A day in the life of GAD

GAD

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Some days it's pretty OK to be me.

I had the Bluesbird out because it's awesome. I had the X170T out because I was recording it. I pulled the SFIII-P90 out to go over it for a possible sale. As a fun aside, this is mere moments after I discovered the neck pickup wasn't right.

You can also plainly see the difference in the top vs. sides of the X170T in this pic.

5D3_2207_1200.jpg
 

shihan

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Very nice! The SF III is be-you-tiful!
The X-170t looks like a 2 tone paint job, like Gretsch does. In that picture, it's pretty appealing.
 

matsickma

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Hey GAD,
I think it's time you explain to us your RIG on display in the picture. Guys if my era can always use a primer on modern setups!
M
 

GAD

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Is that 2 Fractal MFCs, one for each version of the Axe FX?

Correct. I could use the old one on the new Axe-FX, but it's a Mark-I and has some limitations that annoy me. The new Mark III has better switches and FASLink which means I can use a regular Ethernet cable instead of XLR (among other things).


Hey GAD,
I think it's time you explain to us your RIG on display in the picture. Guys if my era can always use a primer on modern setups!
M

Whatever era you're in I'm probably not far behind. :)

The Axe-FX is a preamp/processor/whatever that simulates a huge pile of expensive amps. IMO it does this better than the competition, though the competition has come a LONG way since I bought the first one. It is also a digital effects processor that does damn near every effect ever. The MFC-101 is the MIDI Foot Controller for the system.

As for why I use the Axe-FX, there's some history there.

I love tube amps. A lot. I've built my own, restored a '63 Bassman, and owned too damn many of them having grown up and played in the '70s, '80s, and beyond. I have two problems with tube amps that are all but impossible problems to solve for me. They are: 1) they're heavy and 2) they're big. Now, sure, you can get some seriously cool little amps these days and hell one of my favorite amps of all time is the Fender Champ, but I have *very* eclectic tastes in music and in order to satisfy my unending thirst for tone, I would need about 15 amps. I have no room for the gear I have!

When the Mesa Boogie Mark V came out I was convinced that it was the solution to my problem and eagerly drove all over creation trying them out. Sadly, I just couldn't get passed the "Mesa-ness" of them. That led me to the Amp Show that was being held in Piscataway some ten years ago where I got to see ALL the amps in play including the Axe-FX. I was floored by the sound the Axe-FX was producing and ended up buying one used on TGP shortly thereafter. That Axe-FX Ultra has served me well for the past 10 years until I just got the AXE-FX II XL+.

Now, I should include the fact that the Axe-FX is not for the faint of heart, and that's one of its main downfalls. The guy who invented and designers them is kind of a crotchety pain in the *** who refuses to do anything he doesn't like. Case in point: For my X170T project I want the quintessential '63 Bassman tone with a Roland Space Echo. That proved to be VERY difficult on the Ultra (see my description here: http://www.gad.net/Blog/2011/06/07/how-to-capture-brian-setzers-tone/). The main problem with the Ultra was that it didn't have anything even close to a 6B6 circuit amp so I had to sort of "make" my own. Ick. The II XL+ has a '65 Bassman which is damn close, so that's a start. It also has "Tape Echo" as an effect which the ultra didn't have, but it didn't sound the way I (or anyone else) wanted in relation to the Roland Space Echo. The Fractal guy refuses to add a "Roland Space Echo" effect because "All the tools are there to build your own" which is true if you have an engineering degree and/or want to devote an entire day to figuring out every little knob and dial - and that's what I did because it's an effect I use a lot and its worth it for me to have that patch.

Anyway, since this is a preamp it needs an amp if you're not going to plug into the FOH system. I chose a QSC K12 speaker for mine and I've been just thrilled with that ever since. I've actually considered buying a second one because the Axe-FX is stereo and will do two amps at once along with stereo effects, etc. No room, though. :)

Lastly, the Axe-FX rig allows me to play cranked Marshall JCM-800 tones at very low volume, and that's a very cool feature for me. The new one has a headphone out as well and can record directly via USB.

So that's y typically wordy reply. Hope it helps.
 

GAD

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I had to look. It's over $2000.

The Axe-FX? Yeah. They sell for $2250 from Fractal direct. The MFC-101 is another $650.

And that right there is why I never buy them new. It takes patience, but I trolled all the boards for months and scored them both in mint condition for $2k even. It's also been out for a while so people are anticipating a new model. Some people have also jumped ship to Kemper. The thing that sucks about electronics like this is that they do NOT hold their value well. I think I paid probably around the same thing for my Axe-FX Ultra back in '09 and I'd be lucky to get half that for it now. For me it's worth it. Sure, if I'd have kept my restored '63 Bassman I'd easily get my money back and more, but then I'd also need six other amps to fulfill my needs.

Plus, this is everything I need to gig.

P1000790_800.jpg


OK, it's not everything. I also need a couple guitars and a bag for my cables and stuff. And a car. This is everything:

P1000795_800.jpg


And it all fits in the back seat of my Acura. Hell, when I was 20 I could have fit all that into my 280-Z. BTW that's a Strat and a Guild X-170T.

It doesn't sound quite as amazing as my '63 Bassman did, but speaking from experience, no one in the audience cares. Hell, at this point I don't even care anymore because that 2x12 cabinet was heavy.

Plus you can program the Axe-FX to be the second guitarist for the solo in Hotel California (https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axefx-2-does-hotel-california-solo-harmonies-video.54391/) Can't do that with a Bassman. :peaceful:
 
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