Axe Fx II might not be for everyone

[Project Mayhem]

Sometimes weed is exactly what you need to come to grips with axe fx. At least it was for me

I first tried weed a little over a year ago , and I can say in my case, it made a sudden and dramatic change in everything guitar related for me...including the axe fx. The change it made in my ability to "hear" was unreal, and as such, I became a dramatically better player very quickly. At the same time, I was suddenly able to hear the nuances and varying terms everyone used to describe the differences in tone. Like when people would make different clips to demo firmware changes...I could rarely hear the difference, but now it's obvious. And now I can dial in the sounds I want pretty quickly. Obviously it's not for everyone, but I really regret that I didn't try it earlier...now I think it was the secret of the greats that your guitar instructor didn't tell you when you were a kid...lol

 

[Geezerjohn]

Complexity helps weed out the lightweights. Personally, I find the fractal is smokin'.

 

[Desmo808]

Well it turns out it just needed to be.... tuned. Yes, this guy I know doesn't tune his guitar like ever and the strings were so floppy you couldn't even play it. The same guy saw our bassist's rig and was mind blown that he had a tuning pedal. He didn't know tuners came in pedal form.

He does realize that man has also discovered fire, right? And invented the wheel? And that bread comes in sliced form?

 

[searching]

He does realize that man has also discovered fire, right? And invented the wheel? And that bread comes in sliced form?

LOL yeah I'm not sure about him sometimes. And yes he is a real person. Another story... This same guy had one of those line 6 amplifi units that can be controlled through bluetooth with your phone. Well he thought it was a cool idea to drill holes in his guitar to mount his phone on it. You know, for on the fly parameter changes. Pretty cool right?

 

[paulasbell]

.... one of those line 6 amplifi units that can be controlled through bluetooth with your phone. Well he thought it was a cool idea to drill holes in his guitar to mount his phone on it. You know, for on the fly parameter changes. Pretty cool right?

Yeah!

Will he be showing at NAMM next month? I'll look for him.

 

[maxdown]

It sounds like a great idea ..... after large joint that is.

Cannibis + guitar + me = disaster

Cannibis + me = fall asleep in less than 5 mins.

Cannibis + me + other people = fall asleep in less than 5 mins and entertain the room with vigorous REM

 

[Muad'zin]

I think I got my Axe FX somewhere around december 2015, I think. I hooked it up a couple of times, then it got boxed again for most of 2016, as I got a little cold feet. The idea of having to learn it all seemed steep and daunting. I get that a lot when I buy something complicated. It was only after the summer of 2016 that I finally had it with pedals, pedal tapdancing and having to tweak settings between songs. I wanted presets! It took me many months to get the hang of the Axe. I went through a presets only phase, discovering scenes phase, then X/Y switching, learning to use FRFR speakers.

So yeah, I can fully understand its not for everyone. Some people just want it simple, guitar into some pedals into an amp. Give those people the massive book that is the Axe manual and they will run away screaming. Which is perfectly fine. And other people are open to new ideas, or run into problems that make them receptive to new solutions.

I don't smoke anymore, haven't in years, BUT, I will say, that as far as a "dialing" session goes ( I would say tweaking but that sounds like we're talking about meth), it was more fun (IMO) with pedals, and lots of physical knobs to twist etc. You can get to the same places, and then some, with the Axe, but your either sitting pressing buttons on the front panel, or your sitting starring at the PC screen.

There is a certain enjoy to sitting down on the floor, pedals and cables spread out all around you, twisting delay time knobs, adding modulation effects, stacking fuzzes etc. Doesn't usually end up with anything productive, but I sure spent many a hours back in my younger days, ingesting substances and doing just that.

I had great fun messing with pedals. But not the having to change settings between songs part. Or when pedals were acting up, popping when activating, weird impedance stuff. And that forever perennial favorite, when your board is no longer working because some cable somewhere has decided to go wonky which forces you to go on a frantic search to find the culprit. Even greater fun when it happens during a changeover and the stage manager is looking at you with an eye on the clock.

That was the kind of fun that wasn't.

Yeah, this has nothing to do with smoking weed. Some people just can't teach themselves things. I have one friend who just got his driver's licence and first car at 23 and would just leave his bass in his car 24/7. Well it started getting really cold and he came to me upset saying that he thinks he screwed up his bass because all the strings are buzzing. I knew it was from the cold and started looking at the bass to see if it needed a truss rod adjustment or something. Well it turns out it just needed to be.... tuned. Yes, this guy I know doesn't tune his guitar like ever and the strings were so floppy you couldn't even play it. The same guy saw our bassist's rig and was mind blown that he had a tuning pedal. He didn't know tuners came in pedal form.

You should tell Glen of Spectre Media Group that story. Just when he thinks bass players can't get any more stupid the bar gets lowered. It will make the next installment of Stupid Musicians Texts for sure.

 

[Sonofiam]

Most gear heads and my in-laws would get along just fine. Neither can understand for the life of them how someone else could not see things the way they do or like what they like. Don't get me wrong, I love my in-laws, they just drive me nuts with their narcissistic views at times.

 

[Rex]

No product is for everyone.

This.

Fractal gear is fantastic if you want great sound, great flexibility, and rigorously logical access to it all. But some people — even some brilliant ones — just aren’t wired for linear thought. A lot of musicians fall into this category. For them, an Axe-Fx is a turn-off. All that glorious flexibility is just a mountain that stands between them and the music they want to make. I even know some people who are wired for that kind of thing, who can navigate a DAW like acrobats, who still find Fractal stuff intimidating. They have to swim with it a while before they’re comfortable.