Just got my ax, my first impression...

D

Doomzdayxx

Member
I just recieved my fx ULTRA today and I must say....wow....what a piece of shit. I am sending it back.

j/k :D it's awesome. I feel even after playing with it for a couple hours that while very expensive(and overpriced for sure) this thing is going to turn out to be one of the best musical equipment investments ever for me. I hope to have it for a very long time. my only gripe right now is not with the unit but the foot pedal problem. I also talked about this in another thread, but the MFC is way overkill for me and Fractal does not make a more practical, user friendly, CHEAPER, meat and potatoes kinda pedal. Why the hell wants to pay 800 for a damn foot switcher after you dumped 2 G's on the effects unit?? unless you have real deep pockets I guess. :roll
 
There are plenty of other foot controllers available out there for a lot less that work great. That's what's so great about the AxeFX is that there isn't any proprietary stuff going on; it's just MIDI. I personally don't want an MFC101 because I'm just set in my ways using my old beat to crap FCB1010.

And as for overpriced I think that if you take a look at what all you get in there that it's actually very reasonably priced. The pitch block alone covers most of the cost compared to buying a standalone version...add all the effects and amp models and cabs and stuff and think about what all it replaces and I think that 'overpriced' is something it clearly is not.
 
shasha said:
There are plenty of other foot controllers available out there for a lot less that work great. That's what's so great about the AxeFX is that there isn't any proprietary stuff going on; it's just MIDI. I personally don't want an MFC101 because I'm just set in my ways using my old beat to crap FCB1010.

And as for overpriced I think that if you take a look at what all you get in there that it's actually very reasonably priced. The pitch block alone covers most of the cost compared to buying a standalone version...add all the effects and amp models and cabs and stuff and think about what all it replaces and I think that 'overpriced' is something it clearly is not.
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Ok well maybe "overpriced" might of been a bit strong of a word. Generously priced? LoL Maybe if you consider how there are fx untis out there does do just about as much, but at 1/2, 1/4, etc the price. But then again, "those" units that I'm talking about probably do not sound quite as good, that's why I said screw it, I am going to get it right the first time and be happy with a winning product for years to come, probably similar to how GSP 2101 purchasers in 1995 felt at the time (?).

i get what you're saying though, and I have already sold other items that I do not need anymore (pedals, other fx units,) and added together so far, have paid for just about half of the fx's cost so far. I am also selling a couple guitars that I never play anymore so that just might break me even :D I also like to consider that there are products that cost even much MORE than the ax and possibly have less possibilities? (ie Eventide?)

shasha,
What the hell is that in your avatar? lol
 
Doomzdayxx said:
Maybe if you consider how there are fx untis out there does do just about as much, but at 1/2, 1/4, etc the price.
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name one that even comes close...

Doomzdayxx said:
But then again, "those" units that I'm talking about probably do not sound quite as good
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nowhere near

don't forget that 'other' companies are basically run by accountants that work towards increasing the profit margin. The usual suspects are crappy ADDA converters, but the list goes on and on. In the manual of the Axe it says:

"The op-amps, A/D and D/A converters and passive components are all of the highest quality. The converters are the same converters used in high-end studio equipment costing many thousands of dollars. A single op-amp in the Axe-Fx costs more than all the op-amps combined in many “budget” processors. Additionally our unique analog topology eliminates any electrolytic capacitors from the signal path. Only high-quality film capacitors and precision metal-film resistors are used in the signal path assuring low-noise and low-distortion performance."

and let's not forget that there's a mighty TigerSHARC DSP in there - no other modeler uses one, simply because it's too expensive.
 
Maybe if you consider how there are fx untis out there does do just about as much, but at 1/2, 1/4, etc the price.
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How's the saying go? Something like "you don't miss what you don't know"? If your hearing doesn't allow you to appreciate the Axe-Fx...then 'nuff said.

If you don't have very complex demands for preset creation and full-featured controllers/modifiers, and don't know of care how to use them, again - 'nuff said.

But to say that these less expensive units do "pretty much the same thing" as the Axe-Fx for a fraction of the cost, well, just try buying a wedding ring made of cubic zirconia and tell your wife it's OK - it's pretty much the same as a diamond.
 
jimfist said:
just try buying a wedding ring made of cubic zirconia and tell your wife it's OK - it's pretty much the same as a diamond.
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Bad example. A CZ and a diamond do exactly the same thing. They look pretty. That's all either of them do and they are pretty much identical in their ability to do that.

The only reason anyone buys a diamond is because society has conditioned them to believe that doing so is the way you show a woman that you love her. Likewise, women are conditioned to believe that a man has to buy you an expensive trinket in order for you to know he loves you.
 
jimfist said:
How's the saying go? Something like "you don't miss what you don't know"? If your hearing doesn't allow you to appreciate the Axe-Fx...then 'nuff said.

If you don't have very complex demands for preset creation and full-featured controllers/modifiers, and don't know of care how to use them, again - 'nuff said.

But to say that these less expensive units do "pretty much the same thing" as the Axe-Fx for a fraction of the cost, well, just try buying a wedding ring made of cubic zirconia and tell your wife it's OK - it's pretty much the same as a diamond.
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Jeez you guys are brutal. You all read too much into it, or I worded it the wrong way, or both.

No need to defend the ax, as I am very happy with it and the positives FAR outweigh the negligible differences, imo.

Yes I realize that on the ax you can get much further in depth on sculpting sounds, hence the unit being able to sound better. I've owned a GSP 2101 and a GSP 1101, and I'm telling you right now, if you can't get atleast a few tones out of those pieces of equipment that satisfy you, bias is getting in the way, whether you know it or not, but I'm not here to literally compare those units to the ax fx, they're just on completely different levels altogether, there is far too huge of a gap between technology. I kind of view the ax fx as the "2101" of this generation, which is a huge compliment, trust me.
 
apologies, Doomzdayxx. My rant was not meant to demean you personally, but to point out that some of the qualities that make the Axe-Fx a more desirable (and thus justifiably more expensive) product are lost on those who have no necessary need or appreciation of those fine qualities.

To the person who has a real appreciation for the Axe-Fx, the difference in performance/sound is well worth the difference in cost. For those with lesser appreciation or need, the difference may not appear to be quite so drastic, so the cost disparity is hard to justify.

....and that's the last time I'll ever reference cubic zirconia in a forum post...:geek
 
Just wanted to say that it's very hard to study chem and physics for more than 5 minutes and extremely easy to sit in front of the axfx for 5 hours tooling around with sounds.
 
After buying this thing, the urges to look on ebay for random rack mount poweramps,preamps, effects processors, etc has basically gone away. Oh, thankyou Fractal! lol

My biggest gripe right now with the AxFx though, is it doesn't have an AM/FM radio built into it. That's some bullshit.
 
Doomzdayxx said:
After buying this thing, the urges to look on ebay for random rack mount poweramps,preamps, effects processors, etc has basically gone away. Oh, thankyou Fractal! lol

My biggest gripe right now with the AxFx though, is it doesn't have an AM/FM radio built into it. That's some bullshit.
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lol yeah was totally gutted when I found out the Axe FX II doesn't have a side mounted juicer... was so expecting that

:lol
 
Doomzdayxx said:
shasha,
What the hell is that in your avatar? lol
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I'm not Shasha, but I can tell you that that is Charlie from the TV show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" eating a cheesesteak. "Sammetal91" looks to be a fan also. Wildcard!!
 
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