Anyone ever buy an amp because of an axe fx model ?

JB also blends amps. He may have different configs, but I saw a vid of him daisy chaining a Fender and Dumble.
Also, his guitars are the real deal, not reissues like most of us have at least some sort of access to. The wood and pickups and their age are a large component to the tone.

Unless folks are willing to go for a Tone Match block, they should simply consider getting somewhat close to be a win.

And they really should try a Tone Match block, if they have a Fractal that does Tone Match.

That said, at the end of the day I want to sound like the best version of me playing the song that I can. I'd rather play someone else's tune perfectly (never gonna happen) than to tonally sound exactly like the artist anyway, since I know it's not really possible, no matter how good the gear is. Even if I were to walk onstage and pick up EVH's guitar on his rig and play Drop Dead Legs note-for-note perfect, it's still not gonna sound like him. Just isn't. That's just how it goes.
 
I can't get the tone out of the 5F8 High Power Tweed Twin model that Joe Bonamassa gets out of his even though I know his settings. So I would love to buy a reissue if I could, but I probably still would not get it. I consider that the ultimate bluesrock sound.

Curious what IR/Cab you might be using with that amp.
 
Yup, I have a Tucana 3 that I bought because I like the fractal model so much. It's an amazing amp, although the model in the Axe Fx is right on. It's a real monster- a really special amp. I feel like it deserves a better player than me!
 
Definitely. Loved the CCVs in the AXE, and google told me they're kinda of based on Jose Arredondo mods, so ended up sending a JCM800 1987-model found for cheap to Dan Gower for a Jose mod, that amp is a monster now! :)
 
Yep. I got into Friedman gear because of the Axe-FX. I'd never even heard of them prior to that. I suspect Fractal Audio has sold a lot of Friedman amps and mods over the years.

I've come to realize that its really a different experience- the amp versus the modeler. I have uses for both and I often use them in conjunction. When I want to play for maximum enjoyment, I'll usually play the amp. When I want to have more variety or effects or whiz-bang or virtually mod an amp, I use the modeler.
 
Yep. I got into Friedman gear because of the Axe-FX. I'd never even heard of them prior to that. I suspect Fractal Audio has sold a lot of Friedman amps and mods over the years.

I've come to realize that its really a different experience- the amp versus the modeler. I have uses for both and I often use them in conjunction. When I want to play for maximum enjoyment, I'll usually play the amp. When I want to have more variety or effects or whiz-bang or virtually mod an amp, I use the modeler.
Do you think its the tube pre in the real amp or the power amp or real cab that does something special (depends on the amo I guess) I have a small blackstar combo that I dislike the sound of in total but when I put the preamp of that combo in the loop of axe fx w tube pre model either in frfr or with real cab it does something magical with a bad monkey of in front. Makes me think that, if I'm going to buy some 'real' gear to enjoy, I should be looking for some tube preamps - mabe a used jmp or triaxis...
 
Do you think its the tube pre in the real amp or the power amp or real cab that does something special (depends on the amo I guess) I have a small blackstar combo that I dislike the sound of in total but when I put the preamp of that combo in the loop of axe fx w tube pre model either in frfr or with real cab it does something magical with a bad monkey of in front. Makes me think that, if I'm going to buy some 'real' gear to enjoy, I should be looking for some tube preamps - mabe a used jmp or triaxis...

Full disclaimer: I don't know what I don't know and I'm probably wrong about most of what I do know.

I don't think its the tube pre, honestly. I love a physical tube pre but a lot of that is the physical knobs and switches. In terms of tone, i think the fractal preamps are unbelievably close to the real ones.

I think the real cab is a first order effect on tone but I also find that a tube poweramp and its reaction to a speaker is a big deal. The tube poweramp tends to sound livelier as a result of that interaction. The Axe-FX models the reactivity and there is tuning you can do to try to match your real cabinet but I've yet to get that exactly right, so it has yet to be the equal for me. Lots of people are happy with it as is, though I think part of that is because they don't regularly play a tube amp AND/OR find the considerable advantages of the Axe-FX setup outweighs any shortfall as compared to something with a tube poweramp.

If I disable the poweramp sim or just defeat the reactivity and run into a tube poweramp, its so awesome my head wants to explode.
 
Full disclaimer: I don't know what I don't know and I'm probably wrong about most of what I do know.

I don't think its the tube pre, honestly. I love a physical tube pre but a lot of that is the physical knobs and switches. In terms of tone, i think the fractal preamps are unbelievably close to the real ones.

I think the real cab is a first order effect on tone but I also find that a tube poweramp and its reaction to a speaker is a big deal. The tube poweramp tends to sound livelier as a result of that interaction. The Axe-FX models the reactivity and there is tuning you can do to try to match your real cabinet but I've yet to get that exactly right, so it has yet to be the equal for me. Lots of people are happy with it as is, though I think part of that is because they don't regularly play a tube amp AND/OR find the considerable advantages of the Axe-FX setup outweighs any shortfall as compared to something with a tube poweramp.

If I disable the poweramp sim or just defeat the reactivity and run into a tube poweramp, its so awesome my head wants to explode.
Great insights - thanks - I asked because I (lowish volume home player only) struggle to appreciate full traditional tube amps. I had a couple of descent quality ones (mini recto/mesa cab was the last one, several others before that) and gainy tones always sound harsh/thin but came alive to me with their preamp in Axefx to Axefx tube pre + cab out to FRFR. I've made progress in that I'm now able to get good tones into Mesa cabs via Matrix poweramp (no Axefx cab but Axefx power amp modelling on, either with Axe pre or external pre), but, the full tube power amp experience seems elusive for me so far. Nonetheless I'd like to own at least one decent tube amp to fire up and see if I can get the lightbulb to go on in my brain - almost pulled the trigger on a Revv amp a couple of times but would really like to see/hear that tone modelled in Axefx first.
 
1. EVH 5150 III 50w
2. EVH 5150 III 100w EL34
3. Mesa Lonestar
4. Mesa Dual Recto Multi Watt
5. Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 (Because I discovered how much I like the Axe-Fx's JCM 800 models and researching them made me realize I like the JCM 2000 DSL 100 juuust a bit more than the 800)

So yeah you could say I've bought an amp or two because of the Axe-Fx.
 
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