The Guitar Show 2015 - Birmingham UK

clarky

clarky

Axe-Master
what an awesome day..

I was there with my full stage rig
Axe-II -> Matrix GT1000FX -> a pair of Marshall 1960B cabs
controlled by an MFC-101 and three Boss FV-500 pedals

I took three guitars
my two principle stage guitars: a pair of Morgan Guitar Works V6's
and an Ibanez RG for some fun in drop-C

I took a great many people on a tour of the Axe-II and demo'd my presets with the tone morphing..
absolutely everyone were gobsmacked and in awe of what the Axe-II can do and how it sounds..
I was playing through musical examples of how you'd use the morphing and showing how smooth and controlled it is..
all were totally blown away..
and then you get the "yeah but look how much all that costs"
so I got them to add it all up..
Axe-II + MFC + 3 FV-500 + GT1000 + 2 1960 cabs
vs
Diezel Herbert + 5150 mkIII + 1965 Bassman [I didn't need to add in cabs, stomps, etc etc cos my rig was still far cheaper]

and then I got them to consider my recording amps..
Diezel Herbert, Diezel VH4, 5150 mkIII, Dual Rec, 65 Bassman, 70's HiWatt, Carol-Anne Turcana, JCM800, MkIIC
and then there are all those cabs… all the hundreds I have..
then you see the penny drop.. kinda awesome value ain't it..

the outcome was the same every time… "jeez.. I got to get me one these.."
 
there was one real highlight that actually surprised me.. a whole lot too..

when I get my stage rig out, I'm very single minded.. I have to be..
Clarky's presets are being tested / setup / rehearsed / used specifically for live work
nothing else gets looked at.. I just don't have time for all that..

there was one guy.. really knew his amps…
he asked me if I could take him on a tour of some of the amps..
sure I've done all this in my studio [through cab IR's and then my studio monitors] but I've never done it through my backline..
I said "ok.. let's go play with stuff.. but bear in mind that some of the amps you'd usually hear as 1x12 of 2x12 combos are going through my pair of 4x12 cabs"
he said "no prob.. let's play.. I'm a low to mid gain kinda guy"
so I set up an 'amp only' preset..
we looked at:
AC15.. he's grinning and nodding..
65 Bassman with the MV set to 10.. he's like "oh yeah.. oohhhh yeah.." and smiling..
MKIIC.. and he's like "oh god I need one of these"
a few ODS100 Fords.. huge grin.. "spectacular!! I've heard this live at the [some place I didn't know] show"

then I suggested the TripTik and Turcana.. he'd not heard these before..
and he's like "this thing is just blowing me away now"

so I said "hows about we take a trip to the custom shop.."
he said "what.. you can change the amps??"
so I called up a JCM800 and hit the advanced tab.. he's looking through the menu's and saying "oh my fkn god, you don't even have to send amps away for weeks.. this is insane"
I softened the JCM with KT88's.. he says "oh this is sweet.."
then I did my fave lil' trick.. MV Post-PI, crank the input-drive, cut switch on, Filter block emulating a clean Tube Screamer.. and started playing early Van Halen [I'm The One]..
by now he's laughing his ass off.. "this is just insane"
so I did the same mods to a MKIIC and he's like "oh my god.. this thing can do everything"

then I suggested a more modern mid-gain monster.. VH4 ch3..
this time it was my jaw dropping… "oh… my… fkn… god…. ! !"

at the end of it all.. he's asking me about recording and reamping etc..
so I walked him through the process [I've done two albums and several sessions with the Axe now]..
he said
"I've heard so much about these.. heard the clips, seen the vids etc.. always been pretty impressed.. but the real proof is hearing one for real..
I'm blown away.. I just have to get one.."

what an awesome lil' trip that was.. soooo much fun..
it really surprised me too.. so many amps that we hit that are not really my thing that I enjoyed so much..
I think I got as much out of that as he did..
 
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Would really loved to have come to see you at the show but out of the country at the moment. Are there any plans for more demos in the uk. I remember marshall running demo tours a few years back. I desperately need to hear this thing in the flesh. :)
 
Whistler said:
Would really loved to have come to see you at the show but out of the country at the moment. Are there any plans for more demos in the uk. I remember marshall running demo tours a few years back. I desperately need to hear this thing in the flesh. :)
Click to expand...

Where's home?

I'm sure there's someone that can hook you up with a demo. Probably not up to clarkys level, he continues to amaze me, but it's not an impossibility.
 
clarky said:
what an awesome day..

I was there with my full stage rig
Axe-II -> Matrix GT1000FX -> a pair of Marshall 1960B cabs
controlled by an MFC-101 and three Boss FV-500 pedals

I took three guitars
my two principle stage guitars: a pair of Morgan Guitar Works V6's
and an Ibanez RG for some fun in drop-C

I took a great many people on a tour of the Axe-II and demo'd my presets with the tone morphing..
absolutely everyone were gobsmacked and in awe of what the Axe-II can do and how it sounds..
I was playing through musical examples of how you'd use the morphing and showing how smooth and controlled it is..
all were totally blown away..
and then you get the "yeah but look how much all that costs"
so I got them to add it all up..
Axe-II + MFC + 3 FV-500 + GT1000 + 2 1960 cabs
vs
Diezel Herbert + 5150 mkIII + 1965 Bassman [I didn't need to add in cabs, stomps, etc etc cos my rig was still far cheaper]

and then I got them to consider my recording amps..
Diezel Herbert, Diezel VH4, 5150 mkIII, Dual Rec, 65 Bassman, 70's HiWatt, Carol-Anne Turcana, JCM800, MkIIC
and then there are all those cabs… all the hundreds I have..
then you see the penny drop.. kinda awesome value ain't it..

the outcome was the same every time… "jeez.. I got to get me one these.."
Click to expand...

I'd love to hear some of your Tone Morphing patches! HAve you posted them on Axe change? Are you using Axe Fx MKII or XL?
 
My feet have just recovered. Two days on my feet have my dogs barking. I was very responsible and didn't come back with much: Other than

some plectrums
an expression pedal
a Bumblefoot album,
an amusing anecdote, featuring Jaden Rose (Jaden Rose Guitars), Ron Thal, Toby from Vigier Guitars, a drunk guy, and myself. (For once I was not the drunk guy in the story.)
A Seraph from Sabre Guitars.

I nearly came back with an extra custom V.

I believe that I may have talked myself into a head to head of AF2+ Matrix vs Deizel Amps.
 
Nice one Clarky! Please let us know the next time you do a show/event like that, I want to pop in and say hi to another Axe-Fx player!
 
Yeah yeah yeah, that's all well and good clarky, but the question on everyone's lips is, "What's NiceChris's anecdote..?"
unsure.gif
 
Great story. A friend of mine owns a bar and borrowed my AXE-FX to play Enter Sandman with the bar band... After finishing he said "damn! has tubes inside?"
 
geamala said:
I'd love to hear some of your Tone Morphing patches! HAve you posted them on Axe change? Are you using Axe Fx MKII or XL?
Click to expand...

I have clips of my older tone morphing presets.. I've not created any clips for the new ones yet..
basically cos I've only just completed them..
plus... I've not really had enough free time [recording / composition work]..
and also cos my soundcloud is max'd.. I new to create another account..
I'll try to sort some clips and a new soundcloud when I get a mo..
not sure when that'll be right now though.. cos I'm a big max'd out

My Axe-II is a MkI
I've not posted the presets..
also, for them to work properly, the MFC needs to be setup right
they'll only work with a controller that can send two MIDI CC commands from a single IA switch..
 
Whistler said:
Would really loved to have come to see you at the show but out of the country at the moment. Are there any plans for more demos in the uk. I remember marshall running demo tours a few years back. I desperately need to hear this thing in the flesh. :)
Click to expand...

unfortunately this is the only show in my diary for this year..
 
paulmapp8306 said:
Where's home?

I'm sure there's someone that can hook you up with a demo. Probably not up to clarkys level, he continues to amaze me, but it's not an impossibility.
Click to expand...

I'm in south East England. Ashford to be precise. Just seems really difficult to hear this thing without going through purchasing via G66.

All my other guitar purchases I've gone to the guitar shop and had a play to see if it's for me. Not this time sadly.
 
chucma said:
Ha ha! Seriously? How long were you guys stuck in there for? Hopefully you had your guitars to pass time with. :mrgreen
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Clarky, far be it from me to correct you; however, we were locked in!

Chucma, we were locked in the backstage truck area with loads of guitars, which were locked in the trucks. Luckily, one of the guys from Professional Music Technology came to get something out of their van so we got back into the main hall, after ten minutes lol.
 
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Whistler said:
I'm in south East England. Ashford to be precise. Just seems really difficult to hear this thing without going through purchasing via G66.

All my other guitar purchases I've gone to the guitar shop and had a play to see if it's for me. Not this time sadly.
Click to expand...

I think I prefer G66's model of letting you return it in 15 days if you do not like it, rather than trying to try it out in a guitar shop with their gear, and somebody murdering Sweet Child O' Mine in too close proximity.

I definitely preferred trying it out on my gear than someone elses.
 
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