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Run the axe fx into the effects return on the amp and you'll bypass the preamp. Should be flatter.
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Sep 30, 2016 23:23
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Bazanga posted:I've been playing through an AxeFX II for the past year or so with some FRFR monitors. It's been a blast and it works for me because I'm just a bedroom guitarist who uses a Mustang 3 when I jam with friends. However, I'm planning on making the move up to a proper cabinet (thinking a 2x12" Mesa horizontal cab) and poweramp to feed the AxeFX through. I use an Axe-Fx II and a I run it through either a pair of Atomic CLR monitors (which are absolutely incredible) and lately I've been running it through a VHT 2/90/2 into a Mesa recto horizontal 2x12. I posted pics of the rig minus the cabs earlier in the post your latest guitar purchases thread to give you an idea. As for your question, if you're already using a dedicated guitar cabinet, the guitar cab relative to an FRFR solution is already coloring your sound significantly and it's going to add way more of its own "color" to your sound than whatever tube amp you decide to use. All other things being equal, changing a cabinet is going to make gigantic sweeping changes to the way your gear sounds, whereas changing poweramps, unless you're just maxing your volume every time you play, is actually going to be waaaaay more subtle. And as long as you're not running them loud enough to distort the output, the EQ options built into the Axe-FX can negate any natural differences between the EQ of different tube poweramps anyway, which believe it or not are also usually pretty subtle between one poweramp and the next. Heads are perfectly viable options to pair with the Axe-Fx, especially if you run what's called the 4-cable method, where you plug your guitar into the Axe-Fx's input, then route your preamp into the fx loop of the Axe-Fx, then back out into the fx return of your amp, so that you're free to place effects before or after your amp's preamp gain stages. There are one or two youtube videos out there that do direct AB comparisons with a bunch of different poweramps and the results are usually pretty subtle and negated by EQ adjustments. Check those out for more info. Honestly, I'd consider the question of whether you want a tube stereo or tube mono setup. Answering that is going to give you a better idea as to whether you should start looking at stereo rack poweramps or mono tube heads. GreatGreen fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Oct 1, 2016 |
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Sep 30, 2016 23:32
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muike posted:That seems like a great great set of features for a beginner amp except for maybe the wireless(?? why) and it seems like that's who the video's targeted at. I heard some marketing speak to indicate that they wanted to to bluetooth but there were latency issues. So for wow factor. Charging the transceiver by plugging it in is so smart!
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Oct 1, 2016 07:38
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Southern Heel posted:So I played into a Kemper a few weeks ago and I just can't get it out of my head. After playing with some BIAS demos, I'm finding it super hard to justify a move into traditional amp space again. Is it likely we'll see a Kemper II or such like any time soon? I kind of feel like I should wait for the technology to evolve a bit longer and get in on the second wave... Between feeling that fear of new models and not wanting to regret going all in on modeling this is why I've been reluctant. I know it's likely perfect for my needs and for the last year I've done 99% of my playing on a THR but I can't shake that little voice in my head that can't accept a modeling setup. Someday when I have the cash I should just say gently caress it and order one. To their credit resale value isn't bad.
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Oct 1, 2016 14:48
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So far, but you bet if they announce KPA v2 or Bias head V2 it'll go straight through the floor. I'm trying to tell myself, over and over again that my Orange tranny head and Laney 2x12 is PERFECTLY FINE. PERFECTLY FINE. It's not fully working, but the reason for me getting this solid-state was that I could play quietly and the Victory Countess, Kraken and Friedman Runt 20 are all going to blow my socks off in my little 'studio'.
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Oct 1, 2016 15:00
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Southern Heel posted:So far, but you bet if they announce KPA v2 or Bias head V2 it'll go straight through the floor. I'm trying to tell myself, over and over again that my Orange tranny head and Laney 2x12 is PERFECTLY FINE. PERFECTLY FINE. It's not fully working, but the reason for me getting this solid-state was that I could play quietly and the Victory Countess, Kraken and Friedman Runt 20 are all going to blow my socks off in my little 'studio'. That's actually not true about the value dropping, at least in my experience. I bought an Axe-Fx Ultra new in 2009 and sold it after the Axe-Fx II had been announced. I think I bought the Axe-Fx Ultra for around $1900 and ended up selling it for around $1500, which is right in line with, or even arguably better than, what I would have gotten back had I bought a tube amp new at $1900. These digital units keep their value a lot better than you'd think. Yes, they're "computers" but they're also very proprietary, and they're high end, high performance items which makes them more immune to price drops than your standard product. Axe-Fx Ultras still sell for around $1200 right now, almost a decade after their introduction. Also, that's not to mention that since I've had the Axe-Fx II, I basically haven't even thought about other amps. I don't even look over at the amps section in music stores anymore. I have two tube preamps and a tube poweramp as a B rig / fun diversion because I just like tube amps in general, but any real, honest to goodness GAS is absolutely gone for me, and 99% of the time I'm playing through the Axe-Fx. I have even A/B'd the Axe-Fx with my Triaxis and the Axe's Triaxis models, and I couldn't personally tell the difference in sound or feel, which I was honestly pretty surprised by. The Axe-Fx sounds about as different from my Triaxis as another Triaxis might sound. The difference is about as wide as the natural variances between real amps due to the differences in physical components, etc. My point is that these digital devices are already basically "there" and I believe that at this point, any improvements in the algorithms are going to be incremental at best. I don't think there are too many big jumps left to make in the tech. I think that from here, most improvements are going to be made in quality of life stuff, like how many instances of amps and effects you can have in a patch, how many cab impulses and patches overall you can store in the unit, how many parameters you can assign to outside controllers, etc. I can only assume the Kemper stuff is similar. GreatGreen fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Oct 3, 2016 |
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Oct 1, 2016 16:21
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On the other side of things I'm having a very hard time convincing myself to not just run giggling to Sweetwater to buy a Mesa Rect-o-verb combo come tax refund season e: Or maybe an express 5 25 Shugojin fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Oct 1, 2016 |
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Oct 1, 2016 16:46
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Fair point - I guess all those failed 'blind tests' would imply something to it.Shugojin posted:On the other side of things I'm having a very hard time convincing myself to not just run giggling to Sweetwater to buy a Mesa Rect-o-verb combo come tax refund season I got a tax refund also, which would JUST about pay for a Mesa Mk.V:25 but the heart in me is fighting with the mind (either a) don't need another amp or b) a kemper/axe/bias would make sense) EDIT: OH GOD MAKE ME STOP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6WCpCke-U0 Only 1hr round-trip to a place with a full stock of Friedmans :happy/sad: Southern Heel fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Oct 1, 2016 |
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Oct 1, 2016 17:34
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GreatGreen posted:That's actually not true about the value dropping, at least in my experience. I bought an Axe-Fx Ultra new in 2009 and sold it after the Axe-Fx II had been announced. I think I bought the Axe-Fx Ultra for around $1900 and ended up selling it for around $1500, which is right in line with, or even arguably better than, what I would have gotten back had I bought a tube amp new at $1900. These digital units keep their value a lot better than you'd think. Yes, they're "computers" but they're also very proprietary, and they're high end, high performance items which makes them more immune to price drops than your standard product. Axe-Fx Ultras still sell for around $1200 right now, almost a decade after their introduction. Yeah its like how a mac pro tower from 2010 is still around a grand second hand. And stuff like the Line 6 Helix is full of hardware inputs and outputs which retain utility even if the modelling software becomes widespread.
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Oct 2, 2016 14:23
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Southern Heel posted:Fair point - I guess all those failed 'blind tests' would imply something to it. Well I've convinced myself that at most I should run off to Reverb instead because it saves like $300 and if I hate it the used prices are fairly stable
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Oct 2, 2016 16:31
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massive spider posted:Yeah its like how a mac pro tower from 2010 is still around a grand second hand. And stuff like the Line 6 Helix is full of hardware inputs and outputs which retain utility even if the modelling software becomes widespread. On this note does anyone here own a Helix?
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Oct 2, 2016 17:26
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Well I took that 2hour round trip this morning to a store and tested out the Pink Taco, Runt and Mark V:25, thoughts primarily consisted of "Holy poo poo these are all expensive as gently caress" interspersed with the below (all playing through a Creamback loaded Friedman 1x12): Friedman Pink Taco The PT has a gain/master volume on a single-channel, with a switch between three levels of gain. It cleans up nicely if you have low output pickups, but even on the lowest gain setting and the gain channel just above zero it was close to break-up (very sweet sounding) - so no real cleans to speak of. The master volume is very good, one can comfortably play at TV-volume levels and/or speak over it without raised voices and still have a really nice sound coming oout. Of course, it does sound better a little louder - pushing it past 5 on the master volume was louder than you'd want in your house. One of the staff apparently owns one (of course, he does  ) - he's apparently gigged it no problem.The sound was pure Rock hey-day filth: Whitesnake, Van Halen, Early thrash. Friedman Runt I tried the Runt second and I was rather underwhelmed, I felt that the drive sound was a little more raspy and strident than the PT, which was more full. While it did have a clean channel, that certainly sounded very nice - I'm just not a clean channel kinda guy and since the PT cleans up so well it seemed a bit superfluous to requirements. Mesa Mk V:25 I was just on my way out, and decided that it would be silly not to try the MESA since it was 4' away. It had far and away the best clean sound and a great built-in reverb. Two channels, each with three modes and both pre/post gain EQ, presence, etc. made it seem a little fiddly. Pretty much everything there sounded great. I thought there would be a compromise between the sounds since there are soo many, but honestly they were all wonderful. I got temporarily lost in Metallica heaven - but I'm just not sure that I want "that" kind of drive sound forever as it seemed as though Channel 2's modes were all slight modifications of the same sound. The price really tips it over the edge also - all that versatility when really I just want to plug in, turn on, and rock out. With that in mind, I'm listing my current head/cab/pedals on craigslist and will pay penance until I can afford one of the three. If there are others I should check out, please do let me know - the Bogner and Suhr stuff appears to be more 70's airy and not so much my cup of tea. I'm only wondering if it might be worth just getting a vintage JCM800 at this point
Southern Heel fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Oct 2, 2016 |
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Oct 2, 2016 17:52
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i have the earlier incarnation of the rectoverb; channel 1 on the pushed setting is much more marshally, especially with a boost or tubescreamer it works surprisingly well with ch1 as the gain and ch2 on vintage as the clean those amps are ridiculously versatile, it sucks the clean/pushed and vintage/modern settings aren't footswitchable since it'd effectively turn it into a 4 channel amp
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Oct 2, 2016 18:10
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Alec Bald Snatch posted:i have the earlier incarnation of the rectoverb; channel 1 on the pushed setting is much more marshally, especially with a boost or tubescreamer YOU AREN'T HELPING
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Oct 2, 2016 18:29
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Alec Bald Snatch posted:i have the earlier incarnation of the rectoverb; channel 1 on the pushed setting is much more marshally, especially with a boost or tubescreamer Is this also one of the channels in the Mk 5:25 ? I appreciate that I only had about 15 minutes to play with it but if I missed that, it could be a deal-maker. What's the big difference between the two?
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Oct 2, 2016 19:17
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Southern Heel posted:Is this also one of the channels in the Mk 5:25 ? I appreciate that I only had about 15 minutes to play with it but if I missed that, it could be a deal-maker. What's the big difference between the two? i've only played the full size mark v, but from what i remember the ch1 crunch setting is probably the closest, but it's got a lot more gain than the rectoverb/mini rec ch1
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Oct 2, 2016 19:41
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Hm. I'm watching some demos of the MkV:25 vs the Pink Taco and honestly there's not alot in if they're dialled in together. I guess the question is: is that versatility worth an extra £525 when one could just as easily get a Hot Rod Deluxe or similar for the cash. What made you get the rectoverb instead of the Mark V?
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Oct 2, 2016 20:50
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well i own a mini rec, which is the same amp as the rectoverb minus a couple things if you're asking why i got that instead of the mark v 25 it's because i bought it before mesa started making the mini mark v if you're asking why i got that instead of a full mark v, i wasn't in the market for one wouldn't mind a mark iii though to answer your other question about whether one's worth it over the other it's more about which kind of gain and response you're after Alec Bald Snatch fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Oct 2, 2016 |
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Oct 2, 2016 21:47
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Understood, thank you.
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Oct 2, 2016 22:04
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you brought up a good point though about being unsure if you want a particular sound forever which of course the correct answer is buy more amps
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Oct 2, 2016 22:12
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...which would be an option if we were talking about £300-600 heads, but we're talking about those that are in the £1500 range. I'll need to get a 'real' cab instead of this IRT212 so would be pushing £2250 for the Mesa and £1750 for the Friedman. At that price, I've got to be drat sure. I've made some minor forays into modern metal and jazz, but really 'my sound' is that cranked Marshall for Guns N Roses, Metallica, Van Halen, etc. I've got this horrible thought that the mere fact the PT does one thing is going to be enough to drive me away, even if I never NEED anything else. I'm going to go on an amp diet and just play through my Orange's dirty channel and just see whether I reach for the channel selector in the next week.
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Oct 2, 2016 22:46
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gently caress it man just go rob a bank to get that amp money gotta have that positive mental attitude
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Oct 2, 2016 23:22
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Alec Bald Snatch posted:gently caress it man just go rob a bank to get that amp money I cannot emphasise enough how right this is. Buy all the amps, all the time. For example, I have my sights set on one of these next: http://www.hamsteadsoundworks.com/artistseries/ There will be no presents in my house at Christmas, if that's what it takes.
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Oct 3, 2016 01:01
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Alec Bald Snatch posted:you brought up a good point though about being unsure if you want a particular sound forever  Ha ha, who am I kidding, I own six amps between my house and the practice space.
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Oct 3, 2016 04:55
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You guys are the worst budget counsellors. Since we're talking silly-money at this point anywhere, is there anything else I should consider? <15-20w , , cranked Marshall sound either as a lunchbox or 1x12 combo? I guess there's the Victory Sheriff 22?
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Oct 3, 2016 08:19
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Southern Heel posted:You guys are the worst budget counsellors. Since we're talking silly-money at this point anywhere, is there anything else I should consider? <15-20w , , cranked Marshall sound either as a lunchbox or 1x12 combo? I guess there's the Victory Sheriff 22? Here's a pretty reasonably priced 1x12 combo that is supposed to sound pretty good cranked up a bit. It's a tiny bit more powerful than what you're asking for though, just so you know. https://reverb.com/item/262246-dumble-overdrive-special-1977-brown-suede And look, they're only asking $65,000 for it (+ $350 shipping)! But hey man, this is tone we're talking about here. The question isn't whether or not you can afford it, it's whether you can afford to pass up this amazing deal. GreatGreen fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Oct 3, 2016 |
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Oct 3, 2016 15:47
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SRV used a steel string singer but tbh he probably bought it off a crackhead or something given how broke he was for most of his life
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Oct 3, 2016 16:06
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GreatGreen posted:Here's a pretty reasonably priced 1x12 combo that is supposed to sound pretty good cranked up a bit. It's a tiny bit more powerful than what you're asking for though, just so you know. It has been sold. Jesus Christ.  
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Oct 3, 2016 16:18
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Southern Heel posted:You guys are the worst budget counsellors. Since we're talking silly-money at this point anywhere, is there anything else I should consider? <15-20w , , cranked Marshall sound either as a lunchbox or 1x12 combo? I guess there's the Victory Sheriff 22? I want one of these http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-an...4BjIaAts98P8HAQ
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Oct 3, 2016 16:19
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If you will look it sold almost immediately
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Oct 3, 2016 16:20
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UFOTofuTacoCat posted:It has been sold. Jesus Christ. Mike Post had a Dumble and once you realise this, they become absolute bargains, because you can do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvjzSu9RIcI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MVonyVSQoM&t=46s Hell yeah
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Oct 3, 2016 16:22
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Posted this over in the new gear thread too but further discussion of it probably belongs here. Picked this up off some dudes porch in Washington DC the other day. Watching the craiglist free section like a hawk pays off sometimes. I finally had a chance to plug it in and see what's up with it. His ad said the amp needed work. It's got some horrendous background hum I discovered. I also discovered this son of a bitch is loud! The cabinet I figured out is a combo amp the amp section had been removed on. I'm going to dig into it more and see if it's just maybe a bad ground and check for leaky capacitors and the like.
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Oct 3, 2016 16:48
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Yeah the first thing I check with noise issues is lovely ground or similar connections. My old combo has some background hum that I learned to live with since it's a confusing mess of mods that I don't feel like loving with. Like the eq clearly started out as a two-band Baxandall type but there's a hilarious mess of RC circuits that just aren't there on a normal circuit and I just looked at it and said "yeah I don't feel like squinting at the printing from up to 40 years ago to figure out what values any of you are" and so it has stayed there. It sounds good when I start playing anyway so 
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Oct 3, 2016 17:00
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UFOTofuTacoCat posted:It has been sold. Jesus Christ. Wow, one born every minute I guess. I can't see any reasonable person actually buying Dumbles for anything other than an investment though. I was lucky enough to play one once for a good 15 minutes at volume and to be honest I didn't like it at all. I mean I'm sure somebody out there might like it but definitely wasn't my cup of tea. And I don't even mean "I tried to play djent with it and it didn't sound like a 5150 so it's useless," I mean I tried to appreciate it for what it was and didn't get along with it at all. It was definitely no better than any other professional level amp that tries to do its own flavor of the cranked Fender thing, at any rate. Those amps are really nothing more than the product of a self-proclaimed-eccentric, paranoid obese weirdo who happened to be in the right place at the right time in history to pitch his amps to a few famous people that bluesdentists and blueslawyers happen to love, so they've all tried to out bid each other to get that rare equipment their heroes used, which inflated the price to what you see today. Basically, there are three kinds of people out there who buy Dumbles: 1. Idiots 2. Investors hoping to take advantage of idiots. 3. John Mayer GreatGreen fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Oct 3, 2016 |
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Oct 3, 2016 18:08
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Does the mere fact we've been talking in semi-serious tones (lol) about amps which cost over a thousand dollars make us all bluesdentists by association? What happened to the downtrodden artiste?
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Oct 3, 2016 21:06
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I just assume every expensive amp purchase is Billy Gibbons. That makes it okay. 
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Oct 3, 2016 21:44
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GreatGreen posted:
In essense I agree, no amp is worth what Dumbles fetch, it;s ridiculous. However, people playing them and not liking them is common, there is a famous story about Robben Ford and another guy who both had Dumbles at the same gig, they tried each others and didn't like them. The whole point of Dumbles was supposed to be that the maker spent time with the artist and made the amp specifically for them and their guitar / needs. So that would explain why they initial cost a lot new, he spent months with them sometimes. My personal take on it is that it's all horseshit - They are just well made valve amps. The fact that he used to squirt epoxy resin all over the insides so people couldn't copy his designs says everything you need to know really.  Just get a Twin, whatever - a basic valve amp is a basic valve amp, there is no magic
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Oct 3, 2016 22:08
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Southern Heel posted:Does the mere fact we've been talking in semi-serious tones (lol) about amps which cost over a thousand dollars make us all bluesdentists by association? What happened to the downtrodden artiste? I actually don't mind being a bit of a bluesdad or whatever, it makes me laugh. The band I am in has a grand total of no solos in, so I think I get away with most crimes. For me it's always been about good pickups + good amp = job done I guess. Amps are important to me and I've owned a lot but never found that certain something until I plugged into a simple, well made valve amp. it just so happens they cost a bit more. I'd sooner have 1 great amp and 1 great guitar than a ton of not so good stuff. I've never heard anything like a Hamstead before, they are just so pure and warm. That's the sound that makes me smile these days. I am old.
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Oct 3, 2016 22:16
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Tbh I really like and am happy with my setup right now It's just that somewhere in me is still the teenage dork who wants a Mesa recto
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Oct 3, 2016 22:48
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God Bless the 5150
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Oct 4, 2016 02:58
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