Just ordered a 12U rack, my first step into the rack world.

[tvegas99]

very cool setup!!!

makes me rethink my own...

 

[GreatRedDragon]

Just my opinion, but the last generation of rack gear like the MPX-1, Eclipse, TC M3000, stuff like that, is still miles ahead of anything that a modeler can produce, yet. I believe this is because they have similar processing power but, not only is it dedicated solely to effects processing, the effects themselves are built on the resulting algorithms of decades of development. They are machines dedicated to great reverbs or great delays or just great effects whereas modelers are great machines dedicated to reproducing a lot of different things.

Now don't get me wrong, what the Axe-FX can do is amazing and its effects are VERY good. But think about what it would be like if the team that came up with that has spent twice as long developing a reverb, for instance. That's basically what Lexicon did. Obviously, a Lex can do a lot more than reverb, but everything it does has the Lexicon sound, you can tell it's a Lex. Same is true for Eventide, TC, Yamaha, Roland, and others.

I also get the flexibility and portability of modelers. And these days, they do sound phenomenal and definitely have their place. But IMO, there is still no replacement for the real deal. Nothing sounds like an H3000 or 2290 or PCM and probably never will for many reasons.

Having said that, the Friedman IR-Load does look interesting and I get the appeal. I love my Axe-FX and enjoy it just as much as anything else. So maybe for me it just comes down to how much time and money do I want to expend chasing down a very specific sound and, maybe more importantly for me at least, is the journey along the way worth it. For me, it absolutely has been, but it's been a long enjoyable road.

It's honestly very tempting. The thing for me is that a modeler can not only provide its own sounds, it also acts as a mixer, preset manager and MIDI controller. So it makes it very easy to integrate all the other parts of the rig into a single controllable interface.

Of course, there's nothing stopping me from getting both a modeller and an MPX-1.

 

[ChurchHill]

I've thought very seriously about integrating an MPX-1 or PCM, Eclipse, and SPX with my Axe-FX 3. The flexibility with the loops would (almost) be enough, and yeah, what it can do as a mixer, etc. Most of my presets, more like combinations of patches, are handled by my MIDI controller that can transmit multiple PC and CC and multiple channels per switch.

If I was going to start again from scratch, I probably would base a rig around an Axe-FX. It would make a lot of things easier, like loop switching, splitting, and mixing, and could always add something like a RedSeven Multi Stereo Line Mixer or RJM Effect Gizmo to grow the system.

Come to think of it, my big rack started with a PCM92, Eclipse, and SPX2000. None of them are in that rack anymore, which is why I'm thinking about Axe-FX integration with them.