possible new axefx user, got questions

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seanthesheep

Member
Hey, come january Im doing a complete rig overhaul to my setup, and am considering the possibility of an axefx rig. I just have some questions that i hope you guys can answer.

first off, whats the current wait times like for the waiting list for the AxefxII? and are they shipping to canada again yet? if not, how would I go about getting one?

secondly, about poweramps im thinking about the carvin TS100 poweramp, ive heard its fairly neutral. would it be neutral enough to use the axefx poweramp sims even with this tube poweramp? or if i wanted to do this would i just need the atomic 50/50? and can the atomic 50/50 can go 100w mono?

for the setup im thinking:

guitar-line6 wireless-racktuner-axefx-tube poweramp-V30 2x12 cab.

Id right now being using the axefx almost exclusivly for my band, so thats why im not going FRFR. and not everywhere we play has a PA where i can go FOH so i need to be able to create the power without a PA.

and then onto my last point, Im gonna need a cabinet preferably with V30s that will work with a variety of amps. maybe something along the lines of a recto 2x12 cab? i wanna keep it around that price because if i could afford it, id get a mills acoustics 2x12
 
Hey dude, If you want a great sounding cab for a good price check out Avatarspeakers and white box, these are custom made cabs and have good construction + you have many options (speakers, tolex color, etc.)
For your poweramp, I don't know what would work best with an axe, cause mine hasn't arrived yet, but the matrix gt800fx was desgined to work with the axe fx and other modelers.
 
you could look into yek's setup. he's using evm12l's, fairly flat by guitar speaker standards. this way he can use the cab simulations or not if he wants to. evm12l's are very versatile and handle a lot of power/driver, but some people like the unique tone of certain speakers like the v30.

if you're relying on only one cab for all your sound, i wouldn't skimp on it, but, then you will lose out on the versatility of a frfr system to run all the cab sims specific to each amp rather than a single 2x12.

as for the wait times, well, we haven't gone through the first day (june 19th) of the waitlist. up to this point it's about 4:30pm after ~3mo, 10 days. if the list in continually tackled at the same rate, if you put your name on now, you might not get it until end of next year! but, hopefully the vast majority of the waitlisters signed up at the very beginning. this is all speculation of course.

if you prefer to have it sooner, you can pay $400 more ($2599 vs. $2199) to get it from the store w/o the discount, but you have to get it when it's in stock, which means camping out until it says that it's available. i don't know what the canadian shipping situation is like; that was still up in the air last week, iirc. gl in getting one either way.
 
yea, im thinking about avatar, but im kind of leaning towards a mesa 2x12 because i know i can grab one used locally for less.

and what Im thinking i might do is just grab a used ultra or standard for now, then when i know the waiting list is up, ill buy a AF2, or go on the waiting list next summer, because i will need a rig before the end of next year.

and would a 2x12 with EVMs be better for the axefx? it has to be a 2x12 so it an keep up in projection, 112s wont cut it, and 4x12s are too big.
 
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seanthesheep said:
yea, im thinking about avatar, but im kind of leaning towards a mesa 2x12 because i know i can grab one used locally for less.

and what Im thinking i might do is just grab a used ultra or standard for now, then when i know the waiting list is up, ill buy a AF2, or go on the waiting list next summer, because i will need a rig before the end of next year.

and would a 2x12 with EVMs be better for the axefx? it has to be a 2x12 so it an keep up in projection, 112s wont cut it, and 4x12s are too big.
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why not just get on the list now anyway? who knows what the wait is. it doesn't hurt.

projection is definitely a combination of factors; the right speakers but the wrong cab (or vice versa) will still lead to a lack of projection. evms may be "better" to some, but not to others. i think this is getting into the realm of the subjective. in theory the axe should work well with pretty much every speaker that ought to sound good with a tube amp that's properly voiced/styled for it. you wouldn't use a marshall with jensens (or maybe you would?!) and you wouldn't use evms with a tweed (or maybe you would!?), so you kind of have to use common sense and intuition at the same time about what would sound good. if your style is such that you would normally use a v30-based cab, then by all means. they are great speakers and some of the most (if not the most) popular guitar speakers in the world, so that sort of proves it. the power of the tone shaping of the axe may even make it possible to not worry about cab ir's anyway!

be open-minded about the cab; mesa's not the only player in the game of better-than-average quality. some people think their recto 2x12 is too tight. or too bassy or.... i really liked it, but yes, i agreed it was a bit bassy. you could try bogner (the shiva model is 3/4 closed back) and is an excellent build. fryette (formerly vht), orange, engl, etc. you have a lot of options. mesa's are probably the most prevalent, which is probably your fixation on them. if you have experience with them and you like their tone, then try it out. they seem to hold their value pretty well when used (i.e. if you don't like it, you can flip it w/ no loss). yes avatar is a good buy for the money and if you're handy enough you can mix and match speakers (that could be said about cab, really). i guess it ultimately depends on your style of music. a mesa 2x12 will probably not be best for jazz.

if you want something a little more unique try a port city. they are horizontal slant ported on the bottom so you get the tone of the rear of the speaker blended into the overall sound. plus it's an angled port, so you can hear it better standing near it for some amount of monitoring. they make a regular and oversized version of 1, 2, and 4x12.

you could also try 2 1x12's. then you can spread them apart on stage, though the drivers need to have enough oomph (evm12l in a thiele=classic mesa mark series rig).
 
the problem is that im not 100% commited to the idea of going digital yet, i have an amp head i like that i know for a fact isnt on the axe, and my options are either invest in an axe setup, or make a rack rig to accomodate for the features my amp lacks (peavey 6534+).

if i were to go the axe route, i might go with EVMs, but theyre pretty expensive and hard to find.

right now i play in a metal band, so with the axe setup, i wouldnt care for 100% accuracy to the models, just an awesome tone that sits well in the mix.


Im really leaning towards the idea of buying a used axefx locally, and buying a really good cab, and then buying everything else with whatever budget ill have. because if i wait long enough, i know i can get a used standard for 1200 and an ultra for 1500-1600.

and nobdy adressed the issue of poweramps yet, could i use poweramp sims with the carvin poweramp and have it sound good? or could i only do that with the atomic 50/50?
 
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