Could the Axe-FX be my One-Stop Live Touring Rig? (Touring Violist and Guitarist)

[Gavriel]

Hey guys, first post! Sorry for the wall of text...

I'm a younger tour musician out of the wonderful cities of Boston and Nashville (I haven't decided where to settle down yet ). You can find me plaiying anything from Classical and Folk to Jazz and Arena Rock. This current tour has me playing a mix of simple folk songs and folk-rock-funk-jazz-fusion (lol) and switching often between my piezzo-powered acoustic viola and my Strat/335. I use delays and reverbs mostly on both instruments. It was quite an interesting challenge putting together a solid rig for both instruments while maintaining a small footprint.

Here's the current rig:
AB-Y switch for instruments ->Mission PZ Volume -> Paracoustic DI in a loop -> Ethos Overdrive -> Tremolo ->Timeline -> Bigsky with the Cab filter -> Line 6 L2T -> PA.

This is a great little setup that I'm very proud of, as it allows me to switch instruments with one button push and the flick of a switch. However, I really miss being able to play through different clean amps and generally have more tonal flexibility. My next thought was to add an Eleven Rack to the setup for amp simulation and modulation effects and figure out a rack midi situation, but that is entirely too complicated, would take up too much space, and would bring my rig into the AXE-FX price range.... Which leads me here!

Here are my questions so far:
1) How easily does the Axe-FX deal with switching between piezo and magnetic pickups on the fly?
2). How good is the bowed modulation tracking latency, mostly for pitch shifting?
3). Does it work well as an acoustic preamp and easily switch back to an effects heavy electric patch?
4). How do the reverbs and delays compare to Strymon?
5). Would the Axe be a good rig replacement for me?
Thanks so much!

 

[ChrisCG]

As far as I know the axe deals with piezo's just fine. The reverbs in this unit are world class. Most of the effects are in fact.

 

[jdosher]

I can give you some input on a few of these:

1) How easily does the Axe-FX deal with switching between piezo and magnetic pickups on the fly?
No experience here, though it shouldn't be an issue. The Axe has multiple inputs as well, so you have options for how you want to route things (which can be changed per-preset).

4). How do the reverbs and delays compare to Strymon?
I have a TimeLine. As far as your standard delays, up to fairly fancy delays, the Axe Fx does pretty dang good. Good enough that I've been fine keeping the TimeLine out of my main rig - mostly in the interest of keeping my rig simple. Now, if you were to sit down and just compare the TimeLine's delays to the Axe's delays, the TL will stand out as the winner. There are some great delay patches in the Axe, but as you've probably experienced, there are some breathtaking patches in the TimeLine. Do you need them live? Do they really work in a full-band mix? In the context of a real song do they translate or are they just another wall of delay? I feel like the only place those really lush, soundscape/special-effect delays really work is in some kind of minimalist setting. So that said, I think you'd find the Axe to meet your delay needs in the setting you're describing.

I don't own a Big Sky, but I've heard them before. I think the same/similar can be said there. The Axe is capable of really nice reverbs, and I think it would meet your needs.

Another way to state it is that the TimeLine and Blue Sky have quite a few special-effects patches that are made to really wow you as you flip through them, while the Axe's default delay and reverb settings are more standard and arguably geared to a more professional setting. But you CAN dial up some really spacey, big wow-factor (special-)effects if needed.

Question: do you use the 'hold' feature on the TimeLine much? I've found it's not as intuitive to get that behavior so effectively out of the Axe. If that function is a huge part of your TL use, you may want to keep the TL in the chain. (though others have posted example patches using the delay hold feature, so it's do-able.)

5). Would the Axe be a good rig replacement for me?
Given the relatively simple signal chain you currently have going, the Axe would have no problem replacing that rig, and doing it really, really well. The sonic quality of the Axe is stellar. No hiss, no hum, no buzzes, no pops, and very configurable to your needs.

 

[Poparad]

Background on me: I use my Axe for just about everything: electric guitars, piezo-acoustic guitars, electric bass, and my upright bass with mic/piezo combo pickups.

Here are my questions so far:
1) How easily does the Axe-FX deal with switching between piezo and magnetic pickups on the fly?

Pretty easily. You've technically got up to 4 mono inputs, so if you're creative with scenes/patches and volume blocks or mixer blocks, you can select which instrument(s) are running very easily. Changing instruments is basically one foot controller stomp away.

2). How good is the bowed modulation tracking latency, mostly for pitch shifting?

Pretty decent, actually. In fact, I recently had to do a pit orchestra gig that was written for upright with C extension, which I don't have, so I put an octave down pitch shifter on in the bowed passages, and it worked quite well. If anything, bowing actually works better than pizz on bass, as the waveform the bow creates is more consistent for the pitch tracker to lock on to.

3). Does it work well as an acoustic preamp and easily switch back to an effects heavy electric patch?

Easy as switching patches. I play a lot of weddings in the summer on solo acoustic, and it's great for that. Tube Preamp model for the amp sim, some EQs, delays, reverb, and it's glorious sounding. Change to another patch with an electric guitar, and you're ready to rock.

4). How do the reverbs and delays compare to Strymon?

I'll let others chime in on that, but there was a recent upgrade to the algorithms for those, and they sound better than ever. However, the 'high qaulity' modes are kind of CPU hogs, so that can limit the complexity of your patch quickly. That said, I've always been very content with the delays and reverbs in the Axe.

5). Would the Axe be a good rig replacement for me?
Thanks so much!

Sounds ideal for you. Everything all in one box. Everything else in your chain would be replaced. All you'd need accessory-wise is a floor board (like the MFC-101) to change patches/effects/scenes/etc, and an expression pedal or two. Plug into a powered PA speaker and you're good to go.

 

[Poparad]

Also, another fantastic feature you'll dig is the Tonematch. There are a lot of threads on here describing the process for acoustic guitars, but basically you can take a mic-ed up version of your instrument and create a mask to overlay on your piezo tone, making the direct piezo tone sound more like a mic. I've done it on a couple acoustic guitars and my upright bass, and it's fantastic for taming that "rubber-band-quack" of a piezo pickup and restoring some of the richness of your natural acoustic tone. This is especially nice for bowing, as that can quickly sound like ass through a piezo pickup.

 

[Gavriel]

Thank you all so much for the detailed responses!

@jdosher
I don't really use the hold feature on the timeline, but I do find myself using the "freeze/infinite" feature on the Bigsky. It would be a shame to loose either unit but they're both big money sinks :/

@Poparad
It's awesome to hear from a fellow string player. It makes me so happy that you used your Axe in an orchestral setting and that the pitch shifting works so well. I'm also extremely excited about the tone matching for my viola. I think you've really sold me on the unit!! It's time to knock out the rest of this tour and get on Ebay/Reverb!!

I'm still definitely interested in anyone else's opinions