axe fx II questions, possible ccv trade, and help!!

[mooncobra]

So, I have been listening to sound samples and demos of the axefx II. I have got to say I am nothing short of being totally blown away. The hi gain samples I have heard were spot on, just sounded so good!!! I had never given the axe much thought. The cleans were just as good as the hi gain stuff, and the fx were great as well. Right now, I am coming back from a car wreck, most my time is spent at physical therapy. I am not playing in a band and don't see that happening any time soon. mAfter my accident, I was in bed for close to 2 years totally incapacitated, so I went to my parents where I still remain. needless to say, nobody is too happy with my CCV, it is very loud!! I have fun and pass a lot of time recording and the axe makes the tonal possibilities look very appealing.

I posted a question about the axe a couple weeks ago wondering how authentic the feel is and got5 some good answers. now I have a few more questions because I don't know anything about it.

1. does the axe come with a ton of amps in it, or do you have to buy software packages to acquire the amps you want, I would like a ccv, be100, type amps, do those come stock in the axefx2?

2. is it very complex to use?

3. who has tried that matrix power amp, and does it make a big difference feel wise while playing verse a power amp with tubes? I have heard a lot of guys say the matrix is great, but not having tubes anywhere in the signal path seems odd to me. I have played guitar many years and have always played tube amps, I am afraid that it will feel too different.

4. what is the price range for the axefx 2, and the price of a power amp run. I have a ccv I might consider trading for an axe2 with a power amp. does that seem like a fair trade, good trade for me, bad trade for me, etc. what do you guys think??

the thought of getting great tone at quite levels during the late night hours is a big big plus for me. I have been playing a ton lately, I got a suhr modern that I thrive on and cant seem to put it down. I even have fun warming up with a metronome playing the modern. warming up with a metronome stopped being fun for me many years ago but I like to keep up as much coordination going as possible, for I definitely have fun shredding and opening up the work shop from time to time. I even checked out gus g's young guitar lesson on youtube and took the time to learn a few licks. that's why I like to keep my chops up.

so what do you think guys? answer some of my questions please! what do you think about trading the ccv for an axe 2 and a power amp?
thanks in advance
mike

 

[wIsEbLooD]

1 i think it is over 200 amps now. free firmware/amps including be and ccv

2 it can be as complex as you want. i approach it like a normal amp and it is pretty easy to dial in.

3 havent tried

4 go direct frfr

i love the axe and havent played my amps for over a year and a half. i love the friedman amps in the axe and would like to try the real ones.

 

[mooncobra]

I absolutely LOVE my CCV, but I have actually heard tones on the axe2 that come very close. the axefx2 is a really amazing piece of gear. so many tonal possibilities it just blows me away. what do you guys think, a ccv for an axefx2 and power amp in a trade? what do you guys think is a fair trade? I saw one guy trade his axefx, power amp, and axefx ground control for a be100. personally the ground control/pedal is not that important to me right now.

 

[mooncobra]

1 i think it is over 200 amps now. free firmware/amps including be and ccv

2 it can be as complex as you want. i approach it like a normal amp and it is pretty easy to dial in.

3 havent tried

4 go direct frfr

i love the axe and havent played my amps for over a year and a half. i love the friedman amps in the axe and would like to try the real ones.

cool, when soloing/doing lead type stuff, how does it feel compared to a tube amp???? what power amp do you use with it? matrix or tube?

 

[wIsEbLooD]

i do not use a guitar cab. i use a yamaha dxr 10 powered monitor.
using a frfr monitor allows you to take advantage of the cab irs. which was the whole point for me, if i did not have this i would be using a twonotes with an amp.
i like the feel but i have used and preferred rack preamps for the fast response/feel.

 

[Shask]

Yeah, it is like 200 or something amps now. He recently added a bunch of bass amps.

It is complex, but it is also good without messing with it. That is one thing that has improved greatly over time since the original Axe-FX. It just sounds better with the default settings. Of course, there are like 30+ settings just for the amp when you are ready to tweak...

I have mine hooked to studio monitors, but also an ART SLA-2 and a 212 cab. I like both for different reasons. With the the monitors you can use the cab models to get different tones, but with the poweramp and cab you get the "in the room sound and feel".

I cant really say about your trade. Like I said in the other thread, you really cant compare. I have a Triple Recto that will shake the walls like no other, but the Axe-FX II will give me amazing tones at 3am. You cant really compare those situations! The Triple Recto gives me one amazing tone, the Axe-FX II gives me any tone with effects and control.

The Axe-FX II is basically a guitar toybox. You can do anything you want with it. Connect it to the computer and you can sit and create the craziest things. It is basically the best there is in terms of tone and dynamic feel for a modeler.

 

[Elric]

IMHO, the AF2 works best with a solid state power amp regardless of whether you are going full range or guitar cab. Basically it just needs a flat response amp to do its magic. Just about any good solid state power amp is going to work. That said, it will work fine with a tube power amp with power amp sims off, but IMHO, the power amp modeling is good enough that it does not provide any value to carry around a super heavy and costly to retube power amp. I ended up selling my tube amp after a year of owning the II.

As for the SS power amps, Fractal fanboys hype the Matrix amps because that particular amp has gotten a lot of mindshare on the forum, etc, but they are not really that special. It is mostly just a bunch of guys who have them and every time someone asks they say "Matrix is the best", etc. They just happen to be nice, flat, power amps that are light and reliable but lots of other stuff works well too and one of the great things about the axe is that it relieves a lot of your other components from making a unique sound (i.e. they only have to accurately pass on or amplify signals).

Cliff Chase (owner/inventor of the AF) has been known to use an SS Carvin power amp frequently during development, for example. Given the price of the Matrix and the fact that they are sold from Europe and I am the states, I will probably opt for a Carvin or similar next time I go shopping for a power amp (currently using an old ADA Rack Power amp that will surely give up the ghost someday).

The current mantra among the AF community is that the ideal rig is an FRFR setup (because you get the benefit/versatility of cabinet models) but it can be employed to great effect in a more traditional rig if you know WTF you are doing and understand the trade off. I currently have both available (powered studio monitors/power amp+guitar 2x12) and if you dial a set of patches for each the results can be pretty stunning.

It's an amazing tool. I pretty much use nothing else and have stopped surfing for new gear. It can be the end of the tone quest if you:
1. Know how and can tolerate dialing in patches
2. Know how to STOP dialing in and play.

I would recommend keeping your traditional gear until you are sure, if possible. Not every product works for every person no matter how good it is.

 

[Rayneman]

The Axe Fx is amazing but do not sell your CCV. Ever.

I agree. There will always be axe fx units or things like them...but there aren't many CCVs. The Axe FX will likely be obsolescent the moment you turn it on, but not so with the CCV.

I have had very few pieces of gear that I hold sacred and never up for possible sale or trade, and my CCV is as close as it gets.

 

[lessthan12]

Ive had the Axe FX II twice...and am back to a real amp. Cool piece of gear and sounds pretty close to the piece its modeling, I bought my Friedman BE100 because of the axe fx model. I would never sell another amp to fund an axe fx at this point. Even plaing my friedman at low volumes sounds and fells better than the axe did. I will however buy another one at some point for ease of recording. I would not sell or trade your CCV for an Axe FX II. I guarantee you'll get offers within a day or two if you put that up,people will throw their axe fx's at you for that thing lol. Look into the two notes torpedo live and keep the ccv,best of both world there man

 

[mooncobra]

Ive had the Axe FX II twice...and am back to a real amp. Cool piece of gear and sounds pretty close to the piece its modeling, I bought my Friedman BE100 because of the axe fx model. I would never sell another amp to fund an axe fx at this point. Even plaing my friedman at low volumes sounds and fells better than the axe did. I will however buy another one at some point for ease of recording. I would not sell or trade your CCV for an Axe FX II. I guarantee you'll get offers within a day or two if you put that up,people will throw their axe fx's at you for that thing lol. Look into the two notes torpedo live and keep the ccv,best of both world there man

yeah dude, I am keeping the ccv. what exactly does the two notes do? I have heard them mentioned around here a couple times.

 

[lessthan12]

Ive had the Axe FX II twice...and am back to a real amp. Cool piece of gear and sounds pretty close to the piece its modeling, I bought my Friedman BE100 because of the axe fx model. I would never sell another amp to fund an axe fx at this point. Even plaing my friedman at low volumes sounds and fells better than the axe did. I will however buy another one at some point for ease of recording. I would not sell or trade your CCV for an Axe FX II. I guarantee you'll get offers within a day or two if you put that up,people will throw their axe fx's at you for that thing lol. Look into the two notes torpedo live and keep the ccv,best of both world there man

yeah dude, I am keeping the ccv. what exactly does the two notes do? I have heard them mentioned around here a couple times.

They have 3 main products right now but as I understand all allow the same basic function that Im looking for. They all allow you to plug your head into them, they act as a load box so you don't need to plug into a cab. You can then crank your amp up to get "the tone" and plug into an interface direct into your computer. You then use impulse responses for your cabs. So essentially you get that cranked real amp sound and can play/record at any volume you want. Like I said, best of both worlds, you get a real amp up front and the ability to go direct to play/record at any volume. Im looking more into the two notes reload at this point as it also has a built in attenuator. There are a lot of great demos of all their products on youtube. Mark Day did an amazing one with the Friedman direct into the torpedo live playing van halen. Check it out

 

[Racerxrated]

Sooo many examples of guys that come back to real amps..I know the AXE sounds very good and is a great piece of gear. But don't sell your amp..just save for the AXE and have both.

 

[cardinal]

If you get an AFX, don't sell or trade the CCV for it yet. I did something similar with a VH4 and regretted it almost immediately. AFX is cool, but not for everyone, including me.