svl Posted December 22, 2010 Posted December 22, 2010 I finally went for broke and bought an Axe Fx Ultra. It gets here on Thursday, just in time for Christmas.Want to start getting some killer custom presets, anybody here have any they're willing to share? Or any advice to an A/FX noob on how to start out right working with the unit and avoiding any hazardous pitfalls?
Armitage Posted December 22, 2010 Posted December 22, 2010 Wow, I'd love to give one a try... but I've yet to see one in real life.
Brooks Posted December 22, 2010 Posted December 22, 2010 my advice is start w/ amp sims only (add cab sims if you are running direct). dial a few in before starting to throw on stompboxes/mics/outboard stuff.have fun!
santellavision Posted December 22, 2010 Posted December 22, 2010 The Friedman BE amp model is the BOMB. Stunning.
Steve Haynie Posted December 22, 2010 Posted December 22, 2010 A friend is selling off his amps because his Axe FX sounds just as good in his opinion. For the price they ought to be perfect.
svl Posted December 22, 2010 Author Posted December 22, 2010 I'm going for a plethora of tones, but would love to start with some great early VH, Brian May, James Honeyman Scott (dirty, clean, chorus-ey, all of it) and Brian Setzer.Mostly I'll be using it for live apps in the beginning, so no cab sims to start. Will be running it stereo through a Velocity 120 and two 2/12 cabs.Do I even need to worry about outboard EQ or my BBE 862 Sonic Maximizer anymore? I've used an Art SGX 2000 for years, and without the BBE and other outboard help it's pretty weak.Has anyone played with the Marsha BE and HBE model? I keep reading great things about those.
silentman Posted December 22, 2010 Posted December 22, 2010 There's a great factory patch called 'Eruption' that nails EVH tone right out of the box. There's also a May patch to get you started. The 'Brown' sim is a clone of a hotrodded Marshall that I suggest you start with for more EVH tones. There are so many EQ and Filters you can have in your signal chain that you should not need any outboard stuff. The HBE sounds great if you crank the master and lower the gain. As Brooks suggested, start with just the amp block and tweak to taste. Then add some EQ if needed. Then efx like reverb, delay, or a drive block in front.
SteveB Posted December 22, 2010 Posted December 22, 2010 do yourself a favor and trade your velocity 120 for the new single space 300. The reactance and definition controls are very useful.IMO you are doing it the right way to start, with the power amp and guitar cabs. I think trying to go all out with full range speakers at first just adds too many new variables for most people and can be overwhelming.and don't be surprised if you have to experiment with different MIDI devices until you are able to successfully upload a firmware update sysex to AxeFx. The shorter you make your MIDI cable runs the better in general. IMO thats the only real weakness in the AxeFx, is relying on MIDI for transferring files that large. I had problems with a Midisport 2x2 but my MOTU 828mkii worked fine.and obviously, don't forget about the AxeFx forums: http://www.fractalaudio.com/forum
jisham Posted December 22, 2010 Posted December 22, 2010 I don't have an AxeFX but my Velocity 300 is killer and a vast improvement over typical solid state power amps.
svl Posted December 22, 2010 Author Posted December 22, 2010 I'm definitely going to go for the 300, that sounds awesome. I've loved my 120, it's been a great power amp and never failed on me in over 15 years, but the 300 looks perfect.I'm going to use my Firepod as the midi interface. Anyone have any trouble with those?Thanks for the patch info, silentman, can't wait to check all those out. And good to know I can lighten my rack by a few pounds!
silentman Posted December 23, 2010 Posted December 23, 2010 I have a Midisport 2x2. The Uno did not work for me (and many others).Right now I'm running mine thru a crate power block. I've also used a Tubeworks Mosfet but that's kinda heavy. I may go back to my old ADA micro tube 200.
Bajan Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 LOVE my Ultra. There is a bit of a learning curve but once you get it down, it is a truly revolutionary piece of gear. Oh and my Artist Korina HB sounds sooooooo good through it.FWIW, I am going FRFR with an FBT Verve 8ma. Killer compact rig.Shane
harry65 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 i want one of these so bad i can taste it , just can't get myself to pull the trigger for two grand , but i am feeling the pull.....................
santellavision Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 harry65, check out the Fractal forum for deals on used ones.http://forum.fractalaudio.com/forums/43-For-Sale
svl Posted February 9, 2011 Author Posted February 9, 2011 SOOOOOOO worth the $2k and more. This is what I've waited for my whole life, tone for decades and more flexibility than I ever dreamed possible. And the learning curve was much easier than I expected. Thing came guns blazing right out of the box, really easy to navigate to tweak to my hearts content. Using it with the Rocktron and two ADA 2x12s. Haven't thrown an axe through it yet that disappoints. Love the Atomics and dig the FBTs, may try one of 'em out someday soon, but for now life IS good with the rig as is. May upgrade to the MFC, but my Ultrafoot was surprising powerful so I'm trying to be good for my wife and not spend the dough.... yet.
harry65 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 harry65, check out the Fractal forum for deals on used ones. http://forum.fractalaudio.com/forums/43-For-Sale hmmmm , you're killin me , got some dough right now but was thinkin about a newport , oy vey..............
HamerHokie Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 I went to their website once and listened to the MP3s. Was not that impressed with their Marshall patches. Didn't go much further.
svl Posted February 9, 2011 Author Posted February 9, 2011 Surprised at that, their Marshall tones are killer. Honestly, all their amps are amazing, have not found one that didn't ring true to it's source yet. The other guitarists around me that have checked out my rig have been blown away, and one cat even ordered one already.
HamerHokie Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Surprised at that, their Marshall tones are killer. Honestly, all their amps are amazing, have not found one that didn't ring true to it's source yet. The other guitarists around me that have checked out my rig have been blown away, and one cat even ordered one already.I went back to see if I could find the patch that turned me off, but it looks like they've redone their samples section. Now, there are different Marshall tones and the one that I like best is the Plexi, heavy midrange voicing as opposed to, say, the JCM 800 voicing. So I am looking for something specific.I will check out Youtube.
svl Posted February 9, 2011 Author Posted February 9, 2011 Some YouTube Axe FX beauty for you- This one is 50 songs in 10 minutes- Some Pete Thorn-
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