What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

aleclee

aleclee

Major General GAS
My Two Rock is still in my house but it'll be gone tomorrow. :eek: Would you believe that it's been replaced by . . . something . . . digital?

I have a buddy who recently scored an Axe-Fx Ultra and didn't bond with it. I'd been contemplating one of these for a while because I haven't had much opportunity to unleash my array of half stacks. My band's been mostly on hiatus due to work/family commitments and my main time to play is during Mini-Me's nap time. As a result, my Hot Rod Deluxe has gotten most of the action in the last year or so on those occasions where I actually plug into something

For those who think it's just another modeler, I'd say you're half right. It's a modeler but lumping it in with the L6 stuff (that I've found quite useful) would be an oversimplification. It's a modeler like a POD the way a Bogner XTC is a tube amp like a Blues Junior. It has a dizzying array of amp/cab/mic/FX models and you can also add your own cab models. The breadth of the available timbres is matched by their depth. We're talking studio-quality FX and utterly convincing amp/cab models -- as opposed to the L6 models that I'd describe as "good enough". For the obsessive tweaker the Axe-Fx is a dream, allowing you to drill down into modeling minutia like transformer parameters.

If my playing and financial situations were different, I'd either have stood pat with the Two Rock or kept both the Fractal and the Two Rock. Fact is, they're not so my lust for the Axe-Fx made the Emerald expendable. The good thing is that it's probably broken a bit of a logjam and I'll probably be selling off a number of stompboxes in the coming months that just aren't needed anymore.

In the short term, I'll be playing it through a set of studio monitors. Not quite sure what I'll do for playing it out--my first shot will be running a power amp into a stereo 2x12 though my GK ML250 might see spot duty in a grab-n-go setup. Just when I had the whole tube amp thing figured out (not to mention a healthy tube stash) I go in a different direction. Such is life. Making music isn't a destination but a journey and this just highlights that fact. :)
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

yeah apparently they are amazing units. i'm seriously considering one at the moment; the features and sounds are pretty droolworthy
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

You'll be back in AmpLand soon enough. Enjoy the honeymoon! :)
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

Axe-FX is reason to never need a real amp again. It sounds awesome at any volume level, is an easy rig to set up and tour with that allows you to get great sound in every venue, everynight and also to get those tones recorded, either at home or the stuido. Its endlessly configurable as well and once you get used to that level of control and routing and ability to recall your tones without bending over pedalboards you'll never want to go back.

This is technology thats only going to keep on getting better as well. Its price will continue to come down and its feature set going up as well. The need to have tens thousands of dollars of amps and effects is gong to seem all the more silly in coming years.
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

millsart said:
Axe-FX is reason to never need a real amp again.
Click to expand...
Then why do people insist on calling them real amps?! If the Axe-FX is real, it's real. But it isn't. It's fake.

I think that one day, perhaps, there will be a modeler out there which will defy all conventions and become a real amp. Until they, it remains a currently-expensive toy which will be available on ebay for a pittance in a couple of years.
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

I also totally agree with the title of this thread -- what have you done?! :)
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

cool
have fun
full report when you get out from under the hood of that thing
have heard a lot of really good clips from those, but never played one or heard one in person - would love to take one out for a spin

i did the whole analog pre amp / digital effects / solid state power amp rack thing in the 90s and loved it, so i dont have fear of using such a beasty live ... in a way, one of these, a rack mount and midi controlled dtar mama bear, and a rack mount roland-compatible synth setup into a FRFR powered monitor all controlled by a full-featured/high quality construction foot controller would be a pretty darn aces rig for me

i never have understood the haters who throw 'real' around as if it an epithet .. it isnt imaginary .. it exists .. it is just different ..
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

I love tube amps, but if I could afford one of those Axe-fx units, I would get one in a heartbeat.
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

TwilightOdyssey said:
Then why do people insist on calling them real amps?! If the Axe-FX is real, it's real. But it isn't. It's fake.

I think that one day, perhaps, there will be a modeler out there which will defy all conventions and become a real amp. Until they, it remains a currently-expensive toy which will be available on ebay for a pittance in a couple of years.
Click to expand...


They aren't imaginary but since theres no glowing glass vacumn tubes producing the sound, and rather millions of calculations going on inside a silicon chip, the sound generation isn't quite the same thing, nor really remotely close.

The sounds themselves though are pretty near identical and really dynamics is about the only factor that hasn't been quite perfected.

Technology takes a while to evolve though. I remember years ago using things like H&K Redboxes to simulate the sound of a 4x12 cab.

Now we've got very cpu intense convulution based impulse responce models of darn near every cab and mic combo you could think of, and the ability to combine those models to create even more sounds.

A good IR isn't going to sound exactly like an amp in a room, but it will sound exactly like an on record, every bit the same as micing a real physical cab, but with much less work.


I remember when the first digital reverbs came out as well, they werent exactly stellar but today theres so many high quality algorhythms hardy any studio is still going to use a real plate or anything because Lexicon etc has just nailed that sound


Give it a few more years and I think we'll have models that can match all the dynamics and sag and feel of a true tube amp
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

I think you will dig it big time. So far what I heared from this unit, it should easily reproduce great tones everywhere. Enjoy it!
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

A guy I bought a 4 x 12 from had one... he was a music student at Uni. He demo'd it for me, and all I can say is WOW. I love my amps, but I'm seriously thinking that one of those units would make so much more sense! I think you'll love it.... It's going to be a long honeymoon period I think!
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

With enough processing power, a computer can perfectly simulate anything. I'm not exaggerating ... I literally mean ANYTHING.

Given this, the only tangible thing holding modelers back is processing power, and we all know that gets better and cheaper every year.

It is inevitable that we will someday reach a point where modelers are indistinguishable from tube amps. It's only a matter of time. Eventually the computing power of a modeler will be sufficient to fool anyone.

Personally I don't think we've reached that point yet, but the AxeFx is the closest we've gotten thus far.
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

Yea.. The other guitar in my band got one and thought it was the end-all for a while....... Now it is just another unit in his rack and he has purchased a Deizel Einstein.... :)

I think I'll just stick with my PODXT and headphones for late night practice until modeling is really the end-all. Everyone starts off saying the latest and greatest rocks until the honeymoon ends and shortcomings are discovered. Don't mean to be a downer... If you like i that much..... I am happy for you.
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

The ultra is pretty amazing kit. Had a play on one a few weeks ago. My experience was the sounds were great, but the feel was still different to real tube amps. Not bad in particular and better than other modelers, but it still had that 'removed' thing. I tried it through a PA so a dedicated guitar rig may improve matters. Still, helluva piece of gear.
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

TwilightOdyssey said:
You'll be back in AmpLand soon enough. Enjoy the honeymoon! :)
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be so sure...mainly because I can't really take advantage of an analog/tube rig unless there are some dramatic changes in my musical/personal life. The honeymoon might end but I can't afford to divorce this one. ;)
millsart said:
The sounds themselves though are pretty near identical and really dynamics is about the only factor that hasn't been quite perfected.
Click to expand...
Actually, I find the dynamics to be more than satisfactory. Where people definitely have a legitimate criticism is when they claim it lacks the sound of an amp in the room, instead sounding like a miked cab. The guy who traded me was definitely someone who loves the vibe of a cranked Marshall stack and that's not the AFX's strong suit.

That said, the AFX's ability to adjust the amount of sag in an amp model goes a long way towards achieving the right feel. I can dial in the fast attack and kerrang of a Marshall while the Dumble models can get the appropriate degree of squish.
Empty Pockets said:
If it ain't broke, why fix it?
Click to expand...
For me, things were somewhat broken. I haven't logged any meaningful time on my Rivera or Two Rock in a couple years because of my circumstances. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me to have a ton of money tied up in a magnificent rig that doesn't suit my situation and doesn't get used much.
 
Re: What have I done? (Fractal / Two Rock content)

I agree with Alec that gear should be mated to the playing situation, and you can't go wrong using the best modeler on the market.

I demoed one at the LA Amp Show, passing the guitar around the room to other players like Warren Demartini and Carlos Cavazo. They both liked it a lot too. It's definitely better than any L6 or Valvetronix I've tried.

But, we also had it plugged into 2 Atomic tube powered 1-12 cabs, if I remember correctly, and those cabs injected more tube warmth and feel into the Fractal modeler.

So my suggestion would be to use the unit any way you can, which serves your volume needs. Headphones for quietness or into a stereo tube power amp when you want it to be part of a big rig.

The bottom line is it's better to be playing 7 days a week on a modeler than it is to be playing once every two weeks on a world class loud rig. And that's what often happens to tube snobs - they end up playing less because of some pre-conceived notion or parrotted advise they got off a forum.
 
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