Is the Axe-FX just a passing fad?
- Thread starter InAbsentia_
- Start date
Hey guys, I got my AxeFX Standard last week and I haven't played this much guitar in a long time. It's a great piece of gear. It's not as easy to set up as a real tube amp, but once you get the hang of it it becomes easier and much more intuitive. I have owned a Crate BV120HB, Crate BV150HB, Mesa Mark IV, Line 6 Flextone, Mesa Dual Rectifier, Peavey 5150, Randall RM100, and some shit amps not worth mentioning. The AxeFX can pretty much cover any of those tones and maybe even does them better. I'm currently running the AxeFX Standard into the effects return of a Crate BV120HB and then into a Mesa 4x12 oversize cab. The cleans on this unit are as good as it gets. The distortion tones are trickier, because you have to play around with them a bit to get them to sound the same as the real thing, most importantly the damping and sag features.
I don't like 90% of the stock presets because they use a lot of reverb and effects and they just don't sound right to me. I'm more of a "less is more" person when it comes to effects. I made a couple of my own presets and they sound great. I haven't had a chance to record anything yet but I will soon. The tube tone and saturation is there, I don't know if it's mostly because I'm running through a tube power amp, but playing through my setup would be indiscernible from a real tube preamp and power amp setup.
So does it live up to the hype? To me it does.
I can see why a lot of pro guitarists are switching to the AxeFx and I wouldn't be surprised if in five years a lot of studios have one in their rack.
Way to completely miss the point. It doesn't matter if pro-guitarists switch to it, they can afford to throw that kind of money around. People like all the rest of us have to make informed decisions. If you don't care about the money, this whole argument is useless - as it being a fad won't affect you as you won't care.
Also, your opinion is probably very skewed. A fresh buyer who's dropped $2000 on a product won't say it's bad. They don't even want to let the thought enter their mind.
You can't do a 5150 'better' btw.
Lol, when the album came out I read in a German magazine that Doug Aldrich used only his old Marshalls for the record.
did some googling he used a 78 JMP that was modded and a Vintage ModernLol, when the album came out I read in a German magazine that Doug Aldrich used only his old Marshalls for the record.
Marshall
I haven't read every post on this thread but heres my humble opinion on the whole digital/ampsim topic:
I believe that the digital simulation of gear is the future! Even if the (poweramp and) cab simulations still suck today there will be a point in the future where it's a lot more additional expenses to carry all your gear with you when you can produce a similar tone with just a little box that fits in your gigbag... at least in live situations this will happen! Probably in small studios and for homerecording use too.
Further more you have to consider the sheer infinite flexibility which is simply not achievable with analog gear.
In the end it will simply be a question of profitability.
It's a matter of time, when computers have the power to calculate every single physical effect (in the gear chain) which results in a 99,99 % accurate simulation even though this might take some more years maybe decades.
For studio use however, it will never replace the tube amp + cab, because it's the original and the listener wants to hear what hes used to. Even if its only for the placebo effect...
What does that mean for the Axe-FX now?
I think it's a just a step in evolution. If your satisfied with the tone and tired of carrying your tube heads and 4x12 cabinets around the globe, thats absolutely fine!
just my 2 cents
I believe that the digital simulation of gear is the future! Even if the (poweramp and) cab simulations still suck today there will be a point in the future where it's a lot more additional expenses to carry all your gear with you when you can produce a similar tone with just a little box that fits in your gigbag... at least in live situations this will happen! Probably in small studios and for homerecording use too.
Further more you have to consider the sheer infinite flexibility which is simply not achievable with analog gear.
In the end it will simply be a question of profitability.
It's a matter of time, when computers have the power to calculate every single physical effect (in the gear chain) which results in a 99,99 % accurate simulation even though this might take some more years maybe decades.
For studio use however, it will never replace the tube amp + cab, because it's the original and the listener wants to hear what hes used to. Even if its only for the placebo effect...
What does that mean for the Axe-FX now?
I think it's a just a step in evolution. If your satisfied with the tone and tired of carrying your tube heads and 4x12 cabinets around the globe, thats absolutely fine!
just my 2 cents
It's true that I don't want the Axe-Fx to sound bad because I bought it. But I also have the option to return it within 14-days and I would definitely take advantage of that if needed. Actually this would be the easiest "amp" to return because it's not heavy and I can just ship it back for $20. I have returned other more expensive amps in the past because I didn't like their sound. Also, the axe-fx was $1550 shipped, not $2000. It's a lot of money to me either way, I had to sell other gear and save money from paychecks to get it.
As for whether it's a fad or not, well I don't think it's reached the point of popularity to even be considered a fad yet.
Blacklight_Studio
Member
Well. It seems that whitesnake is getting credits from all the product companies they mention to be used in a record )) So I guess we will never now what was used realy.
blackcom
Member
- Oct 5, 2003
- 456
- 0
- 16
To me the AXE-FX sounds really good with "8-string one-note" riffs ala Meshuggah and Bulb, but once you play acutall chords/powerchords sounds really "digital-grainy" to me.
I'm shure obZen would have sounded killer with the AXE-FX.
Any Machine Head/Killswitch/whatever probably woulden't.
oh btw, most Djenty tone I ever heard was an ENGL Savage 120 -> Engl Std Cab -> TLM193 (same mic as chaosphere). That's real tubes.
I'm shure obZen would have sounded killer with the AXE-FX.
Any Machine Head/Killswitch/whatever probably woulden't.
oh btw, most Djenty tone I ever heard was an ENGL Savage 120 -> Engl Std Cab -> TLM193 (same mic as chaosphere). That's real tubes.
Ermz
¯\(°_o)/¯
Yeah. I'm fairly sure the Savage 120 does djent better than the Axe-FX. The Axe is a convenience tool, we can just leave it at that. If I were gigging and rehearsing regularly I'd probably own one.
MarkG
Member
Same here, getting one for that same reason. It is pretty hard to beat regarding convenience and routing options.
