Country,roots rock,rockabilly player Need advice on axe fx II

D

Drewgrass

Member
Hello,first post i would like to begin by thanking all the mods and people who make this place happen. And thanks to all who help me before hand.

The title says it all,I'm into classic/alt country, ambient twang, roots rock and spaghetti rockabilly. ( i like tube reverb I hope you get the idea) I really love heavenly great cleans and nice breakup. I now have a amp I love so much, it's all I've ever wanted. the swart atomic space tone. Best reverb and trem I've ever heard in a amp. Breaks up nice basically a fender tweed with blackface trem and verb.

Me and my family recently moved to a new house. (nicer and bigger) but at the old house I had a shop at the back of my property, I played in. and playing late at night, about the only time I have is not working for my family. I have a pro tools rig so I would be using it for recording alot to.

My options are sell my amp and keeley pedals and get the axe fxII, or keep the amp I love and get a Palmer pdi-03. The price difference is not much if I sell my gear. I'm sure I would have way more options with the axe fx. So for my use what would you suggest. I'm no tube amp snob I've had a dozen amp sims. I just know alot of guys that use the axe fx for heavier Stuff. (but I know the axe sound great clean from some clips I've heard). But I also know the country stuff is in the minority users of the axe fx,and there is just not alot of info on this.
Thanks to all.
 
I'm in that minority - I play exactly that kind of style with that type of tone - mildly driven, edge of breakup warm tingly crunch.

I am still a tube snob, but I enjoy the axe thoroughly. It's pretty much all I use now, and my tube amps just collect dust LOL

You'll also find that the axe is much more tweakable, better for fx and routing, and easier to cure the 'flubbiness' of those real fenders. I don't really use blackfaces much, real or otherwise, but the tweed stuff is top notch.

Just be mindful that you will prob take at least 2 weeks to get used to the axe way of doing things. Not that's it's a bad thing, you'll have a wealth of tone there after, but if you are looking to go without an amp to get the axe, be mindful of that. There are plenty useable presets out of the box, but to get 'your sound' will take some time.
 
I'm a new AXE FX II user (I did a 'review' a couple of days ago and posted it, for details).

Let me preface this by saying that the fully-crunched or distorted tones have really sold me, because they are so responsive and just feel great to play; I swear I can "feel the amp responding" to what I'm doing, which has never happened with other modelers.

Also, I'm not looking to "match" a given amp I already have or have worked with in the past; I want something that I can use to bypass having to have a warehouse full of tube equipment. (I have about a half a room full now, if you count the amps and speaker cabinets I have, and something would have to go if I wanted to get anything else). In fact, what I'd like to do is figure out if I can get my Randall RM100 to do just a few of the things, tone-wise, that I can do with the AXE FX!

Regardless, due to my studio orientation, I'm also interested in squeaky clean and stuff with good grit, both of which where the guitar tone just gets larger than life. My experience with other modelers hasn't been 'larger than life'.

So, yesterday, I was playing my Highway One strat, and was tinkering with the Deluxe Verb preset #03. This preset has a number of devices in the layout that load up 'disabled'. I found that if I enabled the compressor (left set to type 'studio ') then adjusted threshold (second parameter page) downward from -40 a little, just enough to get about 4-6db of gain reduction, and the ratio to around 4, I could add a really nice "bite" or "bark" to the tone. Then, I realized that the compressor was probably also automatically increasing the output level to make up for the gain reduction, and so I backed the compressor output level down 4db. This backs the bite off somewhat, for more subtlety. I can tweak the output level to add more back in, if I want.

Sorry that I don't (yet) have a way to post "compressor off" and "compressor on" versions of how this sounds, but as far as I'm concerned it's absolutely possible to get it just right, to be as subtle as I want. And this is just with me playing with compressor, not touching the amp model settings at all.

Since I usually record the dry signal for re-amping, if I get down into a mix and realize that I need just a bit more bite in the choruses of a song, it'll be very easy to re-create the tone I started out with and add that change. Suuuuuuwheeeeeeeeet!

I realize I'm not approaching your question directly, but based on what I've heard so far, I'm confident I can get all the twang and rockabilly and americana I want out of this thing (and it'll be a lot!).
 
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Something I forgot to mention in my post was I've been on the fractal waiting list since sept 19th. I looked at the waiting list thread. All signs point to that I'm pretty close to getting my coupon. I had no idea i was this close. And with the holidays putting a money pinch on people. I bet a few pass on the coupon so in the next few weeks I should be up I would think. So I think I'm gonna wait and buy test out both and make my move from there.

If I don't like the axe then I can resell it at little to no loss.
 
There is a 15 day trial period too - but 15days is really only scratching the surface. You can always return it after, but You will likely not return it tho - it's that good - I will attest to that and I am a difficult audiophile to please....
 
I also have a nice 6V6 tone monster like the Swart, the Tone King Meteor Series II. Because so much of that amp's tone comes from the speaker and cab, a speaker simulator like the PDI-03 for me would be bound to be an unhappy marriage. However, until the high resolution amp mode was implemented, I would have said keep the Swart because the edge of breakup tones weren't quite there for the 6V6 models, but I think they are there now.
 
Also, know that you can use IR capture to get the sound of the cab that isn't in the axe or on own hammer or redwirez....
 
I never recommend selling gear you love to buy gear you want unheard.

Ever.

I'd recommend trying the Palmer route first and seeing if that works for you. If not, then consider some way to get an Axe-FX II and then see if it works for you.

Only your ears and mind can decide, no post on a forum can help you make up your mind.

The Axe-FX II delivers the goods; how you work with it and if it serves your needs is a very personal and subjective thing. It either will or it won't. If you sell something you love to get it; that's setting yourself up for a very strong case of buyer's remorse even if the Axe-FX II fits the bill.

Just my honest and sincere thoughts and opinions. YMMV.
 
I agree with Scott. If the Swart is delivering 100% of what you need, and you're totally happy with it, don't get rid of it. Try the Palmer, see how it works. If it's ain't broke, don't fix it.

If you are looking for something else, or more tonal/rig options, the Axe is the way to go, no doubt, and it will give you what you're looking for, but if your current rig is giving you everything you need, why change? These are tools for a job, and if the right tool is a Swart, stick with it.
 
Scott Peterson said:
I never recommend selling gear you love to buy gear you want unheard.

Ever.

I'd recommend trying the Palmer route first and seeing if that works for you. If not, then consider some way to get an Axe-FX II and then see if it works for you.

Only your ears and mind can decide, no post on a forum can help you make up your mind.

The Axe-FX II delivers the goods; how you work with it and if it serves your needs is a very personal and subjective thing. It either will or it won't. If you sell something you love to get it; that's setting yourself up for a very strong case of buyer's remorse even if the Axe-FX II fits the bill.

Just my honest and sincere thoughts and opinions. YMMV.
Click to expand...
I was going to say pretty much the same thing but not as eloquently.
 
Well I've decided what I'm gonna do. I found a palmer with a 30 day return. I'm gonna go ahead and order it. Like I said I've been on the waiting list since sept 19th. And they are on orders around the first of September. so the coupon should be here in the next few weeks. And I'll order the axe fx and give it the fifteen days run through. Knowing me I'll keep everything and this whole thread will be a waste of time. I just had no idea I was this close on the waiting list. G.a.s. Is a bitch.

But if I'm happy with the Palmer I'll save $1500.00 and hell I may make $300 on eBay with the axe if I don't like it. It's been a hell of a year I bought all the guitars I ever wanted(06 es-175 with p-90s a original 1941 d-28 bone not reissue. And Last week I picked up a 1994 John page custom shop Clarence white telecaster all at great deals. and now I'm on to amps. When will it stop.
 
iwhave been a tube player most of my 30+ years on guitar.
I lean more towards clean/light crunch. The Axe 2 does a great job on the Fender amps as well as other amps
IMO alot of the patches are geared more toward the Metal Players. I think you will find the Axe 2will do most any sound you want.
But do keep this in mind it is not a tube amp. I have used the Ultra and the Axe2 and the way they sound the best to me using the 4 cable method
and a combo amp.
One thing that impresseed me about the Axe2 is that the spring reverbs sound very close to my Vibro King
very warm.

But still with 383 patches and every amp tone available, I only use 3 or 4 at the most.
just my opinion
 
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Well my number came up and I ordered the axe fx last night. I ordered the Palmer last Sunday I found a Palmer with a 45 day return. so this should be fun. Thanks to all.
 
any opinions,on how to compare these, in the most clinical fashion i can. i have UA LA-610. A aurora audio gtq mkIII pres (neve clones),and a api a2d pre/converter going into pro tools. i will probably just go straight into the api,and try to set the levels as close as i can. ive never done a head to head on modelers so any tips would help.
 
Don't sell the amp - a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, as they say. If you sell it you'll inevitably regret it down the road.
 
Take advantage of the money back guarantee.
Put the Axe-Fx on a credit card so you can try it side by side with the Swart for 15 days.
If you like it, sell the Swart to pay the bill. If not, send it back for a full refund minus the cost of shipping. It's like a smart rental!

-m@
 
Admin M@ said:
Take advantage of the money back guarantee.
Put the Axe-Fx on a credit card so you can try it side by side with the Swart for 15 days.
If you like it, sell the Swart to pay the bill. If not, send it back for a full refund minus the cost of shipping. It's like a smart rental!

-m@
Click to expand...

Thanks that's really cool of you. I've heard great stuff about this company. But I bet I hang on to it longer than 15 days. I've got a pretty serious home studio going. I was a music business/recording major in college. I had to put that dream aside for the last few years for a real job as they say. I'm not worried about it,

the great thing is when you buy good stuff it holds it's value. I've been reading the manual. Like most have said I don't think I can scratch the surface in that time.
 
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