Marshall/G System user now torn after hearing AXE

grumpops

grumpops

Inspired
I'm a tube snob...er..um..I mean purist.

My rig is a Marshall TSL 100 three channel all tube with the TC Electronics G System processor.

I went to see a friend play last weekend and he had just dumped all his gear and was playing through an Ultra.

What I heard coming from his rig staggered me.
His guitar, at times, sounded like the sounds were being pulled from a Triton or Motiff engine.

When I got my Marshall, it's because that's the sound I'd always had. So, when replacing the amp, my keyboardist, A true technophile, was hounding me to get an "everything" modeling processor but....me being the snob..er...purist...stayed with my "natural" all tube sound.

After hearing the Axe, I'm truly torn.
One part of my head is screaming to put my entire rig on Craigslist and get an Axe with a small power amp and a small speaker box since I'd be going through the PA anyway.

The other side of my head is saying.....NO DON'T GIVE IN...lol

I've been looking through this forum and I see that, just like with the G System (phenomenal FX rig even if it doesn't do modeling) there are folks here complainging about bits and pieces not performing as expected.

Sounds like the proverbial six of one, half dozen of the other.

*sigh*
 
Dude,dump it all!!

The effects alone KILL the G- system.

The Ultra also just keeps gettin' better and better.

I've never owned a piece of gear this long in my life (excluding guitars).

You have a 14 day trial anyway.You can't lose.......Do It!!! :)
 
grumpops said:
I've been looking through this forum and I see that, just like with the G System (phenomenal FX rig even if it doesn't do modeling) there are folks here complainging about bits and pieces not performing as expected.

Sounds like the proverbial six of one, half dozen of the other.

*sigh*
Click to expand...

like what? "Not like expected" is fairly random... I would say for most of us, it's exceeded expectations.
 
Nothing is ever perfect, but I can honestly say the Axefx is the first and only piece of gear I've owned that actually exceeded my expectations. In a major way too. I too came from a monster tube amp (Mesa Stiletto Deuce II) and haven't looked back for a second. Life is so much more enjoyable with the axe
 
Best piece of gear I've ever owned or even seen, and Cliff just keeps improving it. The only way this piece of gear gets replaced is when a new processor comes out that is so powerful that it allows Cliff to implement some of his ideas which are currently limited by computational complexity.
 
Thanks all.

For me, dumping the Marshall is like deciding to divorce my wife!!! lol

We've been together a long time ya know...

The FX in the G are phenomenal but I'm limited by the tonal non variations of the Marshall.
The Marshall is....well the Marshall and while the sound is distinctive, unless you're doing 100% original material, and not playing out in clubs/casinos...then you need to be able to be more than just that amp...

Alas....parting is such sweet sorrow.
 
grumpops said:
I'm a tube snob...er..um..I mean purist.

My rig is a Marshall TSL 100 three channel all tube with the TC Electronics G System processor.

I went to see a friend play last weekend and he had just dumped all his gear and was playing through an Ultra.

What I heard coming from his rig staggered me.
His guitar, at times, sounded like the sounds were being pulled from a Triton or Motiff engine.
Click to expand...
That's a good thing? Just asking...
Most guitarists want an authentic sound, nothing like a synthesizer. :lol: :lol:
When I got my Marshall, it's because that's the sound I'd always had. So, when replacing the amp, my keyboardist, A true technophile, was hounding me to get an "everything" modeling processor but....me being the snob..er...purist...stayed with my "natural" all tube sound.
Click to expand...
You were wise. One of the earlier modeling ditties might have turned you off of modelling for ever before it got good.
After hearing the Axe, I'm truly torn.
One part of my head is screaming to put my entire rig on Craigslist and get an Axe with a small power amp and a small speaker box since I'd be going through the PA anyway.

The other side of my head is saying.....NO DON'T GIVE IN...lol

I've been looking through this forum and I see that, just like with the G System (phenomenal FX rig even if it doesn't do modeling) there are folks here complainging about bits and pieces not performing as expected.

Sounds like the proverbial six of one, half dozen of the other.

*sigh*
Click to expand...
Maybe you should stick with your rig for a while until the weight gets to you.
There are drawbacks like learning curve, a MOUNTAIN of choices (which amp, with what cabsim, with which delay and how do I get the phaser to sound like I want it...) Not to mention: which real life amplifier/cab/powered monitor will I use to monitor myself, should I go in-ear...
You need some persistance to stay the course.

Other side: The Axe-FX is the best modeller out there, no contest. Go pay some visits to your friend with the Ultra.
 
Dutch said:
grumpops said:
I'm a tube snob...er..um..I mean purist.


Other side: The Axe-FX is the best modeller out there, no contest. Go pay some visits to your friend with the Ultra.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
A

Yes..he's offered to let me drop by, bring my entire rig, sit em side by side and play for a few hours.

In the interrim, I spent part of the morning playing with the G and did just create a patch that sounds pretty damned close to the orchestral "pops" he was getting...
Create an arpeggio, don't delay the 3 or the 5, delay the entire thing at about 200ms with zero foldback....comes scary close to a three chord orchestral stinger.

IF nothing else, it's forced me to actually sit down and deconstruct or construct, if you will, the abilities of the G which I admit I've not gone very far into...don't get me wrong..I'm not using factory patches...I'm using factory patches which I've altered to my tastes.

The bottom line is the money thing.
If I can't get enough for the rig I've got...then I'll keep the rig I've got and just work to make it sound more to what I want.
 
grumpops said:
...unless you're doing 100% original material, and not playing out in clubs/casinos...then you need to be able to be more than just that amp...
Click to expand...

I know it is off topic but it is an interesting notion that more than a few hold around here that you NEED more than one amp when in a cover situation.

The guy I take guitar lessons from used to play a Bogner Uberschall and now plays one of the Diamond amps (I think the phantom) and his band plays fusion based originals but also Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, ZZ Top, Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck... I think they are also looking into doing a Humble Pie tune... the point is they cover a lot of ground and he uses just the one amp (and a pretty massive pedal board) and never once have I ever thought that they would have been so much better if that was played with a Fender or a Marshall or a HiWatt or whatever.

Sometimes is seems like people are after copying the exact same tones, they want to use exactly the same gear... you know if the live performance is going to sound like the record... uh, CD... I'd rather stay home and blast the CD through my stereo.

Again sorry for the tangent and I am not trying to say one way is better than another or that one should do or should not do anything. I was just sharing my perspective on what I think is an interesting idea that one has to have all these amps if you are in a cover band situation.

Oh... and if you can swing it get an Axe-FX while keeping your current rig and live with the Axe-FX for a while and see if you think its a keeper. If you do it will be one of the best, if not these best, purchases you've ever made considering, as others have said, how Cliff keeps updating the firmware and making improvements.
 
I am a former Marshall TSL / g system owner.
I was very frustrated by the problems with the g system (4 cable method woes) and terrible support from TC Electronics.
I bought the axefx as a replacement for the gsystem.
At one point I was actually using the axefx (4 cable method), the TSL and the g system as a foot controller.
The gsystem soon went as it was a bit limited as a foot controller, and the axefx was way ahead in the fx department.
As I played with the axefx and discovered how good the amp sims were the Marshall (and a Marshall JVM, a Cornford Mk50 and a Bogner Shiva) took a back seat until now I use the axefx FRFR with a midimate foot controller. Never looked back.
 
I used to have a Marshall JVM and G-System and it was a pretty good rig but just not suited to my situation. I play in an 11 piece corporate cover band and stage volume is an issue.

I bought the Ultra nearly 2 years ago and monitor through In Ear Monitors and it is truly awesome! Never been so happy with my sound and it is consistent regardless of where i am on stage....

The thing that you need to consider is that you'll need a controller and I used my G-System for over a year just as a controller. I found it pretty flexible in that i could assign plenty of I/A switches and Tap Tempo and Tuner etc but it was just too damned heavy! Just recently bought a Liquid Foot Junior and it has really completed my Rig.

Good luck in your pursuit. :)
 
grumpops said:
Thanks all.

For me, dumping the Marshall is like deciding to divorce my wife!!! lol

We've been together a long time ya know...

The FX in the G are phenomenal but I'm limited by the tonal non variations of the Marshall.
The Marshall is....well the Marshall and while the sound is distinctive, unless you're doing 100% original material, and not playing out in clubs/casinos...then you need to be able to be more than just that amp...

Alas....parting is such sweet sorrow.
Click to expand...

As you read there are more people with that setup who went for the Axe
I used the G with a marshall 6100 and really liked it, but the Axe i think is way better ... the FX are better for sure.
The issues i did,nt like with the G are not there with the Axe, for example the boost, i used a dedicated stomp for boost otherwise
the G sucked tone, the flanger and phaser are so much better than the G, IMHO all the FX are better than the G.
If you can afford keep the G for a while use it as a controller for your axe which is not perfect but it works..
The marshall amp sims in the Axe i find is a really strong point frome the Axe.
 
Be prepared for a whole other way of working and for a lot of tweaking if you get the Axe. Also be prepared to accessorize. You'll want a great midi controller and will likely obsess over the best way to amplify it.

On the other hand, you have choices and tones from every corner of the tonal universe available to you in addition to the Marshall-based sounds you already love. Not that you have to use all that power to be happy. I can lose myself for hours/days using a patch with a basic Fender (or whatever you like) amp model plus cabinet and a little verb. No other modeller ever came remotely close to having that effect on me.

Mike
 
The one thing i really think makes the axe easier and quicker to get a good sound, is the fact that you can pull fx/amp blocks from any of the 380 + patches on it if you like a paticular sound of one of them and try it out on your current patch. Which i find makes it much easier to get some sounds that are usable with out having to tweek to much.

Just go to the friends house and tweek, The chances are it probably will take a bit of time to get some sounds you like with that axe, but once you do its like heaven lol, and just once you thought you found heaven you tweak a little more and you go beyond what you thought was heaven to something thats even better.
 
Having owned a TSL rig, a JMP-1, a Rivera, a Bogner, a Budda, and some others, the AxeFX is one of the best sounding amps I've ever heard. If all it did was the preamp & power amp modeling, I'd be happy running it through my Carvin power amp & 410 cab over anything else I've owned.
 
I dumped a Cornell Plexi, 69 Bandmaster Reverb and an AC-30 for the Ultra :)
No regrets, but be prepared for a steep learning curve.
 
I'm a believer in having both rigs. :D I enjoy the AxeFx rig, but there will always be at least one Mesa hanging around my music room too. You could try dumping the G System and using the AxeFx for effects with the Marshall rig for a while. Then you could keep the marshall sounds you like, but once in a while use the amp modelling in the AxeFx for something different. That way it doesn't feel quite as much like you are a traitor to the cause. ;)

I'll say one thing though... my Mesa's are great, but none of them can pull off the awesome blues/classic rock tone of the Dr. Z AxeFx amp sim. The great thing about the AxeFx is discovering that you have "bought" an amp you hadn't considered before but which sounds awesome.
 
I'm a big Marshall guy and have a G-System too. I still have my Budda and G-system and Marshall 4x12 cab because I wanted to be sure before I sold them. They are still sitting in my garage and I haven't looked back. If all you do is play in the same location all the time and only need that one tone, then keep your rig. But if you need to move it every week, playing in different rooms all the time, the Axe is hard to beat. I can be completely set up and ready to rock in 20 mins or so. No real need for personal sound check either. My tone is consistent, I just plug and play! You will have to be patient in the beginning because the Axe's GUI needs to be learned but once you have a couple of presets under your belt, its all gravy!!!
 
Thank you...all of you.

I'm just now trying to come up with the money.
Went to the friend's house and plugged into his system with mine sitting right next to it.

He uses two basic settings and then assigns fx as stomp boxes.
Clean, clean with a bit of rasp, dirty clean

Lead, heavier lead, really heavy lead.

I was playing through a patch called BRITISH 900 with a chrous and delay.
OMG...it sounded like the screaming hair glam guitars of the 80's...I cannot get that from my Marshall and here I thought they were playing through tube Marshalls....go figure.

But the fullness of the tones was what really got me.
We spent hours tweaking the EQ in the G System trying to get the same sound and it just wasn't happening.

So, I'm sold..it's just a matter of the cash now.
 
I had a CAE 3+ SE and a G-system...
I loved the simplicity of the G-system as a footcontroller, but couldn't get rid of the "blanket" sound and feeling of being unconnected. ( I tried all methods and levels)

I bought an Ultra and have never looked back.
My dream would be that the Fractal footcontroller would be like the G-system-

Get the Ultra, dude. You won't look back!


Cheers!
- jonah
 
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