Axe fx ii. Two weeks in.

H

humbucker

Member
Hello, I've had my axe fx ii for a couple of weeks and thought I'd add some thoughts by way of introducing myself. I'm a vintage guy. As soon as I was able, I was buying player grade vintage guitars and amps and for the music I love (zz top, Peter Green etc) once you've played through an old Gibson with real PAFs it's tough to go back to modern efforts. Same with amps, I love old EL34 amps. I've had several old Marshalls, AC50's, Laney Supergroups/Klipp, WEMs, Selmers are the amps I've been using the last few years.
I've always loved the idea of the axe fx and I briefly owned an ultra a few years ago and in my opinion, it just didn't cut it for the type of music I enjoy. It did great high gain tones but to me it felt like there was a blanket over the speaker, it just wasn't quite direct enough for me. So I went back to my usual amps and carried on. I'd listened to clips of the axe ii over the last few years and was reasonably impressed but didn't quite get round to buying one.
My mind was made up when quantum was released. I saw Tyler Grund's SRV tutorial and decided I had to get involved. So I've picked up a used Mk1 and have been messing around and have to say, this thing is great!! I did have to get used to the latency(even though it's only slight) but I've managed to get approximate tones of my best amps at reasonable volume at home. I've played more guitar in the last couple of weeks than I have in the last six months just because of how easy it is to get going. I've just installed Q2.2 beta and have noticed that the plexi models clean up really well which really suits my playing style. I'd love an AC50 model, I'd be interested to see if I could get close by changing one of the AC30 models to EL34's.
The next step for me is using it live. I'm probably just going to go straight into our PA, I don't really fancy dragging a cab around. I realise I'm still in the honeymoon phase but I'm really going to try and stick to the the axe and make the most of it. Ultimately, it's about what inspires you to play. My amps inspire me but I just can't get them to do what they do best at home. I'll no doubt post some clips soon!
 
humbucker said:
I'd love an AC50 model, I'd be interested to see if I could get close by changing one of the AC30 models to EL34's.
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It's worth a try but probably wouldn't be that close. I know nothing about AC50's though. Don't have one, never played one. If it has the same phase inverter as an AC-30 then just changing the tube type probably wouldn't sound the same. The transconductance of EL34's is much different.
 
Good luck with your search. I like that you are working with it, not expecting it to immediately sound exactly like what you want. I always thought it was odd that no one buys an amp, brings it home and expects it to sound perfect with the settings someone at the store or factory left the knobs on before purchase, but they bash on the Axe Fx because it doesn't sound perfect to them set as it left Fractal. Yep, there are some awesome sounds in there you could take straight to the stage, but getting the right sound takes a little effort and I can see you're putting the effort in. Good job!

There is a lot of help to be had here, and having the main man of the company respond to a forum post on your first or second try doesn't happen often (if at all) elsewhere. Post when you need to and you'll often find someone who has been down the road you're on.
 
humbucker said:
Hello, I've had my axe fx ii for a couple of weeks and thought I'd add some thoughts by way of introducing myself. I'm a vintage guy.....

I'd love an AC50 model, I'd be interested to see if I could get close by changing one of the AC30 models to EL34's.
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Hi. Glad to hear you are enjoying your Axe FX.

I had my Axe FX for nearly a year before I got the sounds I really love, the ones that put a real smile on my face. I'm sure you know what I mean. But looking back, the sounds were always in there. I had a Strat Deluxe that had the noiseless pickups in them. According to Fender themselves they had 99% of the vintage sound without the noise. So I assumed it must be a problem with the amps/cabs/settings. Eventually I replaced the pickups with a set of low-wound Monty's pickups and now I get that fantastic vintage Strat sound in almost every amp model I dial in.

A very similar story with my Gibson setup.

Regarding the AC50 request, I really think the sheer number of amps and cabs in the Axe FX 2 cover ever sound you can possibly want and need. If you find yourself thinking you need another amp, chances are it's another piece of the puzzle that is really missing.

I wish you the best of luck in getting your sound. I'm sure it will be a great journey.
 
Update. So I've now had one gig and one rehearsal. The gig was a success. I just went straight to PA and just used our monitors. Our sound man said the separation was great. I've tweaked my patches a bit since, the cab I was using was a bit flabby and the amp I was using a bit more gain than I needed. I took the axe to rehearsal yesterday and we were just using our main PA speakers to monitor (HK linear 5 pros) and I was experiencing a bit more latency than I'd like. We use a QSC touch mix 16, I'm thinking it may be the second audio to digital conversion may be slowing things down but I'm not sure. If I have more problems I may have to buy a DXR12 or something similar to monitor as it was definitely affecting my playing.
 
I was hoping to avoid buying another active speaker to monitor with. Not lumping around speakers was one of the main attractions of the axe fx for me!
 
You have mentioned latency issues twice... That is about the total number of times I have heard latency referred to by anyone (in regards to audio) in the last 2.5 years of being very active on this forum.

There are lots of really experienced and talented players here, and latency would surely have been a topic here if it were coming from the Axe Fx.

Do you experience latency if you plug headphones into the Headphone jack and monitor from there? My suspicion is that something else in the chain may be the culprit. I've used mine with studio monitors, thru a power amp+FRFR cabs (my normal rig) and thru a power amp+ guitar cab and never noticed any latency.

Welcome to the forum... Lots of helpful people here:grinning:
 
unix-guy said:
You have mentioned latency issues twice... That is about the total number of times I have heard latency referred to by anyone (in regards to audio) in the last 2.5 years of being very active on this forum.

There are lots of really experienced and talented players here, and latency would surely have been a topic here if it were coming from the Axe Fx.

Do you experience latency if you plug headphones into the Headphone jack and monitor from there? My suspicion is that something else in the chain may be the culprit. I've used mine with studio monitors, thru a power amp+FRFR cabs (my normal rig) and thru a power amp+ guitar cab and never noticed any latency.

Welcome to the forum... Lots of helpful people here:grinning:
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Ok, maybe I should clear that up. I don't think the axe fx was responsible for the latency issues I was having at rehearsal although I can definitely feel the latency in the axe. It is tiny, way better than any other digital processor I've used but it is there (yes, with headphones). The problems I was having at rehearsal I think were caused by the signal chain. Our desk is digital, so it is converting the signal from the axe from analogue to digital and then back to analogue before going to the speakers. Granted, the speakers were a few feet away which would have added to the problem.

I'm just relaying my experience so far, I've been a pro musician for twenty years, I'm not bagging on the Axe fx at all. I love it and am in 100%.
 
moshwitz said:
sooo...can't you run the analog out to your monitors?
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Not directly, no. Our monitors only have one input and are daisy chained. I sing, so need our current monitors for that purpose. I'll probably get a small active speaker just for monitoring guitar.
 
can feel latency in the Axe?? nah....if there were palpable latency present do you think the technical players that use the Axe would use it?
 
I've used the Ultra, AxeFx2 and now XL for over 7 yrs.. and NEVER had an issue with latency in ANY situation with the Axe.
My guess is your latency is related to your PA, not the Axe.
 
I'm pretty sensitive to latency, and I respectfully request giving the new guy the benefit of the doubt.
Don't assume that it's not perceivable because it doesn't bother you.

The Axe has lower latency than some other processors, but since it uses digital conversion and processing, it's still more than an analog amp, close-mic'd, listening through an analog monitor feed to headphones.

It's not about how fast you play, or if you can compensate and play tight with the click/drums/other band members.
It's about feeling the note being played with your hands vs. when you hear it.

That said, the AxeII latency is below my personal threshold of annoyance, so that part is fine.
 
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gtrnstuff said:
I'm pretty sensitive to latency, and I respectfully request giving the new guy the benefit of the doubt.
Don't assume that it's not perceivable because it doesn't bother you.

The Axe has lower latency than some other processors, but since it uses digital conversion and processing, it's still more than an analog amp, close-mic'd, listening through an analog monitor feed to headphones.

It's not about how fast you play, or if you can compensate and play tight with the click/drums/other band members.
It's about feeling the note being played with your hands vs. when you hear it.

That said, the AxeII latency is below my personal threshold of annoyance, so that part is fine.
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I assume you never stand more than a foot away from the sound source, because that's about the same latency as the Axe.
 
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