Help! I'm stuck in my own head.

F

fadercreep

Member
Let me start by saying that the Fractal modeling tech is the best there has ever been. I have been dabbling in pre-modeling tech (aka solid state) and modeling technology for 3 decades. It always had one or two things it got right, but plenty it did wrong - mostly leaving a horrible feeling in the fingers. So I have grown up as a player satisfied with using great tube amps, and the wonderful organic feeling they provide. FAS changed all that, but.... I still have this internal conflict about plugging my guitar into a computer. To some extent It's always in the back of my head, even though I find the Axe-fx inspiring to play. It truly is a love-hate in this respect.

I know, you're thinking grow some balls and get over it - and you're right - because this box delivers the goods. Are there any old (or young) timers out there who have experienced this? Am I alone in the universe?

And no, weed and beer don't help (with this, anyway).
 
I was in the same boat as you. I have owned my XL+ for a couple years now and still don't know how to use it to its'full potential. I only use about 3 presets with scenes for what we do. last year I always carried a cab and already have a power amp loaded in my rack, used cab for on stage monitoring and ran direct to PA, but this year I said I was gonna risk it and try just the XL+ into PA. Less stage noise, less to carry, do I miss that cab on stage, yes but you know who notices but me? nobody, sound man's happy I run my acoustic through there in addition to my tele via A/B box and as long as i have a monitor I'm in good shape. A couple times we played some venues with larger sound systems and I was blown away by what the XL+ sounded like with my minimal knowledge. So my suggestion is to step outside your comfort zone and give it a try. It will feel a bit different but you will get used to it and may even prefer it while making your sound guy and band mates happy by less noise and gear on stage.
It was like pulling teeth to convince our drummer to go to E drums for smaller venues, but because of that we have total volume control over everything and don't have to crank anything to get that sweet spot sound. It's different for him as well, but the sound is crisp and clear. He has to hear the occasional friend say where's your "real" drums just like I have people ask where my cabs are and what tubes are in my amp, but it takes the same skill to play, so you are really expanding your adaptation by doing so. So go ahead give it a try and with a decent sound man knowing what you want you likely will adapt quite nicely. That's my .02
 
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I'm at the stage where I see my Axe-FX as my amp head now. I have long gotten over it being a computer or any type of digital interface because of how it feels/responds when I play. I did plug in my old fav Marshall amp last weekend and was bitterly disappointed (so that's finally going on Reverb) and I felt immediate satisfaction when I returned to my Axe-FX again.

The thing is, when you are playing on stage with the FOH cranked, you don't care what is in the rack behind you - it is no longer a computer because it breathes like a real amp.
 
I feel my advantage to being able to adjust to using a modeler live is that I never played in front of a raging 4x12 or cranked Twin. I did use a 50w 1x12 Combo for practice and gigs, but my FRFR setup can bring all the tone and volume it was capable of, so I don’t miss it at all.
 
The thing that helped me adjust to modeling from playing amps was gaining an understanding that the Axe is creating a guitar sound. Same sound as listening to a CD, mp3 or video. Learning to accept that the sound coming from the monitors I use for listening to music is still my tone was key.
 
Yeah
JoKeR III said:
The thing that helped me adjust to modeling from playing amps was gaining an understanding that the Axe is creating a guitar sound. Same sound as listening to a CD, mp3 or video. Learning to accept that the sound coming from the monitors I use for listening to music is still my tone was key.
Click to expand...

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

People just have to get over the self-petting they get used to, needing reassurance they're doing the right thing by comparing their decisions to others' and wondering whether things could be better. At its core, this is a box which makes your guitar sound different. That's its purpose. Evaluating it on different terms is judging a fish's ability to climb a tree. The only question that needs asked is whether it makes your instrument sound the way you want to hear it (granting that it is logistically viable, meaning it fits into your budget, setup, etc.). Unless you do a double-blind test in which you compare the SOUND of the Axe to another device, you're falling prey to bias and thereby judging the fish's (the Axe) ability to climb a tree.

I will grant that factors such as feel and how you interface with the device are worth considering; but if you record something with both the Axe and something else, then listen back without knowing which is which, you'll be evaluating it on its own terms, granted you know how utilize the tool effectively. If not, that's on you, not the device. If someone complained about a Deluxe Reverb being a terrible amp and sounding thin and crappy, but they never tried turning a knob on it, of course you'd write them off as holding a stupid opinion; but that's on them, not the amp.
/rant

Once I decided that all I cared about was whether I can achieve the sound I want and whether I enjoyed playing it, I haven't looked back. I have purchased a traditional tube amp since getting the Axe, but that was a purely logistical matter, as I just wanted a self-contained, grab-n-go box for combo gigs where variety and effects were irrelevant factors.
 
I felt the same ... I have major nostalgia about all things tube (or valve over here) - I can still smell the JCM800 I had 30 years ago. But here’s how I fixed it for me...

What I decided to do was to properly compare my Cornford Hellcat to my AFII to the point where I sat there switching the cable from one to the other and I felt the same about them. It took ages but I made them feel identical. This got me so far ... but then what I did was make the AFII tone better by doing things I couldn’t easily do with the Hellcat (e.g. cranking the MV to fatten up the tone). Where I then was is my favourite tube amp made better ... I now find that when I play the Hellcat what I hear is the worse version of the AFII.

I have a room full of great tube amps and they just don‘t get switched on. I think I’m cured :)

Rich.
 
I've been playing a long time (over 50 years). I loved the sound/feel of a great tube amp...however, I hated the breakdowns and trying to keep the amp up properly. I never knew if/when it was gonna break down. The Axe-FX is a rock solid platform and delivers the same consistent, great sound I require every time I plug in...
 
The way it's "supposed" to work is that the Axe-FX gives you a reason to have fewer "real" amps to care and feed and maintain. But for me, it kind of had the opposite effect. I found it to function, in part, as an "amp sampler" like a candy sampler, which told me which real amps I might want to seek out and purchase.

I've bought more "real" amps since I bought my Fractal than I ever had before it. But there are still tones that the Fractal delivers that I can't duplicate
any other way. I just can't afford to buy THAT many real tube amps. Or have a place to put them.

There's not a "low end" amp in my collection. I have no interest in amps that can be had for 500 bucks or so, or less. Right or wrong, that's how it is with me. I love my two early 70s Marshalls and I love my early 70s Fenders and I love my late 70s/early 80s Mesas (notice a trend here...?) but my Fractal gives me a bunch of "other" tones and also manages to get REALLY close to the sounds of my "real" tube amps.

The truth is that I don't really care if the gadget I'm plugged in to is a computer running DSP code or a box full of transformers and thermionic valves and tone shaping circuits. It's the sound and the response that matters.
 
All,

I sincerely appreciate all of the comments. There are some things written in this thread that resonate with me. I have many reasons to love the AFII, but only one to keep me tethered to the analog world. I have done a lot to convince myself that the tone and feel of my age-old rigs were something I couldn't live without.

I like the suggestion of a proper comparison vs. my current setup. If I can't tell the difference - or better yet - improve the tone and feel of my tube gear, then I really don't have a rational out. Strangely enough, I haven't used the AFII in that way before, to replicate what I already have. I guess that's an evening tone-matching.

Again, thanks for all the support. Admitting the problem is half the battle...
 
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