The Raven
Inspired
Let me start with the positive: The Axe Fx II is absolutely the single-most incredible piece of gear i have had the pleasure of using. Using Axe edit made things a breeze when trying to dial in patches, and downloading IRs from users on this forum has helped me greatly in making some awesome patches. I have even experimented with using a real guitar cabinet and was able to get some pretty awesome sounds. All in all, i could not be happier (minus the issues i am about to discuss).
Now for the negative: Here are some problems I am having:
1. Weird octave issue: So for the past several days, I have been running my Axe Fx through my half stack via the amps front input (it's a line 6 spider valve, so no fx loop). For the most part, I've come relatively close to letting loose large amounts of seminal fluid from the tones have been able to get out of this method, especially since I became greatly disenchanted with the amp's sounds after receiving the Axe. Today however, i was greeted by a fairly strange occurrence while playing. After switching guitars, it seemed like every note i played was being harmonized an octave higher. This stops at around frets 10-12 on each and every string. At first i though it was an issue with my speaker, so i plugged in headphones to see if that got rid of the issue. No change. I then switched Guitars to see if that would fix the issue. No change. I then plugged straight into the amplifier and to my surprise, this awkward octave issue ceased. Plugged into my POD HD with headphones with both guitars and still no issue. Checked Axe again, and the octave was still present. I'm not sure what could cause this, as none of my patches or presets i tested this with had a harmonizer in them, but it is really frustrating me. The sound of the octave is faint enough to not be at exactly the same level as the main output, but loud enough to gain my attention and annoy the crap out of me. Neither of the guitars i was using were of questionable quality (2008 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Music Man JPX), so i think its safe to say the guitars are not the issue. Any theories as to what could be the cause of this at all?
2. Headaches: This one is one i type with great regret. In the past, i would have migraines on a somewhat regular basis. For a time, these headaches thankfully ceased without any medication whatsoever. Upon receiving the Axe, however, my migraines began to return, but in an entirely new way. At first, i attributed this to my feeling of being overwhelmed by all the figures that were included in this little box that i was driving myself mad, but the headaches persist even today when there i have absolutely no feelings of stress in regards to the axe at all. After playing for long enough with the Axe, my head aches to the point where i become nauseous. As a result of this, I have considered selling the Axe because i do not much care for these ice pick headaches, migraines and nausea, but i cannot bring myself to do so because, lets face it, this this is absolutely incredible. I mean, Jesus Christ, i spent 7 hours about a week ago playing on the ACDC-esque "Hell's Glockenspiels" preset and i don't even listen to ACDC that often. Now i understand a lot of you are going to tell me to see a doctor, call me crazy, or just laugh at this section of the post, and i don't expect anyone on here is a physician that specializes in the topic of headaches, but this question is more of a personal one. As a side note, these headaches are at their worst when i wear headphones and plug straight into the headphone jack on the axe. It takes some time for using it via amp to bring about the same condition. As fellow musicians and Axe Fx lover's, if you were in my situation, what would you do? I really love this thing, but i don't love the god-aweful headaches its use brings about.
Any and all help and answers would be appreciated (minus the "You're an idiot" response). If anyone who chooses to answer could also put a 1 or 2 designating which piece they are answering, i would greatly appreciate that as well.
Now for the negative: Here are some problems I am having:
1. Weird octave issue: So for the past several days, I have been running my Axe Fx through my half stack via the amps front input (it's a line 6 spider valve, so no fx loop). For the most part, I've come relatively close to letting loose large amounts of seminal fluid from the tones have been able to get out of this method, especially since I became greatly disenchanted with the amp's sounds after receiving the Axe. Today however, i was greeted by a fairly strange occurrence while playing. After switching guitars, it seemed like every note i played was being harmonized an octave higher. This stops at around frets 10-12 on each and every string. At first i though it was an issue with my speaker, so i plugged in headphones to see if that got rid of the issue. No change. I then switched Guitars to see if that would fix the issue. No change. I then plugged straight into the amplifier and to my surprise, this awkward octave issue ceased. Plugged into my POD HD with headphones with both guitars and still no issue. Checked Axe again, and the octave was still present. I'm not sure what could cause this, as none of my patches or presets i tested this with had a harmonizer in them, but it is really frustrating me. The sound of the octave is faint enough to not be at exactly the same level as the main output, but loud enough to gain my attention and annoy the crap out of me. Neither of the guitars i was using were of questionable quality (2008 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Music Man JPX), so i think its safe to say the guitars are not the issue. Any theories as to what could be the cause of this at all?
2. Headaches: This one is one i type with great regret. In the past, i would have migraines on a somewhat regular basis. For a time, these headaches thankfully ceased without any medication whatsoever. Upon receiving the Axe, however, my migraines began to return, but in an entirely new way. At first, i attributed this to my feeling of being overwhelmed by all the figures that were included in this little box that i was driving myself mad, but the headaches persist even today when there i have absolutely no feelings of stress in regards to the axe at all. After playing for long enough with the Axe, my head aches to the point where i become nauseous. As a result of this, I have considered selling the Axe because i do not much care for these ice pick headaches, migraines and nausea, but i cannot bring myself to do so because, lets face it, this this is absolutely incredible. I mean, Jesus Christ, i spent 7 hours about a week ago playing on the ACDC-esque "Hell's Glockenspiels" preset and i don't even listen to ACDC that often. Now i understand a lot of you are going to tell me to see a doctor, call me crazy, or just laugh at this section of the post, and i don't expect anyone on here is a physician that specializes in the topic of headaches, but this question is more of a personal one. As a side note, these headaches are at their worst when i wear headphones and plug straight into the headphone jack on the axe. It takes some time for using it via amp to bring about the same condition. As fellow musicians and Axe Fx lover's, if you were in my situation, what would you do? I really love this thing, but i don't love the god-aweful headaches its use brings about.
Any and all help and answers would be appreciated (minus the "You're an idiot" response). If anyone who chooses to answer could also put a 1 or 2 designating which piece they are answering, i would greatly appreciate that as well.