phil_m wrote:

 

After years of having to play direct, I can tell you my preference is always to hear myself through my own amp if possible.  And that was after playing through a high-priced FOH system with a separate, dedicated monitor system both with wedges and in-ears.  It's just not the same type of experience, even if it can sound really good out of the FOH speakers.  I don't doubt that Axe or HD500 can both sound excellent in a live situation, but I just think it's hard being totally dependent on a sound guy just to hear yourself.  I also think it's somewhat to mess up something like putting an SM57 or Sennheiser E609 in front of an amp - heck even if you just drape the E609 over the front of a combo with the front side pressed against the speaker grille, it can sound good.

An ideal setup would be to use raised cabs as monitors like slayer sometimes does with those massive mode 4 cabinets placed up high like 10 up high left and 10 up high right in the shape of 2 massive upside down crosses  - with all cabs on blasted acting as the monitors - not even miked.  Then this would be better than an axe fx - or other bands in smaller to medium sized venues who sometimes make arrangements to have a cab or two raised to act as the actual monitors!    I agree this would be better than an Axe FX due to the real feeling of pushed tube amps into straight up cabs - no need for mic if the venue is small enough... several cabs are ideal though for angling them slightly - but it is very rare when bands can make arrangements for such safe fixture risers and supports for the cabs - or hanging cab setups up on wire. .

But for bands without the manpower or hooksups for that, the next best thing is plugging the guitar into a splitter where one signal goes to their whole amp setup amp on stage behind them for the pushed air feel they like from a real cab to have that experience on stage while playing   - and the other signal going to the axe FX to be played through the monitors for the crowd to experience studio quality sound at a live venue - because even if the sound guy gets the best mic position, with the best level of the amp moving the pseaker in just the right way - chances are its going into crappy dbx pres,  crappy low end dbx rack compressors and crappy low end dbx EQs eqs.  And some venues more medium grade equipment or a mix....  But generally,   this is not the equipment I would want my rig to go through.... (i even use my own mic preamp for my vocalist and for myself live and my own mics.  

But the axe is like feeding a world class studio processed signal direct to the mixing board.

Karl_Houseknecht wrote:

I even bought my own monitoring system so I'd hear it the way I wanted to hear it.  But it still sounded a lot like a mic'd amp and not the real thing.

 

I suggest the splitter to a stage amp idea.

 

Exactly what I do with my Mesa combo in church.  Hang a 609 and run with it.  Easy.  For the big stuff at clubs and the like, I let the sound guy run whatever he wants.  Usually a 609 or a 57.  Although I had one guy use a kick drum mic that sounded AMAZING.

I tend to first investigate in the larger clubs what they are running as rack processing gear since some stuff might not be to my liking and other stuff on their rack could be just too thin.

Karl_Houseknecht wrote:

 

 

I'll give you one better than that, even.  Guitarist friend of mine that also runs sound for one of the companies we hire on a regular basis played my Axe rig.  He really liked it.  Commented on how great it sounded, how great it felt.  He was suitably impressed, and one of the sound guys that did understand it.

 

But one rehearsal, for fun, I brought a TSL100 and a 412 along with my GT-10 for effects.  After the first song he told me that in no uncertain terms was I ever to bring the Axe again, that the real amp sounded better.  There was agreement from the band too on that matter.

 

Well then perhaps these audio people had some very high end processing gear on their racks that made it sound big.  I am not saying you are not gettin better sound with real equipment - and if you are sounding better than an AXE through to the monitors, then I would have to hear that to believe it.

But i guess metal bands do not get to play in alot of high end clubs -  mostly run down hell holes, and mostly run into crappy entry level DBX processing equipment at FOH.

Karl_Houseknecht wrote:

 

And without speakers in them.  You do realize those are dummy cabs, right?  And that their FOH guitar tone is coming from a 112 in an iso box underneath the stage?

For many shows, every single one of those cabs is loaded and on acting as monitors, and every single cab has speakers in them - and i might add heavy GK 100s too.

And that their FOH guitar tone is coming from a 112 in an iso box underneath the stage?

Where are you getting your information? Nothing could be further from the truth.  Anytime Slayer decides to mic their cabs, this is the way they do it - they put a Heil PR30 on one cab and they put a Heil PR40 on another cab. In this case they perhaps might not load all the cabs but I cannot conirm that.    But they do NOT use iso boxes. They do not need to.  Here is a picture to prove my assertions.  (And btw - those Heils are the best dynamic microphones in the world.   I tried them - and they kill all other dynamics I have recorded cabs with - pricy too  at  $300 and $500 bucks a pop)

But I know for a fact aside from this exact miking method at times, that they are also known on the other hand to use their cabs as monitors as well with every  single one of them on when they use the multiple active cab method.  Yeah ok then that would be better than an axe.   The house monitors in those situations are used only for the drums, vocals, and bass, plus subs in some situations.

amgamg wrote:

 

So....a guy tries a product that Line6 makes and likes it. Likes it better than another product. That spawns all this??????

I always figure if ya dont like some companies wares...you just go ahead and use anothers. I just cant understand any of this! Did Line 6 shoot your dog? Did Line 6 poke your women? Did Line 6 pat ya down at the airport? All this just brings everything down. Is that on purpose just to prop yourself up? Perhaps you needed a couple of more games of catch with your dad and now your taking it out on the world.Its a shame you need to make a fool of yourself till you get $800 bucks and buy your Axe. Dude..you were funny at first...now your looking pathetic. Sorry to tell ya that but its true. Sometimes I just gotta say whats on "MY" mind! I feel better now! Cya!

Wow i think you are the one looking quite a bit more pathetic if you are going to be that big of an over sensitive p%ssy to this.

And no nothing to prop myself up, actually the matter is irrelevant to my self esteem - i just speak the truth according to facts and the programming and algorithm related  info about the axe-fx to prove it.

Hey look..a pic of FarBeyond3 trying to tell if the AXE really is better!