So I bought an axe fx II, MFC and Matrix GT1000fx about 6 years ago. This was the first time I tried to go full digital after using a pedalboard for years.
The learning curve was easier than I imagined because any experience with the analog gear modeled in the Axe is very helpful. Going through studio monitors sounded great immediately. So I tried the Matrix and guitar cab setup, because that's what I was used too live.
It always sounded thin, raspy, crappy, you name it, no matter what I tried... So I tried a Magnum 44 power amp pedal I had lying around. To my surprise, that pedal actually sounded a bit better than the Matrix, but still sounded pretty terrible. So I sold the Matrix.
I then used the axe fx for home use only, an expensive practice amp basically, and went back to pedalboard and amp for live.
I kept reading so many good things about the amp and cab setup that I decided to give it another try, this time I bought a Palmer Macht power amp.
Same deal, thin, fizzy, couldn't get any useable tone out of it.
So i thought, this setup just isn't for me I guess! But I wanted Midi switching capability for live, so I figured out a hybrid rig. Sold the axe fx, and bought an AX8.
Analog drive pedals in a Boss ES-8 looper, and an AX8 for FX only. All on one board, through a deluxe reverb. This actually sounded great, but the board was so heavy I got tired of lugging it around really quickly.
So I decided to give the full ax8, power amp and cab setup another shot.
I met with Yek to see if he could figure out what I was doing wrong with the power amp and cab setup. Strangely, when hooking up my AX8 to his Matrix or Fryette power station, all of a sudden it sounded great!
So I bought a Power Station too.
It finally started to sound like I wanted to, but when making presets on the AX8 with live use in mind, I noticed I ran out of CPU and footswitches to do what I wanted... and after a while, I started to notice there was a lot of high end that usually isn't there with my analog setup, and which was hard to dial out.
So I sold the AX8, and was able to buy my old Axe fx and MFC setup back, which I sold to a friend. I also decided to give the Matrix one last try, and bought a new GT1000FX, because that setup sounded great at Yek's place.
This is my current setup, and I am happy to say I am finally happy with the way it sounds! I can finally load up an amp, tweak BMT and done. It sounds great, no weird high end or lack of bottom end.
In retrospect, the old matrix I had must have been defective, because the difference is night and day.
The magnum 44 just doesn't sound good, and neither does the Palmer Macht. The Fryette power station does sound good, but if you leave the high resonance (speaker tab) on default, the is just to much high end (above 8k and up). Turning down the resonance largely (not completely) solved that problem, but that isn't an option for me because I want to run speaker sims to out 1 simultaniously.
Long story short, for me, the GT1000FX is the best power amp, hands down!
The learning curve was easier than I imagined because any experience with the analog gear modeled in the Axe is very helpful. Going through studio monitors sounded great immediately. So I tried the Matrix and guitar cab setup, because that's what I was used too live.
It always sounded thin, raspy, crappy, you name it, no matter what I tried... So I tried a Magnum 44 power amp pedal I had lying around. To my surprise, that pedal actually sounded a bit better than the Matrix, but still sounded pretty terrible. So I sold the Matrix.
I then used the axe fx for home use only, an expensive practice amp basically, and went back to pedalboard and amp for live.
I kept reading so many good things about the amp and cab setup that I decided to give it another try, this time I bought a Palmer Macht power amp.
Same deal, thin, fizzy, couldn't get any useable tone out of it.
So i thought, this setup just isn't for me I guess! But I wanted Midi switching capability for live, so I figured out a hybrid rig. Sold the axe fx, and bought an AX8.
Analog drive pedals in a Boss ES-8 looper, and an AX8 for FX only. All on one board, through a deluxe reverb. This actually sounded great, but the board was so heavy I got tired of lugging it around really quickly.
So I decided to give the full ax8, power amp and cab setup another shot.
I met with Yek to see if he could figure out what I was doing wrong with the power amp and cab setup. Strangely, when hooking up my AX8 to his Matrix or Fryette power station, all of a sudden it sounded great!
So I bought a Power Station too.
It finally started to sound like I wanted to, but when making presets on the AX8 with live use in mind, I noticed I ran out of CPU and footswitches to do what I wanted... and after a while, I started to notice there was a lot of high end that usually isn't there with my analog setup, and which was hard to dial out.
So I sold the AX8, and was able to buy my old Axe fx and MFC setup back, which I sold to a friend. I also decided to give the Matrix one last try, and bought a new GT1000FX, because that setup sounded great at Yek's place.
This is my current setup, and I am happy to say I am finally happy with the way it sounds! I can finally load up an amp, tweak BMT and done. It sounds great, no weird high end or lack of bottom end.
In retrospect, the old matrix I had must have been defective, because the difference is night and day.
The magnum 44 just doesn't sound good, and neither does the Palmer Macht. The Fryette power station does sound good, but if you leave the high resonance (speaker tab) on default, the is just to much high end (above 8k and up). Turning down the resonance largely (not completely) solved that problem, but that isn't an option for me because I want to run speaker sims to out 1 simultaniously.
Long story short, for me, the GT1000FX is the best power amp, hands down!
