POLL: How do you use your Axe-FX live?

How do you use your Axe-FX Live?

  • Power amp and traditional guitar cab

    Votes: 24 21.4%

  • Powered monitors

    Votes: 55 49.1%

  • Just the Venues PA

    Votes: 33 29.5%
  • Total voters
    112
Should add a poll option for both and start over. Like many I do one output to FOH and one to amp and cab on stage.
 
Missing a category, and an important one... "All the Above".

You have many choices for your performance needs, right tool for the right job. I scale up or down depending on the venue (or what they have to offer). I real enjoy the ease of scalability for any situation using the Axe FX.
 
Poll choices are a little confusing - are we talking about FOH only or FOH+monitoring? If the latter, the choices are a little limited (as evidenced by several previous replies).

It's a fun poll, but I'm not sure I would rely on its results, OP, to help you decide what will work best for you. What kind of gigs do you play? Back rooms in pubs with only a vocal PA, silent stages, festivals? Each of these may require a different solution. Plenty of people are very happy with direct to FOH with or without FRFR for monitoring, others swear by guitar cabs, or a combination of these. I think the only thing people agree on is that (a) FRFR isn't "amp in the room" and (b) whatever works for YOU is best. :) Good luck exploring the options - it will be frustrating at times, but it will be worth it in the end. :encouragement:
 
Keg8605 said:
I do 1 and 3 so kind of hard to participate.
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Hi, may I ask you how you do that?
I mean... do you have a cab IR block and go to amp and to traditional guitar cabs (and the other outs direct to the PA board)?
Or maybe you have a side of the patch w/o the cab IR block and go to the amp+cabs, and another side of the patch with the cab IR block and go direct?
TNX
 
Peter Lacis said:
So as I'm on the verge of getting my Axe-FX II out of my home studio and into the real world, I'm finding myself confounded by the choices out there on how to run my Axe live. Specifically, I'd like to hear about if you guys are bigger fans of going the route of a Matrix (or similar) power amp and then using traditional guitar cabs OR are you in the camp of using FRFR powered speakers like the offerings from Atomic and now Friedman (among others). I feel like I'm leaning towards the powered wedges route, but it would certainly be less expensive to just buy a power amp and roll with my current cabs (which I love). So let me hear your thoughts! Hopefully I can make this poll work :lol
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This isn't a question that you can answer by popular oppinion. It's a question of workflow that you can only answer yourself:

+ Direct into PA and stage monitoring is great if you want consistent sound on all venues, but you lose the "amp in the room" feel on stage; also, cheap monitoring solutions might mess up your on-stage sound
+ Direct for audience, traditional cab on stage has the benefit of the "amp in the room" feel and is easier to set up on smaller gigs with low on-stage monitoring opportunities; less flexibility by not being able to use CAB modelling
+ Traditional amp and cab, aka 4cm: Great if you're having a "trademark sound" that you want to stick true to; also a plus for the show effect. Low flexibility in sound, though
+ FRFR cabinet: kind of an exotic solution for those that need the "pushed air", but don't want to miss the CAB modelling.
+ Direct with IEM: Ultimate flexibility and lightning-fast build-up and sound checks, however, problems with musical feedback
+ Miced traditional cab: Comfort zone bonus for the sound guy at any venue. But you are also at his mercy in terms of sound.
 
Direct to FOH (K12s on stands), with the FOH mix also piped to K10 wedges on the floor in front of the band, used as vocal and instrument monitors. We're a relatively low volume acoustic/electric classic rock cover band, so I don't really need a personal guitar monitor to hear myself. If I go sit in with another band, I take a K12 and use it as a backline amp, with a separate feed to FOH if needed.
 
I use IEMs plus an FRFR activ monitor, so my ears have it less loud because of the ear plugs, I csn hear clearly what I play, the others on stage hear me (that's what my wedge is for) and there is a bit of feedback that adds sustain to my guitar.
Of course the activ monitor is not turned as loud as I would turn it when it was the only monitor for me...the IEM's help a lot there.
And volume in the IEMs is low too. So it's a big solution but a good one.
 
Either in the effects loop of a Mesa Mark V for effects, or if I feel like it using the Axe as a preamp into the power amp of the Mesa, out to cab.
 
Matrix power amp and two CFR12 wedges for stereo on stage, and direct to FOH, all on output 1, since I use effects loop for Banshee talk box.

I leave output 1 at 9 o'clock for volume, and adjust stage volume via the Matrix power amp.
 
Straight to the PA, no guitar monitor.
My preference is to use my IEM's for monitoring but I'm just as fine with floor wedges.

When I first got my Axe-FX I used a QSC K12 and over a few months slowly realized I really didn't need it at all.

Freaks sound guys out, it's awesome:
Load in time, *click, click, click* 'OK I'm good where's the bar?'. :D
 
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