Problem with other guitarist and combo amp : (

alphahot1

Member
Hi, firs of all I love the axe, I've wait like 10 years before buying one and know I'm a happy owner for 6 months.
Now I'm in a blues/rock band and these are the problem I'm having:

- We practice in a room with combo amps only (vox ac-30/fender blues etc.) so no amp return nor separated cabinet to use. So my only option is to use amp input (a waste in my opinion). I tried to go direct to the mixer with the vocals, it sounds good but the other guitar is more present, my tone is maybe too much refined and doesn't cut well in the mix (imho). With other bands I could use an external cabinet (with a solid state power amp) and it sounded killer!

- We are playing live in some avenues where there is literally no space to have the axe and the controller on the floor, or where I can't use my cab but I have to stick with the dreaded combo amp...

I've setup a patch with pre-fx only to use in front of the amp (I would hate to use it like that). At this point I'm afraid I need to buy a couple of pedals and use guitar volume for solo/clean... leaving the mighty axe to take dust at home... do you have any ideas? :(
 
It sounds like you are going to have to either make a second set of presets and refine them to work with combo amps or run a powered full range cab and fix your problem for good!
 
Thanks guys!
How is there no room for a controller the same size as a pedal board?
it would be controller+axe... it could fit but a couple of pedals and a wha is a smaller footprint : )

How about a couple of cheap alto 12 inch and horn full range monitors? That way you'd sound killer and not take up too much room.
Thanks
Pauly
It sounds like you are going to have to either make a second set of presets and refine them to work with combo amps or run a powered full range cab and fix your problem for good!
It's a good advice, and I have already done that (loosing some of the beauty of the axe).
The problem with the FR speaker (or with a guitar cab) is that I don't want to lug it at practice and there are some clubs with multiple bands events that don't allow to carry your cab (I hope they will have a marshall cab but I can't count on that).

So... I solved it 2 ways: I will have the practice room to bring a 2x12 cab for the next practice, there are really great guys, and the I will build a minimal pedal board (like 3 pedals+wha) for backup and small (micro) gigs :D
 
Why not use an Atomic Amp kind of frfr combo; Will let you use all capabilities of the Axe fx.
 
Some combo amps have speakers that can be unplugged. Maybe it’s possibly to use a flat amp like the matrix and plug directly into the combo speakers
 
Why not use the provided combo as an amp stand.
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Same issue. I bring my Yamaha DBR10 to our practice space. I am going to ask if they can just provide an extra FR monitor so I don’t need to carry that.
The commercial rehearsal studios need to start accommodating us FAS users better don’t they!!!
 
Hi : ) Yes I tried that and when I found one that was working it sounded good. However some combo amps don't have a return (like fender blues etc.)
I've actually had better success running the AX8 into the front of a cleanish amp, rather than the loop Return, while using the AX8's amp modeling ( cab off ).

One thing I discovered is turning the treble on the amp down, much lower than you would think (one amp it was completely down), helps tremendously.

As far as the Power Amp sim, it depended upon the amp model that was being used whether it sounded better with or without the sim on.
 
I've actually had better success running the AX8 into the front of a cleanish amp, rather than the loop Return, while using the AX8's amp modeling ( cab off ).

One thing I discovered is turning the treble on the amp down, much lower than you would think (one amp it was completely down), helps tremendously.

As far as the Power Amp sim, it depended upon the amp model that was being used whether it sounded better with or without the sim on.
Nice to know!

About other helpful answers: they are all valid and I want to thank everyone who joined, but I don't really want to carry anything else to the practice room, and I don't like the FR tone mixed with the other guitarist's cab tone.
I already own a SS amp (SD powerstage, very convenient), so for the moment I do the following:

-use the axe-fx + sd powerstage whenever I can find/use a suitable guitar cab

-setup an fx only patch for situations when I have to use a combo amp input. I've already done that but it needs improvement, maybe will be the subject for another thread

-build a minimal pedal board without axe-fx. I was lucky to have a co-worker who lent me a couple of guitar pedals (cry baby + ds-1 + dd3), I'll do fine with them for a minimal setup
 
Sometimes depending on circumstances I play with AxeFX plugged directly into the input of my Fender blues jr ( no fx loop return) and it cuts into the band mix quite well. My Apologies to the purists...
 
You also have the option of splitting your signal out of the AxeFx such that an FX only signal goes to the combo front end and a full amp sim goes to the PA. As a bonus you can use your small pedal board inline with the combo if you like.
 
Some Fender combos have an accessible 1/4” jack for the speaker, you can unplug it and use it as a speaker cab with your SD. I’ve had to do this with rented back line combos many times. If the cable is too short to reach your power amp you can use a F to F 1/4” coupler with a longer speaker cable.
 
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