AXE FX's - Do I need two Pedals? (Wah & Volume)

[Muzick]

Hey guys,

Been playing guitar for a little while and I'm wondering if it's necessary to have a volume pedal and and wah pedal? Can you get one pedal for both? Or is there specific reasons why you need both?

Here's what I'm interested in getting:

Budda Wah Pedal:
http://www.budda.com/gear/gear.cfm?series=610

G-Labs True Bypass:
http://justinguitar.com/en/GG-399-WAH-GlabWahPad.php

Additionally, to use with the AXEFX, do I have to get a midi controller or an analog one? Do I have a choice? If I do, which do you guys recommend / prefer?

Thanks!

 

[Rex]

Hi, BORNintoMUSIC. I'm not 100% sure what you're asking, but I'll take a stab at what I think your questions are.

Been playing guitar for a little while and I'm wondering if it's necessary to have a volume pedal and and wah pedal? Can you get one pedal for both? Or is there specific reasons why you need both?

You don't need either with the Axe-FX unless you want to control volume or wah on the fly. The Axe-FX can take two expression pedals. These are typically just plain old volume pedals. The Axe can use these pedals to control anything that's controllable in the unit: gain, master volume, effects parameters or anything else. You don't actually need a wah pedal at all. The Axe has a wonderful wah built in that can be configured to sound like any wah pedal you've ever heard, as well as many you've never heard. You control it with one of those expression pedals.

Additionally, to use with the AXEFX, do I have to get a midi controller or an analog one? Do I have a choice? If I do, which do you guys recommend / prefer?Thanks!

If you want to control the Axe-FX while you're playing, beyond the control that an expression pedal or two can give you, you need a MIDI floor controller. You asked about using an analog controller, but I don't know what that is. Can you give us an example of one?

You can get many wonderful sounds out of the Axe-FX without any pedals or controllers at all, so those aren't absolutely necessary unless you want on-the-fly control of your rig.

 

[Muzick]

You don't need either with the Axe-FX unless you want to control volume or wah on the fly. The Axe-FX can take two expression pedals. These are typically just plain old volume pedals. The Axe can use these pedals to control anything that's controllable in the unit: gain, master volume, effects parameters or anything else. You don't actually need a wah pedal at all. The Axe has a wonderful wah built in that can be configured to sound like any wah pedal you've ever heard, as well as many you've never heard. You control it with one of those expression pedals.

So some people have both pedals because they always want to be able to control their volume, and the other pedal serves as a universal attribute controller?

If you want to control the Axe-FX while you're playing, beyond the control that an expression pedal or two can give you, you need a MIDI floor controller. You asked about using an analog controller, but I don't know what that is. Can you give us an example of one?

I probably didn't use the correct termonlogy by using analog. This is what I thought an analog controller was:

http://www.budda.com/gear/gear.cfm?series=610

So I'll need to get a midi foot controller then? Is there one you would recommend?

 

[GuitarDojo]

I have mine seperated out 3 expression pedals - Wah Whammy and Volume.
I tried it with one - Whammy.Wah or Volume Wah and its a PIA for me. (IMHO)

 

[Muzick]

I have mine seperated out 3 expression pedals - Wah Whammy and Volume.
I tried it with one - Whammy.Wah or Volume Wah and its a PIA for me. (IMHO)

There's a Whammy FX in the AXE?!?

Also what pedals do you use. Can you recommend any?

 

[VHDon]

I'm using the Mission SP1-R with mine for both Wah and Volume, and it works great. If I decide to control some other things I'll throw another expression pedal down, but for just wah/volume, this pedal is the ticket.

 

[Muzick]

I'm using the Mission SP1-R with mine for both Wah and Volume, and it works great. If I decide to control some other things I'll throw another expression pedal down, but for just wah/volume, this pedal is the ticket.

Any reason why this is the goto pedal. There are so many people out there that say this pedal is the best. But is there really that much difference?

Thanks!!

 

[mark_melling]

Quality, reliability, costumer service, will likely last longer than you will!! :lol:

It may help you to read the manual to see the effects and amps built into the ax

This is a great help by yek

http://axefxwiki.guitarlogic.org/index. ... ks_How_Tos

Spend some time reading this..don't just glance over it or you will never really get very far,
spend time with it and it will help you see what the ax is capable of

 

[PianoMan]

I'm using the Mission SP1-R with mine for both Wah and Volume, and it works great. If I decide to control some other things I'll throw another expression pedal down, but for just wah/volume, this pedal is the ticket.

Any reason why this is the goto pedal. There are so many people out there that say this pedal is the best. But is there really that much difference?

Thanks!!

Yes. It's designed to work with the Axe (and other hardware like it), built like a tank, has options to meet any need, has great customer service, and is reasonably priced. I personally don't see how they could get much better.

 

[GuitarDojo]

I have mine seperated out 3 expression pedals - Wah Whammy and Volume.
I tried it with one - Whammy.Wah or Volume Wah and its a PIA for me. (IMHO)

There's a Whammy FX in the AXE?!?

Also what pedals do you use. Can you recommend any?

Oh heck yea there is a whammy in this sucka!!
I am using the Mission Expression for Wah, Rocktron Utopia for Volume and I am switching out my Alesis F2 for a Boss FV-500H. All work great but I am lookking for that "feel" for my whammy. Mission Expression is the best for Wah period. I may end up using 2 seperate Rocktron Utopias for Volume and Whammy. Its up to time+Feeel+happiness before I ever finalize my pedal situation but I am close.

 

[Dr Git]

So, you can use 1 pedal for both volume and wah (i'm taking it as long as only 1 is being used in a preset (correct)...asking cause i have a new Boss FV500L and was wondering what to do with it

I'm using the Mission SP1-R with mine for both Wah and Volume, and it works great. If I decide to control some other things I'll throw another expression pedal down, but for just wah/volume, this pedal is the ticket.

 

[VHDon]

Yes, I use the one pedal for both. It controls volume by default. I step on the switch (like a normal Wah) and it switches to Wah. I also got the LED option so I can tell when the Wah is engaged.

And to your question about why Mission Engineering? First, I paid the same for the SP1-R (w/LED) as I did my Zakk Wylde pedal about 4 years ago....around $150. More Importantly, I was trading e-mails at 11:00PM on a Friday, and the following Saturday on how to set this up...they pointed me to how to get everything set (even though most of the problems were that I didn't know how to program/set-up the Axe-FX, but they let me know).

When I was done, the MIDI values didn't hit the max/min...they sent me a video on how to manually calibrate the pedal since my MidiMate didn't have the ability to calibrate. Great customer service, worth every penny.

I probably should post a video on how I set it up, both Axe and pedal/cables for the one pedal method with or without a MIDI pedal...we'll see

 

[VHDon]

You can keep your Boss pedal for controlling anything else you want to do besides vol/wah. I've still got my old Ernie Ball VP Jr that I plan on doing the same thing with....