Axe FX II + Roland VG-99 = Axe FX III

skintone1 said:
Carydad,
Yes, this thread has made me dust off my GR55 again, and use it together with the Axe.
Very cool.
How do you use both?
A separate instrument cable from the Mag PU of guitar into Axe and the midi cable from the GK3 into GR55?
Or as Dominik does, do you route your GR55 into the back of the Axe ?
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,i would route them septretly the outputs that is and just use your mfc 101 to control the patch changes in both.
what R you routing into the axefx2 the output signal? i dont understand why you would run them into each other.
 
I've been messing with running my GR55 thru input 2 in the back of the AXE then placing an FXL block parallel to the guitar signal. I'm still trying to figure it out and see if its practical to use live. Its fun trying tho!
 
I've been doing that for awhile, but with the VG-8 and 88. I have outputs from a Switchblade switcher going into the back of the Axe to run this setup, and it works brilliantly. I just wish I could get the 8's rackmounted, right now I've got them on shelves which is the best I could rig up. Just using the 55 by itself into the back will work fantastically...!

elchampion said:
I've been messing with running my GR55 thru input 2 in the back of the AXE then placing an FXL block parallel to the guitar signal. I'm still trying to figure it out and see if its practical to use live. Its fun trying tho!
Click to expand...
 
I finally got a GR-55 and I'm looking forward to the 13 pin splitter cable I just ordered to run both the Gr-55 and my Axon / Fantom XR independantly. I run the stereo outputs of my synths into the return of and AxeFx 2A then the output of that Axe goes into the input of my other AxeFx 2B for blending with my magnetic pickups. The piezo sound is routed thru the AxeFx 2A i use an expression pedal to choose magnetic pickups and piezo on that Axe. It's really a great setup. Barring the Gr-55 not playing nice with my piezo Ghost system right now. But i plan in getting the low frequency filter board to clean all that up.

Francis 7 said:
I've been doing that for awhile, but with the VG-8 and 88. I have outputs from a Switchblade switcher going into the back of the Axe to run this setup, and it works brilliantly. I just wish I could get the 8's rackmounted, right now I've got them on shelves which is the best I could rig up. Just using the 55 by itself into the back will work fantastically...!
Click to expand...
 
I didn't connect the VG99 +Axe-FX together for a while. This morning I did, and just playing notes and chords at random is ultra-fun :p

 
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Another experiment, recorded in a BOSS Micro BR80.

There is NO midi or synths. Only Guitar Modeling (VG99) and Amp Modeling (Axe-FX II).
Guitar: Stratocaster with Ghost piezo hex-pickups


VG99AXEFX.jpg


 
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well, I for one hope they never do that with the Axe. It is what it is. Maybe make an add on unit or something. The axe is complex enough and it's focus is clear IMHO-I really mean this-I would hate to see FAS take that turn- The many limits of midi cry out for a newer technology anyway. Please don't FAS. Or at least still offer the Axe for those of us that want it-which I have to believe is many.
 
just reading that thread headline makes me feel uncomfortable...axe fx 3....uggghhhhhhh I don't want to hear of it! i just got my axe fx 2.... lol
 
axecellent said:
just reading that thread headline makes me feel uncomfortable...axe fx 3....uggghhhhhhh I don't want to hear of it! i just got my axe fx 2.... lol
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Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it. I think your Axe II still has a lot of mileage left on it. Besides, I have a Digitech GSP 2101 that I use to play quietly using headphones in my family room ... it'd be nice if that were the II and the III was what I was playing regularly :) Looking forward to that day :)

+1 for an add on unit for the bells and whistles
 
An add on unit would be cool too. Its not even so much for the synth sounds for me, more the ability to tune of each string however you want and for added instruments because I enjoy looping.
 
It seems that there is some misconception about guitar modeling, guitar synths, midi guitar, v-guitar…

When you say: “That is not the real thing”.... well, the V-Guitar is not the real thing in the same proportion as the Axe-FX is neither the real thing. Like it or not, since they are the same thing!

I will try to bring some light:

Amplifier and Cabinet Modeling

You all know what it is. No presentation needed.

ie:
FAS004-2.jpg



It also has the capability to model monophonic synthesizers, Monophonic Pitch-Shifting & harmonizer...

Guitar and Pickup Modeling


  • This is exactly the same as above (Amplifier and CAB modeling), but for modeling guitars (electric, acoustic, bass, nylon...), stringed instruments, pickups, pickup placement, out-of this-world instruments…


  • It also has the capability to model polyphonic synthesizers, Polyphonic Pitch Shifting &harmonizer, Alternate Tunings with no latency or drops, Polyphonic Overdrive, Polyphonic Compressor, etc… .


  • It requires a Hex-pickup (to process the signal from the six strings separately)

ie: Roland V-Guitar (VG-8, VG-88, VG-99)

VG99.jpeg

There is no Guitar to MIDI here! therefore no tracking errors, no “like keyboard” playing! The same as with your Axe-FX.

Guitar-to-Midi

This is a completely different story. The notes of the guitar are converted into MIDI and then used to trigger a midi instrument. The result is like playing a keyboard but from the guitar. There can be tracking errors if you do not play carefully, and it does not catch all the “nuances” of the guitar playing.


The VG99 also has the capability of Guitar-to-Midi, but that is not what we are talking about here. What we are dreaming is that one day we may have a Guitar Modeler (V-Guitar) with Fractal Audio quality.

Call it Axe-FX HEX? :D

The Axe-FX has completely killed the G.A.S. for amplifiers. Imagine to kill the G.A.S. for guitars and pickups!!! 8)
 
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A 6-channel Axe-FX would really be a dream come true for me!

Running a separate amp simulation on each string with it's own distortion gives a fundamentally different sound from the usual mono output pickup systems. You can play any kind of complex chord but with each note heard perfectly clearly, as opposed to the usual mush that happens when too much distortion is applied to chords played through mono pickups.
 
NJBengals85 said:
Buying the Axe FX II was by far the best music related purchase I ever made but I do think that Roland's VG-99 definitely does do somethings that I wish the Axe could do...especially with the tunings and changing instruments with midi. With the VG-99 you could basically tune whatever string to whatever you want...and switch between different guitars, basses, acoustics. The #1 most important thing to me is sound quality, and obviously the Axe II is the best, but if it had the midi capabilities of the VG-99, all you would need would be a guitar with midi and your new Axe III and you could be a one man band for real. I could imagine that the midi portion would have to have its own processor which would drive the cost of the unit up even higher, but in theory, it would be everything someone would need.
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I suggested implementing Jam Origin guitar to mide software in the Axe II. No need for a Gk pickup. Works with any guitar . Check my blog for samples! Or check wishlist in this forum
 
I had a vg99 for years, and a vg88 before it. I sold the vg99 after I bought my AF2, but kept my vg strat. My Roland ready will go on sale soon somewhere
There were very few patches on the vg99 that were good enough to record with, just Tracer and Paragliding I think, and some tuning tricks, I think EAEEAE was my favourite, but in the end I realised that getting a cheap bass sounded better than the tracer patch, and that a nice cheap strat tuned to DADGAD sounded way better than the vg99 sims, Once I got the "Paragliding" type patch on the AF2, the vg99 went on ebay, and I sold it for more than I paid new 4 years ago ( a very rare result for me)

the vg strat sims are good enough for live, or for a HB sim when recording sometimes.

I have tried using midi guitar controllers for 21 years. My conclusion is that it's very rare they are useful, possibly only to trigger bowed instrument patches when played live. Instead I am learning to play a keyboard more accurately
I did have fun with the guitar controllers though, and the vg99 was the best roland box
 
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I still progress in the use of both the GR55 and the Axe FX 2, the routing possibilities in the Axe are also a great feature that no other device has. It's a fact that if all the Axe great amps/effects/cabs capacities and all the VG/GR guitar models and synths capacities could be grouped in a unique box, that would be so amazing and easy tu use... That's what the author wanted to say when he talked about Axe FX III...
 
The VG-99 can be very useful live. It was a major part of my rig until I recently decided to downsize. The VG wasn't mounted in my rack so it took extra setup whenever I wanted to use it. Got over the extra wires and setup time and really don't want a bigger rack to accommodate it. It's still an amazingly useful tool. When I was doing some U2 gigs, I could go from a Strat, to a LP, to a 12 string Rickenbacker or acoustic in standard or flat tunings, all with the push of a button and all from my Strat. Worked a treat. I helped out some mates last minute filling in with their metal band all in drop b. Guitars stayed in standard, the VG supplied the tuning and the AFXII supplied the amps and effects. Again worked awesome. I also added some really nice synth sounds under the ultra clean sounds. The band asked me to become a permanent member to add some of those sounds to what they already had, but it wasn't my brand of metal.

If you have the room in your rig, the VG can be super useful in lots of situations and really expand your tonal palette. I actually used it as my entire rig between when I sold my Ultra and finally got my II. Before my Ultra went, I spent a few days transferring all my sounds into the the VG with surprisingly good results. The II is obviously miles ahead in amp modelling, but the final sounds of the VG held up just fine in a mix on their own. Mine still sits in my studio for extra sounds.

If more people realised it had 2 fully featured GR-300 synths inside I think there would be heaps more sales based on that alone. Have you priced a GR-300 lately??
 
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