John Petrucci AX FX II

aaronv84 said:
does anyone know how john is using the ax fx II in his a rig for 2011?
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good question. interested to find out as well. he (or maddi) will probably have something up in his forums. i'm going to the sf show in a couple weeks, so if you don't find out, i'll make it a point to check the side of the stage :p chances are i won't see anything cause he usually has the empty cabs on stage in front of the rack gear.
 
Not sure if artist presets and setups are in the 'confidential' range. I'm a little surprised that we have not seen them floating around. Dweezil, Petrucci, Schon, etc...

Edit: Or they're so tailored to their setups that unless you're driving them with multiple cascaded 2:100's, they are not applicable...
 
lizzieusedaaxe said:
Has it even been verified he is using the II? May be using the ultra still even thou we all now he has access to anything he wants.
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I believe there was a comment by fractal audio on their Facebook page that he was getting setup with one. Check the fractal audio Facebook page.
 
That's what I read in the comments on Facebook:

Fractal Audio
Tino: the Axe-Fx has been in John's A and B rigs for some time. It is used heavily live and in the studio.
September 9 at 9:49am · 6 people
 
both his A and B rig included the ultra for many of the effects. My take from the facebook message by fractal was that was going to be replaced with the II. So it'll likely be an effects only device still, i mean he is pretty much a Mesa guy, and can't not have the Mesa's, whether or not her can get the same tone out of axe or not...you know? He markets a lot for them....i guess he could turn on the amps, but not have them actually connected :)
 
electronpirate said:
Not sure if artist presets and setups are in the 'confidential' range. I'm a little surprised that we have not seen them floating around. Dweezil, Petrucci, Schon, etc...
Edit: Or they're so tailored to their setups that unless you're driving them with multiple cascaded 2:100's, they are not applicable...
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That is quite true about rig applicability.

You might also be surprised at the number of pro artists we work with, across all levels of prestige and ability, insist that their patches, setup details, etc. not be divulged. In some cases, artists have even prepared legal paperwork to this extent! This goes for those whose presets are 2 blocks in a Standard and also those who run the Axe-Fx II at 95% CPU. There are some who use the Axe-Fx in secret, and some who use it in a different way than their published comments suggest.

All the above aside, I find it to be a good habit to not talk pro details, simply out of respect.
 
Hi Matt,

Really cool to get this insight on the artists you guys have been working with.

Keep up the good work!!

Cheers
 
Interesting...
EXCLUSIVE Interview With Dream Theater's John Petrucci

"Did you use any new gear this album?
Well, as a guitar player, one of my goals was to look into whatever advances in technology are out there in terms of preamps, microphones, things like that. We did do some experimenting right at the beginning and demoed out a bunch of my preamps and came upon a couple that were really cool, one by Shadow Hills and one by Universal Audio, and in addition to an SM57, which is standard, a new Shure ribbon mic. We did some additional experimenting with the guitar to capture the best tone possible. We did demo out, and end up using, the new digital gear towards recording our digital in-outs and our plots, so we kind of upped our game regarding the equipment and the system we were using."
 
Admin M@ said:
All the above aside, I find it to be a good habit to not talk pro details, simply out of respect.
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This is what I suspected Matt. It's simple courtesy.

At any rate, a patch doesn't make a guitarist. The amp market is littered with guys who buy based off their favorite guitarists choice, then wonder endlessly why even using the same rig, they STILL don't sound like them.

Ron
 
well guys i can understand the fact that he's being vague bout the details. now that the 2 is in his A rig he might be using it for effects but time will tell.
 
aaronv84 said:
well guys i can understand the fact that he's being vague bout the details. now that the 2 is in his A rig he might be using it for effects but time will tell.
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right, well, and he's got endorsement agreements? i bought the ultra on the knowledge that he began using one live after trying to build a mini-petrucci rig with his gear (pedals, rack units, etc.). it just made economic sense! but he's had a lot of top-tier equipment for years, so i could see why he wouldn't want to divulge to fans & vendors that he was scrapping their gear. it's a wash, really. i don't envy his position stuck between creative freedom & business sense.
 
mejoshee said:
right, well, and he's got endorsement agreements? i bought the ultra on the knowledge that he began using one live after trying to build a mini-petrucci rig with his gear (pedals, rack units, etc.). it just made economic sense! but he's had a lot of top-tier equipment for years, so i could see why he wouldn't want to divulge to fans & vendors that he was scrapping their gear. it's a wash, really. i don't envy his position stuck between creative freedom & business sense.
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And I totally agree with you! I hope he enjoys the unit I'm enjoying my axe II. Maybe cliff will drop us some details on the situation.
 
In the latest edition of Guitar World, there is an interview with Petrucci. He doesn't mention the Axe II, but does say that during the recording of the album that he used the Axe to do all the demos. He mentions that the Axe guys came and modeled his Boogie Mark V so that he would have an easy way to record the demos. For the actual album, he switched back to the actual Mark V, although there is one part that ended up on the album that came straight from the demos (and thus Axe).

I do wish that Fractal/Petrucci could share these Mark V modelings. Petrucci has openly shared his Mark V settings on Boogie's site (and his own). In this case, those particular settings were used to record with, not his live settings he is using in conjunction with his Mark V amps. Since I mostly record, I am much more interested in things like this than how he uses his Axe in live situations.

Even more so, I would love to just know how Fractal did what they did. I have a Mark V with my own sounds. I would love to know who to model my Mark V in the Axe.

Any possibility of some hints there Fractal?

Thanks,
Brandon
 
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His recorded material tone is post produced and mastered - and, from comments made above, his live sound is using unknown routing and 'secret' elements as well as his own playing style mojo.

Go for your own tone is the best way or you'll be chasing your own tail methinks :)
 
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