This is a bit long winded, but hopefully some kind soul will read it.
I know some people are really happy with their FRFR setups but i've yet to hear one in person. My primary usage for the AxeFX was for low volume jamming and recording (primarily through headphones) so that type of setup seemed like overkill. I felt frustrated by being limited to however the cab IR's are captured and having to dig around to find ones that fit the sound I was going for. I also found myself spending a lot of time tweaking on the AxeFX rather than just dialing some knobs and playing. The amount of control in the unit is incredible yet mind numbing and unlike an amp, it's possible to really get off the path and spend a lot of time dialing in some sounds that aren't pleasing. So ultimately I decided to sell it. For the amount of money it cost, I told myself to be extremely critical of the unit but perhaps I was too quick to judge? I thought the unit was great (and the effects are stunning!) and i'm starting to feel like I didn't give it a fair chance especially on the amp/cab side of things.
What made me start thinking this was I recently tried a POD 2.0 going through an SLA into a guitar cab...and feel as though this was really what was missing for me with the AxeFX. One, the sound of a real speaker in a room instead of through my headphones. Two, the ability to just turn some knobs on the POD and dial in a sound (side note: I'd love to see a rackmount midi controller that mimics amp knobs...that I could switch amp models, bass, mids, treble, level, etc with). For some reason, having these in a menu made me not spin knobs as much, I'd love to be able to adjust these core settings at any time regardless of what menu I was in. Three, I was able to control the volume a lot more easily than with a tube amp (which I constantly want to turn up louder and louder)....which made me reconsider my thoughts on using a cabinet.
I don't play in a cover band. Having access to the power of the AxeFX is a want more than a need. I usually start with a basic sound and build up from there...and for some reason I had a hard time dialing that in through headphones with the AxeFX when I owned it. My experience with the POD through the guitar cab is making me think I was looking for something that may not be in the headphones (the POD doesn't ring my bell through headphones either...but that was only $80).
So does anybody just skip the whole IR/cab simulation stuff and just own multiple guitar cabs appropriate for what the style of amp they want to play (IE...fender blackface patch while plugged into a fender cab/speaker)? Seems like for about the cost of a nice FRFR setup, I could cover a few cabs that I want and just plug into whatever suits the sound i'm going for. Is this a backwards way of looking at it? Am I jumping down the wrong rabbit hole and is FRFR really where it's at? I realize it's not as versatile as the FRFR setup...but I only want to do a few core sounds really really well.
I'm not an either / or guy...I love the tube amp that I have and I'm not selling it to fund another AxeFX. I'm considering adding a Deluxe Reverb or Princeton Reverb. I would almost never crank these amps, I would be buying it for the clean sound and using my pedals with it. As I look at my options here, I can't help but wonder if the AxeFX "can do that too" with the right cab.
I guess the short of all of this is...if I picked up another AxeFX and combined it with a Deluxe Reverb Cab...how close would I get to the real thing? Am I better off just buying the amps I want?
Any thoughts on this would be really appreciated!
I know some people are really happy with their FRFR setups but i've yet to hear one in person. My primary usage for the AxeFX was for low volume jamming and recording (primarily through headphones) so that type of setup seemed like overkill. I felt frustrated by being limited to however the cab IR's are captured and having to dig around to find ones that fit the sound I was going for. I also found myself spending a lot of time tweaking on the AxeFX rather than just dialing some knobs and playing. The amount of control in the unit is incredible yet mind numbing and unlike an amp, it's possible to really get off the path and spend a lot of time dialing in some sounds that aren't pleasing. So ultimately I decided to sell it. For the amount of money it cost, I told myself to be extremely critical of the unit but perhaps I was too quick to judge? I thought the unit was great (and the effects are stunning!) and i'm starting to feel like I didn't give it a fair chance especially on the amp/cab side of things.
What made me start thinking this was I recently tried a POD 2.0 going through an SLA into a guitar cab...and feel as though this was really what was missing for me with the AxeFX. One, the sound of a real speaker in a room instead of through my headphones. Two, the ability to just turn some knobs on the POD and dial in a sound (side note: I'd love to see a rackmount midi controller that mimics amp knobs...that I could switch amp models, bass, mids, treble, level, etc with). For some reason, having these in a menu made me not spin knobs as much, I'd love to be able to adjust these core settings at any time regardless of what menu I was in. Three, I was able to control the volume a lot more easily than with a tube amp (which I constantly want to turn up louder and louder)....which made me reconsider my thoughts on using a cabinet.
I don't play in a cover band. Having access to the power of the AxeFX is a want more than a need. I usually start with a basic sound and build up from there...and for some reason I had a hard time dialing that in through headphones with the AxeFX when I owned it. My experience with the POD through the guitar cab is making me think I was looking for something that may not be in the headphones (the POD doesn't ring my bell through headphones either...but that was only $80).
So does anybody just skip the whole IR/cab simulation stuff and just own multiple guitar cabs appropriate for what the style of amp they want to play (IE...fender blackface patch while plugged into a fender cab/speaker)? Seems like for about the cost of a nice FRFR setup, I could cover a few cabs that I want and just plug into whatever suits the sound i'm going for. Is this a backwards way of looking at it? Am I jumping down the wrong rabbit hole and is FRFR really where it's at? I realize it's not as versatile as the FRFR setup...but I only want to do a few core sounds really really well.
I'm not an either / or guy...I love the tube amp that I have and I'm not selling it to fund another AxeFX. I'm considering adding a Deluxe Reverb or Princeton Reverb. I would almost never crank these amps, I would be buying it for the clean sound and using my pedals with it. As I look at my options here, I can't help but wonder if the AxeFX "can do that too" with the right cab.
I guess the short of all of this is...if I picked up another AxeFX and combined it with a Deluxe Reverb Cab...how close would I get to the real thing? Am I better off just buying the amps I want?
Any thoughts on this would be really appreciated!