Your take on AxeFx?

[Josh Burgess]

...Had the exact same test last Christmas & got the same result. Here I thought I wasn't tweaking the AxeFX properly!

Yup, I owned the Axe-FX for a long time too... 2 years... I'm glad I eventually decided to really compare them side by side for myself. The difference is obvious next to a real amp. Even when going through a tube poweramp and cab, it sounded synthetic... Very "filtered" is the only way I can describe it... it just doesn't sound as natural and in your face as the 5150. I tried all of the high gain amp sims in the Axe-FX too, not just the 5150 sim (which doesn't really sound all that similar to a 5150, honestly)...

I have to say that I did love it for clean tones and effects though.... just not anything with any amount of distortion (neither mid gain rock tones nor high gain modern metal tones). It's a GREAT tool for anybody who's into FX heavy, ambient music with a lot of clean tones (post-rock, prog rock, etc.)

I'd love to own an Axe-FX II and MFC-101. I think that's honestly the best and most flexible live system you could possibly have for effects, but it's just so expensive... It's really hard to justify dishing out $3000 for effects, even when knowing I love them..

 

[Josh Burgess]

Dang that bulb clip sounds like shit.

He's produced better tones with the first one. Surprised that's all he could muster out of it.

I'm starting to suspect that this is more the hype of it and not people actually using their ears. Which, more power to fractal for producing such an environment of sales on this thing.

His tones get more and more dull and less ballsy as time goes on.... his original POD stuff at least actually had some bite and aggression to it. I can't stand those muffled plasticy axe-fx sounds... (cleans are great though)

 

[Josh Burgess]

I have one and I love it. It may not replace your head completely but in my studio I consider it a priceless commodity. I can start a record with it, leave on tour and be able to pull up exactly where I left off. I can't do that with real amps. The "set it and forget it" ability of it is great.

Lately I am usually working on multiple projects at a time and have other people using my place constantly. My tracking room can be used for whatever without a chance of some dumb drummer knocking into my guitar cabinet or someone screwing with it and fucking up my sweet spot. That peace of mind makes it worth the 2k I dropped on it alone.

Obviously, everyone can get a tone they like better with their choice of amp/cab/mic when they compare it to Joe Shmo's AxeFX YouTube video. Put the Fractal unit in that self proclaimed amp-guru's hand and they'll probably be able to accomplish something right up their alley.

The lack of tactile feel and all the knobs kind of sucks (on the Ultra) but Axe Edit makes it feel like you are working with any of the amp sims you want but it's much more powerful.

I'll end my rant here; but if you have any desire to have one, don't hesitate. If you don't have a desire to have one, don't buy one.

That's the thing. Who are these "amp gurus" ??? They sure as hell aren't our favorite metal producers... because 0 of them are using the Axe-FX...

 

[angryoldsoundguy]

The comments are the best....... some made me laugh quite hard.

+1 to this. I honestly don't know if some people are serious or are trolling.

I'm starting to suspect that this is more the hype of it and not people actually using their ears.

Since when have most people used their ears. Tends to be "I love this band/song/riff" = "This guitar tone is epic".

And I´ve heard clips of people using topnotch amps and still sound like shit. It's all about the user and player. Until you've tried one for yourself......Need I say more?

Well, the player is a moot point since we all know that bulb can shred. Not only a great player, but also a great (yes, subjective I know) songwriter.

What I find amusing is the hype machine with this piece of gear and the recording community. Time and time again, it is shown that with audio, there is no silver bullet and likewise the Axe-FX2 is obviously not the steven-slate-turn-it-on-and-your-done-preset that it is advertised to be. I would think that if so and so can do something with free tools, that would be the starting point, since if you can produce the desired results with something that is free, then you are already a step a head of your competitor who needs an expensive piece of gear. However, you do lose that marketing factor with the average musician, ie: "So and so uses some vst but I have teh pro tools, nuemann, axfx, neeve, etc".

When ever I hear musicians talking about gear or read posts about guitar tone I think about this, one of my favorite missives written by slipperman on the subject:

You gotta start in the room with 'the sound'. First, Put in some fucking earplugs, so when you go to get sounds on the desk later you'll actually have an opinion on ANYTHING. Then, get 'Einstein' to fiddle with his miserable square wave rectifier/noise generator until he confirms it is indeed producing "his sound". The incredibly new and amazing sound you haven't heard from anybody else.... in the last 15 minutes. This is MAJOR, once attained, we now have a starting point. We can now feel free to embark on our hellish voyage into the most fruitless and subjective undertaking ever conceived in the history of man's sad efforts on this sad and forgotten pebble in space. "A great guitar sound". Something NOBODY has agreed upon for more than 15 minutes since Ike left the White House.

 

[kev]

I'll have the axe II very soon now, so the first thing that will be happening is a A/B to the real 5150 I have sat here. Should be fun!

 

[Josh Burgess]

Cool. Don't let your excitement get in the way of objectivity. =P

 

[fizzinbizzin]

Seeing a axefx on stage looks like dog shit compared to a amp

 

[kev]

Cool. Don't let your excitement get in the way of objectivity. =P

Dont you worry dude, I will of course be making sure I tweak it so that it sounds better than the 5150- imagine the embarresment of dropping all that cash on a rig for it to be a flop!

Haha, just kidding. I will probably do axe fx 5150 model into the 5150 power amp as well as into vht 2/50/2 poweramp. Should be interesting. The beauty of it is however, if it does sound shit I could ebay it for a profit probably.

It will most certainly be a blind shoot out

 

[drew_drummer]

Tbh, my issue with the Bulb demo is the drums - sound awful! The tone is quite nice imho.

 

[bogchop]

Tbh, my issue with the Bulb demo is the drums - sound awful! The tone is quite nice imho.

Quite true, the newer stuff (i.e.: Icarus EP) sounds like glassy, hollow shit. There's less of that digital 'growl', but on that note -- I'm fairly certain he's using the FAS Modern channel for that tone - an entirely digital creation by Fractal Audio which isn't meant to be modelled after a 'real' amp. Food for thought

 

[P-E]

Somewhat OT, but best Bulb tone ever was in his first All New Materials demo. Thinner than now but squishy and tight. Since then it's gone cloudier and cloudier.

 

[Josh Burgess]

Somewhat OT, but best Bulb tone ever was in his first All New Materials demo. Thinner than now but squishy and tight. Since then it's gone cloudier and cloudier.

Not sure about that particular song (don't have it anymore or remember exactly which the best was), but I agree with the general sentiment. I didn't dislike his old POD tone too much... it sounded like a POD, but pretty clear and aggressive... kinda like Joey's stuff, a little flat because of it being an amp sim, but EQ'd well to sound aggressive and clear in a mix.

Since getting the Axe-FX he's been using increasingly darker and more muffled guitar tones... That's my main gripe with them... You can hear that annoying static boxy mids sort of quality because of the IRs AND a really non-aggressive super muffled kind of EQ... it just has no balls whatsoever. Yeah, the staccato stuff is cool, but it would sound so much better with a ballsier, more clear guitar tone.

 

[P-E]

Yeah, listening to a few demos right now that one and Abosolomb sounded killer. Insomnia was pretty cool too, as was More Juggies (Inertia instrumental). Weirdly the music just sounds more fun this way than in the final album. Sounds more passionate too for some reason.

 

[P-E]

Everybody should just compare this : http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1149356/26 - Insomnia.mp3 (uploaded because it was free on his soundclick)
to this
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1149356/01 Insomnia.m4a (uploaded for comparison's sake, I hope you guys don't mind).

edit : Holy shit I forgot how much I dig the old demos, if some of you wanna hear the OLD songs with Jake Veredika on them (best Periphery era IMO) please ask.

 

[bogchop]

Everybody should just compare this :
edit : Holy shit I forgot how much I dig the old demos, if some of you wanna hear the OLD songs with Jake Veredika on them (best Periphery era IMO) please ask.

Were they removed from the soundclick site? I dont have very many of him, but would definitely love to grab whatever.

 

[P-E]

Yeah they were a while ago. I think I'll just zip the whole package of old demos I've saved.

 

[saturnus]

Im on another delema. I got a home studio for personal band's purposes. I'm between Axe FX II and a real amp. I dont care about FXs i only want a pure huge metal sound. But the only thing that restricting me from goin on an analog amp is that i cant have a cab in house (cause of noise) so i will plugin directly the amp to mixer. What is your opinion about that? The amp im considering buying is ENGL LE 670 EL34. Will the amp sound good with the appropriate impulses as it was on a real cab?Or its better to go on Axefx?

 

[Sacha]

Im on another delema. I got a home studio for personal band's purposes. I'm between Axe FX II and a real amp. I dont care about FXs i only want a pure huge metal sound. But the only thing that restricting me from goin on an analog amp is that i cant have a cab in house (cause of noise) so i will plugin directly the amp to mixer. What is your opinion about that? The amp im considering buying is ENGL LE 670 EL34. Will the amp sound good with the appropriate impulses as it was on a real cab?Or its better to go on Axefx?

That's a tough one because I think the bottleneck with amp sims is the cabinet simulation not the preamp side as much...If you can't mic a cab I'd just track with the Axe-FX and get someone to reamp if needed later. I'd have amps too if possible though!

 

[bogchop]

From what I can gather, the Axe2 will provide you with a few channels at once over USB - your modelled sound + a dry track for re-amp purposes, if you so choose to enable that one in your DAW. Can't lose either way, really!

 

[midget donkeys]

Im on another delema. I got a home studio for personal band's purposes. I'm between Axe FX II and a real amp. I dont care about FXs i only want a pure huge metal sound. But the only thing that restricting me from goin on an analog amp is that i cant have a cab in house (cause of noise) so i will plugin directly the amp to mixer. What is your opinion about that? The amp im considering buying is ENGL LE 670 EL34. Will the amp sound good with the appropriate impulses as it was on a real cab?Or its better to go on Axefx?

I did a comparison last weekend of the line out of my 5150 running into the computer with impulses and the X50 amp sim with the same impulse. They sounded really close.

I would recommend recording your bands songs using a free amp sim such as the X50 for monitoring purposes. Then you already have the DI's that can be reamped later through anything you want, real amp etc. If you decide to buy a Axe FX later you can still reamp through it if you want. This is the most cost effective choice if your intention is only in recording your own band (ie. not having a business).

Or if want to use a real amp with impulses you could look into an Engl preamp instead of an amp head. That way you would not need to run a dummy load. If you did this I would recommend splitting your signal so you can get a DI for editing or reamping too if required.