Can't decide whether to buy an Axe Fx II or an Orange Rockerverb and cab

Keg8605 said:
I can't quite figure out why anyone would need the RV 100.
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I honestly can't figure out why anyone would need a 100-watt amp at all in this day and age. If you're playing a gig large enough to need that kind of stage volume, your amp will be miked anyway, not to mention that 4x12s create all kinds of problems for the sound guy. Even my 60-watt Shiva with a closed-back 1x12 was WAY too loud for most stages I played, and I rarely turned the master up past about 4.

One of the best things, for me, about the Axe-FX is the ability to get great sound at any stage volume. Compare that to some amps where you can't get really good sound until you turn it up to brain-damaging levels, and it's no contest for me.
 
I recognized the setup/player the second I started watching his Rockerverb video. If this doesn't get you craving the AxeFX II, then I don't know what will:
Axe Fx 2 - Metal - YouTube

Same player, similar sound, but using the AFII.
 
JosephGarraty said:
I honestly can't figure out why anyone would need a 100-watt amp at all in this day and age. If you're playing a gig large enough to need that kind of stage volume, your amp will be miked anyway, not to mention that 4x12s create all kinds of problems for the sound guy.
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I use a Marshall rig for backline - a stereo power amp and a 4x12 each side...
sounds great...

couple of things that occur to me - and this is just my opinion right...

- 4x12's do not give sound engineers problems. they've been the bread and butter of rock guitarists for around half a century..
- when you play on a big stage you really do want to move a little more air than you would from a 1x12.. yes you have monitors etc.. but it's not the same..
- don't forget that part of going to 'see' a band is actually seeing them... if you play rock / metal, and your backline looks like Manhattan, the band looks right on stage..
seems like an odd thing to say but it's true... lol..

if I ever recorded mic'd [which I don't btw] I'd have no probs with a 1x12 if I thought it produced the right sound.. but I could never walk on stage with one..
haven't done that for more than 20 something years.. even if they sound sweet they just don't move enough air and will thin out in a big place..
yes it'll get mic'd and come out of your monitors but it'll never feel the same in terms of air pressure and sheer grunt..
walk onto a stage in a venue that holds a couple of thousand with a 1x12 combo, be stood 20' or more from it and you'll see what I mean..
In a bar or small club that holds just a few hundred and they'll be fine - I know this cos I've done it..
but in a big open air place you'll need more.. <-- edit: let's say I prefer more
 
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ok.. so far we got a couple of cents in the pot... lol...
I'll throw in what is for me personally the big bux...

not just the AxeII, but with all high-end guitar fx units.. you get control over your tone in real time that is not possible any other way...
and for that reason alone I will never revert to guitar --> stomps --> amp
once you become accustomed to that kind of configurability, flexibility and capability there is just no going back

so there's a $100 bill in the pot... lol...
 
I'm not sure how the subject of Axe vs Amp always seems to end up as a discussion about moving air with a 4X12 or not moving air with a 1X12, what the hell has the speaker size got to do with it? I run an AxeII with two QSC K122's at 1000w each. That friends, I assure you moves one hell of a lot of air. If I get to play an outdoor venue I will hire more QSC's and if I play a small club I will use 1 QSC. I also own a Koch 100 Head and Box, it is heavy, bulky, loud, has one tone and a very directional narrow audio spread. The Axe on the other hand is light, small, has infinite tone variations at any volume and the QSCs provide a stunning even spread all over the stage and audience. There is no comparison, from Hancock to Hendrix the Axe rules. :)
Cheers S ( 0 )===:::
 
I was in your exact same shoes when I bought my standard. I LOVE the orange sound and was heart set on it...but I took a chance with the AXE FX and never looked back. Orange amps are beautiful but let me put it this way. You can pay for the orange cab and head and just be stuck with that orange cab and head OR you can get an Axe II with some of the best presets, many other amps to choose from as well, and about 50 pounds+ lighter.
 
If your PA doesn't move more air than your 4x12s, your PA sucks. You go see a band in a big venue, the PA is thousands of watts ... the guitar amps a hundred. Hmmmm ....

I suppose if you still wear spandex the size of your ... ahem ... backline matters. But I don't see that bothering huge national bands anymore. Killer sound is what it is about, not obliterating volume that mostly sounds like ass anyway.
 
Rockerverb was a monster. I kept the cab, sold the amp. The problem I have with all of the cool amps I own, they sound great for what they are-then the next song comes up and I need something very different. Getting a vox chime out of an orange, not likely. Nothing against orange. I also had a modena 60, Bogner XTC, Gabriel Voxer, a couple egnaters, a JVM when they first came out etc etc etc. It really comes down to a question of flexibility. What do you need the amp to do? All originals and you have YOUR signiture sound, not a bad place to start creating it. Covers or a mix of covers and originals-hard to beat the axe.
 
AndyLovesFuzz said:
I would buy both, but I'm trying to save for a house! I'm selling gear to fund it, so I can only afford one or the other.

Videos like this give me massive GAS: Orange Rockerverb 100 MKII - Metal - YouTube

If I can get comparable tone with the Axe Fx II I'll probably get that. But I've found nothing online comparing the real amp to the RV50!
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This video you posted is by a dude with an Axe Fx and this amp (and about every other amp known to man). Perhaps asking him how they compare would be best. The tone from the vid is easily accomplished by the Axe Standard but with the Axe II I bet its no problem. You could always rent the amp if you do by the axe and A/B them until you get that tone.
 
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