Is AXE-FX worth the money?

[ascl]

My 2 cents:

You can make almost anything sound good in the mix with enough production skills. You definitely made the POD sound pretty decent for example, and look at any of the gear reviews Ola Englund does. They always sound pretty darn good.

That said, a good source makes it so much easier. I went from a POD HD to a Kemper, which, while not an AxeFx, is in the same ballpark sound wise, and the difference to me was massive. I stopped the endless tweaking, and found a few profiles I like, and it sounds fantastic.

The best thing (for me, YMMV of course) is I get these fantastic sounds, without tweaking, and it just totally kills any GAS I have for Amps. If I want to try a different sound, I grab some new profiles.

So, in my case, I definitely think the step up from the POD was worth it... and has probably saved me money in the long run

(I haven't tried an AxeFx, but I am pretty sure it is on par with the Kemper sound-wise, perhaps with more effects, and maybe more tweakable -- which is kind of a negative for me).

 

[petervindel]

You can make almost anything sound good in the mix with enough production skills. You definitely made the POD sound pretty decent for example, and look at any of the gear reviews Ola Englund does. They always sound pretty darn good.

My point exactly.
I fear that all I get from the AXE is more options/effects I really don't need. I use GuitarRig for effects etc, so all I need is a tight rhythm tone.

Guess I have to find a way to try an AXE or a Kemper in my studio so I can hear the difference

 

[SSK0909]

My point exactly.
I fear that all I get from the AXE is more options/effects I really don't need. I use GuitarRig for effects etc, so all I need is a tight rhythm tone.

Guess I have to find a way to try an AXE or a Kemper in my studio so I can hear the difference

While its true that you can make most anything sound good in the studio with post processing. Its still preferable to have as good a source sound as possible, and having great gear that you enjoy playing also helps. If not, we might as well all record with old Pod 2.0's and chinese knockoff guitars

 

[ItWillDo]

It's easily the best piece of equipment I've ever bought. I bought the Ultra secondhand back in 2011 and I'm still completely in love with it.

Granted, due to the large amount of possibilities the learning curve is pretty steep, but all in all it's worth it. Also, because the MIDI-interface on the standard/Ultra was so shit, I learnt to program everything by hand with no interface in between which is a godgift for on-the-fly tweaking.

I don't use that many of the available effects either, but knowing that my tone will sound pretty much consistent in all use-cases is very reassuring. Considering I play FRFR live, and patch 1 output to my personal monitor and the other straight into the PA, there is minimal interference of "bad soundguys" as well. I simply love every aspect of it.

 

[Der JD]

My point exactly.
I fear that all I get from the AXE is more options/effects I really don't need. I use GuitarRig for effects etc, so all I need is a tight rhythm tone.

Guess I have to find a way to try an AXE or a Kemper in my studio so I can hear the difference

Yeah, that's the best course of action if possible: try before you buy. Or, buy and evaluate during the trial period.

Everyone is different. Some people get a tone they like really fast with the Axe. For me, it was a never-ending tweakfest. I had trouble getting any preset made with the stock cabs to sit well in the mix without a lot of EQing. My results with 3rd-party IRs was better but that led me down the IR rabbit hole.

With the Kemper, it was a whole different story for me. Plenty of profiles out there that are "mix-ready" or nearly "mix-ready". Basically no tweaking involved. Load up a profile and

I'm not really suggesting one solution over another. My point is simply that everyone is different and one particular piece of gear isn't going to work for everyone. In the end, both the Axe and Kemper were overkill for me. I've found that I prefer to keep it simple. I like my tube amps and my Torpedo Reload lets me record direct using my tube amps just as easy as any modeler.

 

[shred-o-holic]

I didn't see anyone recommend a Kemper (edit:the guy above me lol) over the Axe FX 2 lol. I have both and as much as I love the Axe FX the Kemper is my weapon of preference. That or use an amp and try maybe a Two Notes Torpedo?

 

[shred-o-holic]

In the end, both the Axe and Kemper were overkill for me.

I have been saying the same about having both myself. The Axe 2 typically sits unplayed 95 percent of the time. Buuuuuuttttt I profiled my Axe 2 recently into my Kemper and tweaked away....holy crap. A bastardized Axe 2 profile is crack like....it's all I use right now

 

[SilentCartographer]

Anyone know where one could test drive one of these badboys in Ontario, Canada?...

 

[ShadowAMD]

Questions like this (is X worth the money) are weird because the people answering have no idea what your view of money is, what constitutes "worth" to you, what your personal priorities are, what your income level/budget is, what your debt situation is, etc.

That said: Yes.

Got to agree with your sentiment. With the Kemper, Scuffam amp type plugins or even the UAD stuff it helps to keep things in perspective.

If you're a tweaker that needs near infinite possibilities for live and home recording, then the Axe is great.

If you're impatient, or just need a go to system for live and home recording and great quality sounds then the Kemper is the one to go for.

If you're on a budget, Kemper is a smart buy.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Yes...

But I've also made awesome recordings with:
-Line 6 PodHD500
-Kemper Profiing Amp (just as expensive as the AxeFX I know...)

Looking back, though... Some of my recording with my PODHD500 actually sounded better than my Kemper recordings sooner. Maybe there's just something in the tweaking of that particular device that I haven't gotten down on the Kemper yet, but when I listen through old recordings and I think about the work I do in my DAW to get things to sound a cetain way, I sometimes hear the recordings I made on the PODHD500 and KNOW I spent less time tweaking but somehow they sound better to me sometimes... Only sometimes, but it's interesting...

I think enough time with anything will yield the results you might want. It's really about knowing what knobs to turn and when. Also, the amount of time you're willing to put in.

When I owned an AxeFX I felt that I spent way too much time tweaking to get the PERFECT tone because there were just THAT many parameters I could tweak. I never felt like I ever got to the actual recording phase because every knob I turned made it sound a little bit better in my opinion and in some cases I might have just had extremely fatigued ears from playing with my AxeFX all day...

 

[ShadowAMD]

Yes...

But I've also made awesome recordings with:
-Line 6 PodHD500
-Kemper Profiing Amp (just as expensive as the AxeFX I know...)

Looking back, though... Some of my recording with my PODHD500 actually sounded better than my Kemper recordings sooner. Maybe there's just something in the tweaking of that particular device that I haven't gotten down on the Kemper yet, but when I listen through old recordings and I think about the work I do in my DAW to get things to sound a cetain way, I sometimes hear the recordings I made on the PODHD500 and KNOW I spent less time tweaking but somehow they sound better to me sometimes... Only sometimes, but it's interesting...

I think enough time with anything will yield the results you might want. It's really about knowing what knobs to turn and when. Also, the amount of time you're willing to put in.

When I owned an AxeFX I felt that I spent way too much time tweaking to get the PERFECT tone because there were just THAT many parameters I could tweak. I never felt like I ever got to the actual recording phase because every knob I turned made it sound a little bit better in my opinion and in some cases I might have just had extremely fatigued ears from playing with my AxeFX all day...

Agreed, but over here the Axe FX2 MK2 costs $2670.00 and the Kemper costs $1875.00

So over this side of the pond, it's not worth it IMO..

 

[Genome]

The thing I love about it most is that it evolves, it's updated and improved constantly.

I bought mine in 2012 and I feel like it's at least twice as good now as when I bought it.

 

[hvdh]

The thing I love about it most is that it evolves, it's updated and improved constantly.

I bought mine in 2012 and I feel like it's at least twice as good now as when I bought it.

Then it was a beta product. And in a few months the new AFXIII with V 3.0 modeling comes out.

So is it woth the money? For some...but not for most.

 

[mnemonic]

Then it was a beta product. And in a few months the new AFXIII with V 3.0 modeling comes out.

So is it woth the money? For some...but not for most.

1.) you don't have to update it if you don't want. Beta implies bugs and things not working correctly, and generally an incomplete product, which is not true. It's like saying the PodHD is still in beta since there is a new firmware update is coming out in a month or so.

2.) Axe FX III is not coming out in a few months, cliff himself (company owner) stated in November that he hasn't began designing it yet since the II has plenty of life left.

 

[hvdh]

1) indeed often the amp sims are not modelled correctly.

2) That is what he said about the Standard/Ultra with "lifetime" updates. So believe what you want.

3) V3 modeling is around the corner. You are warned.

 

[gogolXmogol]

Just my humble opinion. Axe is not so good for distorted tones, better get a Kemper Profiling Amp.

 

[Elric]

3) V3 modeling is around the corner. You are warned.

You're right. It was just announced by Fractal on the offficial support forum as imminent this past week: as a free firmware upgrade for all existing AxeFx II models.

Been playing 20+ years and have used tons of different gear. This thing kills at all levels; it is a metal machine, IMHO. Given my personal needs/goals, financial situation and priorities, it was a bargain. YMMV.

 

[KingAenarion]

I think the other thing to remember is that most of the stock patches on the AxeFX are still pretty amazing starting points as well. Like if you're not a fiddly tweaker you can load up a patch, decide that it needs delay and less mids, put a delay on and turn the mids down and go.

The AxeFX II and the latest firmware the amp sounds are so good on their own, unlike the standard/ultra very little fiddling is needed I find to get a good playing tone and a halfway decent tone for home recordings and demos. You could tweak and fiddle a lot, sure, but you can get great tones from really little effort.

And if you get bored of a Mesa Rectifier, Change to a Mark, or a Diezel. Get bored of playing Fender Cleans, play some Vox or matchless.

There is so much in the amp, even if you don't use it all right away you have years to play with all the different sounds and develop your tone bit by bit.

 

[J-RAMONES]

in america the price is good but in europe its way too expensive.i think mini tube head+loadbox/ir load (twonotes?)->direct will be better and no much bigger to move.and maybe cheaper depending on your choices and keep the line6 for effects imo
edit something like that without gap should 7/8 rack space:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/at...d1419041202-random-pics-your-rig-photo-30.jpg