Is the Axe-Fx good for bass?

DakenSG said:
I'm not a power user, and bass is not my primary instrument. I have a cheaper Fender MIM Jazz bass. It's taken me a lot of work to dial in a decent bass sound. My biggest challenge has been that a preset that consists of just amp + cab alone doesn't seem to sound good on its own. Most presets that I've found on this forum or elsewhere that make my bass sound good involve more complex routing (ex. two amps, multi-band compressors, handling the upper & lower frequencies differently, etc). Conversely, all of my basic guitars sound fairly good with a simple amp + cab combination. While this isn't wrong, it makes it more technically challenging, and as such causes me to be less excited to play overall.

Perhaps my cheap bass or its pickups are the problem. I don't have the real amps or cabs near me to compare. The Axe FX II is a fantastic product, and I don't want to knock the exceptional ability to route and tweak that it offers. Just sharing my experience with bass specifically.
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If you can PM a dry recording of your bass and some links to a goal tone you want to achieve, I will send you back a preset. Please be patient as I am still dealing with walking pneumonia.
 
I’m a bass player and have been using my axe fx for a few months now. It has taken some effort but I’ve gotten some great sounds out of this unit so far.
I love heavily effected bass sounds with crazy routings, which makes the axe fx a great tool. Funny thing is, the first time I used it in a recording I came up with a fairly conventional / vintagey tone using an old hofner bass. That worked out really well for the track.

In short: I love the axe fx for bass
 
APOGEE123 said:
If you can't get great sound out of the Axe FX with a bass maybe retire
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I bought the Axe mainly for guitar. But I play equally as much bass as guitar. Have had many bass gear and still have. For live use I still prefer a simple real bass amp and cab plus some bass effects. I think if it was only for bass the Axe fx would not be my first choice.

I think most people here are guitar players who only play bass as a side instrument or use it only for recordings. They might have other demands than dedicated bass players. Correct me if I am wrong.
 
pauly said:
Cool UnixGuy,
It must be the way I'm creating my presets. I just cannot get the same 'OMG' that I get with guitar patches... _They_ sound like the real deal to me, however I've not yet been able to get a bass patch that sounds like a 'real' good bass amp (to me).
Care to share patches? I always love to learn from them.
Thanks
Pauly
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I'll have to dig something up. It's been a while... I can also ask my bassist to share a preset or two.

Also, again, it's probably the "needs" in the case of my own stuff: I am primarily a guitarist and use it to get a "good" (to me) recorded bass tone. I'm not trying to sound like some particular amp... In fact, I am quite aware that many very cool recorded bass tones over the past decades were done without even using an amp.

I've not spent a lifetime chasing bass tones (see my first post above) but I've also pointed my comments to bass newbies in this thread (besides you :))

That being said, I've also spent more than a few hours with a bass plugged in just playing and exploring.

I definitely defer to the "real" bassists here... But for a beginner, or the occasional bassist, I think the Axe Fx is quite capable.
 
Bodde said:
I think most people here are guitar players who only play bass as a side instrument or use it only for recordings. They might have other demands than dedicated bass players. Correct me if I am wrong.
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Definitely correct for me!
 
I've been a session player as a bassist, drummer and guitarist. Also, for live gigs too. Not to brag, but I was just lucky to be gifted with the ability to pick up an instrument and play it well and absorb information like a sponge. However, my main passion is for guitar. I think that the Axe-Fx is more than capable to handle bass needs. I'm a big fan of Chris Squire. So, yeah. The Axe-Fx is a real treat.
 
pauly said:
Hey Steadystate,
I also play a Ric - please tell me more about your presets and processing!
Thanks
Pauly
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My gear is loaded in my car (as it always is Thursday through Sunday). This week I'll post a patch. Keep in mind that I primarily use tones akin to Chris Squire and late 70s Rush, and that Rick-O-Sound is required. But the grit can be varied to suit a wide variety of applications.

For other tones, such as Boston or early Zeppelin tones, I use a different bass with flatwounds and a different preset structure.
 
dr bonkers said:
If you can PM a dry recording of your bass and some links to a goal tone you want to achieve, I will send you back a preset. Please be patient as I am still dealing with walking pneumonia.
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Thank you very much, that is very generous of you! I too need a few days before I can send you anything, but I will be sure to do so as soon as I can. I hope that you recover from your walking pneumonia very quickly. Sorry to hear you are struggling with that.
 
DakenSG said:
Thank you very much, that is very generous of you! I too need a few days before I can send you anything, but I will be sure to do so as soon as I can. I hope that you recover from your walking pneumonia very quickly. Sorry to hear you are struggling with that.
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Dr. Bonkers is a great guy. Not to one up him or anything, but I'd also be willing to build you a preset if you like. Glad to help the bassists on this forum as much as I can.
 
Thanks Steadystate,
Perfect! If I could get that 70s Rush sound ....well... I would be stoked!
Haven't played flat wounds in a while... I just think ill dig out ramble on :)
Looking forward to it
Thanks again
Pauly

steadystate said:
My gear is loaded in my car (as it always is Thursday through Sunday). This week I'll post a patch. Keep in mind that I primarily use tones akin to Chris Squire and late 70s Rush, and that Rick-O-Sound is required. But the grit can be varied to suit a wide variety of applications.

For other tones, such as Boston or early Zeppelin tones, I use a different bass with flatwounds and a different preset structure.
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Hi unix guy,
That would be great thanks!
I've Been playing bass for a long time, however haven't gigged for a decade or so. My dedication (to music) has suffered a little over the years and I don't spend anywhere near as much time playing and recording as in the past. Having said that, I have a killer little studio that's well equipped and ready to go. Looking forward to trying those presets!
Thanks again :)... Hey happy new year too! Another one goes whoosh!
Pauly
,
unix-guy said:
I'll have to dig something up. It's been a while... I can also ask my bassist to share a preset or two.

Also, again, it's probably the "needs" in the case of my own stuff: I am primarily a guitarist and use it to get a "good" (to me) recorded bass tone. I'm not trying to sound like some particular amp... In fact, I am quite aware that many very cool recorded bass tones over the past decades were done without even using an amp.

I've not spent a lifetime chasing bass tones (see my first post above) but I've also pointed my comments to bass newbies in this thread (besides you :))

That being said, I've also spent more than a few hours with a bass plugged in just playing and exploring.

I definitely defer to the "real" bassists here... But for a beginner, or the occasional bassist, I think the Axe Fx is quite capable.
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Hi Uni
 
The Axe does sound great with bass.

However, many AFX users wish that more love was shown to bass guitarists.
 
Jimmytwotimes said:
AND Geddy Lee !
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Never seen him use it live. I think most famous bass players use it live for effects only. There will be very few that use it live as a standalone rig and use it for the amp modeling I think. But I am not sure.

That's something to consider before name dropping. It is not who uses it but how exactly they use it. Might be something completely different than how you want to use it yourself.
 
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Bodde said:
Never seen him use it live. I think most famous bass players use it live for effects only. There will be very few that use it live as a standalone rig and use it for the amp modeling I think. But I am not sure.

That's something to consider before name dropping. It is not who uses it but how exactly they use it. Might be something completely different than how you want to use it yourself.
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Was only saying he was a user, no more- no less....
 
Bodde said:
Never seen him use it live. I think most famous bass players use it live for effects only. There will be very few that use it live as a standalone rig and use it for the amp modeling I think. But I am not sure.

That's something to consider before name dropping. It is not who uses it but how exactly they use it. Might be something completely different than how you want to use it yourself.
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Unless you are @Admin M@ and worked with these artists, your statement to the contrary is in itself is at best a guess.

Robert Trujillo definitely uses the Fractal live. I was honored enough to help Admin M@ with a firmware conversion for him.
 
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