Has the Axe changed your tonal palette?

Variable

Variable

Inspired
I've been playing for about 20 years now. Started off like many folks back in the 90s with a garbage Strat copy and "amp" (heavy emphasis on the quotes) package bought off of eBay. I quickly progressed to a tube amp (the Peavey Ultra 212, which I think one of my old friends still owns), and have been on a tone quest ever since. I was very much a "how much gain can I get" metalhead. I liked my cleans super clean and my gain full of palm mutes.

I moved from searching primarily for amps over to guitars at some point (it helps when you get a job that brings some disposable income!), and then found the Axe 2. Soon I found the ubergain tendancies giving way to more dynamic playing with a big preference toward those wonderful in-between sounds where you can basically play a whole set on just one channel. The Axe really opened that up for me, whereas I had previously had some amps (Freytte Memphis and Guytron GT100) that could do the in-between thing but wasn't really that kind of player (yet). I did recently bring the Memphis back into my very small amp collection and I'm super glad I did since my playing now matches the amp's capabilities so well (Cliff, please please please model that amp--it's all kinds of amazing).

And then the Axe 3 came along and changed the paradigm yet again. Where I had been gravitating back toward tube amps before, the Axe 3 finally got past the sonic subtleties that kept the 2 from sounding quite as good, especially with the better dynamics. I still play with lots of gain every now and again, but I find myself more on the vintage end of the tonal spectrum and favoring amps that can bring the nasty not with a twist of the gain knob, but with a heavier hand on my guitar. I used to be all about the high-output Super-Strat or Super-Tele style guitars modded to the hilt (and I still have a Suhr Modern, so, I haven't given up on that style quite yet!), and now find myself gravitating more toward low-output, vintage inspired instruments that allow for more dynamics in pick attack and playing. I used to be all about bridge humbuckers and now I love the dynamics I can get from single-coils.

Is this what happens when you get old, or did the Axe's wide tonal palette open me up to a different kind of playing? I couldn't think of exclusively smashing out barre chords with heaps of gain these days when there are models like the Friedmans and the Voxes and the Plexis in the Axe that have such a great dynamic, singing voice. It's just more fun and interactive for me to play with these kinds of models. Perhaps it's a mix of both? I feel kinda like I've done the same shift Opeth did when they gave up death metal in favor of wooly 70s jazz fusion.

Anyway, how has the Axe changed how you play and the tones you enjoy?
 
Yep, I was in the there's no such thing as too much gain camp prior to the Axe. I now use some edge of breakup tones and main gain tones aren't as over the top as they used to be.
 
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Variable said:
Is this what happens when you get old, or did the Axe's wide tonal palette open me up to a different kind of playing?
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Yes. Yes. My tastes (and listening) are more subtle and melodic as I've gotten older (now 51), although the AF3 can satisfy my 70s/80s retro riff and power chord needs in a jiffy.

I now find a variety of clean tones in the AF3 really satisfying, from Fenders to Vox to HW to some of the jazzy amps. The AF2 was close but the 3 can be like a black hole of tonal exploration and fun riffing.
 
My real amps are both mesa's, roadster and duel rec (rev f), so I naturally went straight to them after getting my first ax8.
That lasted about a week, now I'm much more into lower gain models, and play them almost exclusively live.
Even the lonestar seems a bit lacking compared to others we have to choose from.

Have I changed? Yes for sure, and for the better.
Axe3 has only cemented my love for amps I've never even seen in real life.. dc30, dirty Shirley etc.
 
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Ha, been going through almost the same thing as I've been getting older. Preferred saturated high gain maybe 10 years ago and really dig mid-gain dynamic amps now. Also bought my first single coil guitar a year back.
 
Absoltuely, I’m with @Callan , I’m a mesa man all the way.....now i love to look for other things
I always loved that English blues/tweed and orange sound but I never tried them....NOW I CAN!!

It is making me much more of a gear head than i ever was or would’ve been. I said I before how i never used to buy pedals or amps, I just bought one rig and kept it this whole time until i got the kemper. However after the kemper i was only using kemper for mesa rigs, so now that I have he axe and along with coopers course, i just want to see how far i can push my own tonal limits

So yes, to answer succintly
 
Maybe I "got old" before my time, but I made much of that transition years ago... But, the Axe Fx II and then III allow me to continue further down that road.

Over the years, the amount of gain in my lead sounds has continued to be gradually cut back.

I think part of it technique, too. Gain hides a lot... Better technique requires less hiding ;)
 
I think what originally started me down the dynamics road were some very old clips back in the early 2000s on Harmony Central of the Bogner Ecstasy Blue channel. Once I heard those I was like "What was that?!" Then I found out it was the Ecstasy and I cried when I saw the price :)

I never really was into Mesa amps before the Axe, either. Now I really dig the Mark sounds; there's something about the mids in the Mark IV that is just pure magic for singing leads.

The main reason I brought the Memphis back into my collection was because it is so exceedingly good at dynamic in-between sounds. The green channel doesn't have much clean headroom, but you can play clean just by playing more softly, even with the volume at 12:00. It also loves ODs; my BB Preamp clone is incredible through it. It's also got a harmonic swirl and bloom that I haven't heard in any other amp except maybe the Swart AST.
 
I cut my teeth on Marshall tones. Over the years I had heavy type amps that worked for many of the cover projects I was part of. Still love peeling paint occasionally.

When I got the Axe FX, I started to learn the subtleties of a MV amp. At first it was an exercise in learning the instrument. How you could use 3 pedals (boost, delay/verb/wah) and run through a night with only that. Volume knob, PUP choice, tone controls on Guitar, pedals for boost and flavor. It made me a better guitarist as I started dialing amps in a different way...less all about the amp, and more about the full package. I have modifiers, scenes, presets that get me to different places when I need it, but those are just tools since I have learned to carve a tone when not hovering over my foot controller.

The Plexi 50 to me is the perfect all around amp. It can be angry, or sweet, mildly sassy, or sing. All at the touch of your fingers.

It's good to be the King with an Axe FX.

R
 
Hi everyone, I am new here but follow all the time. I have been playing out since the very early 70's. I have owned hand wired 50 watt Marshall's , Hiwatt DR103 with Fane loaded cabs and 100 watt 1970's Marshall heads and cabs. I moved on too about 14K worth of rack gear and all the problems with ground loops etc... I tried everything with no luck. I was lost till I was introduced to the ultra years ago ( thank you Mark Day!!!!). Now I have the axefx3 and all the amps I have ever owned are there in all its glory. Thank you Cliff for all your attention to detail!!!!!!
 
The Axe FX is a great tool to study amp genealogies and to understand the difference between the base models and circuits. Sometimes you have a fixed image in your head of what you are "supposed" to like and which amp is used for what genre. In reality, everything is much more open and flexible, and I find that I now like and play amps on the Axe FX III that I probably would have never bought as a head.

The fact that you can simply try all the amp models and (this is important) try out various cabs and speaker combinations is educating. It has also showed me that I probably had my dream amp or tone various times in my life, just not coupled with a fitting cab. I never had the opportunity to have more heads or cabs at the same time, so it was always difficult to compare components and find the true path to tonal heaven.

Fortunately, the days of gear flipping are over now with the Axe FX III. I might get a big head and cab again some day, but now I would most certainly choose more wisely. Having said that, I find all the tones in the Axe FX III that I want, and not surprisingly, it's the absolute amp classics that I now appreciate and play the most.
 
All I used to have before was a Marshall MG100 DFX and a usb link to play guitar through computer software. It sounded horrible and most of the time I didn't have a clue what I was doing. So, Axe FX has pretty much changed everything. I was Fractalized 8 years ago.

I definitely sound a LOT better nowadays because I know how get a good sound with what I have. Axe FX has been a HUGE learning tool for me. Nowadays I know a ton about different amps, cabs and effects that I've most probably never would've learned if I had to haul all that real gear. I've gone through a few amp models, but I still tend to lean on the Marshall models 99% of the time. They just hit the right spot for me. I consider myself as more of an effects guy and it's mostly the effects that have been changing constantly. Nowadays it's JCM 800 with TS808, Small stone phaser, DOD GFX flanger and digital/tape delay with real-life fuzzes – which I've slowly been trying to get rid of because I have way too many.

I got my "first real amp" yesterday: an 80's JCM 800 2203. I've wanted one for years already. After A-B'ing it with the Axe FX III model (50 w), it sounds so close to the real thing I can sell it if I had to. I'm really happy I bought the Axe FX first before going through all those real-life amps first.

So has Axe FX changed my tonal palette? Not particularly. I'd say it has enabled me to widen my palette compared to what I used to have. I've kind of taken the millennial route compared to most of you (buying Axe FX before real amps) :p
 
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Oh for sure. Back in those days I used to play over a Boss ME30 multi effect on a crappy Marshall MG solid state amp. No creamy AC15 edge of break up. No extra chime when adding the sdd overdrive. No swirly memory man modulated delay. No punk rocking keraaaang of the Brit 800. No deep cloud and bloom delays on a dark clean bogner. No extra bite by engaging and overdrive. No esoteric soundscapes with all the synth, pitch and delay presets. Etc. Etc. Etc.
 
I went from an Eleven Rack to the Axe Fx II XL - and then to the Axe III.

I just just play more guitar now - a lot more. And in addition to my usually go to amps - AC30 and Soldano Slo100 - I also use Friedman SmallBox, a lot cause it is so dynamic and good sounding ... ehhrm ... out of the box).
 
Great post! I bought the unit for the purpose of expanding my ears as well as being able to play great sounding guitar after hours. It's been perfect. Since, I have purchased a Vox and a couple Fenders to compliment the Boogie/Marshall duo which are wonderful and expressive, but loud. I don't try and compare to harshly, each unit has it's strength. So for me, I would say the Fractal gear has changed my tonal palette by expanding it.

Specifically though, I have moved towards modest gain and less saturation. I try and make the tone as responsive to my playing as possible, so when digging in it gets juicy.
 
Good post- I'm 49 and am definitely exploring the lower gain stuff but I still like my high gain tones a lot so I guess I may be in transition now. One thing that Axe 3 does for me is that I play a lot more now that I can play through headphones with the computer tunes joined in and editing from the computer so easy. I had different headphone setups and mixers for my previous Digitech processors over the years but nothing was ever even close to how easy it is to plug in now and have everything at my fingertips, plus have all the amps and effects in the Axe to play with. And it sounds so damn good! I'm teaching myself how to use Reaper now to gauge my chops and the tones I can get for any recording are so good. I find myself tweaking or playing with tones and sounds more than playing sometimes but it's ok since I'm not playing with a band right now and it's all my escape anyway.
 
Sustainerplayer said:
I went from an Eleven Rack to the Axe Fx II XL - and then to the Axe III.

I just just play more guitar now - a lot more. And in addition to my usually go to amps - AC30 and Soldano Slo100 - I also use Friedman SmallBox, a lot cause it is so dynamic and good sounding ... ehhrm ... out of the box).
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Love those models. I use the SLO100 for 80's sound. Smallbox for classic rock dirt, and CA3+ CLEAN for, you guessed it, clean sounds. It's amazing how well these models sound.
 
For me it wasn't the Axe. My tonal tastes changed when I started playing with better musicians and particularly better singers that could cover songs that required expanded range of tones and broader technique.

The Axe for me was about reliability and having much less stuff to haul around.
 
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