What is the typical Fractal user like? ;)

1) How many years do you play guitar? Started when I was 13. Took 10 years off while in the navy and college. But pretty regularly for the last 13 years.

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician? Amateur :) I do it for fun ... there's nothing better than a sound that makes you drool ... you know you've escaped :)

3) How long do you play guitar every day? 1-2 hours

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician?
Just started recording but am interested in music composition.

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)? It's always live ... just my audience is me and my neighbors :)

6) How many guitars do you own? 4 electric guitars, 1 electric bass, two acoustics and one acoustic bass.

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar? Bass and learning to play piano

8) What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe? I'm a tone junky

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe? No way!!! :)
 
1) How many years do you play guitar? 43

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician? Amateur, in the sense that I do it because I love it, and not because it provides an income

3) How long do you play guitar every day? About an hour a day four days a week

4) Do you play in a band ... Yes, but I only have time for one

5) How often do you perform live? We aim for twice a month. Less than that and you're not keeping in practice. More than two starts to intrude on home and work

6) How many guitars do you own? 5, plus a bass and a stick.

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar? I could manage a few sax fills

8 ) What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe? My previous FX died, and I bought what I considered to be the most practical replacement. Amp modelling came as a bonus

9) Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe? Yes. It's an ideal tool for cover band work. Using it I've learned a lot about amps and effects
 
1) How many years do you play guitar? 6

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician? Professional, not in an arrogant way but just that it is my source of income. My profession :) would like to be doing a LOT more though.

3) How long do you play guitar every day? 4-5 hours at least

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician?
I'm always up to play, not currently involved in any projects but am available for sessions/gigs.

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)? Where I live (northwest indiana) is a joke for live music, theres not much going on and its extremely hard for me to get taken seriously because people just see me as a '19 year old' -_- I do occasionally play out and would like to start gigging regularly on the weekends, but not much going on around here again.

6) How many guitars do you own? Currently 3. Going to be adding a TAG to the collection by the end of the year as well as a few other gitfiddles.

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar? Drums, Piano/Keyboard, Bass

8) What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe? Consistency, versatility, ease of transportation. One doesn't need many reasons to buy the Axe, it's just that awesome.

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe? I don't know about feeling worthy/unworthy but I do feel like I underutilize it compared to its capabilities. 95% of my patches are Amp-Cab-Delay (stereo tape low mix) - Room (small room, short time, low mix) haha
 
1) How many years do you play guitar? 6

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician? Amateur basement player.

3) How long do you play guitar every day? 30 minutes

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician? No

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)? N/A

6) How many guitars do you own? 5 electric, 1 acoustic, 1 basss, 1 ukelele

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar? Nope

8) What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe? Dissatisfied with tone of other modellers I tried. Don't like "one trick pony" amps.

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe? Do you mean: hackers; tell us why you are worthy? - because we can still appreciate a superior tone in what we play.
 
1) How many years do you play guitar? 17

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician? I used to play professionally but now just for fun and the occasional gig.

3) How long do you play guitar every day? Not nearly as much as I would like. Some weeks I dont play and others a couple hours a day.

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician?
I played in a somewhat successful band several years back and I play semi regularly with a small group now for the random bar gig. I like to only do 1-2 projects at a time.

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)? I used to perform about 300 gigs a year. Now it's about 1-3 a month.

6) How many guitars do you own? 2

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar? Bass, Piano, Drums, Trombone, Tuba, Baratone

What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe? Mark Day, Pete Thorne, and Ola England. Seriously though, I wanted something that was super flexible, sounded great, and didn't take up a lot of apce

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe? I don't think I use it to its full potential but as worthy as the next guy.
 
What is the typical Fractal user like?
Here's another way I'd like to answer that question...

Well, I've never met another Axe user in person,
but from what I see here on the forum I've noticed that
no matter what country the Axe user is from:

The typical AXE user is intelligent,
often quite humble,
has a good sense of humor,
is kind and very sharing whether they are top paid pros or beginners.
They are VERY supportive, and...

I know NO other group of folks online who are "pulling on the same rope in the same direction"
My hat is off to all of the Axe Community!

(Yikes, I sound like some cheerleader, sheesh!

Cheers,
Joel
 
joeltc1 said:
What is the typical Fractal user like?
Here's another way I'd like to answer that question...

Well, I've never met another Axe user in person,
but from what I see here on the forum I've noticed that
no matter what country the Axe user is from:

The typical AXE user is intelligent,
often quite humble,
has a good sense of humor,
is kind and very sharing whether they are top paid pros or beginners.
They are VERY supportive, and...

I know NO other group of folks online who are "pulling on the same rope in the same direction"
My hat is off to all of the Axe Community!

(Yikes, I sound like some cheerleader, sheesh!

Cheers,
Joel
Click to expand...

+1!
 
1) How many years do you play guitar? 35 or so

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician? Pro. It's what I do.

3) How long do you play guitar every day? 1-4 hours depending on practice or gigs.

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician? 1 band.

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)? About 200-240 gigs a year.

6) How many guitars do you own? 2 Electric, 2 acoustics.

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar? Bass.

What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe? There are so many. Weight, Sound, Versatility, did I mention sound?

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe? Sure! I use it quite fully and extensively and I paid for it!
 
1) How many years do you play guitar? 36. wow, what happened? I don't feel like I'm even 36 years old yet!

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician? Semi-pro

3) How long do you play guitar every day? A few minutes to many hours depending on the day. Sometimes I'll skip a few days to give it a rest and come at it fresh.

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician?
Right now I play in a cover band, also working on my first "album" in my home studio. I've been in bands most of those 36 years, some cover bands, some originals bands, with a few breaks to catch my breath or sanity...

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)? 2-3 weekends a month, almost always Fri + Sat gigs. The Salt Lake live scene isn't much to speak of, and what there is, doesn't really support the music I would choose to play if I lived somewhere else. Saying that, we do pretty well, have a couple of very good regular locations. And we have better skiing than just about anywhere ;-)

6) How many guitars do you own? 5 electric, 3 acoustic (as soon as I pick up my new Taylor), 1 bass

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar? percussion, bass, a bit of keys

8) What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe? Tone, plus the ability to configure it and to get whatever I want on my footpedals

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe? Absolutely! ;-)
 
1) How many years do you play guitar?
40 yrs. -give or take a few "clueless thug" years in my early teens.

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician?
Professional

3) How long do you play guitar every day?
At least one to several hours a day.

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician?
Not in a band at the moment, but many over the years. I do a lot of solo acoustic dates. Doing a session tomorrow with the Axe FX for some corporate soundtrack because Andy Timmons is out of town. (I'm therefore trying to subtly lower this producer's expectations......)

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)?
1 or 2 a week, more if I'm in a band.

6) How many guitars do you own?
Four main electrics and four main acoustics. Several other mongrels hanging around.

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar? percussion, bass, a bit of keys
No unfortunately, just guitar. I always tell my students "play piano, play bass, and sing....you'll get more gigs!"

8) What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe?
Players that I really admire really talked it up.....it's exceeded my wildest expectations.

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe?
Totally. I think anyone who plays and enjoys it as much as I do (and can afford it!) is worthy of it.
Do I think I'll ever fully utilize everything it's capable of? Not any time soon!!
 
1. 13 years

2. Talentless hack

3. Depends on mood

4. Never found a stable group with people as odd as me

5. It's been a while

6. 4

7. Synth, bass, vocals

8. It sounds better than anything else available

9. No
 
So for you guys interested, this is the first part of the results. Room for discussion now! ;)

1) This one was relatively easy to sum up: The average fractal user plays guitar for like 26 years now. Which kind of makes me awestruck because I'm not even that old, lol.

2) Pretty much all users consider themselves as amateurs or semi-professionals. Only very few make a living with playing guitar.

3) results varied alot and were hard to sum up... the average seems to be at like 1 hour per day, (which is alot compared to myself, lol)

4) Interesting answers here. It seems that the majority of people are either not in a band or have multiple projects at once. It seems that Fractal products secretly support polygamy and abstinence ;D
There's only a few cases of people running only one project at a time.

5) Also interesting. It seems there is a lot of people either doing no live at all or doing it on a very frequently basis (more than 3 per month). Occasional gigging like 2-3 times per year is very rare.

6) The average user has 8 instruments (2-3 of them acoustics or basses), though there some heavy users with 15+ guitars. I gotta say this number is pretty impressive... looks like most people in these forums still suffer from GAS. Now I feel I should also have added questions about amps, lol.

7) I'm a little bit disappointed here, I gotta say. Nothing really out of the ordinary. ;)
A lot of people also play bass or other stringed instruments, which is not that surprising, but drums is also very popular, followed by keys and vocals. Very few brass or less common instruments. Only saw one guy playing a sax, which is sad, because sax is awesome as hell. ;)


Edit:
8: Most of people mentioned flexibility and portability. Interesting: only a handful of people mentioned recording purposes.
Some people got it to get rid of volume issues, only two people mentioned they got it to save money as they consider the Axe the "cheapest" solution to what they want to achieve.


9: Most people answered with "I paid for it, so yes." ... which ... kind of sounds like they are used to justify their possessions an awful lot. Oo ... Haven't expected that. (I can already imagine the rolling pin wielding wife asking in a hysterical tone why honey bought ANOTHER guitar... lol)
Some people think they only use a small amount of the potential of the unit, which is understandable. Interesting stuff: there are actually quite a few people who were able to "learn something" from the axe. I wanted to point that out because it's exactly the same as I feel. Before I got all the possibilities with the Axe, I never bothered to learn about all the technical stuff behind effects and amps. Since I got it, I'm amazed how the world "opened up" for me and how it actually boosts creativity. It also changed the way I listen to music... I'm much more analytical now, try to understand what effects they use and why, how they set it up, etc.. Before I got the Axe I was just like "Uh, okay... chorus. Fine.", now I'm like "Hmm... what settings did they use to achieve this sound? Is that a triangle or sine type? Or is it actually a Flanger with odd settings? How can I do something like this?"
 
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1. 45 years

2. Journeyman

3. Half hour to several hours

4. One band, other projects

5. Usually once a month

6. 6

7. Mandolin, trombone

8. Sound, but also as I get older, I wanted to keep up with new technology. I regard the Axe and this forum as an incredible learning resource.

9. Yes
 
1) How many years do you play guitar?
10. Started when I was 12.

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician?
Amateur.

3) How long do you play guitar every day?
I don't really keep tabs... at least 1 hour, potentially a lot more if I'm not busy.

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician?
No. I hope to change this soon.. just finished my paramedic degree last week :) Till now I have mostly done home recording and bedroom shredding!

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)?
Pretty much never - haven't had time until now!

6) How many guitars do you own?
5

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar?
Bass, and a box guitar (which is similar to a chapman stick). I also enjoy writing music for orchestra, which I consider another instrument, kind of.

What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe?
Easy good quality recording, and to get rid of tubes - they have proven to be too problematic for my taste.

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe?
Yes.
 
1) How many years do you play guitar?
Since 1979, so that's um, a lot.

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician?
Professional.

3) How long do you play guitar every day?
On a good day, couple of hours. Sometimes zero. If that's because I'm doing other musical work it doesn't bother me. The days when I do no music of any kind suck, although they happen.

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician?
Not really any more. I have a goof-off band with a few other studio players but it is highly erratic and we only do friend's parties. I do occasionally get asked to do pickups but I just can't be bothered any more.

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)?
I spent 14 years on the road and racked up over 2600 gigs. Now it's 2-3 a year at best.

6) How many guitars do you own?
Twenty-two.

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar?
Piano, violin, mandolin, banjo, bass, ukelele, flute, saxophone, lap steel, and currently learning the baglama (as a result of having a Turkish wife).

8) What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe?
The Axe is the *ultimate* studio guitarist's tool - I get a 99% perfect sound immediately. Yeah, maybe I could find absolute perfection for the required studio guitar sound if I had the time (and the client was willing to pay), but I'm usually on someone else's dollar. I once completed a four song session in 25 minutes (and that is from walking in to packing up). I got paid for four hours work... so that's 3.5 hours the Axe gave me (and the client was 100% happy).

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe?
Well, yes, but I think anyone and everyone who cares about their playing is worthy - even an absolute beginner.
 
1) How many years do you play guitar?
30something

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician?
In the past part-time pro, now I am a bedroom player

3) How long do you play guitar every day?
from 0 to 6 hours

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician?
5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)?
Now: bedroom playing. Past: a lot.


6) How many guitars do you own?
tres (aka 3)

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar?
my balls

What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe?
I hate guitar amplifiers. I always played FRFR since I was born, and the size of my FX rack was getting bigger than a fridge.

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe?
Fully worthy. Either I was born for it, or it was born for me. Thank You, Papi Cliff.
 
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1) How many years do you play guitar? 27 years

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician? semi-professional i guess

3) How long do you play guitar every day? days off about ...3-4 hours a day

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician? yes I play in a band

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)? nowadays, 8-10 gigs a year
6) How many guitars do you own? 6 guitars

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar? yes drums

What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe? recording & live use

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe? yes for sure

That's all for now ... Let's see what the majority of people is like in this forums.
 
1) How many years do you play guitar?
On and off since I was 10 years old in 1980.

2) Do you consider yourself an amateur, semi-professional or professional musician?
Complete hack with some solid chops - everything's relative. I can play any tune after a short study, would love to play more.

3) How long do you play guitar every day?
Varies. Some days none, some days 3 to 4 hours.

4) Do you play in a band or even multiple bands? If so, how many projects do you run at the same time? Or do you get "hired" for jobs aka, being a professional musician?
On and off. Haven't gigged in ages, doing a lot of virtual work with distant musicians and friends.

5) How often do you perform live (some gigs in a year, a couple of gigs per month or even per week)?
Never as of late. I'm a shut-in.

6) How many guitars do you own?
9, soon to be 10.

7) Do you play any other instruments besides guitar?
Soft synths, etc. All the virtual backing and accompanying stuff to lay tracks.

What was your ultimate reason to buy the Axe?
Still figuring this out. I like what I see and what I've heard, but I've yet to know for sure it's for me. I'm a toober... But I'm giving the A2 an honest shot with some newly arrived active CLR wedges. I'm hoping it'll be all that and a bag of chips, and knock the hardware content of my manpod down by 90%. I've got a lot of heads and cabs and FX... Too much.

9) Kind of a funny question: Do you consider yourself 'worthy' of the Axe?
The price determines this ultimately, so sure, whatever.

I'll add that, judging from the content on this forum, I'd say a lot of Axe owners and users are fairly well heeled individuals; perhaps leaning slightly towards a more mature demographic (although I know this is a moving target with more and more youth taking it up as their main rig). I think a lot of hobbyists are into it - for the same reason this hobbyist is trying to get into it - it saves money, space, and it's extremely convenient. This is what I'm seeing. Hell, just look at the "For Sale" section of this forum and more often than not, it's LOADED with exceptionally high end gear, at drastically reduced prices. What this tells me is the vendors aren't nickel and diming their funds - they're mature, and understanding of what it takes to sell something without going on a fishing expedition. Furthermore, I think you have to be more of a contented mind to spend time staring into that lil' green LCD for, perhaps, lengthy periods of time. A younger niche wouldn't have the mental tenacity to do this with success en masse. Just my thoughts, nothing else.
 
Piing said:
The Pros are probably playing guitar, not browsing internet and this forum from the office ;)
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say so. Being professional does not neccesarily mean playing paid gigs all the time. There are also professional studio musicians or 'background artists' that often get hired for that random R'n'B artist, country singer or rapper.
And I see no reason why they wouldn't also play guitar in their freetime or at home.
 
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