Axe Fx II smokes the Ultra

IAlso I was hesitant to try recording with the usb feature fearing that with sonar X1 it might be tricky to get working but It pretty much plugin and play no settings to configure and no issues and so cool.

I am glad to hear this. I have had trouble w/ Sonar 8 Pro and (2) interfaces working together before. Easy reamping is one of the big reasons for me to upgrade to a II. The improved G2 is bonus though. Also I just couldnt see myself putting more time into the Ultra when I couldnt port any settings over to the II.
 
Hyperbole aside, a lot of the improvements in the II go beyond what can be captured in clips: usability enhancements, USB, change in amp model responsiveness. Besides, most of the sonic improvements aren't likely to be discernible in a YouTube-quality clip anyway.

It's not just AxeFx users. That sort of gushing is commonplace in internet discussion of most any new piece of gear, especially higher-end stuff.

Alec is wise and IMHO right on the money.
 
Would you agree that, interface improvements aside, Axe II is more than just Gen1 with V11 on a bunch of new hardware?
Yes. There are user enhancements (e.g., X/Y selection) signal processing improvements (e.g. input level changes), enhancements to many effects blocks, etc., etc. That does not lead to the II "smoking" Gen I units, however.
 
And please remember that Jay has the 2 as a beta tester.

He has never written that he "needs" to upgrade from his Standard to the 2 or even to an Ultra to satisfy his sound quality requirements.

Motion to avoid hyperbole has been seconded. All in favor? "Aye."

I've got one now. You've seen what I've had to say, and I even posted comparison clips. There's nothing to retract. The Gen I devices are good enough that nothing can "smoke" them.

Something may be getting "smoked" here, but it ain't Gen I Axe-Fxs. :)
 
Emotion is a key ingredient in a statement such as that made by the op, imho. He made a decision, invested a BUNCH of money in it, and is now emotionally invested in that decision and therefore needs to justify his decision by touting it to the world. Those who have not gone the same path, are invested in their decision, ULTRA ownership, for example and will naturally react negatively to such hyperbole.

Wisdom comes from those who have either played or owned both and who can separate their emotion from their statements, such as Jay and Scott.
 
1st Gen iPhone (Axe Std)
3gS (Axe Ultra)
4g (Axe 2)

The original iPhone/Axe-Fx was revolutionary. These newest incarnations are just making a solid foundation even more reinforced (better processors, slightly better performance, larger screen, more features).
 
Sheesh..i think people are going to start reading way to much into this thread!

A guy bought the Ax II, really likes it, expresses his pleasure with words to that effect and maybe a slight exaggeration (something we all do)

End of story.

Mark nails the 'other' side of the story.

I can't believe we are out to bag on a guy because he's happy. If he feels it smokes another box, then he's entitled to that opinion. And you are entitled to not agree with him and post it.

But really, folks are just too damn touchy about most anything. If you like something, the folks rush in to tell you you like it too much. If you don't like something, folks rush in to tell you you dislike it too much. Slow down folks - the bigger the forum gets, the less we will 'all' agree on any one thing anyway.

And that's ok. It's all ok. And none of it is really that important.
 
Got my II on Friday. Played thru the first couple dozen factory presets, which are pretty basic amp demos. They sounded awesome. Wanted to use it Sunday evening at church. So on Saturday I proceeded to "copy" my go to worship patches, a Class A (with Top Boost tonestack) and a Plexi. Carefully entered all the settings exactly as they are on my Standard. Whoa - this was not working.

So I instead went to the factory presets for those two amps, tweaked a little for volume, chorus and delay and just like that I was in business. I hadn't looked earlier but now I discovered that the settings in these presets are very close to default, not extensively tweaked like my old ones. And they sound truer - richer, lush, more complex, more authentic. Some realistic terms for you Dutch! :)

Sunday I quickly changed the default CC's to match what was already set up in my Liquid Foot Jr and everything worked perfectly and sounded better than ever! That impression held and was was confirmed by comments made at rehearsal and during the service by my bandmates, only one of which knew I had a new black box.

Based on this short experience, I can see I'm going do be doing away with a few former practices - drives in front of low/medium gain amps to add hair (the hair is already there), blocking and shaping PEQ's to cut in the mix, a lot of bass, mid & treble dialing, to name a few.

The II is a whole new beast, the new algorithms sound superior, and old settings won't map to the new box. This is going to make dialing tones much more straightforward and rewarding.

So, yeah, 'smokes' is pretty much dead on!
Nicely written post. Pointed, articulate, descriptive, brief, informative...... and you didn't throw anyone under the bus in the process! :D
Well done.
Thank you,
Joe
 
IMO
The Gen 1 Amp Sims' default parameter values could use an overhaul.
I see no reason why dialing in a decent tone should need to involve tweaking the Advanced Amp Parameters (and/or resorting to extra blocks with EQ's and/or drives, etc.), and all too often it does.
If the default parameters were closer to the tone of the amp being modelled it could make dialing in a tone on a Gen 1 unit almost as easy as it purportedly is to dial it in on a II.
 
IMO
The Gen 1 Amp Sims' default parameter values could use an overhaul.

But the reality is that is never going to happen, we all bought the Ax for what it is and had to deal with it accordingly.

There is no profit in doing anything like that, and like it or not Cliff is not our "buddy" but is running a business, and i'm guessing time & commitments lie sorely with the Ax II and any future product releases.
 
Got my II on Friday. Played thru the first couple dozen factory presets, which are pretty basic amp demos. They sounded awesome. Wanted to use it Sunday evening at church. So on Saturday I proceeded to "copy" my go to worship patches, a Class A (with Top Boost tonestack) and a Plexi. Carefully entered all the settings exactly as they are on my Standard. Whoa - this was not working.

So I instead went to the factory presets for those two amps, tweaked a little for volume, chorus and delay and just like that I was in business. I hadn't looked earlier but now I discovered that the settings in these presets are very close to default, not extensively tweaked like my old ones. And they sound truer - richer, lush, more complex, more authentic. Some realistic terms for you Dutch! :)

Sunday I quickly changed the default CC's to match what was already set up in my Liquid Foot Jr and everything worked perfectly and sounded better than ever! That impression held and was was confirmed by comments made at rehearsal and during the service by my bandmates, only one of which knew I had a new black box.

Based on this short experience, I can see I'm going do be doing away with a few former practices - drives in front of low/medium gain amps to add hair (the hair is already there), blocking and shaping PEQ's to cut in the mix, a lot of bass, mid & treble dialing, to name a few.

The II is a whole new beast, the new algorithms sound superior, and old settings won't map to the new box. This is going to make dialing tones much more straightforward and rewarding.

So, yeah, 'smokes' is pretty much dead on!


Yep, starting the amp models (and some of the effects) from scratch is just plain easier.
 
Hyperbole aside, a lot of the improvements in the II go beyond what can be captured in clips: usability enhancements, USB, change in amp model responsiveness. Besides, most of the sonic improvements aren't likely to be discernible in a YouTube-quality clip anyway.

It's not just AxeFx users. That sort of gushing is commonplace in internet discussion of most any new piece of gear, especially higher-end stuff.

The added features of the II are superb and are what everyone asked for a long time ago. My point was OTHER THAN THE OBVIOUS IMPROVEMENTS , freakin "SHOW ME" how it smokes the ULTRA. You come in here open up a can of new worms with the statement that will get Ultra owners a little defensive, now back it up. I dont care if you got some "You cant see me behind my keyboard, just openend an AXE II, gunna share with the Internet" excitement!

The op isnt even worthy of the review section. Lounge worthy at best.
 
Thank you. I said when I first got my Standard that future improvements would tend to be of a subtle nature. That statement was predicated on the ability to effectively use the available tools to get the sounds you want. As new firmware releases became available, at times the default settings sounded different (not always better to my ears BTW) in not-so-subtle ways, but the ability of the device to create the sounds I wanted improved gradually, as opposed to dramatically.

Motion seconded.

I've got a II and a Standard right here. While there are some compelling reasons to upgrade to the new unit, it doesn't "smoke" the old one by any stretch. The Gen I devices remain as viable as they ever were.

Hyperbole tends to reduce one's credibility. Careful comparison with detailed descriptions of the differences is more valuable to the community and more believable as well.

+1

D
 
LOL I didnt mean to start a fuss. I posted that before I went to bed. To describe the sound the difference is like difference between sd and hd. Yes easier to dial in the sweet spots are wide. The whole sound is tighter. I wanted the cool features of the Axe II but I honestly thought the sound would be better but it seems to be much better than I expected. Notes stick out far better. Ultra is the best thing besides and eats pods for breakfast.
 
But the reality is that is never going to happen, we all bought the Ax for what it is and had to deal with it accordingly.

There is no profit in doing anything like that, and like it or not Cliff is not our "buddy" but is running a business, and i'm guessing time & commitments lie sorely with the Ax II and any future product releases.

I see no technical reasons why this couldn't be attempted by Cliff in a firmware update, but I'm not Cliff and don't know any of the technical problems that might really exist in doing this.
As to whether or not he *will* do anything like this, I think you're right and it's highly unlikely.
 
Perhaps some members who have both will post some near-equivalent settings for the G1 units.

I'd guess some people are considering keeping an Ultra (or Standard) as a back up to a future Axe II, so it would make sense to take the time to get similar sounds from the two units. If that requires an advanced degree in tweakology then that backup strategy may not work for everyone.
 
The added features of the II are superb and are what everyone asked for a long time ago. My point was OTHER THAN THE OBVIOUS IMPROVEMENTS , freakin "SHOW ME" how it smokes the ULTRA. You come in here open up a can of new worms with the statement that will get Ultra owners a little defensive, now back it up. I dont care if you got some "You cant see me behind my keyboard, just openend an AXE II, gunna share with the Internet" excitement!

The op isnt even worthy of the review section. Lounge worthy at best.
Why are you going off on me? While I'm anything but disappointed with the new model, I'd say I've been more measured in my comments than the vast majority of folks who've actually tried one.

If you think that sonic quality as demonstrated in compressed audio clips is the only thing worth evaluating, you're more than welcome to that perspective. That said, given the quality of the Ultra's sound and the sonic detail lost in MP3 compression, it's not necessarily going to knock your socks off. Personally, I've never been a fan of clips as a way to evaluate a piece of gear, particularly amps. For me, the way an amp feels and responds is as big a deal as having the right timbre. Very few clips I've ever heard do a decent job of expressing that. Of course, YMMV.
 
Mark nails the 'other' side of the story.

I can't believe we are out to bag on a guy because he's happy. If he feels it smokes another box, then he's entitled to that opinion. And you are entitled to not agree with him and post it.

But really, folks are just too damn touchy about most anything. If you like something, the folks rush in to tell you you like it too much. If you don't like something, folks rush in to tell you you dislike it too much. Slow down folks - the bigger the forum gets, the less we will 'all' agree on any one thing anyway.

And that's ok. It's all ok. And none of it is really that important.

This.....
 
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