Thinking About buying ax8 or fx8

Jezzbro

Inspired
hi everybody,
I am new to this forum.
(Although i have been reading a lot)

I am thinking on buying an ax8 or fx8.

This is what I would like to do.

I own a 1966 bandmaster that I really like.
The bandmaster does not have An fx loop.
So I would like to use an ax8 or fx8 in front of the amp.

If I would buy a ax8, I could also use it as a practice amp at home. ( together with my genelec 8040 monitors)

So, my first question: wil the ax8 work equaly good as the fx8 in front of the amp? (No fx loop)
Or would the fx8 be better?

The music I Play (with the bandmaster) is surf, rockabilly, psychobilly, garage.
But I also like (early) Queen.

more questions: how good is the spring reverb?
Can it do the surf guitar sound? (Think Dick Dale). So spring reverb with lots of drip.
Are multi head echo's possible? (Shadows, echorec,...)
Can the phaser clone a foxx foot pedal phaser? ( early queen / Brian may tone)
( the foxx phaser was a 6 stage phaser)

What about a Roland er 301 simulation?
(Including the preamp colouring.)

Thank you for your reply.

Best regards,

Jesse
 
That's a fairly subjective call, it's best to try each one and see how it works for you.

The AX8 has a very clean, low noise output, especially when set up properly for unity gain. Using Output 2 and the "12dB Boost/Pad" lowers that noise floor even further. That, coupled with the fact that you'll be running in front and not 4CM, and that it's a fairly clean amp (certainly not high gain), means that the AX8 should handily meet your requirements.

Only the FX8 has relay outs, but with the Bandmaster you only need it if you use the Vibrato channel and you switch the Vibrato (tremolo) in and out. With the AX8, you'd either use the amp footswitch or add a small MIDI Solutions Relay box. Or just use the Tremolo block. ;-)

The AX8 not only adds amp/cab modeling, but also more flexible routing. The FX8 has two instances of more blocks (reverb, compressor, etc) where the AX8 only has two instances of the Delay, Drive, Volume, GEQ, PEQ and Filter.

The Tape configuration of the Delay block is simulating actual tape so I think you'll like the results. There's also a Quad Tape Delay in the MultiDelay block.
 
Thank you for your reply.
I don't really need relay outs.
(I only Play through the normal channel. This has slightly more gain than the vibrato channel)
Is the ax8 clean and low noise output about the same as the fx8 when used in front of an amp.? ( No 4cm)
At the moment I use a eventide h9 for tape echo.
The h9 has Some hiss.

Thanks
 
As the previous poster stated it's very subjective, but as one who uses a very similar rig I went with the FX8 over the AX8 because I just don't need the massive amount of amp modeling that comes with the AX8. I do however understand and appreciate (with the FX8) all the time and effort that went into not only the quality of the efx but also the noise levels and the overall sound that can be achieved using an amp such as yours. After 50+ years of playing, a truly great Fender amp with the FX8 in front is quite simply the best I've ever had..............period.
 
I don't really need al those amp sims either.
But since the bandmaster is to loud to play at home, those amp sims could be very handy.

It's mostly a question of noise and tone suck.
Will the ax8 have more noise or tone suck than the fx8 when used in front of a clean amp?
(So no fx loop, no relay switching)

Thanks
 
At the moment I use a eventide h9 for tape echo.

The tape delay in the Fractal units is a big step up from the H9 IMO (I owned a Timefactor and own a H9) so you should be pretty happy whatever way you go.
 
Nice!
Since you also own the h9.
Is there a difference in hiss between h9 and ax8?
My h9 does have a slight hiss.

What about the spring reverb?
To me it the h9 spring reverb sounds good, but not really for surf.
The catalinbread topanga sounds closer to my real outboard tank but does not nail it either.
So how close is the ax8 / fx8?

Thanks!
 
Nice!
Since you also own the h9.
Is there a difference in hiss between h9 and ax8?
My h9 does have a slight hiss.

What about the spring reverb?
To me it the h9 spring reverb sounds good, but not really for surf.
The catalinbread topanga sounds closer to my real outboard tank but does not nail it either.
So how close is the ax8 / fx8?

Thanks!
I usually keep the input gate on with my AX8 which does a great job of keeping everything quiet. I'll do a video later tonight and compare the H9 and AX8 spring verb for you.
 
Go for the AX8 you will not regret it. It offers so much more and it works like a charm in front of a clean amp. Just do like philipacamaniac suggested using Output 2 and the "12dB Boost/Pad". The hiss issue is only audible in front of a pretty distorted amp and it´s actually not that bad.. nothing you can hear in a live environment, most old school pedalboards hiss way more than the AX8
 
Thanks, very nice of you
I realised I don't own the spring algo on my H9; nevertheless here's a very brief run through and comparison using the 5 minute demo period the H9 gives you. Take it with a pinch of salt, but hopefully I got enough in to convince you just how much control the AX8 gives you.

 
Thank you, it was very helpful.
I did not hear the same "drip" as the original outboard reverb.
But I do like the reverb sound.
Also the tape echo seems very nice.
Anyway I just ordered an ax8 (via g66 here in Europe)
If I don't like it, (which I doubt) , there is a 30 day tryout.
I wil compare the ax8 to my outboard tank. (And topanga)

Anyway, al of you, thank you for helping.

Jesse
 
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