My Guitarist...

kannibul

kannibul

New member
My guitarist is thinking of getting a floorboard-all-in-one unit - such as the PODxt-Live, or the Boss GT-10.

I'm thinking I need to introduce him to the AxeFX...

I know with 95% accuracy, that they are out of his "what his wife will let him spend" range...but, I think once he hears it, maybe he'll find a way to get the money to buy one ;)


So, imagine you as me. I'm the drummer in the band, and he knows I've played guitar for a while and have a good ear. He doesn't like the way I set up my amps (I use lower gain than what he does, he's more scooped, etc) but whatever... different strokes.
We were at GC the other day and he was about to pull the trigger on a $250 Podxt-Live, but held off in case he thinks the GT-10 is what he wants ($500). I'm willing to bet that once he knows more about the AxeFX, he'll want to get that, but the price tag will just about rule that out.

Also, and I've said it many times to him that my personal preference is tubes, especially Marshalls...which he's using both a TSL602 and a DSL100, depending on the venue. I think he could switch over to an AxeFX and a floorboard like the Behringer unit (and a power amp?(recommend)), and be very happy.

So, coming from my position, what would you say to him to get him to see beyond the price, and go for tone?


(All this said, I think Stratotone has one? Maybe I can get these two guys together or he can let me borrow it for a day or two (swap him my JVM as collateral if need be))

Thoughs? Recommendations?
 
First question is he a "tweaker"? I have the GT-10....and it does have some flaws in the preamps. A lot of them have what is referred to on their forums as a 'cocked wah' sound. They have a real push in the 1.25-1.6k range. Some people can't dial it out, some dont hear it at all....

I use it for my whole rig....it makes gigs a breeze to setup and all.....I come from the Boss GT family though experience wise...i know how to make this thing do what I want, and how I want.....it does take about 6 months to get used how to program it do what you want it to do. If he isnt willing to put the time in to understanding the unit, he will HATE it.
 
I dont know Jeff, from what I am seeing here he is not a tweaker nor a gear slut and $1500 is a far way from $500.
 
The_Kid":365y1k86 said:
First question is he a "tweaker"? I have the GT-10....and it does have some flaws in the preamps. A lot of them have what is referred to on their forums as a 'cocked wah' sound. They have a real push in the 1.25-1.6k range. Some people can't dial it out, some dont hear it at all....

I use it for my whole rig....it makes gigs a breeze to setup and all.....I come from the Boss GT family though experience wise...i know how to make this thing do what I want, and how I want.....it does take about 6 months to get used how to program it do what you want it to do. If he isnt willing to put the time in to understanding the unit, he will HATE it.
Click to expand...


Yeah, from what I've seen, he's a set-it-and-forget-it kind of guy. He set his pedals, and he doesn't adjust them much if at all.

I think he wants to set up presets and tweak things to get them to sound a certain way, but, I don't see that he will want to put a whole lot of the effort needed to do it. I can't blame him, I find doing that sort of thing to be a pain in the ass too.


That's why it's a bit confusing for me being on the outside. He wants it, but, I think in the end, he won't...but I can't read his mind...just in (more than) a few ways he's like me.


I do know he was using a Flextone when we started out, and I let him play on my JVM (the first one), and it wasn't but a couple weeks later he shows up with a Marshall.


That said, I will let him know of the flaws you mentioned in the preamp. That might be enough to get him to invest into something else :)
 
I use a Tonelab LE right now. I think the Korg and Tonelab units sound very good running through a tube power section. If you are using it without the amp models then in front of the amp set clean and loud it sounds really good too using the modeled pedals for gain. I could never get my XT to work for me. I tried for a year too.
 
There are other options in this range,

DigiTech RP1000 which has amp/cab modeling as well as effects. MF just had this for $100 instant rebate = $399 new. I've not tried it, but it was something I considered.

TC Electronic Nova System. I had one it sounded really good, but the speaker emulation was not good and I wanted to be able to use it direct and with an amp. I dig the OD/distortion on this, in fact my OD / Dist pedal is the Nova Drive which is based on the OD/Dist in the Nova System, but it has more/different tweaking options.

If he has an amp he likes, and just wants effects, I've heard good things about the M13 and the newer board-friendly M9. Many people don't like the dirt options on this, so YMMV. I haven't tried one.

FWIW, I dig my Vox ToneLab LE, its a keeper I use it direct with my Bose L1 system. So much so, that I picked up a used Vox valvtronix head and cabs. Short of the Axe-Fx, this has the best sound, dynamics and feel at a low cost IMO. The new ST has more amp models and is smaller than the LE, but it isn't as easy to use live due to "missing" foot controls, however you could compensate by having more presets, rather than turing individual effects on/off in a preset which you can do with the LE.

Now I hear the new 11 Rack with the dynamic Z input is very good too. The 11 Rack is around UD$800-900 range or so? New product so its still in the try and honeymoon phase as far as reviews go...

BTW, I owned an Axe-Fx Ultra for four months. Overkill for my needs, but sound and feel were great. I've sold it, but since then I've spent more for less versatility which also takes up more room in my home studio.
 
Hey man....you know your stuff.
So you should know band rule #17> Disregard drummers opinions on guitar stuff, but act as if you care for a few moments.
 
What FX does he use most and how many different OD flavors does he typically use?
 
japetus":ox0zsz8u said:
What FX does he use most and how many different OD flavors does he typically use?
Click to expand...

His signal path currently is:

Guitar (wolfgang or H/S/S strat) => Dunlop 535Q => Boss CE-5 => Tubescreamer (not sure which model) => MXR Delay (not sure which model) => Boss TU-2 => DSL 100 => 1960A

I know he's wanting to get a more "blues" sound - SRV, namely, but I don't see that happening without a blackface and a S/S/S strat.

But, to that end, I also think he's wanting to look at an acoustic simulator of sorts, and for whatever reason he doesn't want to try the Boss Acoustic Sim pedal.

I've also told him he should have me build him some true-bypass boxes for his pedal board, but that ain't happened yet either ;)
 
UltraGary":1exo77mt said:
So you should know band rule #17> Disregard drummers opinions on guitar stuff, but act as if you care for a few moments.
Click to expand...

They thought the same thing for the first 10 minutes they knew me.
 
UltraGary":2h1gqecg said:
Hey man....you know your stuff.
So you should know band rule #17> Disregard drummers opinions on guitar stuff, but act as if you care for a few moments.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:
 
Vox ToneLab LE has good blues sounding amp/cab sims IMO, and an acoustic sim. Used on ebay you can find them under $200, but you may not be able to resell it easily if it doesn't work. Also works in front of an amp.

kannibul":1rlxg9mz said:
japetus":1rlxg9mz said:
What FX does he use most and how many different OD flavors does he typically use?
Click to expand...

His signal path currently is:

Guitar (wolfgang or H/S/S strat) => Dunlop 535Q => Boss CE-5 => Tubescreamer (not sure which model) => MXR Delay (not sure which model) => Boss TU-2 => DSL 100 => 1960A

I know he's wanting to get a more "blues" sound - SRV, namely, but I don't see that happening without a blackface and a S/S/S strat.

But, to that end, I also think he's wanting to look at an acoustic simulator of sorts, and for whatever reason he doesn't want to try the Boss Acoustic Sim pedal.

I've also told him he should have me build him some true-bypass boxes for his pedal board, but that ain't happened yet either ;)
Click to expand...
 
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