Very impressed but not quite persuaded

I

inkeyes

Inspired
Im seriously considering pulling the trigger on one of these units.
Iv done some research and watched/listened to a whole bunch of clips and Im very impressed with the sounds this thing can get.
However, Iv struggled to find any good clips of mild overdriven "just breaking up" tube amp kind of sounds.
This is the main thing that is stopping me from ordering right this minute.
I play a whole variety of music and this is one of the big reasons im looking at this unit rather than just an amp. However, the main music i do play is blues and rock so this mild, dynamic form of overdrive or dirty clean is a must.
Can it do that SRV thing?

If any of you guys have any tasty clips of the kind of thing im talking about that would be awesome.
Any comments are greatly appreciated.

cheers
 
...I don't have any clips quite like that, but the Axe-Fx can easily get a mild, dynamic overdrive tone...I actually use the Mesa clean sim with a tube driver in front of it to get that kind of sound (instead of a Fender sim and Tube screamer sim) and I think sounds as good or better than my pedals into my Two-Rock did :eek:
 
John Alexander said:
...I don't have any clips quite like that, but the Axe-Fx can easily get a mild, dynamic overdrive tone...I actually use the Mesa clean sim with a tube driver in front of it to get that kind of sound (instead of a Fender sim and Tube screamer sim) and I think sounds as good or better than my pedals into my Two-Rock did :eek:
Click to expand...
Patches, we want patches!
Of course, during the gap between Axechange decomm and the Fractal solution becoming real, you have no way of sharing those patches... :-(
 
Dpoirier said:
John Alexander said:
...I don't have any clips quite like that, but the Axe-Fx can easily get a mild, dynamic overdrive tone...I actually use the Mesa clean sim with a tube driver in front of it to get that kind of sound (instead of a Fender sim and Tube screamer sim) and I think sounds as good or better than my pedals into my Two-Rock did :eek:
Click to expand...
Patches, we want patches!
Of course, during the gap between Axechange decomm and the Fractal solution becoming real, you have no way of sharing those patches... :-(
Click to expand...

...I'm just getting up-to-date on the Axechange/editor news...I've never even used the editor (you don't need it to enjoy or program the Axe) and rarely visit the Axechange...go figure, I had no idea so many people did!!
 
Can it do SRV? Probably, if you can play like him, with 13-gauge strings and all. :lol:

Can it do mild (or even very mild) breakup tones? Yes. Definitely. I love the versatility of this unit.

Here's a quick demo I whipped up in 5 minutes using just compressor, amp, cab & reverb to show you just how subtle it can get. :)

http://e78sng.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p ... 3?download

Guitar: PRS Custom 24, Coil tapped, Neck position, Tone rolled down a little. A Fender would probably do this tone more justice.
 
inkeyes said:
Im seriously considering pulling the trigger on one of these units.
Iv done some research and watched/listened to a whole bunch of clips and Im very impressed with the sounds this thing can get.
However, Iv struggled to find any good clips of mild overdriven "just breaking up" tube amp kind of sounds.
This is the main thing that is stopping me from ordering right this minute.
I play a whole variety of music and this is one of the big reasons im looking at this unit rather than just an amp. However, the main music i do play is blues and rock so this mild, dynamic form of overdrive or dirty clean is a must.
Can it do that SRV thing?

If any of you guys have any tasty clips of the kind of thing im talking about that would be awesome.
Any comments are greatly appreciated.

cheers
Click to expand...

My only comment on this is that you need to take all the clips out there with a grain of salt - nothing will replace actually playing the unit itself. It just has to happen, your eyes will be opened and your ears will thank you.
 
Firstly, thanks for the replies, im pleasantly surprised with the speed and willingness to help. After browsing through this forum for a while it seems that there is a thriving community around these units, which i have to say is very encouraging and makes them even more appealing in my eyes.
Those links and clips are easing my anxiety, Im not after a SRV clone but i felt i should give some kind of reference, but it seems you guys got the general idea of what im after.
If anyone has anymore im still very eager to hear them, could just clinch it for me, but so far it looks very promising.

I have a couple more questions if you guys dont mind helping me out some more.
Basically they're with regards to set-up. What do i need?
I have a bit of an amature mini-studio set up with my pc, i have a USB audio interface with all the usual ins and outs including midi but no mixer.

Could i use this to use the editor software via midi?

I have a decent pair of speakers which are connected up the the interface.

However, the ability to play with head phones is a must, i assume the best way to do this would be out of the audio interface as i cant see a phones out on the axe-fx.

Is there anything else in particular i would need? I would be looking to run it into my PC and audio interface rather than into an amp.

so:

guitar > axe-fx > audio interface > speakers/phones and pc (via midi, for editing software)


Finally, is there a library of patches where the community shares there favourite tones? i think i read in another post something about it, but i wasnt sure if it existed or is in development.

Apologies for all the questions, you probably have heard them all before.
But once again, the help is really appreciated.

cheers
 
inkeyes said:
Firstly, thanks for the replies, im pleasantly surprised with the speed and willingness to help. After browsing through this forum for a while it seems that there is a thriving community around these units, which i have to say is very encouraging and makes them even more appealing in my eyes.
Those links and clips are easing my anxiety, Im not after a SRV clone but i felt i should give some kind of reference, but it seems you guys got the general idea of what im after.
If anyone has anymore im still very eager to hear them, could just clinch it for me, but so far it looks very promising.

I have a couple more questions if you guys dont mind helping me out some more.
Basically they're with regards to set-up. What do i need?
I have a bit of an amature mini-studio set up with my pc, i have a USB audio interface with all the usual ins and outs including midi but no mixer.

Could i use this to use the editor software via midi?

I have a decent pair of speakers which are connected up the the interface.

Edit: Can't seem to find my exact model but here's a couple...

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/MA400.aspx
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/MX400.aspx


However, the ability to play with head phones is a must, i assume the best way to do this would be out of the audio interface as i cant see a phones out on the axe-fx.

Is there anything else in particular i would need? I would be looking to run it into my PC and audio interface rather than into an amp.

so:

guitar > axe-fx > audio interface > speakers/phones and pc (via midi, for editing software)


Finally, is there a library of patches where the community shares there favourite tones? i think i read in another post something about it, but i wasnt sure if it existed or is in development.

Apologies for all the questions, you probably have heard them all before.
But once again, the help is really appreciated.

cheers
Click to expand...
I use my Axe-fx's stereo 1/4 inch L/R out into my MOTU 24i (audio interface) then I monitor via Sonar's Input Monitoring... The Axe-fx does not have a headphone out... most professional gear does not have headphone outs... most n00b gear does... Not saying that I wouldn't have liked a headphone out... It has been mentioned before. You could always just plug into a Mixer and plug in some headphones. I actually have a Behringer Headphone mixer that I bought for $40 bucks that I can plug directly into if I wanted to...

Edit: Can't seem to find my exact model but here are a couple of others (which are a lot more compact)

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/MX400.aspx
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/MA400.aspx

Edit2: Just found it...

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=182040

I like this one cuz I can connect up to 8 headphones... all for $50 bones!
 
I'm at work so I'm limited to text but there is a factory preset that comes to mind that gets that tone for me on my guitar. I use a hand made srv style strat and the 'got more blues' breaks up in that manner with my fender noisless pickups. Ultimately, however, don't beat yourself to death with clips. There are probably several dozen factory presets already suitable and that's until you get into making your own. no fear no regrets.
 
ok, im impressed with the clips.
Might just have to pull the trigger this weekend.
Does anyone know if the unit will come with the latest firmware?
Or is it likely i would have to donwload and install the latest version? if so, is this a fairly easy process?

Also, if anyone can respond to my previous reply in this thread regarding any other equipment i need, that would be awesome
 
inkeyes said:
Also, if anyone can respond to my previous reply in this thread regarding any other equipment i need, that would be awesome
Click to expand...

Poke around the site abit. There's alot of information here. Read the manual. Your situation is like many others, and it will be beneficial to research what others have said and how things are done.

Ron
 
inkeyes said:
I have a couple more questions if you guys dont mind helping me out some more.
Basically they're with regards to set-up. What do i need?
I have a bit of an amature mini-studio set up with my pc, i have a USB audio interface with all the usual ins and outs including midi but no mixer.

Could i use this to use the editor software via midi?
Click to expand...
Maybe. The editor, while really cool, is very finicky with MIDI and doesn't necessarily work with the same equipment on every system. But there's ways around that - you can use MIDI OX to communicate over MIDI and the editor to create, edit and move patches. It's a little more work, but not a lot. FYI: That's how I do it.

inkeyes said:
However, the ability to play with head phones is a must, i assume the best way to do this would be out of the audio interface as i cant see a phones out on the axe-fx.
Click to expand...

Correct. No headphone out. You can get a cheapo mixer or headphone amp or just use your audio interface.

inkeyes said:
Is there anything else in particular i would need? I would be looking to run it into my PC and audio interface rather than into an amp.

so:

guitar > axe-fx > audio interface > speakers/phones and pc (via midi, for editing software)
Click to expand...

Yes, that should work. If you want to play it live, you may need a MIDI foot controller, if you dont already have one. Also, you may want an expression pedal (or two!) if you want to do things like volume swells and/or Wahs.


inkeyes said:
Finally, is there a library of patches where the community shares there favourite tones? i think i read in another post something about it, but i wasnt sure if it existed or is in development.
Click to expand...

There used to be AxeChange.net (and it still has a zip file of contributed patches) - but that appears to have shut down this morning. Fractal's apparently working on a replacement.

Honestly, though - while the site was an excellent resource, since all of us use different gear, you'll probably end up writing your own patches. Heck, my own patches sound quite different (to me) when I switch out guitars, even with the rest of the rig being the same.
 
I did it, ordered an ultra! should be with me within a week.
Thanks for all the help guys, im sure i will be around to bug you all some more.
Hopefully with time i can gain some experience and become part of this community.

Any tips or hints for a new owner?
 
First thing to do is download the editor and... no, wait... :shock:

;)

P.S. New units sometimes come with even newer firmware that we can download and install! Welcome to the fold!
 
inkeyes said:
Any tips or hints for a new owner?
Click to expand...

You might get some good mileage out of the "Only Amps & Cabs" bank that Dutch put together a while ago. This is a an entire bank of patches, each of which contains one of the sixty-five (!) different amps plus a related cab model.

IMO, these are real useful places to begin building your tones from the ground up.

Search the forums and you'll find the bank.
 
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