Just ordered my Ultra from Australia ! IM TINGLING !

Hey Rob, I just saw you guys on Friday night at Manly Fishos. great show! The chick leadsinger from my band spoke to you guys for a little while and gave your leadsinger a demo cd of ours. My band is called Mending Melissa (www.myspace.com/mendingmelissa)

My rig is very similar to what you are going for. Axe-fx, fcb1010, art sla-2 and i use either an orange 4x12 or a marshall straight cab with g12h-100's. I started out FRFR (cleans are phenominal, gain not so much i.m.o) but then went onto cabs again after missing the thump of normal cabs on stage.

Its a great unit........im sure it'll open up loads of new possibilities for you effect wise..... in a way i know it will fit right in with your band's music. Send me a pm if you have any questions.

Cheers!

Cron
 
Hello Rob

I'm curious as to how ordering the Axe-FX was for you? I'm moving from Brisbane to Melbourne in November and would like to have an Ultra ordered to coincide with my move (as that's about the time my Warmoth Tele Deluxe will arrive :)). I'd prefer to order from FAS but I've heard there is a lengthy wait list.. (?) I might check out eBay..

The two 1U amps is a great idea.
 
heya cron ! manly fishos.... man that has to be the hottest venue in australia (literally.. not metaphorically)...

i will check out your bands myspace for sure...

how do you go with the sla-2 ? do you find it has enough power? are you running it in stereo.. or bridged? ever tried to run 2 cabs from it?

i originally was planning on using FRFR but then thought whats the point... i can get the best of both worlds... direct to FOH for consistency... and buy a power amp and be able to plug into cabs anywhere i go... also i wasnt super keen on having PA speakers on stage behind me... just the look of it would be a little odd.. people wanna see big fat cabs on stage at a rock show (well, at least i do)
 
dspry said:
Hello Rob

I'm curious as to how ordering the Axe-FX was for you? I'm moving from Brisbane to Melbourne in November and would like to have an Ultra ordered to coincide with my move (as that's about the time my Warmoth Tele Deluxe will arrive :)). I'd prefer to order from FAS but I've heard there is a lengthy wait list.. (?) I might check out eBay..

The two 1U amps is a great idea.
Click to expand...

hey mate.. it was as easy as possible and far quicker than i expected.. less than a week ago i placed the order.. my order was 'pending approval' for 1-2 days on Fractals end... then suddenly it was dispatched... then you get a link to see your USPS order tracking.. within 2 days it was in New York and being sent to Australia... and within another 2 days it said it had arrived in Australia.. right now I'm waiting to hear from Australian customs about picking it up

So within 1 week from ordering it online it's in Australia I'm expecting a notice in the mail any moment now... I thought it was going to take a lot longer.. will let you know when I finally have it and how much it costed in duty.. I called the customs office today and the guy said it might just show up without any duty.. he said 'its a manual process..... sometimes it just goes through... dont ring up and contest it'.. so thats pretty exciting.. might arrive without any duty (like some other person on this thread got to experience)
 
I run the sla-2 bridged if im running 1 cab. I regularly run 2 cabs in stereo off it and i havent been able to clip the amp.....yet.....(and i did try) I suspect youd be fine with one sla-2 to start off with..... dont buy 2 straight up.

I think i saw you using a framus dragon at oxford art factory in Sydney last year..... was that yours? Still using it? What amps have you been using lately?

The art is a good little amp..... but I would recommend going to a shop (once youve gotten your head around the axe's main poweramp controls and settings) with your favourite cab and testing a couple of power amps, tube amps included (even running through the effects return of a tube head. Just to see what you get at certain price points and to see whats worth it or not...... otherwise you'll always wonder.

C
 
For anyone wondering if phantom power will damage your XLR outputs, this is no longer an issue in newer units... got an email back from Fractal letting me know this

Just saved myself $300 by not having to buy a DI box !!
 
deadletter said:
For anyone wondering if phantom power will damage your XLR outputs, this is no longer an issue in newer units... got an email back from Fractal letting me know this

Just saved myself $300 by not having to buy a DI box !!
Click to expand...

Thank god thats been fixed. I was about to pull my hair out.
 
torchlord said:
The real ? is how do you know if yours is new enough to not have the problem with phantom power damaged op amps?
Click to expand...
Well, there is a pretty simple way...
 
Dutch said:
torchlord wrote:The real ? is how do you know if yours is new enough to not have the problem with phantom power damaged op amps?Well, there is a pretty simple way...
Click to expand...

Haha excellent.
 
My axe is pretty new with in like 3 months so im probably ok. I dont think plugging it into a live phantom power desk is a good easy way to find out. You should be a comedian your so funny lol
 
Well, personally i'd still err on the side of caution... My Output has been blown twice in the 2 years i've had my Ultra and last time Fractal Support sent me the new specs so my tech could repair it with the newly spec'd opamps etc...

I still think it's worth asking the question to your monitor guy? "is there phantom running down this line?" because i can tell you from experience that the inconvenience of sending it in for repair is much worse than the 3 seconds it takes to ask...
 
Another Aussie here. Keep posting these Customs fees cause I'm getting an itching to upgrade to an Ultra. :twisted:
As for the SLA2; I just recently changed to one. One will easily power a guitar rig in stereo. I haven't run 2 cabs off of it but the one stereo quad was fine. And the SLA2 has replaced my Mesa 2:90! For sale btw if anyone is interested :D
 
it cost me around $450 all up including a $130 customs broker fee... i wanted to get the unit really quickly in time for a run of shows so i got a broker to do it... so around $370 for taxes... which surprised me but perhaps thats part of the advantage of using a broker.. they know how to minimise the cost

i have used the unit for 4 shows in a row and it sounds like the real deal... phenomenal... however this whole issue of patch changing has meant i havent had a chance to problem solve the best way to get everything running without 'chopping' between patches.... i have kept it very bare bones and im still using an external delay unit

the main thing that has caused me a headache is the inability to change a tempo type with a midi CC.. i change the delay type quite often in our songs... dotted 8th to quarter to dotted quarter etc... these have to be spot on and they are very important to our band

for example if you hear the song 'reaction' on our myspace (www.myspace.com/deadlettercircus).. if the delay isnt right, the part would sound totally wrong... half our songs are quite delay dependant in the guitar section... and the guitar parts often keep flowing without stopping so theres no time to sneak in a quick patch change where the 'chop' isnt noticable... we are playing high quality PA's with a great sound engineer so theres no hiding those patch transitions

ive realised the only way to go is to now purchase a really expensive midi controller that lets me send out sysex messages to change this type of stuff.... i still consider this option a win as the axe-fx is that mind blowing... but the ultimate fantasy is that cliff does get a chance to apply the 'seamless' transition between patches that share idential routing but with perhaps just different values for various parameters...

so now im torn... do i get the liquid foot or do i wait for the fractal controller? hmmm!
 
Hi! Another Aussie here! I am from Sydney! I ordered mine on Sunday Night!, I am just waiting when will be arrive in Australia.
Still Pending review at moment...I guess I have to wait!!!!!
;)
 
Definitely keep the customs stories coming! You guys are seriously making me want to upgrade to the Ultra! :?
 
Another Aussie here, but I live in Hong Kong. Still waiting for my broker to send my Axe FX Ultra through from the US in the next day or two...

Guess what? No customs duties in Hong Kong! :lol:

No capital gains tax in Hong Kong either, and the highest income tax is only about 17%. :p


I'm also waiting on an ART SLA-2 power amp, but will use the Axe FX with my Mesa Boogie combo until my SLA-2 arrives. Once I hook up the SLA-2 with the Axe FX, I'll be driving that through a Mesa Boogie 1 x 12 speaker cab. The Mesa Boogie Combo will then be up for sale!

Not sure about a controller at this stage though. May wait for the Fractal unit to be released, but I've read good reports about the LF Pro Junior. Can't wait to get all my gear sorted!



Cheers
 
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