Just acquired this and I'm in guitar heaven....
Holy shitsnacks...Christmas came early?
got a inside track with Santa
Wtf is it exactly. Looks like a preamp / switcher to me. It's cool lookin.
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here's my experience with them ... local guy starts selling everything he can spare to get it ... gets it ... 6 months later its up for sale because they're young and stupid with jobs/money and he's carefully re-wrapped it up in its packaging like he never used it
they must be good because those guys practically sell their children to get em
Quote from: jimilee on June 05, 2018, 10:35:59 AM
Wtf is it exactly.
Basically it replaces all your effects AND your amp(s). You can just go direct to PA and get amazing tone.
here’s a video that shows a little of what it can do.
https://youtu.be/fmXZZ0oEtbI
Jimi, it's a singing, dancing, digital modelling rig. But it's the modern kind of digital modelling, not the 90s kind.
Quote from: blearyeyes on June 05, 2018, 04:06:19 PM
here's a video that shows what it can do.
https://youtu.be/fmXZZ0oEtbI
Honestly, one of them sound better, but I don't know which one it is, there should be labels for when the rig is off and when it is on.
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(I have no affiliation with Fractal Audio Systems)
From my use, which is very limited, It has rendered my little tube amp pretty useless. Although it wasn't a bad sounding amp, it made all my guitars sound pretty much the same. Now I have re-discovered my guitars and the ability to choose amps that make them really sound wonderful. My Gretsch, which I was thinking about selling, really sounds incredible through the Divided by 13 low channel. Throw in a studio quality 4 channel chorus, a multi delay, glorious reverb and a parametric EQ to eliminate a bass bump, 1 of 4 available per patch, and it is stunning. Default the unit is pretty much a blank slate and doesn't have much in the way of finished patches which means you have to work at getting your sound and dialing in the amp models, but the tools are all there. Each block has every conceivable control down to the type of amp, preamp, tubes, bias settings, transformers, speaker types and resonance etc. I can't say enough good things about this black box and can only wonder where the new version (AXE FX-lll) will go as they start pushing the more than double the processing power over the years to come. I tend to buy technology on the downward curve to save money so this was less than a good high end amp and speakers would have cost me. Also with USB computer interfacing for direct 4 channel digital recording (stereo processed and dry) and re-amping I don't think there is anything better for me. Thanks to fellow madbeaner woolie for selling me this one at a very reasonable price. I'm directing my heirs to mount it in the lid of my coffin so I can keep jamming in the afterlife. hehe... now to figure out how I'm going to pay for food this month....
Quote from: thesmokingman on June 05, 2018, 11:17:35 AM
here's my experience with them ... local guy starts selling everything he can spare to get it ... gets it ... 6 months later its up for sale because they're young and stupid with jobs/money and he's carefully re-wrapped it up in its packaging like he never used it
they must be good because those guys practically sell their children to get em
I think the learning curve puts off a lot of people. It's a tweakers delight (not the druggy kind)
I bought a Kemper a year ago, and I love it. Every amp you could possibly want, plus great effects. I run a pedalboard in front and it is awesome, totally consistent, amazing at home and thru the PA.
Not an AXE FX but in the same vein.
Basically, you can't go more pro than this...if the price comes down a bit more (not sure though that's gonna happen) but then it's a real threat I think to 'conventional' guitar products. You can spend what...3k on a John Petrucci signature Mesa or just buy this thing for about half price and have EVERYTHING...I'm thinking digital modelling needs maybe just one more tiny step and then it has surpassed anything we ever built...except that it's still modelled on everything we've ever built.
I put together a 19" rack unit with used gear (dump prices on the market these days) with a Triaxis and a G Major and that is already loads of fun. But this probably, once you get the hang of the user interface, takes that flexibility to stupendous levels. But it's not perfect yet ;) I remember a Metallica rig rundown video where the roadies discuss that Kirk and Hetfield use a dual Fractal setup and the units are switched MANUALLY by the roadies during songs, because response over those distances is too slow.
On the other hand: it's total overkill haha.
So no more soldering pokey little pcbs then for you...?
Quote from: cooder on June 05, 2018, 10:51:43 PM
So no more soldering pokey little pcbs then for you...?
Well....
it's all about motivation I guess.
I'm well impressed by the Axe FX but it's not for me. The Axe FX, the Kemper, the Headrush - they all sound great but for me it's just too many knobs, too many features. All these amps can do EVERYTHING. All the amps in the world in one. But I don't need everything, I don't need high gain Metal amp models and a hundred delays.
I'm waiting for the day they will release a simple combo that can do something like a Princeton Reverb and Tweed Deluxe and AC15 and that's it. Don't think that will happen though.
Good point Tremster...it's sort of a 'feature war'.
there's going to be nuance issues with modeling that will never be 100% ... spring reverb drip/combo cab vibration/pan crash, output tube bias vary tremolo, tube rectified non-mv push pull amp sag/bloom/dynamics, actual leslie rotation/ramping ... but they get better with it each time. hopefully analog will last my lifetime and I won't have to find out.
Quote from: Tremster on June 06, 2018, 07:20:26 AM
I'm well impressed by the Axe FX but it's not for me. The Axe FX, the Kemper, the Headrush - they all sound great but for me it's just too many knobs, too many features. All these amps can do EVERYTHING. All the amps in the world in one. But I don't need everything, I don't need high gain Metal amp models and a hundred delays.
I'm waiting for the day they will release a simple combo that can do something like a Princeton Reverb and Tweed Deluxe and AC15 and that's it. Don't think that will happen though.
I've always been one to jump in and use new stuff. I had Pat Quilter modify a Quilter Solid State in 72 and gigged with it forever. If you are the kind of guy that likes to fight with computers and beat them into submission then this would work for you. At this point I won't be able to afford a collection of great amps so this is a good alternative. It is definitely working for me. The 59 Bassman model really rocks my world. The Divided by 13 sounds incredible with my Gretsch. So this will keep me happy and busy for years... Back to fighting with my workstation...
I owned FXII and sold it at a good price. I got AX8 which it's better serving my purpose for 1-1 analog-digital pedal comparison. IMHO, I use it when I am too lazy to bring my own rig or just perform at the quick open mic (less than 3 songs). If I am getting a full paid gig, then I'll bring my best to serve the audience (pedals, amp, couple guitars with different tunings). At some point, I do combine the AX8 with my amp with 4 cables method and add one or two pedals in the chain for unloading some CPU power.
For playing direct/ going FOH, mostly I get help from my friends/band mate to carry big FRFR speakers (1000 Watts). I own EV FRFR speaker for AX8 and so far it's sounded great. Previously with FX II, I powered it up with 8008 Marshall and sometimes with Mesa Power Amp to the real cabinet. I turned off the cab sim and just mainly used the preamp. It also worked for me with my FRFR KRK Rokit which it was sounded great by all means for recording.
I tend to do the same ways I did for the AX8. I like the way they designed the AX8 which it serves my needs for short gig/ demo. It wasn't convenient to bring 2K rigs at some places that I've never been. Plus, they just came out with FX III.