I have a similar perspective. I write orchestral music using VSL (w/ solo guitar o' course!) and for this style I mostly stick to one mid-low gain patch, and play with a huge dynamic range - my intention being to have my electric behave a little more like an acoustic, dynamically speaking, so it will fit in with the other instruments. I have both an ultra and a II, and for this type of playing I find the ultra 'feels' better (so far - I have not yet tried the new dynamics controls of 5.4b for this purpose). The new option of switching off the grid modelling in the II however, is fantastic for getting a wide dynamic range and makes it feel a bit more like G1.
I disagree with the majority who believe the II sounds 'better' or easier to dial in. Obviously the II has better features, but at the end of the day they both sound great, but are inherently very different. I like them both!
Yeah, you know what ahm talkin bout, yo.
In my case, it has to be a bit high gain, because of the 'push' of the timber (more like an alto-tenor trombone in its 'breathiness'), the sustain, and particularly the absolute lack (well, depending upon your component configuration) of 'vintage' sound.
More poignantly, I think the timbre in my mind has been possible for a long time, possibly even with real hardware - but is, at least, the equivalent of having a Feuric piano made especially for you, with exactly the qualities you want. Damn expensive. And maybe less possible. Because, it seems, contracting people to do work they may not be inspired by, however revolutionary it may be, especially that it may be a 'one-off', usually ends in an un-satisfactory device. (If the project gets that far....)
But the Axe may bring me several steps closer at least. (Holdsworth's tone since perhaps the 90s is a step toward this, but I want more. I want full range of the guitar, with emphasis on the lower registers if I have to choose, and I want chords.)
What's G1? And I'd like to hear more of your explorations of those dynamics parametres when you get the chance. Also would love to hear some of your works. Do you have any clips?
My beef is that the user interface is still somewhat badly designed. There is no clear connection between the hardware and software in control placement, the navigation arrows are still a bit awkward (seriously, highly durable D-pads have been used in games consoles for over a decade now), buttons in general seem arbitrarily placed with no clear grouping etc. It's still very 1980s. They could've easily done a lot more with it and I hope they will for the inevitable Axe-Fx 3 in a few years.
You know, that was my impression, too. Whereas (maybe except for Digitech, the kings of that phenomenon), every one else has gone in some kind of WYSYWYG/ampface-like design. Hmmmmm.
