NGD: AxeFx.... Ultra?

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PhloridaMan

PhloridaMan

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Grabbed this thing for $450 off Reverb and it finally showed up yesterday. Super clean condition and even had the plastic on the display still when it showed up. Did a little reorganization in my rack and moved the XLR patch panel to the rear and dropped it in. Still want to upgrade to a bigger rack but for now this will do.

First impressions are yeah, it's old and may not be as refined as the newer units, but it still rips! I have it running into my 1824c direct into Reaper with my own IR's loaded in Pulse. Seems to do pretty good though I want to get some different IR's and play around a bit more there.

Mainly wanted it to build patches to add layers to stuff I am working on to blend with my live guitars from my JCM800 and 5150III Stealth. Now I've just got to learn this thing and understand how to build patches correctly.

The ONLY thing that sucks, is lack of availability of high gain patches out there. There's a few on Axe Change, but if anyone has any they'd like to share I'll happily accept them.

Off to start messing around with it for a while instead of working like I should be today ?


400070587_10163343513654972_7558134545861511236_n.jpg
 
PhloridaMan said:
?
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I have made up a repository of AxeFX Ultra Content and Archive patches etc
This folder contains as much legacy stuff as I could gather for the AxeFX Ultra. Hope it proves useful.

Software:

AxeEdit (latest beta for AxeFX Ultra)
Axeomatic
Axe-FxIRConverter
JoJos_Sysex_IR-Converter
AxeCabManager
AxeFXReporter
Aomdsp
Update for AxeFX to latest firmware

Presets:

Singtall V30 Cab IR
Clark Kent's Perfect IR
Singtall AxeFX Ultra Preset Pack
Mark Day AxeFX Ultra Preset Pack
Djent / Tesseract Preset Pack
Extras

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oOV6IncyKHXdIM4wluChe8cdGg6dGOSB?usp=sharing
OR
https://tinyurl.com/4v964d2c
 
ghosty999 said:
I have made up a repository of AxeFX Ultra Content and Archive patches etc
This folder contains as much legacy stuff as I could gather for the AxeFX Ultra. Hope it proves useful.

Software:

AxeEdit (latest beta for AxeFX Ultra)
Axeomatic
Axe-FxIRConverter
JoJos_Sysex_IR-Converter
AxeCabManager
AxeFXReporter
Aomdsp
Update for AxeFX to latest firmware

Presets:

Singtall V30 Cab IR
Clark Kent's Perfect IR
Singtall AxeFX Ultra Preset Pack
Mark Day AxeFX Ultra Preset Pack
Djent / Tesseract Preset Pack
Extras

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oOV6IncyKHXdIM4wluChe8cdGg6dGOSB?usp=sharing
OR
https://tinyurl.com/4v964d2c
Click to expand...
Thanks sir, I'll deep dive into this over the next week.
 
PhloridaMan said:
The ONLY thing that sucks, is lack of availability of high gain patches out there. There's a few on Axe Change, but if anyone has any they'd like to share I'll happily accept them.
Click to expand...
There were some pretty good ones for free floating around that were from Leon Todd.

He sent me them to me a long time ago but I wasn't able to find them for you (he deleted them from the shared drive).

There are a few places like Fremen's website where he did provide some for free but then he recently created some new ones and he is selling them for around $15.

Also, eBay has some for pretty cheap.

Here is a link for some presets for $9: https://empyreanfx.com/product/axe-fx-ultra-guitar-presets/
 
Nice!

guys forget that players were selling their diezels and bogners back in 2008 because this sounded 'just like the real thing'
 
I’ve been using a Standard as a preamp into real tube power amp and cab for the past 12 years and it has yet to be dethroned. I had the FM3 but couldn’t get it to sound as good even after a bazillion hours of tweaking. DM me your email if you want my death metal rhythm patch.

Make sure to try Cliff’s “Tight” trick. You attach an envelope controller to a high pass filter then dial it in for whichever guitar you’re using.
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/getting-extremely-tight-metal-tones.22103/
 
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Reactions: rsm
saxxamafone said:
Nice!

guys forget that players were selling their diezels and bogners back in 2008 because this sounded 'just like the real thing'
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It's funny that you just said what I was remembering when I came across your reply.

I had sold the 5-6 Diezel amps that I had owned right after buying my Ultra around 2010 since it was able to get me a really cool recorded amp tone without having to crank the amp in another room and record it.

I kept switching between each amp to get a different amp tone on various tracks then I came across the Ultra after selling my Mesa Boogie 2:90 to some guy that needed it for his Ultra.

He told me that it would be the best investment and make my life easier for recording.

Yeah, he was right.

Plus it made my wife happy to not hear the amps being cranked anymore :)
 
I had an Ultra back in the day; managed to sell it for a good price before it was dethroned from the top of the Fractal line.

I'm sure it still sounds good today. Axe-Fx III Turbo is at the top of my GAS list, but I have a concern that an Axe-Fx IV may not be far off.
 
rsm said:
I had an Ultra back in the day; managed to sell it for a good price before it was dethroned from the top of the Fractal line.

I'm sure it still sounds good today. Axe-Fx III Turbo is at the top of my GAS list, but I have a concern that an Axe-Fx IV may not be far off.
Click to expand...

You made a good call with selling it right before the next one came out.

I purchased the Ultra, then the next month they came out with the AXE FX II.

I purchased the AXE FX II, then the next month they came out with the AXE FX II MKII.

I purchased the AXE FX II MKII, then the next month they came out with the AXE FX MKII XL.

I purchased the .........

I purchased the ..........

I purchased the .........

I purchased the ..........

I purchased the .........

I purchased the ..........

It happened to me every time :doh:

Now, I really don't care anymore if they are coming out with the "next" best thing (even though everyone will say the next one is WAY better, lol).

I have the AXE FX III MKII plus all the other ones, and I never play on them (they are pretty much brand new and sitting in their boxes).

They all sound good but I prefer a real tube amp for bedroom/studio/practice playing.

I keep them for possible recording options and they work very well for recording especially once you have the right IR's.

I think the IV could be announced sometime next year but the waitlist would add another year so I have some time to actually play on my AXE FX II MKII before buying the next one :)
 
grrr_me_scary said:
You made a good call with selling it right before the next one came out.

I purchased the Ultra, then the next month they came out with the AXE FX II.

I purchased the AXE FX II, then the next month they came out with the AXE FX II MKII.

I purchased the AXE FX II MKII, then the next month they came out with the AXE FX MKII XL.

I purchased the .........

I purchased the ..........

I purchased the .........

I purchased the ..........

I purchased the .........

I purchased the ..........

It happened to me every time :doh:

Now, I really don't care anymore if they are coming out with the "next" best thing (even though everyone will say the next one is WAY better, lol).

I have the AXE FX III MKII plus all the other ones, and I never play on them (they are pretty much brand new and sitting in their boxes).

They all sound good but I prefer a real tube amp for bedroom/studio/practice playing.

I keep them for possible recording options and they work very well for recording especially once you have the right IR's.

I think the IV could be announced sometime next year but the waitlist would add another year so I have some time to actually play on my AXE FX II MKII before buying the next one :)
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ouch!

The timing of selling my Ultra was pure dumb luck on my part. I usually keep digital gear that works for me long enough to see it lose half its value or more. Comes with the territory. These days, it's my tube amps and software plugins - which are much cheaper and take up less space.
 
PhloridaMan said:
Grabbed this thing for $450 off Reverb and it finally showed up yesterday. Super clean condition and even had the plastic on the display still when it showed up. Did a little reorganization in my rack and moved the XLR patch panel to the rear and dropped it in. Still want to upgrade to a bigger rack but for now this will do.

First impressions are yeah, it's old and may not be as refined as the newer units, but it still rips! I have it running into my 1824c direct into Reaper with my own IR's loaded in Pulse. Seems to do pretty good though I want to get some different IR's and play around a bit more there.

Mainly wanted it to build patches to add layers to stuff I am working on to blend with my live guitars from my JCM800 and 5150III Stealth. Now I've just got to learn this thing and understand how to build patches correctly.

The ONLY thing that sucks, is lack of availability of high gain patches out there. There's a few on Axe Change, but if anyone has any they'd like to share I'll happily accept them.

Off to start messing around with it for a while instead of working like I should be today ?


View attachment 263646
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Congrats on a cool piece of gear! IMO roll your own as far as presets/scenes—so many variables involved it just makes the most sense.

This probably isn’t the board to get advice on modeling gear. Everyone has a strong opinion and few have any real experience.
 
tallcoolone said:
I’m calling bullshit
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Seriously, they just sit in their boxes these days.

I'll use the XL+ here and there for the effects and a clean preset for my KSR Ares using the 4CM method.

Also, I should mention that I always purchase two of everything so I did have two boxes of each one stacked but I finally gave away or sold off the extras except for a second XL+ (eventually I will leave it at my drummer's place for my effects).

Part of the reason I stopped using them was simply too many updates.

It is completely cool of them to provide us with the updates (and for free) but my sound would be dialed in on the presets then an update that changes the tone would be provided and I would have to adjust everything again or end up just deleting the presets that I had made after many hours spent on creating them.
 
grrr_me_scary said:
Seriously, they just sit in their boxes these days.
Click to expand...
So you have an orig AXE, an AXE II, and AXE IIXl and an AXE III sitting under your bed unused? Unless money means nothing to you why would you hang on to them?
 
Man, I love my tube amps don't get me wrong. But this is one of my favorite pieces of guitar gear I have bought in a while.

I've had a Helix and Kemper before and could not get along with them at all. They just were too cumbersome and were not intuitive enough for my tube amp brain. I need things simple. If it takes me more than 5 minutes to dial in a cool tone, I don't want it.

This thing, for an old piece of gear is fantastic. In my eyes, even though it's older than either, it sounds ten times better than the Kemper or Helix ever did. It's simple to work through AxEdit and dial in a killer tone. The more I tweak it the better it seems to get too.

For me this is 1000% a studio tool. It will never leave the rack and will never replace the fact that all of my main rhythm guitar tones I record, are mic'd up tube amps. But this thing is definitely going to allow me to expand on some things I've been wanting to try as far as layering and creating different sounds. The way I am set up I can also simply use it to layer effects onto live guitars.

Honestly, I laugh when everyone has to go out and get the latest and greatest pieces of gear to keep up with everything when these older units still sound just as fantastic and chances are, you're not really doing much more with the new gear than you did the old to get the same sound.
 
As much of a Fractal fan as I am, the IV would have to do something really, REALLY impressive for me to want to upgrade from the III (MK I). I can’t imagine anyone on the planet having an actual need to ”upgrade” from the III MKI to an MK III turbo or whatever iteration there is, they run the same FW, the only difference is storage space for IR’s and presets.

I’m already getting my dream tones out of it, unless the hardware shits the bed, it already does exactly what I want it to do already.
 
tallcoolone said:
So you have an orig AXE, an AXE II, and AXE IIXl and an AXE III sitting under your bed unused? Unless money means nothing to you why would you hang on to them?
Click to expand...
Well, I had purchased two of each of them over time.

I would sell the original ones (or give them away) after I would come across a new one still sealed in the box (usually from someone that purchased two of them and never used the second one), and put it away for some future recordings since I had found that each generation of the units did change the sound/tone of the amps and even effects but I didn't think they necessarily improved or sounded better (some units can get a better vintage sound (amp/effects) where some can get a better modern sound (amp/effects)).

I realize that over time they lose value, but I have found reasons to validate keeping them, plus I ended up getting most of them for really good prices where I could sell them right now and break even or even make a slight profit, however, each will have a future purpose for recording depending upon the style/genre we are working on at the time.
 
PhloridaMan said:
Man, I love my tube amps don't get me wrong. But this is one of my favorite pieces of guitar gear I have bought in a while.

I've had a Helix and Kemper before and could not get along with them at all. They just were too cumbersome and were not intuitive enough for my tube amp brain. I need things simple. If it takes me more than 5 minutes to dial in a cool tone, I don't want it.

This thing, for an old piece of gear is fantastic. In my eyes, even though it's older than either, it sounds ten times better than the Kemper or Helix ever did. It's simple to work through AxEdit and dial in a killer tone. The more I tweak it the better it seems to get too.

For me this is 1000% a studio tool. It will never leave the rack and will never replace the fact that all of my main rhythm guitar tones I record, are mic'd up tube amps. But this thing is definitely going to allow me to expand on some things I've been wanting to try as far as layering and creating different sounds. The way I am set up I can also simply use it to layer effects onto live guitars.

Honestly, I laugh when everyone has to go out and get the latest and greatest pieces of gear to keep up with everything when these older units still sound just as fantastic and chances are, you're not really doing much more with the new gear than you did the old to get the same sound.
Click to expand...
I am a believer that the Ultra has a special place for recording tracks as well.

I think it might have even saved my marriage since I was purchasing Diezel after Diezel amp just to get a different recorded amp tone and I was having to really crank the amps to get that Diezel sound that everyone loves about Diezel.

It changed from being able to record at a time when my wife was gone to recording at any time regardless if she was home.

A few years back, my friend wanted a solid preamp with effects, and I told him about the Ultra, so he purchased one.

He is not very tech-savvy, so he asked me to create some presets for him.

I had not used the Ultra for about 10 years (I had sold off my original one and I had a new one sealed in the box) but my knowledge of the more recent Fractal devices must have improved my understanding of them since I was getting even better sounds from the Ultra than what I had remembered.

Eventually my friend found the Ultra was too much for him so he sold it to me and I was taking it to the studio for recording some guitar tracks.

Look around for some Leon Todd videos for the Ultra.

He does a great job showcasing the sounds on the device.

Another plus about the Ultra is the firmware will not be updated again so you can make your presets and not worry about a future update changing the sound/tone of your presets.

I will always keep an Ultra and I feel the same way as you do about keeping it :)
 
grrr_me_scary said:
Well, I had purchased two of each of them over time.

I would sell the original ones (or give them away) after I would come across a new one still sealed in the box (usually from someone that purchased two of them and never used the second one), and put it away for some future recordings since I had found that each generation of the units did change the sound/tone of the amps and even effects but I didn't think they necessarily improved or sounded better (some units can get a better vintage sound (amp/effects) where some can get a better modern sound (amp/effects)).

I realize that over time they lose value, but I have found reasons to validate keeping them, plus I ended up getting most of them for really good prices where I could sell them right now and break even or even make a slight profit, however, each will have a future purpose for recording depending upon the style/genre we are working on at the time.
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Hey you be you my man, apologies for calling shenanigans on ya. While I don't understand the point of keeping EOL electronics when you have a unit that can do everything the others can and more my basement looks like an AC/DC concert so I'm not gonna judge
 
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