Do you even understand the holy grail for Axe-Fx tone?

Why did you get an Axe-Fx?

  • To replicate an existing amp.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    41

Lopp

Inspired
The whole argument about tweaking the Axe-Fx to sound exactly like existing amps vs. tweaking the Axe-Fx to achieve some tone beyond existing amps is misguided. It is almost like arguing about which flavor of ice cream is the best. That being said, I don't know if you are confident enough to fess up as to why you got the Axe-Fx, but if you were to recall the underlying personal reason you got the unit, what would it be?
 
I want a flexible rig. I don't use lots of fancy effects, just basic sounds, but I want my rig to be easy to setup and easy to use. the axefx really is an all in one box and that is the easiest to setup and use. i can travel very easily with it and I always sound exactly how i want. i did replicate existing amps- you have to start somewhere. i use 3 basic sounds- a clean, a bluesy gain and a high gain. add different effects to taste for each sound. so when i got the axe, i set up all my patches with a routing scheme exactly like my old rack rig that i loved. just turn on the effects i need in each patch. so then i had to find amp models that gave me the sound i was looking for. ok did that.

so with the axe i have an easy to travel, lightweight, great sounding, consistent rig from night to night. there's no troubleshooting because the only cable is that going from my wireless to the axe input. no ground or power issues, bad cables, nothin. i love the idea of an all in one rig and the axe sounds 100% at everything it does. i love running direct because i can be just like a keyboard player. use my volume pedal just like a keyboard player uses his- the sound is always the same, just louder or softer. works great.

N
 
Since there's no way to choose more than one here you go...

I want a more flexible lighter rig that can make the tone in head. :D
 
My three were: replacing numerous amps, lighter rig and I put more flexible but that actually means keeping the same flexibility of the numerous amps and other units of the old insanely HUGE rig...what a god awful mess to work with and move around.

Oh yeah, I love my 6U carry with one hand that "does it all" rig :D
 
Easy...to finally achieve the tone I have in my head.

I'm doing a lot of Electronica stuff and no other effects unit had an even remotely close approach to a modular system except for maybe TC's Fireworx. Since the Fireworx has no amp sims it was a no-brainer for me. Also, since I also do programming and synths, I like the idea of having total recall and have been using digital amps because of that since years. Only problem I had that I could not get the amps sims of previous modelers to sound like I wanted them and they especially sucked big time when putting pedals in front (and I use a lot :lol: ). With the Axe I CAN get the amp sims to sound like I want AND it takes my pedals really well !

Always liked modded Marshals and finaly with the Axe I can mod my own 'Marshalls' the way I want them to sound :D !
 
Here lately after reading several other threads I think we need a poll that asks if people understand that the Axe-Fx is a "tool" a great tool in fact, but a tool none the less. Not some divine mystical and mysterious gift from God. This thing has inspired some of the most hysterical "fanboy" worship and forum drama I've ever read. We even have folks that don't own one defending it and slamming the competition like there was some life altering consequence for doing otherwise. Folks the Axe-Fx is an excellent piece and Cliff is a gifted designer and entrepreneur but come on. Ahh some times I just gotta vent...... :lol: :lol: :lol:

What is "the Holy Grail" for Axe-Fx tone anyway. I'd bet it's not exactly the same for any of us. I'd bet that if I explained my idea of my "Holy Grail" to TOP that he/ she would not necessarily come to the same conclusion.

To me, an appealing aspect of the Axe-Fx is not just how well it sounds, but how much it can do. I would speculate that most any sound or tone that we Axe-Fx users can squeeze out of the box could be duplicated by other existing gear. I've yet to find anything in my experience using the Axe-Fx (using the types of tones that I use) that I haven't also had in the past with other gear I own or have owned. The difference is 2 rack spaces versus 16 :lol: So is that the "Holy Grail" :) I don't know. I always end up sounding like me. I think I had great tone before I bought the Axe-Fx, but it certainly took a lot more gear to get me there.
 
Holy grail for me:
Size/versatility
Every rig you'll ever need for any song you'll ever perform or write, crammed into something about the size of a briefcase.
Quality
A depth of tone/dynamics/musicality that rivals heavy/bulky real world gear at ANY volume, gels in a live mix, with a construction design made for national & international travel.
Ease
Any needed tweak or edit quickly accessible, very fast setup/soundcheck, simple/intuitive operation with ability to fully automate the unit.
Reaction
Audiences emotionally & physically react to the tones -- soundmen swoon over killer tone with minimal setup/effort -- the tones electrify the venue.

In my 14 years gigging professionally, getting all that into a single small unit was nothing more than a fantasy, a dream, a distant hope & longing for myself and the guitar players I knew.

Those days are over now :cool:
 
I think that it only helps to have solid amp cab combo presets that are just dry amp and cab fully tweaked and working interactively exactly like the originals for the new owner of the Axe-fx. No effects. Just the amps paired with their most traditionally appropriate cabinet loaded automatically as a preset.

Once the tweaking starts then possibilities are endless. Starting off from that place, looking at all the raw ingredients to build the basic first guitar tones we will make on our own will ineveitably point to the only reference we know so far - the real amps.

It's important to have all the versions of the real amps in there setup and ready to play.

It's the best way to start learning on a device like this.
 
Jennifer said:
I think that it only helps to have solid amp cab combo presets that are just dry amp and cab fully tweaked and working interactively exactly like the originals for the new owner of the Axe-fx. No effects. Just the amps paired with their most traditionally appropriate cabinet loaded automatically as a preset.

Once the tweaking starts then possibilities are endless. Starting off from that place, looking at all the raw ingredients to build the basic first guitar tones we will make on our own will ineveitably point to the only reference we know so far - the real amps.

It's important to have all the versions of the real amps in there setup and ready to play.

It's the best way to start learning on a device like this.
+1 good response Jennifer.... The Axe is an awesome tools for varied levels. With such an amazing tool which provides such flexibility the challenge is always how to set up a clear easy path for new users to be able to use it without feeling overwhelmed. I view the Axe FX as learning a software application. Pretty much from day 1 you can start producing cool stuff, with time the stuff gets cooler. It helps as there are so much resources / training out there for something like Photoshop. It would be great to have something similar to the www.lynda.com style courses for the Axe FX. There are so many things to learn that a lot of guitarist who were used to a simple tube amp and couple of stomboxes have to learn know. Noise gates, Parametric Eqs, Advanced Compression, the list goes on. It's awesome to have it there, but there is a steep learning curve that can be intimidating at first.....
 
I don't mind fessing up..........I bought the AxeFx as a high quality effects unit to use with my existing rig. I had absolutely no intention of using the amp or cab sims. I still use the AxeFx that way within the context of that particular rig and I LOVE it for that application.

That being said I was more than pleasantly surprised by the quality of the amp sims from the start (whatever version the unit was on when I first got it about two years ago)...........and they have improved dramatically since then. At this point the AxeFx has a major roll in three different rigs for me. First up is its roll in the original rig that I bought it for where it acts only as an effects unit..........second up I use the AxeFx with the 4 cable method with one amp (the AxeFx handles all effects in the rig and sometimes gets used as the preamp as well)...............third is the AxeFx with a Randall poweramp (the AxeFx does everything in this rig, effects and amps).

So although I bought the AxeFx only for the effects it has since become the go to piece of gear in my arsenal. The AxeFx is just so amazingly versatile that I can't help but use it all the time. It works amazingly well in any kind of rig configuration that you could imagine..............money well spent!

p
 
nnajar said:
I want a flexible rig. I don't use lots of fancy effects, just basic sounds, but I want my rig to be easy to setup and easy to use. the axefx really is an all in one box and that is the easiest to setup and use. i can travel very easily with it and I always sound exactly how i want. i did replicate existing amps- you have to start somewhere. i use 3 basic sounds- a clean, a bluesy gain and a high gain. add different effects to taste for each sound. so when i got the axe, i set up all my patches with a routing scheme exactly like my old rack rig that i loved. just turn on the effects i need in each patch. so then i had to find amp models that gave me the sound i was looking for. ok did that.

so with the axe i have an easy to travel, lightweight, great sounding, consistent rig from night to night. there's no troubleshooting because the only cable is that going from my wireless to the axe input. no ground or power issues, bad cables, nothin. i love the idea of an all in one rig and the axe sounds 100% at everything it does. i love running direct because i can be just like a keyboard player. use my volume pedal just like a keyboard player uses his- the sound is always the same, just louder or softer. works great.

N

same here!
 
skracus said:
Here lately after reading several other threads I think we need a poll that asks if people understand that the Axe-Fx is a "tool" a great tool in fact, but a tool none the less. Not some divine mystical and mysterious gift from God. This thing has inspired some of the most hysterical "fanboy" worship and forum drama I've ever read. We even have folks that don't own one defending it and slamming the competition like there was some life altering consequence for doing otherwise. Folks the Axe-Fx is an excellent piece and Cliff is a gifted designer and entrepreneur but come on. Ahh some times I just gotta vent...... :lol: :lol: :lol:

What is "the Holy Grail" for Axe-Fx tone anyway. I'd bet it's not exactly the same for any of us. I'd bet that if I explained my idea of my "Holy Grail" to TOP that he/ she would not necessarily come to the same conclusion.

To me, an appealing aspect of the Axe-Fx is not just how well it sounds, but how much it can do. I would speculate that most any sound or tone that we Axe-Fx users can squeeze out of the box could be duplicated by other existing gear. I've yet to find anything in my experience using the Axe-Fx (using the types of tones that I use) that I haven't also had in the past with other gear I own or have owned. The difference is 2 rack spaces versus 16 :lol: So is that the "Holy Grail" :) I don't know. I always end up sounding like me. I think I had great tone before I bought the Axe-Fx, but it certainly took a lot more gear to get me there.

Bravo!!! This guy makes sense!
 
The Axe-FX is what I've been waiting for someone to make ever since I played through a Roland GP-8 in 1985. Everything for electric guitar in one box, great sound, no maintenance, no setup. Some people around here will take it further and realize the potential of creating new sounds that weren't possible before. I'm just happy to finally have the rig that I wanted 23 years ago.
 
ElectricPhase said:
The Axe-FX is what I've been waiting for someone to make ever since I played through a Roland GP-8 in 1985. Everything for electric guitar in one box, great sound, no maintenance, no setup. Some people around here will take it further and realize the potential of creating new sounds that weren't possible before. I'm just happy to finally have the rig that I wanted 23 years ago.
That mirrors me pretty close. Ever since I played in a cover band in the 80's I tried to put together rigs within my nominal budgets that could span tones from Knopfler to Van Halen, ultimately going with effective but cumbersome (oh my back) A/B rigs. Modelers always had the promise; the Axe-Fx appears to be the first to actually make good on it, ergo my want for one.
 
I wanted a great quality recording tool for making demos and what not. Not in my wildest imagination, however, did I expect that it'd soon render my entire tube amp rig useless! I missed an "all of the above and then some" option... :D :D
 
Amphibian said:
I wanted a great quality recording tool for making demos and what not. Not in my wildest imagination, however, did I expect that it'd soon render my entire tube amp rig useless! I missed an "all of the above and then some" option... :D :D

That was my point Amphibian. The whole notion of the poll seemed a bit naive to me (no offense to anyone) As you stated an "all of the above" is really the only answer :)
 
For me, the Axe-Fx is the first true, all-in-one box that doesn't sacrifice any sound quality to be an all-in-one box. It takes entire rigs and duplicates them with unbelievable accuracy, and it does it for 2 rack spaces and about 1.5 to 2 grand depending on which model you get. Getting my sounds with conventional gear would cost 2-3 times as much for any single given tone, and with traditional gear you only get one sound (sometimes maybe two). Even if I only counted the amps and effects I use, I've already saved tons of money. I use a lot of tones, but don't play stadiums, so this product is definitely for me.


I also bought it for the versatility. The Axe-Fx is by far the single most versatile piece of gear I've ever come in contact with, and I'm not even just talking about tone! You can incorporate the Axe into any rig you can dream up, and it can be as much or as little a part of those rigs as you want. Need a few stomp boxes for your Nashville sounding, 1x12 hand wired effects-loop-less class A tube amp? Put the Axe between the guitar and the amp input. It sits just fine there and sounds just like a string of pedals, but without the noise and problems of cabling and powering a string of pedals. Want your Axe to handle all the effects generation for a multi-headed monster rig, both before the amps' inputs and in the effects loops, as well as providing a few tones of its own that the heads can't do? It handles that with no problem. Want your Axe to be solely responsible for providing every bit of tone in the entire rig, replacing those multiple heads and refrigerator sized racks and compacting all of it into 2 rack spaces? It can do that too, and get 90% of the way there.


I bought the Axe-Fx because, for me, it's almost a total solution to getting what I want out of the electric guitar. And just about the only reason I'd get rid of it at this point would be to upgrade to another all-in-one solution that will probably be made a few years down the road when the technology is even better and more accurate. But with the constant updates and support the Axe-Fx gets, that moment will probably be pretty far into the future.


Even if I had the opportunity to replace my Axe with conventional gear, I don't know if I would. There's a lot to be said about convenience, and this thing is convenient. No more having to power and patch multiple pieces of gear for me. If I'm building a patch and want an effect that's fairly unique sounding that I hardly ever use, like say one amplifier going directly into another amplifier for all kinds of craziness, all I have to do is highlight an empty block and rotate the value knob to amp 2, and bam! I've got it. No having to completely rewire my amps and figure out how to run it without it blowing up and burning down my house or whatever club I'm at, it's just there and it works.
 
I suspect your Grail is different from mine. I just loved that it would let me tweak and configure things the way I wanted them to be rather than the way some designer (or worse, marketing person :eek: ) thought they should be. I love traditional stuff, and use plenty of it, but there are times when you want to destroy any concept of normalcy.

Guitar-Tiz said:
Since there's no way to choose more than one here you go...

I want a more flexible lighter rig that can make the tone in head. :D
Umm...you can choose up to three. :?
 
scarr said:
Guitar-Tiz said:
Since there's no way to choose more than one here you go...

I want a more flexible lighter rig that can make the tone in head. :D
Umm...you can choose up to three. :?

You can now, but you couldn't when he first put it up.

I voted when he changed it.
 
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