Ultra to Axe FX II

M

Mike Snider

Experienced
When the Axe Fx II first came out I decided not to upgrade- I was very satisfied with the tones I was getting from the Ultra and to be honest I didn't feel like sitting on the wait list as I had for my first standard and then Ultra. But, the bug finally hit and I recently switched over.
There has clearly been a lot going on at Fractal over the last two years.
I got the AFXII on Wednesday this past week- came with v11.05...updated to v12 on Thursday and tweaked away for Sat/Sun gigs. The amp tones are clear and are very usable right out of the box. Very little tweaking needed to get to where I wanted to be for Sat/Sun. No doubt I will need to dig in and learn some new features but I look forward to hearing what affect the new features have added.
I am equally impressed with the advancements of the editor and midi interfacing- everything just worked, making my switch very comfortable and efficient.
Great job Fractal Audio. I've been tweak free for 2 years.......not anymore, the world just got bigger inside that magic black box- gotta go play.
 
Hey Mike, glad to read you're happy with upgrading.

I too am an Ultra user, for now. Wondering this, big time: if you took one of your favorite presets you had in your ultra, and
created it exactly (signal chain, fx's, settings etc) in your II, what would it sound like to you?
 
potential2themax said:
Hey Mike, glad to read you're happy with upgrading.

I too am an Ultra user, for now. Wondering this, big time: if you took one of your favorite presets you had in your ultra, and
created it exactly (signal chain, fx's, settings etc) in your II, what would it sound like to you?
Click to expand...


The Ultra and the Axe FxII at this point are very different the results would be different.
 
Pretty much my experience, too. I came from Ultra-land. The biggest thing for me is how well the II nails the vintage vibe of clean Fender amps on the verge of breakup. The built-in USB is a big bonus, too.
 
potential2themax said:
Hey Mike, glad to read you're happy with upgrading.

I too am an Ultra user, for now. Wondering this, big time: if you took one of your favorite presets you had in your ultra, and
created it exactly (signal chain, fx's, settings etc) in your II, what would it sound like to you?
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I did on day one to be ready for gigs 2 days later.
The amp sims are undeniably and profoundly clearer, tighter and to me...realistic. The amps in the Ultra sound great. I recall it took me along time to get the amps in the Ultra to a place where I was really satisfied- moreso because of my lack of tweaking skills than the sims in the Ultra. I always struggled with getting the low end tight and jangly at the top end (I'm a clean player, never using the high gain amps).
Quick note: when I got my first AxeFx (standard) it was on fw 3.xx and even at that point I abandoned my tube amp and dove all in because the tones were just that good. So, by fw 11.0 the troubles i had were very finite and a matter of details to me....not anyone I play to/for.
But, the axfx II was considerably tighter and janglier(?) right out of the box. The tonestack controls are very realistic and felt much more like I was sitting with an amp to dial in. I've not really gotten back into the techie side of tweaking...but I'm not sure i will need to, and that to me is significant. In fact, I've only had two sessions of sitting with the afxII to tweak- the rest of time is spent playing.

It was certainly helpful to have the Ultra next to the axfxII for setting up effects as I had them in the Ultra....having the parameters to dial in the effects the way I wanted them was helpful for sure. There have been many updates to many of the effects, but mostly added parameters and pages for more control. I didn't take long to get set up and rolling. Are the effects better? hard to say. Everything sounds better, I have a feeling it is primarily due to the efficiency in the amp section. I could be way off- I've not kept up with the changes over the past few years.

I didnt have any expectations of what I thought it would sound like, so I was really happy to have the results I have gotten with very little time spent getting there. Additionally, with regard to the editor and the midi interface...couldn't have been happier to simply plug and play. I know thats not everyone's experience, but it was for me. I recall the days of midi-ox and other interfaces which I struggled with to get updates done. Fractal has invested some time in developing these tools, it shows, and is a powerful tool.

So to answer your question the best I can- the result of taking my favorite preset from the Ultra and recreating it in the axefx II - sounded cleaner, tighter, more realistic as if my actual amp was being mic'ed. It's about details, bloom and the specifics of what I expect to hear in my favorite amps. I dont regret holding onto the Ultra as long as I did, but I was also as pleasantly surprised by the axfxII as I was the first time I plugged in the first axfx I owned...as blown away as I was the first time I played an Ultra and couldn't believe how good it had gotten compared to the Standard.
If it sounds like I am happy to have upgraded, I am.
 
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