Axe Fx II

[lessthanone]

Well, the 5150 III is gone and I've decided to go Axe Fx. The problem I've been having with amps is they sound amazing cranked at the store then I get home and its so so at apt. levels. (Plus the 5150 III just didn't feel like it could take a beating like the peavey did) Anyways, since Im an at home player, the fractal seems the best route. Heres the thing, am I missing something with these? On fractals site they are 2200 and on ebay they are going for waaaaayyy over fractals price?I just dont get it. Anyways, any owners out there want to run over the pros/cons and personal experiences

 

[Thomas-Hawk]

I'm using an Axe-Fx II. Absolutely love it. I run it into a solid state MOSFET poweramp, a Matrix GT800FX, then into an Avatar Vintage semi-open back oversized 2x12 cab with a Vintage 30 and a G12H30. I use the Power Amp modelling in the Axe, but turn of the cab simulations. Totally dig this setup. What I can't seem to gel with yet is using FRFR (Full Range Flat Response) speakers and the cab sims.

Not sure about the weird prices on eBay. At one time, there was a L O N G waiting list to get the Axe-Fx II, but that's not the case anymore. If you're going to get one, get it from Fractal. That way, you're covered under the warranty.

What type of setup do you plan on running? Real cabs, FRFR, or ??? I'll do whatever I can to help you out. I'll share some of my presets with you as well.


-Tom

 

[Rufedges]

Dude, go over to thegearpage.net forums or the AXE-Fx forum sites, you will get more information, tips, and advice than you can process.

 

[coldsummer]

I had the original standard Axe FX and upgraded to the Axe FX II a few months ago. Also had just about every other major rack and floor processor over the years and I have to say, the AXE FX II is the most remarkable and authentic amp modeler by a very, very, long shot. Just remember that it produces a studio-recorded tone rather than a stack in the room tone and you'll be amazed and inspired.

 

[Thomas-Hawk]

coldsummer, are you using FRFR?

Reason I ask, is because with my ss poweramp/guitar cab setup, I totally get the "stack in a the room" sound from my Axe-Fx II rig.

 

[coldsummer]

coldsummer, are you using FRFR?

Reason I ask, is because with my ss poweramp/guitar cab setup, I totally get the "stack in a the room" sound from my Axe-Fx II rig.

Hi Tom. Yes, currently using KRK V6's but thinking about going for a matrix PA system, possibly with a cab or alternatively just upgrading to Adam monitors. I'm guessing you have the Matrix? I thought it may be a bit OTT for home studio use?

 

[beefyslinky]

has anyone had any recording experience with the Axe-Fx II? My friend recorded with one and his guitar tone sounded weak. Pretty sure it wasn't just the mastering.

 

[Assumer]

Love mine. Your gonna have fun.

 

[jvh]

Don't throw sludge at me, but my kemper is incredibly delicious. If you haven't tried the kemper give it a try. After I got this puppy I sold all my amps. It has some crazy tone. Most people think it's bogus until they try it. I did extensive research before buying it. I immediately sold the afd 100 I bought, because the kemper profile of the afd was better than the afd amp. The afd amp sounded shrill at times, but the profile kept the tone and warmed it up. Anyways, just my thoughts.

 

[Thomas-Hawk]

Hi Tom. Yes, currently using KRK V6's but thinking about going for a matrix PA system, possibly with a cab or alternatively just upgrading to Adam monitors. I'm guessing you have the Matrix? I thought it may be a bit OTT for home studio use?

Hey cs,

Yes, I've got the Matrix GT800FX power amp. Here are the best reasons for having a solid state power amp like this:

1. Get to use the power amp sims in the Axe-Fx II. The power amps sims impart A LOT of the tone of specific amps, especially non master volume amps!
2. Can use the amp with real guitar cabs OR passive FRFR monitors. The ultimate in flexibility!
3. Great for home/low volume use as well as practice/gig levels! The Matrix amps especially have tons of power for lots of headroom.
4. Size/weight! The Matrix GT800FX and GT1000FX both only take up 1U rack space, and weigh less than 8 lbs.!

Answering your last question, no... IMO it wouldn't be OTT for home studio use. As I mentioned in item 3 above, it works great for home/low volume use, because it's job is to cleanly and flatly (meaning frequency response wise) amplify whatever is fed into it. Unlike a tube power amp, that needs to be cranked up to get "that tone". That's what the Axe-Fx II's power amp modelling does! Let it simulate the cranked up toobz!


-Tom

 

[Thomas-Hawk]

has anyone had any recording experience with the Axe-Fx II? My friend recorded with one and his guitar tone sounded weak. Pretty sure it wasn't just the mastering.

While I haven't done much recording with the Axe-Fx II, a lot of others have, including this guy (not me). Not really my style of music, but I would say his tones are anything BUT weak.

 

[ScoobySteve]

In my experience the Axe FX though I only played the Ultra does the best high gain of all the modellers. Love my 11rack though.

 

[tommydude]

LTO -Way to go man! Great choice for home playing & recording! I want one too !!!

I have to finish my basement studio first. On Black Friday, I bought the Musicians Friend, limited edition all white KRK powered monitors for $99 each!! They are still in the boxes waiting to be opened.

 

[lessthanone]

LTO -Way to go man! Great choice for home playing & recording! I want one too !!!

I have to finish my basement studio first. On Black Friday, I bought the Musicians Friend, limited edition all white KRK powered monitors for $99 each!! They are still in the boxes waiting to be opened.

Lol, me too, got them at gc

 

[dibart77]

While I haven't done much recording with the Axe-Fx II, a lot of others have, including this guy (not me). Not really my style of music, but I would say his tones are anything BUT weak.

Wow. Thanks for posting this clip @Thomas-Hawk. You gotta admit, based on this video, for heavy stuff the Axe-FX II seems to have some serious tones. I am curious. Be interested to see how it does on 6-string, more straight rock stuff.

I am worried/curious about the amount of time it takes to get up to speed and get good tones out of the Axe-FX. In the late '90s I was an Eventide endorser and had an Eventide GTR-4000 and an Eventide Orville. Frankly, the things were so powerful (for their time) that you needed a damn degree in wave theory and stuff to really get the most out of it. Which meant you either spent all your time f'ing with preset parameters instead of playing, or spend all your time confused and frustrated instead of playing. When you got what you wanted (which I usually had help from Eventide engineers to get there) the thing sounded amazing, but otherwise was impossible. I don't want to be thinking about "logarithmic sine wave fundamental decay" (I just made that sh!t up) -- I want to rock!

So that's my worry here -- do you end up spending hours messing with presets, or is it really as easy as "I want this head, this cab, this mic. Dial in the amp settings (the way they REALLY behave on the amp). And let's go"? Or is it a pain? Anybody have any experience that can shed some light on this and/or speak to the concern I raise. I bet others have the same concern?

-Jeff

​

 

[ScoobySteve]

Jeff,

In the modelling community (Im an Eleven Rack user) most of the gungho users are definitely on the tweaker side. Noodling and tinkering definitely helps you adjust to the learning curve. The Eleven Rack is pretty middle level, but still can get pretty hairy. In my experience, the AxeFX has the steepest curve, by far and can get really hairy....

However, that doesn't mean its hard to find good tone. Setting up your signal path is quite intuitive.

Furthermorw the AxeFX community is sizeable and has a committed community. Members who are also friendly in offering advice and also generous with sharing patches and presets, which of course you could use and tweak, or use as a reference point.

Even if you dont gig with it, as some still prefer the feel of a tube amp, its truly an indispensable studio tool. How difficult/frustrating it is to use is really proportional to how much youre trying to take advantage of its capabilities.

Good luck man

 

[Thomas-Hawk]

Hey Jeff,

As ScoobySteve stated, the Axe-Fx II is a tweaker's delight, and you can fall down the rabbit hole, and not surface for days!

HOWEVER... with the last few firmware updates, getting killer tones from a basic amp/cab/reverb or delay are MUCH easier than they used to be. So, you can get awesome tones without having to tweak too much.

I am one of those Fractal forum members that would be more than happy to help you with any questions you have. I'm not an expert, but I feel I know the device pretty well.

Just know this upfront: for practicing/jamming (I don't gig), I use my Axe-Fx II with a solid state power amp, and a real guitar cab. I just cannot get the same feel using cabinet sims and FRFR speaker monitors. This is not a knock on the Axe-Fx II... it's more of an issue with cabinet IRs, and so many types of FRFR (in case you're not familiar with this acronym; full range, flat response) speakers out there that aren't truly flat. The great thing about the Axe-Fx II is that it serves multiple purposes very well, depending upon your situation. It is THE ultimate studio recording device. You can typically get WAY better tones out of it than trying to mic up your favorite amp/cab combo. It also is perfectly suited for gigging, whether you use a ss power amp/guitar cab like I do, or go straight to FOH and use cab sims. And, it is also suited well for just being an effects processor, probably the best one in the world, to be used in your favorite amp's effects loop.

With my setup, it definitely feels and sounds like over 100 different tube amps (that's how many different amp models there are). The accuracy of the amp modeling is incredible. And it continues to get better and better as Fractal updates and improves firmware. And, BTW, those firmware updates are FREE.

Hope this helps. And... do you really own all those guitars in your sig?

 

[aleclee]

I've been a happy Fractal user since 2009 and got my II the first week they came out.

I can totally relate to the frustration of being unable to unleash a cool tube amp. After my kid was born, my Two Rock, Rivera, and Fender languished in the basement. A buddy of mine he let me try it out his Ultra and after 20 minutes I realized that it was just what I was looking for. It allowed me to get the same tone and any volume. I could use it through headphones (though the Ultra needed an outboard headphone amp), monitors, or FRFR cabs and all sounded great.

At this point, nobody's getting more than list for an AxeFx unless they're selling overseas, where they're a good bit more costly. In fact, Fractal will occasionally sell B-stock IIs for a benjamin or two less.

IMO, at this point, most folks who "go down the rabbit hole" do so out because of curiosity or OCD more than need. I only have a couple patches I use that depart significantly from the factory presets and those are pretty straightforward. Now that the AxeChange preset sharing web site is up, there's even less reason to drill down into amp geek parameters. Finally, the tone match feature makes it pretty straightforward to clone most any amp tone for which you can find an isolated guitar track.

Downsides? Some find it frustrating that presets might need to be tweaked after a firmware update. Of course, nobody's forced to keep their firmware on the latest/greatest version. You need to spend a goodly bit of money to go "all in": AxeFx, rack case, foot controller, FRFR or power amp + cab. On the other hand, a 2K amp + 1K pedalboard + $700 cab probably costs about the same and is less versatile and much less portable. The computer-based editor hasn't worked with the current version of firmware for several months but that' should be rectified in January. While the amp modeling is otherworldly, the dirt box modeling is merely good (other FX such as modulation, delay and reverb are delicious).

 

[guitarp77]

I've read nothing but praise for the Axe.

But I'm 2 dumb to make it work, so I stick with my MarkV.

So many modeling and tweaking drives me crazy...

 

[Craiguitar]

I'm using an Axe-Fx II and I use both pairs of outputs, the first pair to the desk for FOH & monitors, with the Cab sims, and the second pair to my Matrix amp and 4x12 without the amp sims. As for the cab sims, I wasn't really happy until I did an IR of my 4x12 (using the Axe-Fx's IR capture tool) and now the FR sound is fantastic. So now the rest of my band hear the FR signal in their IEM's, and a trickle goes through the FOH too. Meanwhile I still have the old-school trouser-flapping volume 4x12 behind me, just as I like it.

As for the Axe-Fx itself, I find you make it sound like you want it to. So people on various forums who say, "Oh I don't like the way it sounds" are really saying It wasn't set as they'd like it. It literally doesn't say no. Ever.

Once a friend of mine whos' been playing since the 60's and has used a myriad of gear in his time, and I sat with his Rivera Knucklehead and Mesa/Boogie V-Twin, and set out to replicate the tone using my Axe-Fx rig. It took about 30 seconds to get there, and even then, the Axe-Fx sounded better. He went on to sell ALL his gear and bought an Axe-Fx. And he was a Valve guy, a real technophobe. After a couple of weeks even he had the thing sussed. His tones now are incredible. He still recalls the first time he compared his old rig with mine as a true lightbulb moment.