Has the Axe-FX II Achieved 99% amp modeling accuracy?

There are as many differing viewpoints on this as there are Axe owners.... or maybe more?

Either way, although I've not owned my Axe as long as some people, I find that it provides me with what I need. Does it provide it perfectly? Errr.... no but I don't want perfection, I want beauty from my guitar tones and I get that in abundant quantities which inspires me to greater musicality.

Seek not for the beauty of perfection, but the perfection of beauty.
 
Seek not for the beauty of perfection, but the perfection of beauty.
What in the world does that even mean? :confused:

This is one of those statements that sounds profound, but is essentially meaningless.
 
What in the world does that even mean? :confused:

This is one of those statements that sounds profound, but is essentially meaningless.

Lol... call it alcohol induced but if something is beautiful it isn't necessarily perfect and nor does it need to be.
 
Doesn't matter because the amp I start with, I tweak so much, I end up with an amp that will never exist in the real world, i turned so many knobs. But I love knowing I can have MY SOUND, that nobody else has.
 
For a guitar player a its 50% tone and 50% feel. How the notes feel under the fingers when you pick them is a very important factor. As far as feel is concerned, it is definitely not there yet as compared to real tube amps. IMHO anyway.
 
For a guitar player a its 50% tone and 50% feel. How the notes feel under the fingers when you pick them is a very important factor. As far as feel is concerned, it is definitely not there yet as compared to real tube amps. IMHO anyway.

So can you articulate what exactly is missing? Or, in other words what would the AXE need to do in order to deliver optimal "feel"?
 
When I first purchased a Mesa / Boogie amp (a Mk III), I had very high expectations of what the amp would sound like. Once I received it, I knew it was good, but it took me over a year to master it. All of the front-panel knobs had a secondary pull-out function, plus it was a multi-channel amp, plus it had a bewildering range of tone adjustments with the knobs and 5-band EQ. It wasn't "missing" anything, but it certainly took me a while to dial in my individual tones. Once I did, that amp was glorious. It was my gateway to many subsequent Boogie amps. They have a really distinctive tone, and I learned to use each new amp to get what I wanted from it.

The last Boogie amp I owned was a Lonestar. It was a really good one, and I loved it. I generally use dimensional clean tones, with just a little amp OD. The Lonestar delivers that beautifully. When I got the AxeFX, I decided to sell the Lonestar, along with all my other tube amps. I didn't need to sell that amp, and wouldn't have, unless I felt the Lonestar voice was good enough. So, speaking for just that amp model, it sounds amazing to me. So, no compromise in that regard.

By the way, I sold that Lonestar to a guy who plays detuned djent through it, and it sounds amazing. It's different from the tone I got, and still fantastic. An amp is just a tool, and so are the models in the AxeFX. It sure seems to me that toolchest is stocked with good stuff. I'm not rich, but I have played professionally for enough years to become very picky about my guitar tone. If I felt the AxeFX wasn't meeting my high expectations, I wouldn't be using it.
 
So can you articulate what exactly is missing? Or, in other words what would the AXE need to do in order to deliver optimal "feel"?
Sure. The kind of feedback you get when fretting a note is slightly different with an Axe, its less "heavy", effort vs return in a real amp is better, for example legato playing in clean tone is easier and the notes sound more rounded straight into an amp compared to the Axe. Picking dynamics are greater with more range and sensitivity with a real amp.
 
Doesn't matter because the amp I start with, I tweak so much, I end up with an amp that will never exist in the real world, i turned so many knobs. But I love knowing I can have MY SOUND, that nobody else has.

Hell yeah! I think that's what I was trying to say!
 
So for what its worth, I don't have any problem getting feedback or even just the subtle difference in feel when you have enough volume to move some air and make the strings more lively. I have a couple of presets where I dialed in a very close approximation to amps I actually own. I A / B'd back and forth. I used a decimeter to approximate the same volume. The output of the axe fx went to my matrix amp and to one side of my stereo 2x12 conventional guitar cab. My amp went to the other speaker in the same cab. It felt the same to me. The feedback was the same. Maybe it comes down to the setup.

I will say that real amps seem easier to dial in to me...compared to the axe fx going into a guitar cab. It is easy for me to dial in when going FRFR or studio monitors and cab simulation. The hard part for me and the axe / guitar cab is....takes a while to get the low end I like. Seems like it disappears sometimes/ some amp models. I can get it back fiddling with it tho. The other issue is a high end harshness that crops up from time to time. I always fix it...but I'll forget what I did and have to fiddle with it a bunch. Probably just my capabilities in dialing it in. And again...those issues aren't a problem for me when I'm using full range monitors.
 
The accuracy is incredible imo. Is it completely identical? Of course not, but as others have pointed out, compare any two of the same amp side by side and they don't even sound exactly the same.

I'd be so curious to see the results of a comparison test with some of you who say the real amps are clearly better sounding. I wouldn't be surprised at all if in a blind test you:
1. Couldn't tell the difference between the Axe and the real amp half the time.
2. Thought the Axe models sounded better than the real deal half the time.

There have been several comparison tests posted over the years using the Axe and the real models, and I swear that a vast majority of us only get the right answer half the time. That is how good the Axe sounds.

The number of parameters this thing has for us to adjust if so desired is impressive. You can go deep in the vortex, or just plug in and play. The quality of the effects... simply amazing. If you are willing to put in some time to tweaking sounds, you can dial into some of the best tones you are ever going to hear. I could not be happier with my AxeFx and FRFR setup.
 
As I'm finding out it takes a whole lot of ear training to really hear the characteristics of the amps.
I don't think 100% is is something to aim for because there's too many variables.
I keep going back to the "well , if it's good enough for MetallicA and 70,000 people" thing every time I need reassurance.
 
Every time I need reassurance, I go youtube, search for amp demos and then compare with what I can achieve with the axe. I listen for details through my monitor headphones.
Most of the time I hear that I can achieve tones on, what I think is, the exact same level of quality, so I am most definitely reassured. I can't talk about feel as I don't know how a real tube amp is supposed to feel, but the sound, to me, is definitely there.
But sometimes - I feel like it's maybe a bit lacking. Dunno whether it's the cab IR's or the amp modelling, the guitar, the player, or simply a false impression. I believe that the axe is very good at producing modern polished tones, but maybe lacking in more vintagie raw tones? As I've worded that once - "Maybe the Axe FX sounds too perfect?". I was accused of being stupid for not liking perfection and was told to get a Line 6, when I said that on the forums...

Here's an example of a raw tone:
 
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There are more than 200 amps models available in the axe-fx and around every third is good enough for me, when I tweak harder probably even more. So the amps are no problem at all, at least for me.
I can't say the same about the IRs, there are thousands on my computer and only a few are good enough.
So this is the weak part of the concept. What I miss is a small selection of killer IRs that work for almost everyone.
When you try 5 different real cabs at your local dealer I'm sure that at least one pleases you. In these large selections of IRs it isn't the way that every fifth cab is a winner.
But that's what it should be like. Or is it only too hard to find the right settings for each cab? If so, how can things get made easier?
I'm sure, that the IRs part of the concept is the key to come to an even higher level.
 
A lot more goes into Brian May's sound than just one Vox(or secret amp) mic'ed up in a standard way. He at least had multiple amps going(definitely on stage), the room ambience is baked into the sound. You could take your axe fx(s)(as many as amps he had on at once, or reamp) and run it thru a cab(same mic techniques) in Queen's studio, and it would sound similarly I'm sure.

If any of that isn't worded awesomely...the only point I'm making is... I hear a lot of the character of the room recorded into the guitar track.
 
A lot more goes into Brian May's sound than just one Vox(or secret amp) mic'ed up in a standard way. He at least had multiple amps going(definitely on stage), the room ambience is baked into the sound. You could take your axe fx(s)(as many as amps he had on at once, or reamp) and run it thru a cab(same mic techniques) in Queen's studio, and it would sound similarly I'm sure.

If any of that isn't worded awesomely...the only point I'm making is... I hear a lot of the character of the room recorded into the guitar track.

I agree. Room mics play a role in some if not all of my favorite classic guitar tracks.
 
There was an article in the August issue of one of the UK guitar mags on Brian May's Vox amps. (Guitarist I believe.)

All of the controls on the are hard wired except for the master volume. It was done to make them more reliable.
 
There are more than 200 amps models available in the axe-fx and around every third is good enough for me, when I tweak harder probably even more. So the amps are no problem at all, at least for me.
I can't say the same about the IRs, there are thousands on my computer and only a few are good enough.
So this is the weak part of the concept. What I miss is a small selection of killer IRs that work for almost everyone.
When you try 5 different real cabs at your local dealer I'm sure that at least one pleases you. In these large selections of IRs it isn't the way that every fifth cab is a winner.
But that's what it should be like. Or is it only too hard to find the right settings for each cab? If so, how can things get made easier?
I'm sure, that the IRs part of the concept is the key to come to an even higher level.

Agree on the IR front. There's just so many. I go from finding some I like, to finding nothing at all to finding the best one I've ever heard to having nothing again on a regular basis.
Personally the idea I have would be to (imagine this is axe edit for now) have a picture of the cab, select a mic (which would prepare the correct IRs ready for loading) then be able to move that mic around the cab.
Just a more organic way of mixing mic and cones.
 
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