My first trial was running the Axe-FX through a Carvin AG100D, which is essentially a self-contained PA system designed for small acoustic gigs (has 3 channels for acoustic guitar, bass, and vocals/line in). Overall, I wasn't exactly blown away by the tone or feel of the amp simulations... that didn't matter at the time, though, because I was completely distracted by the quality of the effects. I spent the better part of an hour messing around with the pitch shifter... first with the "Brian May solo" patch, then the "Owner of a Lonely Heart solo" patch, and finally the "Ballerina 12/24" patch. (FWIW, "Ballerina 12/24" is my standard for evaluating effects units... If I can dial in that tone without having to open the manual, then an effects unit has good staying potential.) Needless to say, I was pretty impressed by the tracking & tonal quality of the intelligent harmonizer, but didn't quite know what to make of the amp models yet.
By Friday, my Carvin TS100 power amp had arrived, so I was able to rig up the Axe-FX and a couple Randall 2x12's into a suitable guitar rig. This meant disabling the power amp + cabinet simulations on the Axe-FX. All of a sudden, the amp simulations started to come to life... the "Blackface" model had the right bounce, the "Top Boost" model had the right sparkle, and the "Plexi" model had the right snarl. I was particularly impressed by the "USA" models (which were based on Mesa Mark-series amps)... they pretty much nailed the tone and feel of the Mark IV (sadly, they nailed it better than my Mark V did). I spent a bit of time with some of the more boutique models as well (e.g., Matchless, Trainwreck, Budda, Dumble), though admittedly had no real basis for comparison there. Overall, I found myself thinking "um, what do I need all these amp heads around the studio for?"
(We now interrupt this regularly scheduled post for some pictures...)
(We now return to the post in progress...)
Saturday I didn't really play the Axe-FX any, but I did install the AxeEdit software on a Dell Mini (Inspiron 910) netbook, checked to make sure the latest firmware (v9.0) was installed on the Axe-FX, and restored the factory default patches. The Dell has somewhat of a non-standard screen resolution--many programs require more screen real estate than the Dell offers--however, AxeEdit fit perfectly on the screen, almost as if it was designed to be used on a netbook. In the words of Peter Griffin, "Freakin' sweet!"
Finally, Sunday was science project day... knowing how many folks on the Axe-FX forum use solid state power amps with their Axe-FX rigs, I pulled the Carvin HT150 and QSC RMX850 power amps from the PA rig, inserted 'em between the Axe-FX and Randall 2x12's, enabled the power amp simulation on the Axe-FX, and wailed away. Impressions here were so-so... the rig just didn't have the presence of a standard guitar rig... perhaps the combination of solid state power amps with full range speakers is a better pairing. So I switched the rig back to the TS100 power amp and disabled power amp simulation once again.
So based on a few days of fiddling around, here are my take aways...
1) The Axe-FX is a keeper based on the feel and tone of the amp simulations + the quality of effects
2) The AxeEdit software is an amazing productivity booster when getting started
3) I prefer the tone of the Axe-FX through a tube power amp and guitar cabs
Next up will be putting the Axe-FX through its paces in the studio to see how it holds up for "direct to console" recording.
--B
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4 comments:
Brent,
Sounds familiar! I think you would probably dig it the most through an FRFR solution. If you get some of the better Cabinet Sims (or IRs, as you have probably read about), you can probably reproduce the sound and feel of your guitar cabs pretty well, plus give yourself a lot more flexibility and versatility. I am about to get myself into a pair of FBT Verve 12ma active FRFR monitors. I'll let you know what I think. Oh yeah, and welcome to the Dark Side. Next think you know, you'll be selling those PRSes and go back to JEMs. ;-)
A buddy of mine picked up one of these recently in the hopes of simplifying his road gear and whatnot... I think he's still trying to figure out how all of it works. Simplify, my backside! I think he's just made things worse for himself. lol
Thanks for the Axe-Edit plug!
-matman
Nice rundown. One comment: it is a bit fast to just plug in SS amps and turn on the PASim (Power Amp Simulation) and expect it to be better than tubes. There is so bleeping much to tweak in the Axe-FX that it is definitely possible to get very close indeed to what you want. Which you should only do if the positives (lighter, compact, lower maintenance) are persuasive enough, of course.
And that's the thing. Like for GJ's buddy, physically it's simpler. One lightweight box does everything that you used to need a whole rack for and quite a bit more. But tweakically, that box can do so much more than a usual rack can that the simplification is only skindeep. Try choosing the right one out of 65 amp models.
Simple on the outside, not so simple on the inside...
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