Introduction thread

Well...I'll reintroduce myself I guess. I was an early Axe Standard user until 2010 when I went astray and let my eyes wander back to tube amps...not that there is anything wrong with that. Spending a little time with onstage with some extremely talented AX8 users in the past few months has me back in the circle of trust. AX8 ordered moments ago...
 
Hey, just got an Ultra last week, finally tearing into it and I'm really impressed so far!

I've been playing for going on 30 years, been through all sorts of rigs and was NEVER satisfied with my amps, I might be able to change that now.

I'm sure I'll run into issues, and I hope there's enough Ultra users around to lend me a hand.
 
Musikron said:
Hey, just got an Ultra last week, finally tearing into it and I'm really impressed so far!

I've been playing for going on 30 years, been through all sorts of rigs and was NEVER satisfied with my amps, I might be able to change that now.

I'm sure I'll run into issues, and I hope there's enough Ultra users around to lend me a hand.
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There's an Ultra/Std section of the forums that's pretty active. Just making sure you saw it. Welcome!
 
Musikron said:
Hey, just got an Ultra last week, finally tearing into it and I'm really impressed so far!

I've been playing for going on 30 years, been through all sorts of rigs and was NEVER satisfied with my amps, I might be able to change that now.

I'm sure I'll run into issues, and I hope there's enough Ultra users around to lend me a hand.
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Welcome, Musikron! And yeah...it's a real joyride. Have fun!
 
I've been lurking here for about 6-8 months. Finally decided to join as I'm really close to ordering an AX8. I've been playing 30+ years and currently play in a cover band, mostly classic rock. From the research I've done on this forum and TGP , it seems, the AX8 will fit my needs.
 
30 days in and I'm still impressed. I am just starting to experiment with 3rd party IRs, as I can't quite get high gain to feel like I want it to. It sounds great at low or direct volumes, but when cranked to band levels I'm just not fully pleased. I couldn't be happier with the cleans or in between tones though, they actually sound better than my bottle amps.
 
Musikron said:
...I can't quite get high gain to feel like I want it to. It sounds great at low or direct volumes, but when cranked to band levels I'm just not fully pleased.
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More mids, less lows and highs. Google Fletcher-Munson. ;)
 
Teleman said:
I've been lurking here for about 6-8 months. Finally decided to join as I'm really close to ordering an AX8. I've been playing 30+ years and currently play in a cover band, mostly classic rock. From the research I've done on this forum and TGP , it seems, the AX8 will fit my needs.
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Welcome, Teleman! You're in for a ride.
 
Rex said:
More mids, less lows and highs. Google Fletcher-Munson. ;)
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I'm aware of that, having spent a lot of time as a recording engineer. This is more of a "distant boxiness" that some of the cabs impart to a high gain sound. Sounds too congested and nasal, kinda small in a way. Yes they are lacking in mids. I'm a little confused. I have a twin patch dialed up, and if you close your eyes it sounds and feels just like my Twin (only a little better honestly) when playing through the Atomic FRs. It will rattle your teeth, and flap your trousers. However, when I dial up a Mesa, FAS Metal, or 5150 through any of the stock cabs at band volume, I either get a flubby and boomy mess, or a weak boxy sound that lacks any balls. I can dial in a good sound (for low level monitoring or recording) easily, and clean and low gain sounds are easy to achieve the amp in the room feel with. Why so hard with high gain in this unit? (I'm not blaming the Ultra, I just don't think I have figured out what I'm doing wrong with the high gain and FR monitoring yet)
 
Musikron said:
I'm aware of that, having spent a lot of time as a recording engineer. This is more of a "distant boxiness" that some of the cabs impart to a high gain sound. Sounds too congested and nasal, kinda small in a way. Yes they are lacking in mids. I'm a little confused. I have a twin patch dialed up, and if you close your eyes it sounds and feels just like my Twin (only a little better honestly) when playing through the Atomic FRs. It will rattle your teeth, and flap your trousers. However, when I dial up a Mesa, FAS Metal, or 5150 through any of the stock cabs at band volume, I either get a flubby and boomy mess, or a weak boxy sound that lacks any balls. I can dial in a good sound (for low level monitoring or recording) easily, and clean and low gain sounds are easy to achieve the amp in the room feel with. Why so hard with high gain in this unit? (I'm not blaming the Ultra, I just don't think I have figured out what I'm doing wrong with the high gain and FR monitoring yet)
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Understood. And you're right: it's an IR thing. Find the right one, and it's not hard at all. Don't be afraid to experiment with cabs that have names you wouldn't associate with a gainy tone.

Flip through the first 100 factory presets; they're essentially showcases of individual amps. There will be something in there that at least approaches what you're looking for.
 
Howdy!
Mentioned on the Axe-change board that I'd post a little history for general purpose and how I ended up here. Well, in the latter 60's I started reading electronics and Radio Engineering books as a hobby. At the time the tube transistor transition was well underway but the books I found were primarily tube related. Had boxes of electronic junk and one of my fondest memories of the time was when, my Dad took the TV filament transformer away from me telling me, I don't want you to hurt yourself. What did I know at the time and age of something like 12 that the HV windings would have put out 700 volts and enough current to, any number of things including potential death...

After years in the computer and electronics industry- and that evaporated for me in the Tech Crash of 2000, followed by the evaporation of the Cabinet Making profession in 2005, leading me back to the study of vacuum tube electronics in 2010 in an effort to obtain a guitar amp I was satisfied with--- I ended up on el34world. a forum of tube amp builders, where I began the long and rewarding journey of reacquainting myself with vacuum tube theory; Only on a much deeper level then the boyhood hobby. The end result after several constructions and many abandoned projects was: A stereo version of the tube based Sunn S100 power amp section for use with an older model amp emulator.

Having completed the amp satisfactorily it was now time to turn my attention to upgrading my emulator and that's how I ended up here. Within the past month I've purchased and kept, after the trial period, an AX8. It sounds fantastic and in fact, sounds better with my Mosfet Power Amp than it does with the Sunn Clone. And while I'm probably done with the tube electronic builds now, it was very rewarding and educational to get back into basic electronics after all these years. The other benefit derives from the good understanding of tube amp theory as it relates to the technical design aspects and reading material offered in the AX8 manual.

If you know anything about what happened to the printing industry with the introduction of the desktop computer, you understand what happened to the guitar amp industry. Not a bad thing, that's progress. In a similar comparison to and for nostalgic reasons the old Muscle cars are always a nostalgic treat, but the days of the 68 Corvette or Shelby Cobra can't compete with the reality of say, a Dodge Hellcat.

FusionState.

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Hey fractal forum users!

Thought it's about time to introduce myself to the community! my name is Luke, I'm 27 and from Leeds in the U.K. Had an AXE FX 2 mark 2 for 3 years now and it's an incredible piece of kit, only wish I had the knowledge to use it too it's full potential but I'm a big fan of the simple amp/ cab, set up. It works for me.

Been lurking the forum for around the same 3 years I've had my axe fx, should have started contributing back then but never got around to it.

Obviously I'm a guitarist, my music is more on the metal style but I like music from across the board.

Anywho I'll see you on the forum!

Cheers
 
Welcome to the funhouse, Luke! Keep exploring the box; its an endless source of entertainment.
 
Hey folks, I'm Greg from Columbus, OH.

I've been playing since junior high in the late-70's ... so you can guess I'm 50+. I play a bit of everything (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, brass, etc). I play with a couple neighborhood bands, averaging ~20 "just for fun" gigs a year. One is more blues/classic rock, the other is more "whatever someone wants to play".

I've got somewhere north of 70 guitars, mostly boutique. Sure I have the requisite Tele's, Strat's and Les Paul's ... but they total less than a quarter of the collection. I'm a BIG fan of Knaggs, Lipe, McInturff, McNaught and Thorn.

Amp-wise it's similar. Big collection (65, Bad Cat, Carr, Friedman, Fuchs, etc.), all tube amps ... but I've been primarily playing through Mesa-Boogie or Dr Z.

So why am I here? Well, I just made my first jump into the digital amp world. Ordered an AX8 yesterday and am anxious to try it out. I'm hoping that I'll like it well enough to convince me to let go of some of the amps I have in the house and studio/warehouse.

So if there's any tips/tricks/hints you want to pass along, I'm more than willing to listen.
 
gbarker said:
Hey folks, I'm Greg from Columbus, OH.

I've been playing since junior high in the late-70's ... so you can guess I'm 50+. I play a bit of everything (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, brass, etc). I play with a couple neighborhood bands, averaging ~20 "just for fun" gigs a year. One is more blues/classic rock, the other is more "whatever someone wants to play".

I've got somewhere north of 70 guitars, mostly boutique. Sure I have the requisite Tele's, Strat's and Les Paul's ... but they total less than a quarter of the collection. I'm a BIG fan of Knaggs, Lipe, McInturff, McNaught and Thorn.

Amp-wise it's similar. Big collection (65, Bad Cat, Carr, Friedman, Fuchs, etc.), all tube amps ... but I've been primarily playing through Mesa-Boogie or Dr Z.

So why am I here? Well, I just made my first jump into the digital amp world. Ordered an AX8 yesterday and am anxious to try it out. I'm hoping that I'll like it well enough to convince me to let go of some of the amps I have in the house and studio/warehouse.

So if there's any tips/tricks/hints you want to pass along, I'm more than willing to listen.
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I'd welcome you aboard, but dude, you just bought 150 amps. We won't see you for weeks. :)

Tips? Flip through the factory presets to get a taste of some of those amps you just bought, as well as a taste of some of the funkier things the box is capable of. Taste your soup often while you're preparing it. Don't be afraid to try stuff. At the same time, don't be afraid to keep it simple.

Enjoy!
 
I bought my first really great guitar early this year, a PRS P24 (Custom 24 with Piezo). I'm only playing at home so I was just using amp simulator plugins on the computer (Amplitube, S-Gear, Kazrog).

But then I convinced myself that the PRS deserved a top of the line modeller to have easy access to different sounds. I looked at Helix, Kemper, used Axe FX 2's, but in the end AX8 won. It has everything in one box (except the expression pedal) and the Fractal update history has been really impressive. So now I am a happy AX8 owner trying to navigate the endless amount of options :)
 
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