Axe FX II XL newbie here

[mentoneman]

what the heck have i gotten myself into?!

it might take a year just to scroll through the 267 amps and 179 cabs! just some of the amps listed and the cabs…

i honestly didn’t get this thing for amp/cab models. looper and fx mostly. with minor tweaks the 2290 emulation is already sounding great to me, and with the matching fractal MFC 101 mark III foot controller that came with the deal, looping should be a breeze.

with most of the standalone loopers i checked out in the $350-500 range, and a dead 2290 and H3000 SE in the shop with a hefty repair estimate and uncertain future, it made sense to go this route.

kinda looking forward to tonex amps—> fractal fx experiments….

 

[griff10672]

you've crossed over ............

 

[* velcro-fly *]

what the heck have i gotten myself into?!

Braddah....you wen deep hahaha

Eh, any chance you know a guy Clayton Apilando (left handed shredder) or his Brother Alan Apilando (drummer) ??? both older school guys, Kailua side ???

 

[TheGreatGreen]

Best advice I can give for for messing around with the Axe-Fx II amps and cabs is this...

103. 4x12 Basketweave TV Mix

It's the best IR in that box. I used it the whole time I had an Axe-Fx II and for a few years with the Axe-Fx III. Cliff himself described that IR in particular as having some kind of magic in it. Start with that IR as a baseline, stick a PEQ block after it for tweaking if necessary, and you can get some pretty respectable tones out of that thing.

 

[mentoneman]

Braddah....you wen deep hahaha

Eh, any chance you know a guy Clayton Apilando (left handed shredder) or his Brother Alan Apilando (drummer) ??? both older school guys, Kailua side ???

buh-RAH.

manual PTSD. check.

never heard of those guys.

 

[mentoneman]

Best advice I can give for for messing around with the Axe-Fx II amps and cabs is this...

103. 4x12 Basketweave TV Mix

It's the best IR in that box. I used it the whole time I had an Axe-Fx II and for a few years with the Axe-Fx III. Cliff himself described that IR in particular as having some kind of magic in it. Start with that IR as a baseline, stick a PEQ block after it for tweaking if necessary, and you can get some pretty respectable tones out of that thing.

thank you very much! i’ll check that one out.

i spent an hour with the 59 bassguy amp knob spankery and was like nope not going down this rabbit hole.

but if i do eventually get a wild hair for some post humanity hatred and suffering distortion i’m sure this android will be more than happy to fuel the anger!

 

[Shask]

Time to sell the old rack effects

I always go back and forth with using my old rack effects, or just sticking with the Axe II for all effects loop parallel effects.

 

[mentoneman]

Time to sell the old rack effects

I always go back and forth with using my old rack effects, or just sticking with the Axe II for all effects loop parallel effects.

with your tonex and axe II experience you are now the coolest guy on my virtual block and i am the nerdy kid who lives next door that will pester you, parrot everything you say, copy how you dress….…..aka stalker…….

 

[Code001]

Make sure you grab the PC editor. Much more user friendly to use: https://www.fractalaudio.com/axe-edit-ii/

 

[romanianreaper]

I loved having one of those for probably 6-8 years. Great tones and I thought it was easy to use. Once you cue in on a few favorite tones you'll be set.

 

[Shask]

with your tonex and axe II experience you are now the coolest guy on my virtual block and i am the nerdy kid who lives next door that will pester you, parrot everything you say, copy how you dress….…..aka stalker…….

The funny thing is I never use my ToneX One with the Axe II because it just seems wrong to use such a tiny thing with such a huge thing, lol.

 

[Shask]

with your tonex and axe II experience you are now the coolest guy on my virtual block and i am the nerdy kid who lives next door that will pester you, parrot everything you say, copy how you dress….…..aka stalker…….

I am curious to see how you rate the effects vs the old rack units.

 

[Code001]

it just seems wrong to use such a tiny thing with such a huge thing, lol.

Sorry, had to lol

 

[NeubyWanKaneuby]

I loved having one of those for probably 6-8 years. Great tones and I thought it was easy to use. Once you cue in on a few favorite tones you'll be set.

This. I deleted all the factory presets and just built ones from amps that I was interested in. I think I had maybe 30 to 40 presets when I was done.

 

[TheGreatGreen]

This. I deleted all the factory presets and just built ones from amps that I was interested in. I think I had maybe 30 to 40 presets when I was done.

Yep. One of the best things you can do with an Axe-Fx is after you scroll through the presets once or twice just to get some ideas, delete them all, then start from a completely blank slate. No premade presets will ever sound as good as what you build for yourself.

From there, make a Template preset with all the block types you think you'll use most, in the order you want them, and save that preset so you can copy>paste it to a new slot whenever you want to build a new patch. It will save you a ton of time.

 

[mentoneman]

Make sure you grab the PC editor. Much more user friendly to use: https://www.fractalaudio.com/axe-edit-ii/

check. i was an ultra user when axe edit v1 dropped. already doinked around with this version some and still seems familiar. need to figure my way back to a violin/cello preset which i had and dug on the ultra.

 

[mentoneman]

The funny thing is I never use my ToneX One with the Axe II because it just seems wrong to use such a tiny thing with such a huge thing, lol.

i’m looking at it as amp pedal into fx first and then may get fruity with swapping tonex cabs with fractal, virtual power amps, yadayada…
the only thing that might be ungreat is if tonex + axe = fun with latency.

 

[Shask]

i’m looking at it as amp pedal into fx first and then may get fruity with swapping tonex cabs with fractal, virtual power amps, yadayada…
the only thing that might be ungreat is if tonex + axe = fun with latency.

I keep my Axe II in a parallel loop in a mixer. I dont like running straight through it, but the Axe does have better latency than the FM pedals, even the old one. It is 2.1ms if I remember right.

I actually hooked mine up tonight to the editor and tweaked my 1 preset I use on it. It has been awhile since I have changed it. I basically just have a hall reverb, 2290 delay, 8 voice chorus, and micropitch all in parallel that get switched in and out per scene.

 

[mentoneman]

I keep my Axe II in a parallel loop in a mixer. I dont like running straight through it, but the Axe does have better latency than the FM pedals, even the old one. It is 2.1ms if I remember right.

I actually hooked mine up tonight to the editor and tweaked my 1 preset I use on it. It has been awhile since I have changed it. I basically just have a hall reverb, 2290 delay, 8 voice chorus, and micropitch all in parallel that get switched in and out per scene.

i’ve only messed with the 2290 preset briefly, but in a very short amount of tweak time i have a stereo modulated/panning delay setting that sounds very tc-like through the headphone jack.

 

[mentoneman]

i recall Bob B. mentioning how he was able to replicate the Edge’s 2290 settings (mono modulated delay in front of his AC30) in the fractal and that comment from a tone talk interview is linked in one of the posts in this thread about comparing a 2290 with a fractal 2290 preset:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...dio-comparison-vp4-2290-2290p-2290-dt.212488/