If you would have to give up on your Fractal...

HD500x for sure!
Best bang for the $$$ I've ever head in terms of low cost multi FX / amp modeler etc.

On the other hand.... I would rather leave in a box than sell my Axe or ANY other gear I've purchased with so much hard work during the years.
Yes, I'm a family guy as well who have kids and bills (tons of them!) but without music I would be lost.
I had to give-up on another hobby 10 years ago and there is not even a single day I don't regret it and unfortunately there is no chance I can start again as I can't afford it.
 
Eleven Rack is the closest I have come to an axe. I have been playing for 30 years, tried them all,
the Eleven rack is very good at what it does, just not as many options. Bias is good too, but you can
get an 11r for $300-350. Good editor too.
 
Or have an epiphany and start a NEW project, that is what I would do, lol.
Just think or hard it was to get the axe, and think of hard it will be to get
another one, when nothing else touches it, lol. Take it from me, I don't have one
yet, it has been the hardest thing to get for me ever! I have 3 kids, on disability, and one
of my kids is disabled also, talk about not being able to buy anything. If I had one
and was in a musical lull, I would pack it in the box and hide that bitch and pretend it
does not exist,lol. I guarantee I would have it back out of the box less than a week later.
Keep it, unless you must sell it for family/bills.
 
Last edited:
Honestly, I'd pick the amp model you most like and buy a low-wattage tube amp that's close. I'd also pick your most used effects and get the pedal equivalents. Going from the AxeFX II to a lesser modeler is going to be a hard adjustment. It will be better if you can just replace it with something that is not a facsimile, but a real tube amp. I guess I'm just spoiled, but I could only play a few minutes through a Line6 HD500 before I couldn't take the sterile, digital sound.
 
if it were me.. i'd sell the axe, the money from it would be gone in 20 seconds.. and i'd still be in debt, without another axe to sell. so I'd just keep it. But that's just me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: J.C
Ben Randolph said:
Honestly, I'd pick the amp model you most like and buy a low-wattage tube amp that's close. I'd also pick your most used effects and get the pedal equivalents. Going from the AxeFX II to a lesser modeler is going to be a hard adjustment. It will be better if you can just replace it with something that is not a facsimile, but a real tube amp. I guess I'm just spoiled, but I could only play a few minutes through a Line6 HD500 before I couldn't take the sterile, digital sound.
Click to expand...

Find an ADA MP2 its cheap.
 
I may come across as an IR salesman at times but the power of good IRs is most of your tone anyways. Mediocre amp modeling with good IRs will give you a pretty good tone. Amazing amp modeling with bad IRs will sound worse. Get Cab-Lab 3 VST plugin if you want to use Fractal IRs without an Axe-Fx or use whatever .wav based IR loader to use IRs from OwnHammer. Those are my suggestions. :)
 
I know what your are saying. My axe fx is under used at the moment. And I have a new baby and all that

But I figure I have already spent the money so may as well enjoy it. I'm not going to be able to get another quality peive of gear for a long time.

I had a hd500 before the fractal and don't think I would go back. If I needed cash urgently and sold my xl id probably use bias on my laptop for home playing.

Plus I still have my recto.
 
ML SOUND LAB said:
I may come across as an IR salesman at times but the power of good IRs is most of your tone anyways. Mediocre amp modeling with good IRs will give you a pretty good tone. Amazing amp modeling with bad IRs will sound worse. Get Cab-Lab 3 VST plugin if you want to use Fractal IRs without an Axe-Fx or use whatever .wav based IR loader to use IRs from OwnHammer. Those are my suggestions. :)
Click to expand...
Gotta second this. If memory serves me correctly, Meshuggah recorded one of their albums using the amp modeling plugin that comes stock with Cubase. I could only imagine that using ML's impulses would make them sound even better.
 
Cagey said:
Speaking of good value for the money, you may want to consider one of the Fender Mustang amps. For instance, this version is 40 watts, has a 12" speaker, does some modelling and has some special effects, as well as a USB port to connect a PC to fiddle with other things. For $199, you could have a lotta fun and it's actually robust enough to jam with a small group.
Click to expand...

A dear friend of mine actually sold his Axe Fx after getting a Mustang. I'd check that out, it's dirt cheap.
 
Guys, guys. :)
First of all a big thanks for all the suggestions.
And it is also nice how much loved the Axe is that so many recommend not selling. I am not 100% sure myself, because yes - it sounds that good, that is true.

But frankly - I work nine to five my daytime job, I write books and coach young people in my free time, I have a wife and two kids, a house that needs maintenance - I haven't played my guitar for WEEKS, if not even months. My Axe is not used, it is collecting dust. I am not gigging, have not played for an audience for many years now, I am not even practicing regularly anymore since years.

I simply had this one CD project, an EP with four songs I wrote, that was very personal and important to me, I wanted to get the best possible recording solution for it, and that was clearly the Axe Fx for me. Heck, my playing is so bad after all those years without practice, that I don't even play the guitar parts myself for the record - my timing sucks to much, I don't play tight enough or have empty strings buzzing etc. Not many people would notice it live probably, but for a record? Naaah. So I just played some sloppy guide tracks and now a few friends of mine who are professional musicians play all the instruments, including the guitars, and I will only do the vocals myself. So the Axe is currently in somebody else's studio where a very talented, extremely good guitar player friend of mine records the guitar tracks for me. When the whole thing is mixed and mastered, I will STILL not have time to practice, not play any gigs, etc.

I also don't have financial or lifestyle issues, I simply have stuff to fix on the house - new things show up frequently on an old house - and have to make the decision if I use up the cash reserves or sell something I don't use. I also will need some money for the mixing and mastering of the CD, and if I don't use the Axe afterwards anymore, why not sell it and reinvest the money into a nice mastering from Sterling? ;-)))

So, for me selling that thing is extremely undramatic. And still I am not sure, because yes, I will lose some money on it, and yes, life (and especially mine, lol) is extremely unpredictable and I have no clue if in two years time I will write again and record again and want the Axe back. No idea! So I don't know yet if I decide to sell it - I will probably just wait and see what happens in the next few months after the CD is finished. Then it either finds new use with new songs or will really become absolutely redundant.

So I am just collecting possible options here for the IF. And thanks again for those options you mentioned. I have not heard about that Amplifire thing yet, it looks tempting, but the price tag is actually a bit above what I have in mind. A used Pod HD (the bean shaped ones) can be found on eBay nowadays for around 200-250€... and I have to look at the Tonelab and the Mustang definitely, thanks for mentioning them!
 
I've tried pretty much all the lower priced modelers for a season. Each has their own merits. Here are the standouts:

Zoom G3 - This little guy is a favorite of mine. The big winner here is that its about $100 used and is extremely small in terms of size, weight, and footprint. It covers all the basics quite well. The biggest thing is that it is not authentic in any way. The gain and EQ values can be really extreme - specifically on the high end. But if you use your ears to dial it in and can run 3rd party IR's this thing can sound quite good. The real value here is versatility, its the swiss army knife of the low end modelers. For a while I used it on my pedalboard with a room reverb in one of the background slots and then two delays and a modulation active on the 3 footswitches. With external tap tempo it was just as good as a $200 dedicated delay / reverb / modulation pedal. On trips I could stick it in my bag and jam with headphones with the amp sims. For $100 you can probably find a good use for this guy almost no matter what setup you're running.

HD500 - Where I see the G3 as a swiss army knife that can fit into a lot of different situations, the HD500 is a great all in one solution. The 8 switches, looper, and presets means it is a full featured plug and play rig that can stand on its own. The effects are my favorite thing here. The delays sound great and the reverbs are fantastic as well. The amps are okay, about the same as the G3. The drives aren't my favorite. I still have one of these guys, I mostly bring it to a place where my Axe-FX rack / setup would be overkill - maybe a crowded church with a crappy sound system. With Helix the price on this guy is dropping, so again - tremendous value for dollar.

11 Rack - The standout here are the amp sims. This had the best core amp / cab tones of the bunch. The routing and effects are lacking, but the meat and potatoes is there. You still need a floorboard, and you may need pedals to round out the effects depending on how much you use. A step above the others for core amp tones for sure.
 
parlopower said:
while at the same time being tight in paying "real life bills", having a 2000+€ processor sitting around does not appear very reasonable.
Click to expand...

let's say you can sell the axe fx for 1600-1800€, how much do you think will this money be there to pay real life bills? know what i mean?
if you had something that, when selling could actually change something, like a rare oldtimer car or something i'd say go for it but imho,
the money you would get for the axe won't change that much. if you would need the money for food ok, but paying bills, man you'll manage it somehow, or at least you can try
if it does not work out you can sell the axe afterwards. however i wish you all the best and i hope your situation is not as "desperate" as it seems! :)
 
If money is the problem, admit that nothing compares to the Axe Fx and go for the free, fan-favorite plugins like Lepoulin and the TSE stuff.
Don't waste your money on Amplitube, BIAS, etc. if you're trying to conserve here.
All other amp models are equal...in being substandard to the Axe Fx.
So why spend money on one?
 
Add mine for the Eleven Rack too. For Fender'ish tones it sounds great to me and is very very reasonable on the wallet.
 
To be honest, I think if I had to give up my axe fx I'd probably stop playing guitar in bands. I might still mess around from time to time. But I for sure wouldn't play live anymore. This box has me so spoiled now.
 
For me, there's nothing I'd settle for that cost less than the Axe. It was actually the cheapest solution for getting the tones I like, even if it was just a hobby, I'd say I made out like a bandit getting the Axe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I would keep the Axe but if you must sell it, try an Eleven Rack. You can purchase one for around $375.00 brand new without Pro Tools and it would work great for recording.
parlopower said:
So, my CD production is slowly approaching its end, and my musical plans beyond that are currently, like, non-existent.

Since there is quite some stuff for the house that needs to be paid for I am not sure if I can justify keeping the Axe Fx II, as much as I love it - but for merely entertaining a hobby, while at the same time being tight in paying "real life bills", having a 2000+€ processor sitting around does not appear very reasonable. I know, musicians and guitar players in particular, are not compatible with reason... but as a father and family man, I have to be.

So, if I indeed sell my Axe Fx II, but want to keep something around to practice and record some ideas, what would you get? I might take around 500€ from the money I get for the Axe for this purpose... so anything like AX8, Kemper, Helix etc. is ruled out anyway.

Would you rather get a cheaper hardware modeler like a Pod HD? Or one of these little Yamaha THR10 or THR5 amps? Or stick to plugins like Guitar Rig, LePou, whatever? (I have Cubase, a nice audio interface and Yamaha HS80M monitors...) Or sell my Interface, too, get a Universal Audio Apollo Twin and one of the amp sims for that platform? What would be your choice? Remember, it is only for practice, some fiddling around and capturing ideas. But of course I still want the best I could get for that amount of money.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom