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I've always philosophised that the Axe should ideally see the most neutral pickups possible due to the massive range of sounds within. Unless you go for a particular tonal quality on EVERY patch you make (e.g. BKP BRAINkiller high mid spike), you will end up EQ'ing this out of every patch that you don't want it in. With a neutral pickup, I think you could probably add a similar effect in when needed, but otherwise retain a flat response.
Of course, I have struggled to find pickups that are truly flat, so I just went with a set of the new EMG 57/66 which I hope to receive by the end of the month. They sound pretty balanced from most reviews, but I have yet to hear them. Perhaps I'll post some stems when I get them.
I recently got my Axe-FX II also
After having a HD500 and Axe-FX Standard, I would say you really don't need to tweak the II. I basically just throw up an amp model, put an OD in front of it, and that is about it for basic tones. Anything else is because I am trying to find something specific...
Just wondering...are you using FRFR or power amp and cab? I have similar results with my Ultra through a Velocity 300 and Mesa Oversize cab. I do a bit of tweaking but not as much as I would have expected.
Ive had no poblems dialing tones with EMGs on my axefx II. Even mid gain and clean tones come out great for me
If you actually want flat pickups, you want some Lace Alumitones, however there's more to an EQ than straight boost and cut at different frequencies. They're reactive so there's phase to think about, different pickups don't feel or sound different just because of the peak and even if something's flat (lowQ) there will also be a phase/frequency variation.
I've no doubt you understand the technical side of things more than I do, all I have on the subject is what I've tried in the past. I've pretty much given up on my theories, so now I'm back to trawling the pickup world to try and find something I like!
On a different note, I finally got my response from Fractal USA regarding the heat issue. Didn't exactly get the answer that I wanted ("this is normal") but they did say that the Axe II runs much hotter than the Ultra, which I remember to only get slightly warm. I suppose that's something though![]()
So there wont be any issues with damage for running hot? I didnt notice it before reading your post but yesterday my axe was super hot, while I was dialing in from the front panel (tonematching) - I dunno if its always like that though, yesterday was an abnormally hot day here.