[Christopher]

Played my first gig last night live with the Axe Fx. and it really shined. I have a list of things I need to tweak but not because of problems, just taste. All the things that I didn't love where all related to the way I had the amps set.

As for tone it simply blew my Vetta out of the water. It is just so warm and round and tubey. It just convinced me that this is the perfect marriage of technology for me. I got all the versatility of a modeler but the tone and feel of tubes.

The first thing I noticed was how fun this thing is to play live. It responds so well to how you play it that I found myself playing a whole lot more with my picking dynamics. I love what it does when you dig in and it does that saggy note on a string thing.

I think I was guilty of more tweaking than playing the last week and it was nice to just play. Soloing was pure joy! I'm no Petrucci but I felt like it last night. I didn't realize how badly I missed the feel of my tube amps until last night. I received more compliments on my playing than usual and it was the Axe Fx. I wasn't having a particularly magic night (and our rental bass player was awful).

[ohio_eric]

What were you playing it through. direct or power amp speakers?

Glad you're digging it. It is tempting.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by ohio_eric

What were you playing it through. direct or power amp speakers?

Glad you're digging it. It is tempting.

Both. One out fed the board direct with all the sims (cab/mic) and the other fed my Peavey Classic 50/50 and Mesa 4x12 with the cab & mic sims off. It worked splendidly. We run IEM's so I listened to the first half of the night through the cab and the second night with the direct sound.

[ohio_eric]

Originally Posted by Christopher

Both. One out fed the board direct with all the sims (cab/mic) and the other fed my Peavey Classic 50/50 and Mesa 4x12 with the cab & mic sims off. It worked splendidly. We run IEM's so I listened to the first half of the night through the cab and the second night with the direct sound.

Wow you can do multiple outputs like that? That's insane. I need to go sell a kidney.

[Donnie]

^ That's what has me interested in it.

[Christopher]

Yep, that's one of the selling points to me. That and the intelligent harmonizer, the Mark / Triaxis amp models, and the honest tube "feel" are the big ones for me.

Honestly, I prefer this rig to the one I had when I had a Mark IV, a Rectoverb, and a G Major and all the switching gear and this one fits in a six space rack.

The only thing I may change about my rig would be to go with a Mesa poweramp but that's because old habits die hard.

[ohio_eric]

Can you use more than one amp at once? Could you run the Solo100 and the Mesa sims togther?

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by ohio_eric

Can you use more than one amp at once? Could you run the Solo100 and the Mesa sims togther?

Yep. There are pretty much 2 of each of everything and routing is pretty much limitless. In fact you could run a Mesa and a Soldano in the same patch and have them use different cabs, mics, and a completely different effects chain for each before and after the amps themselves and then run them direct in stereo or dual mono and also feed another amp and cab in stereo or dual mono with or without the cab and mic sims.

For the most part, if you can dream it up, it can be done.

[HighGain510]

Clips? Sorry, couldn't resist.... I would love to hear it in a full-band context though! Sounds like it's really working out for you bro, congrats!

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by HighGain510

Clips? Sorry, couldn't resist.... I would love to hear it in a full-band context though! Sounds like it's really working out for you bro, congrats!

I can guarantee you wouldn't want clips from last night. I'm going to try and get some clips up soon, just got to get through some hairy recording schedules this week.

One thing I did notice was how well it does blend with a full band. It sounds so damn "real" compared to other modelers that the high end sits where it needs to. I also didn't have to overpower anybody to cut through at all. And it loves tube poweramps.