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What Do You Guys Use for You're Guitar Tone?

Brandon Ortiz

Free Bird Player
Nov 11, 2019
3
0
Right now I’m using an Eleven Rack which was given to me by a friend but I’m always looking around da market for better emulators and things like that. The Axe FX has caught my eye and I’ve been thinking about picking one up pretty soon, but is it worth the 1,500 to 2,000 dollars I’m seeing online? What more does the Axe offer then my Eleven Rack?
Also what do you guys think of emulators in general? Some people are open to them while some claim they get the best tone possible using mics and cabs. But me being a mostly studio guy for now, I’m mainly focused on getting a variety of high quality sounds and tones, and to me, an emulator just makes more sense for that.
So what do you guys use/recommend for dope metal guitar tone? If you guys want to hear my current tone you can check out: youtube.com/lightofdawnofficial to hear it in action.
Also if it makes a difference (probably does) my primary guitar is a Schecter C-1. Sure it doesn’t have the whammy unfortunately but it’s a pretty solid guitar overall and i’m happy with it.
I’m excited to see ur responses!
 

Ed Seith

Supreme Galactic Overlord
Staff member
Legend+
  • Nov 11, 2019
    3,882
    15
    6,603
    54
    Marana, AZ USA
    soundcloud.com
    35
    I have an AxeFX2+. It is absolutely outstanding, direct, or into an amp/cab. Recording is a breeze. It’s even its own DAW interface. Previously I had a POD HD500. Everything about that was also outstanding EXCEPT speaker cabinet emulation, so the POD sounded great run through a power amp and cab, but not so good direct.
    The Line6 Helix is supposed to be very good, though it’s cabs are still bad. However, Line6 finally lets you use other cabinet IRs. That’s huge and helps overcome their biggest flaw.
    Do you NEED an AxeFX2? No. It is worth the money? If you have it, yes. The AX8 is a lower clost floor-pedal only option with the same quality but a little less horsepower. Check that out, too.
     

    Elijah Wormsley

    New Student
    Nov 11, 2019
    16
    0
    I have a boss katana 50 run into a peavey keyboard amp. It’s rather unorthodox, but the huge speaker from the keyboard amp ( it’s literally like 16″ ) puts out much bigger and deeper sound than the speaker in the Katana.
    As for pedals, I have a footswitch, a DigiTech Drop, and a Dunlop gcb 80 wah wah.
     
    Synner Endless Summer Collection

    Michael Cheek

    Free Bird Player
    Nov 11, 2019
    10
    0
    I picked up an AxeFx II about 2 or 3 years ago. Best investment I have ever made. I can create so many different sounds that would cost me tens of thousands to do with real amps. I can’t compare it personally to the Eleven Rack or even the Kemper but to me the AxeFx seemed to suit my needs the best.
    If I already owned many amp heads I probably would have leaned more towards the Kemper since it has imo a better, more accurate amp profiling system.
    Are you unsatisfied with your Eleven Rack? That is the only reason I can see spending that kind of money on an AxeFx if you already have a fairly comparable unit.
     

    Jake Young

    Free Bird Player
    Nov 11, 2019
    193
    1
    I stand with Ed on the Axe FX II! I recently invested in one..one of the best investments I’ve ever made! Every tone I’ve ever dreamed of having is a few knobs away.. Is it worth it to me? Absolutely! One amp and cab from it’s seeming endless library is easily worth its price! Is it necessary? No.. Lol but it is an amazing piece of gear that I would hate to be with out especially after owning it
     

    Art Kalenda

    Free Bird Player
    Nov 11, 2019
    18
    2
    I had an Eleven rack for a few years and about 2 years ago bought a Kemper Profiler.It has changed the way people use their gear.It is expensive but it is a lifetime piece of gear.It can get the profile of any amp Out their,it takes a “snapshot” often amp and you cannot tell the difference when you listen to a real amp and the Kemper.Incredible……
     

    Christopher Bischoff

    New Student
    Nov 11, 2019
    6
    0
    I picked up a used Line 6 Pocket Pod for $30, the thing is pretty damn amazing in spite of the clunky interface. Since most of my practice is through headphones, it fits the bill. I’ve saved out A7x tones, ZZ Top tones, Tesla acoustic tones. It’s also helped me to learn how to tweak effects without breaking the bank.
     
    Synner Endless Summer Collection

    idssdi

    Sold-out Crowd Surfer
    Nov 11, 2019
    5,336
    6,754
    Groningen
    11
    For my metal tone i basically just use a distorion pedal,overdrive pedal and equalize pedal through a roland cube(yeah I should probably think about an upgrade)
    Personally I am more of an amp guy. Yhe biggest problem I have woth emulators is that on an emulator it seem harder to screw around wth the settinngs
     

    Sayonil Mitra

    Free Bird Player
    Nov 11, 2019
    676
    280
    I have a Boss ME25 (obsolete, it’s not sold anymore) and a Vox Pathfinder Amp. Fir live performances, that’s all. For recording, I also use Audacity ( a brilliant free recording software for those who don’t know) to tweak the tone.
     
    Synner Endless Summer Collection

    DANIEL STEPHENS

    New Student
    Nov 11, 2019
    1
    0
    I am poor lol I use a Fender Tele FMT with invader pickups through a tubescreamer, HOF reverb, and an ISP Decimator 2 into a Blackstar HT-60 with JJ 12ax7’s in the preamp section. Not the best tone with that amp, but not bad either. Using lower gain and boosting with the tubescreamer keeps it pretty responsive. I would like to get rid of the 70/80 speakers and put in some v30’s or something. Also, this tube hybrid amp is the first “tube” amp I have ever had. I learned that for what I do, 60 watts is waaaaay to much lol