General questions about AxFxII

Z

zenfire

New Member
Greetings,
Green new member to the forum here. I currently do not own the AXFx Ultra or the newer II version and I have never had the pleasure of hearing either in person. Additionally, because of my outdated computer and phone line internet connection I also can't listen to any demos of this unit. I am wondering if this unit will aid me in my home recordings both sound wise and feel wise. I will be using the unit for direct recording exclusively and will be running it into a decrrpit old Boss BR1180 cd recorder and out to a pair of studio monitors. Generally I am using only the internal cosm presets in the 1180 and sometimes combining those with an old half broken Boss GT6 effects processor. I have gotten a lot of mileage out of these products but I want to evolve the quality of my home recordings and om hoping the AXfxII will help. How is the latency of this unit? feel is a huge thing for me, I'd like it to feel like one of my tube amps (which most digital processors do not.) I will stop with my many questions here and see what you guy's and gal's have to say.
 
Zenfire, if you've got the money, buy a II. You won't be sorry.

I cannot feel any latency issues with the Ultra. I can't speak for the II, but I'm sure it's fine.
 
You will not find a better processor on the market for recording.
You will not find a better processor on the market for feel.
Done.
 
I think I read somewhere that the latency was the equivalent of standing two feet away from a speaker... so, yeah, it's not noticeable.
 
ditto... I owned the ULTRA and now the II. If you have the extra cash, buy the II. Hands down the best unit on the market by far... really far... Do lots of reading here. Lots of info and testimonials that are very reliable and very trustworthy. If you can get to a buddies or relative's or even the public library to go online to check the audio out, do so. Even the ULTRA or STANDARD is superior to whatever else is available. Feel and dynamics while playing is not an issue with either of these units.
 
Thanks (all) for your input. Sounds like I really need to get out and find a II to play and hear for myself. I'm SO overdue for a gear change!
 
With other modelers I'd had a couple of years ago, they are about 50% of optimum for all-around use. They seem to do okay for certain metal players, but if you are pushing yourself and cover a wide range of technique in your playing, they fall 50% short. As for feel from the Ultra, I am generally, all-purpose-wise, very satisfied, say about 87% when it comes to response from difference picking and settings (to be a little overly specific). The nuance that Axe II firmware 3 achieves, according to the recordings I'm hearing, takes it close to 98% of optimum. The improvements I'm hearing in it are in the area of what inspires players while they are playing - a circuit that tells a player he/she can accentuate and express in nuanced ways. It depends on playing approach and need. I do not have an axe fx standard, but possibly much of what I'm saying about the Ultra applies to it. If you play some clean tones, the Ultra is amazing for recording - but you will experience less interaction between it and certain amps when run hot. (With most amps and the majority of settings you won't tell the difference, but if you seek EVH album 1 sounds, or some other gear freak's sounds there may be some - Ketil Strand's vids are a good example, he achieves most sounds fine, but then, he's a pretty inspired guy already, so maybe he doesn't need the amp to "Feel" super-expressive.) If you do high gain tones, again, it is amazing. If you are looking for ultra-realistic mid breakup or things that depend on speaker load feel, speaker pressure feel when going from string damping to vibration, minute picking attack changes, and so forth, SOME OF WHICH I was getting with a Mesa Boogie 295 power amp - with clean sounds, these are things that will be best addressed by the axe fx II with the new firmware. That's the difference between them IMO and the brilliance of what Cliff has achieved most recently - like the holy grail of feel.

Best of luck.
 
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Jesussaddle, thanks for your more in depth description of the "feel charactoristics" of the processors. (I needed that!) I Do some high gain, some clean and some mid break up stuff so, like I stated before, feel is so important. I'd almost rather have a crappy tone that feels good than a stellar tone that leaves me uninspired. If you or any other forum members are so inclined you can check out some of my old tunes on my site at Zenfire Guitar Picks | Handmade Copper and Brass Guitar Picks | Made in USA there is a link on there that says (listen to music) and NO I am not trying to sell you somthing. Thanks
 
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