Starting point?

[Jaaaaamie]

I bought an Axe FX II last year and haven't really gotten round to using it properly yet.

Is the manual my best friend? Or are there other key things I should know before diving in?

I did get a litttle intimidated by the ridiculous amount of options to mod on one of the pages for the type of amp.

 

[Steck]

Don't wait another second, get started with it as soon as possible! (grin)

I think the manual is your friend - having said that, though, I'm a firm believer in just plugging the thing up and seeing if I can use it without reading any docs. If it seems intuitive without reading docs, then I know I will not have a problem understanding the finer details that the manual covers.

The biggest thing that I think you have to consider before just diving in is realizing that the presets that come with the unit are largely slanted towards "FRFR" ("full range flat reponse" or "full range frequency response") use - in other words, you plug the output of the AXE into a studio monitor or PA speaker (via DI box/mixer or whatever), NOT a guitar amp or amp/guitar cab. If you have a set of studio monitors, or a full range PA setup, then plug it in, and just try the presets. If you want to plug it into a guitar amp, then you're going to have to tinker with many of the presets (since they already have amps and cabs built into them).

The next thing is using the input trim (I/O button, etc) to set your level properly. I started out with my PRS SE (humbuckers), so I already had lots of level, and didn't have to tweak anything to get started.

Don't worry about understanding everything - you'll pick that up as you go along.

BTW - the manual, forum, and wiki use what I would call "new" terminology - for example "FRFR" - because the flexibility of the AXE FX could be/is a game changer, and it is usable in a lot of new circumstances. As an example, you could conceivably ditch all or most of your existing pedals and amplification and replace it with the AXE FX. Or you could choose to use the AXEFX simply as a pedalboard replacement, and skip the amp modeling. So looking at the hookup diagrams and thinking about the possibilities is going to be important, once you've gotten your bearings with it.

HTH,

John

 

[wynsmth]

If you are using a guitar amp & speakers, don't worry. Just go to the Global button on the front & there is an option to turn off all cab sims so you don't have to do it in each preset. This is the way I use it & it sounds great! Also, if I remember correctly, there is a quick start tutorial towards the back of the manual.

 

[jesussaddle]

Perfect timing with Firmware 4.01. You'll have no problems as the amps pretty much all sound fantastic. Look in the manual at the diagrams of configurations, and let the forum know what rig type you want to do. Also, if you're mainly planning to use it with a guitar amp I suggest it would be a good idea to ALSO work with some basic studio monitors and your computer, using the USB connection. Its great for recording. Plus, that way you'll see the full spectrum of the device and I think it will help you learn the most in the least amount of time. There's so much capability, that going through an amp can be even more challenging and can seem like a limiting factor at first, especially if you might change guitar amps. My brother seemed to have difficulty working with the amp because he was thinking of it like a pedal, whereas there's more to learn about getting it to fit into the amp and cabs, trying the various cabling methods, choosing whether to use the amp and cab sims, or just the amp sim, or neither. When you hear it FRFR you can see what tones you want that way, then work back to getting the appropriate sound out of the amp. You can kind of do reverse EQing in your minds eye.

 

[Rhiza]

It took me about a week or two to get started on the axe fx II. I really had to take a day in the weekend and just sit around noodling with it and changing guitars/presets.
practice makes master!
But for me I usually start off with a "favorite" amp and go from there. There are several amps I haven't really played with yet. So many things to do!