First Show with Axe!

S

Swabere

Inspired
After years of gigging (last 10 with a Triple Rectifier Half Stack and a dozen pedals) I had my first show with the Axe FX 2 XL.
The video 20141012 153007 - YouTube

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Setup was insanely quick and easy. I actually had space to move without a half stack blaring into my back. Output 1 went to FOH and Output 2 to my QSC K12 monitor. The sound guy had never worked with an AXE, but he said he was OK since one of the other bands he works with has a Line 6. He said he knew the right tweaks to make it sound great :)

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I spent days getting my MFC-101 programed and ready for use. In the end I only used Page-up/Page down to change presets, Scenes 1-3 and Boost (for 1 song). The screen was VERY easy to read even when the sun was shining right on the screen. I also did exactly what almost EVERYONE told me not to do and made 32 different presets for the 32 songs we did. Not only that, but I used different amps/cabs/settings for every song. It was risky, but I couldn't resist! I spent a lot of time with different sound meters beforehand to make sure the levels weren't completely off. There were only a couple of songs that were either too loud or too soft. If I had to do it over I probably would have just picked one or two amps.

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Insane how empty the stage looked and there are 6 people in the band (members not shown :) ). The sound was amazing!!! I had full control over my volume and was actually able to hear myself. The sound wasn't at my back or playing in to the back of my legs.

The results:
Me: Loved every minute of playing and packing up
Crowd: Very responsive and my friends in the crowd said everything was crystal clear and very punchy
Band: We always have a hard time hearing me since most times I am not mic'd. They loved it (especially those that were usually in the line of sound coming through the Triple Rec.
Soundguy: LOVED IT! He said he started my mix flat and expected to start tweaking, but wound up keeping it flat for the entire show. He was floored at how amazing the Axe sounded. He needed to adjust the levels on some of the songs, but let me know which ones were the most off.

Preset Used
http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=2730

I am VERY happy :)
Joseph
 
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Just the monitor. I moved around stage hearing the other monitors, but for solos I just stood in front of the K12. Besides the one I brought with me there were only 2 monitors on stage.
 
looks great. any secrets to setting up the mfc 101? i have been hesitant to take my axe/ mfc 101 live because of the set up. i am still using the 11 rack (i know right) because it is so easy to switch around. also, what about the fancy tags, did you make those?
 
drsts said:
looks great. any secrets to setting up the mfc 101? i have been hesitant to take my axe/ mfc 101 live because of the set up. i am still using the 11 rack (i know right) because it is so easy to switch around. also, what about the fancy tags, did you make those?
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-I made a preset for each so song so I just used the Up/Down to go through them. I preprogrammed the setlist in order so after each song I just needed to hit 1 switch. We did move around a few songs during the show, but the MFC was able to change quickly enough to not have it interfere at all. It helped that I labled the songs VERY clearly on the display.
-The bottom row was for scenes 1-5. I just set them up in the order I needed to change them. I kept them all to a maximum of three scenes.
- I used the "Global boost " trick where you lower the max volume across the board and make the boost return it to its 127 value. What is great is that it doesn't use any CPU and you don't have to put it in a block.
-I had volume up and down switches programmed, but I found it easier to use the front panel of the axe. Output 1 to FOH (I never touched after sound check) and Output 2 to my monitor which I adjusted according to taste.
-The rest of the MFC is for Looping and individual expression control, but I didn't touch them.
-as for the labels I do photography as a hobby and just bought some printable magnet sheets at an office supply store and cut them up with scrapbooking supplies (don't ask). I put some of my favorite or memorable images from the last year to add a personal touch.
 
solo-act said:
Love it except the music stands…
They remind me of high school bands or classical music.
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Those music stands are the bane of my existence! This was our first show with two new singers and they were freaking out about not having the lyrics. Every song they needed to read lacked any emotional depth. The female lead quickly tossed hers aside, but the male lead read his for at least 1/3 of the songs. It will not happen again!
 
I was thinking of sending the pictures out to Stomp Labels for a little more of a polished feel, but I will wait to see what works best for my setup. I am still sooooo new to all of this
 
Swabere said:
Those music stands are the bane of my existence! This was our first show with two new singers and they were freaking out about not having the lyrics. Every song they needed to read lacked any emotional depth. The female lead quickly tossed hers aside, but the male lead read his for at least 1/3 of the songs. It will not happen again!
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Good for you--IMO if you need to read lyrics you haven't prepared adequately.
 
It becomes a crutch so easily. If i use sheet music for guitar for too long I wind up needing it there all the time since it becomes part of the song to see it.
 
Swabere said:
Those music stands are the bane of my existence! This was our first show with two new singers and they were freaking out about not having the lyrics. Every song they needed to read lacked any emotional depth. The female lead quickly tossed hers aside, but the male lead read his for at least 1/3 of the songs. It will not happen again!
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Ha ha. You can tell them classical singers use sheet music for songs they've sung hundreds of times. In case of immortals like Pavarotti…thousands. But that's not rock and roll…
 
solo-act said:
But that's not rock and roll…
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Damn Sraight! I also think it takes away from some of the excitement. With the music written in front of you - at best it will only be as good as you have been practicing it. With it just rattling around in your brain opens it up to embelishing and improv that can transcend the song into something amazing and make you do things you didn't know you had in you. Or it can suck, but the risk is worth it.
 
I've studied the sitar classically for about 15 years. One of the amazing rules is you never play the same song (raga) exactly the same way twice. If it doesn't change or grow it becomes stale and lifeless.
 
When my kids were Toddlers, we realized that if they wore pull-ups, it would take longer to potty train them. Same thing goes for lyric sheets - if you can always read the lyrics, you were less likely to memorize them!
 
rushfan said:
When my kids were Toddlers, we realized that if they wore pull-ups, it would take longer to potty train them. Same thing goes for lyric sheets - if you can always read the lyrics, you were less likely to memorize them!
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Ya, if you poop your pants on stage you are less likely to need sheet (sh*t?) music! Just kidding, good analogy though. I am the same way for playing worship @ my church (I do not use music stand), nothing is more annoying than watching the artists flip through pages of music to 'find' the chords. MEMORIZE IT PLEASE!!!!

Awesome setup Sawbere, I used mine a couple months ago and loved it. FOH took a little bit to get used to, but I enjoyed the control of it much more than having an amp blaring in my ear.. Here was my setup (Fun-w-Fractal).

Did you get any video of the concert?? Thanks.
 
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