Can the standard do Dual Amp + Cab + (Basic) Effects

Brettw

New Member
Hey Guys,
I'm finally in a position to buy a axe-fx and im trying to decide between a standard and ultra.

My main concern with getting a standard is that I'd like to run a single guitar signal into two amp+cab+effects lines and combine them into stereo output. The main idea is to get that "two guitar" tone.

Main reason why im looking at getting a standard over the ultra is that i can get another guitar if i go for the standard :p.

So can I do it with the standard?

Brett
 
Not an owner (yet), but as far as I know the standard can do dual amp without a problem. I've been messing around with Axe Edit, and no issue with doing it, and I've seen patches from people with standards that have dual amps.
 
I don't know if it will give you the two guitar tone you referenced, but I just got a Standard a few days ago and you can run Amp1 and Amp2 (for example, run a Marsha Brown Eye for Amp1 and a Trainwreck sim for Amp2). Then each can have their own Cab and Effect lines. I think this can then be run stereo if the rest of your rig is set up for that.
 
Easily, I have a test patch with one cab and two amps, slo100 and brownface. I am at 67%. You can easily add a few effects to this. Two amps and two cabs gets harder. The standard is a very capable unit. You just have to be judicious in your effect selection and sometime create multiple patches with different effects.

2 amps and 2 cabs I am at 77% CPU. You can do stereo with this setup.
 
Should also be mentioned that the cabs can be switched between high res and low res to save some cpu. Many people can't even hear the difference between the two.
 
Hey Guys,
I'm finally in a position to buy a axe-fx and im trying to decide between a standard and ultra.

My main concern with getting a standard is that I'd like to run a single guitar signal into two amp+cab+effects lines and combine them into stereo output. The main idea is to get that "two guitar" tone.

Main reason why im looking at getting a standard over the ultra is that i can get another guitar if i go for the standard :p.

So can I do it with the standard?

Brett
I've owned a standard for quite a while now, so I can answer your question with 100% certainty. It definitely can.
I could be completely wrong, but the standard seems to use more CPU since upgrading to 11.0. When running two separate amp models with two separate cabs (in hi-res), I only have room for a few effects before hitting 90% or higher CPU usage. Like others have mentioned, using low-res cab sims definitely helps lessen CPU usage (I also think some user IRs use less CPU too). Either way, you should have no problem setting up two amp / two cab patches and have plenty room for at least 2 - 4 additional effects (possibly more depending on your signal chain) with the standard. BTW, you and I think a lot alike ... I ultimately went with the standard so that I could afford another guitar at the time (Paul Reed Smith Custom 24). Good luck with whatever you decide! Regardless of the model, the Axe-Fx is a GREAT choice.
 
Hey Brett,
You do know that there is a new unit out right? I would save my doe and get the Axe II. Think long term, The standard/Ultra are at the end of their life cycle as far as aggressive updates and the 2 is just gettin started. Both the standard and Ultra are killer. I love my Ultra so far. Kinda wish I would have known about the 2 though....Oh well! I would at least give it some serious though .
 
Hey Brett,
You do know that there is a new unit out right? I would save my doe and get the Axe II. Think long term, The standard/Ultra are at the end of their life cycle as far as aggressive updates and the 2 is just gettin started. Both the standard and Ultra are killer. I love my Ultra so far. Kinda wish I would have known about the 2 though....Oh well! I would at least give it some serious though .

Yeah I know the axe2 is out, which is why I'm looking at getting a unit soon. I'm just a bedroom player for now, and looking for a flexible upgrade from my Roland cube. My ears are developing and starting to get frustrated at the tone I'm getting from my cube. Been an axe fx fan for a while now and the standards and ultras will be dropping in price from people trading up theirs for the new axe fx 2.

I've got a stereo rig planned, with hopefully ending up with 2 full stack mesas or something similar, so ultimately the cab sims may not be in my line after I get a cab or two. I'm a big fan of having two different amp sounds, which I'd want to play around with when get my axe fx.

Also I'm in Australia, so we will be shafted when it comes to price, availability and release date.

Brett
 
Hey Brett! Welcome to the forum! I have had a Standard for about 2.5 years now and I have experimented with many dual amp and dual cab combinations. I use 10 main presets, and ALL of them use dual lo-res cabs.

Of these 10 patches, 7 have 1 amp and dual lo-res cabs. For these, I can fit 2 overdrives, compression, PEQ, 2 delays and several modulations.

The other 3 patches have 2 amp and dual lo-res cabs. For these, I can still fit 1 overdrive, compression, 1 delay and 2 modulations. Keep in mind that not all blocks take up the same amount of system resources. Amps take up the most, cabs are second. Overdrive and compression take up a bit of space. Modulation and delays take up very little resources. Filter blocks take almost nothing! If I took the overdrive and compression out of my dual amp signal chain, I could probably have room for 8-10 blocks of PEQ, Delays and Modulations.

Ultimately, I don't feel the need to use 2 amps on very many patches. It just depends on what I'm going for. In the classic rock realm for example, Keith Richards and SRV layered 1 clean amp and 1 dirty amp to achieve their tone. In the modern metal world for example, some guys like the low-mid bark of the Uberschall layered with the bite of the Peavey. And that's cool. But not always necessary. In fact, when playing live I prefer to have a less layered sound. I usually play with a keyboard, acoustic guitar, bass, drums and several vocalists. At a certain point, an overly complex tone just gets washed out in the mix.

With some other modellers, it was necessary to use dual amps otherwise they sounded 'thin' or lifeless. Not the case with the Axe-FX. It sounds full and rich even with "only" 1 amp and 1 cab.

Finally, as for running your Axe-FX thru a couple of Mesa cabs, I will tell you that I have gone direct to the board (FRFR) for all but the first 2 weeks or so that I owned the Axe-FX. Here's why: if go thru a power amp into a cabinet, your sound will always retain some of the characteristics of the power amp and cabinet (ie. a 4x12 cab will ALWAYS sound like a 4x12 but NEVER truly sound like a 1x12).

By going direct, you can select which cabinet you want. I have tones that have 1x10, 1x12, 2x12 and 4x12 cabinets. I can go from a Fender clean and 1x10 to an Uberschall and 4x12 with the click of a button.

The obvious caveat here is that the more control you have, the more complicated it is to set things up initially. You will have to spend way more time than if you keep things simple with just one external cab. And hey, you might be a 1-kind-of-cab plug-in-and-play guy. But if you really want tonal flexibility in your rig, then FRFR is the way to go. Yes, there is a learning curve but the payoff is awesome!

Finally, with regards to the Ultra vs Standard question, there are many threads on this forum that go in-depth into this issue. In hindsight, I personally probably would have gone with the Ultra if I knew then what I knew now. There are some functional things that I would use. You might not need them. For example, I also play bass, and the Multi-band compression would have been good to have. It would have been cool to use some of the synth stuff (sometimes) and with the Ultra, you have the ability to attach reverb onto your delay trails (I don't usually use reverb live, but having it on my delays would add a bit more depth without losing clarity). So.... it's mainly bells-and-whistles stuff that I don't have with my Standard. For straight ahead rock-and-roll tones, it's ALL there. There is no difference in the quality of the amps or cabs between the two.

Hope this helps! Cheers!

-AL
 
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