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Synth Rig / All-Purpose Rig Redesign Concept
- Thread starter jufros
- Start date
Axe-Fx Ultra is completely brilliant. The user interface is really intuitive but gives you a truly insane amount of options.
This is basically how it works...
The input signal gets routed to a 12x4 grid. So you can have up to 12 effects in series and up to 4 parallel chains. You connect each chain to the output block and its 4-way mixer/panner.
You can connect the output of any block to the input of any other block and can split outputs up to 4 ways. The Axe gives you 2 insert parallel mixers so you can mix signals before the input of any block.
To modulate parameters in the blocks, you have access to 2 LFO's, an envelope follower, pitch detector, 16-step sequencer, 2 ASDR's, and 8 external controls (can be expression pedals, MIDI CC's, etc.) You can use any of these modulators as many times as you wish on as many blocks as you wish.
The Axe-Fx Ultra has a really comprehensive assortment of blocks to choose from.
Amp Simulator
Cabinet simulator
Chorus
Compressor
Crossover
Delay
Drive
Effects loop/aux out
Feedback send/return
Filter
Flanger
Formant filter
Gate/expander
Graphic equalizer (x4)
Looper
MegaTap delay
Mixer
Multi-delay
Multiband compressor
Noise gate
Pan/tremolo
Parametric equalizer (x4)
Phaser
Pitch shifter
Quad chorus
Resonator (four resonant comb filters in parallel)
Reverb
Ring modulator
Rotary cabinet
Stereo enhancer
Synth (2x dual-voiced monophonic synths)
Vocoder
Volume/pan
Wah-wah
You basically get 2 of everything and I have to say, pretty much everything sounds excellent. I'm definitely not missing my Eventide effects.
The synth possibilities are incredible. These are the parameters for the synth block (from the manual):
TYPE - Selects the type of waveform. Sine and triangle are the smoothest while the square and ramp types are more buzzy. Available types are: sine, square, triangle, sawtooth up, sawtooth down, random, pink noise and white noise.
TRACK - Selects the type of input tracking. OFF allows the frequency and level to be set manually via the FREQ and LEVEL controls. ENV ONLY selects the level to be controlled by the envelope of the input with the frequency set manually. PITCH+ENV selects the frequency and level to be controlled by the pitch and envelope of the input.
FREQ - If input tracking is set to OFF or ENV ONLY this paramter sets the oscillator frequency.
SHIFT - Shifts the frequency of the oscillator up or down in semitone steps. The oscillator can be shifted +/- 24 semitones.
TUNE - Detunes the oscillator slightly. The oscillator can be detuned +/- 50 cents.
DUTY - When using the TRIANGLE or SQUARE waveforms this parameter controls the duty cycle of the waveform.
LEVEL - Controls the output level of the oscillator.
PAN - Controls the panning of the oscillator.
FILTER - Sets the cutoff frequency of a low-pass filter after the oscillator.
Q - Sets the Q of the post-oscillator filter.
ATTACK - Sets the attack time of the envelope follower on the input.
You can modulate anything with the modifiers I described. So far, I've gotten a lot of awesome results stacking the two synths in parallel (4 oscillators!).
I'll tune one of them lower and set the oscillators down an octave. I'll use the 2nd synth to get higher frequencies and high-mid frequencies. I can use the LFO's for dubstep wobble effects pretty easily.
I've also been able to use the ADSR's controlling extreme noise gates while the envelope follower modulates cutoff.
I got pretty close to an OC-2 sound earlier today. The Axe-Fx's octave effect isn't as gritty as the OC-2 is, but you can easily address this by putting an amp simulator right after the octave effect, using one of zillions of EQ options available, filters, etc.
The pitch shifting and delay effects are easily just as high quality as the Eventide ones are. But now, I have way more flexibility, way more options, and even more delay types.
The modulation effects are really breathtaking though. The rotary effect is the most realistic digital replication I've heard. The phaser kills, and you can set the frequencies that it sweeps though to preserve as much low end as you need. The flanger is great as well. The chorus will let you modify the delay time and is definitely my favorite chorus of all time thus far.
There's only one bass amp model (SVT) but you can use any of the guitar models without losing any low end, and they all let you modify everything to your heart's content. The SVT sounds great right out of the box though. The tube overdrives that you can get with the guitar models are amazing... spine-tingling warm. Fractal definitely spent a LOT of time on these models. They all make Line 6, Boss, etc. sound utterly lifeless and I'm not missing my tube preamp at all so far.
This is basically how it works...
The input signal gets routed to a 12x4 grid. So you can have up to 12 effects in series and up to 4 parallel chains. You connect each chain to the output block and its 4-way mixer/panner.
You can connect the output of any block to the input of any other block and can split outputs up to 4 ways. The Axe gives you 2 insert parallel mixers so you can mix signals before the input of any block.
To modulate parameters in the blocks, you have access to 2 LFO's, an envelope follower, pitch detector, 16-step sequencer, 2 ASDR's, and 8 external controls (can be expression pedals, MIDI CC's, etc.) You can use any of these modulators as many times as you wish on as many blocks as you wish.
The Axe-Fx Ultra has a really comprehensive assortment of blocks to choose from.
Amp Simulator
Cabinet simulator
Chorus
Compressor
Crossover
Delay
Drive
Effects loop/aux out
Feedback send/return
Filter
Flanger
Formant filter
Gate/expander
Graphic equalizer (x4)
Looper
MegaTap delay
Mixer
Multi-delay
Multiband compressor
Noise gate
Pan/tremolo
Parametric equalizer (x4)
Phaser
Pitch shifter
Quad chorus
Resonator (four resonant comb filters in parallel)
Reverb
Ring modulator
Rotary cabinet
Stereo enhancer
Synth (2x dual-voiced monophonic synths)
Vocoder
Volume/pan
Wah-wah
You basically get 2 of everything and I have to say, pretty much everything sounds excellent. I'm definitely not missing my Eventide effects.
The synth possibilities are incredible. These are the parameters for the synth block (from the manual):
TYPE - Selects the type of waveform. Sine and triangle are the smoothest while the square and ramp types are more buzzy. Available types are: sine, square, triangle, sawtooth up, sawtooth down, random, pink noise and white noise.
TRACK - Selects the type of input tracking. OFF allows the frequency and level to be set manually via the FREQ and LEVEL controls. ENV ONLY selects the level to be controlled by the envelope of the input with the frequency set manually. PITCH+ENV selects the frequency and level to be controlled by the pitch and envelope of the input.
FREQ - If input tracking is set to OFF or ENV ONLY this paramter sets the oscillator frequency.
SHIFT - Shifts the frequency of the oscillator up or down in semitone steps. The oscillator can be shifted +/- 24 semitones.
TUNE - Detunes the oscillator slightly. The oscillator can be detuned +/- 50 cents.
DUTY - When using the TRIANGLE or SQUARE waveforms this parameter controls the duty cycle of the waveform.
LEVEL - Controls the output level of the oscillator.
PAN - Controls the panning of the oscillator.
FILTER - Sets the cutoff frequency of a low-pass filter after the oscillator.
Q - Sets the Q of the post-oscillator filter.
ATTACK - Sets the attack time of the envelope follower on the input.
You can modulate anything with the modifiers I described. So far, I've gotten a lot of awesome results stacking the two synths in parallel (4 oscillators!).
I'll tune one of them lower and set the oscillators down an octave. I'll use the 2nd synth to get higher frequencies and high-mid frequencies. I can use the LFO's for dubstep wobble effects pretty easily.
I've also been able to use the ADSR's controlling extreme noise gates while the envelope follower modulates cutoff.
I got pretty close to an OC-2 sound earlier today. The Axe-Fx's octave effect isn't as gritty as the OC-2 is, but you can easily address this by putting an amp simulator right after the octave effect, using one of zillions of EQ options available, filters, etc.
The pitch shifting and delay effects are easily just as high quality as the Eventide ones are. But now, I have way more flexibility, way more options, and even more delay types.
The modulation effects are really breathtaking though. The rotary effect is the most realistic digital replication I've heard. The phaser kills, and you can set the frequencies that it sweeps though to preserve as much low end as you need. The flanger is great as well. The chorus will let you modify the delay time and is definitely my favorite chorus of all time thus far.
There's only one bass amp model (SVT) but you can use any of the guitar models without losing any low end, and they all let you modify everything to your heart's content. The SVT sounds great right out of the box though. The tube overdrives that you can get with the guitar models are amazing... spine-tingling warm. Fractal definitely spent a LOT of time on these models. They all make Line 6, Boss, etc. sound utterly lifeless and I'm not missing my tube preamp at all so far.
I have just experienced the worst GAS I have ever experienced via this forum. I will need soundclips before I begin to amass the funds to act, but you may well be saving me thousands of dollars over the course of my career. I don't know whether to thank you or to destroy my computer.
I'm working on some sound clips at the moment. I'm going to try to post a whole bunch of them this week.
Is there anything you'd like to hear specifically? Check out the manual: http://axefxwiki.guitarlogic.org/index.php?title=Main_Page
Is there anything you'd like to hear specifically? Check out the manual: http://axefxwiki.guitarlogic.org/index.php?title=Main_Page
I need an Axe-Fx Ultra!! That sounds like everything you could need from the most complex pedalboard, in one unit! And 8 external controls?!?
... To say the least, I'm pretty excited about this thing. Just this and a poweramp with a board for expression pedals/ MP201/ MIDI CC controls, etc and you have a rig capable of monster professional synth tones... Someday I will own this...
If your posting clips, could you post examples of what the different waveforms sound like soloed and some examples of wobble sounds? Is there a PWM for the waveforms?
... To say the least, I'm pretty excited about this thing. Just this and a poweramp with a board for expression pedals/ MP201/ MIDI CC controls, etc and you have a rig capable of monster professional synth tones... Someday I will own this...
If your posting clips, could you post examples of what the different waveforms sound like soloed and some examples of wobble sounds? Is there a PWM for the waveforms?
Umm............................................
Yes.
Having considered all of the mixing capabilities, I'd like to see you/it have a go at the ever-so-elusive Hysteria tone.
Also, any demonstrations of the drive with other effects blended in would be fantastic. It looks like it might be a little light in the gain sector, so I would like to see what it can do there.
Thanks, by the way.
Yeah basically. For triangle and square waves you can control the duty cycle of the waveform (how long the wave is at peak/valley).
I've been playing around with using the Novation Super Bass Station and MAM Warp 9 as external filters in the effects loop. It works really well.
I'm giving some very serious consideration to abandoning the MIDI pickup and MIDI mixer idea entirely and buying a Nord Modular G2 engine. It has 4 inputs/outputs and is very powerful. After a read through the manual and a few discussions with users, it seems like you can use it as a monophonic guitar->midi pitch converter, synthesizer, and effects module at the same time. It also has really complex MIDI mapping capabilities so it would definitely be able to act as a sort of master MIDI hub for the rack.
The 8U rack setup would be:
Axe-Fx Ultra
Nord Modular G2
Novation Super Bass Station
MAM Warp 9
Power Amp
Power Conditioner
I could route the Axe-Fx loop send into one of the G2's inputs and use the other two for the Super Bass Station and Warp 9. The G2 has a bunch of different mixer options so I could mix the G2 synth, Novation, Warp 9, and input signal from the Axe before routing that to the Axe's return. I'd use one output to go back to the Axe, one for the Warp 9, and one for the SBS. That way, I can trigger the SBS from the G2 and have an actual analog monosynth but I'd also be able to use the SBS as an analog filter module when I wanted to.
The best thing about the G2 is that it would eliminate most of the MIDI issues I would have run into. You can map program changes to other ones on different channels and the same is true for MIDI CC's. I'd use the G2 to control the SBS and Warp 9. At that point, it doesn't really matter what floor controller I wind up using. The only thing that I do need is tap tempo control over the MIDI clock. My Moog MP-201 will do this and its stable, but unfortunately, there's no way to maintain the clock rate when changing programs. So I'll buy the Ploytech 34one II pedal and connect that to the MIDI IN of my controller and I should be good to go.
I've been playing around with using the Novation Super Bass Station and MAM Warp 9 as external filters in the effects loop. It works really well.
I'm giving some very serious consideration to abandoning the MIDI pickup and MIDI mixer idea entirely and buying a Nord Modular G2 engine. It has 4 inputs/outputs and is very powerful. After a read through the manual and a few discussions with users, it seems like you can use it as a monophonic guitar->midi pitch converter, synthesizer, and effects module at the same time. It also has really complex MIDI mapping capabilities so it would definitely be able to act as a sort of master MIDI hub for the rack.
The 8U rack setup would be:
Axe-Fx Ultra
Nord Modular G2
Novation Super Bass Station
MAM Warp 9
Power Amp
Power Conditioner
I could route the Axe-Fx loop send into one of the G2's inputs and use the other two for the Super Bass Station and Warp 9. The G2 has a bunch of different mixer options so I could mix the G2 synth, Novation, Warp 9, and input signal from the Axe before routing that to the Axe's return. I'd use one output to go back to the Axe, one for the Warp 9, and one for the SBS. That way, I can trigger the SBS from the G2 and have an actual analog monosynth but I'd also be able to use the SBS as an analog filter module when I wanted to.
The best thing about the G2 is that it would eliminate most of the MIDI issues I would have run into. You can map program changes to other ones on different channels and the same is true for MIDI CC's. I'd use the G2 to control the SBS and Warp 9. At that point, it doesn't really matter what floor controller I wind up using. The only thing that I do need is tap tempo control over the MIDI clock. My Moog MP-201 will do this and its stable, but unfortunately, there's no way to maintain the clock rate when changing programs. So I'll buy the Ploytech 34one II pedal and connect that to the MIDI IN of my controller and I should be good to go.
This isn't something that really appeals to me personally at this point, but all reports have been very good and sounds like an excellent unit. I too look forward to hearing what you come up with once you've had some time with it 
Quick read of your post and the Axe manual shows some serious advantages over the POD products.
* Ability via the blocks/mixer to split your signal and send it to various outputs. This allows you to send a fully modeled output to the mixer, but a model sans poweramp/cab simulation to your stage rig. That's something the POD XT Pro product cannot do - you either get cab modeling in all outputs, or no cabl modeling, there's no mixing.
* Customizable MIDI controllers, and 8 of them. It's limiting when your outboard gear is locked into specific MIDI maps. One thing the BOSS VF-1 multi-effects units have that I haven't seen in other products yet is the ability to map controllers on a per-patch basis (instead of a single global map). You can have CC7 control volume on one patch, wah on the next, tremolo rate on the next, and on and on. Though maybe the Modifiers in the Axe allow you to do this.
* Ability to apply LFO/ASDR/Sequence/etc. to anything sounds monumental. Note it looks like you can do this in Guitar Rig 4 which has gone from pure bread-and-butter stuff to more experimental options with it's LFO/ASDR/etc. controls, just to note another product that can provide this feature.
Overall it seems powerful from an options/control aspect.
Of course the real deal is how the thing SOUNDS. I find that many of the preamp/cab models in the POD XT are usable enough. But many of the effects lack enough controls to bend them to what you want, or they just sound like crap no matter what.
The price is obviously steep for one product. However, I'm sure if most people with a full board of effects add up the cost of each item individually it'll quickly approach or even surpass an Axe FX. Few Moog or Evantide or boutique pedals and BAM! you've dropped $1k easy. Add in the cost of your preamp, yadda yadda.
* Ability via the blocks/mixer to split your signal and send it to various outputs. This allows you to send a fully modeled output to the mixer, but a model sans poweramp/cab simulation to your stage rig. That's something the POD XT Pro product cannot do - you either get cab modeling in all outputs, or no cabl modeling, there's no mixing.
* Customizable MIDI controllers, and 8 of them. It's limiting when your outboard gear is locked into specific MIDI maps. One thing the BOSS VF-1 multi-effects units have that I haven't seen in other products yet is the ability to map controllers on a per-patch basis (instead of a single global map). You can have CC7 control volume on one patch, wah on the next, tremolo rate on the next, and on and on. Though maybe the Modifiers in the Axe allow you to do this.
* Ability to apply LFO/ASDR/Sequence/etc. to anything sounds monumental. Note it looks like you can do this in Guitar Rig 4 which has gone from pure bread-and-butter stuff to more experimental options with it's LFO/ASDR/etc. controls, just to note another product that can provide this feature.
Overall it seems powerful from an options/control aspect.
Of course the real deal is how the thing SOUNDS. I find that many of the preamp/cab models in the POD XT are usable enough. But many of the effects lack enough controls to bend them to what you want, or they just sound like crap no matter what.
The price is obviously steep for one product. However, I'm sure if most people with a full board of effects add up the cost of each item individually it'll quickly approach or even surpass an Axe FX. Few Moog or Evantide or boutique pedals and BAM! you've dropped $1k easy. Add in the cost of your preamp, yadda yadda.
Yeah exactly. I'm making money on this switch and I'm loving it. I'm going to try to figure out what the best way to trigger other synths will be. If the latency is unusable, I'll scrap the idea and use some of them as external filters, etc. If it's OK, I'll probably just layer them with the Axe-Fx.
You assign the controllers globally. So I can assign controller 1 to MIDI CC #0. Then, I can assign any parameter on anything to controller #0. So yeah the expression pedal can modulate whatever you need it to modulate.
You assign the controllers globally. So I can assign controller 1 to MIDI CC #0. Then, I can assign any parameter on anything to controller #0. So yeah the expression pedal can modulate whatever you need it to modulate.
That would solve the issues with using a FCB1010 then. You'd have both CC expressions and both CC pedals (there's only two available) assigned to the Axe MIDI Channel and could then assign them per-patch to control what you need.
So, you get 2 of everything including mixers, 12x4 grid, and an FX loop?
Can you FILL the 12x4 or is there a limit on the total # of modules running?
You say that you can send the output of any block to the input of any other. Can you theoretically have a chain 48 blocks long?
Can the LFOs be tap tempoed (sp?)? If so you could sync everything with 1 of them right?
GAS-O-RAMA!!!!!!
Yes:
Can you FILL the 12x4 or is there a limit on the total # of modules running?
You say that you can send the output of any block to the input of any other. Can you theoretically have a chain 48 blocks long?
Can the LFOs be tap tempoed (sp?)? If so you could sync everything with 1 of them right?
GAS-O-RAMA!!!!!!
Yes:
I am a proud G2 engine owner and that will do anything you want. People have figured out the craziest stuff on that. I'm pretty sure someone came up with a tap tempo building block for the G2, which you can use to set up a MIDI clock and send that out to your other units. It's a really amazing piece of gear. If you really comitted to it, you could probably get away with just a preamp and the G2. For my noise/electronic music I used to use a big mixer and a ton of pedals and synths and circuit bent stuff, but now I'm just using the G2, a controller and 2 pedals. Boom.
