Pete Thorn demoing Axe-FX. Awesome stuff... listen!

[JoshuaLogan]

 

The fact of the matter is, you have gone on and on about the Axe-FX (before you even owned one), heralded it as the "be-all end-all" of gear, "this is my last amp", etc, but we have yet to hear anything from your end. In response to the bolded part, I'm not the one who has bought and sold (by my memory) a Framus Dragon, a 5150III, and a couple of other amps when bought unheard. I do my research, and I buy stuff that fits a specific niche. I also buy smart, so I don't usually lose money if I do sell something. For what it's worth, I have got some recordings of my band's new stuff. I know it's probably not nearly shred-worthy enough for you (it's way too poppy), but the guitar sounds great, IMO, and the production is A-OK. I view my gear as a tool to create, not as a means in and of itself, hence the reason it's rare for me to be spamming stuff.

 

 

Yeah, I've bought and sold a few amps, after getting sucked into the mess that is HC, but obviously with me blowing a {censored}load of money now on recording equipment I'm over that, and after having a few amps I've gotten a much better feel for what I like and don't like. Plus, it was easier to try them out that way. Not all of us live in a huge city with tons of gear available to go test out.

 

And I've never once said the Axe-FX is the "be-all-end-all" anything. All I've ever done is post examples of what it's capable of and tell people about it, because I personally think it's an awesome tool. You guys just take it that way. My posts aren't in anyway trying to convince you of anything, but just offering up info to people, because plenty of people are interested in it, and plenty of people loving it. If you're not interested, don't bother?

 

Anyways, I'm out to spend the day with my new girl. I'll check this thread later tonight to see what other BS has been spewed.

[telephant]

When I was 20, I was gigging in a band using a Laney tube amp and a LP Studio. It wasn't primo gear, but I logged easily 100 shows with that rig. And it always sounded OK.

I like the way Laney's sound!

When I was 18/19 I was using a Plexi RI with a hotplate. 19-20 I was using a JCM 800 2210. Since then its been all Superbass.

[thefyn]

I like the way Laney's sound! When I was 18/19 I was using a Plexi RI with a hotplate. 19-20 I was using a JCM 800 2210. Since then its been all Superbass.

When I was 18/19 I had a solid state Laney and I used my zoom as my distortion.

[Weathered]

When I was 18/19 I had a solid state Laney and I used my zoom as my distortion.

You could have had an Axe-FX and had a digital preamp with SS distortion instead.

[glenecho]

And you can sit there all day with your "where's your productions?" comments, but you're completely missing the point.

 

 

What? You're the one that brought OUR productions into this argument.

 

I've never said the AxeFX isn't an awesome tool...only that the amp modelling aspect of it hasn't blown me away. Most everyone else have been only lightly to moderately critical of it as well. Sorry...I'm not blown away with the modelling...the fx yes...but the modelling no.

 

This is HCAF...we don't all just fall in lockstep with every piece of flavor of the month gear like they do on TGP. That's why I hang here. I've had people claim that my clips were the greatest tone since sliced bread AND that they sucked balls all in the same thread and never posted lectures about it. Pete seems to have no problems with it...why do you?

[LaXu]

The playing is excellent but I still think the Axe-Fx does have something fake about it. Due to the playing it would sound good no matter what was used for recording.

I think it'd make a great recording tool and it is very convenient if you ignore the dreadfully 1980s user interface. I might even consider buying one if they ever come up with a model that has a more sensible user interface (and that means less menus and more knobs).

[enditol]

I bought an Axe FX to have an FX unit on par with the sound quality of an Eventide (it is), that is also much easier to use and made for guitarists.

The modelling is just a nice bonus for me that I enjoy messing with. To me it feels a lot more natural to play and responds more like an amp then POD. However I'm not selling my amp or anything other else at this point.

[mattoverb]

I said that. (punches the air) "Yeah!" :-) Still think its true. I could probably prove it too if I had a decent strat! Stupid EMG S's sound like honk. I'm going to be honest, i am even more nonplussed after seeing how much it costs. I did this clip using a crate vintage club 20 with el84's, a berhinger pitch shifter and a little verb. The crate cost me $90 and the pedal $39. (verb was added later) www.web-design100.com/pitch.mp3 It is one track, mic'd up to a 2x12 and into my pre then PC. Just noodleing at bedroom levels with no click etc. My point is the price to tone ratio is still way off. And IMO the POD pro/XT etc is on par with it. (I owned both and ditched them for the same reasons I hear in your clip) As for it sounding like tubes...I am not convinced, and for that price we need to be 100% convincedified. I think with the el84 driven crate and free plug in effects your clip would sound better. And that is an amp that I traded for one mesa speaker :-) The clip is IMO lacking the chaos of tubes. Too perfect and pristine. It needs more filth, raunch and swagger. As it is it sounds very friendly/compressed/classy. Obviously your playing is great. You are probably going to hear "mojo" a lot from us tits.

That sounds good:o Now I want one of those behringer pitch shifters.

[starsnuffer]

There's a lot of rabid fanboiness around the Fractal product.

 

I own an Axe-FX ultra. I love it, but 90% of the nonsense the fanbois spew on the fractal forums makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit. It's like being a woman at a weight-watchers meeting. When people post a clip, it's like said woman asking, "does my butt look big in these pants?". People get lovely little kudos and comments from even the {censored}tiest sounding clips.

 

That said, I think the price is well worth it. For the FX alone, it's well under the price point of comparable products from Eventide. The FX really are THAT good. Also, the designer updates and improves things constantly. About two weeks ago a few of us were complaining about how much better our "real" drive pedals sound through the unit compared to the models. So he went to GC, bought a {censored}load of pedals, took them apart, and fixed what was wrong. Then he brought the pedals back to GC. I like that kind of moxie, not to mention they sound damn good.

 

Does it replace my tube amps? I'll have to say no. I still love my amps and feel more "oomph" from the real thing. However, I don't have a studio or even a decent tracking room. I find that I can get better recordings going direct through my axe-FX then I can trying to mic up my amps with the equipment I have available to me. Since my recordings are demos of new stuff to my band, this works fine. When we record our next album, I'm going to do it the old fashioned way. There are some textured sounds that I'm using on the axe-FX that will probably make it to the album though.

 

Pete's playing is amazing and I can dig the clip. This thing isn't the holy grail though.

 

-W

[JBecker]

Man, Josh has really slowly turned into a constantly PMSing woman on these boards.

 

I finally listened. Awesome playing, great clip.

 

Here's the thing I hear with AxeFx stuff--

 

I've never heard an AxeFX clip, ever, that sounded like an amp does in a room. I've heard great clips that sounds like something I wouldn't mind on a CD and I think it would be a great recording tool. I think the effects sound pretty goddamn good though I have no need (at the moment) for that complex an effects unit. But the truth is, for my "amp", I want it to sound the way real amps sound in the room. I want it to feel that way, move air that way, push back that way. Amps in person just sound different than most "well produced" albums and clips. And that's fine by me-- different sounds for different purposes. However, what I've heard from these clips makes me think that for my needs, and for the needs of most people not playing cover gigs (which are really the only ones that need 8 quatrillion tones), I don't see this thing replacing an amp live or even for practice.

 

What I can also say is that getting an AxeFX would be a hell of an investment for someone who uses a ton of non-fuzz/overdrive effects or someone who's looking to record and doesn't want to always mic up an amp and wants access to just about any sound when writing music.

 

 

Everything has it's place. Maybe what I'm really saying is, believe it or not, a shoddy YouTube video capturing what this thing sounds like in the room would do a lot more to convince me than an awesomely produced, awesomely played clip.

 

I'm glad someone out there though isn't just playing crystal cleans and high gain with the AxeFX.

 

Part of me is also hoping that as the technology gets cheaper, smaller, and better, the AFX will get much cheaper. Unlike the Line 6, let me rip you the {censored} off, mentality, I really hope this owner will lower the cost as his component expenses go down. It'd be particularly awesome if he open sourced his software after he makes back his R&D investment. You still need a unit to run the software and he's the guy building them right now anyway, but allowing some of the best minds of DSP at your code to try and make improvements can help him spread the costs of continually updating and improving his firmware as well as open up the option for people to flash custom firmware to use the unit for a little something different.

 

I guess that's my OSS/Linux using mentality though. It'll probably never happen.

[tsunamijesus]

sounds poddy to me. sounds like a completely professional recording with a really nice pod. maybe thats the sound some people want though. if so, that's cool. i can live with that

[glenecho]

Everything has it's place. Maybe what I'm really saying is, believe it or not, a shoddy YouTube video capturing what this thing sounds like in the room would do a lot more to convince me than an awesomely produced, awesomely played clip.

 

 

Yep...I agree and I say this all the time. I can tell more from an amp with a shoddy room mic that captures the room than I can most close mic-ed with a 57 or a 421. It's not what I'd put on a CD...but as far as if I'm sizing up gear...I'll take that every time. I told James Peters that when I ordered my amp from him, and I think he might have thought I was nuts but was nice enough to not say anything about it. I'm totally with you on this one.

 

As far as your comments on cheaper, smaller etc. The guy who makes the AxeFX has stated on TGP that he more or less doesn't have any interest in boosting production or downgrading components. While I agree with the latter, the former is a deal breaker to me. The waiting list at the moment is such that you won't get one until October even if you order today. Even Eventide does a lot better than that. IMO it's time for this guy to get serious about his product. This isn't a Dumble...and I can't believe this guy wants to throw away sales over something like build times. Grow your business dude...you have nothing to gain but money. It doesn't mean he has to skimp on quality.

[CliffC8488]

FWIW, I never said I didn't want to boost production. In fact production has been increased 10-fold as we speak. By May/June the waiting list should be gone.

 

What I said is that I didn't want to outsource the production to China. So we took our time and found a high-quality manufacturer here in the US to manufacture the product for us. To me quality is the most important attribute of a product.

 

CC

[glenecho]

 

That said, I think the price is well worth it. For the FX alone, it's well under the price point of comparable products from Eventide. The FX really are THAT good. Also, the designer updates and improves things constantly. About two weeks ago a few of us were complaining about how much better our "real" drive pedals sound through the unit compared to the models. So he went to GC, bought a {censored}load of pedals, took them apart, and fixed what was wrong. Then he brought the pedals back to GC. I like that kind of moxie, not to mention they sound damn good.

 

 

Another thing that he did...THAT I LOVED...was debunked the $200 "Harmonic Converger". The Harmonic Converger is a box that the guitarist for Neil Diamond released that "enhances and removes the fizz from modellers". He specifically targetted the Line 6 Pod message board with this product. And he sold a lot of units. A buddy of mine let me borrow his...because I was skeptical. I've been in the studio and had my share of "fizz" problems with actual high gainers...and have seen engineers dial it out with a simple sweepable eq turn-of-the-knob.

 

So I hook this thing up and record several examples and analyze it in Voxengo. It's a...you guessed it...simple EQ cut...specifically at 5.8k (exactly the same frequency a producer friend of mine likes to use...he learned it at Full Sail). They guy who makes the Converger swore up and down it was doing a lot more than that...that it reacted differently and dynamically to different amp models etc...but no matter what my analysis always came up with the same results.

 

Guy who makes the AxeFX got a Converger and took it apart and analyzed it. It was a simple circuit that cost no more than 10 dollars...and you guessed it...it's a 5.8k cut (I don't think he was that specific...he said it was a simple circuit though). For some reason or another, people still buy those things anyway...but watching Hadley squirm when the AxeFX guy posted his results was classic. Snake {censored}ing oil man...snake oil.

[glenecho]

 

FWIW, I never said I didn't want to boost production. In fact production has been increased 10-fold as we speak. By May/June the waiting list should be gone. What I said is that I didn't want to outsource the production to China. So we took our time and found a high-quality manufacturer here in the US to manufacture the product for us. To me quality is the most important attribute of a product. CC

 

 

Thanks for clarifying...my apologies for misquoting. I would love to see the lead time decrease with the AxeFX. I wasn't aware that you had boosted production...last I heard it was still an issue. When the waiting list is gone or decreased I will be buying one most likely. While I've expressed that the amp models don't yet blow me away, I've also expressed that the FX are top notch and have emphasized that you are updating and improving the product a lot.

[thefyn]

That sounds good:o Now I want one of those behringer pitch shifters.

Yeah dude it surprised me. I got it as a stop gap for when I get a whammy 4 (no room for a whammy 4 on my board).

Now Whammy 4 gas is no more. Check out my space issue:



A pedal train pro should fit everything.

[GodBlessTexas]

FWIW, I never said I didn't want to boost production. In fact production has been increased 10-fold as we speak. By May/June the waiting list should be gone. What I said is that I didn't want to outsource the production to China. So we took our time and found a high-quality manufacturer here in the US to manufacture the product for us. To me quality is the most important attribute of a product. CC

I wish we could get someone with an AxeFX to the Austin amp fest in May. wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

[telephant]

But the truth is, for my "amp", I want it to sound the way real amps sound in the room. Everything has it's place. Maybe what I'm really saying is, believe it or not, a shoddy YouTube video capturing what this thing sounds like in the room would do a lot more to convince me than an awesomely produced, awesomely played clip.

Exactly what Ive been trying to say.

[telephant]

I've never said the AxeFX isn't an awesome tool...only that the amp modelling aspect of it hasn't blown me away.

 

 

Exactly. If we say we dont like the tone, we're being critical. WTF? Throw a 57 in front of a Marshall with a Strat with no post production and Ill bet Ill like that clip better. This {censored} isnt rocket science, but why do I get the feeling that the modeller guys try to make it sound like it is?

[Ron Burgandy]

I wish we could get someone with an AxeFX to the Austin amp fest in May. wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Hey CC,

Would you be interested in attending? Your AxeFX has been a really hot topic around several forums and it'd be cool to have an in person demo so us normal people can get our hands on one to try out.

Good call GBT!!

[CliffC8488]

We won't be at the Austin amp fest. We'll be at the NY and LA amp shows this year.

 

CC

[EdgeOfDarkness]

Sounds very digital.

[hail and kill]

i thought it sounded pretty good, real maybe not but I didnt really care because that playing was smoking! Pete you should put an album, and if you do have one where can i get it? I would def. buy it. Consider me seriously impressed.

erik.

[17 Tubes]

Thanks for posting the clip. It sounds good and has good playing.

Best comment I have heard so far is that even a great tube amp can sound horrible. Also...someone mentioned production.


So you should keep that in mind before you proclaim the device at fault before being anal....I mean overly... critical.

Most of the critics seem to confuse function and design. It does very well what it was designed to do. Just like a properly tweaked plexi. Doesn't make one any better than the other. Each are specific tools.

Pair the AXEFX up to an old clean amp and tweak it right...I bet kills. But...you'd actually have to own it, the nice tube amp, tweak it right and play it yourself before proclaiming it a poser.

[Ron Burgandy]

We won't be at the Austin amp fest. We'll be at the NY and LA amp shows this year. CC

 

 

Bummer. Miss out showing your everyday customers this product in favor of high dollar booths at invitation only events. Oh well, we'll be cranking the real things instead.