Here's a quick video I made (though trust me, it took me entirely too damn long to figure out how to make the damn thing, lol) of the Axe-FX 2.
If you don't know me, you get to hear my goofy voice and maybe figure out I am not as so damn serious all the time as folks seem to always assume I am.
The video breaks it all down fairly straightforwardly. Nothing too fancy. Just wanted to get into making a series of these videos to break down different aspects and things without epic posts.
I'd like to focus more on the box and sounds you can get from it on my threads so that's the focus please.
Have a watch... and a listen.
Notice a few things. A) the guitar playing and amps you hear are 100% direct. No room, no room mic, no tricks. That's 100% direct Axe-FX 2. B) The 'tube ring' some guys hear is just a thing my Custom 22 does; that's from the guitar. You'll hear it on the Friedman and higher gain OD amp tones more. Yes, I need some fretwork; I think that's just some harmonic overtone from a proud fret. The guitar was used - hard - and is from 1996; C) Yes there are clams. I'm just goofing, one take. Trying to not talk too much; you don't want to hear me. You want to hear the 2.
Some guys with the Standard/Ultra are listening to hear some massive improvement over their boxes. I've said this 100X - the 2 is a step forward in a lot of ways. A lot. The actual tones are very similar to what I had dialed up in my Ultra/Standard Axe-FX's. Because I dial tones the way I like them (just like you do). The end results are not radically different. I think the 2 delivers things with less 'haze' and is more dynamic. It reacts to your playing more; it also has remodeled amps in it that just dial up differently. The top end and bottom end are different, less 'touchy' to where they are dialed. You do not spend as much time dialing tones on the 2. One reason why - beyond the obvious (knobs, etc) is that you don't spend so much time/effort needed to learn the more narrow 'sweet spots' that take time to craft in the Gen1 boxes. You can get close to where I am with the 2 with the Gen1 stuff but it takes a LOT more effort, time, and precision.
So many folks want to somehow now dismiss or knock the Gen1 boxes down a few pegs (or into the dirt) because the Gen2 box is out and has a new modeling engine, more power, etc.. That's not really the case. The Gen2 builds upon the already solid and obviously powerful tone machines the Standard/Ultra *still* are. The Gen2 VVT modeling and hardware upgrades (specifically memory and processor upgrades) just add *more* of the good stuff.
Folks that hate the Fractal stuff for the price tag will still hate the Axe-FX 2 just as much. I don't want to change anyone's opinion, that's not my battle.
But this box is fun,a helluva lot of fun too. It's fast to work with, once you have the basics of the Fractal paradigm down (working with the grid, routing signal chains, etc). Folks get too uptight and too upset over all the details sometimes - this box really opens up what modeling is capable of by making things more efficient, greatly enhanced workflow, killer sounds, effect 'preset' states that make creating popular effects much easier.
I will close this with this thought; what I do with the box is just what I do with it. This is *not* all it can do, or the limit, or the range or the 'right' way or the 'best' way or anything else. It's just "my" way. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not so full of myself as people think, I just do my thing.
Hope you dig it; and if not, at least enjoy it.
Peace.
If you don't know me, you get to hear my goofy voice and maybe figure out I am not as so damn serious all the time as folks seem to always assume I am.
The video breaks it all down fairly straightforwardly. Nothing too fancy. Just wanted to get into making a series of these videos to break down different aspects and things without epic posts.
I'd like to focus more on the box and sounds you can get from it on my threads so that's the focus please.
Have a watch... and a listen.
Notice a few things. A) the guitar playing and amps you hear are 100% direct. No room, no room mic, no tricks. That's 100% direct Axe-FX 2. B) The 'tube ring' some guys hear is just a thing my Custom 22 does; that's from the guitar. You'll hear it on the Friedman and higher gain OD amp tones more. Yes, I need some fretwork; I think that's just some harmonic overtone from a proud fret. The guitar was used - hard - and is from 1996; C) Yes there are clams. I'm just goofing, one take. Trying to not talk too much; you don't want to hear me. You want to hear the 2.
Some guys with the Standard/Ultra are listening to hear some massive improvement over their boxes. I've said this 100X - the 2 is a step forward in a lot of ways. A lot. The actual tones are very similar to what I had dialed up in my Ultra/Standard Axe-FX's. Because I dial tones the way I like them (just like you do). The end results are not radically different. I think the 2 delivers things with less 'haze' and is more dynamic. It reacts to your playing more; it also has remodeled amps in it that just dial up differently. The top end and bottom end are different, less 'touchy' to where they are dialed. You do not spend as much time dialing tones on the 2. One reason why - beyond the obvious (knobs, etc) is that you don't spend so much time/effort needed to learn the more narrow 'sweet spots' that take time to craft in the Gen1 boxes. You can get close to where I am with the 2 with the Gen1 stuff but it takes a LOT more effort, time, and precision.
So many folks want to somehow now dismiss or knock the Gen1 boxes down a few pegs (or into the dirt) because the Gen2 box is out and has a new modeling engine, more power, etc.. That's not really the case. The Gen2 builds upon the already solid and obviously powerful tone machines the Standard/Ultra *still* are. The Gen2 VVT modeling and hardware upgrades (specifically memory and processor upgrades) just add *more* of the good stuff.
Folks that hate the Fractal stuff for the price tag will still hate the Axe-FX 2 just as much. I don't want to change anyone's opinion, that's not my battle.
But this box is fun,a helluva lot of fun too. It's fast to work with, once you have the basics of the Fractal paradigm down (working with the grid, routing signal chains, etc). Folks get too uptight and too upset over all the details sometimes - this box really opens up what modeling is capable of by making things more efficient, greatly enhanced workflow, killer sounds, effect 'preset' states that make creating popular effects much easier.
I will close this with this thought; what I do with the box is just what I do with it. This is *not* all it can do, or the limit, or the range or the 'right' way or the 'best' way or anything else. It's just "my" way. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not so full of myself as people think, I just do my thing.
Hope you dig it; and if not, at least enjoy it.
Peace.