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jcj
Well-known member
Mizati20":3ebylzl0 said:Not trying to derail the thread... just wanted to post a recent experience as it seems there are many guys in here curious about this piece of gear and what it is actually capable of from someone who isn't a Fractal fanboi...
I think most people here know I am a HUGE Diezel Fanboi and I love my tubes amps... I have gone back and forth between the Axe (Ultra) and amps several times... but this most recent time with the Axe II and the most recent firmware (FW 7 and on) this unit just does it for me... I had previously owned the Axe II very early on and I just didn't hear much difference between it and the Ultra... so off it went...
Last night my old band had the great opportunity to play a HUGE show with some very popular national acts... since we were playing on a very large stage with an absolutely monstrous PA setup... I decided for the first time to do something I have always wanted to do since owning the Axe... I put JUST the Axe into a tiny 2 space roadcase... packed up my guitar and my backup... my small Tech 21 MIDI Moose controller, and my backpack I refer to as "the goody bag" that has just about everything you'd need if any of your gear goes sideways at a show... that was IT... I considered putting my cab on stage just for looks... but I really wanted to see how LITTLE of gear I could get away with using and what the result was going to be... regardless I still had my cab and my singers 6505 as a backup just in case as I always do...
Let me start by saying at the end of the evening the sound crew, and the guitar players from the other bands were completely floored by the unit... I'll explain a bit more into detail as I know you guys love reading about this stuff...
We were just opening the show since we are local and it was my old band that is just more of a side project for me now... so I show up... the other 4 bands had already backlined (stage was HUGE... really deep as well so despite this I still had tons of room up front) and I hop up onto the stage with my small amount of gear and begin setting up...
The sound guy eventually makes his way over... as many of us are familiar with he was standing there with mic and stand in hand getting ready to check out my rig and decide where to mic me up etc...... for a moment he stands there... and since I have my tiny little setup on top of one of the other band's roadcases his first question was "Oh are you sharing rigs with one of the main acts?"... I politely said no to which he was curious "Where do you want me to mic you up?"... I asked if he had any experience with the Fractal gear to which he replied no, so I asked for an XLR line that will run me direct to FOH.... he just kind of stood there in shock as he simultaneously realized this tiny roadcase with a small black piece of rack gear was my "rig" and was what I was going to be plugging the XLR cable into... he was actually even hesitant as he "Didn't like running guitars direct because it sounds like shit"... I politely reassured him and asked for a direct line... he handed me an XLR cable with an almost condescending "It's your problem if you want to sound like shit" kinda of laugh/chuckle and walked away.... first let me state that the guys at JET sound are ALL incredibly nice guys... I'm making this guy sound like an asshole of sorts... that's definitely not the case...
...anyhow... my rig consist of a good 30ft cable plugged straight into the front of the Axe II... a MIDI cable running from the front of stage to the back of the Axe... and the direct line out.... soundcheck starts....
....can I get the kick....check... toms....check.... can I get the bass please.... ok check.... main vocals....got it.... OK can I get that guitar............. the sound booth was a good 50-60 feet away from the stage and even with the stage lights shining in my face I could still see their jaws on the floor... I simply told him to set his EQ flat and let me know how much of a level he wanted me to give him... the house monitors were incredible so I just ran off of those... and that was it... done and DONE...
Before I can even set my guitar down and walk off the backstage stairs 3 of the sound guys were already there with dumbfounded looks on their faces... tons of questions followed to which I was happy to answer... keep in mind I'm sure a large part of them loving it was how easy it was for them, but that's besides the point... also keep in mind there are 4 other bands there with totally top notch gear... nothing cheap... period... and this little black box just put everything to shame... my favorite comment of the night was actually from the main acts guitar player... we were BS'ing after soundcheck talking shop, and he had some questions as well... with a confused yet impressed look he simply stated... "Man I was standing here during your soundcheck, and I'm hearing what's coming through the PA... but I'm staring at that tiny black box on top of my rig... and it just doesn't make sense that THAT is what's making the sound"... I thought that summed things up pretty well
I also want to point out that I haven't had this Axe-II very long this time around... there wasn't some insane amount of tweaking that needed to happen for this setup... I simply set aside about an hour the night BEFORE the show and setup my patches so that every single patch has the ability to run a line to FOH with cab modeling enabled... while also having the ability to run a line to my traditional poweramp/cab setup... or actually do both simultaneously should I feel the need... I didn't want to have an entire separate bank of patches for "Direct" and an entire other set for "Poweramp/Cab" since my MIDI Moose is fairly simple and is a bit of a pain to do all kinds of bank switching, so it's easy to get lost... the Axe II has enough power to basically do ALL of this within a single patch... and both of the outputs are simply controlled by the level knobs on the front of the unit... I could even go a step further and have the FOH feed be stereo if I'd like... but I haven't gotten that deep into it...
This post isn't to brag by any means... I know there are a tons of guys in the thread salivating while waiting for steve's response and experiences with the unit... so I figured I would just post mine from last night... I would also like to say that I am in no way trying to initiate a debate about the Axe versus... well any piece of gear really... I am by no means a Fractal Fanboi.... I LOVE my tube amps... and I've owned the Kemper as well, and truly believe for direct RECORDED tones that there is nothing better than that unit... but for live use and after using this thing the way I did last night and achieving the results I did... the Axe is just king of the hill for me for live use...
Lastly... for anyone thinking about going the "Digital" route... you can't go into it with the intentions of making these units sound EXACTLY like a tube amp... it simply ISN'T a tube amp... if you love your tube amps so much... it seems a bit silly to me to buy a digital piece of gear and WANT it to be something it's not... that was my frame of mind the first time around with the Ultra... and obviously it didn't last because if that....
...you have to view these pieces of gear as just another tool to achieve an amazing sound... just think of it as yet another item in your arsenal that will deliver incredible tone... I promise you as soon as you stop trying to make the unit a tube amp, or something it's not.... your experience will be much more pleasurable...
Glad you are digging the unit steve... it definitely seems like you are going at this thing with the best possible frame of mind... you aren't trying to make the unit something it's not... you were taking it for what it is and utilizing it to get the results you want... I was actually like you in the beginning... not even really interested in 95% of what the Axe can do... hell I'm not even a big effects guy... but I will definitely say as things have progressed this unit has completely changed my writing process... I use sounds and things I would have never incorporated into my music before... simply because I just didn't have the outboard effects or pedals to mess with... enjoy the hell out of the unit and get to know it well... but DEFINITELY don't be too hesitant to really dig deep and start messing with some of the crazier stuff... I can say with ease this unit has had a huge positive impact on my writing... and myself and both of my bands are far better off because of it...
Sorry for the long post... just wanted to share one of my experiences... and maybe push some guys over the edge that can't decide to give this thing a try... you may love it... you may hate it... I will say one of the nice things about the Axe is you WILL not lose money on it if you decide to sell it, which can't be said for most gear these days in this economy... hell if you are willing to ship overseas you may even make a few bucks... if you DO love it just don't blame me for opening pandora's box for you!!!
Cheers fellas!!!
Very impressive.
