Digitech 2120 dying...

J

junkdk

New Member
Hey,

New to this forum but I am thinking on purchasing the axe fx II and have some questions. I am an old thrash guitarist and my rig is getting old. I absolutely love my 2120 but she needs some serious solder work, pots, and such. I was going to buy the Marshall 410HJS to have as a back up while I fix the 2120. That is when I decided to look to see if there was a newer processor out there. That is when I found the Fractal Axe FX II...Holy Wow Shit Cows!

Let me back up to my current rig. I play though the 2120 to Mesa 2:90 split(A/B switcher) to Mesa rec cab 4x12 (V30's) and Marshall Lead 1960b 4x12. Why? Because I play extreme metal and the Mesa cab can't handle it but the Marshall can. I get some sweet sounds for the clean effects to the V30's, then switch it up to extreme metal through the 1960. This has been my rig for years.

Anyway, I am worried that the Axe FX may be too much for me. Meaning to much processor for what I do. Any thoughts?

The Mesa 2:90 is awesome, will i lose it using the Axe FX?

Can I run the Axe FX in a loop with the Marshall 410HJS?

Should I avoid buying the Marshall 410HJS because the Axe FX can model it?

I am so used to amp head cab so any replies are appreciated.

Thanks,

dk
 
Hi! I'm a Axe II owner and before that I owned the Axe Ultra.
I own also ADA MP1, MP2, Mesa Triaxis + 2:90, Peavey stuff and other rack instruments, but after the purchase I use only Axe with a 3000W solid state amp (Axe can emulate a tube power amp very well!!!)
I play many genres. Rock, Hard Rock, Thrash, Death and so on... With the Axe you have a huge amount of amps in your hand.
You can use Mesa 2:90 without problems (switching off the power amp emulation) but I think you can use the Fractal better with a solid state power amp (because it can emulate many power amp types)

Sorry for my bad english

Cheers! :D

Paolo
 
I did pretty much the same thing..
I have a pair of 2120's.. adore them too..
but years of touring took it's toll on them and I had to find a viable alternative…

went from:
2120 -> Marshall 8008 -> pair of 1960B cabs
to
VG-99 -> Marshall 8008 -> pair of 1960B cabs
then
Axe-II -> Marshall 8008 -> pair of 1960B cabs
and now
Axe-II -> Matrix GT1000FX -> pair of 1960B cabs

sounds awesome..
 
The axe can be somewhat simple but there is definitely a big learning curve imo. However if you google and check the wiki and forum almost all of your answers can be answered. Or maybe someone near you could help you get a big start. Its all in all a series of blocks to route whichever way you want too. Depends on your patience and how good you are at learning a technical device. I would also say maybe keep the 290 for awhile since lots of people still enjoy using tube power still. The axe is quite the awesome product though.
 
Is it to much processor? Yes but it is to much for pretty much everyone. It typically has more than people need. IMO that is no a problem. Get the axe and use it with your current set up of a 2:90 and cabs. It will work fine that way. Many of use either use FRFR or us transparent solid state amp like the one mentioned already because the Axe also models each amps power section
 
Yeah I came from the 2120 camp originally too. Although not metal music or anything like that, strictly lower gain stuff. One thing I will say is, bye-bye tube power amp, you won't be needing that in Axe-Fx land! I had a Mesa and then a VHT. Both gone. No need to hump around 17 kilos of dead weight for no reason.
 
Hiya,

I came to the Axe Fx from a Digitech 2101, with a brief detour through Guitar Rig; the Axe Fx roxoxox!

It can pull fantastic sounds, does require a fair bit of investigation. However, if your from the world of Digitech, i reckon you'll be comfortable figuring this thing out.
(I recall one of the criticisms/problems at the time when the 2101 was released was that it was too complex for the average guitar player to understand and program..but that was around '94 i think)

One thing to be aware of, the Axe Fx's fx internal structure allows for only a fixed number instances of any effect, e.g. only two chorus blocks, two phaser blocks, four Graphic Eq's, one ring modulator, etc, depending on the effect block, which is different to the Digitech model, which allows for any number of any effect to be instantiated until the processing limit is reached (at least that's how 2101 operates, i presume it's the same with the 2120) so you may have to re-think your fx structure.

In practise however, this isn't a problem, and the whole package works well as a unit and like i said, sounds great. You can have two different amp blocks even!

Go for it.

Carl
 
Yeah, it seems like it works very similar to the 2120. I spent hours on the computer programming that but enjoyed the result. In my case, the Mesa 2:90 improved the sound of the 2120. It seems the Axe Fx does not need it. After watching several videos I am seriously impressed with the Axe Fx. Thanks.

dk
 
Probably your back will shortly be speaking to you...."thou shall stop fucking me up with 50lbs+ material. I guess uou never were closer to get you an axefx as this very moment. Just kidding. But the axefx indeed is possible to help you overcome the loss of an digitech 21xx unit.
 
junkdk said:
Just bought the combo deal. Thanks for all the replies.
Click to expand...

congrats!! another confused mind is cured.. and i see it took only 14 hours.. this forum is worth more than thousands of dollars of adversitement.. you wont regret your decision and the magic box will not let you look back at your digi-thing again.. but as a metal player myself, i would really like to read your first impressions when the unit arrives.. :)
 
ozanerkal said:
congrats!! another confused mind is cured.. and i see it took only 14 hours.. this forum is worth more than thousands of dollars of adversitement.. you wont regret your decision and the magic box will not let you look back at your digi-thing again.. but as a metal player myself, i would really like to read your first impressions when the unit arrives.. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, being on sale also made the deal. Most likely will get the Marshall(used) head as back up too.

Thanks,

dk
 
junkdk said:
Yeah, being on sale also made the deal. Most likely will get the Marshall(used) head as back up too.

Thanks,

dk
Click to expand...

why not send off the 2120 to get it fixed up / repaired / restored..
then you'll have a great and highly capable backup that you already know and love..

get yourself a small mixer.. like one of those 8 channel things [4 mono and 2 stereo] that are about $150..
pop the Axe into channel 7/8, the 2120 into channel 5/6 and jack the mixer into the power amp
soundcheck them both.. mute the 'backup' and you're ready to gig..
that's exactly how I run two units live…
the bonus is having a little 3 band EQ on the mixer.. which is great for quick / broad brush EQ fixes on the fly if you need them..
 
here's an old pic of me with a fan during the 'meet'n'great' after a show in Rome, Italy
note the two 2120's in the rack and you can see the front edge of the little mixer on top [not a clear shot but it'll give you an idea]

1917583_410256869815_1657507_n.jpg
 
clarky said:
why not send off the 2120 to get it fixed up / repaired / restored..
then you'll have a great and highly capable backup that you already know and love..
Click to expand...
Great idea. But, while I am all for restoring cool future vintage gear, @ what they go for right now, you can get a complete working used replacement for less than the price of a boutique fuzz pedal.

OP: As for "too much machine/complexity", the Axe-FX is trivial to use and visualize if you can hack the old digitech units' myriad mixers, etc! :)

And as for only using some of the capabilities: you are not under some obligation to use every amp model in the box. People buy $3000 boutique amps that can only do one tone. It's not like it's wasteful in the traditional sense, software is an 'unlimited' resource no one is deprived by your not using all the models (in the same way someone buying a bunch of a limited resource like food and then throwing it away or letting it rot is). I've never gotten that perspective.
 
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