bgrizzmayne
Inspired
You guys will be proud! Gigged my Axe and had good results. Edit...kind of
Hey guys!
As many of us know, I've had a hard time with my Axe FX II. I first bought it with a Matrix Q12a, and struggled with the FRFR switch. I then saved money and bought the MFC + expression pedals- wanted the axe to function just like my Musicomlab controlled pedalboard. Still wasn't working for me in live situations, so I bought a poweramp & cab (matrix NL212 & GT1000FX). STILL had trouble with it- couldn't get it to sound as full as my deluxe reverb with pedalboard. Well, my Deluxe Reverb died at a gig last Saturday.
I had been bringing my Axe FX to gigs as a backup solution, because I'd recently sold off my Fender Twin that I used to lug around as a backup. Not ideal, but my thought was that I could plug the Axe to the board, and run a Twin model with a cab block. Then I could just plug my pedalboard into the axe, then be good to go! So I did all this during this outdoor easy listening gig. It worked, but I was running this tiny 4' roland cube monitor just for vocal monitoring (didn't bring my in-ear rig) Since I no longer had a cabinet behind me, the cube was the only way I could hear my guitar tone, but it just couldn't seem to handle the volume/frequencies of the Axe. I tried listening out front and didn't hear the same breakup, but it was hard not getting an accurate representation of my tone (either in my monitor, or behind me). Anyways, I finished the last hour set back on my deluxe reverb- it was being temperamental and fortunately worked, because the Axe didn't sound good in that solution (not really the axe's fault, but it's tough to run it if I don't have a big monitor).
Had a gig later that night with a country band- decided i needed to use my axe fx. but I decided I'd plug my pedalboard into the axe fx, run a twin or deluxe style model, and just mic up my NL212. on my pedalboard, all my patches were ready to go, and I could just focus on the amp component of the Axe. That night, the room was terrible, but by our 3rd hour and me constantly going back to my laptop between songs, I finally got something that was workable. What REALLY made the axe sound much better in my rig was Yek's PEQ trick. I put a PEQ after the amp block (no cab block, since I was using my NL212) and immediately the thing sat better. I just blocked high and low, maybe at 100 hz and 10k or so. Also maybe some minor cuts in the global EQ of the Axe.
Last night, I gigged the Axe at the same venue I first did. My results were MUCH better. Running a Fender twin model with the bright switch on, but controlling some of the highs and lows via the PEQ and Global EQ worked well. A lot of my tones were pretty much just as chunky, but cleaner and clearer.
Maybe this hybrid solution is the way to go for me for a while. I still have to lug my 70 lb pedaltrain pro around, but it's a very flexible rig, and allows me to just focus on amp tones, while boosting and using effects that I'm completely comfortable with- ones that I've dialed in over the last couple years. I'd love to run a midi cable back to the Axe from my Musicomlab, and be able to send it scene changes. I could easily AB between amps, or use scene controllers to adjust the gain of my amps, and still control it with my mostly analog pedalboard. Or, I'd love to figure out a way to run my time based stuff in the loop of my axe FX, and be able to sub in axe effects via scenes.
Anyways, just thought I'd pass along that I finally figured out a cool solution! Perhaps I'll go through and AB my pedals and recreate them with the axe, so I don't have to lug my big pedalboard to gigs. Thanks to everyone's help, and anyone having problems- try throwing a PEQ in the mix and blocking highs and lows. I myself didn't boost my midrange much- I have a Koko boost and hit that when I want a part to stand out. I plan on moving forward going direct to FOH with a cab block once I find one that sounds close enough to my Matrix, and then I won't have to set up a mic or mic stand. Thanks again guys! I'll keep you all updated with questions and additional thoughts as I delve into the Axe more, but I'm over the first hurdle where I at least have it sounding pretty good to gig with it and focus on playing. Cheers!
Ben
Hey guys!
As many of us know, I've had a hard time with my Axe FX II. I first bought it with a Matrix Q12a, and struggled with the FRFR switch. I then saved money and bought the MFC + expression pedals- wanted the axe to function just like my Musicomlab controlled pedalboard. Still wasn't working for me in live situations, so I bought a poweramp & cab (matrix NL212 & GT1000FX). STILL had trouble with it- couldn't get it to sound as full as my deluxe reverb with pedalboard. Well, my Deluxe Reverb died at a gig last Saturday.
I had been bringing my Axe FX to gigs as a backup solution, because I'd recently sold off my Fender Twin that I used to lug around as a backup. Not ideal, but my thought was that I could plug the Axe to the board, and run a Twin model with a cab block. Then I could just plug my pedalboard into the axe, then be good to go! So I did all this during this outdoor easy listening gig. It worked, but I was running this tiny 4' roland cube monitor just for vocal monitoring (didn't bring my in-ear rig) Since I no longer had a cabinet behind me, the cube was the only way I could hear my guitar tone, but it just couldn't seem to handle the volume/frequencies of the Axe. I tried listening out front and didn't hear the same breakup, but it was hard not getting an accurate representation of my tone (either in my monitor, or behind me). Anyways, I finished the last hour set back on my deluxe reverb- it was being temperamental and fortunately worked, because the Axe didn't sound good in that solution (not really the axe's fault, but it's tough to run it if I don't have a big monitor).
Had a gig later that night with a country band- decided i needed to use my axe fx. but I decided I'd plug my pedalboard into the axe fx, run a twin or deluxe style model, and just mic up my NL212. on my pedalboard, all my patches were ready to go, and I could just focus on the amp component of the Axe. That night, the room was terrible, but by our 3rd hour and me constantly going back to my laptop between songs, I finally got something that was workable. What REALLY made the axe sound much better in my rig was Yek's PEQ trick. I put a PEQ after the amp block (no cab block, since I was using my NL212) and immediately the thing sat better. I just blocked high and low, maybe at 100 hz and 10k or so. Also maybe some minor cuts in the global EQ of the Axe.
Last night, I gigged the Axe at the same venue I first did. My results were MUCH better. Running a Fender twin model with the bright switch on, but controlling some of the highs and lows via the PEQ and Global EQ worked well. A lot of my tones were pretty much just as chunky, but cleaner and clearer.
Maybe this hybrid solution is the way to go for me for a while. I still have to lug my 70 lb pedaltrain pro around, but it's a very flexible rig, and allows me to just focus on amp tones, while boosting and using effects that I'm completely comfortable with- ones that I've dialed in over the last couple years. I'd love to run a midi cable back to the Axe from my Musicomlab, and be able to send it scene changes. I could easily AB between amps, or use scene controllers to adjust the gain of my amps, and still control it with my mostly analog pedalboard. Or, I'd love to figure out a way to run my time based stuff in the loop of my axe FX, and be able to sub in axe effects via scenes.
Anyways, just thought I'd pass along that I finally figured out a cool solution! Perhaps I'll go through and AB my pedals and recreate them with the axe, so I don't have to lug my big pedalboard to gigs. Thanks to everyone's help, and anyone having problems- try throwing a PEQ in the mix and blocking highs and lows. I myself didn't boost my midrange much- I have a Koko boost and hit that when I want a part to stand out. I plan on moving forward going direct to FOH with a cab block once I find one that sounds close enough to my Matrix, and then I won't have to set up a mic or mic stand. Thanks again guys! I'll keep you all updated with questions and additional thoughts as I delve into the Axe more, but I'm over the first hurdle where I at least have it sounding pretty good to gig with it and focus on playing. Cheers!
Ben
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