Who here's rocking the Axe-FX...??

[Ventura]

What's new with it? Is Cock Peterson still head honcho over at the forum? Still constant firmware updates??

Tell me what's going on with it.

Thanks!
Mo

 

[muudrock]

Major firmware update with Quantum which really brought the sound to another level. The Axe Fx and AX8 for that matter are a joy to play thru and the need to tweak is not there to get good sounds quick. Of course you can still go down the rabbit holes if you like to tweak stuff, but default settings sound really good. Big improvement IMO. Firmware updates come slower than they used to.
LOL on Peterson...He's rarely around anymore from what I've seen.

 

[Ventura]

This is good news - anyone else, please pipe in...

I'm eyeballing a purchase due to location changes in the not too distant future. Still have a set of Atomic CLR (Active) Wedges, but for mobility and simplicity - this may be the ticket.

Peace,
Mo

 

[PeteLaramee]

I have the Axe 2. Still messing with it. Updates shmupdates - I'm doing one thing at a time...and at a snail's pace.

 

[maddnotez]

Do all of the Axe models have the same firmware??

In a nutshell what are the differences between Axe FX, Axe 2, Axe Ultra, ect.

I have never been interested in this unit until the AX8 surfaced. Now I am curious.

 

[Steinmetzify]

Had it for a couple years, just offed it a month ago. Updates made it sick, easy to use especially if you're not a tweaker. Amp cab boost go.

Only thing that bugged me was I wanted Fryette tones and Orange tones and it can't do those. Can't do Diezels either. Marshalls sound great and so do the Mesas.

 

[romanianreaper]

Updates are not as often now that Quantum dropped. That first Quantum update took everything to the next level in terms of "feel" and just awesome. Most of us agreed that we got excited about more of the amps in the arsenal after that update. The Fender amps definitely felt more like a real amp than before and really bloom.

I used to have to mess with settings and cab adjustments before Quantum. After Quantum, I mess with like one EQ adjustment and play. I'm using a Friedman ASM-12 FRFR cab. I know a lot of folks love their CLRs as well. The Friedman sounds like a guitar cab and is awesome but is a bit heavy.

 

[Bishop5150]

I have the XL and AX8 but gig with the AX8. Like mentioned above the Quantum firmware changed everything for me. Before that I didn't gig with my Axe just used it for home practice. But once Quantum came out different story. I get the same sound of my EVH's mic'ed up through the PA as I get from the AX8 plugged direct to the PA.

 

[Ventura]

I have no idea what this Quantum thing is, but how is "in the room" feel and dimensionality??

 

[Chris6870]

I never cared about AXE FX because I had no interest in going back to a rack with a separate foot controller. Then the AX8 came out.I bought one and it is fucking awesome.I don't see me needing another amp or pedal anytime soon.I was able to simplify things and sold off a lot of stuff.

 

[jcj]

I'm thinking about grabbing one again...been a few years, and I still have my complete rack (minus pre-amp).

I've read it actually works as a recording interface now, as well, which is a plus.

 

[Bishop5150]

I have no idea what this Quantum thing is, but how is "in the room" feel and dimensionality??

That depends a lot on what your monitoring it with. The Friedman Asm-12 really excels in the amp in the room sound and feel.

 

[Shask]

I have no idea what this Quantum thing is, but how is "in the room" feel and dimensionality??

When the firmware updates hit version 20, they were renamed "Quantum", and started over. So Quantum 4.00, is basically version 24.

 

[Shask]

Do all of the Axe models have the same firmware??

In a nutshell what are the differences between Axe FX, Axe 2, Axe Ultra, ect.

I have never been interested in this unit until the AX8 surfaced. Now I am curious.

The Axe-FX Standard and the Axe-FX Ultra are the older versions. No updates.


The Axe-FX II, IIXL, IIXL+ all have the same firmware. The AX8 is the floor unit.

 

[Shask]

Updates are not as often now that Quantum dropped. That first Quantum update took everything to the next level in terms of "feel" and just awesome. Most of us agreed that we got excited about more of the amps in the arsenal after that update. The Fender amps definitely felt more like a real amp than before and really bloom.

I used to have to mess with settings and cab adjustments before Quantum. After Quantum, I mess with like one EQ adjustment and play. I'm using a Friedman ASM-12 FRFR cab. I know a lot of folks love their CLRs as well. The Friedman sounds like a guitar cab and is awesome but is a bit heavy.

My sounds have kind of been getting on my nerves lately. I am thinking about resetting it and starting over. I update them all the time, but first created them before Quantum. I have been playing with raising the master a lot more lately to try and get more dynamics.

I mostly use a poweramp and cab though.

 

[Shask]

Had it for a couple years, just offed it a month ago. Updates made it sick, easy to use especially if you're not a tweaker. Amp cab boost go.

Only thing that bugged me was I wanted Fryette tones and Orange tones and it can't do those. Can't do Diezels either. Marshalls sound great and so do the Mesas.

Seems like Fryette and Diezel are the unsaturated type amps. It seems like modelers haven't perfected the dry gain sound yet. I am not really sure how it could be dialed in to clear up the gain. I dunno though because Mesa Mark amps fall in this category also, and those sound decent on the Axe.

 

[Elric]

Get something from the II series. It's killed my GAS dead, Ultra and standard are good units but no longer stocked, updated, or supported they stopped development on them 5 years ago, IIRC.

I have held onto three 'real' amps just to keep my ears honest but, for serious: I feel like there is nothing my AFX2 rig can't do and only use the other gear occasionally these days.

Updates have slowed, pace is more like one a month or every other month which I find much more comfortable. When they were being pumped out like every week or two, I felt compelled to keep up but it was really too much of a good thing for me. I felt like I could not even get my head around what had changed before a new one would roll out.

SP fell of the face of the earth, at least compared to his original presence, he used to post huge multi-page posts non-stop all day on multiple forums.... he still posts but is nearly invisible compared to his prior near omnipresence.

Anyway good stuff. Works for me. For reference my favorite bread and butter sounds are mostly jacked up Marshalls up to SLO/5150 gain levels.

 

[thiswaythatway]

I have the AX8, still getting used to it. I'm going to try and make it work 4CM with a Mesa Mark IV. By itself I'm just playing through small KRK monitors. Sounds good for practicing and whatnot. My PC is screwed up so I can't make clips. When I run Sonar I think I kill my PC's RAM capacity and my PC craps out.

But you need to compare the Miced sound of whatever amp you have in mind when listening to the Axe through monitors. I still have yet to ever replace the need to have an amp for that in the room sound and feel.

If I can't make the Ax8 work in 4CM I might off it for the FX8, but jury is still out. I really don't want a pedal board anymore.

 

[Chris O]

...Then the AX8 came out.I bought one and it is fucking awesome.I don't see me needing another amp or pedal anytime soon.I was able to simplify things and sold off a lot of stuff.

^^^

Pretty much this.

 

[Dave L]

I haven´t tried the II line, and they´re said to be something else entirely these days, but the old Standard and Ultras are nothing to write home about. Works good through a proper poweramp/cab but sounds and feels more or less like any other fairly modern modeler when going DI. The post-FX are a big step up from most stuff you find in modelers, though, even if it isn´t up to par with the dedicated high-end studio rack units.