Bass axe fx equivalent?

bassmasta117 · #1 01-26-2011, 08:12 PM

So I've watched the fractal audio axe fx become the be all end all guitar processor, and I was wondering if there's something along the same alley for bass, I wasn't sure whether to put this in amps or effects because it's kind of both...

JimmyM · #2 01-26-2011, 09:59 PM

the axe fx works for bass, too.

Gaetano Paul · #3 01-26-2011, 10:05 PM

Not that I am aware. Ampeg has a software DAW type thing, but it is no Axe-FX, GT-10B is the best overall I know of so far.

JGR · #4 01-27-2011, 11:40 AM

I have an Axe-FX Ultra. You can certainly use it for bass, but the tuner and some of the effects track better/are optimized for guitar. There is one SVT model and cab sim, as well as a clean studio type preamp that work well for bass out of the gate. The other models are all guitar amps, but you can certainly tweak them to work for bass by modding both the EQ in the amp itself as well as with all of the additional EQ blocks available. I've gotten very cool results with bass - I'll make a quick video at some point. All that said, if I only played bass, I would not shell out that kind of money for the unit until they added some more bass models. Maybe I can get them to model my preamp...

Lots of folks have been asking for more bass sims on their website, and they added a bass specific section recently, so I wouldn't be suprised if Cliff is working on some. They are a great compnay with great customer support.

DanGouge · #5 01-27-2011, 01:18 PM

I have a friend who used his Axe-FX for bass recording. Ultimately he became disillusioned with it even as a tool for guitar other than that it worked at apartment-friendly volumes - which is what he needed. Don't get me wrong, it was close, but it just wasn't quite there compared to the real deal - i.e.: pedals + amp.

JGR · #6 01-27-2011, 01:57 PM

I think it can actually exceed the real deal and what you can do with conventional gear (for guitar anyway) if you have the right setup, and can get your head around tweaking it. Certainly not for everyone, but I don't find it lacking in terms of tone or feel. I'm pumping mine through the SWR Power 750 into a pair of Mesa 2x12's loaded with EV's, and it kills. Prior to this, I was using the tube head head I designed and built from scratch to get the tone I was after.