How many amp models do you tend to use?

bigswifty

bigswifty

Inspired
Just curious, do you find the Axe to be overwhelming at times and adjust by limiting yourself to only a few amps you know well?

The only head I ever owned before switching over to Fractal was a Mark IV. Because of having SO many options I feel like limiting myself to a few so I can refine some tones, get them on record and move on.
Just after a solid clean or two, with room for effects. Same goes for distorted rhythms and some mid-gain leads.

What do you guys like to use for distorted rhythms? Cleans?
 
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From clean to mean, I'll probably audition a couple dozen amps with the intent of settling on about 3 to use for a set.
 
I have only ever actually used maybe 10/12 amps since the ultra. I only use like 3 or 4. I tend to rarely use more than that during any phase I am in. I usually ditch one for something else instead of adding to the number. The Trip Tik Modern and AC-20 dlx have been two staples for a while now.
 
I think its no different than hardware amps, there are tons of choices, but how many do most people buy ?

For example, think of all the Fender amps over the decades, would most people own 30 of them, much less use that many ? Of course not, they maybe have a few favorites for certain tones, and its really the same with the Axe.

Maybe you pick a Concert or Bandmaster for real clean stuff, Vibrolux for some edge of breakup, Bassman model for driven stuff.

Axe simple gives you choices to find your favorites with less expense, packign and shipping than trying all the hardware amps would be
 
This may sound silly and unproductive (and believe me, it is)- but I use just about every amp in the Axe Fx.
I don't really save any presets, I make a new one almost every time I turn the thing on depending on what I'm going to play songwise, or what kind of mood I'm in, or if I want to try out something specific.

I have a few tried-and-true favorites: the Friedman HBE, the Fender deluxe style amps, and the trusty tube screamer/5150/mesa cab combo.

But really, if you have the time and inclination, I can vouch for continually cycling through it all.
It never gets boring!
 
yeah ill usually go in with a certain sound in mind knowing what amps can and cant pull it off and toy around with a handful. usually ill go with the old fav but sometimes i end up surprising myself and its always a pleasant feeling discovering a new amp you can go back to.
 
I quickly focused on four core sounds I was already familiar with that work for the cover band I'm in - Fender Clean (DualVerb), Voxy (DeeCee 30), Plexi (100w plexi) and Modded Marshall (Friedman HBE). I've had my rig for about 6 months and haven't really dug in or created presets from scratch. I'm sure I'll do that sometime because I see the vast potential there. The few times I've created a simple preset from scratch I've been very impressed with the sounds of many of the other amp blocks, so I know I'm going to refine what I've got and also play with/tweak the new stuff. Once I settled on those four basic sounds I've stayed busy just tweaking them to avoid too much clipping and to balance the volume levels live. And there's always that other thing... that space time warp thing that makes hours go by enjoying finding and playing something new and/or unexpected. It's hard to stay productive and work towards specific goals when so much sounds and feels great. I could never complain about that side effect.
 
I love the sound of the Friedmans so much that I barely switch to any other amps. :) I do play some others but it is rare. When I'm recording, I like to do Friedman on one track and a Recto on the other. Great, full sound. I like the EVH 5150-III amps and Splawns as well. For cleans, there are a bunch of amps I like. Nothing like playing little blues riffs with a Fender amp.
 
I have a lot of presets I've made (I base each one around a different amp), and there obviously ones I like better than others. What I actually use live depends on what I'm doing. If I'm playing a musical, I'll usually use 2 or 3 different ones. If I'm playing a jazz set, most of the time I'll only use one. I end up switching out a lot amps for others that suite me better at the time, but right now, my mainstays are the Fender Band-Master, Vox AC30, Friedman Smallbox, Engl Savage (for my aimless metal riffing), and Matchless DC-30

It's kind of weird; I'll mess around with an amp I haven't used before and get a sound I love, so I'll save into my MIDI controller. Then for the next few days, I'll go back to it, and just be incredibly underwhelmed by it. So, I'll swap it out for something different. That's the way the cookie crumbles.
 
I love surfing the amps. I have a core set of presets I migrate from release to release but I keep growing it over time as I learn a new personal amp of the month/week/moment or rediscover one I haven't looked at in a few firmwares. It is inspiring.
 
I'd choose my amps by ignoring the name of the model. I'd turn the knob and choose what I like and what works for me based on the sound and feel only. Then I'd probably settle into 3-5.
 
I still have not made up my mind if I am going to buy the AX8 or go for the Axe rack and MFC. The biggest reason is the ability to blend two amps on the rack unit. I have not had the privilege of owning a Fractal product yet however I am 100% sure I will not use more than 20 or so amps either way. I kind of hope an AX8+ type unit, using a couple [or one?] TigerSharc/s, becomes an option someday along with the features it would allow such as blending two amps and perhaps a larger display. I'd gladly pay the difference in price and still save a lot over the Axe rack and MCF.

I will never need or use 200+ amps. Give me 20-30 amps for electric and bass, some acoustic guitar simulations for non-piezo, piezo and acoustic guitar use and let me blend two amps = bliss. I don't know how or if Fractal Audio as a company would have any cost savings by reducing the number of amps? For all I know if wouldn't make a difference on Fractals end either way?
 
I've been using modelers for quite some time (about 12 years, about 8 of which have involved playing outside my house regularly). I've found an ebb and flow of sorts where I will spend a bunch of time making several solid patches, then gravitate towards one over the course of time. After I realize that I spend 90-100% of my time on one patch, I will eventually get the bug to explore and make new patches, and the cycle repeats.

I am currently at the end/beginning of the cycle where I spend 99% of the time using a Plexi with Clark Kent's awesome Zero Pound IR. I have just loaded up some new IRs and started to delve into making new patches now.
 
DavidE said:
I'd choose my amps by ignoring the name of the model. I'd turn the knob and choose what I like and what works for me based on the sound and feel only.
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Sounds cool and spiritual and all but doesn't work well with 200+ models, IMHO. Many of the amps vary wildly in their capabilities depending on settings and it really helps to know what the real world amp is like. The models have unique behavior, controls, and quirks that correspond to the physical amps. Having a lot of knowledge about the real gear and what your favorite artists use really helps. Welcome to accurate modeling.
 
About four real use cases. fendery clean, class a for edge of break up, Marshall for a fat rock sound and a modern hi gain amp.

I tend to rotate amps within these categories and sometimes just pick a random one for toying around.
 
HaloHat said:
I still have not made up my mind if I am going to buy the AX8 or go for the Axe rack and MFC. The biggest reason is the ability to blend two amps on the rack unit. I have not had the privilege of owning a Fractal product yet however I am 100% sure I will not use more than 20 or so amps either way. I kind of hope an AX8+ type unit, using a couple [or one?] TigerSharc/s, becomes an option someday along with the features it would allow such as blending two amps and perhaps a larger display. I'd gladly pay the difference in price and still save a lot over the Axe rack and MCF.

I will never need or use 200+ amps. Give me 20-30 amps for electric and bass, some acoustic guitar simulations for non-piezo, piezo and acoustic guitar use and let me blend two amps = bliss. I don't know how or if Fractal Audio as a company would have any cost savings by reducing the number of amps? For all I know if wouldn't make a difference on Fractals end either way?
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That's the thing I love about Fractal's approach. You have 200+ amps and they all sound great.

With other modelers, you have 30-40 amps and only a handful usually sound good based on my past experiences. I love having a variety of great sounding tones available.

Amazing when you think about it.

Exited to hopefully get an ax8 in the near future.
 
dbrozz said:
Just curious, do you find the Axe to be overwhelming at times and adjust by limiting yourself to only a few amps you know well?
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Yes I use very few amps. For my go to patches I mostly use only one amp (clean plus same amp with drive block) or two amps (one for clean and one for drive). Those are always the same amps. Same goes for the cab block. Not only because it is overwhelming but because it saves you time. Auditioning all amps is very time involving. I'd rather use that time for playing and composing.

Also I think if you use many different amps in a live show it is very hard to have your levels en EQ's correct from song to song. That is much easier with just one amp.
Also for the soundman I think it can be very hard if you change amps with different character en EQ etc. all the time. But I am curious how you deal with that.
 
The presets I use with the band only contain 2 or sometimes 3 amps (and two IRs). DoubleVerb for cleans, DoubleVerb + Blues OD drive for not-so-cleans, and depending on the song we're playing I'm using a Friedman BE or the mighty FAS Modern for mid to high gain.

We're planning to record some stuff in a few months so I am experimenting a lot more in that area. Got about 7 or 8 different amps so far that I'm digging, and will be auditioning quite a few more. :) But for live stuff, I'm sticking to what I know works well.
 
For me, each major firmware release usually has some "stars", amp models that seem to jump out more than others.

I tend to use about 3-4 amp models.

And I agree with Zenaxe, random amp model surfing with over 200 amp models isn't the best way to get the most out of the models.
 
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