Vs The Real Thing

APE

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When I back off the volume on real amps with distortion, it cleans up.

But with my Axe-FX II, not so much. What am I doing wrong?

I am considering a lightweight rig using an AX8.
 
And what are the dimensions of the AX8? The buttons look small and too close together. I am tall with big feet.
 
If your issue is that the AFX doesn't sound right when you roll off the volume, you'll have the same problem with the AX8. They both run the same code.
 
When I back off the volume on real amps with distortion, it cleans up.

But with my Axe-FX II, not so much. What am I doing wrong?

I am considering a lightweight rig using an AX8.
It depends on the Amp. Not all real amps do it nicely either.

It definitely rolls off nice on the Axe.
 
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I roll back my guitar volume constantly. In fact, I use my guitar volume as the main thing to go from clean to mean. I wholeheartedly agree with Chris. It depends on the amp model selected. Also depends on how you set the controls on the amp. If the input drive is cranked, even Mr. Monk could not clean it up. I have found that one of the things I like the most about the Fractal products is the way they respond to subtle (and not so subtle) changes to the guitar controls. It responds just like the real thing.
 
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I also roll back my guitars volume knob for my clean sound, so I'd have to disagree with the OP's premise.
 
When I back off the volume on real amps with distortion, it cleans up.

But with my Axe-FX II, not so much. What am I doing wrong?
Are you using more gain on the AxeFx than on the amp perhaps?
And what are the dimensions of the AX8? The buttons look small and too close together. I am tall with big feet.
I wouldn't say I'm particularly tall but for what it's worth, I'm about 6ft/183cm, shoe size 13US/46Eur and the buttons work fine for me.
 
And what are the dimensions of the AX8? The buttons look small and too close together. I am tall with big feet.
You can check out Barefoot Buttons for the AX8. I bought a set and they are the bomb. BB offers 2 heights, Tallboys and regular. I put tallboys on the back row and regulars on the front row as well as the F switches. They are a bit pricey (IMHO) but extremely well made and worth the cost to me. I am not a huge guy, (6' tall, 190 lbs), but after 28 years of diabetes, I can barely feel my feet. So the Barefoot Buttons are a blessing for me, as I can feel what I am stepping on. Win win.
 
When I back off the volume on real amps with distortion, it cleans up.

But with my Axe-FX II, not so much. What am I doing wrong?
Which volume are you backing off?

I'm with the rest of the crowd: both the Axe and the AX8 respond wonderfully to changes in the guitar's volume knob. Most of the amp models respond like this. The really high-gain models are the only exceptions, and even they do a useful job of it if they're dialed in that way.
 
It varies some depending on the guitar also. My fender cleans up much better than my Les Paul.

You could try using the input trim controls instead of the guitar volume. It can be controlled via scene changes using a modifier.
 
You can check out Barefoot Buttons for the AX8. I bought a set and they are the bomb. BB offers 2 heights, Tallboys and regular. I put tallboys on the back row and regulars on the front row as well as the F switches. They are a bit pricey (IMHO) but extremely well made and worth the cost to me. I am not a huge guy, (6' tall, 190 lbs), but after 28 years of diabetes, I can barely feel my feet. So the Barefoot Buttons are a blessing for me, as I can feel what I am stepping on. Win win.
Which size of Barefoot Buttons do you use for AX8?
 
Honestly I have a plexi with a tube screamer engaged in front, on the Ax8.

I can switch to the neck pick up, a humbucker, even leaving the tube screamer on ( I have it set up in a very traditional way, drive down, volume up, to boost and tighten things up), roll the volume down.....and get a glorious clean!

Many other amp models do very well at this, many!
 
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