Gimmie the 101 on a Potential Axe FX Rig Setup

CaligulaCuddles

CaligulaCuddles

Member
So, it’s happened for me just like everyone else: I’ve been a long-time staunch analog purist, and my friend showed me his Axe FX II a couple weeks ago. With arms folded and a brow raised, I reluctantly soaked it all in, looking for the weaknesses. Naturally, the days passed, and everything about the AFXII just sorta “clicked” with me. After I came in to a bit of money from an unusual freelance writing gig, I figured that I’d stand a better chance at sleeping at night if I knew I had an Axe FX in my music room next to me. I was wondering, though… what else would I need to make it a viable rig for me?

Currently I play out of a Hiwatt or a Matamp, live or at home (much to the chagrin of my neighbors). I were to add the AxeFX to my arsenal, especially for recording, I’d be able to waste less time with all the problems that come with home recording analog equipment, and it would be able to integrate better with my experimental music. Plus this might put an end to my compulsive amp purchasing urges. I put together a cursory shopping “to-do” list, and things definitely picked up quite a bit in price. Help me iron out my possibilities here, and let me know if there’s anything I’m overlooking:
[1] Axe FX II XL + (Are there any active coupons going on lately, by the way?) $2500 +shipping​
[2] Focusrite Clarett 8 (I’ve needed to upgrade my interface for a while, and I like Focusrite, but would the Motu 828x be about the same?) $1000​
[3] Matrix GT800FX (Is there anything cheaper than this? Keep in mind, it will be going out to a 200 watt or 150 watt cab… is that safe?) $600​
[4] Monster Power 2500 conditioner (My house is old and crummy; I generally don’t believe in power conditioners, but recent events have made me reconsider) $200​
Keep in mind, this will all be going into my Macbook Pro, along with a couple synths and controllers, into Max/MSP and Audacity. Am I going about this the right way, or are there alternatives to consider? It looks like it may get a little more costly than I originally anticipated (especially after I get a new rack and all the necessary cables, etc)...

Cheers.
 
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Have you considered going USB from the Axe to the computer and monitoring with studio monitor or similar type speakers? Saves a ton of money if you are only recording.
 
axe fx 2 XL+ and CLR Wedge.jpgI got an AXE FX 2 XL+ and an Active CLR FRFR Wedge. Couldn't be happier. I was indeed an analog purist aswell. But now I have 2 cables and that's it. Guitar to axe fx, and one cable to CLR wedge. That's the rig, and its perfectly fine tone etc. Im done with GAS, haven't looked at any other gear since. I use a Joe Satriani Signature JS2410MCO guitar that switches to single coils aswell, so I have both hum and single in one guitar. Wow, the rig is done. Oh: if I was to get more gear it will only be the M<FC101 and another Active wedge for stereo. that's it. oh, and the most pure overdrive on the planet as seen in the picture, The JD Screamer True Vintage Overdrive - I run that straight into the front of the axe fx.

p.s. I power it all with a Furmen power conditioner which is a must.

rock on
 
I should clarify that the audio interface is mostly for me, especially using a lot of variety of inputs and everything into my computer. Furthermore, my inputs are a bit limited, being that it's a laptop, so that's kind of the secondary value to it.

As for the power amp, I want to be able to transport the Axe FX to practice (and shows, if I find it useful for that) and hook it up to my guitar cabs. Like I said, though, my fear is that it would blow my 8ohm cabs because of it's higher wattage. I'll still be using my monitors for home mixing, but I would also like to have the opportunity to use it in a more traditional amplifier sense. I know the Matrix is considered the Fractal go-to for all things power amp, but... don't Carvin and some others make pretty clear power amps with a lower wattage closer to the 100 watt level? Are the ART SLA power amps decent?
 
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+1 on the MFC-101. I got one last month even though I have one or two other foot boards capable of doing the same job. It's pretty-much plug & play for the XL, expandable & very easy to use. I'm also on the waiting list for a RAC12 controller as I find the AxeFX a bit tricky to dial-in in a live situation using the onboard rotary encoders. YMMV and most seem to have no probs with this, but I miss the familiarity of having std. amp controls in the heat of battle. I may even decide to sell it once I get my tones fully nailed! If you are also going direct to FOH you could consider going the in-ear monitors route and bypass the need for back line / power amp, altogether...

Edit: Ive just seen you mention that you want to use it as part of a traditional back line configuration so please ignore the last part about IEMs!
 
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CaligulaCuddles said:
I should clarify that the audio interface is mostly for me, especially using a lot of variety of inputs and everything into my computer. Furthermore, my inputs are a bit limited, being that it's a laptop, so that's kind of the secondary value to it.

As for the power amp, I want to be able to transport the Axe FX to practice (and shows, if I find it useful for that) and hook it up to my guitar cabs. Like I said, though, my fear is that it would blow my 8ohm cabs because of it's higher wattage. I'll still be using my monitors for home mixing, but I would also like to have the opportunity to use it in a more traditional amplifier sense. I know the Matrix is considered the Fractal go-to for all things power amp, but... don't Carvin and some others make pretty clear power amps with a lower wattage closer to the 100 watt level? Are the ART SLA power amps decent?
Click to expand...

The SLA-2 is a pretty good choice for the money. I only traded up to a Matrix due to the weight. The ART is heavy for a single space, and very deep. But it's well built and sounds good, and quiet since it has no fans. One other minor concern is the speaker jacks are banana plug or bare wire only.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Can't really help on the other things on your list but for a power amp if you require a single space the Matrix is the best out there for size and power to weight ratio I would look for a used one to save $$. Carvin does make a single space studio power amp DCM200L but no 1/4" connections if you want to run it in bridged mode, no real biggie so you would have to make or buy a banana to 1/4" adapter for that if you wanted to.
 
Chris@AxeFxTutorials said:
Have you considered going USB from the Axe to the computer and monitoring with studio monitor or similar type speakers? Saves a ton of money if you are only recording.
Click to expand...

Start with this. Once you decide to dump your amps (and you will), get a CLR (or many of the other tasteful and high quality stage monitoring solutions that are out there.)
 
electronpirate said:
Start with this. Once you decide to dump your amps (and you will), get a CLR (or many of the other tasteful and high quality stage monitoring solutions that are out there.)
Click to expand...

Like I said, I'll still need to get an audio interface anyway, but I can always run the Axe FX into the computer and everything else through the interface, right?
 
CaligulaCuddles said:
I know that, ultimately, it's the most petty complaint to make... but I really hate banana plugs for some reason.
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Yup, I used to run the ART SLA-2 for the first few years of my Axe FX journey and Banana plugs were a must. I finally went to FRFR ditched the guitar cabs and power amp. You didn't mention if you had a budget but you did have price tags on gear. Because the matrix GT series was designed with guitar modelers in mind it makes the most sense with respect to connections.

The Carvin power amps are really good, light weight and if you are in the U.S. relatively inexpensive. If you are on a budget they are pretty attractive but the single space model is really designed for a studio application. Though it's somewhat over kill the DCM1540L is the popular one here on the forum because of the power and weight to price aspect, $400 for 1500 watts in a 14 Lbs package is a pretty good deal.
 
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