Metallica uses Axe Fx

rush would put washing machines and dryers on stage. doesn't mean the sound came from them :)

also notice there aren’t any mics and looks like no cables plugged in. so pretty sure those are just to add to the visual.

also if they did use those, it’d be very loud for that room.
 
Last edited:
rush would put washing machines and dryers on stage. doesn't mean the sound came from them :)

also notice there aren’t any mics and looks like no cables plugged in. so pretty sure those are just to add to the visual.

also if they did use those, it’d be very loud for that room.

That's what I thought, but then on this video they are mic'd and cabled up.

If it's being used in the mix is another question though. I personally think it's just for show or maybe for stage sound/feel.

Seems weird they'd both use a mesa rectifier to play Black Album stuff.

 
That's what I thought, but then on this video they are mic'd and cabled up.

If it's being used in the mix is another question though. I personally think it's just for show or maybe for stage sound/feel.

Seems weird they'd both use a mesa rectifier to play Black Album stuff.
It's not for show or stage sound/feel. It's for endorsement. James is endorsed by Diezel and Mesa. Or is it James endorses Diesel and Mesa? Doesn't matter. Kirk is on team Mesa. Don't know about the Marshall and HiWatt and no Randall. Notice the two cabs with the logo blacked out. They are the same cabs as the Marshall but no logo. That would be too much Marshall since he isn't actually on their roster.

But having 4 blacked out logos would look weird and noticeable, so they only black out two and put the branded ones in a less prominent place...

...right behind the camera guy...

Who must have the world's greatest isolation headset to be able to stand in front that stack and still take cues from the director. Not too mention the recklessness of allowing him to move around in that area with the very real chance of bumping the only mic on Kirk's rig.

This is all speculation of course.
 
I guess that endorsement switcheroo is pretty common. I knew a guy who had a Legend amp endorsement in the eighties. He had two dummy Legend stacks on stage and a Marshall hidden behind that he actually used for shows
 
  • Haha
Reactions: ESW
If you look close in the video of them playing at the observatory, you can see shots where the camera is at the right height to see straight between the heads and cabs. No speaker cables plugged in back there.

Cabs are mic’d to look authentic but less care is taken around the back of the rig for realism.
 
I have no idea what they're actually playing through, but if you imagine for a second that there are no amps and cabs back there, the whole scene would look really weird.
Of course which is why they've had Metallica branded Randall cabs (Kirk's deal with Randall was all I'm aware of) during live performances for years now (whilst using Axe FX). The question is why did they stop using these and start using real ampegs and mesas.

 
Last edited:
I have no idea what they're actually playing through, but if you imagine for a second that there are no amps and cabs back there, the whole scene would look really weird.

Same as Blackmore with a wall of Marshalls, but playing through a miked AC30 behind the Marshalls. He was not even endorsing Marshall, it was his iconic stage image
 
Last edited:
Maybe not Metallica yet , but Kiko loureiro from Megadeth is not playing with fractal anymore but quad cortex 🤦, that’s the 4th big band that I know that switch with this product . Then … we are all the same we like to change … every product can sound good when you are a good player . Still never tried a qc and probably never will, as the demos are bad and the product expensive but …

 
So for show then. I'm not aware of any Mesa endorsements that restrict what James can play through, do you have a link?
I just saw Mesa and diezel and went to those websites' artist page to see if he was on there.

There wouldn't be any restrictions on what he can play through. Rather "we want to see our amps behind you."
 
I have no idea what they're actually playing through, but if you imagine for a second that there are no amps and cabs back there, the whole scene would look really weird.
Great, just great! So we can have fantastic, versatile, clear live sound, but we still need to keep our tube amps, (or buy empties) so we can look cool?
A moment of silence for the roadies breaking their backs carrying heavy heads around of nothing other than looking cool
I'm gonna go out on a limb here, and guess they're empty. ;)
 
I have no idea what they're actually playing through, but if you imagine for a second that there are no amps and cabs back there, the whole scene would look really weird.
Yeah it would look like these guys just went to the observatory for an air guitar show.

Honestly even just having a tiny rack with Axe-Fx 3's in it and some monitor wedges would probably look odd too. Not having amps and cabs on stage works for those arenas where they are basically in the middle of the audience rather than having a stage in the back.

Maybe Fractal just needs to offer an Axe-Fx 3 in a tolexed chassis and a 4x12 FRFR speaker to go with it? :D
 
Back
Top Bottom