Hello everyone,
I have been playing guitar for a few years now and although I am not thinking about diving into recording and mixing just yet, some better quality and flexibility over the tones and voices of what I play would be a welcome upgrade. I play mostly over backing tracks.
I currently own a Zoom G5n and am considering either a used Axe FX II, Kemper or new Axe FX III, therefore I'd like to ask you guys a few questions before making my decision:
1 - As crazy as it sounds ( and I know I am pretty much asking to be roasted here ), I'd still like to ask anyway. Is the Axe FX III really miles ahead of a Zoom G5n in terms on how it sounds over a backing track? I am fully aware that the Zoom is literally 10 times cheaper than the Axe FX, but is it 10 times worse? ( think of law of diminishing returns )
2 - My main problem with the zoom is that it feels like all amps available sounds relatively close to each other. While some have different attributes and responses to a given situation, it often feels like the unit sounds like itself, not like the patches have much of their own personality. I know that the Axe FX works in a different way, but is its versatility as mind blowing as people say?
3 - My main goal for any amp or modeling unit is to reach 3 'core tones' that I apply over nearly all backing tracks I use. The most important, is to achieve is a very old school 80s voice to guitar. And this was only achieved by buying an actual Zoom 9002, an old FX unit that has the actual dark old sounding voice I've been looking for, but the quality of its output is so s**t that it's not really usable. Every other unit and amps for that matter sound very 'modern'. Is this something the Axe FX III would be able to provide?
4 - Quick but easy one. Can the Axe FX 3 provide a close tone to that of Malmsteen in the 80s? The very early neoclassical tone? I am confident it should be able to but it doesn't hurt to ask anyway.
5 - Can I plug it straight to my computer via a USB cable with a backing track playing via an AUX cable into AFX3 and have a quick and easy recording? My Zoom G5n does that but it does not include the backing track playing on its AUX input. ( again, I am looking for quick and simple uses for now, keeping it down to as few clicks as possible for enjoying my own simple recordings ). Or, can Axe edit offer a simple recording over what is played over a backing track?
6 - Is the publicly available database of custom user patches useful? If so, are they still tweak able anyway? For my G5n and Mustang amp most of the online content is pretty much useless, never sounds great.
7 - How hard is it to learn to use the unit? ( This goes for both AXF2 or AFX 3 )
8 - Are the unit controls decent enough to create and adjust patches without the need for a computer? Sometimes I like to just sit in my couch away from the computer and play with the G5n's settings. In that regard it does well. ( This goes for both AXF2 or AFX 3 )
9 - On another note, once hooked up to a computer, is its editor well laid out and easy to use?
10 - I understand that in the hands of someone who knows they're doing, amazing results can be achieved. But is it easy to create new patches from scratch for people who are not experienced musicians? For people who are not sound engineers, does it come with so many adjustable attributes for each new module in the effects chain that you need to twist at least 50 knobs just right from the beginning to make it sound any decent?
11 - What do the software updates usually do? Just minor bug fixes or actually enhance the potential of the unit?
12 - Everyone knows that one of the few surefire ways to make the guitar sound bigger is to record several tracks and add them simultaneously. For someone who does not have the time to do that and mix them up, can Axe FX do that artificially somehow, like a Mimiq pedal?
13 - I understand that older presets can be converted to Axe FX 3. However, once done, do they retain the same quality they had if used in its original unit?
14 - Is it actually worth to lay the extra bucks and get AFX3 over a used AFX2?
Thanks everyone, any clarification and additional observations would be hugely appreciated.
Erik
I have been playing guitar for a few years now and although I am not thinking about diving into recording and mixing just yet, some better quality and flexibility over the tones and voices of what I play would be a welcome upgrade. I play mostly over backing tracks.
I currently own a Zoom G5n and am considering either a used Axe FX II, Kemper or new Axe FX III, therefore I'd like to ask you guys a few questions before making my decision:
1 - As crazy as it sounds ( and I know I am pretty much asking to be roasted here ), I'd still like to ask anyway. Is the Axe FX III really miles ahead of a Zoom G5n in terms on how it sounds over a backing track? I am fully aware that the Zoom is literally 10 times cheaper than the Axe FX, but is it 10 times worse? ( think of law of diminishing returns )
2 - My main problem with the zoom is that it feels like all amps available sounds relatively close to each other. While some have different attributes and responses to a given situation, it often feels like the unit sounds like itself, not like the patches have much of their own personality. I know that the Axe FX works in a different way, but is its versatility as mind blowing as people say?
3 - My main goal for any amp or modeling unit is to reach 3 'core tones' that I apply over nearly all backing tracks I use. The most important, is to achieve is a very old school 80s voice to guitar. And this was only achieved by buying an actual Zoom 9002, an old FX unit that has the actual dark old sounding voice I've been looking for, but the quality of its output is so s**t that it's not really usable. Every other unit and amps for that matter sound very 'modern'. Is this something the Axe FX III would be able to provide?
4 - Quick but easy one. Can the Axe FX 3 provide a close tone to that of Malmsteen in the 80s? The very early neoclassical tone? I am confident it should be able to but it doesn't hurt to ask anyway.
5 - Can I plug it straight to my computer via a USB cable with a backing track playing via an AUX cable into AFX3 and have a quick and easy recording? My Zoom G5n does that but it does not include the backing track playing on its AUX input. ( again, I am looking for quick and simple uses for now, keeping it down to as few clicks as possible for enjoying my own simple recordings ). Or, can Axe edit offer a simple recording over what is played over a backing track?
6 - Is the publicly available database of custom user patches useful? If so, are they still tweak able anyway? For my G5n and Mustang amp most of the online content is pretty much useless, never sounds great.
7 - How hard is it to learn to use the unit? ( This goes for both AXF2 or AFX 3 )
8 - Are the unit controls decent enough to create and adjust patches without the need for a computer? Sometimes I like to just sit in my couch away from the computer and play with the G5n's settings. In that regard it does well. ( This goes for both AXF2 or AFX 3 )
9 - On another note, once hooked up to a computer, is its editor well laid out and easy to use?
10 - I understand that in the hands of someone who knows they're doing, amazing results can be achieved. But is it easy to create new patches from scratch for people who are not experienced musicians? For people who are not sound engineers, does it come with so many adjustable attributes for each new module in the effects chain that you need to twist at least 50 knobs just right from the beginning to make it sound any decent?
11 - What do the software updates usually do? Just minor bug fixes or actually enhance the potential of the unit?
12 - Everyone knows that one of the few surefire ways to make the guitar sound bigger is to record several tracks and add them simultaneously. For someone who does not have the time to do that and mix them up, can Axe FX do that artificially somehow, like a Mimiq pedal?
13 - I understand that older presets can be converted to Axe FX 3. However, once done, do they retain the same quality they had if used in its original unit?
14 - Is it actually worth to lay the extra bucks and get AFX3 over a used AFX2?
Thanks everyone, any clarification and additional observations would be hugely appreciated.
Erik