Got an Axe II XL, do I need an FX8?

G

Gas Hed

Member
If I have an XL, is there any reason to believe the FX8 will perform better when using 4cm with my tube amp rig? I can do 4cm with the Axe and get the same effect (no pun intended) right?
 
But is it the same, that's the question I have. Is one better (sound wise, not function or easy wise) than the other?

May be hard to answer considering FX8 is not out yet.
 
"Need" is a big word. Do any of us really "need" another piece of gear? And: Fx8 - purposefully built to do what you want so may sound better. Axe Fx 2 - will always have shorter cables using the 4cm than the Fx8 so may sound better :). I think this is convenience/useability decision above everything else. People of all levels have been using Axe Fx's in their rigs since inception. I can't imagine the Fx8 will sound significantly better (or worse) if both units are configured properly. I think the real difference is that with the Fx8 you'll have one thing less to bring and that can go wrong, but the Fx8 won't be as flexible as the Axe Fx 2 + MFC.
 
Basically you are asking would having a device that doesn't do amp modeling if you aren't using it in the first place be better for your application (in this case 4 cable method).

Is there a distinguishable difference in effects quality or capability between the two units? Is it optimized in some manner that makes it work better in the 4CM than the XL?

I can't answer that, but I think that it's a very good question.
 
the way i understand it, at the time that the Axe-Fx II hardware was created, it was/is low noise for 4cm connections.

years later, the new hardware designed for the FX8 is even lower noise, sometimes even referred to as "close to silent."

but the "low noise" of the axe-fx ii may be completely acceptable.
 
Chris@AxeFxTutorials said:
the way i understand it, at the time that the Axe-Fx II hardware was created, it was/is low noise for 4cm connections.

years later, the new hardware designed for the FX8 is even lower noise, sometimes even referred to as "close to silent."

but the "low noise" of the axe-fx ii may be completely acceptable.
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He has an XL though, not the original II, so he's already got the latest hardware, "secret sauce v3" et al.,
 
lqdsnddist said:
He has an XL though, not the original II, so he's already got the latest hardware, "secret sauce v3" et al.,
Click to expand...

i'm not sure the output components were adjusted any between the non-xl and xl versions.

still, if it sounds good, it is good. regardless of what is new.
 
lqdsnddist said:
Why would you expect a $1400 device to perform any better than a $2700 device ?
Click to expand...

Depends.

Is a toyota pickup a better vehicle than a Ferrari 458? If you are moving furniture it is because it meets your needs better.

I'm not trying to harp on semantics or even on value here. I deal with people every single day that come to me with a list of specific needs and then try to explain why they need something that goes so far above and beyond what those needs are that it just makes my head hurt. Figure out what you need something to do, find something that does it and go with it. If I had my way about 90% of the workforce at my place of business would have notepad and paint because they do what most of these chuckleheads need...but of course they want the full suite of the latest version of Office and Photoshop...hell make it the full Creative Cloud version because that makes so much damn sense. :)

There is a chance that having a device that is designed specifically for working in a 4CM with an integrated foot controller actually works better then a full featured amp modeler that has the capability to do 4CM. Now with FAS and Cliff behind the wheel that's probably not the case since everything he does is engineered to meet a specific standard, but who knows unless you ask the specific question? And that's not just taking price into consideration; there could be some differences in the impedances or gain stages or even the effects blocks themselves that is optimized for the OP's application.

I could also just be venting some of my work related aggravations in a topic that has nothing to do with me. :)
 
I heard that the looper is going to be longer on the FX. So far, that's the only thing that goes above the XL in terms of effects... I could be wrong.
 
My understanding is that the FX8 is a foot-controllable subset of the Axe FX. As such, there's no difference in sound quality, it just doesn't do quite as much. No amp modelling, for instance. So, if you have an Axe Fx, you already have an FX8.
 
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