slowpuncher
Member
I received my brand new Axe FX II XL, MFX 101 Mk III From Fractal and my Gemini 1 with Gemini H from Mission Engineering about 3 weeks ago and I thought that I would write down my thoughts being a new user and all. I should preface by saying that I have read forums, manuals and reviews and then more forums. I watched Youtube videos (Thanks Cooper Carter). A very good friend has a Kemper and I played that for a while. After gathering all of that info and obsessing in my head for some time, I went all in on the Fractal. I dismantled and sold off my pedalboard piece by piece (on reverb.com) and raised more than $2000, which of course helps to offset the Fractal investment. I sold some amps, but will keep others.
I am an effects guy which was one of the main draws to the Axe FX XL, especially as compared to the Kemper which simply seem more ordinary to me in terms of sounds and flexibility. The other big thing is that I am not a specific amp kind of guy. I am not terribly interested in how closely the model/profile matches the "real thing". I want "teh tonez" that sound good to me. That's it. I play in 2 original bands and 1 cover band. My main live amps over the past 5 years have been:
-Orange Dark Terror bi-amped with a mid 90s Peavey Transtube 100 through a Marshall 4x and a Jety City 1x
-Blackstar Club 40 with extension cab
-Roland gr-55 through a Power Engine 60 modded with a tweeter
-Carvin V3m through the Marshall
I am super happy with my Axe FX XL. I was up and playing within 30 minutes of UPS dropping it off. As many folks have said, yes I understand that it can be complex, but at first blush, it is incredibly intuitive and easy to set-up. If you have used any sort of similar gear over time, you can use this right now. Having said that, if you can barely turn on your computer to check your email, have never used digital effects before and swear by your tubes, it may take you 10 minutes longer to figure out.
I started by playing through the Peavey/Marshall and then moved over to the Power Engine since the Gemini took a few more days to arrive. It all sounded good. Nothing was fabulous, but it was all very usable in terms of sound. I had to adjust the global eq for each amp as you might expect, which again was very easy, I did 1 rehearsal using the Power Engine and the low end was "flubby" but again, good cut and mix in the room.
The Gemini is fantastic though. I have never used FRFR before (well, just a little with the Kemper) and as noted by many others, it makes all the difference in the world. It becomes hard to sounds shitty (besides the skills of course) and the sound simply"opens up" as if a layer of mayonnaise has been removed. I cannot make any comparisons to e.g. Atomic, etc... but I can say that the Gemini is plenty loud (I know that has been voiced as a concern) and I really wanted that cab "form factor" which it completely delivers, especially with the head companion piece. I have a gig coming up in a week at a small club where the amps will not be mic'd meaning all guitars will be from on stage volume. I will update after that.
I have been spending time creating my sounds and learning how to use the MFC. The Faslink is great by the way. I am going with scenes in 1 - 5 with each preset harboring a song (or songs). The vol (+) (-) is a stroke of practical genius as well. The WIKI has also been invaluable (I think Yek gets the thanks here) as I learn to some some of the more sophisticated stuff. Today will be spent on global blocks.
Here is my big piece of advice: Use the presets. I have played through every preset 3 times. On the third time, I took notes and made a list of what I liked (e.g. USA Lead as base tone, that shimmer effect is badass, etc...) and will use these as the building blocks for making this gear my own. Ultimately, my Axe FX XL will sounds like me, just like every piece of gear I have ever owned sounds like me in the end.
Finally, thanks to the very fine service at Fractal and at Mission Engineering. All is well!
Cheers,
Slowpuncher (Paul)
I am an effects guy which was one of the main draws to the Axe FX XL, especially as compared to the Kemper which simply seem more ordinary to me in terms of sounds and flexibility. The other big thing is that I am not a specific amp kind of guy. I am not terribly interested in how closely the model/profile matches the "real thing". I want "teh tonez" that sound good to me. That's it. I play in 2 original bands and 1 cover band. My main live amps over the past 5 years have been:
-Orange Dark Terror bi-amped with a mid 90s Peavey Transtube 100 through a Marshall 4x and a Jety City 1x
-Blackstar Club 40 with extension cab
-Roland gr-55 through a Power Engine 60 modded with a tweeter
-Carvin V3m through the Marshall
I am super happy with my Axe FX XL. I was up and playing within 30 minutes of UPS dropping it off. As many folks have said, yes I understand that it can be complex, but at first blush, it is incredibly intuitive and easy to set-up. If you have used any sort of similar gear over time, you can use this right now. Having said that, if you can barely turn on your computer to check your email, have never used digital effects before and swear by your tubes, it may take you 10 minutes longer to figure out.
I started by playing through the Peavey/Marshall and then moved over to the Power Engine since the Gemini took a few more days to arrive. It all sounded good. Nothing was fabulous, but it was all very usable in terms of sound. I had to adjust the global eq for each amp as you might expect, which again was very easy, I did 1 rehearsal using the Power Engine and the low end was "flubby" but again, good cut and mix in the room.
The Gemini is fantastic though. I have never used FRFR before (well, just a little with the Kemper) and as noted by many others, it makes all the difference in the world. It becomes hard to sounds shitty (besides the skills of course) and the sound simply"opens up" as if a layer of mayonnaise has been removed. I cannot make any comparisons to e.g. Atomic, etc... but I can say that the Gemini is plenty loud (I know that has been voiced as a concern) and I really wanted that cab "form factor" which it completely delivers, especially with the head companion piece. I have a gig coming up in a week at a small club where the amps will not be mic'd meaning all guitars will be from on stage volume. I will update after that.
I have been spending time creating my sounds and learning how to use the MFC. The Faslink is great by the way. I am going with scenes in 1 - 5 with each preset harboring a song (or songs). The vol (+) (-) is a stroke of practical genius as well. The WIKI has also been invaluable (I think Yek gets the thanks here) as I learn to some some of the more sophisticated stuff. Today will be spent on global blocks.
Here is my big piece of advice: Use the presets. I have played through every preset 3 times. On the third time, I took notes and made a list of what I liked (e.g. USA Lead as base tone, that shimmer effect is badass, etc...) and will use these as the building blocks for making this gear my own. Ultimately, my Axe FX XL will sounds like me, just like every piece of gear I have ever owned sounds like me in the end.
Finally, thanks to the very fine service at Fractal and at Mission Engineering. All is well!
Cheers,
Slowpuncher (Paul)
