Hello!

Kdog

Inspired
Hey All,

I'm getting ready to jump on Board with Axe fx 2. Need to know WHERE TO BUY one... I live in MD . And how this thing works with MESA AMPs. I have a Lonestar combo and a TAtlantic lunchbox head with Small cabinet.

Should I Buy another form of speaker instead of using my AMPS? If you recommend so could you tell me what you would plug into for starters? I may not want to use my Amp. Do I get better tone from using the Axe 2 into a Monitor? If I do...Give me some brand name on what to hook this baby into.

I have so many questions. I'll look around the forums as much as I can. Thanks and Hello again.

Kdog
 
Hey KDog,

To buy one just go to the Fractal web site and order. They are great about shipping. You may want to put your name in for the wait list for the MFC-101. That is the foot switch for the Axe. You can use any switch, but the MFC really is the best one out there.

As far as playing the axe through your Lonestar, it will work beautifully. It will have instructions in the manual for how to use it straight into the amp or in the effects loop. However because the Axe gives you many tones that are best handled by what are called "FRFR" systems, meaning "Full Range, Flat Response" getting some type of monitor system is likely your best bet. Either way will work, and you will see an improvement in tone whichever way you go, but in my own opinion the FRFR system is the better approach.

As far as which monitor to get? Too many to recommend, and too many styles. At home I use my studio monitors to play through, they are phenomenal with the Axe. Playing out I use the house PA, and just have the sound guy send more guitar back to my monitor. I am thinking of getting a powered monitor however. Then i would just use one of the free outputs on the Axe to send to the monitor.

I hope this helps. I have owned a couple of Lonestars. Fantastic amps. I have a Mark V and a Roadster right now for Mesa amps, but I am likely gong to dump them all but one, just because the Axe FX is so good.

Joe
 
Thanks Joe. I appreciate your help. I love my lonestar too. Can you recommend a good Housing or Rack for the Axe ?
 
About your questions concerning Amps or FRFR, I think you should take the cost factor in.

If you are low on budget, I recommend considering a FRFR solution and selling your amps. I've sold all of my analogue gear and never had any regrets ... :)
If you can afford it, keep your amps, as they have a sustainable value and you never know what happens. Its good to have a backup when life decides to take a dump on your equipment...

If you have multiple amps, consider selling all of them but one.
 
Thanks Joe. I appreciate your help. I love my lonestar too. Can you recommend a good Housing or Rack for the Axe ?
I think you have lots of questions to ask your self. What will you use the ii for? WIll you be taking it out of the house alot? What are other things you want to have ex rack mount wireless and or power conditioner? The ii fits in a stad rack case but how big of a case will depend on your answers to some of these questions. The ii can be used many different way and everyone will tell you the way the use it is how the prefer it
 
I JUST ORDERED IT!!!!!!! I'm excited Just me in my basement. Not taking it anywhere. Just use it for Making nice sounds in the basement lowering my blood Pressure.

You gentlemen had mentioned a power conditioner? Is this recommended.?
 
I JUST ORDERED IT!!!!!!! I'm excited Just me in my basement. Not taking it anywhere. Just use it for Making nice sounds in the basement lowering my blood Pressure.

You gentlemen had mentioned a power conditioner? Is this recommended.?

A power conditioner protects your investment in the same way a power surge does and reduces noise. As far as rack mounts go, if you're not hauling it anywhere, keep it simple. Use a studio rack or set it in a firm location.
 
Im such a newbie at this. ANd I appreciate your help < I really do. What is an FRFR solution
 
Im such a newbie at this. ANd I appreciate your help < I really do. What is an FRFR solution

Basically said, its some type of PA or full range speaker system (meaning not tailored to a specific instrument but to hand all frequencies).

I can identify with you I've had a standard and an ultra. But my II comes in today!
 
I just Talked to my local shop I use in MD. He has Some studio monitors in Stock. Mackie THumps size 15 and SRM 450v2

He said After I get my AXE to bring it in and hook it up. I guess this is my best bet.
 
I don't know much about the monster power surge so I couldn't tell ya much. Mackie isn't bad. I haven't heard those yet. I hook mine up through a firepod going to 2 Yamaha HS 80's and it sounds awesome.
 
I have a Monster Surge for my Home THeatre. Will this work ? Home theatre type suff?
If you are plugging into that monster strip it would be good enough for home use. You also don't need a crazy rack case since you are not taking it out

I just Talked to my local shop I use in MD. He has Some studio monitors in Stock. Mackie THumps size 15 and SRM 450v2

He said After I get my AXE to bring it in and hook it up. I guess this is my best bet.
Now that we know you are a bedroom player the next question would be do you want to use the amp and cab sims or just fx. Typically when use with amp like your ls guys would not use the amp or cab sims. other would use the pre amp in of the amp so that they use the LS' power section and cab so they would use the ii amp sims but not the cab sims. Some guys like using a tradition guitar cab so they get something like a matrix power amp which is pretty nuetral sounding and then they use the amp and cab sims into their real cab or the amp sims with the power section modeling. Guys like me use FRFR monitors or cabs and go direct to FOH when playing live. I want to use the amp and cab sims to their full potential so FRFR was always the only way to go for me
 
Hey KDog,

Congrats and welcome to the world of the Axe. I dont know how experienced a player you are, but when you get the Axe and plug it in, the first thing you will want to do is set your input level. What type of pickups do you have in your guitar? Single coils will typically have lower output and require you to raise the input level a little higher. Humbuckers are obviously the opposite. The manual explains this quite well.

Once you have the input set, try out all the pre-sets. What you will find is that many of them are tremendous, many cool but kind of single purpose, and a handful will not cut it for you. There are 384 of them, so it will take a while to play through them. Take notes. Take notes. And ohh yeah... Take notes.

However, as most on this board will tell you, the Axe FX's real strength is not in its pre-sets. What this box does exceptionally well, better than any other, is give you dozens of highly accurate amp sims, dozens of cabinets you can mix and match with the amp sims, and then a huge assortment of the highest quality digital effects. But in a sense it is a set of Legos for guitar. (Was going to say Erector Set, but I am not sure a lot of people know what they were at this point..). Its strength is that it is an unlimited palette of tones, you will get the most out of it by making your own patches. Once your Axe arrives, think of it as having a room in your house where you can go and grab just about any amp you have ever heard of, then grab a separate cabinet, then add in any of dozens of effects pedals, and you can then hook them all up in any order you can probably think of. To be honest, it can be a bit overwhelming at first.

There are some good videos on this board by one of the moderators, Scott Peterson, who talks about having a "method" for approaching programming the Axe. This is fantastic advice. Also, read the manual. And the Wiki. And search for posts here, just about every question has been asked. If you are stuck there are lots of guys who love to help on this board.

Have a ball.

Joe
 
I just ordered mine as well!!!!! So excited!!!

I'm going for a Road Runner 4U Rack Case ($210) as I will probably add a Power Amp eventually. After doing a lot of research and putting my hands on the cases I was looking at, the Road Runner seemed the sturdiest and with $3K worth of gear in there eventually, I didn't want to take any chances!

I'll be running it through my M-Audio BX5a Studio Monitors for the time being, because like you, I'm mostly a home hobbyist and will be recording via USB into Garageband on my MBP.

Eventually I plan on getting the Martix gt1000fx Power Amp into a 2x12 Blackstar Cab (the cab runs in stereo) when I decide to get the band going again.

I'm so excited I can barely stand it!!

A word about power conditioners: The research I did told me to not get one. It doesn't really do much with only the small amount of gear I'm going to get and doesn't really protect you any better than the $10 Power Strip you can get at Home Depot. The Monster power strips claim to smooth out small power spikes that could harm your gear, but if you google it, you'll see that they really don't do it effectively enough to really change anything. Those small spikes don't harm your equipment at all. They also claim to smooth out frequencies that can cause noise on A/V stuff, but that's a whole lot of BS. It's just ways Monster sucks money out of the consumer.
 
THANKS my man! I have 2 Jems.. One is the Seafoam , One is the 7vl. I have 2 teles One fenders select, one Charvel with Seymours, I have an EJ strat and a Jeff Beck Strat,
I have a 25th anniverary RG ( Ibanez) I have 2 Ibanez Firemans, ( one of which is a KORINA original) I also have a PGM100RE. ANd a RED Charvel San Dimas w/ Duncans.
ANd A Charvel SO CAL with Dimarzio's I also have a Fender Select TELE with the KOA wood.
 
Kids feet....I just want a Power supply for the inside of my Rack....Its more for organization. Plus it has these really cool pull out lights that will shine down on my new AXE FX!!!!
 
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