# Axe-Fx better than tube amps?



## Aceshighhhh (Mar 25, 2011)

I've been hearing a lot about bands switching to the axe fx for live setting. Is it really better sounding than going for a traditional tube amp?


----------



## Razzy (Mar 25, 2011)

Well, I know that it's the best sounding/reacting preamp in the world, and I've never even played one.


----------



## The Reverend (Mar 25, 2011)

There is a huge amount of debate on this subject. I personally feel that there isn't much of a difference between a well-dialed in Axe-FX tone and a good tube amp. Some people find even the higher-end amp modelers to have too sterile a sound. I personally can't tell unless someone points out that one recording is with a real amp, and one is with a modeler.


----------



## Revan132 (Mar 26, 2011)

This is a tough one. I was an avid user of tube amps before I got my Axe FX Ultra. I fully expected to plug in and get amazing tones right out of the box. Surely tweaking for hours like on the POD would now be obsolete, right?

If you think like this than you are dead wrong. To answer your question, I have learned that through skill, patience, and most importantly time, one can achieve basically any tone known to man with the amount of amp sims, cab IR's (Including aftermarket ones like Redwirez), and effects on the Axe FX. It really is overwhelming! I am just letting you know this because nobody ever told me that before I bought my unit... but I am learning more and more everyday! Hopefully in a few months I will have my perfect tone.

There is also a huge difference between recorded tone and live tone. Live tone is in the same context: a 4x12 speaker cabinet you are usually familiar with, rarely will this change. Unfortunately when something is recorded such as a tone on the Axe FX, one has to adjust for context (Both the tone and everything else). I also think too many people assume that you don't require skills in production to record with the Axe FX, but this is also a misconception.

Plugging into a tube amp and setting your favorite EQ combination will most likely yield better results immediately in sonic quality than the Axe FX, but I am finding out every day how much I really enjoy owning one of these units! I can't wait to get my VHT 2/50/2 so I can start jamming out of my Marshall 1960AV rather than my monitors! I miss that volume and feel you get from a cabinet!

In short, there is no one answer to your question! Every person is different... some people will hate the Axe FX, and others will absolutely love it. However, if you have the money, and don't mind buying one to try it out, you may as well because the resale value is near new value and has been for years! There is little risk.


----------



## emperor_black (Mar 26, 2011)

if history of amps was reversed and solid state amps came before tube amps, people who've been playing SS amps all their life would be asking the question "Do tube amps really sound better than my SS amp"? of course, we now know the answer to that question all too well don't we? 

Now, put the AXE-FX in the equation and confusion/decision/debate repeats itself.


----------



## saovi (Mar 26, 2011)

Axe FX is awesome but you gotta remember that many of the presets are essentially models of tube gear which sits in their own spotlight as tonal monsters. The cool thing though is that you can fairly close to nailing those tones with the Axe FX but the bar was set by the real amps first. I've owned a lot of amps and basically _without pedals _they're like two trick ponies - however well those two tricks are done. For the studio and for our uses, Axe FX simply has more choices of killer tones only a preset away plus the miked cabinet models and studio quality pedal tones thrown in for good measure - plug and play. It constantly amazes me and I would recommend it to anyone wanting killer tone right out the box.


----------



## Andromalia (Mar 26, 2011)

The main advantage of the axe fx over tube is consistency: it will always sound the same if you handle a line out to the sound guy.
Other than that, if a tube amp suits you , use a tube amp.
The thing about the axe fx is, the effects are *really* good, it's not just a preamp or head sim.


----------



## Antenna (Mar 26, 2011)

I own an Axe Fx, and I will say in some ways you can get sounds that the original amp itself cant even do without tweaking "under the hood" i.e. tone stack replacement, P.A. Character, even down to clipping components and diodes. Also you can get sounds off an Axe Fx that can't be done in a studio like recording an Cabinet without a Mic. Being able to do leaves a Mic's EQ character out of the Equation for mixing. 

As far as the "hours of tweaking", I haven't experienced that yet. If you approach the Axe FX like its a tube amp and ignore the knobs you know nothing about then it works fine. If you start tweaking the advanced tweakage stuff as soon as you start off you're bound to fuck it all up. Thats like a 5 year old trying to teach a Trigonometry class, you will FAIL. I believe its the best investment I've ever done.


----------



## infernalservice (Mar 27, 2011)

I was(am) a boutique tube snob, but when I got my axe fx last year I sold off all of my tube amps within 2 months. It does take a lot of time and tweaking, but we are lucky enough to have a huge online community of nerds like me who are constantly chasing tone through a fractal. I like building presets from the ground up, but it is a lot of work. You can also download other people presets on the axechange and tweak them to your liking.

I run mine through active QSC k series speakers and I would say that is the biggest hurdle to overcome. I was so used to hearing my tone straight out of a cab that I didn't realize how different FRFR speakers are. Using cab and mic sims with the axe fx really makes my live tones sound more like polished and recorded ones.


----------



## Revan132 (Mar 27, 2011)

Antenna said:


> As far as the "hours of tweaking", I haven't experienced that yet. If you approach the Axe FX like its a tube amp and ignore the knobs you know nothing about then it works fine. If you start tweaking the advanced tweakage stuff as soon as you start off you're bound to fuck it all up. Thats like a 5 year old trying to teach a Trigonometry class, you will FAIL. I believe its the best investment I've ever done.



You'd be the only one I have ever talked to who hasn't noted on the insane learning curve that comes with the unit. I guess if you haven't had any difficulty, than that is a good thing...
As for the OP... this isn't a normal scenario. At all.


----------



## Andromalia (Mar 27, 2011)

Revan132 said:


> You'd be the only one I have ever talked to who hasn't noted on the insane learning curve that comes with the unit. I guess if you haven't had any difficulty, than that is a good thing...
> As for the OP... this isn't a normal scenario. At all.


It wasn't hard to get a good live tone through a power amp. Recording tones, now, are another matter entirely. I admit I cheated and used visual EQs and comparative charts to know where I was going.


----------

