Hey Guys,
I'm looking at buying the Fractal Audio Axe FX II. It Looks like an awsome system. I'm not woried about money, I think I have enough stuff that this could replace in my rig right now, I THINK. I have a few ?'s thogouh: 1. Is it Just Like an Effects Cable Orginizer/Controller? What I mean by that is do you just plug all your heads, pedals, rack effects, and cabinets into the back and you just put the pedals in the order you want and it turns them on, but the actually effects are ran though the system. Let's say I have a Distortion Pedal, Do I just Plug the Pedal into the back and it will turn it on and off. Or do you not need any effects, it has all the effects bulit in so there is just and in/out jack, the guitar goes in the effected signal go out to the head? I'm not exactlly sure how it works so any help would be appriciated. THANKS!!!

My speciality!

Nope. It's an all-in-one box. Effects. Amp models. Cabinet modelling. Everything right there in the box. All you need is the box. Nothing else. My rig is currently: guitar -> Axe-Fx II -> direct to the front-of-house. Nothing but net. And awesome tones.

You could run it in four-cable mode (4CM) with an existing amplifier that has an effects loop. But honestly, this is the inferior way to run it. It shines the brightest when it's run direct to a flat response, full range (FRFR) amplifier and speaker combination. In my case I'll go straight to the front-of-house or, for small gigs, I'll run it in to a Yorkville E10P powered monitor wedge and use that as my "amplifier". If you run in 4CM mode your amps pre and power amps, plus your guitar cab and speakers, add a ton of colour of their own to the signal chain and you don't really reap the full benefits of the awesome modelling it does.

I just happened to be playing around tonight with the new Peavey 5150 Mark III model that got added in the 6.00 firmware release. I am totally in love with this amp model. Sounds KILLER on all three channels (green, blue and red). Here's the red channel doing my ****ty take on one of VHs best licks (IMO): http://bit.ly/LmO0TU

I say goddman that thing is so much fun to play!

That was recorded guitar -> Axe-Fx II -> Apogee Duet and captured by Logic 9. Nothing else. That easy. Killer tone. My kids, sleeping upstairs, didn't even know I was getting my rock arena god on.

__________________
- IAN C. -
Rig: PRS | Schecter USA | Gibson | Axe-Fx II | empress effects
Beta tester: Fractal Audio | empress effects

Thanks That answered my questions very well. Does it have WAH? and how would you control it, with and exppretion pedal? Will it Replace my whole set-up I have now with that same quality of sound as all my pedals and rack equitment? Is there two Inputs and Outputs So I can run It as my effects loop, what I mean is run it through al my pedal in the system than run it to the heads then out the effects loop into that 2nd input and have a seperate effects loop in the same chain then out the 2nd output into the effects loop out thae cab? (This is because my head and effects loop are a big part of my sound). here's my rig for refernce. Can you use like a G-Lab switcher and set up differnt "BANKS" for each song, or part of the song, and switch between them with the G-Lab Switcher or how does that work?

Guitars: Ibanez S5470F (Updated with EMG 81 / EMG S / EMG 85 and Re-Wired), 1980's (not sure the exact year) Squier Strat (Floyd Rose, HSS, Updated with EMG 81 / EMG S / EMG S)
To Pedal Board (in order): Boss TU-3 < Dunlop CryBaby Rack Mount < Ernie Ball Volume Pedal < MXR Dyna Comp< Ibanez Tube Screamer TS808HW < Boss DS-1< MXR Fullbore Metal < Digitech Death Metal < Boss NS-2 < MXR EVH Phase 90 < MXR Analog Chorus < MXR EVH Flanger < Line Spliter < 2 Marshall MG100HDFX Amps out EFFECTS LOOP < Rack Mount DOD 231 EQ < ISP Rack Mount Decimator (Clean-Up Channel 1 Clean Channel on Amp / Higher Threshold Channel 2 OD Channel on Amp) < MXR Carbon Copy < EFFECTS LOOP in 2 Marshall MG100HDFX Amps < 2 4x12 Marshall Cabs

[QUOTE=gearman123;1139439]Does it have WAH? and how would you control it, with and exppretion pedal?[quote]
Yes and yes. I have a Rocktron All Access as my MIDI pedal and in to that I plug a Rocktron Hex expression pedal and an EB VP pedal that I modified to be an expression pedal. Depending on the patch either of them control various things: wah, whammy, volume levels, drive levels, mixing between two separate amp and cab setups in the patch, etc.

This is very much subjective. Yes, it can replace your whole setup. Does it need to? Not if you don't want it to. Will it sound as good? Completely subjective. It's a better sounding rig than anything I've owned, and I've owned some fine, fine year. This replaced a big board and a Koch Twintone. Before the Twintone I had Rectoverb setup which, to date, is still my favourite real amp setup.

There's two input sections, both stereo if you want them to be. And there are two output sections. One pair of input and outputs can be a loop if you want, allowing you to patch in any outboard you want in to the AxeFx signal chain, at any point in the matrix. So you could patch in an outboard preamp or some outboard effects gear without any issues.

Does the G-Lab send out program change messages over MIDI when you change patches on it? It might. If so: yes.

Much, if not all, of this stuff is easily replaced with the AxeFx.

__________________
- IAN C. -
Rig: PRS | Schecter USA | Gibson | Axe-Fx II | empress effects
Beta tester: Fractal Audio | empress effects