Anybody confused with two different Fractal rigs?

henryrobinett

henryrobinett

Fractal Fanatic
So yeah. I haven't quite figured this one out yet. I started with an Ultra. Then went to a Axe Fx II. Then I sold those and purchased a XL+. I used this in the studio and live. I got the Liquid Foot LF+12+ and three Expression on a pedaltrain board. Then I got 2 XiTone powered wedges. But it seemed my live rig still was bigger than I wanted it. So I bought the AX8.

Now I keep the II XL+ racked in the studio. I haven't used the LF+12+. But I'm keeping it. I'm not sure why. I'm not in the habit of selling gear!

So far all of my gigs and rehearsals have been with the AX8 and two Xitones, two exp pedals.

Anyone else have this issue? How are you using two rigs? I have a hard enough time programming one. I'm trying to justify both of them. Or even keeping the Liquid Foot, which challenges me. Does anyone find the need for a controller in the studio? Normally I just manually dial in a preset and don't switch presets or scenes.
 
I'm hooked on the Axe-Fx and my RJM controller.
The AX8 is sonically the same and much more portable, but I love having immediate access to all my favorite effects and functionality, at home and when playing live. No justification needed.
 
henryrobinett said:
So yeah. I haven't quite figured this one out yet. I started with an Ultra. Then went to a Axe Fx II. Then I sold those and purchased a XL+. I used this in the studio and live. I got the Liquid Foot LF+12+ and three Expression on a pedaltrain board. Then I got 2 XiTone powered wedges. But it seemed my live rig still was bigger than I wanted it. So I bought the AX8.

Now I keep the II XL+ racked in the studio. I haven't used the LF+12+. But I'm keeping it. I'm not sure why. I'm not in the habit of selling gear!

So far all of my gigs and rehearsals have been with the AX8 and two Xitones, two exp pedals.

Anyone else have this issue? How are you using two rigs? I have a hard enough time programming one. I'm trying to justify both of them. Or even keeping the Liquid Foot, which challenges me. Does anyone find the need for a controller in the studio? Normally I just manually dial in a preset and don't switch presets or scenes.
Click to expand...
No issues, to me it's a blast! I am doing pretty much the same. Ax8 live and Axe Fxii in the studio and my other guitarist uses my backup Axe Fxii. I program them all. I'm a gear nut so it's fun to me. I have two MFC foot controllers but I haven't used one in the studio yet. I won't get rid of my controllers though. Never know. What issues are you having?
 
No issues. Just justifying having two rigs. Not having used the Liquid Foot or the three other exp pedals. Feels like a waste.
 
henryrobinett said:
Anyone else have this issue? How are you using two rigs? I have a hard enough time programming one. I'm trying to justify both of them. Or even keeping the Liquid Foot, which challenges me. Does anyone find the need for a controller in the studio? Normally I just manually dial in a preset and don't switch presets or scenes.
Click to expand...
No issues, really. I keep a handful of identical presets in each. I have to split my "kitchen sink" AFII presets across 4 presets in the AX8 but cut-and-paste makes quick work of that. I can edit in both at the same time:

Screen_Shot_2017-05-29_at_4_05_20_PM.png

The AFII stays mostly at home, but I do take it out if I think I'd want a backup rig when I gig. I don't generally hook up the MFC-101 and pedalboard board at home. I prefer to just edit with Axe-Edit at home and the MFC isn't conducive to computer-based editing. It gets out of sync and causes Axe-Edit pauses and what not.

The Big Rig(tm) is the B Rig these days. I prefer to gig with the smaller, lighter AX8 setup. But I still love the Big Rig and generally dial in my sounds on that setup then translate them to the AX8 rig.
 
Curious how you are using 2 XiTone wedges in your live setup? On floor monitors? Backline? Shared with other band members?
 
I guess I'm backwards from most, the XL+ is still my gig rig, the AX8 holds down rehearsal duties at home (my band practices there). This is probably due to simple familiarity of gigging with the Axe Fx rig more than anything. If I took the time, swapping them would probably make sense, but it's just never been that big of a deal for me.
 
I've got my Ultra up for sale, still love the sound of it.
I still have my AxeFx mkll but now but after reading all the above, now I want an AX8, too.
The AX8 has a great control layout, looks very intuitive.
 
henryrobinett said:
Does anyone find the need for a controller in the studio? Normally I just manually dial in a preset and don't switch presets or scenes.
Click to expand...

I think it depends upon your musical approach in the studio. If you record tracks one at a time, and especially if your workflow contains automation that includes MIDI control of external devices, then I can't think of a good reason to have a foot controller (unless maybe to trigger DAW automation...? I dunno...).

My trio records everything live, direct-to-stereo. It took us years to dial in the sound in the studio and, more importantly, to develop the confidence to compose as a group while playing. But now we're getting results we like. I couldn't live without a foot controller. I use one guitar patch and one "novelty" patch (usually a Hammond simulation). The guitar patch is set up with all my effects on IAs; my controller (an LF+ Pro+) is indispensable to me. I'm toying with the thought of adding a second LF+ so I can tweak FX parameters without flipping pages.
 
For live use, I use the XL with an Ultra in its effects loop. Either one or the other is active at any given moment, while the other is bypassed. They are never used at the same instant.

Reason: I built around 200 presets in the Ultra for live use before I bought the II. All new songs go in the II, but I don't have time to recreate all of the Ultra's presets in the II, so I use the Ultra for those presets. I am slowly programming my legacy Ultra presets into the II. If and when that process is complete, I will sell the Ultra.

I am always tempted to buy a second XL for studio use so I don't have to haul my live rack in and set it up three times a week.
 
Yeah, well the reason I got the AX8 was to 1) make my live rig smaller and 2) make my live rig smaller. LOL.

s a jazz guitarist who also plays fusion, and other styles, most of my set up are pretty simple. I can get away without the extra bells and whistles of the XL+.

AS for recording, unless I'm recording live, which I do from time to time, I have one sound, or I'm tracking. If I record live I'll use my live AX8 rig and record a DI dry track to reamp later.
 
I do have both, and in the end, unless it's a quick jam, I ultimately find that I really like the added power of the XL+ and I find it worth the extra ONE setup step (connecting the MFC).
Many of my presets on the XL+ use the Send and Return blocks, and two compressors.
 
henryrobinett said:
I can imagine a scenario where I use the AX8 fir just rehearsals or smaller gigs and the II XL+ for my real gigs. I guess that's why I'm keeping both rigs. Options.
Click to expand...
No you're not .... you're doing it just to rub my nose in it because I don't have an AX8 to go with my AxeFX. And here's me thinking all these years you were a decent bloke ...... ;)
 
Admin M@ said:
I do have both, and in the end, unless it's a quick jam, I ultimately find that I really like the added power of the XL+ and I find it worth the extra ONE setup step (connecting the MFC).
Many of my presets on the XL+ use the Send and Return blocks, and two compressors.
Click to expand...
You have both M@? I never would have thought that. I thought you would have closets of Fractal gear and maybe some under the bed!
 
Started with an Ultra, then went to AxeFX. Have not gone with the XL. I have the MFC to control the Axe FX. I bought and really like the AX8 for gigs. My Axe FX was getting worn with dragging it to rehearsals and gigs. Mostly, the connections, and especially the CAT5 connection. Now, the FX stays in the studio, and I use the AX8 for gigs. At this point, I am interested in ease of use. Set up and tear down is a breeze with the AX8. For most gigs I can haul my AX8, wires and an expression pedal in a rolling computer laptop bag. Rolling bag and a guitar and I'm good to go. I get great tones in a gig-friendly package.

I have a few presets that I built that use 2 amps in the Axe, and initially, I missed having them in the AX8, but at this point, I have built other presets that work well for the music that I play. I have no issues with my gear Henry. Obviously the interfaces between the 2 are different, so the logistics of operating them is different. It was a bit awkward initially, but at this point, I have gigged so many times with the AX8, I am completely comfortable with it. I still like the Axe for study work, but presently, I am moving and my studio is packed up in boxes, so I am just using the AX8 for gigs. At this point, I have come to appreciate the differences between the Axe and the AX8. I am blessed to have both.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom