So, how exactly is Jeff Loomis using the Axe-FX?

A

avastcosmicarena

Member
Just out of curiosity... I remember seeing a thread where he was "maybe interested" in one, but never read anything after that. I saw he's listed on the artists page... Is there any info out there on how he's using it now? Just for recording? Just for effects/harmonizer? Has he tried using it as a preamp live?

I'm just wondering... Loomis is one of my favorite guitarists right now. So, it's cool to hear he's using the Axe-FX. Would just like to know what exactly he's using it for...
 
Hopefully he's using it for all his tones. Wasn't a fan of the sound on TGE, and the tones from both him and Broderick (that's who was on it, wasn't it? A while since I watched it) were a bit... err... horrid. :?
 
DNW said:
Hopefully he's using it for all his tones. Wasn't a fan of the sound on TGE, and the tones from both him and Broderick (that's who was on it, wasn't it? A while since I watched it) were a bit... err... horrid. :?
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Uh... seriously? This Godless Endeavor was an Andy Sneap work, and many people consider it to be an extremely good sounding metal album in all aspects. I haven't seen whatever you're talking about... I'm assuming the nevermore dvd that came out not too long ago.... but yeah, haven't seen it...
 
He's using it to sound more like Yngwie when he does Yngwie arpeggios ... which is often! :)

I love his playing too by the way.
 
JoshuaLogan said:
DNW said:
Hopefully he's using it for all his tones. Wasn't a fan of the sound on TGE, and the tones from both him and Broderick (that's who was on it, wasn't it? A while since I watched it) were a bit... err... horrid. :?
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Uh... seriously? This Godless Endeavor was an Andy Sneap work, and many people consider it to be an extremely good sounding metal album in all aspects. I haven't seen whatever you're talking about... I'm assuming the nevermore dvd that came out not too long ago.... but yeah, haven't seen it...
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Meh, Sneap's work hasn't excited me for a while now. What he did with Dead Heart? Yeah, that was great. TGE just sounds too dead to me. The guitars are like razors, the drums are just triggered to hell with no dynamics.

The DVD was one they put out fairly recently I guess. The guitars were from memory, pretty average sounding. Very thin... almost like the ENGLs or whatever on stage were just there so you couldn't see the mic'd up 10W solid stage practice amps behind them. :?
 
The same lifeless drums are all over the newest Megadeth album too. Personally, I want at least a little natural drum sound in there, and not totally washed out in reverb. I'm trying to think of an album that has this and nothing is coming to mind. But basically, something similar to the power and impact of a live drummer when you're standing next to his kit.

I'm not a recording engineer at all ... why do people use triggers in the studio? Is that to make editing a lot easier after the fact?

Maybe a band releasing an album full of lovely live drum sound, where each kick drum hit wasn't *exactly* the same as the last, would get lots of attention. No triggers, just a good drummer doing his/her thing.
 
JMZ93 said:
Maybe a band releasing an album full of lovely live drum sound, where each kick drum hit wasn't *exactly* the same as the last, would get lots of attention. No triggers, just a good drummer doing his/her thing.
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That's not too uncommon, but the big problem I see in metal today is that producers seem to agree too much on what constitutes a great metal production, resulting in most of the modern metal to sound incredibly generic and samey. Everyone has the same kick drum sound, same guitar sound etc. A lot of drums aren't triggered at all, they're just compressed and tweaked until it sounds just like every other metal kick out there. It's a shame, because instead of feeling like you're listening to a specific band, it feels like you're just listening to metal in general.
 
Theres also potentional for the engineers to do something called "sound replacement" on the drums using drumagog, so they can actually replace each snare hit with a wave file of a perfect snare etc! Or you can use that program to mix the actual live drums sound with the perfect drum wave file using it as well. Although i havent yet used drumagog, but id like to cause i tell you what recording drums sucks ass.

Recording live drums with a midi drums is a pain in the butt to, cause if the drums start going to fast the midi notes may get off from the live drum sound and give a echo if the midi notes didnt wind up in the proper place. Thats why using mics to trigger midi notes with drumagog should make it less of pain hopefully.
 
I always see Loomis in the Fractal ads in GP and others, but I've never heard him play one. He still has his deal with Engl, so I don't really know what he does with it.
 
Okay, this thread was a complete failure. Not to be rude, but just to be clear.... I don't care what you think of Andy Sneap or his modern metal production in general or Jeff Loomis' guitar tone. I'm a fan of all three, and so are many, many others. So, please discuss that somewhere else if you feel the need to. Is there anyone here who knows how Loomis uses the Axe-FX? You'd think it'd be better known considering he's on the Fractal artists page and all...
 
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