Axe FX Ultra vs. Avid Eleven Rack

Nice. I like Riffworks software mostly for the drum machine and the tweakability of that machine, since I don't have a reliable drummer to count on for demo work. Does Reaper include a drum machine?
 
I really don't know if it does or not since I still haven't used it but I know there are free drum vst plugins and free drum loops out there. You could always rough up a demo song in Riffworks. Then mix it down to a stereo track and import it into Reaper and play along with it like a click track. Toontracks has some nice affordable virtual drummer programs in all different music genres. Ezdrummer and Drumkit from Hell are nice.
 
Nice. I'll have to give that a try. I'm going to see if the Ultra is compatible with riffworks and if it is, I may just stick with that for now.
 
I am in the same boat.. I am tied between the Axe FX and Eleven Rack. The Eleven Rack is very appealing based on the price. I would love an Axe FX but they go for around $1,000 used and then another $100-$200 for the audio interface. I have seen Eleven Racks for around $550-$600 used and they have the interface built in.

Now I have heard that the Eleven Racks are easier to use and get good tone from. Having the interface built in also adds to user friendliness and having a headphone out right on the front is a huge plus for me (silent recording).
So would you guys say an Eleven Rack would be more user friendly and easier to get up and go? I am actually a college student with little funds and little time for recording so maybe the Eleven Rack would be all around better for me. I would like something that takes little time to set up so I can Jam and do some recordings with the little time I have between classes and assignments. College is actually the reason I started looking into these. I am selling my tube amp and all my stomp boxes because I have to get into a silent solution so I can record/play in my campus dorm.

Does anyone know how the Pro Tools license works with Eleven Rack when buying used? Are PT licenses transferable? If the seller doesn't want to include Pro Tools, can you buy a Pro Tools LE license by itself? Pro Tools 10 is a whopping $700, so I'm not about to pay more for the DAW then I am the Eleven Rack unit.

For the record, I play ESP/LTD V's with EMGs and Duncan Distortions. I play metal \m/ \m/


@RebelRocker20 I used to use an older Riffworks program for my drums. Can't remember the exact version and name... But, I since switched to Toontrack EZDrummer and am liking it much better. I really recommend you check it out. It's a VST plugin that you program using a midi grid. And no, Reaper does not include a drum machine. Reaper is what I am currently using with the EZDrummer VST plugin. It has midi support so you just open up a midi grid and work away.
 
Last edited:
@danpluso I would say the eleven would be great for what you want to do and I just sold mine for $450 with Pro tools 8 LE. I got rid of it because it was limited on FX and "tweakability." The amps and FX that it does have do sound good and for the price its nice. Are you going to play live at all? If you just want something to record and practice with maybe you could get an interface like a Pod Studio/Toneport. They come with Pod Farm Vst and you can use all sorts of other free guitar sims with them. Supposedly lots of free cab IRs out there with seem to make Pod Farm sound much better. For playing live I need something that has everything in one box so I can set up patches for individual songs. If i were just recording the Eleven Rack probably wouldve been enough because everything it didn't have I could add with Pod Farm platinum or some other vst in the DAW. This is all ignoring the aspect of TONE and which sounds better.. but my Ultra hasnt got here yet so I cant comment on that.
 
Thanks for the tip, dan! As for the Axe FX units, I was in the same position as you. I was very skeptical of these units and wondered how people could justify their price tag. After being overwhelmed by great reviews from all over the internet and through some people I've talked to, it convinced me that it was worth the investment. I'll comment more on this once I get my unit and get to test it out.
 
I've owned the Axe Fx II, Standard and Ultra - as well as a Eleven Rack. The Fractal Units along with impulse IR's make the fractal units quite a bit better then an Eleven Rack if you ask me. The FX on the Axe units are also extrodinary. Grab yourself a Standard Axe Fx for $1150 and give it a go. Grab a Focusrite Scarlett for $140 and a cheap USB cable for $25 for axe edit for a total of like $1300. if you want to gig with it pick up a Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro for like $200 used
 
my Ultra hasnt got here yet so I cant comment on that.


Brandon, it should be at your house tomorrow! Get psyched!

I also have an Eleven Rack that I was considering putting up for sale in the next couple of days. It's actually a pretty good unit. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the AxeFx, but it still sounds quite good, and has a decent variety of amps, especially with the expansion pack installed. You can get one used for pretty cheap too.

Kevin
 
I have owned the eleven rack for over two years and most of the tones are good. However I just got my Ultra last week and straight out of the box the recto and other heavier tones are tons better. Sounds alot more organic to me, and with some tweaking will be awesome no doubt. I am running it through a scarlett 8I6 which works great. It took me awhile to figure out how to connect the axe edit via MIDI into Scarlett but its up and running now. I like the fact that I do not need a recording app open like pro tools to use the Axe Edit GUI. This is one setback that elevenrack had since you could only use the GUI editor with pro tools running which I really extremely hated. No sense burning up CPU when you dont want to. All and all I am glad I sold the elevenrack and my FCB1010 even with the expansion pack the Axe Fx is worlds apart.
Seriously.
 
@brandon9271 No, I probably won't be playing live at all. To be honest I have never cared to play live, despite tons of people urging me to. I play more for myself and I like to jam in my room and record songs whenever I feel up to it. But who knows, if I get enough originals recorded and move to the big city, that might change.

I actually have a Line 6 Toneport UX1 right now. It never came with Pod Farm or any VST plugins. It only came with standalone Gearbox which I have tried to like and just can't seem to. I used to use Amplitube Metal a lot at a friends house and after getting used to that, I just don't think Gearbox is going to cut it. So with my toneport, I was thinking of getting Amplitube3, Revalver or PodFarm 2. All of those cost over $200 so I started looking into other things like Pod HD and Eleven Rack.

Another reason why I am interested in a device like Eleven Rack or Axe FX is that I will be selling my beastly desktop computer soon. As I said, I am a college student so the desktop is going to go and be replaced with a smaller, slower laptop for doing assignments and things. My current desktop can handle anything I throw at it but with the laptop I would be worried about running too many VST tracks. The Eleven Rack and Axe FX of course do all the tone processing right on the unit, so they would be better for recording on older slower systems. Plus I have the impression that either Eleven Rack or Axe FX will give tone far better than Amplitube or Revalver are capable of.

@Dr Git Do all Axe FX version allow you to import your own impulses? That is one feature I really like about Axe FX II. The Eleven Rack, from what I have read, is stuck with it's stock impulses, right?

At the moment I have a lot of gear I am trying to sell and very little cash to spare (usually how it is, right? lol). So I won't be able to purchase anything right now. I did throw up a post in the wanted section offering a trade on my brand new Schecter Blackjack ATX C-7 with Schecter case. I never got around to liking the 7 strings and it just sits in it's case. Has around 10-15 hours of play time on it. Also trying to sell my tube amp setup and all my stomp boxes. If I could sell everything I have for sale now I would have more than enough to get an Axe FX Standard.

@judmeister Thanks for sharing your experience. Pro Tools is a huge deterrent between me and the Eleven Rack. I never really did like Pro Tools and don't like being forced to use it. I don't think I will jump on an Eleven Rack right away (unless someone is interested in my Schecter). Hopefully I can sell some of my gear and the prices drop a bit on the Axe FX Standards. Sucks being a broke college student :(
 
Back
Top Bottom