I was looking for a cheap alternative to ax8 for traveling

Geiri

Geiri

Inspired
Hi you all.

I work at sea and the trips are about two months long give or take. I work twelve hour shifts so I have plenty of downtime for playing.

Well I've been searching for a cheaper alternative solution for my AX8 to have onboard with me.

I found the solution in the form of the mono 365.
Who am I kidding ? There is no alternative and truth to be told, for me after having the ax8 for about a year nothing else will get me " there" for tones.

Except maybe an ax12 ;)

Not trying to knock other companies, just happy to finally being satisfied again after selling my trusty old Mesa mk4 10 years ago.
 
No particular budget as such, I was just looking to see if I could find anything that could substitute the ax8 while at sea.
 
I used S gear at home before getting my ax8, it was the best software modeller I used, but I only tried a few (line 6 ux1?, then waves gtr something)

Sounds are quite decent, better with ownhammer ir's.

I still keep it installed on my laptop in case my ax8 goes down.

It doesn't come close to replacing the ax8, but it makes some ok sounds to jam with.
 
Schmokes said:
Atomic Amplifire amp tones are on par with Fractal. (To those who are about to jump down my throat, they are, deal with it.). Effects options are much more limited. It's a great less expensive option.
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Had both, imo for Vox-based amps the Amplifire wasn't even close to the AX8.
 
Look into BluGuitar Amp1- real tube tone- real power- great sound, very small and reasonably priced ($800+-) Not as thorough as an AX8- it only has Reverb built in from an effect point of view- but the clean channel sounds like a good old Fender (Bassman) or a clean Plexi, the "Vintage" channel is JTM45 all the way and ACCURATE- the "Classic" (My favorite) is JCM800 and finally the "Modern" is Mesa Rectifier or any other high-gain amp. This unit is really a 4 channel beast- you still need pedals for any effect- but it's small enough to fit on a very small pedal board (Nano) and takes all pedals just like an amp should. I definitely think the four fundamental amps it contains are as good as anything in the AX8- and it also is a real tube amp. It was designed with sub-miniature military-spec tubes that put Russians in space and are still a main part of their aero-space program. Tubes that were refined over the last 30 years instead of moving to transistors. Interesting.
 
Consider the Zoom G3Xn. Seems like it would be handy aboard ship, I wouldn't want months of the salt air corroding my AX8.

G3X or G3Xn are inexpensive all in one units with quite satisfactory sound quality. Plus rhythm groove tracks and a looper, USB out for recording and librarian. The G3X also runs off AA batteries (Great for practicing through headphones while waiting at the airport or on a trip), but the G3Xn has an aux in. When it came out; I preferred the G3 amp modeling and effects to other consumer/prosumer market modeling devices. It worked well for multi effects with a tube amp before getting the AX8. The newer G3Xn has upped the amp modeling.
 
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You can get something like an IK iRig adapter for a phone or tablet and then use the included app or any of the long list of amp sim apps (like BIAS which has really deep amp tweakability). Hard to beat the convenience since the adapter is pocket-sized and doesn't doesn't require power and you will probably already be carrying a phone and/or tablet. Latency is surprisingly good if you have relatively new device with a decent CPU.
 
Rick said:
When i need something crazy-small, I take the SansAmp FlyRig5. It's no AX8, but it sounds plenty good, has basic effects, and fits in the strap pocket of my PRS 513 case. If I have more room than that, the AX8 makes the trip.
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Agreed !
 
Thank you all for taking time to read and give advice.

I have played the bluguitar amp and frankly didn't like it. It's high gain tones are on the opposite spectrum of my preferred high gain tones which are the mark series amps.

I don't like zoom. I had the g3x and as nice as I thought it sounded at first it wore off quickly and after a couple of months I'd rather play acoustic than plugging into the zoom.

But a lot of folks use it but it's just not for me, neither the tones or UI.

The amplifire is a contender but I think I've come to the conclusion that I will be hauling the ax8 with me in the mono 365.

That way for recording I won't have to redo anything and I'll use the time to learn and master the ax8 for my purposes.

I have decent monitors an audient id4 interface and use logic so all that for the most part I will replicate onboard. Studio at sea and studio at home.

The sea air isn't so bad that the ax8 will corrode any time soon.
But if that happens and things go south I will just have to hope that cliff as come up with the ax plug in. :D

Thank you all, much appreciated.

Geiri
 
I also bought at one time the irig pro IIRC and the mesa boogie bundle. It was ok but the interface was noisy. Didn't like it.
 
Geiri said:
Thank you all for taking time to read and give advice.

I have played the bluguitar amp and frankly didn't like it. It's high gain tones are on the opposite spectrum of my preferred high gain tones which are the mark series amps.

I don't like zoom. I had the g3x and as nice as I thought it sounded at first it wore off quickly and after a couple of months I'd rather play acoustic than plugging into the zoom.

But a lot of folks use it but it's just not for me, neither the tones or UI.

The amplifire is a contender but I think I've come to the conclusion that I will be hauling the ax8 with me in the mono 365.

That way for recording I won't have to redo anything and I'll use the time to learn and master the ax8 for my purposes.

I have decent monitors an audient id4 interface and use logic so all that for the most part I will replicate onboard. Studio at sea and studio at home.

The sea air isn't so bad that the ax8 will corrode any time soon.
But if that happens and things go south I will just have to hope that cliff as come up with the ax plug in. :D

Thank you all, much appreciated.

Geiri
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Just a quick tip. I have a Zoom H5 portable recorder that always goes with my AX8.

Why? Because:
1) super small and portable;
2) I can "monitor" so I use headphones with my AX8 anywhere;
3) I can record with my AX8 anywhere.

For me it is a must have companion :)
 
Geiri said:
I found the solution in the form of the mono 365.
Who am I kidding ? There is no alternative and truth to be told, for me after having the ax8 for about a year nothing else will get me " there" for tones.
Click to expand...
So you are not looking for an alternative and even found a solution all by yourself. Strange question thread :D
 
I WAS looking for an alternative to have here at sea with me. But since the trips are two months long I might as well bring the ax8 and monitors.

I feel I've only scratched the surface of what the ax8 can do and sound like so I didn't wanna start learning another modeller or a system.
That only leads to crazy ideas like selling the ax8 because I don't need all the features and then regret selling it because nothing else sounds like it :D
 
Yea, the Zoom stuff is crazy cheap and sounds really good. It's not as 3-D sounding like the Ax8, but you get a ton of amps and fx, drum machine and looper. I think I paid $35 for the G1ON
 
I loved my Zoom G5 until I got my AX8 now she's sitting in my closet with all of the other neglected toys... the unit had a good sound/features to cost ratio which I'd say qualifies it as cheep and if you picked up a used one you probably wouldn't get bent out of shape if something happened to it though if it was me I'd probably just bring the AX8 too...
 
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