Rotti
Fractal Fanatic
I thought I would share something today. As a new/intermediate AxeFxII user, this is my approach to designing presets, and a rudimentary cost analysis of owning an AxeFx rig vs. tube amps & pedals. Maybe this will spark some ideas for other new users.
I begin by planning out my “dream rig,” every amp and pedal equivalent in tangible form that I could realistically replicate in the AFX. Of course, there are some exceptions to each (i.e., real world pedals that I, personally, lack the skill to near-perfectly match, routing options that would be almost impossible or overbearingly expensive to execute with traditional rigs, etc.). Think of this as a very close educated guess.
I generally use four basic tones, one each for clean/crunch/heavy/lead. I picked my favorite in the Axe for each, although I admit there are some tube amps that would be nearly capable of doing multiple tasks much like my presets in the Axe.
My real world rig would look something like this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5rrdj7korqe4wss/FAS rig - Copy.jpg
Naturally, not every piece of gear would be in the signal chain at the same time, and not all pieces are a perfect 1-for-1 value in the Axe (sound quality, flexibility, etc.), but this is a good representation of how I would spend my money (assuming an infinite supply) to do what I do with my AFXII. I didn't bother to go down the rabbit hole of routing options and equipment necessary to actually make all of that gear usable without an army of techs on standby.
For fun, I then took it one step further and tried to compare the new prices of me Axe rig vs. the “real world” counterparts.
My Axe rig consists of the AFXII, a 1U Matrix GT1000FX, a Line 6 POD HD500 (as a MIDI controller and back-up rig, although as a non-gigging guitarist, I doubt I will ever need it in that capacity) and a pair of passive Atomic CLR wedges (should get any day now!). There are other pieces, such as a power conditioner, wireless unit, and of course my guitar, but I did not include these in my total as they would be equally useful with either the Axe rig or a traditional set up. I am also not including the costs associated with cables and rack cases, but naturally the AxeFx would have a significant advantage in such areas, not only in cost but also ease of use and reliability.
The new cost for the items I listed, not counting shipping, is $4,947.85. Let’s call it $4,950.00 for simplicity. I should also note that every last piece of my Fractal rig was purchased used. For the same items listed, I spent much closer to $3,500.00.
The cost for the real world equivalents is:
Amps = $11,938.00
Effects = $3,182.65
Cabs = $2,289.00
Total = $17,409.65 (let’s call it $17,400.00)
Difference between AxeFxII rig and what I would need to do the same thing: $12,450.00.
I could see the difference being significantly less for someone who only needs a tube screamer, 5150, and whatever 412 cab they found on craigslist. I could also see the difference being far beyond what I have for my needs for those of you who consider yourselves “power users.”
Again, this is just for fun and to maybe help some users get new ideas. Feel free to discuss any aspect of this.
I begin by planning out my “dream rig,” every amp and pedal equivalent in tangible form that I could realistically replicate in the AFX. Of course, there are some exceptions to each (i.e., real world pedals that I, personally, lack the skill to near-perfectly match, routing options that would be almost impossible or overbearingly expensive to execute with traditional rigs, etc.). Think of this as a very close educated guess.
I generally use four basic tones, one each for clean/crunch/heavy/lead. I picked my favorite in the Axe for each, although I admit there are some tube amps that would be nearly capable of doing multiple tasks much like my presets in the Axe.
My real world rig would look something like this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5rrdj7korqe4wss/FAS rig - Copy.jpg
Naturally, not every piece of gear would be in the signal chain at the same time, and not all pieces are a perfect 1-for-1 value in the Axe (sound quality, flexibility, etc.), but this is a good representation of how I would spend my money (assuming an infinite supply) to do what I do with my AFXII. I didn't bother to go down the rabbit hole of routing options and equipment necessary to actually make all of that gear usable without an army of techs on standby.
For fun, I then took it one step further and tried to compare the new prices of me Axe rig vs. the “real world” counterparts.
My Axe rig consists of the AFXII, a 1U Matrix GT1000FX, a Line 6 POD HD500 (as a MIDI controller and back-up rig, although as a non-gigging guitarist, I doubt I will ever need it in that capacity) and a pair of passive Atomic CLR wedges (should get any day now!). There are other pieces, such as a power conditioner, wireless unit, and of course my guitar, but I did not include these in my total as they would be equally useful with either the Axe rig or a traditional set up. I am also not including the costs associated with cables and rack cases, but naturally the AxeFx would have a significant advantage in such areas, not only in cost but also ease of use and reliability.
The new cost for the items I listed, not counting shipping, is $4,947.85. Let’s call it $4,950.00 for simplicity. I should also note that every last piece of my Fractal rig was purchased used. For the same items listed, I spent much closer to $3,500.00.
The cost for the real world equivalents is:
Amps = $11,938.00
Effects = $3,182.65
Cabs = $2,289.00
Total = $17,409.65 (let’s call it $17,400.00)
Difference between AxeFxII rig and what I would need to do the same thing: $12,450.00.
I could see the difference being significantly less for someone who only needs a tube screamer, 5150, and whatever 412 cab they found on craigslist. I could also see the difference being far beyond what I have for my needs for those of you who consider yourselves “power users.”
Again, this is just for fun and to maybe help some users get new ideas. Feel free to discuss any aspect of this.
