My Ultra vs My Tube setup

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Boogie291

Member
I had my ultra since 2009 and I am using it both practice and live gigs until now I am not satisfied with the sound I am getting. My set up is Ultra+ART SLA2+ two 12s single cabs with V30s. Last night I had a chance to compare it to my MP2+Mesa 50/50 same cabs wereused, the result is like night and day. The sound from my MP2+Mesa 50/50 is so organic, the grit, not muddy even increasing the bass, the thump coming from my speakers. This is what I missed all those years.
 
My Ultra has always sounded sweet. At home thru Adams A7X monitors and live thru Cerwin Vega sound system. Are you running it thru the equivalent of a guitar cab or full range speakers?
 
mwd said:
My Ultra has always sounded sweet. At home thru Adams A7X monitors and live thru Cerwin Vega sound system. Are you running it thru the equivalent of a guitar cab or full range speakers?
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Don't get me wrong, Ultra sounds ok that's why I have it until now but I am not 100% satisfied with the sound. Every time i seat and practice I am tweaking trying to get the sound that i have in mind. In Ultra you cannot get the Grit and Thump of a Tube amp without getting muddy.
 
Turn the power amp sims off and run the ultra into the 50/50. Downside is you'll have to retweak your patches, but the end result may surprise you. I never cared for those SLA2, always thin, harsh, and without enough headroom. I have an Axe-Fx II, and prefer using a tube power amp (Engl E840/50 is what I'm using now.) with guitar cabs. I haven't found a solid-state amp that I like in this configuration. Hope this helps!
 
moab said:
Turn the power amp sims off and run the ultra into the 50/50. Downside is you'll have to retweak your patches, but the end result may surprise you. I never cared for those SLA2, always thin, harsh, and without enough headroom. I have an Axe-Fx II, and prefer using a tube power amp (Engl E840/50 is what I'm using now.) with guitar cabs. I haven't found a solid-state amp that I like in this configuration. Hope this helps!
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You are 100% correct but the main reason why I bought such a very expensive Axe Fx because of the different kinds of amp simulations if I will turn it off I might as well buy a cheaper tube amp with midi in and a TC Electronics Nova system I can still get different sounds in just one click and it will be way cheaper.
 
Boogie291 said:
You are 100% correct but the main reason why I bought such a very expensive Axe Fx because of the different kinds of amp simulations if I will turn it off I might as well buy a cheaper tube amp with midi in and a TC Electronics Nova system I can still get different sounds in just one click and it will be way cheaper.
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Another point to note in his quote is that he found the SLA2 thin and harsh, without enough headroom. A better FRFR power amp will give you drastically better results. I was using a 1U Carvin similar to the SLA1 and getting similar results to yours. Switching to a QSC HPR122i was like night and day. I'm not suggesting you need the QSC, I'm just suggesting a better and more powerful power amp than the SLA2 will give you better results.

I'm curious as to whether you kept the power amp sims on when running Axe-Fx through the 50/50...
 
As good as the Ultra is, it doesn't have (in many amp models) the nuance of a real amp. It just doesn't. The II is a radical improvement in this area. But sounding great and sounding realistic are two different things. It's easy to fall in love with the Ultra coming from other modelling products. But many of the qualities of a real amp that you describe are beyond the processing power and algorithms of the Ultra, hence the II (and whatever else the future may hold). Many people actually prefer the smoother tone of the Ultra.

I still use the Ultra for live shows. I've tweaked it to the limits of my abilities. But I could write paragraphs about the differences in tone/feel between it and the II or a real amp. The Ultra was the most accurate modeller of its time, but time marches on.
 
steadystate said:
As good as the Ultra is, it doesn't have (in many amp models) the nuance of a real amp. It just doesn't. The II is a radical improvement in this area. But sounding great and sounding realistic are two different things. It's easy to fall in love with the Ultra coming from other modelling products. But many of the qualities of a real amp that you describe are beyond the processing power and algorithms of the Ultra, hence the II (and whatever else the future may hold). Many people actually prefer the smoother tone of the Ultra.

I still use the Ultra for live shows. I've tweaked it to the limits of my abilities. But I could write paragraphs about the differences in tone/feel between it and the II or a real amp. The Ultra was the most accurate modeller of its time, but time marches on.
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I have a decent PA setup Mackie 1604 +Crown Amp +MRX or SRX JBL Speakers but I can't really get the sound that I want. What should be the setting in the mixer is it all at 12 o'clock? This is my output 1 from Axefx
Output 2 is ART SLA2 to 2 single cabs with celestion speakers.

This is how complicated the AXE FX is. I wish It is more user friendly and I'm pretty sure thousands of musicians will be so much happier.
 
Dialing in the Ultra through a tube power section and traditional cab with the poweramp sim off will get you in the ball park. Most of an amps tone is in the preamp circuit, so you still benefit from most of the amp models.
 
I had my ultra since 2009 and I am using it both practice and live gigs until now I am not satisfied with the sound I am getting. My set up is Ultra+ART SLA2+ two 12s single cabs with V30s. Last night I had a chance to compare it to my MP2+Mesa 50/50 same cabs wereused, the result is like night and day. The sound from my MP2+Mesa 50/50 is so organic, the grit, not muddy even increasing the bass, the thump coming from my speakers. This is what I missed all those years.
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Uhh Okay? Congrats on finding something that works? Seriously if that works, use it... It's a much lower cost rig.

Aside from some of the already good suggestions, I have always found it necessary to use block filters on the Ultra. Disable cab sims running into the real speakers but since you have been running it for years I assume you know that.

FWIW, Mark Day's setup is dang near the same here, not hearing the mud:

 
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