Axe Fx II vs VG-99?

Bodde

Bodde

Fractal Fanatic
Did anyone here compare the two or is someone here owning a VG-99 also? How is the amp modelling compared to the Axe II? and the effects?
Just on the verve of buying either or VG-99 or Fishman Tripleplay to use along with my Axe II. Really like the alternate tunings and GR-300 sounds of the VG-99 but also the flexible softsynth options of the Tripleplay. Can't decide between the two. They are totally different beasts but I like some of features of each.
 
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I own both and love them both. Nothing beats Axe FX amp modelling but nothing beats the ease of patch creation on the VG IMO. I also have the GR-55. If fractal had guitar modeling and a hex pickup input with alternate tuning capability it would be utopia. TBH, if its for home studio use and you had to decide between the two then I would choose the VG-99. I use all the different guitars and bass modeling in it for recording.

Why not buy both? lol. I bought the VG-99 in 2007 when it first came out. Hard to believe. I only got an Axe this year. Honestly, you can get a good used deal on a VG-99 ($900-$1000) but will be hard pressed to find a used Axe for less than $1850. With the VG-99, the FC300 is a must. Just like the MFC and the AxeFX

VG community is here VGuitar Forums - Index
 
I own both an Axe-FX II and a VG-99. The VG-99 is an extremely flexible and versatile tool, but it's amp modelling is significantly behind what's available on the Axe-FX II. The effects are still pretty serviceable. I still use both today, feeding the instrument modelling and hexaphonic effects of the VG-99 into the Axe-FX for amp modelling and mono/stereo effects.

Here's some questions to help narrow things down.
- What's more important to you (or going to be used more often), harmonic restructuring (i.e. VG-99 instrument modelling) or pitch-to-MIDI translation?
- Do you need a synth engine, or do you have some external synth-engine to plug into already?
- Do you have a 13-pin output on any guitar currently, and if not, are you willing to install either the external or internal GK pickup?
- Is the TriplePlay's wireless feature important to you?
 
Thanks David, good tips.

My (live) setup will be:
-Axe II (controlled by MFC)
-looping software (controlled by Behringer FCB)
-host: Ableton live (on laptop)
-Tripleplay/soft synths (on laptop) or VG-99 (instead of Tripleplay).

The VG-99 will make the setup more complex because it is one more piece of hardware. Tripleplay has a better pitch to midi tracking and more synth sound possibilities. But VG-99 has the alt tunings which I really like and the GR-300 sounds. Don't have a midi pickup yet. Think I prefer the Tripleplay pickup (and wireless aspect) over the GK pickup. Not sure though.
Since I can not try any of my options beforehand I am trying to make up my mind by asking and reading a lot.

A to the T said:
Why not buy both?
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I already have an Axe fx II. Was just wondering how the amp modelling of the VG-99 was compared to the Axe fx II amp modelling since the VG-99 is already quit 'old'. The Axe fx II off course has no guitar modelling. So the choice is not Axe II or VG-99. But VG-99 or Tripleplay.
 
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I don't have the qualifications to comment in this thread- but I'd like to add based on my experience...

there's a HUGE difference between using a roland synth unit with a GK pickup added- vs a guitar like a godin with it built into the guitar/saddles.
 
I owned the VG-99 and there's no comparison. VG-99 is very synthetic, takes lots of faffing, drilling holes in guitars, etc. Axe-FX 2 is the best thing I've bought in 30 years period.
 
MikeAllenPugh said:
I owned the VG-99 and there's no comparison. VG-99 is very synthetic, takes lots of faffing, drilling holes in guitars, etc. Axe-FX 2 is the best thing I've bought in 30 years period.
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I love my axe fx but I have to disagree with your vg99 opinion. I find the pitch and harmony fx better than axe fx, I dont find it very synthetic. Theres no question that its not an axe fx. Imo its the best bang for the buck. If I was pressed to only kwn one piece of gear I'd choose the vg99 due to flexibility and functionality. Im kinda hoping the next gen vg is released next spring but who knows. No drilling holes in guitars required. As a matter of fact, I use it with both an external and internal gk as well as straight old fashioned magnetic pickups :)

Have you thought of using GR55 and a tripleplay instead of VG?
 
A to the T said:
I love my axe fx but I have to disagree with your vg99 opinion. I find the pitch and harmony fx better than axe fx, I dont find it very synthetic. Theres no question that its not an axe fx. Imo its the best bang for the buck. If I was pressed to only kwn one piece of gear I'd choose the vg99 due to flexibility and functionality. Im kinda hoping the next gen vg is released next spring but who knows. No drilling holes in guitars required. As a matter of fact, I use it with both an external and internal gk as well as straight old fashioned magnetic pickups :)

Have you thought of using GR55 and a tripleplay instead of VG?
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What he said. Although I doubt there is going to be a next gen VG. Roland's typical MO is to create an extremely versatile and powerful unit, then dumb it down and add bells and whistles while removing things that made their previous unit great. That's probably even more so with the VG as the marketing was horrible and sales reflected that. I hope I'm wrong cuz I would definitely buy a new one if it was actually a next gen unit, but I'm not holding my breath.

Also, you don't need to drill your guitar at all to install a GK pup. My first guitar to have a GK3 was my Parker Spring. It's #2 of 25. That fact alone means there ain't gonna be no drilling. If you have a carved top, you can use the included plastic spacers, cutting and stacking them into a wedge, to create a flat surface for mounting your GK. Save the thinnest one as the last layer to enclose the stack of shims. You can then use a single medium 3M Command Strip cut in half to attach it to your guitar. You put the 2 halves end to end to create one strip with a pull tab on each end. Done this way they're exactly the length and width of a GK3. Crazy simple and gig stable. Since the pull tabs are white, you can use a marker to make them a color that matches your guitar. If you decide to take it off, just use the pull tabs. I've done it that way on several guitars. I've removed them from a couple as well.

Also, piezos don't work with the VG-99 without a mod to the unit.
 
A to the T said:
Have you thought of using GR55 and a tripleplay instead of VG?
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Just check my first post. That's was the reason I started this topic; the choice between Tripleplay and VG-99. I don't like the GR-55 (or GR-33) sounds. Sounds too artificial and neat to me. I like more lively and raw synth sounds. I like analog synth sounds but also nice string sounds. Don't need brass sounds. I am more into experimental and ambient sounds.

Yes, it would be great if Roland came out with a new VG-100 or so but don't think it will happen. They just released the GR-55 and they don't want to compete with their own stuff. The VG was never a mass market product anyway so it has no priority for Roland I think.
 
Okay, let's not start a VG-99 vs. Axe-FX war, that's pointless. Back to the topic at hand.

Bodde, let me try and read through the lines a bit here.
- You're not interested in the GR-55, or (it seems) hardware synth engines in general as you're plan on using Ableton/softsynths
- You're not interested in the VG-99's instrument modelling, but are interested in it's harmonic restructuring capabilities (think GR-300, analog synth brass/string/organ/pipe sounds)
- You're not dependent on wireless

I'll point out some things you seem to have missed/not considered. The VG-99 has a really decent pitch-to-midi converter that can be fed into Ableton/softsynths (via USB or MIDI cables) without a problem. It may not be as good as the TriplePlay (I haven't used one) but it's certainly better than past GR-series guitar synths (e.g. GR-30, GR-33), and I'd be surprised if it wasn't at least competitive (in my usage of it, it's been quite good).

In this way, you could have your cake and eat it too. You can use harmonic restructure modelling to create really nice synth sounds that respond directly to guitar input, and then fall back to MIDI for the sounds you can't get with the VG-99 alone. Of course, that's a more expensive option, but gives you the ultimate in flexibility. The only negatives as far as I can see are that you'll need to use a GK pickup, losing the wireless option. If you can live with that, and the added expense, then it's worth it to get the VG-99.
 
Very good points again David! think you really understand very well what I am trying to find out.

only extra things that I need to consider:
-the FTP wireless and mounting system seems a bit more convenient than the GK pickup
-when using FTP I can do more on the laptop. When having the Roland VG-99 it is one more piece of hardware in my setup. Meaning more cables and more gear to carry etc.
-pitch to midi tracking is much faster on the FTP from what I read

so this is all in favor of the FTP

Now in favor of the VG-99:
-alternate tunings which I really like. Can be done on the FTP but is very elaborate and not user friendly. Maybe they will have an alt tuning option in future software update. Who knows.
-nice analog type synth sounds. But maybe I can get those from some soft synth as well (?)
-guitar modelling and extra effects

Still not decided. I am having a hard time making up my mind.
 
I'm not sure I follow when you say you can do more on the laptop with the FTP. You can do the exact same things with the MIDI performance from the VG-99 as you can with the MIDI performance from the FTP. If you mean the FTP is a simpler setup for just MIDI performance, I agree.

As for GK installation, I don't know that there's a massive difference between installing the external GK-3 pickup and the FTP. The FTP is thinner, but that doesn't make it any easier to install. Obviously the internal GK-KIT is neater, but takes experience with woodworking to install yourself.

As for speed, the FTP is the newest MIDI kit around, so the tracking should be as good as currently possible (at least in a battery powered wireless unit). Certainly in videos, in looks very fast and accurate. If this is the most important factor to you, than you have your answer.

Lastly, the analog synth type sounds. Remember that for the VG-99, there is no tracking (as such, they do use pitch detection, but that gets into some serious complexity) on those sounds, and they are responding directly to your guitar input. You may be able to get similar sounds on the FTP, but they won't be as expressive as they are on the VG-99.
 
David Whittingham said:
I'm not sure I follow when you say you can do more on the laptop with the FTP. You can do the exact same things with the MIDI performance from the VG-99 as you can with the MIDI performance from the FTP. If you mean the FTP is a simpler setup for just MIDI performance, I agree.
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Yes that's what I mean. The FTP is faster when using pitch to midi then the VG-99. And having the FTP will mean I do all the sound editing on the laptop. Also saving me one piece of hardware in my setup because I already use my laptop for the looper software. So I already have the Axe II, MFC, Behringer FCB, some extra effect pedals and laptop to carry for gigs and rehearsals.

You are right about the feel of the VG-99 when using the build in synth sounds versus the FTP
 
I have been using the VG-99 for 2 years now. When I decided that I HAD TO HAVE an AxeFXII, the plan was to sell the VG to offset the cost. Just from YouTube alone, I knew the Axe was going to blow away the VG in so far as the wonderful vintage sounds. Following delivery of the Axe, I didn't fire up the VG for 2 months. When the time came to make a comparison, I realized the time and effort I put into writing about 45 custom patches on the VG. WOW! Do I really want to get rid of this thing?? I quickly put an end to the thoughts of dumping my "previous girlfriend" and realized I had to be a 2-faced Fu*ker. One of my biggest messages to FAS is that the 13 pin concept needs to be seriously considered for the AxeIII. Let's face it, processing each string individually opens doors to a whole new world of effects combinations and the sonic results. Agreed, it may require a third Tigersharc processor, but several threads I've read indicate Cliff already has customers willing and ready to fork out even MORE bucks for the next generation machine. Back to the VG-99....the truth is, it can produce some awesome sounds that I am yet unable to squeeze out of my AxeII.
I NEVER thought I'd catch myself saying this! (but it's true)
p.s. I don't use pitch-midi at all
 
Had a VG-8 for years. I just sold it about a month ago. I hadn't played it in probably 4 years, but I was thinking about holding onto it. Fired it up and it sounded like it was almost 20 years old. The pitch shifting tracks great with the hex pickup and some of the synth type sounds were pretty decent, but I'm beyond installing GK pickups on my guitars at this point and the AxeFXII is just so much better sounding and feeling with good old fashioned analog pickups.

The VG99 will almost definitely be better, but one of the biggest problems I had with any of those things was the hex pickups. It's about the best thing going for that type of deal, but they just never sound or react like regular pickups do.

It is a powerful tool no doubt, but if I had to choose just one unless I had a need to do tons of alternate tunings on the fly there is no way that I'd choose anything over the AxeFXII right now.
 
Bodde said:
Just check my first post. That's was the reason I started this topic; the choice between Tripleplay and VG-99. I don't like the GR-55 (or GR-33) sounds. Sounds too artificial and neat to me. I like more lively and raw synth sounds. I like analog synth sounds but also nice string sounds. Don't need brass sounds. I am more into experimental and ambient sounds.

Yes, it would be great if Roland came out with a new VG-100 or so but don't think it will happen. They just released the GR-55 and they don't want to compete with their own stuff. The VG was never a mass market product anyway so it has no priority for Roland I think.
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Sorry Bodde, was just trying to help here. I own all 3 and I clearly have a different opinion than all of you responding. Has nothing to do with a vg99 axefx war at all.... If you dont like the GR300 COSM synth sounds then you may not like VG99's GR300 COSM synth sounds. GR55 was released two years ago, Roland has been releasing next gen VG's every 7 years. Vg88 came out in 2000 and the 99 in 2007 so im hoping we see something in 2014. Axe FX is not a mass market product either. Im sure they sold more GRs due to the price point but im a guitar players guitar player so I really dont use is as much as i use the vg or axe. I think I'll fire it up this weekend and see how well I can integrate it in with the axe.

The FTP is really interesting. I may eventually get one myself but I would highly recommend you check this thread. Tons of great information in it.
http:// http://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=9422.0
 
shasha said:
The VG99 will almost definitely be better, but one of the biggest problems I had with any of those things was the hex pickups. It's about the best thing going for that type of deal, but they just never sound or react like regular pickups do.

It is a powerful tool no doubt, but if I had to choose just one unless I had a need to do tons of alternate tunings on the fly there is no way that I'd choose anything over the AxeFXII right now.
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I think the COSM guitars in it are awesome. All the presets I post here which include soundcloud samples that were all done using the VG99 COSM guitar models through the Axe FX. Its the best way for me to do a tone match because I dont own a les paul, rickenbacker, or strat.. Just a humble Ibanez. I can't seem to live without either processor....
 
A to the T said:
Sorry Bodde, was just trying to help here. I own all 3 and I clearly have a different opinion than all of you responding. Has nothing to do with a vg99 axefx war at all.... If you dont like the GR300 COSM synth sounds then you may not like VG99's GR300 COSM synth sounds. GR55 was released two years ago, Roland has been releasing next gen VG's every 7 years. Vg88 came out in 2000 and the 99 in 2007 so im hoping we see something in 2014.
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No problem. I appreciate all posts and help here. I really do like the VG-99 GR-300 sounds but am not very fond of the sounds of the GR-55 (judging from what I hear on youtube). Let's hope you are right about a new VG in 2014!
 
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