I'm Excited.

GAD

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I'm excited. I'm finally updating my Axe-FX. Now, this may go against the grain of the tube amp snobs among us, but I'm just buying a newer/better Axe-FX.

Going from the Ultra:


Axe-FX-Ultra-1.jpg


To the Axe-FX II XL+

front-800.png




I only ever buy stuff like this used and I was waiting for this model to be offered on a forum somewhere for a reasonable discount from new which finally happened. I would have waited for an Axe-FX III to come out, but who knows when that will happen. Actually, it will probably happen tomorrow because I finally bought this one.

I'm very excited about this one because it has a pile of features that the Ultra didn't have. Stuff like:

USB out for direct recording
USB interface for computer control (old one required a klunky USB-Midi cable)
Headphone out (yay!)
A bigger better screen
Direct-access knobs
An FX-loop so I can use pedals if I want
A useable looper
etc.

It's also a much newer unit with substantially increased processing power and a whole bunch of other stuff I'm looking forward to abusing.

List of amp sims: https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/axefx2/index.php?title=Amp:_all_models

The amp names have changed which will no doubt annoy me for a while. I'll have to make do. :highly_amused:

I bought the Axe-FX Ultra in 2010 so I've gotten my money's worth out of it. Although I love a great tube amp as much as the next guy, this pic says it all for me. That's everything I need to do a gig and it supports all the amps, effects, and sounds I could possibly need. The FRFR speaker is 1000 watts and can also work as a PA since it's 2x500W bi-amped and one side has a mic in.

I'm too damn old to be lugging a 2x12 around. All of this gear and two guitars fits in the back seat of my car.

P1000795_800.jpg


Does a '63 Fender Bassman with a real Roland Space Echo sound better for Rockabilly? Yeah. Will a Soldano, Marshal, or triple-rec half-stack suit me better for hair-metal? Yeah. Do I want to deal with any of that stuff anymore? Nope.
 

Quantum Strummer

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I do love my toob amps, but I also enjoy using AmpliTube on my iPad. And currently my home rig is a wet-dry-wet setup with a pair of Fender Vibro Champs flanking a solid-state Vox Pathfinder 15R I bought years ago for ~$100. Sometimes I'll run the effects section of AmpliTube into that. It's all good. :)

-Dave-
 

Walter Broes

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Whatever works for you. I'm in the luxurious position where versatility is the last thing I need, so my tube amps, outboard reverb tank and medium modest pedalboard do exactly what I want them to do, and none of them is extremely big or heavy. I have a Quilter head for emergency backup, but having played a three set gig with it about a week ago - I'll stick with my nerdy vintage and boutique tube amps, they make me happier.

But good to see you excited and happy with this, enjoy!
 

GAD

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Thanks, guys.

Yeah, I love me some tube amp goodness, but I have a relatively small house. With my '63 Bassman I could never really get it cooking without a power soak which was also kind of a tone soak. Since I play so many different types of music I just don't have the room for all the amps I'd love to have and I just don't have the space to push them anyway. Too much '80s led to too much hearing loss and I'll take a damn-good facsimile of the tone at normal volume for lonely practice any day. Plus I can still crank it when the mood strikes me.

Before I got the Axe-FX Ultra, the Mesa Mark V had just come out and I thought it would be the amp for me due to its versatility. I decided to try the Axe-FX first and just never looked back.


I'll admit, though, that one of these rigs looks more impressive on stage. :highly_amused:

Bassman-SSLVO-800.jpg


Gretsch-Axe-FX-800.jpg



Let's throw in a Guild just because.

Bassman-StarfireIV.jpg
 

txbumper57

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I am not gigging at the moment with my shoulder so my main Home tube amp setup which consists of a Fender silver face Deluxe Reverb 1x12 Reissue and my Guild Thunderbird 2x12 running simultaneously with an A/B switch along with my pedal board are pretty much stationary and will remain that way. Even if my arm gets better I don't see me lugging my Guild Thunderbird 2x12 around as it is close to the size of a bedroom door! LOL! I dig the rack mount setup you have going on GAD and for sure it has to be easier on the joints. I did watch a review of 2 Tone King 1x12 20 watt amps yesterday and really liked their versatility but at $2200 each that is another story. I think they were a Falcon Grande and the Imperial MKII. Great tone and big price tags. If I ever break my own stigma about rack gear I may wind up giving it a shot. At least I know now if I do who to talk to for Guidance and such. Nice setup and have a good one GAD!

TX
 

GAD

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Good Deal TX.

One of the things I love about the Axe-FX is that it does two amps at once. I've been toying with the idea of getting another speaker for home because then I can do true stereo but figured that was just over the top. We're looking at building a 2-story "shed" (more like a barn) with the upstairs being a music room so we'll see. I'd probably end up putting my first Axe-FX rig up there and leaving the new one in the home office.

The rig in the pic is a little old. I did away with the older wireless and replaced it with a real-time frequency analyzer for no reason other than I like the pretty lights.
 

GAD

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nice setups gary.
If I'd go tubeless, I'd choose a kemper though.


I bought into the Axe-FX long before the Kemper came out so I'm too familiar with it to want to change.

The Kemper is cool and very well regarded and they can do some very interesting things. I think the user interface is much simpler and I love the manual (There's a section entitled, "OK, what did I just buy?"). I just can't get past the fact that I think they are goofy looking and oddly shaped. That said, I think it wins in the ergonomics category because of that big goofy front panel with its widely spaced and obvious knobs.

Where I think the Kemper really shines is in recreating an exiting rig (or 10). That's something I just don't have any use for, though I'll admit that I would have loved to have done it with my '63 Bassman which is something I've spent way too much time with on the Axe-FX.

It's fun to read all the "which should I buy?" threads. One guy uses the Kemper as his amp and the Axe-FX for his effects. Hey, why not both! :livid:
 

GAD

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Whelp, I've gone from being excited to being annoyed that it isn't here yet.
 
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