Crossed over to the "Dark Side"

steve_k

Inspired
Finally did it and went all in on an A2 rig. After years and years and a multitude of the finest amps and mods available, I have given in. Some of the interest was sparked by the growing list of "heavy metal" converts - but the biggest motivation for me was to find something to go direct to FOH and clear the stage clutter and all the problems with mic'd cabs, ambient noise, bad monitor mixes, etc. So, I went all in. New A2, 2-RCF NX12's and the MFC. Yesterday was Day 1. I never opened the manual or got out the MFC yet, but hooked up direct to my PA kit that is set up in the cave and the active monitors and went through all the presets a few times. Without opening a menu screen or making any adjustments, I was able to pick out about 5 amp presets that are absolutely stunning through the FOH.

I went into this promising myself not to ever compare this to a tube amp and get bogged down in the question of "does it sound like the real thing"? That's not why I bought it. And, I never contemplated anything else but going all in and running direct, the way the Axe was meant to be run. I don't even have the interest in trying this through a power amp/cab set up. I am not a huge FX sort of player either and that's not why I went down this road. But, the FX are nice.

Probably, I will just noodle around for a week or so, then finally break down and RTFM, figure out how the Axe Exchange works, load some aftermarket IR's, work through the menu's and set up the MFC. But, for now....I am just going to enjoy rolling through a few of the selected presets and the beauty of this thing through the FOH PA and active wedges.

Oh, I am steve_k over on RT, if you post over there too. Used to be one of the moderators. I will probably be hanging out over here a lot more. Lots of good information here too. Anyway, time to get started on Day 2 of the A2 and contemplate packing up 5 or 6 amps to sell. Yeah, its that good.

Steve
 
You'll save on food bills too - less muscles needed ..... and (importantly) more time to laugh at the drummer as he sets up and soundchecks.
 
I went into this promising myself not to ever compare this to a tube amp and get bogged down in the question of "does it sound like the real thing"? That's not why I bought it

I think once people get their heads around the fact that the beauty of the Axe-FX stuff is that it sounds like a great tone which has been mic'd and put through a PA etc, rather than standing next to a Marshall stack for instance, then it makes absolute sense... even more so when you forget the 'is or isn't it like a tube' and just enjoy it!
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Welcome aboard
 
Welcome to the world of "sounds good, less stage filling." I think you're going to be very happy by the completion of Week 1.
 
You saved yourself a ton of hassle and time by getting the 2 RCF's and MFC right off the bat. With those tools, the great sound of the Axe II will be immediately apparent and many options accessible. You also jumped in when the sound of the Axe II has gotten so good that for a good amp tone, it's plug and play. For an even better tone, there's experimentation left to do and great IRs to incorporate, but it's gotten to a really nice place of easy-to-get great basic tones and the world of experimentation is wide open. Plus there's tons of great patches to explore.

Welcome. It's a beautiful time to be a guitarist not afraid of technology.
 
Welcome aboard Steve. I made the same jump two years ago. Best gear decision I ever made. Fractal is to tone what the cell phone is to the telegraph. I hope you enjoy your FX as much as I do.
 
Welcome abord steve... I posted a few times over at RT but FAS quickly became my forum of choice. Cool to hear you wen all in and went the FR direction, it just makes so much sense. Now that you have turned the door knob wait until you actually open the door, enjoy the ride man!
 
Thanks guys and yes, it has been a great few days. So easy to set up going direct and I have still not had to open the manual. I have probably played more in the last 3 days than the last 3 weeks, that's for sure. Anyway, I have a few amps narrowed down and getting ready to unbox the MFC and set it up for what I need. I am so looking forward to the next gig and walking in with my 3 space "man bag" flung across my shoulder and ask the soundman for an XLR to the FOH.

I am going to need plenty of amp boxes soon though and have a huge amp purge. Last count was 12. Other than a couple of those desert island amps that are really special to keep around, there's plenty to kick to the curb.

Steve
 
Quick question on the best way to set up the EQ of your presets for FOH....if I set things up sounding the way I want them through the FRFR active monitors, will this be similar to what a FOH engineer will hear through a relatively flat EQ'd FOH channel? For all intents and purposes, this seems the most logical way to do it. I got started on EQ'ing a few of the amp sims and wanted to make sure my approach is correct here.

Thanks,
Steve
 
Dialed in at appropriate volume with the RCF NX12's I'd say it will be close enough, based on what the RCF users on this boards report.
 
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