Wait for AX8 -or- Axe FX II Mark II ....... same price :) ... :( ..... cant decide ..... ?

Wow .... sincere thanks everyone .... especially Cliff (?) for chiming in.

This is a very generous offer from my friend and colleague [ Alex ] hence why re-selling or flipping will not occur.

So we talked about it and agreed that

- I will buy it for $1400
- I'll stay on the AX8 waitlist and buy the AX8 when my turn comes.
- after a few months I will decide which to keep - he *strongly* suggested that I will need some time to get used to the Axe user topography as I am used to a much simpler user topography with the Kemper
- if I decide to keep the Mark II - I'll sell the AX8
- if I decide that the AX8 is way-plenty for my needs [ which it may well be ] I'll sell the Mark II and whatever I get over $1400 I will give to Alex so he is no worse off

So .... initially I'll have both.

Only issue -which isn't an issue- is that the 2nd guitarist in his band is and will be using his Mark II for shows over the xmas / new year / January holiday period etc ...... so I wont have the Mark II in my hands until [realistically] mid-late January ....... this is absolutly no problems ....... ironically though could be about the same time I *may* get my AX8 ...... :)

Sincere thanks to all for your honest advice / opinions / feedback.

Ben

PS: I had a huge chuckle when I mentally pictured myself bending over and tweaking the AX8 during songs / gigs .....not only is that an unprofessional look ..... but its not a pretty look either :) ...... as someone very rightly pointed out ...... a non-ideal sound during a song will not be noticed by anyone but me ..... whereas constant bending down and tweaking really is *not* a good physical or professional look :)
 
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So we've gone to objections over the Fractal releasing the AX8 in a floor format because "someone might spill beer on it" to "you might hurt your back bending over the make adjustments". Maybe if you guys didn't drink so much beer you wouldn't be so fat that you can't physically bend over without throwing your back out. Time to hit the gym fellas! :p
 
ethomas1013 said:
So we've gone to objections over the Fractal releasing the AX8 in a floor format because "someone might spill beer on it" to "you might hurt your back bending over the make adjustments". Maybe if you guys didn't drink so much beer you wouldn't be so fat that you can't physically bend over without throwing your back out. Time to hit the gym fellas! :p
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LOL, I don't think that's what he was referring to... crack kills bro! Anyway, I personally wouldn't want to be doing any real tweaking while I was playing. Way too easy with any pedal to bump something and make it far worse. I guess the way I see it is that's what homework is for. Get all of your sounds dialed in before your gig and tweak for the venue during sound check. I'd go out of my mind if I had to worry about playing / singing / tweaking all at the same time, not to mention my gear always sounds different too me as the show progresses... damn ear fatigue.
 
Gday Ben,
Take it! You will love it, and absolute worst case, you can grab an axe 8 later if you feel the need.
You'll have no regrets and let's face it...worst case? You sell it later for the same price. I advertised one two days ago for a bit more than that and have already knocked back 3 offers that were more than the price you're being offered.
Pauly


ben ifin said:
Wow

This has caught me off guard.

Background.

- I'm a Kemper user eagerly [ and somewhat impatiently :) ] waiting on the AX8 wait list

- I have had the please of using a good friend XL+ at a few live shows - very happy - hence why I am on the AX8 wait list.

- he is aware of the AX8 " wait " and has offered to sell me his old Axe FX II Mark II for the AX8 equivalent of US $1400 as he intends to keep his XL+

Now .... I know this is a GREAT offer ..... and I have no intention of grabbibng it and "flipping" it.

This is a genuine offer from a good friend.

In the plus side - I already have a BJ Devices TB12 Midi FSW which is fully Kemper and Axe Compatible.

The down-side / where I am not sure

- the AX8 seems suited to live gigging with dedicated "real" amp controls

- the Axe II Mark II -being a rack unit- strikes me as being much more fiddly / annoying / harder to tweak in real time duing gigs / songs when playing live.

- also I know the XL has a better encoder and better / quieter input and other major changes ... whch the AX8 may also have ?

HELP :) ........ any thoughts / ideas / comments would be genuinely appreciated.

Ben
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So as an aside, what's a good price for an Axe FX XL (not XL+) for a used mint condition unit (never out of the house or off the home rack initially place in)?
 
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Thank you all. I should have written that I did buy and pay for it yesterday so its officially mine :) And I should have it in my possession in mid-late January once his bands xmas / holidays shows are done an dusted.

Ben
 
ben ifin said:
Thank you all. I should have written that I did buy and pay for it yesterday so its officially mine :) And I should have it in my possession in mid-late January once his bands xmas / holidays shows are done an dusted.

Ben
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Wait ... you paid him before getting the unit?
This is ... uhh... weird. Why not just exchange the money with the unit in january?
 
BillE said:
In the last week or so I've also had the opportunity of buying a Mark II for just less than the price of an AX8. I decided to pass. I reasoned:

- Number one for me, the footswitch functions of the AX8 look really great, some of which you can't do with the AFXII (at least not with the MFC). See some of the other threads.
- I can sell my Ground Control Pro if I decide to keep the AX8, as it will be redundant. This knocks some of the cost off the AX8.
- When I had a Standard I never used anywhere near the firepower available even in that unit. I can't imagine really needing everything the AFXII offers. I'm pretty simple when it comes to FX. I also think I'm very rarely likely to use a dual amp setup or tone matching, which the AX8 might not have.
- I'm liking the idea of having an all-in-one unit, looks like you can just drag blocks from the grid in AX8 Edit and drop them into the footswitches. Nice workflow. Assigning FX isn't exactly rocket science in the Ground Control Pro, but it's just another device to have to deal with. Scene functionality in the GCP seems like it might be a bit limited too.
- If I got an AFXII I'd need a separate tuner on the floor, along with either battery hassles or hooking it up to a power unit. I wouldn't shell out the cash for an MFC and the tuner function on that, seeing as I already have the GCP.
- I want the shiny new toy that is the AX8. I know that if I got an AFXII I'd be hounded by curiosity about the new unit. I'm also sadistically enjoying the wait, seeing as I've come this far and not caved in to my monkey-brain urges. Ramps up the excitement about the shiny new object. Sad isn't it? :)

Best of luck with your decision!
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Great post. I'm almost word for word agreeing with you. I am currently gigging a Standard, and am quite happy with the feature set on it - I am hardly scratching the surface of its potential, as I usually just find a preset and tweak it to suit the songs in my setlist. I don't really have the patience to go deep editing on it, so I'd probably be wasting my time getting an Axe2, with all the features available. It's a bit like my iPhone - I must use around 10% of its capabilities.... Kudos to you guys who know how to really tweak and edit - I just don't have the patience! Same with the tuner- as I'm rapidly approaching 50, bending down to check out the Standard's tuner is killing me!
 
JayCM800XL said:
I would get the II.

I'm still getting an AX8 as "backup" (that's my justification and the excuse I gave to my wife, LOL)

Despite dedicated "amp" controls, kneeling in front of or hunching over a floorboard to adjust on the fly... that's something I'd prefer to avoid, and if necessary, I rather do it standing up, less conspicuous, reach the front panel, press Quick Control 'x' and use Value & ABCD knobs... Much easier IMHO
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Awesome never thought of that one.LOL
 
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