My First Two Hours with the AX8

fragmentsmusic7

fragmentsmusic7

Inspired
So UPS finally dropped it off today and as soon as I could get it out of the box, I was plugging it in and going straight at it.

Interestingly enough, I hated most of the dirt presets that are in the AX8 straight out of the box. I went through a lot of the presets, and they just weren't my thing. However, the cleans and FX stuff is top notch and excellent.

Then I went straight to building my own amp/cab setup. I strictly just did Drive->Amp->Cab. Nothing else. Did some fiddling for 5 minutes and got some pretty decent tones! I still need to work on the preset though. It's not quite as open as I would like. But the 5 minutes I spent on the preset sounded better than Positive Grid's Bias, Waves GTR, and almost anything else I've ever used besides a real amp. I'm going to have to really spend some time figuring out what amp/cab combos (primarily cab) work best for what I want to write/play/record.

Tonight was really cool so far though, and I can't wait to really dig into the AX8 for some live and recording tones. While I'm not 100% happy with my tone yet, it's still better than most things I've ever done quickly in 5 minutes.

I want to do a shootout of same tones/settings between Bias/AX8/Waves once I get the hang of the unit and really get something solid!
 
For gain tones in the Factory pre sets go straight to the Mark Day 80's one. Tweak delay and or Reverb stuff to taste. This will give you a baseline monster gain tone. Then go to the amp model and try the 5150 III amp Red ch and play with gain and Master Volume settings.
Prepare to have your mind blown !!

Do all this in Edit -much easier to tweak. When you find delay settings and Amps you like you can save them to call up later too!
 
fragmentsmusic7 said:
So UPS finally dropped it off today and as soon as I could get it out of the box, I was plugging it in and going straight at it.

Interestingly enough, I hated most of the dirt presets that are in the AX8 straight out of the box. I went through a lot of the presets, and they just weren't my thing. However, the cleans and FX stuff is top notch and excellent.

Then I went straight to building my own amp/cab setup. I strictly just did Drive->Amp->Cab. Nothing else. Did some fiddling for 5 minutes and got some pretty decent tones! I still need to work on the preset though. It's not quite as open as I would like. But the 5 minutes I spent on the preset sounded better than Positive Grid's Bias, Waves GTR, and almost anything else I've ever used besides a real amp. I'm going to have to really spend some time figuring out what amp/cab combos (primarily cab) work best for what I want to write/play/record.

Tonight was really cool so far though, and I can't wait to really dig into the AX8 for some live and recording tones. While I'm not 100% happy with my tone yet, it's still better than most things I've ever done quickly in 5 minutes.

I want to do a shootout of same tones/settings between Bias/AX8/Waves once I get the hang of the unit and really get something solid!
Click to expand...

Agreed! I didn't liked the dirty presets at all, but I loved the clean ones.
But with a little tweak you can easily get amazing dirty sounds! I suggest you grab "Fremen's" package to use as a reference.
 
You're merely standing at the rabbit hole, you haven't even jumped in yet...

It takes a lot of players (myself included) a while to realize the virtual world the AX8 creates, allowing every aspect & nuance of an amp model to be manipulated. The natural laws that govern the way a physical tube amp operates & performs no longer bind us. Resistance, phase, impedance, bias; all much more accessible. Time, ear fatigue and your imagination are what will limit you.. All the effects are just as tweak-able, and then there's controllers and modifiers...

Building out presets gets addicting, remember to actually play! Enjoy!
 
I don't get why people like Bias. It so sucks ass, all the amps sound the same, no depth at all. The only way it works OK, is if you have $5k in studio gear, the best monitors, interface and top notch preamp or di.
 
Has anyone ever been blown away by presets? I can think on one hand I've ever heard anyone compliment presets. I'm surprised companies even have them. Then again have you ever sat down at an amp and played and loved that exact tone without tweaking the knobs?
 
You guys want the best reference IR's, get the freely available Catharsis and Guitarhack Impulses. Awesome starting point Ir's.
 
I think the AX8 presets are the best I've come across. I'm talking about the fundamental amp/cab tones. My main preset in my last band was a preset - I made a couple copies of it and tweaked the effects and I was done.
 
hippietim said:
I think the AX8 presets are the best I've come across. I'm talking about the fundamental amp/cab tones. My main preset in my last band was a preset - I made a couple copies of it and tweaked the effects and I was done.
Click to expand...

I agree. 100%. Many folks over the years have talked about using some presets. Tweaking some a bit etc. They cannot of course please everyone. But they certainly please many. IMHO
 
hippietim said:
I think the AX8 presets are the best I've come across. I'm talking about the fundamental amp/cab tones. My main preset in my last band was a preset - I made a couple copies of it and tweaked the effects and I was done.
Click to expand...

I agree too. Nothing crazy wrong with the presets. But your sounds is, well, "yours".
You got to tweak for you liking. And the most awesome thing about AX8 and Fractal products is that you can tweak so much that is even dangerous! :D
 
hippietim said:
I think the AX8 presets are the best I've come across. I'm talking about the fundamental amp/cab tones. My main preset in my last band was a preset - I made a couple copies of it and tweaked the effects and I was done.
Click to expand...

I can agree that the presets were the best sounding presets I've ever had come in any piece of gear. However, the dirt tones just are not my thing for the most part. The genres I typically go don't play nice with the dirt presets.
 
you might broaden your IR horizons as well...the ones you mentioned might have been better than what GTR or BIAS had in the box but they don't stand up to what's available for or even the AX8.

Of course if they are your thing then they are, so YMMV
 
jlynnb1 said:
you might broaden your IR horizons as well...the ones you mentioned might have been better than what GTR or BIAS had in the box but they don't stand up to what's available for or even the AX8.

Of course if they are your thing then they are, so YMMV
Click to expand...

Got the OwnHammer Hardhitters Collection. I have no idea how I'm going to get through all of these IR's for something I like though. 0_o
 
ps43203 said:
I don't get why people like Bias. It so sucks ass, all the amps sound the same, no depth at all. The only way it works OK, is if you have $5k in studio gear, the best monitors, interface and top notch preamp or di.
Click to expand...

That's definitely what I've come to notice. I actually like the interface and layout (honestly not that different from the AX8-Edit). But to really get mixable tones takes far longer and more edits than a mic to an amp, or what I've used so far with the AX8. I think Bias will only be used as a super fast/quick way to get to some sort of amp sim if I need to get something done immediately and am not near the AX8/interface.
 
My first preset had the looper at the input and i used to record a riff and let it loop then tweak it
 
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