I'm considering the purchase of an Axe II....

Q

Qrious

Member
Hello all - I'm doing my due diligence on the Axe II and had a couple of quick questions:

1. Where is the best place to go to view the best demo's of the Axe II?
I've seen many youtube clips, but nothing as extensive and insightful as Roland's demo's for its products.

2. Does the Axe II have the capability of blending two patches & controlling them with an expression pedal similar to what the gentleman is doing in the link attached?
Roland GR-55 video review demo Guitarist Magazine HD - YouTube

FYI - I am not promoting the product in the clip above. I am, however, trying to decide between it and the Axe. As such, I certainly hope no one is offended by my
adding that link in my post. This is an honest attempt to gather as much info as I can, prior to purchasing.

I will appreciate all responses.

Thx.
 
Qrious said:
Hello all - I'm doing my due diligence on the Axe II and had a couple of quick questions:

1. Where is the best place to go to view the best demo's of the Axe II?
I've seen many youtube clips, but nothing as extensive and insightful as Roland's demo's for its products.

2. Does the Axe II have the capability of blending two patches & controlling them with an expression pedal similar to what the gentleman is doing in the link attached?
Roland GR-55 video review demo Guitarist Magazine HD - YouTube

FYI - I am not promoting the product in the clip above. I am, however, trying to decide between it and the Axe. As such, I certainly hope no one is offended by my
adding that link in my post. This is an honest attempt to gather as much info as I can, prior to purchasing.

I will appreciate all responses.

Thx.
Click to expand...
The Fractal site has some great demo videos. IGuitarmag also did a great demo too.
 
Regarding question2: most of the Axe-FX parameters are assignable to external controllers, therefore you can blend as you wish with expression pedals.

You may already know that the Axe-FX does not have the synth and guitar modelling capabilities of the GR-55. The main difference is in the Amplifier Modelling and FX. Most of the Roland COSM amp models sound like a toy compared with the Axe-FX. I've owned most of the Roland guitar processors, since the VG8 or GX-700 to the GT-Pro. I keep the VG99 because the Axe-FX II does not have guitar modelling capabilities, as that would require a Hex-processor.
 
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A little strange how you are choosing between these two... they are completely different beasts. Do you want a synth or a modeler... or both? The Axe will not give you synth sounds like the GR (although it does have a synth module) but the GR cannot touch the Axe in true amp modeling and quality effects.

The Axe cannot blend presets but CAN use an expression pedal to blend blocks within a preset. You can build some pretty large presets so it should be able to do what you want.
 
Thanks all. I understand that they are two different animals. I'm trying to decide which way I want to go.

The GR seems to be more than just a synth. It also has an array of effects, as well as, some guitar and amp modeling.

Those items in addition to it's synth capabilities is what makes it intriguing.
 
Tons of good demos/videos on here in the recording section. Check em out... and then just go buy it when you realize anything (good or bad) is possible :)
 
do yourself a huge favour and buy one.... if you don't love it, I will buy it from you!...lol you won't be disappointed... cheers
check out some of my videos on youtube... Jason Hobbs
 
It's everything you want and more ... you'll find yourself doing stupid crap you used to think would be cool, and then be like, wait a minute, this would be such a better way to do that ... and it's only possible because you have an Axe.
 
Piing said:
If you want to play with the best of both worlds, you have to get both :) And if you also want guitar modelling, consider the VG99.

But, as axecellent suggests, if you buy the Axe-FX II you will be so amazed with the quality that perhaps you may forget about further searching. I would affirm that the Axe-FX II is a no regret purchase.

GR55 and Axe FX 2, just a simple song to understand...


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Love that the Kemper is off, gathering dust :D
 
Shoot first, think second! You will not be able to evaluate if the Axe is for you unless you spend some serious time with it. With that said, it's truly capable to do what ever you want it to. Your imagination sets the limit...
 
If you want out of the box simplicity or the midi stuff, go with the Roland. If you want the most realistic guitar amp sounds go with the Axe Fx II. There is a huge learning curve on the Axe and it will take time and dedication on your part to get to the magic it has to offer.

Regarding the quality of videos, etc, Fractal is about five employees and Roland is probably a thousand. Roland is a huge company with marketing, HR, payroll, accounts receivable and payable departments. Cliff has to do all those things, be CEO and program. It is like comparing McClaren to Chevy.
 
Or Pagani :D

Pagani Automobili | Huayra | Huayra

When i win loads of money...

If you want really excellent amps = Axe-Fx
High end fx = Axe-Fx
If you want more stuff, but not so true amps = Roland

Roland may sound good at first, but the Axe sounds good all the way. After a while it even sounds better than good.
 
Qrious said:
Hello all - I'm doing my due diligence on the Axe II and had a couple of quick questions:

1. Where is the best place to go to view the best demo's of the Axe II?
I've seen many youtube clips, but nothing as extensive and insightful as Roland's demo's for its products.

2. Does the Axe II have the capability of blending two patches & controlling them with an expression pedal similar to what the gentleman is doing in the link attached?
Roland GR-55 video review demo Guitarist Magazine HD - YouTube

FYI - I am not promoting the product in the clip above. I am, however, trying to decide between it and the Axe. As such, I certainly hope no one is offended by my
adding that link in my post. This is an honest attempt to gather as much info as I can, prior to purchasing.

I will appreciate all responses.

Thx.
Click to expand...

I bought both of them :) Using the Axe for Effects and Guitar sound. The Gr-55 for synth sounds, guitar modelling and alternate tunings. I do blend the GR-55 sounds through the Axe FX using the effects loop and volume controled by a pedal. To have to best sound results go FRFR or have a hybrid set up.
The GR 55 is a great unit for what I do with it; synth sound and guitar modelling only. Comparing the amp modelling and guitar effects to the Axe FX is not possible. The Axe FX is so much better in this erea it is almost unbelieveable.
 
luke said:
If you want out of the box simplicity or the midi stuff, go with the Roland. If you want the most realistic guitar amp sounds go with the Axe Fx II. There is a huge learning curve on the Axe and it will take time and dedication on your part to get to the magic it has to offer........
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I would revise this statement to say "There is a huge learning curve on the Axe if you want to utilize ALL of the magic it has to offer and with that comes a huge learning curve. However, it sounds fantastic and does amazing things right out of the box."
 
They really are two different things. What is your current guitar setup? Do you gig or record? In other words what do you need either of these for.
 
To answer keg8605, I play in a Church band. As such, I play live weekly and for special functions and outings. I always play through a clean amp and never through a board.

I'm not so much interested in various amp & guitar models, per say....although a nice acoustic patch/preset would be nice. I'm more interested in fx (which would include some "synth stuff"). I currently use a Line6 M13, for the most part, and it leaves me wanting more.

I've heard clips of the Axe II and the GR55 (as well as the VG99) and they all have tones that I'm after. Hence my dilemma. Will the Axe II's fx make me forget about "synth stuff"?
 
The reason the synth stuff is so much better with roland is because of the polyphonic pickup.

Literally everything else is better in the axe.

Edit: I don't know if they fixed this, but the old GR33 units had lag on the synth patches. I attempted to play tears in heaven using a piano patch and the unit actually cut some of the notes out to keep up.
 
Qrious said:
2. Does the Axe II have the capability of blending two patches & controlling them with an expression pedal similar to what the gentleman is doing in the link attached?
Click to expand...

not blending between patches, but you can create multiple tones / voices within a single preset and cross-fade and / or morph between them..

this clip is one of my presets [sorry to the regular Axer's if you've heard this one a few times - but it kinda answers the OP's question]
 
Qrious said:
To answer keg8605, I play in a Church band. As such, I play live weekly and for special functions and outings. I always play through a clean amp and never through a board.

I'm not so much interested in various amp & guitar models, per say....although a nice acoustic patch/preset would be nice. I'm more interested in fx (which would include some "synth stuff"). I currently use a Line6 M13, for the most part, and it leaves me wanting more.

I've heard clips of the Axe II and the GR55 (as well as the VG99) and they all have tones that I'm after. Hence my dilemma. Will the Axe II's fx make me forget about "synth stuff"?
Click to expand...

Buy the Axe FX, and also keep the M13. You can make all the stringy/synthy sounds you'll ever need with the AXE, and the M13 can layer more on top of it, with octoverb, etc...The only thing that would make me change my answer is if you want the Roland to do sampled Acoustic guitars and weird alternate tunings, or virtual capo, so you can stay in 1st position and transpose songs to G all the time.

I play in a church band. Modern Praise and Worship music has ZERO guitar synths in it. The stuff you are hearing that sounds synth-ish is actually an Electro-Harmonix POG or POG2. You can fake that stuff with an AXE or even with an M13. The real thing however, is only possible with analog circuitry that can process all those separate incoming chords and not get glitchy.

In fact, the more I think about it, you might just need to buy yourself a POG2 stompbox and be done with it. (I just saved you close to $2K).

LOL....
 
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