~~Mark V vs. Axe Fx Ultra~~

Howdy Everyone!

So, here comes the great debate. I'm in the saving stages for an Axe Fx Ultra. I'm pretty sure I have my mind set on the Axe Fx because I already have (2) Mark III heads that treat me extremely well. They're the two best amps I've ever purchased, hands down. I'm pretty sure I may be getting a little redundant if I purchase a V, and feel like I should venture out and try new things! My III's aren't going anywhere at all. As a matter fact, I'm interested in running the AF with one of my Mark III heads in rollable amp/rack rig. My original plan was to have both my III's in a 2-head amp/rack case, but decided I want to keep one of them home with my other 4x12 cab.

So, the plan is to have the Axe Fx running with my one III. I'm pretty sure my mind is made up but I'd thought I'd come over here and see what you folks thought. Does it sound like a good plan?? I figure if I didn't ever get along with the AF that I could simply flip it ( as they seem to flip extremely quick) and purchase a Mark V with that. Either way, sounds like "winning", eh??

Looking forward to seeing your replies! Thanks!

~Nep~

I had the ultra on order and was looking forward to trying new things. Then it hit me, for me the axe will be redundant for the reason of me always looking for the same tone in every modeller out there.

So to save my self some money and headache I'm sticking to my mark IV who's lead channel I tried to find in every modeller I've ever tried.

The axe is probably a brilliant piece of gear but not for me.

Geiri said:

I had the ultra on order and was looking forward to trying new things. Then it hit me, for me the axe will be redundant for the reason of me always looking for the same tone in every modeller out there.

Click to expand...

Pretty much the same here.

Through some rather expensive lessons I've learned that I try to dial in every amp to sound exactly the same. At first a new amp is novel and I'll enjoy the new sounds... however it eventually turns into a downward spiral of me trying and failing to achieve the sound and feel I want with the new piece of gear.

It's why I haven't tried an AxeFX yet. I see that it'll model probably hundreds of amps, but when all I'd use is the Mark IV and Dual Rectifier models it seems kind of redundant when I already have tube amps that produce those same sounds.

I have no doubt that at some point in time I'll move along to modelling gear... however, at this point in time I don't see the need to spend $2000 on a unit that sounds almost as good as what I already have.

IMO.

Neptical said:

Howdy Everyone!

So, the plan is to have the Axe Fx running with my one III. I'm pretty sure my mind is made up but I'd thought I'd come over here and see what you folks thought. Does it sound like a good plan?? I figure if I didn't ever get along with the AF that I could simply flip it ( as they seem to flip extremely quick) and purchase a Mark V with that. Either way, sounds like "winning", eh??

Looking forward to seeing your replies! Thanks!

~Nep~

Click to expand...

Point is where you really want to go and how much time you want to spend !

A.)If you only play in the envelop of Mark III sounds and use Axe-FX just for the effects-->it's fine-->it's straight forward-->and doesnt need a loot of devotion(= tweaking time)-->just it is the best effects unit ever (but also so much more)

B.)If you play Mark III but plan to use Axe-FX as second different amp-->perfect use,also depending on your pride,nowadays less time consuming

Pride-->you master and learn all by youself-->give up your job and take a LOT OT TIME

Not so proud-->You can go there and with given presets(the MIDI computer -Axe connection is a bit fiddely) you are in 95 % of the ballpark allready
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/share...atches-fender-marshall-vox-marsha-bogner.html
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/share-request-patches/33429-yeks-preset-collection-sound-clips.html
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/share...ther-all-pedal-effects-emulations-thread.html
http://dicenote.com/

C.)You record a lot-->AXE

D.)I need one and only Amp which is Mark III forever-->forget the AXE(in 30 + years of guitar playing the forever story's were rare and usually lastet a maximum of 6 month)

From a Mark V & Axe user (knowing that a Mark V cannot do a MARK III 100%)

Roland

Thanks for the replies so far! I'm sure this subject has been covered quite a bit in here so thanks again for taking the time out to share advice.

Being a tone freak (constantly tweaking), I could really see myself using alot of the amp modelers in the Axe for live, and especially in the studio. Specifically-- the Roland JC-120, ALL The Boogie Mark IV modes, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, Soldano SLO-100, ALL the Dumble modes, Bogner, ENGL, Boogie Mark IIC+, 5150, and the Cornford. And being able to further take one of those presets and customize it to your liking is really sweet. Seriously thinking, what else more could I need? That's some serious GAS curing right there.

Being able to switch through those amp choices at the step of a switch is a beautiful thing. So far I've heard about 10 guitar players using this unit live..and it's completely convincing. I've never been into the digital thing myself in my 20+ years of playing, but as of all the read reviews and actually hearing it for myself, it seriously is everything that it's made out to be.

Also, as I mentioned in another post some time back; for some reason I still need an amp behind me though. After all these years, I'm too use to seeing,feeling, and hearing the thumpin' power section of one there--hence another reason why the Mark III will be in the road case with me.

~Nep~

I own the Ultra and a Mesa ED.

My take is this.

If you know you are only going to use the Mark sounds, and volume is not an issue, then just get the real thing.

For me, I use the Axe FX mainly for recording and late night playing. My favorite amp on it is the plexi. Even if all I used was the plexi, I could not keep a real Plexi at a volume that would let me get that good plexi tone.

I use a bunch of different amp models depending on my mood.

It really nails the Mark and Recto tones.

But if volume is not an issue and it is a question of having the real thing vs a model (albeit an incredibly close model), just get the real thing.

For me, I love that once the family goes to bed I can go to town. And the ease of recording is just unbelievable

Hi

The GAS story is actually,in my case the opposite.

I come from Fender Tubes and from Roland's JC and wanted to carry less arround.So far , so good.

But some day hell freezes over and we had a shootout beween my Axe and my bandmates Mark IV(Axe can never do !!!/ a notorious unbeliever) but he could not find his Mark IV in the blind test-- ; - ) 10 times got it 3 times right!!)

But a day and a half of tweaking and trying let me fall in love with the Mark tone-->first I tried to go (relatively) inexpensive with TA-15-->Mark I-->just increased GAS and I ended up 1/2 a year ago with Mark V. Use them both now 50/50

And yes for the TONE QUEST(which audience never honours) really nothing is like the Axe

And for playing Caravanserai and sound real a Mark is a must

All the best

Roland

PS:Huge waiting list on Ultra's

I'd say that because you have 2 Mark III's that the Axe would be the one to get. If it's not for you then you can sell it for just about what you'd pay for a new one.

I love my V combo, and will not be letting it go any time soon if ever.

However, I have also been considering the purchase of an Axe FX Ultra based on great reviews and sounds that I have heard (albeit on youtube).

There is no doubt in my mind that I would enjoy the many great sounds that are probably offered in the Axe FX Ultra, but I feel that I would be spending more time exploring its many offerings rather than just playing.

Not only that....I don't currently have a suitable power amp, cab, footcontroller, etc....that would also likely be required with the Axe FX to achieve great satisfaction for me.

I used to use rack gear for my sound and it was a godsend as far as footswitchable programmed sounds while playing live, but it required a great deal of time investment on my part. I feel the Axe FX is probably MUCH better than any/all previous rack gear I used to use, but feel the long time factor required to tweak sounds to my liking would still be required.

I will definitely not buy the Axe FX standard or ultra to strickly use and effects device for my tube amps because I really don't use many effects at all.....mainly just judicious use of delay and reverb.

My .02

Here's my opinion of this. I have a Mark III and an axe-fx, both for a couple years now. For someone who likes their amps, the tones, feel and just the whole experience of playing a real amp, the axe-fx is the perfect companion. It works very well with the 4-cable method and the mark III. It can do the mark preamp sounds no problem but if you really want to use the preamp in your mark just set up some of your patches with a loop and insert the real thing in there. It is the best effects processor on the market to boot. So I use some patches with my real Mark III preamp, and some with Marshall plexi, bogner, fender, Budda, MarkIV, and many other very good axe-fx amp sims. It sounds very good and will expand the sounds of your Mesa Mark amp ten maybe twenty times over. You can use both axe-fx amps and your real preamp sounds with this set-up.
The only suggestion I can offer is that if you decide to use a real amp with the axe-fx, don't get caught up in trying it get it to sound good with a full range speaker system right away. Take your time and get to know it for awhile, the depth of this thing is un-real. Work with it and your amp first, turn off the cab and power amp sims and try the 4-cable. You will love it! After wrestling this thing for a year and a half, trying different set-ups, I'm back to using it with my Mark III and a Thiele cab.

Thanks for your opinions and or suggestions in this matter. You heads are quite some help around this place.

~Nep~

screamingdaisy said:

Geiri said:

I had the ultra on order and was looking forward to trying new things. Then it hit me, for me the axe will be redundant for the reason of me always looking for the same tone in every modeller out there.

Click to expand...

Pretty much the same here.

Through some rather expensive lessons I've learned that I try to dial in every amp to sound exactly the same. At first a new amp is novel and I'll enjoy the new sounds... however it eventually turns into a downward spiral of me trying and failing to achieve the sound and feel I want with the new piece of gear.

Click to expand...

I could have written that exact post. My sound is my sound, no matter what I'm playing through. Learned this in the time between selling my Mark IV (probably around 1996) and when I got the V. I did have a Marshall 2204 for a while that I could have stayed with forever, but I could never open the thing up like it needed to be, and I like Mark IV/V versatility better.

Neptical said:

...

So, the plan is to have the Axe Fx running with my one III. I'm pretty sure my mind is made up but I'd thought I'd come over here and see what you folks thought. Does it sound like a good plan??
...

~Nep~

Click to expand...

I have the AxeFx running with a MarkV and it is an absolutely killer combination. I think you'll be saying the same thing with an AxeFx paired with one of your MIII's.

Hi;
Question for those using a Mark with the Fractal Axe-Fx.
Are you using the Fractal MFC-101 foot controller or
some other foot control ? Do you still need a midi switcher
like a Voodoo lab or RJM amp gizmo for channel switching ?
Thanks

I use a behringer fcb1010 with mine, it has 2 programmable relay switches on the floorboard (if both are set to off, ch1 on the mkV is active) so i can switch channels on my mark v without extra devices (just run 2 cheap guitar leads from your mark v ch2 and ch3 switch ouputs to the behringer)

Thanks again everyone for your input. I still haven't pulled the trigger but now that the Axe Fx II is here..... :mrgreen:

My rig consists of a Mark V combo, an Axe-Fx Ultra and a mini amp gizmo. It works like a charm, I set up my patches via the 4CM and I use it like having a virtual pedalboard in each preset. I'm using a Ground Control Pro and so far it does everything I need. It takes a little longer to program than the MFC-101 but for me it's fine for now. Very easy to program, I must say.

Each preset has similar routing. The value of each effect block is what changes as well as the expression pedal. The GCP is programmed in 4 presets per bank and 8 IA.

For example Bank 0 on the GCP has 4 dry patches. Clean, Crunch, Rhythm and Lead. From then on I have specific sounds and I try to set them up in a similar way. From clean to leads in each bank. It has worked pretty good so far. I have a single expression pedal, looking forward to adding another one.

I have owned both in the past and have used the AFX ultra with the Mark V using the 4 cable method. I used a RJM mini amp gizmo (plus the Mark V cable for RJM) and an RJM mastermind MIDI footswitch for my channel/patch switching. It worked flawlessly and I loved tweaking around for new tones and finding them. Using the AFX by itself yielded some scarily good Mesa Mark series tones, and of course the Mark V by itself is pure class. Would I choose one over the other? It is such a subjective topic. I've heard schools of thought where folks said that "In 20 years they'll still be modelling the Mark V, but no one will be modeling a Line6 POD or an AFX." Personally I'll be happy with either, but the combination of the Mark V and AFX is pure tonal bliss IMHO.

I must mention that I sold my entire rig last year to help pay wedding expenses and now have neither the AFX or the Mark V. I am back in the market now for an amp and my choice is the Mark V head with a 1x12 cab, an ernie ball Wah and a MXR carbon copy in the loop. Why? I don't plan to gig at all, and don't have to keep moving the Mark V around. It can sit in my small studio where I can have many an intimate musical hour with the Mark V tube goodness at low volumes. For recording compositions to my computer it's always been plugins and PODs. If I were to be gigging, I'll probably get the AFX in a heartbeat and go straight into the PA. That way I won't have to break my back carrying around a 50 lb amp and a 2x12/4x12 cab. That said I'll probably yearn for the Mk V/AFX combination because it is just so good not to mention gassing over the just announced AFX-II There's no right or wrong choice with either of the products IMHO.Just my 2 cents. Take it FWIW.

cheers,
Supreeth

Thanks for your input, Supreeth. That doesn't help my gas at all! :lol:

I do plan to own both sometime in the future. Although, it looks like I may have the Axe FX II first since I already own two Mark IIIs. 8)

I'm in a similar position Neptical. After recently selling a DC-10 head because I just hadn't been using it and knew I wanted to try the Royal Atlantic I was left with my only amp, DC-3, which I really like and gig with all the time. I need a good backup still and though my original thought was to get the Royal Atlantic the other side of my brain wants a quality modeler to try and since the AXE II is coming out this seems like the perfect time. I can't afford both and keep flip flopping everyday. I'll either get the first one that comes out to try or just get the GSP1101 as a cheap entry into the modeling world and the Royal.