Second Day - Impressions

P

pauly

Fractal Fanatic
G'day All,

Well - I've had my Axe FX II for a couple of days now. It's use is in a studio, mainly for bass but some guitar as well. Thought I'd share my early impressions.

Pros:
1/ :)
2/ Excellent sound quality
3/ Easy connectivity
4/ Software is good if maybe a little unstable
5/ :) :)
6/ Lots of guitar amps to choose from
7/ Makes me want to play
8/ Easy to work with in conjunction with the software
9/ The community is very caring and responsive - a good bunch!
Cons:
1/ Badly needs expanded Bass amp selections in amps and cabs - Please - Some GKs (RB800 would be cool), Trace Elliot, etc etc - Of course this is only applicable to us bass players but you'll double your market.
2/ That fan noise.. OMG ... Terrible in a quiet studio - absolutely terrible - Really... come oooon... Get bigger heat sinks, stick them on the back of the case.. make the case a heat sink.... whatever it takes.. this is the only bad thing about the unit.

So - All in all... I love it. Like I mentioned, this unit actually makes me _want_ to play - It has brought the pleasure back to my music. No doubt I'll soon have a bunch of newby questions but for now, it's been very intuitive and simple to deal with.

Thanks
Pauly
 
I'm still amazed the fan noise problem is still there, If I had a nickel for everytime someone complained... I'd have a lot of nickels.

+1 on the bass amps.
 
I finally replaced my fan. You will need to open it up to find out what size. Mine is the original 60mm. I hear they now use 80mm. I bought both of the following (not realizing until I opened it that I had the 60mm) and these fans are extremely quiet. If you are lucky to have an 80mm you will never hear this thing:

Amazon.com: Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentFan XR1 60mmx25mm Ultra Quiet Fan - 1600 RPM - 11 dBA: Computers & Accessories

Noiseblocker NB-Multiframe M8-S1 80mm x 25mm Ultra Silent Fan - 1200 RPM - 6 dBA

Someone described how to install the 80mm but the 60 is quiet enough for me with no work. You can probably search this forum for Noiseblocker and find the thread.
 
Man, I have gotten some amazing tones using several of the clean channels for a bass amp.

Another cool trick I've used is pan just the "Tube Preamp" model to output 1, and pan a USA Clean with a drive pedal/cab to output 2 and record simultaneously. Beautiful bass tone even with a subpar bass guitar.
 
Pauly,

Did you buy it used or new? I thought they had addressed the fan issue a while back, mine is audible, but not what I would call noisy.
 
pauly said:
1/ Badly needs expanded Bass amp selections in amps and cabs - Please - Some GKs (RB800 would be cool), Trace Elliot, etc etc - Of course this is only applicable to us bass players but you'll double your market.
2/ That fan noise.. OMG ... Terrible in a quiet studio - absolutely terrible - Really... come oooon... Get bigger heat sinks, stick them on the back of the case.. make the case a heat sink.... whatever it takes.. this is the only bad thing about the unit.
Click to expand...

1000+ especially on the fan.

After having my Ultra for several years, I upgraded to the II assuming that the pretty weak looper implementation (not global, so not useful for lots of us, among other things) and the damn fan noise would be solved. Neither were, though my fan is a bit quieter. And though I've had it repaired twice, my data wheel is still INFERIOR to my Ultra - still jittery and unpredictable.
 
I've never had an issue with the fan noise in a studio, at home or a gig. But I bought my axe within the last 6 months. The bass is easy to get difference ones put of just make a patch with 2 amp blocks. One being the amped and one being a dirty guitar amp of your choice make 2 paths. One has the guitar amp on it and one one is just shunts. Male them conjoin before the amped block. Adjust the gain and volume on the guitar amp as needed. I've got a really gnarly bass tone right now doing it that way.
 
Thanks for the review. I have to agree with you about the fan noise. In many rooms you can't even hear it, but in a quiet room it dominates. Turning on my Axe is partly a moment of anticipation as I get ready to play. But it's also partly a let-down as I hear that fan spin up and realize that I'll have to spend the evening listening to it.
 
Well ... let's hope the next firmware attends to that!

Also - Mine is new this week for those that have asked - Guess I was just unlucky with the fan. :-(

Pauly

jimfist said:
... another solitary voice in the wind for more bass amps.... 'tis a very lonely place...
Click to expand...
 
So - Some people have a silent unit, while others have the fan noise?
That indicates there may be a solution - What replacement fan can I install that won't screw up my warranty?

Thanks
Pauly


pauly said:
Well ... let's hope the next firmware attends to that!

Also - Mine is new this week for those that have asked - Guess I was just unlucky with the fan. :-(

Pauly
Click to expand...
 
pauly said:
1/ Badly needs expanded Bass amp selections in amps and cabs - Please - Some GKs (RB800 would be cool), Trace Elliot, etc etc - Of course this is only applicable to us bass players but you'll double your market.
Click to expand...


+1000, and I love the idea of some GK Amps!
 
My Axe II is easily twice as loud as the sound of the fan on my desktop computer. Not really that bad, and when playing at normal levels is fine, but when just sitting there editing a patch or something, its pretty noticeable.

I really should get around to trying to swap it out as it seems like an easy enough thing to do and a replacement fan is pretty cheap
 
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