Ultimate impulse buy...

billmeedog said:
EightmanVT,

Dependending on the type of gear-owner/tweaker you are, the Axe-FX II can be incredibly time-consuming to the point of obsession - LOL! If you're a tweaker and really need to know how to program your own gear (as opposed to some users out there who are perfectly happy with factory-presets, which is fine for them, but has never satisfied me,) the question will not be what you're doing this weekend, but rather what you'll be doing for the next couple of MONTHS (and I'm NOT exaggerating!)

That all said, these forums are great, and there are some very helpful people (FractalAudio (a.k.a. Cliff - the big-boss!), Scott Peterson, yek, AdamCook, smilefan, jon, shotgunn, jimfist, etc!) I'm surely leaving out several other fine contributors, but the point is, these are some very intelligent and selfless/helpful people who are willing to help.

Best of luck!

Bill
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Well - yes - I am a little concerned about that. I do have a tendency to become OCD about tweaking when I really should just be playing. Hopefully the factory presets will be good enough for a bit - but I have every expectation that I will be sucked into the black hole of tweaking for a while - especially if I ever start gigging again. I remember years ago when the Vetta came out - I managed to spend hours tweaking that thing, probably spent hours setting up the G-System since I had specific settings for certain songs - that included amp channel switching (although that really wasn't too bad) - yes - I can be a tweaker. It'll probably be even worse with the Axe-Fx given the ridiculous possible options and permutations. Hopefully I'll be able to manage a healthy balance there - because I really just want to play. :)

Any suggestions for how to use this thing live?
 
Live is where the magic happens - send the xlr outs of output 1 to the FoH mixer, and the 1/4 to your FRFR setup, and you will have the most compliments on your tone yet! ;)

You can also do all that AND send out 2 to a real cab if you want - use an fxl block and bypass the cab for this - check the links in my sig for more info)

If you're using it live, here's some tips to help avoid some of the issues a lot of users face with FRFR - go easy on the presence and bass, use a low and hi cut in the amp block, and go easy on the fx and drive at first - its easy to get carried away!
 
Thanks - yes - I'm already bleary eyed from reading through the manual - and countless threads here - including the 'post your rig' thread. I probably shouldn't admit it but I didn't even know what FRFR was until yesterday - from reading this forum. Much much to learn. I'll definitely be going through those links.

I prefer to practice as I'd play - and want to do any tweaking using the same gear that I might use live - should I start doing that again - so I kind of want to get set up soon. I have plenty of heads/cabs downstairs that I could use but that sort of defeats the purpose of going this route. I'll be pumping it through my iMac this weekend - (the FX II gets here tomorrow) - but would like to get a quality live rig up and running soon. I appreciate the advice.
 
EightmanVT said:
I'm a little overwhelmed reading through all the posts - trying to figure out the best live rig to set up. There seems to be no shortage of variations when it comes to rigs. :shock
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Hint: don't try to figure out what's the best rig. Experiment and find out what's the best for you. :)
 
Rex said:
Hint: don't try to figure out what's the best rig. Experiment and find out what's the best for you. :)
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Well - that's actually what I meant - but I do still need to find a reasonable starting point - and experimenting - isn't cheap. So I'd like to have a rough idea of what works before starting my experimentation. :)
 
Yea, experimenting isn't cheap - TRUST me! :lol

+1 for Rex's advice tho. One of the coolest things about the axe is the portability. Just drop it in a 2U case and go to your favorite music store, or friend's or studio, band room etc, and try out whatever you can there. You might find something that you like, a FRFR setup, or a cab or a poweramp....etc etc. but ALWAYS try to use your ears and not get caught up in hype. What is one man's riches is another's rags, so pick what works best for YOU.
 
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What Jon said. Besides, don't you have a basementful of boutique amps to experiment with? :) One or two of those must have an effects loop that lets you get straight to the power amp.
 
Rex said:
What Jon said. Besides, don't you have a basementful of boutique amps to experiment with? :) One or two of those must have an effects loop that lets you get straight to the power amp.
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Hmmmm. Yes - I have 6 heads in the basement under a layer of dust - and yes - I can use the power amp on all but one - but if I'm building a rig for the Axe - it's not so I can still cart a head and cab around. I will experiment and see how the Axe sounds through the cabs I have downstairs. I don't have any standalone power amps.
 
Understood. I prefer FRFR myself. Some folks prefer amps and cabs. Have fun, and keep us posted.
 
Xrocker said:
My biggest impulse buy was walking into a music store to buy some picks and walking out with a $5k Parker.
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I laughed tears with that one! :lol:lol
I have often shopped for a guitar to return with only picks though... :mrgreen

I have much stuff going unused here, but all was rather over-researched than on impulse, so that may be even worse ;)
 
Rex said:
Understood. I prefer FRFR myself. Some folks prefer amps and cabs. Have fun, and keep us posted.
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Will do - I'm looking forward to experimenting with an FRFR setup - as well as comparing some of the models of the Axe to my current amps through the same cab. Thanks for the advice.
 
I was playing our last song of the night, which featured my signature solo :) on my MM Luke, and a string broke. I vowed that would not happen again. I bought a backup MM Luke the next day. Of course I already had 30 guitars, but the Luke plays and sounds so great I just had to have another one. Problem solved :p
 
I seem to be off to a slow start :( Just hooked the Axe-Fx up to my iMac - via USB - but can't seem to get audio out of my iMac speakers (no monitors set up yet). I've checked Sys preferences - it sees the Axe FX (yes, I installed the drivers) and it shows a signal when I play my guitar. I have the output set to the computer's built in speakers - but still no joy. I brought up Axe-Edit - and it doesn't seem to see the Axe-Fx at all. I must be missing something simple....
 
I'm pretty sure it just doesn't work like that. The audio does not flow from the Axe II via USB and then out your iMac sound card. It may be possible to create an aggregate device to combine the Axe II as the input and use the built-in output. IDK...
 
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