new to FAS- Is now the time to buy an Axe FX XL+?

retnuH

retnuH

Member
Hello everyone,
This looks like a great forum with a lot more nice and helpful people than is normal so congratulations on having a great place for everyone to use. I'm a somewhat noob to the Fractal Audio world but have been playing guitar for 30 years with both tube and modelling gear over the years so I'm definitely not new to the world of gear. I have followed the Axe FX with interest since it was created and I'm ready to buy one after hearing the clip below.
I have two questions: I see that the hardware has gone through some changes over the last few years and don't want to buy something new and then have the new model come out two months later with better options. Is it a good time to buy one or should I wait for the next best thing? It looks like the software is updated regularly and the hardware looks solid.
Second is what the general view is on what power amp to run this through? I have a Triaxis/2:90 rig now and am using a Digitech GSP 1101 and a TC G-Major for effects and had originally thought I would put the Triaxis in the loop of the Axe FX like my Digitech in the current rig and use it for effects only but after listening to the clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fnZNSttvO2k I think I'll just plan on starting from scratch without the Triaxis but I'm not sure about the 2:90. Do people run this through a power amp like the 2:90 or is it better to go solid state? I see a lot of both when I read up on it so would appreciate the popular version that is best. I have a good 300 watt solid state power amp that I can use but I'm curious about what the best option is. I'll probably keep my current rig set up and then A/B them to see what is best but would like to know where I should start.
I'm ready to make the plunge so I hope this is a good time to buy one and thanks in advance for any help!
Hunter
 
Now is the time to buy!

To get the most out of the Axe Fx, it’s best to go with a FRFR (Full Range Flat Response) monitor (which would include a flat solid state amp). This will enable to you to use the Axe Fx modelling for all aspects of the guitar tone including power amp modelling and cab modelling. You can use your Triaxis/2:90 rig if you want and run the Axe Fx either using the 4 cable method or just in the effects loop. You would then disable power amp and cab modelling in the Axe Fx. Some people prefer this as it’s comfortable with what they already know, and most people (from reading on the forum at least) prefer at least after a while to go FRFR so that you would get different power amp and cab sounds with different amp models. But however you want to use the Axe Fx, you pretty much can. It’s incredibly flexible.
 
Yeah I agree, the cab IRs are such a big part of the axe fx. I mean where on earth can you use a fender combo amp head with a 4x12 cab if you want? There are plenty of guys on here that do run the axe into a power amp and then into normal guitar speakers. To me that limits your tones a little bit. I'm sure the guys that do it that way would dissagree but to me FRFR was the way to go. And I wouldn't worry to much about an axe fx 3 I think we are still a ways off yet.
 
I also have a Triaxis & 2:90 rig & have used the Axe with it a couple of ways. I used the Axe with no cab sims without the Triaxis going into the 2:90 power amp using the Axe amp sims & also the Axe 4 cable method with the Triaxis & 2:90 just using only effects & it sounds great either way. I have also used it with 2 CLR FRFR monitors & it sounds great that way too. The Axe is very versatile as to how you can use it.
 
I used to have a Triaxis, and can tell you the AxeFX can replicate it very authentically. My recommendation would be to use the AxeFX and 2:90 into full range monitors. I have had my Fractal rig for a year, and have never looked back. In the last six months, I sold my Boogie Lonestar, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, TC G Force, a small mountain of effects pedals, cabinets, and so on. The AxeFX is unbelievable. I have had a number of FOH sound operators tell me that my direct XLR feed is the best guitar tone they've ever gotten. I know 98% of that is due to the AxeFX, but I'll take credit for 2% just because I like to think I might be adding something too :) I love love love my AxeFX.
 
Hi Retnuh & welcome!

Well I hope now is the right time - I just paid for a second Axe FX ii!

Thanks
Pauly

retnuH said:
Hello everyone,
This looks like a great forum with a lot more nice and helpful people than is normal so congratulations on having a great place for everyone to use. I'm a somewhat noob to the Fractal Audio world but have been playing guitar for 30 years with both tube and modelling gear over the years so I'm definitely not new to the world of gear. I have followed the Axe FX with interest since it was created and I'm ready to buy one after hearing the clip below.
Click to expand...
 
ChrisCG said:
Yeah I agree, the cab IRs are such a big part of the axe fx. .
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+1

I'm only now beginning to see the massive difference IRs have on my FOH tone. So much so that I've purchased Cab Lab and will start experimenting further.
 
I'm with the crowd. Never had such mad love for any piece of gear in my life. There are some things that take learning and getting used to, but it's a good trade.
The forum is great, and there is a lot of knowledge here. It CAN BE a little one sided... a little love blind if you will... but it's for good cause. There are bits of the Axe that leave me wishing for this or that... but over all it's a phenomenal piece of equipment. To me it's the best purchase available in the guitar amp world that I know of.

I'd say for studio use it simply can't be beat. Unless you are with a world class producer with an unreal amp collection, superb mics and pre's, you'd be hard pressed to get better recording tone available to you, and even if you have that, you can match it close enough to where it's very hard to tell the difference if you can at all.

For live, the versatility is amazing and you would have to haul a truck full of gear to get close... and then deal with all of the headaches, tech issues, size, weight... blah blah.

The one thing that I find challenging is that unless you drop another close to $450 for a rac-12 (a new product from a forum member) then on the fly tone adjustments can be less than ideal. I miss full time large amp knobs to dial bass or treb in or out at any given moment. It's just a different workflow. You have to spend time tweaking and dialing, and sort of cross you fingers a bit that when you get there at volume it's going to sound the way you thought it would. If you have the luxury of having hours at full volume to tweak, then your golden. Building presets at home in headphones takes a bit of guesswork to account for FM and mix issues.

So, Mr. Chase... WHEN the Axe 3 ever DOES come around... I'll be buying one... and my wish would be for a 3 space unit if need be, and to incorporate those real life amp controls right on the front panel . That might just be the end-all-be-all for me.
 
retnuH said:
You guys are great! I have the fever bad now so will have to pull the trigger on it tomorrow now.
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You will happy you did. I had rehersals today and as we were playing through a couple songs I was lost listening to just how great my tone was today. I was sitting in the mix and it just sounded so nice. I can cover so much ground with the atomica high and I think it's a vox 15 TB? With the new 2x12 fuzz IR .....sounds so good to me. This is the best piece of gear I have ever spent money on. Wish I had this box 25 years ago......
 
Hi, I'll maybe say goodbye to my mark V this evening and pull the trigger at g66's for a 2xl+.
I just wished there was a current discount on it because i need it to play at my wedding and cannot wait :)
axefx all the way !
 
Lax said:
Hi, I'll maybe say goodbye to my mark V this evening and pull the trigger at g66's for a 2xl+.
I just wished there was a current discount on it because i need it to play at my wedding and cannot wait :)
axefx all the way !
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If you buy from g66, you should really consider if the XL+ is worth the extra investment for you. The II is 500€ cheaper than the XL+. That's basicly the price of a Midi board.
 
Interesting and helpful information guys- thanks! This forum is a little lovey and positive like someone said above but it's a refreshing break from my other forums and all the trolls and butt-hurt people who get in the way of good conversation and information. I apologize for writing lengthy stuff here but need to work this through and you guys are a great community so might as well get it all worked out.
I have read a little about the different models and was going to go for the XL+ just so I had the latest and greatest to hold out against the feared upgrade I mentioned earlier but I'm not sure I really understand the difference in-depth. Is the Mark II a worthy consideration or is the XL+ worth it? I don't have extra money to throw around but I don't want to be limited either because I didn't spend the extra $500 either. I consider this an investment that whether it is paired with my Triaxis or not, is going to be my main reliable rig for many years to come and I hate it when there is one little thing that would make my life great on the other model that I don't have an have top spend a fortune to get it. I know that I shouldn't hesitate to buy one since they are in stock now but I'm still worried a little about the Axe 3 coming along sooner than I would like and having something that I couldn't live without. I imagine I wouldn't have any trouble selling the XLII even losing the typical gear resale premium. If they weren't priced a little out of my comfort zone (even thought they are worth every penny) I wouldn't have any hesitation but these babies are pricey and I can't do what I usually do (and most of us probably do) is to buy older premium gear when it's closer to my price range. I don't see the latest models up for sale much but haven't really looked in depth so I think I will do some more research before I buy, if I can keep the GAS from overwhelming me.
As far as tweaking this unit, the rac-12 looks like a really cool solution but I am used to dialing in these babies having started on a Digitech Legend II, 2120 and now the GSP 1101, with a whole bunch of others thrown in there at different times so is the Axe FX any worse than them? The Digitech software is great compared to the others but once I ended up getting base sounds I usually just dialed on the panel. I had some Line 6 digital gear too- the Vetta II was great and it did have some knobs on it, which was refreshing but took a lot of tweaking in depth too that could be frustrating. The Triaxis made it much easier though for dialing in but I ran a processor in one form or another for the last 20+ years. I also will have a laptop that I can plug in for dialing when necessary so could use that for awhile if I need too until it's dialed in. What I have finally settled on for home vs live is to have two banks of the same base patches. One set is dialed in for home and is where I start the live, then I take the live patches and either turn up the mids or turn down lows and highs a little and turn down the gain a touch too, plus whatever else I need to do. Then I try to take some time by myself at the jam room to finish dialing in the live tones at volume as much as possible and then do final dialing at practice with the band. The Triaxis has made that much easier for sure so I will look at the rac-12 as I am never done with final tweaking.
While we are discussing everything else I may as well ask about footswitching too. The MFC looks great but I already have a Midi Raider and expression pedals so would imagine they should work fine with the Axe. I like the MR having the bank switches on the left side too since I have the patches and switches that I use most on the lower right side and the bank switches on the MFC would be in the wrong place for me. I am very right footed so that is important to me but since I went from the Digitech Control 2 to the MR, I can also appreciate the proprietary features that a controller has from something that was designed for it. I do miss the ability to hit the same patch button and switch back to the previous preset on my Control 2, as well as the integrated wah functionality. The expression pedal just doesn't quite work as well no matter what I do but the 1101 is pretty limited overall too. The Liquid Foot stuff looks popular with the Axe crowd too so is there anything else in the footswitching realm that I should consider? And anything else overall? I don't rally know about the extra cab packs that I see for sale along with the Axe. I understand what they are but I also assume the Axe already has enough stuff built in for the average user, correct? I'm not doing any high powered studio stuff other than a little recording on my iPad and may not even use cabs much if I end up running through my 2:90 and Mesa 1x12's. I know that I never much needed the cabs stuff in the Vetta II and the GSP 1101 since I had a more traditional rig instead of the FRFR stuff. Thanks again guys!
 
retnuH said:
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With your previous experience with digital gear you will feel right at home with the Axe. With the 15 trial period it's a no brainer and even when FAS comes out with a new Axe III or whatever it will be named it in no way does it diminish the Axe II or the G1 units. Things are so close now sound wise it's hard to believe it can get much better other than adding bells and whistles.
 
Here's everything you need to know about the difference between the Mark II, XL, and XL+. Axe-Fx II: hardware - Axe-Fx II Wiki

What I take away from all of this is it boils down to what you expect to do with the unit. In terms of processing power, sound quality, and using all the different amps and effects, all three units are identical. The XL/XL+ have more space for presets, more slots for cabinet IRs, a lower noise floor, and more & better input/output MIDI and MFC 101 jacks. (There are several more things, so check the link I provided above.)

The one difference I think that makes the XL and XL+ stand out over the Mark II is the fact that they can (currently) accept ANY preset from Axe-Change (Fractal's online library of user-uploaded Presets). The Mark II does NOT accept presets created on the XL or XL+. Now that the XL/XL+ are becoming more popular, more and more XL/XL+ presets are being uploaded.
 
Paperjace said:
Here's everything you need to know about the difference between the Mark II, XL, and XL+. Axe-Fx II: hardware - Axe-Fx II Wiki

What I take away from all of this is it boils down to what you expect to do with the unit. In terms of processing power, sound quality, and using all the different amps and effects, all three units are identical. The XL/XL+ have more space for presets, more slots for cabinet IRs, a lower noise floor, and more & better input/output MIDI and MFC 101 jacks. (There are several more things, so check the link I provided above.)

The one difference I think that makes the XL and XL+ stand out over the Mark II is the fact that they can (currently) accept ANY preset from Axe-Change (Fractal's online library of user-uploaded Presets). The Mark II does NOT accept presets created on the XL or XL+. Now that the XL/XL+ are becoming more popular, more and more XL/XL+ presets are being uploaded.
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I think the decision between XL and II depends on if you intend to use user IRs a lot.

The extra storage space of the XL allows auditioning cab packs easier, as you can all dump them into memory and swap through them quickly. With the II you can only have 100 user IRs at the same time, so you will need to split up the packs into smaller chunks to audition.


If you don't care about the cab packs at all, there's hardly any reason to invest the extra cash. After all, 500€ is almost enough to get an MFC!
 
Sleestak said:
I used to have a Triaxis, and can tell you the AxeFX can replicate it very authentically. My recommendation would be to use the AxeFX and 2:90 into full range monitors. I have had my Fractal rig for a year, and have never looked back. In the last six months, I sold my Boogie Lonestar, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, TC G Force, a small mountain of effects pedals, cabinets, and so on. The AxeFX is unbelievable. I have had a number of FOH sound operators tell me that my direct XLR feed is the best guitar tone they've ever gotten. I know 98% of that is due to the AxeFX, but I'll take credit for 2% just because I like to think I might be adding something too :) I love love love my AxeFX.
Click to expand...

Same story here, you can dial in Mark Day's insanely high-gained Friedman in about 8 minutes and 33 seconds once you're familiar with "the grid" (not TRON, the actual Axe-FX grid).

Welcome Hunter!
 
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