Is Axe Fx Viable?

My opinion is better than your opinion because my opinion is my opinion and your opinion is your opinion. FACT! :p
 
Ola is in the business of demoing stuff so it doesn't pay to lean to heavy in one direction.
He's probably still making money on the axe videos to this day.
He's great at demoing stuff due to soft focus and great production quality but use your own ears.
 
I've been gigging tube amps for 20+ years and I think the Axe fx is certainly viable. The first thing I did when I got mine was A/B it against my '67 Pro Reverb and a '74 Marshall Superbass. Running the Axe through a tube power amp and a 2x12 cab, it took me about 15 min to dial in the tones where I couldn't tell the difference between the Axe and the amp. So for me, it's very viable as I now have both amps (and many more) at my gigs but in one compact unit. And that is not taking into account that it has replaced my pedalboard as well!

Edit: I have no idea who Ola Englund is, haha
 
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I'm with @ETOLKIEN, Ola is a great metal guitarist but a notorious endorsement whore.

Also, all of his tones sound identical no matter what he's using. (IOW all of his tones sound like a solid state Randall with the mids dimed, not necessarily a bad thing: it's what he's going for).

I enjoy Ola's videos but I find the metal community's fascination with his "tone" exhausting (I find most things about the metal community to be exhausting).
 
I saw a video by a guy entering a competition recently who said his influences were Gilmore , some other guitarists I've never heard of and Rob Chapman. I just found it bizarre how someone could list a YouTube gear demo guy as a musical influence. Kinda like you say about Ola and his tone.
He's definitely good at what he does and well done on making a living out of it.
I think of it as a sign of the times where it seems no one listens to music the same way they used to.
 
Deaj said:
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How does the AxeFX II compare to the tube amps modeled therein? The answer at this point is: I personally don't care. The AxeFX II is the yardstick for me and amps are a poor substitute. As for the experience of others? A non-fiction for me as it only matters to me what I think, how I perceive it.
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Wise words.

People will have the need to compare. If I have a smile on my face each time I fire it up, the opinions of others aren't even in the same time zone as me.
 
This is your first post? You couldn't read the zillions of discussions on this here and all over the net? I'm almost wondering if this is trolling. I think it's pretty clear most here consider this product top notch.
 
I think analog is a lot easier to get to sound good than the Axe FX is. I hear a lot of crappy sounds out of the Axe FX ... but with the right tweaking, it's just as good. You just have to know what you're doing, which I have a feeling a lot of us don't (myself included). Oh well, I'll take the sounds I've "stumbled" upon by tweaking somewhat randomly lol.
 
What you like best is best. This week.

The Axe Fx holds the records as the one to hold the title of "best for me" for the longest period. Still currently the champ. That doesn't mean it's all I ever use, just the best of what I use.

Which means nothing whatsoever to anyone else! Pick your own best.
 
The only justification I can imagine is to do with moving air, people who complain might only be using the axe fx through headphones or monitors, and may not feel that way if they put it through a poweramp and real cabinet. I imagine it would feel pretty much the same as a real amp.
 
Guitarist said:
I think analog is a lot easier to get to sound good than the Axe FX is. I hear a lot of crappy sounds out of the Axe FX ... but with the right tweaking, it's just as good. You just have to know what you're doing, which I have a feeling a lot of us don't (myself included). Oh well, I'll take the sounds I've "stumbled" upon by tweaking somewhat randomly lol.
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Define crappy?
 
zenaxe said:
This is your first post? You couldn't read the zillions of discussions on this here and all over the net? I'm almost wondering if this is trolling. I think it's pretty clear most here consider this product top notch.
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Not trolling... I just recently bought an Axe Fx and wanted to know the opinions of others that also own one. I debated for awhile on getting the Axe or a real tube amp. I just wanted to see other people's experiences with the Axe and real amps.
 
Brownmatthall said:
Define crappy?
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Exactly that - Something I'd expect out of a Line 6 spider. I love the unit; you can achieve almost ANY sound you can possibly imagine. It's just that a lot of people seem to settle for much less than what the system is capable of, and I attest that to a lack of knowledge (including on my behalf). It's part of why I wish there wasn't so much controversy behind commercially sold presets - people think it's ridiculous to sell knob positions.

However, I'd go out on a limb and say most people here only understand a very, very small portion of what the Axe FX is capable of and will never see most of its potential. I would happily pay for someone who is a technician for a living who has an in-depth understanding of not only all the parameters, but also many of the different amps and pedals modeled to achieve great sounds. That way we'd only have to tweak for our pickups and our guitars (which is a process in of itself, but much more do'able for the average musician). A lot of people here take a lot of pride in their sounds, but I just feel like so much more is possible out of the unit. Just my two cents; don't rip me up.
 
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The question of its viability is settled. Too many pro's that can play anything they want are using it to pretend it's still in question. Also, if people don't gel with expensive devices, they sell them and stop posting daily on the manufacturers forums, so I'm not entirely sure what you were expecting here.

The question of "Is it viable to YOU" is highly pertinent and fair, but a forum can't answer that kind of question for you.

My experience was flipping the on switch and instantly recognizing its viability. If you are still in doubt you should ask about the qualms you have with the unit. Folks here can help you improve your experience with it, but you won't need anyone else's help to tell you if you can't make it work for you.
 
Guitarist said:
Exactly that - Something I'd expect out of a Line 6 spider. I love the unit; you can achieve almost ANY sound you can possibly imagine. It's just that a lot of people seem to settle for much less than what the system is capable of, and I attest that to a lack of knowledge (including on my behalf). It's part of why I wish there wasn't so much controversy behind commercially sold presets - people think it's ridiculous to sell knob positions.

However, I'd go out on a limb and say most people here only understand a very, very small portion of what the Axe FX is capable of and will never see most of its potential. I would happily pay for someone who is a technician for a living who has an in-depth understanding of not only all the parameters, but also many of the different amps and pedals modeled to achieve great sounds. That way we'd only have to tweak for our pickups and our guitars (which is a process in of itself, but much more do'able for the average musician). A lot of people here take a lot of pride in their sounds, but I just feel like so much more is possible out of the unit. Just my two cents; don't rip me up.
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While I think down playing the tone to a spider combo is off the mark, naturally most of the parametersare gonna be over most of our heads. It's why you brought your tube amps to a tech to work on rather than cracking it open yourself and I feel like its even better because you can use it to learn the inside outs of why you like a tone. Imo anyway
 
Volvagia said:
I have heard from people like Ola Englund that the Axe Fx isn't as good as real amps. But isn't tone really subjective? Personally I think that Periphery has some of the best sounding guitar tones that I've heard on an album. I haven't bad much experience with real tube amps but I really do like my Axe tones more than what I've heard from some expensive tube amps. I know people say digital is not as good but I don't exactly agree. Thoughts?
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Pretty sure I never said that. I have said that I prefer playing real amps more but that's a different thing.

/Ola
 
Brownmatthall said:
While I think down playing the tone to a spider combo is off the mark, naturally most of the parametersare gonna be over most of our heads. It's why you brought your tube amps to a tech to work on rather than cracking it open yourself and I feel like its even better because you can use it to learn the inside outs of why you like a tone. Imo anyway
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Okay maybe the Line 6 Spider is a bit of an exaggeration haha. I agree that it is important to understand why you like a tone, but I also find it nearly impossible for most musicians to be capable of discovering all the different tones they like. The Axe FX has the brilliant advantage of being digital which has two huge advantages:

  1. Any progress made by one is made by all given the ability to share
  2. All sounds are reproducable (not always the case in analog world)
Given that information, I wish there were more "heavy hitters" pushing through the progress for this unit. There are quite a few, but I still find the support from sound technicians to be underwhelming given the power of the unit. There is no reason that presets, which are basically "bundled knowledge," are not commercially sold as much as IRs are. IRs require more resources and technical skill to acquire faithfully so I am grateful many engineers are providing us with these, but presets are often more valuable and are NOT being provided commercially except for by a distinct few such as Fremen. I don't understand why the community is so against this - we're too prideful in our ability to achieve our own sounds, not realizing that many tones are beyond our comprehension as musicians.

To the OP - the Axe FX can do anything you want it to do, honestly. I'm not just blindly saying that - it sounds professional when you get the right sounds and IRs.
 
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