Hey everyone,

New (potential) user here. I'm looking for a solution for my live rig, and have turned my attention to Fractal.
My objective is to simplify my setup, mimic my current tone, and add an available tight, high gain (Mesa/JCM/Deizel) stage.

Currently, my set up is:

Guitar > Tuner >
Barber Tone Press >
Volume Jr > Crybaby Classic >
Tubescreamer > Zvex Box of Rock >
Phase 90 > Line 6 DL4 (x2) > Boss DD-20 > Line 6 DL4 (x2) > Hardwire Reverb >
Stereo output to Vox AC30/Fender Twin.

As you can see, things can get pretty complicated. I'm looking to replace everything except for the DL4s (I use them for on-the-fly looping), and possibly the Tone Press (I'm in love with it's compression - not sure if Fractal's will be as effective)

Proposed set up would be:

Guitar >
Mission Expression (spring wah) >
Fractal Ultra/Voodoo Labs Ground Control (maybe the II if the Ultra is too outdated) >
DL4 (x4)
Mission Expression (volume) >
Output to 2x12 (probably with V30's)

I don't plan on going direct out, as we don't typically tour with a sound guy and I'm looking more for consolidation instead of general tone control.

Questions are:
How does the Ultra (or II) compare? Is it capable of accomplishing what I need?
Does this proposed set up make sense? What additional equipment might I need?
Is there a better route to go?

Thanks for your help!
 
How does the Ultra (or II) compare? Is it capable of accomplishing what I need?

The AxeFx II is the better choice if it's within your budget. Besides having more processing power and memory, there's also a larger selection of amps and cabs. There are also more presets available in the effects blocks. Also, the firmware is much more advanced and is still continuing to get updates.

I own both units. In my opinion the Ultra is still more than good enough to get the job done, though you may have to work harder to get the specific sounds that you mentioned above.
 
The Axe-II can also do looping and all the effects you have listed in your post.

From what i have seen, depending on how you set your midi pedalboard up, you may want the extra buttons on the MFC-101 so you can run 4 presets, 8 Stomp Box style switches AND the Looping functions ...

Believe me, I used to run multiple amps, huge pedalboards, and when something came undone, even if it was simple, the rig was so complicated you couldn't troubleshoot it swiftly.

I recently bought an Ultra, and I am in the process of selling off ALL the complicated nonsense ... no turning back ... loving my new tones!
 
That's almost my identical setup. I run my guitar straight into a line 6 wireless which runs into the Axe Ultra, and then run a 7-pin midi cable from the axe to my ground control pro to phantom power it, and I run 2 mission pedals, one for wah and one for volume into the expression inputs on the GCP. I run 1 XLR to the PA, and run the other XLR to two Alto TS112a's that I use for backline/monitoring. It's sooooo simple compared to my old rig that consisted of a JCM2000 and 1960a 4x12, and then on the floor I had a crybay, xotic BBE, TS808, xotic EP booster, Boosta Grande, holy grail reverb, boss chorus, mxr phase 90, boss delay, isp decimator, Korg poly tune, ernie ball volume, and a morpheus droptune, with some stuff out front and some in the loop, plus a pedal power mondo. I can literally fit my entire rig on the back seat of my car, and it's 2 quick trips into the venue, and there are literally 3 cables to worry about. Oh, and it sounds better and there's no more tap dancing thanks to the midi controller!
 
The ll is definitely more advanced than the ultra but it still has plenty of life. Plus for the price of a ll you can get an ultra, midi controller and power amp. It's a cheap way to see if fractal is right for you and if you want more, your ready to move p to the ll easily enough.
 
It's too bad there aren't many ax8s around, that would definitely be a good fractal product to break into with.
 
I can't stress the beauty of the midi controller enough. When I had my big rig, at one point there were probably at least 15 pedals on there. If I lost my signal during a show, I had to lean down and check 30 inputs/outputs between those 15 pedals, check the pedal power, plus all of the inputs and outputs on the amp and effects loop. Usually it was just a patch cable came undone a tiny bit, but still a pain. And then there was the tap dancing. I've always played in party cover bands, so due to the wide variety of music, I needed a lot of different tones and effects. I know just have presets for different tones plus the 8 instant access buttons if I need to turn something on and off withing a preset individually. I was skeptical at first but looking back I am so glad that I took the plunge. I'll honestly never feel the need to buy another amp again. I'm waiting my turn to get the AX8 and I thought about parting with the Ultra/GCP rig, but I think I'll keep it all as a backup if something ever happens mid-show with the AX8...Now if Cliff would just hurry up and call my name off of the waitlist....
 
Im new here too and wondering the same thing! I use a bunch of pedals and do a lot of chorus, phaser, delay, reverb, fuzz, and pitch. Currently running a simpler set up with delay, fuzz, vibe, and an m5. Both rigs are stereo. I keep going back and forth with the ultra and the II. Obviously price is a concern. And I wonder about the memory/processing if i run a bunch of stuff (2 amp models with a chorus/delay/reverb or something along those lines). What eats up the most memory on the Ultra?
 
Im new here too and wondering the same thing! I use a bunch of pedals and do a lot of chorus, phaser, delay, reverb, fuzz, and pitch. Currently running a simpler set up with delay, fuzz, vibe, and an m5. Both rigs are stereo. I keep going back and forth with the ultra and the II. Obviously price is a concern. And I wonder about the memory/processing if i run a bunch of stuff (2 amp models with a chorus/delay/reverb or something along those lines). What eats up the most memory on the Ultra?

2 amps will eat up the most CPU on the both units, especially if you need different cabs too. The II will handle it much better because there is one processor dedicated to the amp sim. I don't run 2 amps in any of my presets, but my template for most presets includes: amp, cab, wah, filter (for envelope filter effect), drive, quad chorus, flanger, phaser, multidelay, reverb (hi res), and volume. In most cases I also have a delay (slap back) and either tremolo, rotary, or 2nd phaser. Some of the effect blocks will use more or less CPU depending on the settings but you should have enough to do the things you mentioned without a problem. If needed, the amp, cab, and reverb blocks can be set to normal resolution that would allow you to get even more bells and whistles into a preset. Don't let the "normal resolution" phrase scare you either. In some cases you may not be able to tell much difference, especially when you're playing live.
 
Right on! I would most likely be using real cabs (axe>power amp>cabs). My big rig that I used for years was a dual rec as (A) and a blues deluxe with a muff as (B) (really thick awesome sounds when they came together). If was to do something like this again and put my big muff into one of the loops, I assume by using a loop block instead of a built in fuzz would save some space as well?
 
Right on! I would most likely be using real cabs (axe>power amp>cabs). My big rig that I used for years was a dual rec as (A) and a blues deluxe with a muff as (B) (really thick awesome sounds when they came together). If was to do something like this again and put my big muff into one of the loops, I assume by using a loop block instead of a built in fuzz would save some space as well?
Yes, anything you add that's external will save CPU.
 
Back
Top Bottom