Newbie owner - first impressions

Good, very thorough review. I'm glad you're finding happiness with the AxeFX 2. The presets on any piece of digital gear are going to be very hit or miss. They're made by someone who isn't you, 1000 miles away, with different tastes, different ears and on a different guitar.
Thanks, Ben!

I quite agree re the presets and I didn't really expect to love 'em all. Also, at the moment, I'm only listening to the thing through headphones, so I'm sure that some of the presets, particularly the brighter, more classic rock crunch tones (which sound very harsh and brittle to me), sound great in a band context.

Most presets leave me cold, or are 75% of what a I want...but occassionally one is superb out of the box. I guess everyone's experience is different.
I agree with you - I've found some fantastic factory presets that I can't stop playing!

You're right about the sheer depth of the AxeFX 2 and how daunting it can be. It's like literally sitting in the world's most well-equipped studio with a master amp tech there to fulfill your every whim. For some people that's too much. I know I don't necessarily need the 100+ amp models in the AxeFX 2, but it's good to have variety. I've gravitated to 3 or 4 that I cycle between depending on the style I'm playing and my mood.
This is where I'm going too and, perhaps, is where many Axe FXII owners end up, especially those of us who are primarily using it in a live performance context.

I think us Gen 1 owners probably have a bit of an easier time diving in that brand new owners, but I think persistence pays off in the end. The AxeFX 2 is definitely easier to dial a great tone in than the Gen 1 units, trust me.
In which case, I'm thankful that I waited until Gen 2, lol. :)

Definitely check out KKMusic's YouTube videos on setting up the MFC 101 with the AxeFX 2 and setting up expression pedals with the MFC/AxeFX combo. It will save lots of digging. The guy's a forum member here and explains things very well.
Thanks for that. I'm already subscribed to his channel and have found his vids really useful. :encouragement:
 
Thanks for the review. It was great! I'll be hitting that add to cart button in two weeks... maybe less.. :eagerness:
Go for it! You won't be disappointed - especially if the few "downs" I described (and there have been very few of them) haven't put you off, lol.

As I tried to explain in my OP - it's not so much the steepness of the learning curve, I think it is just that some things can seem rather baffling at first, whereas other things are very intuitive and easy to deal with. Work through those tricky bits and your appreciation of the device and sheer enjoyment of playing it will reward you many times over. :eagerness:
 
Yeah, I have been wanting one for a LONG time. I have been through the manual a few times already. I figured that would help with learning curve once I finally got one. What headphones are you currently using with the Axe?


Go for it! You won't be disappointed - especially if the few "downs" I described (and there have been very few of them) haven't put you off, lol.

As I tried to explain in my OP - it's not so much the steepness of the learning curve, I think it is just that some things can seem rather baffling at first, whereas other things are very intuitive and easy to deal with. Work through those tricky bits and your appreciation of the device and sheer enjoyment of playing it will reward you many times over. :eagerness:
 
Whew. .... That thread looks itimidating to me for sure. I've been lurking in this forum for about a year ( I think... could be more or less) and "thinking" about an AXE for along time now. I've just sold some gear and have $2200 in cash sitting here in an envelope.... and I'm just frozen. I know I LOVE the sounds I hear on youtube vids by Pete Thorn, Mark Day, and a bunch of others on here. The thing that is getting me though is I doubt I am going to have the skill, patience, time, or whatever it takes to get those sounds myself. (Hey never mind that they play better than me... they obviously know this gear really well too. AXEFX guys remind me of engineers...

I mean, my MarkV is tricky enough, but I can get some good tone from it. I fear that I may not have the brain power to slay this AXE monster.... but boy I sure want to!!

Here's a funny thing: For years (more than 10) I have this issue where I love playing/practicing at home in headphones, because I feel like I can just rip and nail songs with decent tones using Line6 modeling in headphones. (I know... it's WAY behind FAS, but for practice it works well for me.) I can never get my tones dialed like that in real life though, and I always seems to lose something ( or a lot) when playing with a band. I am dreaming that the AXE might be my answer... but am I going to be able to master this thing enough to make that a reality? Maybe, because apparrently I'm not that skilled with real amps anyway.

hmmmmm...... what to do , what to do......
 
Here is a good way to look at. Once you start using it you'll find you want to change something. You do some searching online and through the manual and you'll figure that out. Then you will want to change something else and you'll learn that. Eventually you keep learning new things everyday and before you know it you'll be creating new presets with different amps and setting up scenes and effects just how you like them. Then you'll realize the importance of the cab block and IRs and before you know it you'll be an expert. There are allot of videos and information here on the forum that will really help you. Its so cool because there is so much to learn and its a great learning experience. I hope you purchase one and really enjoy the guitar tones you will be able to create. Every guitarist that uses one develops a tone of their own what more could you ask for. That is truly the beauty of this piece of equipment its like an art form.
 
I am in!! Whoot! Order has been placed. Crap, now the wait begins.

Go for it! You won't be disappointed - especially if the few "downs" I described (and there have been very few of them) haven't put you off, lol.

As I tried to explain in my OP - it's not so much the steepness of the learning curve, I think it is just that some things can seem rather baffling at first, whereas other things are very intuitive and easy to deal with. Work through those tricky bits and your appreciation of the device and sheer enjoyment of playing it will reward you many times over. :eagerness:
 
Brand new to the FAS brotherhood!

Got mine about two weeks ago.
MFC-101 arrived this week. Whoo Hoo!
Did the research, watched the videos and read the manuals before I made the purchase.

That said...
I'm getting some great sounds.
After buzzing through the presets (Way too much reverb and high frequencies for my taste) I took the Scott Peterson approach:
Turn off all the effects, listen to the amp and start turning the knobs until the I hear my "right sound", one amp at a time.
So far it's been great.
The basic tone stack gets me 85% there and then I tweak the amp eq to dial it in.
Add just a touch of reverb (back the mix way off of the stock preset setting and go to medium plate, instead of medium room)

Haven't had the chance to play with cabs yet.
I know that will have the biggest impact on the final sound. Maybe next week...
For now, I'm running through my GT1000Fx into a couple CFR-12's and it's very good!

Have a Lehle 1at 3 switcher and have been going back and forth between a couple of my amp/cab's( Fender HRD, Mesa Mini Rec and Egnater Tourmaster Head, with 2X12 Rec Vertical cab) and the Ax/GT1000FX/CFR-12's.
Amazed at how close I can dial in a sound to match the real deal!
Did the comparison at reasonable volume, will repeat the test next weekend at my church at gig volume.
Don't know yet how all the pages of parameters change/improve the sound, may not need to ever go there.
That be just fine for me.

Couple comments on the MFC-101:

Tap tempo in the middle of the upper row? Huh?
Who ever decided on that position, as the stock location, never used the tap tempo feature live.

Presets start @ 000...
Already changed the preset offset on both the AX and MFC to start @ 001

Scenes are superb!
Why can't I program the MFC-101 with 5 Scenes on row 1 and 10 Presets on rows 2&3?

Guess I'll buy a separate pedal for tap tempo, but I'd sure like to see a little more flexibilty assigning which rows are Presets, Scenes or IA's.

My new experience,
JN
 
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Here is a good way to look at. Once you start using it you'll find you want to change something. You do some searching online and through the manual and you'll figure that out. Then you will want to change something else and you'll learn that. Eventually you keep learning new things everyday and before you know it you'll be creating new presets with different amps and setting up scenes and effects just how you like them. Then you'll realize the importance of the cab block and IRs and before you know it you'll be an expert. There are allot of videos and information here on the forum that will really help you. Its so cool because there is so much to learn and its a great learning experience. I hope you purchase one and really enjoy the guitar tones you will be able to create. Every guitarist that uses one develops a tone of their own what more could you ask for. That is truly the beauty of this piece of equipment its like an art form.

+1 to this

I'm only a few weeks into my Axe journey and already quite comfortable tweaking virtual knobs all over the place! And believe me I'm no amp expert but I'm already coming up with some great sounds! I think it's certainly very easy to get lost of you try to do too much too early. Just keeping it simple and trying/learning one thing at a time so you don't get overwhlemed by it is the way to go if you're new to this kind of thing, like me!!

Great review adew. Enjoy the journey!
 
Yeah, I have been wanting one for a LONG time. I have been through the manual a few times already. I figured that would help with learning curve once I finally got one. What headphones are you currently using with the Axe?
Nothing too special, Sony MDR7509's which I've had for years. Bear in mind that I'm not using these to arrive at a live sound, more just to play through and experiment with setting up patches, etc, pending the arrival of my FRFR wedges.
 
Whew. .... That thread looks itimidating to me for sure.
This thread? Don't be intimidated - I just wanted to share my experience of the first few days of ownership, to give encourage to other newbies who will, almost inevitably, get a little lost / baffled / frustrated (perhaps) from time to time during the early stages of the learning curve. I was trying to show that all these little things can be overcome just by spending time with it and reading teh manuals, Wiki, etc.

Two weeks on, I look back and wonder what I was fretting about. Really, in no time at all you'll be creating tones that you'll love - I'm sure of it.
 
Great review man! You are definitely getting your head around it quickly. In a few more weeks you will be giving advise to nubes like you have been here for years.

As soon as you get the the FR side of things I would sugest you try loading Pete thorns presets of the SL68, BE and cab IR. That is a good exercise not only in "How To do it" but what a good IR and Tone Match should sound like.
 
Huge Mistake in Day 6
You installed Axe Edit... Make sure you use that on a limited basis because it has been known to mess up things depending what you are using it for.
Wait for AxeEdit 3.0 which should be coming fairly soon.

Nice Review BTW
 
I like it! The enthusiasm is great, diving right in and getting it done. Great recap, keep us posted on your progress.
 
Huge Mistake in Day 6

You installed Axe Edit... Make sure you use that on a limited basis because it has been known to mess up things depending what you are using it for.
Wait for AxeEdit 3.0 which should be coming fairly soon.
That made me smile. Yes, I read all the dire warnings before firing it up and I'm only using it in a limited way to get a better visualisation of what's going on in a preset. Can't wait for AE 3-0!


Nice Review BTW
Thanks! :encouragement:
 
I'm a new user as well, and on FW 10.12.

I kept getting mixed impressions with it for the first week, but it was my setup.

Basically, I had sound drivers conflicting so it sound horrible via computer. Once I shut off the conflicting onboard sound card it sounded amazing. I now play through FRFR studio speakers, 5.1 DOLBY computer and a 4x12 cab simultaneously. I use a special preset to accomplish that and I can't imagine guitar sounding better.

The presets are split routes, one tuned for recording sound, and the other for live sound.

I sound just like the record up until I flub :)
 
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