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I have Axe-Fx II, it is amazing, and from my understanding no one can tell the difference anymore, which is why so many big and small names have switched over,

I have Axe-Fx II, it is amazing, and from my understanding no one can tell the difference anymore, which is why so many big and small names have switched over, like Steve Vai and Metallica: http://www.fractalaudio.com/artists.php http://www.fractalaudio.com/artists.php

72deluxe 12y ago
Do they use it live though? I thought Vai was entirely Carvin? His sound has more sheen on it recently compared to his earlier stuff. Also, I notice they list Petrucci as an artist. I had a look on stage at his rig last tour (fortunate to do so, was I) and I am sure it was entirely Mesa Rectifier MIDI enabled preamps and Mesa Simul-Class2:Ninety rigs for the amplification, ran to two small 12" (or 10") cabs miked up offstage (so less bleed from live drums, more control over the sound) so I am curious where he actually uses this in his signal chain? I doubt he actually uses it for anything other than effects??? Same for Myung - he was using a DI box and a Demeter power amp ran on a dummy load for overdrive. (I chatted with the bass tech, friendly guy! The entire crew were friendly!)
- Demiurge 12y ago
  Yeah, one of the biggest advantages of Axe-FX is just how much equipment is packed into a small box. That is one biggest reasons I read for Metallica to use it, they used to drive around tons of equipment. From what I've seen on youtube of setup run throughs, people almost always have a complete non-fractal set of equipment for backup, but an axe-fx patch can actually contain all of this equipment. Manufacturers even sell their own racks that can be loaded into axe-fx.
- thraxil 12y ago
  At least as of 2012, Vai used Carvin amps live and Axe-Fx just for effects. See: http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Rig_Rundown_Steve_Vai http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Rig_Rundown_Steve_Vai Can't find any more recent info. Pretty sure Petrucci does the same thing, with Axe-Fx as effects processor rather than amp modeler. Don't know about Metallica. There are quite a few artists who do use the Axe-Fx or Kemper live in lieu of amps though: Animals as Leaders, Periphery, Paul Masvidal from Cynic, Devin Townsend (sometimes, he seems to switch back and forth a lot), Jeff Loomis in Arch Enemy uses a Kemper live (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J92RP-fFO_g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J92RP-fFO_g). Plus quite a few lesser known musicians. If you have an Axe-Fx, you can do a fly-in gig with it and have a consistent sound without being at the mercy of whatever crappy backline the venue has. Handy tool for a guitarist for hire. Especially in metal though, there's a certain showmanship aspect to having a bunch of big loud amps on stage. A lot of the bigger bands for years have even lined stages with dummy stacks of 4x12 cabinets just for show. So even if they start using a modeler, they probably won't make a big deal of it. Smaller bands, playing in smaller venues run into the problem of stage monitoring. You can run your Axe-Fx into front-of-house and probably get a good sound to the crowd, but a lot of the smaller venues have lousy monitoring setups on stage and guitarists are used to essentially using their amp to compensate for that. So you might still want a power amp and cabinet on stage in that case. Anyway, I have an Axe-Fx II and it's replaced all my tube gear. I wouldn't say it sounds 100% the same, but it's really close. Beyond the sound, what it does that other modelers have not done so well is get the "feel" of playing through a tube amp. The really subtle dynamics and compression that you don't necessarily hear but that affect how you play when your ears and hands are reacting to what the amp does. Leaps and bounds better than Line6 or Podfarm. And at apartment-safe volume levels, I'd even argue that it sounds better than most tube amps, so that's a huge plus for me.
  - Demiurge 12y ago
    I should mention, I also use mine with Yamaha HS-80 monitors most of the time, which takes a lot out of the equation.

72deluxe 12y ago

Do they use it live though? I thought Vai was entirely Carvin? His sound has more sheen on it recently compared to his earlier stuff. Also, I notice they list Petrucci as an artist. I had a look on stage at his rig last tour (fortunate to do so, was I) and I am sure it was entirely Mesa Rectifier MIDI enabled preamps and Mesa Simul-Class2:Ninety rigs for the amplification, ran to two small 12" (or 10") cabs miked up offstage (so less bleed from live drums, more control over the sound) so I am curious where he actually uses this in his signal chain? I doubt he actually uses it for anything other than effects??? Same for Myung - he was using a DI box and a Demeter power amp ran on a dummy load for overdrive. (I chatted with the bass tech, friendly guy! The entire crew were friendly!)

Demiurge 12y ago
Yeah, one of the biggest advantages of Axe-FX is just how much equipment is packed into a small box. That is one biggest reasons I read for Metallica to use it, they used to drive around tons of equipment. From what I've seen on youtube of setup run throughs, people almost always have a complete non-fractal set of equipment for backup, but an axe-fx patch can actually contain all of this equipment. Manufacturers even sell their own racks that can be loaded into axe-fx.
thraxil 12y ago
At least as of 2012, Vai used Carvin amps live and Axe-Fx just for effects. See: http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Rig_Rundown_Steve_Vai http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Rig_Rundown_Steve_Vai Can't find any more recent info. Pretty sure Petrucci does the same thing, with Axe-Fx as effects processor rather than amp modeler. Don't know about Metallica. There are quite a few artists who do use the Axe-Fx or Kemper live in lieu of amps though: Animals as Leaders, Periphery, Paul Masvidal from Cynic, Devin Townsend (sometimes, he seems to switch back and forth a lot), Jeff Loomis in Arch Enemy uses a Kemper live (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J92RP-fFO_g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J92RP-fFO_g). Plus quite a few lesser known musicians. If you have an Axe-Fx, you can do a fly-in gig with it and have a consistent sound without being at the mercy of whatever crappy backline the venue has. Handy tool for a guitarist for hire. Especially in metal though, there's a certain showmanship aspect to having a bunch of big loud amps on stage. A lot of the bigger bands for years have even lined stages with dummy stacks of 4x12 cabinets just for show. So even if they start using a modeler, they probably won't make a big deal of it. Smaller bands, playing in smaller venues run into the problem of stage monitoring. You can run your Axe-Fx into front-of-house and probably get a good sound to the crowd, but a lot of the smaller venues have lousy monitoring setups on stage and guitarists are used to essentially using their amp to compensate for that. So you might still want a power amp and cabinet on stage in that case. Anyway, I have an Axe-Fx II and it's replaced all my tube gear. I wouldn't say it sounds 100% the same, but it's really close. Beyond the sound, what it does that other modelers have not done so well is get the "feel" of playing through a tube amp. The really subtle dynamics and compression that you don't necessarily hear but that affect how you play when your ears and hands are reacting to what the amp does. Leaps and bounds better than Line6 or Podfarm. And at apartment-safe volume levels, I'd even argue that it sounds better than most tube amps, so that's a huge plus for me.
- Demiurge 12y ago
  I should mention, I also use mine with Yamaha HS-80 monitors most of the time, which takes a lot out of the equation.