What don't you miss from your old amps before you picked up an Axe?

Adman103

Adman103

Power User
Two things for me- I hate cone cry, and for some reason, my old rig would howl with it. Drove me nuts.

The other thing? It is so nice being able to play without the ringing in my ears from cranked amps in a small space. I really, really don't miss that!

How about you? What is it that is no longer an issue for you in your Axe Fx life?
 
Picking up radio stations, (re)biasing with lethal voltages everywhere, not being able to turn it on/off whenever I feel like it
 
I guess I do not completely jump on the band wagon of selling all your amps. I still have and use mine since there is still something relaxing about just plugging into a tube amp like a Fender that has just basic controls, put a overdrive in front of it and play. I use my Axe Fx equally along with my amps according to what mood I am in and what sounds I want to hear. If I am looking for something like Pink Floyd, I use the Axe. For some straight forward blues I go to my tube amps. There, I admit it!
 
Hunting for bad patch cables in my pedalboard. Frantically connecting amp, cab, pedalboard, and FX rack in the tiny time frame allowed for setup before a show. Carrying all that shit around. Spending hours miking the damn cabinet to find the spot where it sounds good. Replacing power tubes. Blowing a power tube in the middle of a recording session.

I'd have gone to a solution like the Axe-FX years and years ago if there had only been one that sounded good. *Everything* is better this way, except the sound--and now that's as good or better, too. There's just no going back.
 
I can focus on playing now with consistent sound and a small footprint. I have saved a lot of money too by not changing amps trying to chase the sound in my head.
 
I don't miss the weight. I don't miss the heat. I don't miss expensive re-tubing. I don't miss mysterious noises popping up and then going away when you know its just going to come back at the worst time. Etc.....................................
 
lizzieusedaaxe said:
I guess I do not completely jump on the band wagon of selling all your amps. I still have and use mine since there is still something relaxing about just plugging into a tube amp like a Fender that has just basic controls, put a overdrive in front of it and play. I use my Axe Fx equally along with my amps according to what mood I am in and what sounds I want to hear. If I am looking for something like Pink Floyd, I use the Axe. For some straight forward blues I go to my tube amps. There, I admit it!
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I hear ya- I haven't gotten rid of my old flame either, but there are a lot of things about it that I do not miss having to deal with.
 
I don't miss that it sounded different every other time I turned it on. Or that I spent hundreds of dollars trying to get it to sound like an amp in the room never would i.e. the tones I was hearing on recordings. In relation to this I don't miss the constant tone chasing. I also don't miss that it had to be super loud to sound great and that I couldn't play it while the kids were asleep. I think thats it ;)

Cheers.
 
My old rack wasn't that bad (1U JMP1, 2U Mesa 50/50 and a 1U GX-700 for FX or could use it's fizzy amp sims in emergency).

I don't miss it - I can look at it everyday if I want as it gathers dust :)

The only thing I miss about a good old fashioned analogue tube amp now is that there's no internal battery that will give out someday when I least expect it ... but I can live with that.
 
lizzieusedaaxe said:
I guess I do not completely jump on the band wagon of selling all your amps. I still have and use mine since there is still something relaxing about just plugging into a tube amp like a Fender that has just basic controls, put a overdrive in front of it and play. I use my Axe Fx equally along with my amps according to what mood I am in and what sounds I want to hear. If I am looking for something like Pink Floyd, I use the Axe. For some straight forward blues I go to my tube amps. There, I admit it!
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I totally get it. Plugging a guitar straight into an all tube amp (a good one) can be a refreshing break from "high tech". I have an old 55 Chevy pickup which is pretty much original (big ass steering wheel, manual brakes, no radio...), and I love driving that thing around town. It's like going back in time, a simpler time. I love my Axe II and it is far superior in capabilities to my tube amps, just like my daily driver is superior to my old beater truck. I'm all for technology, but I still appreciate the simple things from time to time.
 
Here's my list:

1. Tone change. One day the amp sound amazing. The next day, meh.

2. Directionalism. My amps sounds best when I'm standing slightly to the right of it and within eight feet. It sound horrible when pointed directly at me.

3. Weight.

4. Technical difficulty. I've got no sound! Whole band's waiting for me to trouble shoot. Forget it. Who needs delay anyway. Find out later that one of fifty wires was not quite seated correctly.

5. Volume. Not loud enough to get good tone, but still too loud for the rest of the band... and for my ears, at that.

6. GAS. ... Okay, maybe this one's not totally cured, but at least it's shifted it's focus from amps and pedals to guitars and pickups.
 
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