Eleven Rack - Axe FX Comparison Sheet

[glassjaw7]

The Eleven Rack was delivered to my house earlier today. Should be a fun weekend.

Definitely want to hear how you like it.
To me though, this thing still looks pretty similar to this:http://www.line6.com/toneportux8/

Hope you like it

 

[glpg80]

funny you should mentions line 6. no one really cares about them now for amplifier modeling - what happened? they used to be alright for whatever. i also thought about a pod unit for a practice setup.

is it just that line 6 is lower end or the quality isnt the same or is it something tonal?

 

[Shiny_Surface]

The Eleven Rack was delivered to my house earlier today. Should be a fun weekend.

Congrats

Looking forward to reading your initial impressions.

 

[shredi knight]

My aching ball sack so who was the guy to compile that Excel sheet?!?!?!?!

Not sure if he made the sheet, but the guy who posted it on the Axe FX forum is a [sarcasm]buddy & pal[/sarcasm] of yours.

 

[glpg80]

The Eleven Rack was delivered to my house earlier today. Should be a fun weekend.

congrats on the incoming - cant wait for a review if you get the chance

 

[muudrock]

The Eleven Rack was delivered to my house earlier today. Should be a fun weekend.

Please report back! I have one of these on the way. I'm really curious how it sounds, feels, ease of use etc.

 

[ejecta]

The Eleven Rack was delivered to my house earlier today. Should be a fun weekend.

Congrats

Looking forward to reading your initial impressions.

Will do. Going home here in a few and after brief stop for a little brew to take home I'll try to get into it as much as I can this evening and post my worthless $.02 later tonight.

The Doner is getting his today too so he may chime in sooner than I.... that is if the delivery guy can find his house today unlike yesterday.

 

[cyndicate]

The Eleven Rack was delivered to my house earlier today. Should be a fun weekend.

Congrats

Looking forward to reading your initial impressions.

Will do. Going home here in a few and after brief stop for a little brew to take home I'll try to get into it as much as I can this evening and post my worthless $.02 later tonight.

The Doner is getting his today too so he may chime in sooner than I.... that is if the delivery guy can find his house today unlike yesterday.

Is this a pro-tools exclusive unit? Any idea if they are updating it later as a plugin for other software?

 

[ejecta]

The Eleven Rack was delivered to my house earlier today. Should be a fun weekend.

Congrats

Looking forward to reading your initial impressions.

Will do. Going home here in a few and after brief stop for a little brew to take home I'll try to get into it as much as I can this evening and post my worthless $.02 later tonight.

The Doner is getting his today too so he may chime in sooner than I.... that is if the delivery guy can find his house today unlike yesterday.

Is this a pro-tools exclusive unit? Any idea if they are updating it later as a plugin for other software?

You can use the digital outs into any DAW but you have to make any changes to your amps, fx, etc from the front of the Eleven Rack. The plugin that you can use to control the Eleven Rack with from the computer via the USB cable is only in Pro Tools right now but you get a copy of PT LE with it. I've heard that other plugins to make it compatible with other DAWs are in the works.

 

[ejecta]

I spent a good part of last night and this morning with the Eleven Rack. First impression is I'm really not that impressed at all. I had read the manual before it got here so I knew how to work it and thats the best thing about it is it super easy to get around on it's just tonally crappy. I tried a lot of combinations of cabs , mics, eq, and amp models and it's just IMHO crappy sounding. Maybe I have a dud I dont know because the clips on line were better than what I'm getting. Anyway......

I'm going to try an Axe FX and see how it does but if it doesn't work for me then I give up on the digital stuff.

To be quite honest I have a Peavey Tube Vyper here on loan from a local store and it stomps on this thing big time but I need something for direct and late night jamming and the tube Vyper doesnt do that that well.

 

[glpg80]

I spent a good part of last night and this morning with the Eleven Rack. First impression is I'm really not that impressed at all.

I'm going to try an Axe FX and see how it does but if it doesn work for me then I give up on the digital stuff.

To be quite honest I have a Peavey Tube Vyper here on lone from a local store and it stomps on this thing big time but I need something for direct and late night jamming and the tube Vyper doesnt do that that well.

really?

its ironic i just posted a video with the tubes vypyr bro. i can give you hints on dialing it in?

 

[ejecta]

I spent a good part of last night and this morning with the Eleven Rack. First impression is I'm really not that impressed at all.

I'm going to try an Axe FX and see how it does but if it doesn work for me then I give up on the digital stuff.

To be quite honest I have a Peavey Tube Vyper here on lone from a local store and it stomps on this thing big time but I need something for direct and late night jamming and the tube Vyper doesnt do that that well.

really?

its ironic i just posted a video with the tubes vypyr bro. i can give you hints on dialing it in?

Hit me with them man!

 

[glpg80]

I spent a good part of last night and this morning with the Eleven Rack. First impression is I'm really not that impressed at all.

I'm going to try an Axe FX and see how it does but if it doesn work for me then I give up on the digital stuff.

To be quite honest I have a Peavey Tube Vyper here on lone from a local store and it stomps on this thing big time but I need something for direct and late night jamming and the tube Vyper doesnt do that that well.

really?

its ironic i just posted a video with the tubes vypyr bro. i can give you hints on dialing it in?

Hit me with them man!

pm'ed

 

[muudrock]

I spent a good part of last night and this morning with the Eleven Rack. First impression is I'm really not that impressed at all. I had read the manual before it got here so I knew how to work it and thats the best thing about it is it super easy to get around on it's just tonally crappy. I tried a lot of combinations of cabs , mics, eq, and amp models and it's just IMHO crappy sounding. Maybe I have a dud I dont know because the clips on line were better than what I'm getting. Anyway......

I'm going to try an Axe FX and see how it does but if it doesn't work for me then I give up on the digital stuff.

To be quite honest I have a Peavey Tube Vyper here on loan from a local store and it stomps on this thing big time but I need something for direct and late night jamming and the tube Vyper doesnt do that that well.

Can you explain more specifically what sounded bad? Muddy, digital artifacts, not realistic?

 

[ejecta]

I spent a good part of last night and this morning with the Eleven Rack. First impression is I'm really not that impressed at all. I had read the manual before it got here so I knew how to work it and thats the best thing about it is it super easy to get around on it's just tonally crappy. I tried a lot of combinations of cabs , mics, eq, and amp models and it's just IMHO crappy sounding. Maybe I have a dud I dont know because the clips on line were better than what I'm getting. Anyway......

I'm going to try an Axe FX and see how it does but if it doesn't work for me then I give up on the digital stuff.

To be quite honest I have a Peavey Tube Vyper here on loan from a local store and it stomps on this thing big time but I need something for direct and late night jamming and the tube Vyper doesnt do that that well.

Can you explain more specifically what sounded bad? Muddy, digital artifacts, not realistic?

As far as roack style heads the plexi was very muddy and lifeless, as was the Boggie Mark2. The Rectifier was just ok and the SLO was the only one that I came close to liking. I heard digital artifacts all over it. When I moved the delay after the amp it sounded like crap. Like I said I may have a dud I don't know but I couldnt get a sound liked out of it for the life of me.

 

[muudrock]

So......

What I'm hearing is nobody that has one of these likes how it sounds?

 

[glpg80]

from the testamonies given it sounds like peavey's one off $400 modeling combos sound better than eleven's $899 attempt to reach axe-fx modeling competition.

so that would be a big "natas" on the awsome tone

 

[ttosh]

Agreed. It sounds like I am playing in a sewer tunnel with this thing. As far as hardware modelers go, still can't beat the Axe-Fx but I don't like that one either. So who will make one next?

I wonder if that will fit into Digi's slogan.


Introducing Eleven Rack — The Ultimate Guitar Recording and Effects Processing System
09/23/09 "It sounds like I am playing in a sewer tunnel with this thing."

Try it today!!

 

[ejecta]

Ok this wont come as a surprise but I'm an idiot. When I was playing this thing last night and this morning it sounded really bad. I'm mean really bad. So bad I was thinking seomthing is wrong with it. Last night and this morning I was playing it at low volumes which is what I wanted it for, low volume playing and recording as well as live siutations where I wanted to run direct. This thing should work really well for that. I had it run into my mixer that is hooked up to a PA power amp into two floor monitors that have a 15 and a horn. I thought it should sound good at low levels through those. I tried all kinds of mics, cabs, eq, turning up the masters on the amp sim, and the main volume on the from of the pre but nothing helped I figure I had tried all I could. I get online here and post I'm not that impressed. I told Donbarzini I was going to pack it up to ship back. I take a break and eat breakfast with my family who is now up.

I'm sitting there thinking this thing can't sound this bad. So I start thinking maybe it's not the pre but how I'm running it but I was sure checked all that and had run how it should. I start checking out the mixer and one thing was a db pad was on on my mixer channels that I wasnt aware was on so I was cranking up the gains on the channels and to where I think I was clipping the mixer a bit even though the clipping lights werent lighting up so thats what I was hearing as artifacts because once I figure out what I was doing there and got the levels more even it got better. Turning those off and getting my levels right between it and the 11R helped some but keep in mind I'm still at low volumes..... this thing should sound decent at low volumes or at least better than this. Then I created a new patch to start new and pick a JCM800 and notice there is a level setting I didnt see before on a differnt page that insn't the master on the amp sim itself or the over all volume on the front of the Eleven Rack. It was set a negative db so once I put it up to 0db or a little higher it got better as well as the feel. Still nothing to holler about but getting better at least to the Line 6 level stuff. Again remember I'm still at low volume which this thing should work but its just OK. Well since the family is now up I thought well I'll crank up the PA and see how it sounds loud.

Now it comes to life. The feel is much better as well as the tone but keep in mind this coming from a crap tone so much beter is relative. Actually the louder I turned up the PA the better it got, I've never had that happen with a digital modeler. BUT this doesnt me any good because I don't need or want it for loud situations, I have tube amps for that. But at loud levels I was getting much better tones. Were they OMG this thing slays? Nope but better than some other digital pres I've played. See thats why I hate these things, I dont' have a ton of pararmenters I dont know what they do on a tube amp.

So my buddy Jamie comes over and I'm showing it to him and telling him this thing should sound better at lower volumes and he asks why I'm playing it through those wedges that are made to be loud. He said try it thourgh your computer monitors at low levels. I turned down the wedges and turned on the monitors and it sounded much much better at low volumes. I'm such an idiot. I should have thought of that.

Anyway..... I'm going to play some more with it and see how it records and try a few other things. I've never had an Axe so I cant compare the two. I dont have any plug-in's either so I cant compare those. I've had some Line 6 stuff in the past and the feel of this is better than those and mid to low gain tones are better too. How much better? I wouldnt say it stomps those things into the ground but I can tell a definate difference. So a large part of it sounding really really bad was pilot error. BIG SURPRISE. So the jury is still out on this thing with me. I'm still not over the moon with it but I was getting decent tones and it may work I dont know. I've got 30 days so I'll see how it goes with some more experimenting. It's true with these pieces you have to really dig in and spend some time with it. I just wish I could always play my tube amps loud but that's just not the case so I have to look at other alternatives.

 

[ttosh]

If you continue to work with it I think you will be quite happy at low volume playing. It has to be as good as the Eleven plugin and it works and feels pretty good at low volumes. I never thought it had the feel as good as the Axe FX but it did fine and much better than Amplitube or Guitar Rig. I thought Revalver III by Peavey was better however.

Don't give up and I am betting it will work for your needs. And if you play live with tube amps you get something with this you would not get with the Axe FX and that is a pro tools interface which is pretty cool and fun to record with.

Keep us updated and good luck!!