Looking for AX8 Advice

J

John Gallagher

New Member
Hey everyone, Im player of 20 plus years and been down many roads with my rig. I have been thru so many amps, Mesa, Badcat, Fenders, Bogner, and my beloved PT100 which I'll just never part with. Im at a point now where I gig once a week, play small places, and volume is always an issue. Im unfortunately a tone chaser and when I recently decided to build a pedal board which will allow to have a variety of tones to choose from it dawned on my that Im spending entirely way to much and still wanting more and more pedals. Im tired of the revolving door of equipment and im hoping Fractal Products can help.

Here is what I want. I want an easy setup, minimal equipment, great tones. The AX8 appears to be everything I want and more but im still held back for these reasons. I like to have a cab behind me pushing air but Im seeing so many here going to with FRFR monitors and its making me wonder if Im missing the boat. Afterall Im looking for easy in and easy out of these venues where sometimes we are climbing a flight of stairs.

So what Im looking for here from everyone is how are you running your AX8 live? If you are using monitors what kind? If you are using a power amp to run a cab what power amsp are you using? Also any users that have switched from an Axe-Fx II rack to an AX8... how do you like it? I sometimes think I should just get the rack and then I can run it how ever I want at any time.

Ive also asked the fine people at Fractal their opinions for my needs and they responded very quickly with great recommedations but wanted to hear other users opinions.

thank you
 
More people here run FRFR than not. The only way to find out whether it's for you is to try it.

You can go either way with the AX8. Not sure why that's holding back your purchase.
 
Hey John,

I'm a new Ax8 user and haven't had a chance to play a show with it yet. I have been using the Kemper Profiler since 2014 with the yamaha dxr10 powered wedge and love it. I feel I hear myself better with the wedge. The wedge is directed toward my ears versus my legs and I have complete control over my volume. I plan to use the Ax8 the same way. I am sending output 1 to FOH and output 2 to my wedge.

I switched to the Ax8 to reduce my rig package even further and found that I like the tones better!

I would say that if your looking to go small and light on your rig use a frfr monitor. Besides, if you use a guitar cab, you'll need a poweramp and that combo is going to add "color" to your amp tones. That's not a bad thing, if that's what you want but, if you really want to enjoy the poweramp and cab modeling while your on stage frfr is the way to go.
 
Rex said:
More people here run FRFR than not. The only way to find out whether it's for you is to try it.

You can go either way with the AX8. Not sure why that's holding back your purchase.
Click to expand...

I know I want to purchase something just wasnt sure if I was to try the AX8 and get a good FRFR or got the FX8 route and keep my amp on stage. But my end goal is to reduce my gear on stage or what I have to transport. I guess my concern was whether I could get use to playing thru a wedge which I would think would be better since the sound would go straight to my ears and not my legs.

But you are right the only way to make a determination for myself is to get in my hands and plugged in
 
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Pettymusic said:
Hey John,

I'm a new Ax8 user and haven't had a chance to play a show with it yet. I have been using the Kemper Profiler since 2014 with the yamaha dxr10 powered wedge and love it. I feel I hear myself better with the wedge. The wedge is directed toward my ears versus my legs and I have complete control over my volume. I plan to use the Ax8 the same way. I am sending output 1 to FOH and output 2 to my wedge.

I switched to the Ax8 to reduce my rig package even further and found that I like the tones better!

I would say that if your looking to go small and light on your rig use a frfr monitor. Besides, if you use a guitar cab, you'll need a poweramp and that combo is going to add "color" to your amp tones. That's not a bad thing, if that's what you want but, if you really want to enjoy the poweramp and cab modeling while your on stage frfr is the way to go.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply and advice. I think I just need to get my hands on one and see what I think.Ive always liked that raw sound of just plugging into a head and cab or a combo but lately ive just been wanting to dial in more sounds and im over spinning knobs on my amp all night. The thought of having a rig that I cn run direct to the FOH and have a monitor in my face pumping out the same sound would be fantastic. Im just going to pull the trigger and get one.
 
i was an amp in the room kinda guy,always wanted the punch of a real amp behind me and have had all kinds of great amps,fender,marshall,hiwatt,vox and so forth,but today I just enjoy to plug into my monitors running stereo + plus stereo to PA ,im bathing in lush sound,and don't miss a thing,I actually have much better sound to be honest :)
 
John,

Your story is a common tale and I have read many threads over the years of many here that have gone down the same path! I too have been a tone chaser and went from a large wet dry rig to Axe FX running guitar cabs then to FR then finally to an AX8. Personally this has been a 10 year journey for me and has been well worth it! I no longer want for an amp or a cab speaker whatever it's all in there and it sounds awesome at any volume!

Coming from an amp and cab rig you will have to decide if FR is for you or not. Some don't care for it some do. I personally like the fact that I have a mic'd cab sound hitting me in the face or coming from behind me you have the benefit of a much wider sweet spot and much better handle on stage volumes plus the fact that you tone is much more consistent from day to day. Then there is also the lack of maintenance that you would otherwise have with a tube rig.

Going to an AX8 makes so much sense especially if you are trying to downsize your rig and footprint on a stage, less to load in and out is a good thing!

I could go on and on about how great FAS products are but you really have to be the one to make the decision, FAS makes it pretty easy with a 10 day trial period so you should be able to figure out whether it's for you or not.

Good luck!
 
I use a AX8 on stage with a CLR.
That combo for me is perfect.
The wedge pointed at your head lets you hear every nuance of your playing and lets you keep the volume reasonable.
It seems that the folks who have trouble with an FRFR are those who are used to loud tube amp backlines.
Some have made the transition but others have trouble and can't get comfortable.
You won't know till you try it yourself.
 
John, another John here. For live performance, I usually use the AX8 direct to FOH. I use IEM's. For some gigs, I do use a stage amp. I use a Line 6 Flextone XLII. I run output 1 to FOH, and output 2 on the AX8 to the effects return on the Line 6 so as to avoid the preamp stage. Works great. If you do plan to use a combo, make sure it has an effects send/return.
 
RLD said:
I use a AX8 on stage with a CLR.
That combo for me is perfect.
The wedge pointed at your head lets you hear every nuance of your playing and lets you keep the volume reasonable.
It seems that the folks who have trouble with an FRFR are those who are used to loud tube amp backlines.
Some have made the transition but others have trouble and can't get comfortable.
You won't know till you try it yourself.
Click to expand...



Well the days of blasting a 412 cab with a 100w head is over around my parts. Most larger stages shut down. I like to get my tube amps cooking but just cant do it anymore. I think i can get use to the comfort of the volume level. I just need to make sure I rig something that gives me a little thump.

Thanks for the reply its what i needed to hear
 
You can run a FRFR cab or 2 behind you and very much a back line type setup. I do this with the louder band I play with using 2 Turbosound Flashline monitors on their sides. Competes in volume easily with a drummer and 2nd guitar who uses a 4x12 cab. Plus, it sets up in 10 minutes.
 
I'm a pro player of 25 years and do gigs from arenas and stadiums to dive bars and everything in between. My first modeler was a Roland GP-100 about 20 years ago, which I liked for travel FX but always used a real amp on stage. Then a POD floorboard after that (I hated the sound). I used the Eleven Rack on a major tour for about 2 years and it was really great especially since the band was all on in ears. Being able to really dial in my sound without having to rely on miking a cab was great because I never really liked the sound of real amps when using in ears. It just doesn't translate to me, it's very different than listening to amp in the room sound. I went back to pedals and amp after that for the last 5 or 6 years. I had my eye on an Axe FX but didn't want a rack plus floor controller for fly dates. Finally FAS makes the AX8 and I knew I would get one. I've had it about 3 weeks now and I used it on a gig running into the power amp (FX return) input of a Fender Blues Deville 4x10. I turned off the cab sim and the power amp modeling. It sounded really good and I was completely happy with my sound, the easiness of editing on stage and how much I focused on playing without tap dancing. I didn't realize how much I mess with my pedals all night until this gig w the AX8. It is a totally great sounding box and completely professional as far as switches, I/O and signal to noise ratio. I'm completely happy with the unit as a core tone machine and I won't be bringing my pedals out anymore. The AX8 is a really musical and satisfying processor, easily the best I've ever used.
Incidentally I've played the AX8 through a 1x12 Mesa cab w/ a Quilter Tone Block 200, Quilter Aviator in FX return a Blues Jr, Blues Deville FX return, QSC K8 & K10 FRFR speakers, and I had no trouble at all getting a great sound with all of them.
 
From what I have experienced, and reading the experiences of people on the forum, most people need some time to adapt to hearing their sound on stage through FRFR. It does sound different. Some people take to it right away, and others need some time to adapt their tastes to it. And then some people never adapt to it and end up going back to traditional cabs. So it is a very personal thing. The only way to know for yourself is to try it yourself. But most people have to give themselves time to adapt to the new way of hearing themselves, so you need to be prepared for that possibility. Personally (since you asked) I use a CLR wedge on stage and love it. In fact I doubt I could ever make the compromises necessary to go back to traditional cabs. But YMMV.
 
Like many here, my tube amps are getting dusty. Volume is always an issue anywhere these days, and increasingly a concern for my own ears. I have really enjoyed the AX8 and my ASM12...just hate the weight of the friedman! I miss the easy tweak of pedals at my feet, but I have also realized that I am usually the only one noticing any subtle tweaks when playing live. Sold a Black Falcon and old Bassman to buy the ax8 and I don't miss those things at all.
 
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