So, why don't you have an AXEFX yet?

[Alex]

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.

[witeter]

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.

[gwEm]

Too much coin really :/ and to be honest, I just use a Marshall tone 95% of the time anyway.

[_tom_]

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!

[Telerocker]

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).

[bucketshred]

Cos they are gross

[Keven]

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!

[tekbow]

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

[Toe-Knee]

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.

[JJretroTONEGOD]

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.

[Dmoney]

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

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.

[Lew]

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 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

[MDV]

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.

[JDC]

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

[Brow]

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: