Phil Scholling
Member
I wasn't able to stop playing long enough to post earlier than today. This unit is truly outstanding at what it does. I've been sitting on the fence for quite some time on whether or not to jump into the modeling world and if so, what platform. When all was said and done, the AX8 just seemed the best way to go. On a scale of 1 to 10 my level of satisfaction at this point is at 100.
One of the things I have to mention is how extremely helpful everyone on this forum is with sharing information and tips and tricks. I'm looking forward to being able to add to that. From Yek's amp guide to the sticky that Smittefar got started for tips and tricks, the amazing content from people like Leon Todd and AustinBuddy for working with the AX8 and all the little tweaks, and of course, the Fractal team for building such a great piece of gear. Thank you all very much.
In 3 days, here are the things that have helped me out the most:
- Follow the level setting steps for presets, especially building and testing them out at gig volume. The difference in sound from conversation quiet to the recommended 92 - 95 db range is huge. As I will use the AX8 mostly for live, this was extremely helpful when I showed up to practice on the first day with the one preset I built and it sounded great through our PA and with the band playing along.
- Scene controllers are definitely your friend. The ability to make a multi-channel amp from a single channel amp is such a cool thing.
- Walk away even for a few minutes and then come back to see if what you just tweaked sounds like you thought it did 10 minutes ago.
- Navigating the onboard controls are not that big a deal. AXE-Edit is great and makes it easy to dial in sounds but the onboard controls are nothing to be intimidated by despite what some may say. I spent the first day using only those controls and can very quickly tweak the key levels and other common settings that you'd probably need to in a pinch in a live setting.
One of the things I have to mention is how extremely helpful everyone on this forum is with sharing information and tips and tricks. I'm looking forward to being able to add to that. From Yek's amp guide to the sticky that Smittefar got started for tips and tricks, the amazing content from people like Leon Todd and AustinBuddy for working with the AX8 and all the little tweaks, and of course, the Fractal team for building such a great piece of gear. Thank you all very much.
In 3 days, here are the things that have helped me out the most:
- Follow the level setting steps for presets, especially building and testing them out at gig volume. The difference in sound from conversation quiet to the recommended 92 - 95 db range is huge. As I will use the AX8 mostly for live, this was extremely helpful when I showed up to practice on the first day with the one preset I built and it sounded great through our PA and with the band playing along.
- Scene controllers are definitely your friend. The ability to make a multi-channel amp from a single channel amp is such a cool thing.
- Walk away even for a few minutes and then come back to see if what you just tweaked sounds like you thought it did 10 minutes ago.
- Navigating the onboard controls are not that big a deal. AXE-Edit is great and makes it easy to dial in sounds but the onboard controls are nothing to be intimidated by despite what some may say. I spent the first day using only those controls and can very quickly tweak the key levels and other common settings that you'd probably need to in a pinch in a live setting.