I Finally hear the real thing

N

Norbitt

Member
I've had an Ultra since last August. Thought about selling it a few times, but because of the great enthusiasm of so many on this board, I figured there's more to it than what I was getting. It's been good for recording, but it never sounded good (to my ears) live--I play mostly blues, R&B, jazz, so I don't use high gain sounds. First time I gigged with it, used a HotRod Deluxe--I know . . . but it was kinda a test. Of course it sounded pretty bad. I tried a K-12, too bright for me, returned that. Then I tried a Power Engine 60 2-12, it was okay, but not great--returned that. Received my Reactor today and I'm totally blown away. The Ultra now sounds gorgeous! I can hear the differences of the cabs, the eqs have suddenly come alive. Compression, reverbs, amps, everything finally sounds as I was hoping when I first got the Ultra. Sorry for the long post, but it's been a long haul for me. Thanks to all the guys on this board for all the advice and help they've shared! I've learned an awful lot. And now, I can finally, put it to use.
 
Norbitt said:
I've had an Ultra since last August. Thought about selling it a few times, but because of the great enthusiasm of so many on this board, I figured there's more to it than what I was getting. It's been good for recording, but it never sounded good (to my ears) live--I play mostly blues, R&B, jazz, so I don't use high gain sounds. First time I gigged with it, used a HotRod Deluxe--I know . . . but it was kinda a test. Of course it sounded pretty bad. I tried a K-12, too bright for me, returned that. Then I tried a Power Engine 60 2-12, it was okay, but not great--returned that. Received my Reactor today and I'm totally blown away. The Ultra now sounds gorgeous! I can hear the differences of the cabs, the eqs have suddenly come alive. Compression, reverbs, amps, everything finally sounds as I was hoping when I first got the Ultra. Sorry for the long post, but it's been a long haul for me. Thanks to all the guys on this board for all the advice and help they've shared! I've learned an awful lot. And now, I can finally, put it to use.
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I love these posts. I dont have my ultra yet, but cant wait to get it in a few months. Is your Reactor Active or passive?
 
Funny thing for me is that an Atomic FR helped me decide to keep my Roland VG-99. I wasn't getting anything that I was all that happy with it up until that point (which is why I decided to get a Axe-FX in the first place). I still like the sound of the Axe-FX better but I could be happy with either setup.
 
HAMERMAN409 said:
Funny thing for me is that an Atomic FR helped me decide to keep my Roland VG-99. I wasn't getting anything that I was all that happy with it up until that point (which is why I decided to get a Axe-FX in the first place). I still like the sound of the Axe-FX better but I could be happy with either setup.
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Have you tried combining your AFX and VG-99? It's a great combo and getting even better the more I learn how to set the VG to send only COSM guitars. It's great to be able to change guitars and tunings at the push of a button.
 
I haven't tried them together yet; Primarily because I am afraid I will like the setup too much and wouldn't want to drag that much gear to gigs. :)

Part of the problem is that besides a "normal" guitar setup a Roland GR-30 and floorboard with 2 volume pedals (regular guitar, synth guitar) are aready pretty essential to my live setup so I am in no rush to add even more gear. I have played the GR-30 through a guitar amp in the past; usually on the non reverb channel of a Vibrolux Reverb. I have also run into the PA. It always sounds nice through the PA but it made setup that much more complicated and I usually needed a direct box to avoid a lot of hum. Not the end of the world but kind of a pain in the neck when everybody else in the band is more of a guitar into one pedal into the amp kind of guy. The bigger problem is that I didn't have enough control over overall volume. Part of why the Atomic FR makes so much sense for me is that I can run the GR-30 into it.
 
I tend the use input 2 and use the AFX as the mixer. I really only use the COSM guitars. As you know, the amps and effects in the AFX leave the VG for dead. I looked for a midi controlled mixer for a while until it finally sunk in that the AFX probably has the must versatile midi controlled mixer ever. I'll be adding a GR-33 to my rig soon as well. With panning and mixer blocks, you can control everything within the AFX and simply have one cable from the AFX to your FRFR of choice. With a little bit of planning and few bucks on organizational items, it can be a pretty quick and easy setup even if it is a bit complex. You just set it up so that all the complex bits are done and don't need to be touched.

IME, YMMV.
 
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