrigerator size rack full of everything and use the Axe exclusively. I'll never go back.

A lot of what goes on with major acts boils down to money. They get paid to have amps on stage.

A recently hung out with the luthier for a major bearded act, that shall remain nameless. The bass player has a Fender endorsement. This guy builds custom basses for him and puts the Fender logo on the headstock. Hasn't played a Fender bass for at least 20 years!
 
Since the Axe i've yet to use anything else on any recordings...

I haven't mic'd an amp in over a year...

However- i'm not gigging or touring right now- but if something last second came up tonight- i'd probably throw the Road King and Rectifier cab in the car... and go
 
I'm using the Axe-II though Marshall backline [poweramp and cabs]

that said, the Axe-II does absolutely everything else [except wah and vol pedal - I would have the Axe do this but I'd rather use the CPU and controllers to do something cooler]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom