Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Lew on July 31, 2013, 03:41:07 PM
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huh? Could be a good topic?
I've never actually played one but I've been on the fence about it for years now. I've probably spent enough money on amps in the last 5years to have bought it atleast a couple of times over. It would be a god send for my home recording but probably ott as I just record for myself.
One of the things for me is I'd be worried about spending well over £2k to get one (plus the cost of a £poweramp) and having to replace it in a few years when the next version comes out and forever having to play catch-up on one bit of gear, it's not like vintage axefx are going to be desirable in thirty years? I'm becoming increasingly frugal and grumpy with my cash.
For modern metal tones I've heard it sound as good as any well set-up amp (not better) but I'm not into that. My fav recorded tones are from Mike Scheidt (black/matamp and 70s Ross distortion and more recently a Metroamp plexi clone) and ofcourse the biblical Matt Pike (Matamp/SLO and more recently SLO/Marshall KK800/Blackstar Series1). I've not heard the Axe get those tones. That's not to say they can't but I've not heard it - maybe because the people buying them are happily djenting away on 8strings? ;-p I'm not at all into pristine tones and like alot of nasty muscular midrange.
I actually like having a physical amp/pedal set-up that you can adjust on the fly and I know that I'd spend more time tweaking tones, setting up hundreds of patches, reading forums and downloading patches and making my guitar sound like some ethereal soundscape than actual riffing.
I've been to a couple of DevinTownsend gigs where he's used them and has got a great modern metal tone, sounded killer and on the other hand I've seen Dweezil Zappa live whos tone sounded like total shiteee with it - where as the other guitarist in the ZPZ band used a relic strat and a 2x12 combo that sounded $%&#in' ace. Although, that was a weird gig I was both amazed and dissapointed in equal measure.
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I remember Hunter on this forum had an Axe-Fx a while back.... then he got more real amps like a Marshall and a Friedman. I don't know if he still has the Axe-Fx as well. It would be interesting to hear his opinion.
(In answer to the thread title, why don't I have one yet? Because I would have more chance making sense of the Dead Sea Scrolls in their original language, frankly....)
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money would be the main reason :lol: also the fact that you could buy an awful lot of nice gear for the price of it, if it turns out (like most modellers) to be not quite as good as the "real thing"...
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I greatly considered getting one a year or two back (or whenever time goes too fast!) and i played on them a few times that were owned by friends who play really modern tech metal which it works perfectly for them. For myself however it left me feeling uninspired and with the knowledge that it sounds like an over processed pod.
I tried the kemper a few months back which was amazingly accurate when we profiled my amp for the sound but it feel really awkward and stiff and well had the same issue that the axe fx had. It sounded like an amp does recorded and not in the room which I have absolutely no use for at all.
If i want that recorded sound i'll whip out the mic!
One thing that did impress me on the axefx was the digital effects. They sounded truly fantastic which led me into buying a G major which also sounds fantastic but i majorly under use it (see my seconds out thread)
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not as good as the real thing.
I wouldn't get one even if I could afford it.
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because i like old stuff, old stuff is better, Vinyl, Reel to Reel Projectors, Maps, women covering their ankles, record players like the HMV dog is listening to, crank handles on the front of cars, police whistles.
Damn kids and your glowing screen rubbish..
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Too much stuff for me that I don't need and I'm very happy with the sound I get now but I only gig, I don't record. One argument I don't understand is the concern that a couple of years down the line there's going to be a better version of it. If you really like how the current version sounds then surely that's good enough ? This should only be a concern if you think the current version isn't quite there yet. Or you would apply the same consideration to buying an all valve Marshall, Blackstar or whatever.
And I'm fine with women covering their ankles as long as they don't cover the other bits.
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Two reasons ...
1) The sound. While digital preamps can sound good for the extreme distortion sounds, I've never found one that does any kind of natural sounding mild overdrive or even a good clean tone.
2) Servicing. If my Marshall blows a HT fuse or melts a screen resistor an hour before a gig then I can reach for a soldering iron and have it working again very quickly. Ever seen and heard a piece of malfunctioning digital equipment? It's not pretty and there's no way on earth you can rescue it. Sure, they break down less often but when they do it's pretty much time to throw it in a skip.
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As someone who wanted an AxeFX VERY badly when I first saw and heard one, I'd like to weigh in with this:
I actually don't want one any more. Since this weekend just gone, actually.
The reason?
First of all, a little history: I'm just a poor boy from a poor family (magnifico etc etc etc) so trying to set up anything resembling a decent home studio has been nightmarish at best. I have a Pod XT for recording with due to living situations thus far prohibiting even the idea of micing up an amp (plus, buying a decent valve amp has never been on the cards due to cost).
NEVER happy with my Pod, even when I first got it, but I recognised it was the best I could do, and I've run with it all this time (approx 8 years-ish).
When I saw the AxeFX for the first time, it was the solution to all my woes: a low-volume, direct-in, easy-to-use recording solution that sounds like a real amp. I was massively impressed with the realistic sounds and tones. So I thought to myself "If I save hard, I can get one some day and get a bit of decency into my home studio).
I had been living with this hope up until this weekend... which was the first jam session with my new band... which meant getting my Jet City JCA20H into a room where I could crank it.
Oh. My. God.
After all the years of trying to get all these dynamics, subtlety and (most importantly of all, heh) feedback out of my digital home rig, that fruitless practice made it so naturally easy when I was stood next to my amp, and it sounded so F$%KING BEAUTIFUL that I decided there and then never to go back to "realistic alternatives".
No amount of digital trickery can ever replace the feeling I got when I was playing around with that tubey, aggressive feedback. Or rolling off the volume and REALLY putting a leash on my overdrive channel, getting some amazing dynamics. REALLY feeling the difference when you go from soft to hard picking. I'm in love.
So I have vowed, whatever it takes, I am going to keep soundproofing my kitchen, learn how to mic up a cab really well, and only ever use real amps from now on. The only other thing I might consider (and it's a very very tentative "might") is the Kemper.
I have started saving up for a JVM205H. :lol:
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because i like old stuff, old stuff is better, Vinyl, Reel to Reel Projectors, Maps, women covering their ankles, record players like the HMV dog is listening to, crank handles on the front of cars, police whistles.
Damn kids and your glowing screen rubbish..
:lol:
One argument I don't understand is the concern that a couple of years down the line there's going to be a better version of it. If you really like how the current version sounds then surely that's good enough ? This should only be a concern if you think the current version isn't quite there yet. Or you would apply the same consideration to buying an all valve Marshall, Blackstar or whatever.
Yep and that's a big part of what has held me back. The Axefx isn't a preamp in the same way a Bogner Fish is. It's an amp emulator, in essence it's just a very well done and posh POD. An analogue amp will be timeless whereas an Axefx2 is only going to be the bees knees untill an Axefx3 comes out (from what I understand there was a big jump in tone and dynamics from the 1 to the 2? I don't know why Fractal haven't released it as a plug-in with dongle yet, they'd make a killing.
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because i like old stuff, old stuff is better, Vinyl, Reel to Reel Projectors, Maps, women covering their ankles, record players like the HMV dog is listening to, crank handles on the front of cars, police whistles.
Damn kids and your glowing screen rubbish..
I don't know if you're taking the piss or not.... but I agree wholeheartedly. :wink:
Look, I don't know much about this stuff but it seems to me that cutting-edge digital technology goes against the whole concept of what guitarists want from their equipment. Our benchmarks for "great tone" are guitars and amps which were built 40, 50, even 60 years ago, using technology even older than that, and - wonderfully - they are not obsolete. So the idea of buying some digital box of tricks which will be antiquated in six months' time (along with our phones, TVs, computers etc) just seems totally counter-intuitive.
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My reason: I have no money. On a serious note, i have a Pod X3 Pro for all my processing/recording needs and i will eventually get both a poweramp (thinking of the Matrix ones) and a real amp, so i have the best of both worlds.
Axe FXII = £2500+ including the foot controller
Pod X3 Pro = Xmas present 2 years ago and i already had the Line6 floorboard to control it
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because i like old stuff, old stuff is better, Vinyl, Reel to Reel Projectors, Maps, women covering their ankles, record players like the HMV dog is listening to, crank handles on the front of cars, police whistles.
Damn kids and your glowing screen rubbish..
I don't know if you're taking the piss or not.... but I agree wholeheartedly. :wink:
Look, I don't know much about this stuff but it seems to me that cutting-edge digital technology goes against the whole concept of what guitarists want from their equipment. Our benchmarks for "great tone" are guitars and amps which were built 40, 50, even 60 years ago, using technology even older than that, and - wonderfully - they are not obsolete. So the idea of buying some digital box of tricks which will be antiquated in six months' time (along with our phones, TVs, computers etc) just seems totally counter-intuitive.
And that brings us nicely into a deeper thinking: let's hypothesize that in ten years modeling is so good that it truly feels and sounds like an actual amp to the point that it makes actual amps obsolete and we are using SSpower amps and an Axefx (unlikely but for the sake of argument). Then what is going to be our point of reference in one hundred years? I can't imagine the tag line The AxeFx 3000 can capture the vintage tones of the Axefx 50. By it's nature it needs the analogue stuff to be able to exist - a benchmark. Not that it matters 'cause we'll all be a part of the matrix by then 8)
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But even then, surely some people would still insist on using actual old amps unless the modeling amps of the future felt and sounded BETTER than an actual amp? :P
I don't think old guitar gear will ever be obsolete - unless we run out of the raw materials to repair and/or reproduce them.
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An AXEFX will make a million different sounds and you could spend the rest of your life creating new ones. My Cornford combo is set up for one sound I really like and the rest of my sounds come from pickup selection, coil splitting, the guitar's volume and tone controls, picking dynamics and kicking in the amp's gain boost. And that's all I want or need. I don't WANT loads of sound from an amp. If someone could produce a digital version of my amp that was just as good I'd buy it. But nobody ever will because that's not how these things work.
For many people the holy grail amp is a Plexi or a Dumble or a Trainwreck but if someone produced a digital amp that replicated only one of these amps it wouldn't sell.
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The reason I don't have one is because I'm not a professional or at least regularly gigging musician.
If I was, I'd get either the AXE or the KEMPER in a heartbeat. I think those are THE amplification solutions of the future. No more hauling around gear, no more ridiculously loud stages, no more mic bleed, and a better FOH mix as well.
I think the days of old amp setups are counted. Amps like the Laney Ironheart Studio are kind of bridging the gap and I think we'll see more of such solutions, but in time we'll have mostly flexible preamp devices (digital or tube based) with small power amps and the ability to go straight into the mixer instead of a cab.
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As Alex says, if i was jetting around the world playing music i think i would feel the need to invest in one-however for the time being after trying to get the best i can from my instrument i feel i dont want to then go digital with what is probably the main chunk of your sound-the amp.
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Too much coin really :/ and to be honest, I just use a Marshall tone 95% of the time anyway.
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Money. I would love one as I hardly ever play gigs any more, but even selling my amp/cab etc I couldn't afford one. Seems really useful for home recording and practice. And as GwEm says I'd just use a marshall tone the majority of the time, with the odd 5% on a mesa type patch!
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I don't record that much and they aren't cheap. Besides that I prefer a good, but simple valveamp for gigging. I don't want to adjust parameters for diferent stages. Too complicated. I can see why AxeFX and Kemper are popular. Great tools for recording (if you are a tweaker).
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Cos they are gross
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To be honest i've been getting good enough results for me using an attenuator and then taking the line out to speaker IR's on my computer, works like a charm and i can really get the whole power section cooking without deafening volume.
sure it's a bit of work to get the whole thing working but it's the best crossover of analog gear/digital recording for me at apartment volumes.
that and the overabundance of sounds sometimes make you forget to play as you're too busy discovering the new tones, not that great for a home studio as sometimes we don't have as much time as we want!
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here's a thing, following on from our benchmarks of great tone. Digital sim advocates will claim that things like the AFX will flawlessly copy and respond like those amps.
Thats the thing right there. Even some recent amps have diserable signature sounds.your soldanos, cornfords, matchless, bogner, they all have a sound that people want or want to emulate. It takes a dude designing an amp to come up with a signature sound, and at the end of the day, A kemper, or an AFX copies those. thats it. They don't have a signature charicteristic of their own. yes you can "create sounds" but i just don't think it's the same thing as the sonic signature created by a truly great amp.
People sometimes say move forwards stop living in the past with your old tech. well, why? when the old tech hasn't been bettered and the new tech tries to copy the sound of the old tech? thats not living in the past and clinging to obsolete electronics. thats sticking with what works best.
At the end of the day, what matter is the sound, not the tech you use to get that sound
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here's a thing, following on from our benchmarks of great tone. Digital sim advocates will claim that things like the AFX will flawlessly copy and respond like those amps.
Thats the thing right there. Even some recent amps have diserable signature sounds.your soldanos, cornfords, matchless, bogner, they all have a sound that people want or want to emulate. It takes a dude designing an amp to come up with a signature sound, and at the end of the day, A kemper, or an AFX copies those. thats it. They don't have a signature charicteristic of their own. yes you can "create sounds" but i just don't think it's the same thing as the sonic signature created by a truly great amp.
People sometimes say move forwards stop living in the past with your old tech. well, why? when the old tech hasn't been bettered and the new tech tries to copy the sound of the old tech? thats not living in the past and clinging to obsolete electronics. thats sticking with what works best.
At the end of the day, what matter is the sound, not the tech you use to get that sound
I couldn't have put that better myself.
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here's a thing, following on from our benchmarks of great tone. Digital sim advocates will claim that things like the AFX will flawlessly copy and respond like those amps.
Thats the thing right there. Even some recent amps have diserable signature sounds.your soldanos, cornfords, matchless, bogner, they all have a sound that people want or want to emulate. It takes a dude designing an amp to come up with a signature sound, and at the end of the day, A kemper, or an AFX copies those. thats it. They don't have a signature charicteristic of their own. yes you can "create sounds" but i just don't think it's the same thing as the sonic signature created by a truly great amp.
People sometimes say move forwards stop living in the past with your old tech. well, why? when the old tech hasn't been bettered and the new tech tries to copy the sound of the old tech? thats not living in the past and clinging to obsolete electronics. thats sticking with what works best.
At the end of the day, what matter is the sound, not the tech you use to get that sound
same thing with valves, what on earth beats a mullard? they are now over 50 years old yet still the best.
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There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don't.
Nobody ever looked cool on stage playing around with a calculator (Except maybe Kraftwerk and Gwem). :D
I had a POD XT for a while and used one to record a demo with years ago. I never used half the features on it because plugging into a real amp was so much easier. I do have the POD at my Dads house these days so I can play when I'm there. The Axe FX to me is just the same thing but fancier. I wouldn't use it to anywhere near its capability and even then I'd prefer a real amp. I mean, look at what Meshuggah do with it. Linking it to a timeline on a laptop so the sounds automatically switch as they play a set. Mental!
Also the cost and the need for an extra power amp.
the DV Mark Multiamp has a built in power amp and it has amp like knobs of the front you can adjust easily.
http://www.dvmark.it/product_detail.php?id=43 (http://www.dvmark.it/product_detail.php?id=43)
I've had a gone on one of these and I had fun. But then when rolling off volume my sound was gated. As was said before, it all sounded a bit hifi and I struggled in the time I had to really delve in and tweak it at all. The manual is tiny too. Maybe future Axe FX things will go this route.
I'd say if you REALLY want Axe FX but can't afford it, maybe check one out. For me it's a lot of money. I'd rather have a Splawn or Diezel or something.
PS. The Mullard I own is rubbish.
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I'm sub'd to Brett Kingman on YouTube who recently got an axe and he's getting some sweet tones but his Laney VH100R tones sound a lot better to me.
This showcases what I hear in axe clips alot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUZuU5o-cug (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUZuU5o-cug) both great tones and you probably wouldn't question it unless it was A/B'd but when you do you can hear the dynamics reduce. Which is probably related to what I hear as less high-mids + the invisible low-end has gone walkies. Like it's taken 20-40hz away from you. You would've taken most of it off in a guitar heavy mix anyway, but that's not the point ;-p it probably goes someway to explain why modern metal guys love it so much 8)
...but who knows maybe you hear something totally different and psychoacoustics are kicking in when I see him plug the axe in ;-p
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I dont like their sound.
Also, I like micing amps. Its a hit and miss process, in which you spend a lot of time failing, which is time learning and developing a craft. I think thats a good thing for its own sake, if you enjoy the process.
I was going to get a kemper (they do sound very impressive, and have me scratching my head as to which is which in blind comparisons), and profile sounds for use any time and all that stuff. Then I realised '$%&# it, why do I need that?'. Set up a sound one day, lose it the next, set up another. Theres also reamping.
Theres a balance of relying on your own skills vs relying on the devices you use here. Thats always a balance, but I prefer to have it lean toward the former, even if its more work and general sucking.
The convenience element of immediate and low vol recording with perfect tone reproduction can also be had for free do a good standard with the likes of TSE and Lepoulin.
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I'd have one if I had more money than sense, guy I know at uni bought one recently so maybe I'll get to try one out soon but for recording as previously stated, TSE and a good cab impulse will get me the sound I want
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Aside from the fact that I've not come across a modeller yet that I like the sound/feel/dynamics of, and yes I have tried things from a humble POD through software modelling to an Axe FX 2 just before anyone says anything :lol:, I also don't have the money for 1 even if I did want 1.
I only really use 2 main sounds anyway (amp dependant); Crunchy and Dirty plus a boost. So the amount of sounds they offer would probably be a waste to me anyway!
I also feel the same way as MDV does. As a trained and experienced studio sound engineer I really enjoy the whole process of recording. The setting up and messing around with microphones is part of the fun for me too :lol:
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I have briefly played through the 2 versions of the AXE FX and didn't get either because I have some great low powered amps for recording. They are both John McIntyre amps, though one is the Lexicon production version. The other is the amp that sold Lexicon on the idea. They are both 3 watt stereo rack mount full valve amps. The prototype has one 6V6 and one EL84 for power amps, and includes reverb. However for the production version both power amps are EL84's and the reverb was dropped. The production amp is the Lexicon Signature 284, and if you can find one grab it. They have 2 types of speaker emulation and when I've used them to record there is almost no difference between the recorded sound and the sound from a miked speaker. I also have a set of speakers with attenuators which John made me to go with the prototype, and this lets me dial down the volume when I need to. My other main amp for recording is a MJW 30w Goldstar with London Power Scaling, and this gets a great sound but has to go through a cab and be miked. This amp has a lot more headroom with the 4xEL84 power stage, and so is great for getting an open sound.
I don't use a lot of effects, and so I don't need most of the features a modelling amp gives. If I need a different guitar sound I'm lucky enough to be able to get that type of guitar out.
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I would be lost in all the knob pushing and tweaking possibilities as I'm just a plug and play kinda guy most of the time.
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because i like old stuff, old stuff is better, Vinyl, Reel to Reel Projectors, Maps, women covering their ankles, record players like the HMV dog is listening to, crank handles on the front of cars, police whistles.
Damn kids and your glowing screen rubbish..
I don't know if you're taking the piss or not.... but I agree wholeheartedly. :wink:
Look, I don't know much about this stuff but it seems to me that cutting-edge digital technology goes against the whole concept of what guitarists want from their equipment. Our benchmarks for "great tone" are guitars and amps which were built 40, 50, even 60 years ago, using technology even older than that, and - wonderfully - they are not obsolete. So the idea of buying some digital box of tricks which will be antiquated in six months' time (along with our phones, TVs, computers etc) just seems totally counter-intuitive.
And that brings us nicely into a deeper thinking: let's hypothesize that in ten years modeling is so good that it truly feels and sounds like an actual amp to the point that it makes actual amps obsolete and we are using SSpower amps and an Axefx (unlikely but for the sake of argument). Then what is going to be our point of reference in one hundred years? I can't imagine the tag line The AxeFx 3000 can capture the vintage tones of the Axefx 50. By it's nature it needs the analogue stuff to be able to exist - a benchmark. Not that it matters 'cause we'll all be a part of the matrix by then 8)
To continue the record/cd/mp3 analogy. Convenience/cost tends to win rightly or wrongly. I stand by that records sound better than anything that followed them. Like valve amps they're flawed, you have to have a good turntable/arm/styus, keep your records clean and get up half way though to turn them over being careful not to walk to heavily near it. But it all adds to the 'experience' of listening to the music.
It's more than about fidelity alone. You put a record on and you sit and you listen to it, end to end, with no distractions. A CD you can do this, but you can press a button to skip a track easily. MP3 is worse as I sit here typing this with some playing in the background. In that respect I suspect the moddlers will eventually rule the world. Shame.
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had one, too much knob twiddling and dicking around, was never totally happy with the sounds I was getting out of it.
I'll take my 20th xtc anyday
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I do think that digital modelers will eventually get there in terms of tone and dynamics but I don't think any of them are there yet and I'm not paying that much money for the honour of playing an Axe FX. Some sort of modeler has always appealed to me but these days it's only really so that I can get a decent tone at home. It's annoying that at home I am generally dissatisfied with my tone, which can seem a bit dull and then as soon as I'm blasting out with my band it sounds fantastic. In my experience, modelers give you consistency of tone but never great tone. I suffer my amp at home because of the way it makes me feel when I can eventually let her rip. The other issue is, as others have said, the endless tweaking you get drawn into. I just don't use that many sounds. 90% of what I play has the amp gain on 40% and an overdrive at about the same level. The remaining 10% is either clean, just the gain from the amp or a second overdrive unit engaged.
I'm just as simplistic with effects. The compressor is never turned off at all, the overdrive is usually never turned off and I also use delay about 90% of the time. Sometimes I'll use a little chorus and occasionally a bit of reverb but these last two are rare. I also sometimes use a wah effect. What's more, the settings on effects also rarely change. The overdrive is either on or off, with no tweaking at all. The compressor is not only always on, it always uses the same settings. The only thing I alter on the delay is the tap tempo. I used to own a Hardwire delay pedal that offered loads of different types of delay and it was pointless as I just never used them. I don't want to tweak pedals at a gig, I just want to either turn them on or turn them off - simples :D
My gear isn't massively expensive but it works ok for what I need. I'd like to have better tone at home but so far I haven't been able to find a solution for that.
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In my opinion the AxeFX is a great and handy tool for gigging musicians, however it isn't the real deal. I don't care how many Fractal fanboys, including the whole Periphery crew (not mocking them or anything) wanna convince the world it sounds as real as the real deal. Omg, have you heard the new firmware? It sounds even realer than a real amp! Seriously no. I can ALWAYS hear the digital sound when someone plays one, especially on the cleans and being the old school kind of guy regarding sound I'd never get one, even if I had the money. Maybe if I was touring, but for home use my Micro Terror is more than enough and I have a Valveking for band practice. Imho you can't beat a real amp with cooking valves, why would you even want to?
So my opinion: good solution for recording and gigging, otherwise meh.
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On the pro side you can do stuff like this with it:
Axe Fx II - Acoustic preset tweaked for Coldplay's "fix you" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR937sP5-r4#ws)
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Well, the reason I never got one is, er, because I've got a Vox Tonelab LE that does the jobs I need for a whole bunch cheaper...
I only use it in my "studio". Sometimes for practicing, or having a noodle, mainly for recording.
In the living room I use a valve amp (Laney Cub 12) or, if I have to be quiet, I have a POD 2.0 with headphones down behind the sofa. I loathe the POD 2.0 for recording.
I also have a POD XTlive in the studio. It's ok for what I think of as "metal" sounds. But I don't use those sounds. So my POD XTlive is basically set up as a Bass POD XT, and I use it exclusively for bass nowadays.
Sometimes, I try recording with the Laney, but although it "feels" nicer to play, the recorded tracks aren't "better" than the Tonelab's efforts, and they cost a lot more in fiddling around and potential neighbour-worrying...
I have had the Tonelab long enough now that I just treat it like an amplifier. Just like an amp, I know its restrictions and limitations. It even "feels like an amp" when I'm trying to capture a part. I have a bunch of patches that either work, work with a slight tweak, or "don't work, on to the next patch".
So... an AxeFX doesn't really fit into all of that! :lol:
Originally it was money. If they'd been about £3-400 I'd have taken a punt. But they weren't. Now, if they were £3-400 I still wouldn't look at one... my kit does what I ask of it.
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There's always going to be two schools on this, people who like them and other's who say "you can't beat amps and cabs". I think it's a matter of can you make it work for you? I use a Vypyr 60 amp and Peavey's Revalver software and they are good and fun to play with. There's some really good sounds in both but if I can't be arsed messing with knobs and settings, I got my Blackstar HT-5 and 212 cab.
I think the AxeFX price is something a bit of a put off especially when a new model comes out. I can't see it being held in high regard in years to come like a Fender twin or JCM 800. It's just another bit of kit. I'd like one but if I had the money I'd go an EVH 5150 III 50 watt. The technology is great but it's not quite there yet.
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The price. I couldn't afford nor justify £2000+ for a single piece of gear.
I'm quite happy with my Digitech GSP1101 set up too.
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Just because the JCM 800 was mentioned: I'd love to own one some day, best thing would be having it modded by Dan Gower. Sylosis used a set of Holydivers with a Dan Gower treated JCM 800 and the sound they have is amazing. Just listen to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVYUd26mRrQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVYUd26mRrQ)
Sorry fo the short off topic post :lol:
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I've always wanted a JCM800 and that's not helping!
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I love my JCM800.
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Well I don“t have a AxeFx cause I really don“t see why I need it. I just love me Orange Tiny Terror Hardwired Edition and my HTH 5w Tweed Champ style amp too much. They give me all usually need.
I did however just buy Amplitube for my work PC. Seemed like a cool option for the ocasional late night playing and recording work at least the playing around part of that, sometimes you still wanne mic up your amp, but this is much less work (I do enjoy the work, but still, sometimes you wanne do more creative and less technical work).
So far I am really pleased with the program. The amps I like sound pretty nice (things like the Dual Rectifier sounds cr@p to me, but I hate the real one too), I even feel I can get a pretty decent clean sound out of it.
Well most of the presets are not to my taste, but I can quickly generate patches I like.
I must say I am pretty impressed with it all together. Also got a model of my dear Tiny Terror and I really dig it.
I must use it more and try around more things, but so far I am very happy and that at about 10% the price of a AxeFx? I“ll take it!
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The only use I would get out of an Axe Fx is for live shows and touring. I still would want to have an actual 5150 III at home or in the studio.
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i'm just more of a amp+head and guitar guy myself.
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I have another point to add to my original post.
I don't play djent.
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I love the smell of hot valves in the evening..... They ain't emulated that yet!
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I don't have an Axe FX because all I need is one core tone with varying gain levels.
I'll stick to my 65 Amps Empire and a Klone thanks.
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I have another point to add to my original post.
I don't play djent.
Right what is Djent? i keep hearing this term, but when i youtube it, it sounds pretty much like the rest of the multitude of subgenres of metal these days.
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I always get Djent and the Brootalz mixed up.
Anyway, valve amp, a couple of pedals and a BKPd Baja seem to do alright for me.
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Well, I'm already beyond happy with my Mesa. And I have have other things planned !
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I have another point to add to my original post.
I don't play djent.
Right what is Djent? i keep hearing this term, but when i youtube it, it sounds pretty much like the rest of the multitude of subgenres of metal these days.
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/downloads/soundclips/humbuckers/contemporary/juggernaut/juggernaut_-_heavy_lead_demo.mp3
Stuff like that. Guitar tones with no real balls or low end to speak of. And bouncy riffs that are trying too hard to be impressive due to technicalities but don't impress due to the fact that they're hard to listen to without getting a headache and generally they don't flow very well from one to another.
It's always overproduced with really fake sounding drums even when theyre actually real.
It baffles me but all of the above is just my opinion. It's also pretty much responsible for the axe fx craze and i'd say somewhat to BKPs surge in popularity these last few years.
Another way to describe it is an evolution of nu-metal.
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I have another point to add to my original post.
I don't play djent.
:lol:
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LOL. I wasn't exposed to djent until I joined this forum, besides hearing that awfully pretentious but inexplicably popular Meshuggah band.
An absence of balls is a good way to describe it.
The A-Pig is the Anti-Djent \m/
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I have another point to add to my original post.
I don't play djent.
:lol:
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I have another point to add to my original post.
I don't play djent.
:lol:
Why don't I have one? Since when did you last hear a group of sluts say "$%&#, that guy has a computer or some shite. he can snort coke from my tits".
Seriously though, toobz > *
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I have an AXE II and I LOVE IT! I wish I could have a real SLO 100, Bogner XTC, Carol Ann, Diezel VH4, Plexi, Silver Jubillee.
Maybe if I lived in a house with my own basement studio I could have these bad ass 100 watters with 4x12s but I dont...so I can't!
My reality is that I live in an apartment where I turned one of the rooms into a home studio. Its semi soundproofed but I still could not blast a tube amp in there without bringing the building down with me :lol:.
I dont gig, play in a band and I jam with some friends maybe once a month. My playing is mostly restricted to my home studio. I even have a digital drumset in there for my drummer buddy to jam with....HA! even thats digital. I have to keep the SPL levels under control around here.
Anyways, the AXE FX is only a tool, just as is any modeler or Tube Amp. The great thing about the AXE is that it lets me test drive all these amps, I could NEVER have the opportunity to do that anywhere. Now I know that if I start looking for a real Tube Amp its either a Carol Ann Triptik, Marshall Silver Jubillee, Soldano SLO ,Fryette Deliverance or Suhr Badger.
Trust me guys, this thing is not just for djent or brootz or whatever...I play heavy blues rock, hard rock style music and it does the mid gain crunch thing beautifully. One of my favorite models is the Suhr Badger, and that does the vintage Plexi crunch thing in spades!
Yeah its expensive and if you want to play out with it youll need a PA frfr solution or power amp/cabinet combo. Its still cheaper than buying an SLO ($4K) VH4 ($4K) XTC ($3K) plus cabinets and speakers and pedals.
I can get any tone I want, at any volume I want at any hour I want.....that makes me happy :D
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I have an AXE II and I LOVE IT! I wish I could have a real SLO 100, Bogner XTC, Carol Ann, Diezel VH4, Plexi, Silver Jubillee.
Maybe if I lived in a house with my own basement studio I could have these bad ass 100 watters with 4x12s but I dont...so I can't!
My reality is that I live in an apartment where I turned one of the rooms into a home studio. Its semi soundproofed but I still could not blast a tube amp in there without bringing the building down with me :lol:.
I dont gig, play in a band and I jam with some friends maybe once a month. My playing is mostly restricted to my home studio. I even have a digital drumset in there for my drummer buddy to jam with....HA! even thats digital. I have to keep the SPL levels under control around here.
Anyways, the AXE FX is only a tool, just as is any modeler or Tube Amp. The great thing about the AXE is that it lets me test drive all these amps, I could NEVER have the opportunity to do that anywhere. Now I know that if I start looking for a real Tube Amp its either a Carol Ann Triptik, Marshall Silver Jubillee, Soldano SLO ,Fryette Deliverance or Suhr Badger.
Trust me guys, this thing is not just for djent or brootz or whatever...I play heavy blues rock, hard rock style music and it does the mid gain crunch thing beautifully. One of my favorite models is the Suhr Badger, and that does the vintage Plexi crunch thing in spades!
Yeah its expensive and if you want to play out with it youll need a PA frfr solution or power amp/cabinet combo. Its still cheaper than buying an SLO ($4K) VH4 ($4K) XTC ($3K) plus cabinets and speakers and pedals.
I can get any tone I want, at any volume I want at any hour I want.....that makes me happy :D
See, this is the sort of situation I can imagine an Axe-FX to be ideal:
Not much, if any, use at volume
Mainly used direct to record
A NEED to keep SPLs down
Fortunately, I'm in a position where I can play loud and no-one really cares, and I do gig and like to feel the amp and weight of sound behind me when I play, that's another reason I like live amps.
I'm yet to try a modeller that manages to do the low/mid gain crunch thing well at all, so I'll admit to being pleasantly surprised that you say the Axe does it well. Especially as we appear to play similar styles of music so I know I can listen to your opinion and not take it with a huge pinch of salt like I have to when listening to peoples opinions that use totally different gear and play totally different genres of music than I do :lol:
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Trust me man.....you can get any type of tone you want....cleans, mid gain, high gain. Its all there. Try it out once with someone who knows how to use it and theres no way you wont be impressed.
I will say this though....its only a solution. Its not better than a tube amp its just another option. I would still like to have a grab and go combo amp or maybe a head with a 1x12 for jams and my studio. I would definitely have to keep it around 20 to 30 watts with a great master volume. Might go ahead and grab a Blackstar HT20 or something similar.
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Trust me man.....you can get any type of tone you want....cleans, mid gain, high gain. Its all there. Try it out once with someone who knows how to use it and theres no way you wont be impressed.
I will say this though....its only a solution. Its not better than a tube amp its just another option. I would still like to have a grab and go combo amp or maybe a head with a 1x12 for jams and my studio. I would definitely have to keep it around 20 to 30 watts with a great master volume. Might go ahead and grab a Blackstar HT20 or something similar.
Yeah, I know what you mean: it's all options!
It doesnt help my opinion of them though that most people that use them tend to be those of extended range/heavilly downtuned guitars and use tones and play types of music that I just have no interest in so therefore can't base an opinion of how they'd work for me and what I do.
I've used a POD XT for demoing for years, but can imagine an Axe FX is a bit better :lol: