Thinking about switching from Prophesy to AxeFX(amp/cab q's)

Yall

Member
Hi Gang,

I stumbled across the Axe FX when I was buying a GK 2100 SEL on ebay (can't wait to get that by the way!). I had never heard of the unit and was a little surprised by the amounts people were bidding.

I did a little research and was pleasantly surprised at what I found. I've never quite been fully satisfied with the drive/crunch on the Rocktron unit and have never been quite sure if it was my lack of product knowledge, the power amp, speaker cab, or possibly a combination of all of those elements (using a Carvin TS100 - which just doesn't seem loud enough, and a Line 6 Vetta 4x12 cab).

After seeing some Youtube vids of the Axe FX it seems that it produces a better and more usable metal sound than my Prophesy and I'm strongly considering getting one.

If I do, do the forum experts think I could still use the Vetta Cab? To my knowledge it uses flat voice speakers (as ideally the Vetta II HD I have would perform the cab/speaker emulation) and should be a good match.

Regarding the Carvin amp, I don't think I like the way it shapes the sound of my Prophesy and I'm guessing both it and the Axe FX would be better served by a SS power amp (when I get the GK I'm going to try the Rocktron unit using it's power amp section to see if the results are any better). I noticed some of you are using what appear to be SS PA type amps. I used to use a Peavey CS400 back in the day when I had an ART SGX and that was satisfactory.

Lasty - more of a general question: One of the things that drew me in when I first hit the main site was the number and quality of endorsements. However, when I go to those artists websites, their gear doesn't mention this product as part of their rig. It suprised me as the quotes seemed to imply that many of them found this to be the end-all-be-all of preamps, and I assumed this would be in their racks, but doesn't seem to be. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to imply any shenanigans are afoot, but it makes me wonder if this is primarily a studio tool for them, and perhaps has some drawbacks as a live unit.

Any and all feedback welcome (especially from anyone with experience with both Rocktron Prophesy and the Axe FX).

Thanks!
 
GuitarDojo said:
Former Prophesy User......

I have never looked back!!!

I'm getting that impression from a lot of the forum searches. What style of music do you play? I'm mostly hard rock/metal, and some of the RP presets are passable, but never quite what I'm looking for in terms of that searing lead sound.

edit - and while we are in the cab forum, might I inquire as to why so many people seem to be using 2 2x12 cabs? Is it for stereo?
 
I just got my AXE FX Ultra about 2 weeks ago and I am loving it. I have owned a Vetta and I still have the cab but even when I had the Vetta what I did is took those speakers out of the cab an put Celestion Vintage 30's in it and took the stock speakers and sold them for 25 dollars each on craigslist. And the Vintage 30's sounded way better then after I got rid of the Vetta I took the logo off the front and took the baffle out. Surprisingly the Vetta Cabinettes are rock solid baltic burch actually built more solid then a Marshall cab. I later built a matching bottom cab out of birch and found matching hardware which I changed the metal corners on the vetta one to match and changed the grill cloth so i had a stack and I loaded the one I made with Warehouse guitar speakers veteran 30's celestion clones. I later then bought a Marshall JVM then aquired a marshall full stack with GT-75's which I have been using those cabs now with the Axe and a carving SS amp. I havent tried my V-30 stack yet but Imagine it will sound great. Its just Marshall cabs are lighter weight easier for taking to shows. Anyhow I would keep the Vetta cab just chuck the speakers.
 
Back in the day I used three Prophesys (simultaneously) with all kinds of goofy tricks. Check out the diagram in the first post here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5366

No matter what Prophesy configuration I used, one simple Axe killed it in all categories - overnite.

The Axe is to the Prophesy what the Prophesy was to the Rockman X-100
 
widrace said:
Back in the day I used three Prophesys (simultaneously) with all kinds of goofy tricks. Check out the diagram in the first post here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5366

No matter what Prophesy configuration I used, one simple Axe killed it in all categories - overnite.

The Axe is to the Prophesy what the Prophesy was to the Rockman X-100

So the Axe replaced the preamps and the effects units? Impressive...
 
Yall said:
So the Axe replaced the preamps and the effects units? Impressive...
Every bit of it. To say that it just replaced that set-up is an understatment.

While I got decent tones from that Prophesy based rig, one thing Prophesys don't do well is allow you to switch back and forth between chords and leads. Each had to be quite specific to be good and required you to switch presets and all that crap to pull it off. The Axe does a fine job of that all on it's own.

Another thing... the Prophesy doesn't have nearly as good dynamics or feel as the Axe. Much of that rig was developed to get more of that. The Axe bettered that element big-time.
 
You can't begin to compair the Prophesy to the Axe, it's in a league all it's own. If you switch won't regret it but figure on a good midi board and an expression pedal, you then will need to deside if you want to go Amp/Cab or FR.
 
Well I listed my Prophesy on Ebay and Craigslist so we'll see how that goes. ;)

As far as the midi controller goes, I'm guessing I can still make use of my Rocktron All Access, no?
 
I used to play a Voodoo Modded Dual Rectifier. I haven't played it in 6 months lol. Axe just seems easier to transport sounds damn good less things to go wrong and it sounds good!
 
Yall said:
Well I listed my Prophesy on Ebay and Craigslist so we'll see how that goes. ;)
Hope that goes well...

I'll bet a beer you'll be digging into the forum here sorting thru 1000 opinions on FRFR vs guitar cab in an effort to find your own way. Read Jays sticky on FRFR for sure.

I do both - sometimes daily (in a studio situation). Here's my 2-cents...

At the present state of the AXE, coupled with a skilled operator, FRFR will cover most everything an amp/cab will do. Not even close the other way around. Either approach is compromised using the cheapo stuff downstream of the Axe.

With FRFR, my only real struggle is producing the live sound of an open-backed cabinet using FRFR cabs. There are things you can do like back-to-back cabs with the rear out-of-phase but it's still somewhat problematic. Jay is your man for that.

So, if you're a total diehard open-back guy you may want to skip FRFR. If not - go with it for the flexibility. As IR's develop a super-duper open-back sound may be just around the corner - that's Jays department too.

Some guys here go both ways simultaneously for live too but you really need a PA rig on-hand to dial it in.

Proper FRFR will likely cost you more $ than amp/cab too, but amp/cab alone requires miking and that's another matter all together. With FRFR you maintain more control.

I hope I didn't start something here.. :roll:
 
I use my Rocktron All Access daily and have for a few years now; no problem once you have it set up to work with your Axe-FX.
 
widrace said:
Yall said:
Well I listed my Prophesy on Ebay and Craigslist so we'll see how that goes. ;)
Hope that goes well...

I'll bet a beer you'll be digging into the forum here sorting thru 1000 opinions on FRFR vs guitar cab in an effort to find your own way. Read Jays sticky on FRFR for sure.

I do both - sometimes daily (in a studio situation). Here's my 2-cents...

At the present state of the AXE, coupled with a skilled operator, FRFR will cover most everything an amp/cab will do. Not even close the other way around. Either approach is compromised using the cheapo stuff downstream of the Axe.

With FRFR, my only real struggle is producing the live sound of an open-backed cabinet using FRFR cabs. There are things you can do like back-to-back cabs with the rear out-of-phase but it's still somewhat problematic. Jay is your man for that.

So, if you're a total diehard open-back guy you may want to skip FRFR. If not - go with it for the flexibility. As IR's develop a super-duper open-back sound may be just around the corner - that's Jays department too.

Some guys here go both ways simultaneously for live too but you really need a PA rig on-hand to dial it in.

Proper FRFR will likely cost you more $ than amp/cab too, but amp/cab alone requires miking and that's another matter all together. With FRFR you maintain more control.

I hope I didn't start something here.. :roll:

OK - regarding the FRFR stuff; Am I to understand that most of you don't mic your speakers live and go direct into the board via XLR? I'm making this assumption because it would seem that a speaker with tweeters, horn, crossover, etc would be difficult to mic. Am I way off here?
 
stink said:
GuitarDojo said:
Former Prophesy User......

I have never looked back!!!

+10 ..... what he said. I did the same thing - never looked back!

-Greg

Since we're counting by 10's...

+20!!! :lol:

I've used both and the AxeFX crushes the Prophesy like a rotten grape. I'm pretty well convinced that anybody who buys a new Prophesy has never heard of the AxeFX because the Standard costs only a little bit more and gives you *so* much more. In its day (and even after its day) the Prophesy was a great piece of gear, but it's over 20 years old now and I'm not sure why they haven't invested in something newer to replace it... although it seems to me that they haven't done any real significant new R&D to develop their preamp tones in a long, long time. A shame really.
 
I actually just ran my Prophesy through my Fender Passport PA and I was surpised at the difference. While it isn't the highest quality or simplest way of going FRFR, it game me a far better understanding of the differences.

Sh*t, this forum is gonna cost me a lot of money. :mrgreen:
 
Other than tech rep Jim Chowning, the guys that developed the Prophesy didn't go with the deal when GHS bought Rocktron in 2000 - they are now the ISP gang. The Prophesy is a digital recreation of the IE4 and was done back when Egnater was in cahoots with Rocktron.

GHS didn't inherit design expertise with the Prophesy so GHS can only sell the same old thing - except for a different colored faceplate, stock presets and the name change to P2. Assembly went overseas too. Internally, nothing of matter was changed after the 1/4 outs became switchable to carry the speaker sim and that was in early P1 days. The fact it is still around so many years later shows how good those guys were at Rocktron back then.

The Voodu-Valve had the best tone though and didn't have the underlying fizz-crunch noise lurking in the background that can be heard in the cleans of the Prophesy.
 
Thanks for the bit of history. I knew Rocktron had gone through some management/ownership changes, but I guess I assumed the technology how-to stuck around. Still, with Rocktron's current resources I would think they'd be able to get something going in the modeling/preamp realm if they really wanted to.
 
Yall said:
I actually just ran my Prophesy through my Fender Passport PA and I was surpised at the difference. While it isn't the highest quality or simplest way of going FRFR, it game me a far better understanding of the differences.

Sh*t, this forum is gonna cost me a lot of money. :mrgreen:

I disagree entirely. I think it will save you a lot of money when you realize how much gear you DON'T have to buy because of the Axe. ;)
 
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