Convince Me Not to Sell My Axefx

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TylerM93

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I’ve had my Axefx for about two years now. At one point it was my live rig and now its my at home demoing rig. I find myself using like 10 of the 700+ presets and for the most part I’ve felt very uninspired by it. It’s so dry & for the purpose of demoing and writing it just isn’t inspiring.

Recently I downloaded a few plug-in demos & was pleasantly surprised by how much life they had. Especially for the djentier tones on my seven string. It’s also nice to be able to record and then alter the tone after the fact & to be able to edit within the daw. I rarely find myself editing in axe edit because there’s just so much to tweak.

My main question is that I have to believe the axefx is able to get these tones. I don’t necessarily want to learn how to create them though. Should I just sell the axe & snag a couple plug ins for a forth of the price or should I put more money into the axefx and find preset packs that can get me those tones?
 
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If the axe isn’t working for you than that is it. You’ve had it for two years and you sound like you know what you are looking for. If that is not the axe then go for something else. After all, at the end of the day it is still a hobby and it should be fun, not frustrating.
 
Use what makes you happy. Happiness is the fuel to creativity, often called joy.
Joy is enrapturing:

To move to rapture; transport with pleasure; delight beyond measure; ravish.

Why even ask to be convinced? Don't be a sheep.
Someone will be very happy on Reverb, furthering the expansion of happiness.

Best wishes on your future endeavors!
 
Sounds to me like you'd rather buy presets, of which there are many available. Buy some reliable presets and see if that makes you want to keep it. If not, sell it. You can always buy another.

I use 3-5 presets most of the time. It's your call on how much tweaking you want to do, you absolutely dont need to deep dive if 3 adjustments does the trick.

Really though it sounds like you've made up your mind already and that's quite alright.
 
The NeuralDSP plugins are pretty much all about how the presets are setup and their cab sims. They don't otherwise do anything your Axe-Fx can't. The plugins have some very good presets that easily give good tones without much effort. That in itself has value.

Plugins will always have a bit more latency but if that does not bother you they can work out just fine. If you don't use most of the features of your Axe-Fx then going the plugin route might make more sense.

There's a lot of good gear out there nowadays so use what works for you.
 
randyvanmartini said:
Yep, there you have it....don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya! ;)
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Not sure if this was meant to be as condescending and dismissive as I read it...

Anyways, to the OP, I don't think there's anything wrong with valuing immediacy over flexibility. Neural's stuff is great. I've toyed with it a bunch but I never seemed to have found a usable scenario without clicks and pops (tried multiple interfaces, settings, etc.). At this point, I'd say its all about what matches your workflow and current needs. I've gone back and still continue to do so!
 
You could start with taking one of the plugin presets from the Neural plugs you like and then recreate it in your AxeFX. Then you'll learn what it is you like about the chosen preset and will be able to always get close whether you decide on plugins, AxeFX, Helix, etc.

EDIT: Reread your post and missed this, so disregard my suggestion

I don’t necessarily want to learn how to create them though.
Click to expand...
 
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@DC23 Why not take it as condescending and see what unfolds in your mind? Could be fun.

It's a very common expression, like "here's a quarter, call someone who cares".

The topic of this thread is thinly veiled antagonism against anyone who doesn't provide OP with solutions.

Reap the rewards!
 
By the by, marketing tactics like OP uses go thusly:

Request help with product because a competitor is cheaper and more simple.

Users defend product, OP does not participate.

Users divide to defend OP, nothing is gained.

Admin eventually figures out it was a ploy but the damage to the community of participants is done.

Welcome to the internet.
 
TylerM93 said:
I’ve had my Axefx for about two years now. At one point it was my live rig and now its my at home demoing rig. I find myself using like 10 of the 700+ presets and for the most part I’ve felt very uninspired by it. It’s so dry & for the purpose of demoing and writing it just isn’t inspiring.

Recently I downloaded a few of the Neural plug-in demos & was pleasantly surprised by how much life they had. Especially for the djentier tones on my seven string. It’s also nice to be able to record and then alter the tone after the fact & to be able to edit within the daw. I rarely find myself editing in axe edit because there’s just so much to tweak.

My main question is that I have to believe the axefx is able to get these neural tones. I don’t necessarily want to learn how to create them though. Should I just sell the axe & snag a couple plug ins for a forth of the price or should I put more money into the axefx and find preset packs that can get me those tones?
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Would you mind sharing some of your Axe Fx presets, so i can see what you go for tone wize ??
 
johnnypig said:
@DC23 Why not take it as condescending and see what unfolds in your mind? Could be fun.

It's a very common expression, like "here's a quarter, call someone who cares".

The topic of this thread is thinly veiled antagonism against anyone who doesn't provide OP with solutions.

Reap the rewards!
Click to expand...

Actually both of those are a bit dismissive assuming that OP is just doing a marketing tactic to divide the community, and not genuinely curious. So you're doing more work to divide the community than he is...
 
Do a 1:1 comparison: Find Neural DSP presets that you like, find out the names of the real amps behind them, load them up in the axe, set the controls acustically, not just visually, and use the neural cabs for both. If you don't prefer the Axe tones, go with Neural DSP.

I for one prefer the Axe III models. There's just something about modeling the whole circuit algorithmically and only then verifying it by comparing input to output signals. Neural, like Kemper, omits that "modeling the whole circuit algorithmically" part and replaces it with a black box, or maybe even a white box that allows them to control a few generic parameters. That technology, even though it omits that fundamental modeling part and replaces it with machine learning, does not sound bad, however, and if you can't distinguish the Axe III from the Neural DSP plugins, then stick to Neural DSP.

The amp models inside the Cygnus Axe III are just great and the only thing that I would wish they'd add to it is a dedicated "cab room", where you could move mics around like in the Neural stuff. I'd even be happy with the Ownhammer/Guitar Rig 6 approach, where each amp gets a dedicated amp+cab setup that allows you to move a slider between a single cone and room mic. Softube also figured out a great approach with their Amp Room line: it basically puts you at the desk of a famous mix engineer where you can mix and match different mic variations and positions. Cabs make up so much of the final guitar tone that it would be worth it to facilitate this process even further. Being able to move the mic around on a single cab allows you to really hone in on a specific tone that you could most definitely achieve by using IRs, but it would be much more tedious.

That's about the only thing that I wish would get improved. I think that's also one of the reasons that most people are disenchanted with the Axe at first, because they don't spend enough time to work that cab menu so it really fits a particular tone. The effects and amp modeling sections are just breathtaking at this point in time.
 
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