Axe-Fx Ultra v Atomic Amplifire

CHrisP86

Any thoughts on which to go for out of the above?

From what I've read people seem to universally say that the Axe 2 is better than the ultra but on the basis that I doubt I'd ever try an Axe 2 I wouldn't know.

In terms of use this would mostly be at home although I am tempted to go digital for rehearsals and maybe gigs.

I don't use a lot of effects so amp sounds and cabs are really all I'm looking at.

The helix is a bit more than I want to spend but could throw it in to the mix.

Thanks

John_P

Imo the newer fractal modelling is better than you will get in the ultra.      The atomic is very close to the newer fractal models (and even more so if you use external IR's),  with the newer fractal units you gain from more options - tons more amps and effects but the atomic does sound very good and the latest update is good.  

I'd get the atomic rather than an ultra. 

Gadget

I've never tried a AA, but a had an Ultra and now have an Axe Fx 2 XL. As said above, the modern Fractal stuff is leaps and bounds ahead of the old Ultra generation.

CHrisP86

Thanks, so really no reason to get the ultra. Especially as the atomic is cheaper new than the used ultra's.

sweepy

Avoid the ultra like the plague, you will be painting yourself into a potentially expensive corner. If you wait a few more months, the prices of used Axe-Fx 2's will drop as people trade up to XL's in order to future proof themselves over the ROM space issues. I know it's a similar situation but you'll get more mileage out of a s/h Mk2 than an Ultra

monquixote

Amplifire all the way. 

I gigged an Atomic and I borrowed an Ultra for an extended period in summary:
* There isn't much to choose between the amp modelling 
* The Amplifire is much smaller and lighter
* The Amplifire has footswitches
* The FX are much more configurable on the Ultra 
* The Ultra feels obsolete (it no longer gets firmware updates, I found getting a compatible PC application difficult)
* The Amplifire is still getting regular updates adding features and connecting to a PC is easy.
* Both are poor for on unit editing though the Ultra is better in this regard. The PC editing is better on the Amplifire.

ToneControl

sweepy said:

Avoid the ultra like the plague, you will be painting yourself into a potentially expensive corner. If you wait a few more months, the prices of used Axe-Fx 2's will drop as people trade up to XL's in order to future proof themselves over the ROM space issues. I know it's a similar situation but you'll get more mileage out of a s/h Mk2 than an Ultra

eh?
I can't see anyone other than a few very wealthy Pros ditching a Mk2 for an XL

I thought the  niggle about the ROM had gone away  with Fractal's latest plan to drop some backwards compatibility?

guitarfishbay

ToneControl said:

sweepy said:

Avoid the ultra like the plague, you will be painting yourself into a potentially expensive corner. If you wait a few more months, the prices of used Axe-Fx 2's will drop as people trade up to XL's in order to future proof themselves over the ROM space issues. I know it's a similar situation but you'll get more mileage out of a s/h Mk2 than an Ultra

eh?
I can't see anyone other than a few very wealthy Pros ditching a Mk2 for an XL

I thought the  niggle about the ROM had gone away  with Fractal's latest plan to drop some backwards compatibility?

It is a non issue now a decision has been made.  Non XL/XL+ get latest modelling only, while XL/XL+ can select previous per patch.

Cliff recently posted: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/need-answer-about-firmware-size-for-mark-i-ii-users.122541/#post-1458111

"Well, my business model has always been about giving customers more than they expect. Sure we could have said "too bad, if you want the latest improvements you need to buy an XL+" but that would make us like the other soulless, greedy corporations that are all to common these days. Loyalty is priceless..."

Voxman

monquixote said:

Amplifire all the way. 

I gigged an Atomic and I borrowed an Ultra for an extended period in summary:
* There isn't much to choose between the amp modelling 
* The Amplifire is much smaller and lighter
* The Amplifire has footswitches
* The FX are much more configurable on the Ultra 
* The Ultra feels obsolete (it no longer gets firmware updates, I found getting a compatible PC application difficult)
* The Amplifire is still getting regular updates adding features and connecting to a PC is easy.
* Both are poor for on unit editing though the Ultra is better in this regard. The PC editing is better on the Amplifire.

There's also an Amplifire 12 (launched Oct 2016) for those that want more foot-switch control. £759 from Anderton's:

sweepy

If you go on the Fractal site there is a definite move to upgrade, especially as you can retain the MFC-101

mellowsun

Voxman said:

monquixote said:

Amplifire all the way. 

I gigged an Atomic and I borrowed an Ultra for an extended period in summary:
* There isn't much to choose between the amp modelling 
* The Amplifire is much smaller and lighter
* The Amplifire has footswitches
* The FX are much more configurable on the Ultra 
* The Ultra feels obsolete (it no longer gets firmware updates, I found getting a compatible PC application difficult)
* The Amplifire is still getting regular updates adding features and connecting to a PC is easy.
* Both are poor for on unit editing though the Ultra is better in this regard. The PC editing is better on the Amplifire.

There's also an Amplifire 12 (launched Oct 2016) for those that want more foot-switch control. £759 from Anderton's:

Is the Amplifire 12 just a foot controller for the Amplifire or the complete package in a floor unit?

It looks tempting.

John_P

As I understand it,  it's identical to the fact txt version but with more buttons.  

CHrisP86

Just tries the amplifire.  Actually quite disappointed.

The one in andertons even had all of the amp factory presets and still not sure. Even just set it up with basic amp and cab set up and didn't like it. 

Plugged in to the Helix and I thought that sounded great. Very impressed.  Much more than I want to spend though.

Does the amplifire improve much when you ditch the presets and get some good third party ir's?

Ben

CHrisP86 said:

Does the amplifire improve much when you ditch the presets and get some good third party ir's?

Absolutely! Stock sounds are meh... But once you put some good IR's into it it's amazing! There are also a few good preset packs by Fremen and Singtall that have usable ready-to-go tones, or at least give you a great head-start on tones that fully use it's potential.

Voxman

Just out of interest, are you guys mainly using this type of gear for recording/studio use or are you mainly using it for gigging? 

monquixote

CHrisP86 said:

Just tries the amplifire.  Actually quite disappointed.

The one in andertons even had all of the amp factory presets and still not sure. Even just set it up with basic amp and cab set up and didn't like it. 

Plugged in to the Helix and I thought that sounded great. Very impressed.  Much more than I want to spend though.

Does the amplifire improve much when you ditch the presets and get some good third party ir's?

The stock sounds are completely shit.

Get the mbritt patches.

joeyowen

Is kemper an option? Out of interest 

mellowsun

How do you add IRs to a hardware device such as the Amplifire?

monquixote

mellowsun said:

How do you add IRs to a hardware device such as the Amplifire?

USB via laptop.

drwiddly

mellowsun said:

How do you add IRs to a hardware device such as the Amplifire?

Download the IR's to your PC and use the editor software to load them into the Amplifire / other device.

mellowsun

drwiddly said:

mellowsun said:

How do you add IRs to a hardware device such as the Amplifire?

Download the IR's to your PC and use the editor software to load them into the Amplifire / other device.

Thanks!