Official Axe-Fx Q&A thread!

[Rook]

^exactly, I've not changed anything they just suddenly had all this extra body and felt better.

It's great! I could see this being the FW that moves periphery to the 2 for live use

 

[kmanick]

^yes

You legend

pm'ed brother I got it!

 

[Genome]

I thought you guys would enjoy this.

This was taken from a report from an "Axe-Fest" meeting in the US, where Cliff, some other Fractal guys, and a number of musicians did presentations and performances for the attendees.

As you know the Axe-FX is all-encompassing and attracts musicians from all genres. So obviously, the message board is full of members who don't necessarily play heavy stuff.

Tosin Abasi: So in walks this guy who to me looked like he was 20. He is actually 29. I am not sure what style you would call his as I haven’t ever heard anything like it before. Maybe a progressive metal-jazz-fusion-rock. I really don’t know. I do know this though. After I pulled my chin off the floor I looked around and saw everybody else had the same “what just happened here” look. He played an 8 string out of his Pearl City cab to the accompaniment of a backing track (created by him) over the PA. He answered a few questions the first of which was “what planet are you from” and then played a couple more tunes. Again, looking over the audience of about 100 people all I saw was shock and disbelief. You will see of what I speak in the videos. His fingers on BOTH hands were a blur and I am not exaggerating. And yet again, Tosin is one of the most friendly and warm hearted persons you will ever meet. It was truly a pleasure to do so. Thank you so much Tosin!!!!

 

[Phrygian]

Man I'm just not able to achieve the tone I want with the Axe FX.. *shock and awe ensues*

Idk, it sounded great at pre-production, crisp and clear - but at home it sounds like dead strings and not very authentic. And that's the same patch! recorded through USB in both places. Anyone have an idea what's going on?

 

[TBF_Seb]

Man I'm just not able to achieve the tone I want with the Axe FX.. *shock and awe ensues*

Idk, it sounded great at pre-production, crisp and clear - but at home it sounds like dead strings and not very authentic. And that's the same patch! recorded through USB in both places. Anyone have an idea what's going on?

I take this for a good opportunity for my first post here...
So, hi guys! (and some gals, I hope )

Phrygian, how was the "playback situation" at both locations?
Let me guess, at home you played either very quiet or even with headphones?
If so, there are two major things:
1. You perceive sound differently depending on volume level. Look up "Fletcher Munson". Essentially you perceive a lack of high & low end at low volume.
2. Your guitar sounds quite different when it's able to resonate from decent volume from your amp/monitor. That's the reason why a recording with decent volume (causing the guitar and its strings to resonate) sounds well through headphones while playing the same patch through headphones (no sound travelling to the guitar) sounds dull and lifeless.

I'm a long time owner/user of Axe-Fx Ultra/II so I know my way around those units.
Cheers to all!

Seb

 

[Phrygian]

Welcome dude, and thanks for the input!

The setup with the good result was Axe FX 2 -> USB -> pro tools -> headset.
The setup with bleh results was Axe FX 2 -> USB -> Logic Pro -> mackie blackjack onyx -> Mackie mr5mk2 at decent volume.

I have been an Axe FX user for two years now, but I still can't get that tone I want. I hear people getting great results with the two, some really authentic sounding tones, but everything I do sounds dull and undefined in comparison. It's like every singe cab IR is super noisy? I'll try to get some clips recorded so you can hear what I mean.

 

[flint757]

Is your room acoustically treated? Listening through headphones and monitors is going to give vastly different results especially if you don't have any bass traps at your early reflection points.

 

[TBF_Seb]

Welcome dude, and thanks for the input!

The setup with the good result was Axe FX 2 -> USB -> pro tools -> headset.
The setup with bleh results was Axe FX 2 -> USB -> Logic Pro -> mackie blackjack onyx -> Mackie mr5mk2 at decent volume.

I have been an Axe FX user for two years now, but I still can't get that tone I want. I hear people getting great results with the two, some really authentic sounding tones, but everything I do sounds dull and undefined in comparison. It's like every singe cab IR is super noisy? I'll try to get some clips recorded so you can hear what I mean.

That's strange, as my experience is the opposite most of the time: "meh" with just headphones, but great at decent volume through my nearfield monitors.

Anyway, those listening situations are very different, so there's no way around dialing the patch differently to accommodate for that.
Clips should help as words go only so far in describing hearing or taste.

Seb

 

[Syrinx]

Fuck i think my axe fx is broken

Today i got to band practice and plugged my axe fx ii into the normal setup and found out midi doesnt work, so my fcb1010 doesnt change patches and also, the metronome is always on, and comes through the amp, even when the metronome is turned off, and the click speed changes if i adjust the metronome speed. Im gonna be shooting FAS an email amd asking over at the fractal boards too but ill be super pissed if it has to go in for repairs.

Doesnt help that my band has an important show this weekend

If its only connected to a foot controller and not a computer there's a USB interface mode that needs to be turned off or it will freak out. There's a boo boo cliff missed that's causing this to happen.

 

[Seanthesheep]

Thanks dude but i already fixed my issues last week, was some midi issues and personal stupidity

 

[Hybrid138]

Hey guys, I'm considering getting an Axe-Fx Ulta(used of course) in the near future for recording and a possible back-up rig. There are tons of pages (and I searched) and I'm sure it has been addressed before but for my purposes, should get a good deal on an Ultra or save and get a II? I know this is quite opinion based so if someone care direct me to a video/audio comparison between the two that would be great. I've only found one on YouTube with the dude that compares the 11rack, Axe-Ultra, and Axe II.

 

[Seanthesheep]

Hey guys, I'm considering getting an Axe-Fx Ulta(used of course) in the near future for recording and a possible back-up rig. There are tons of pages (and I searched) and I'm sure it has been addressed before but for my purposes, should get a good deal on an Ultra or save and get a II? I know this is quite opinion based so if someone care direct me to a video/audio comparison between the two that would be great. I've only found one on YouTube with the dude that compares the 11rack, Axe-Ultra, and Axe II.

When i was thinking about thw switch I couldve gotten an ultra for a little under 1400$. I decided to go with a II because of the constant updates.

Like seriously, my axe fx II arrived in may with FW 5.0.7 and since then. Were already up to FW9.0 and the unit still have enough memory to last a few more years apparently

 

[AxeHappy]

If money was no issue I would absolutely say go for the II. I saved up for it.

And the constant stream of new amps, tweaks and features are pretty insane. FW9.0 added some crazy features and everything sounds better than ever too.

 

[ArrowHead]

Got a II about a week ago. In that time, he released a new beta firmware with a handful of new amps. In addition, he says there will be a full release by week-end with even more new amps.

That's more updates and new amps in a week than I got in two years with my Pod HD.

 

[jsl2h90]

If that wasn't enough, Axe-Edit is right around the corner. Mac beta just went up on the project server with a Windows version to follow. Cliff says it's the home stretch, so we're definitely getting close.

 

[epsylon]

Hey guys, I'm about to hit the order button on an axe-fx 2, and I am going for the monitor setup. I was thinking of getting Adam's, and I'm currently torn between A5X's and A7X's.
I'll be playing at decent volumes (neighbours -_-) and I'm not sure whether I should spend 250 euros more for the A7X's. Do the A5X's sound "good enough" ? I'm pretty sure they're plenty loud for my needs, but do they have enough low end bite ? I recently sold my amp+cab (a V3m and an Orange PPC212) and I fear that I'll miss the basses from the 2x12.
I would gladly spend the 250 euros on something else (a MIDI keyboard, and other guitars ), but I'd like to be sure the A5X's are fine for what I want from them.

Thanks !

 

[flint757]

How big is the room and is it treated? Monitors can get loud, but that isn't really the point. If you want loud I'd go for stage monitors/PA. Unless you are saying you aren't going to be loud then never mind.

 

[epsylon]

Room isn't treated, and I don't need the monitors to be too loud. I just need enough punch in the low end when I'm playing guitar (maybe because I want to compensate my small penis ?).
For example, I had a Blackstar HT-5 a while ago, and, while it was loud enough for most of my purposes, I hated it because of the lack of punch. I've fiddled a bit with playing guitar and bass on my computer (through a pod studio gx and tiny cheap M-Audio monitors) and if I don't feel my thorax vibrating when chugging palm muted power chords, it just feels dull. It's the same reason why I hate playing with headphones.

 

[flint757]

How big is the room they would be going in?

 

[ShadowAMD]

If I wanted to sell my Axe 2, how much do you think it's worth second hand?