PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production IK AXE INTERFACE LOOKS GREAT...ANYONE USEING ?

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/axeio/

particularly for guitar players.
its certainly got me kinda stoked.
i'm seriously considering tradeing in or selling some gear to get it.
anybody useing ? any problems ?
just a slew of guitar amp models //fx etc etc.

another one is audient sono
https://audient.com/products/audio-interfaces/sono/overview/

i would love input on these two.
best
om

I use Amplitube 5 with all the bells and whistles and love it. I do not have the AXEIO. Got Amplitube 4 as part of total studio max 2 and updated it to 5 when it was released at no cost to me which was great. Lots of good tones available and didn't need a new interface. Depending on what interface you currently have for guitar you may not need to get this and the money is better spent on Amplitube 5. Right now with IK's buy one get many free deal, they are up to get 10 for price of 1 right now and about move to next level, that would be money well spent. Lots of good products, if you don't already have them, available with this deal and Amplitube is one of the qualifying products that you could buy. May want to act fast as this deal could end tomorrow, but I think if they exceed the next level it will be extended or at least that is what I thought I read.

OM,

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/axeio/

is a fantastic buy as Amplitube 5 Max goes for $599.99 USD and this package in $399.99. Amplitube 5 is my go to amp simulator.

But https://audient.com/products/audio-interfaces/sono/overview/
has a 12AX7 tube so you will get a real valve sounding amp and not an emulation as in Amplitube 5. Note that the Amplitube 5 is a very realistic sounding emulation.

So the question is do you like the real valve sound of a screaming guitar or will you be happy with the emulation of one?

Personally I would choose the Amplitube version as you will get a ton of amps, a ton of effects, and a ton of cabinets. There is probably more there than you will ever use.

Good luck.

PS - If I had you money I would but both

Ducking and running for cover

etcjoe and Mario.
thanks for the comments.
ive been doing lots of research on the ik axe.
but cant find RTL figures.
also i cant discern how dsp processing is done on board.
my concern is gotta be carefull the amp plug ins
dont overload my pc when playing back traks.
anyone got any amplitude cpu use figs ?

Mario.
nah i was born poor. wife and i are typical overtaxed
middle class folk..lol.
fwiw i do songs on a very tight shoestring budget.

best
om

I just ran a couple of tests. I have an i7-2600K, 4 core, 3.4 GHz CPU with 16 gigs of ram. I ran Amplitube 5 as a stand-a-lone with one amp (you can have up to three amps running simultaneously), one cabinet, and 4 effects. My CPU usage was 20%.

I also ran the same Amplitube 5 configuration as a VST in my DAW Studio One Pro 5. My total CPU usage was 26%. Thus very little CPU is being used in my system, but I know that yours may/will be different. I also know that this is just one instance of Amplitube. I have had 3 or 4 instances of Amplitude along with many other tracks with different effects with no problem. YMMV

"Mario.
nah i was born poor. wife and i are typical overtaxed
middle class folk..lol. "

We have a lot in common my friend!

I agree the combo is a good buy at 399. I was only referring to the bang for your buck if you want to pick up a bunch of IK stuff their big group buy in promotion is going on and is up to the 10 items for the price of 1 and almost up to 11 per the email I got this morning, which means it will continue into September since more than 10000 people have bought in and registered their stuff. Each time it goes up an item, you can go back and get another one.

Mario, Amplitube 5 Max is only $399 not $599 (I just checked the website), and for that same $399 you can get it with the AXE IO so it is a no brainer at that point.

Mario.
thanks for the cpu info.

i figured if the dsp emulations were good they would need to use quite a bit cpu.
this is one reason ive stuck with the free freeamp , and reaps built in js amp sims.

as well as latency figs, does anybody know whether the ik axe drivers are "multi client" ? i cant find info.

there is also the axe solo at 250 buks. but only one mic pre.
problem is , if that one pre goes on the fritz, as i do tons of vocs //voc traks i'm toast.
vocs is kinda my "thing". i love doing vocs.

i guess the nice thing about the expensive interfaces the big studios use is cpu load for plug ins etc is offloaded
onto the interface itself. eg UAD do that ?? but i cant afford the prices and i'm worried bout obsolescence.

hopefully we will see more lower end interfaces do more dsp on board rather than useing the host pc cpu. this is where the audient sono might be interesting ? dunno.

tech drives me nuts...lol.
best
om

ps mario. check out two notes engineering re amp sims etc. really cool hardware and software stuff too.
(they seem to want cookies ?)

i forgot to add..
how do amplitube users contact ik if they have a problem ?
email ?
cheers
om

I don't know as I have never had a problem. I have been using Amplitube since version 3.

Opps I forgot that IKMultimedia.com has a support forum.

In all the years I have been in digital recording, I have tried a number of the digital guitar sims. Maybe it's just me, but I can never seem to get a usable (for me), tone that I actually like. I have preferred some sort of hardware version. I have a Line 6 POD2 and a newer Spark amp. The POD is direct to the recording process and the Spark like my Mesa is an amp that gets mic'd. Both the POD and the Spark are software modelers. I can deal with those as they provide a decent sound and tone. It's the completely in the DAW modeling that I don't like. And yeah, I actually have several different ones in the DAW.

MAybe this new one from IK will be a good one. It does have the hardware aspect and looks like it interfaces with the software so..... aside from the price.... it looks promising. It would be a bit more encouraging to have someone from the mail room who happens to play guitar a bit do the commercial..... after all..... JS is one of the best in the biz and could get killer tone on a Sears silver tone and a Kustom amp. ;-)

I absolutely LOVE Amplitube.

I only use a few of the models though (Fender 2 collection mostly) and I rarely use many effects.

For me, it is mind-boggling.

I like IK Multimedia in general. I have most of their stuff and use a lot of it all the time. Could not live without it.

I have Guitar Rig 4,5,6. Got started when it came with cakewalk. I have Amplitube but really like it the most for the Soldano 100 super lead. Also a few Fender amp sims.

All my tube amps, well, you can hear them at your house...lol Not so good for where I live now.

Here is the problem with Guitar Rig 5...too much stuff to remember.

Guitar rig equivalencies
Posted on 12 May, 2013
The nice Guitar Rig software comes with detailed manuals that, however, do not include explicit references to actual gear due to license issues. This is a bit ridiculous unless you like puzzles:


“The AC Box models the sound that powered the British Invasion of pop music”
“Modeled after an amp produced by a highly respected synthesizer manufacturer”
“This amp, based on an American legend”…
Now if you want to emulate the sound of, say, My Bloody Valentine from the known actual rig (this is actually a tough example). Where do you get some equivalences? Well, in wikipedia surprisingly. I copy their info.

Amplifiers
AC Box (Vox AC30)
Bass Pro (Ampeg SVT-2 Pro)
Citrus (Orange Overdrive OD120)
Gratifier (Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier)
Hot Solo+ (Soldano Hot Rod 100 + or SLO-100)
High White (Hiwatt DR-103)
Plex (Marshall 1959 SLP)
Cool Plex ( Vintage Marshalls )
Hot Plex ( Vintage Marshalls )
Jazz Amp (Roland Jazz Chorus-120)
Jump (Marshall JMP)
Lead 800 (Marshall JCM800 Lead)
Twang Reverb (Fender Twin Reverb)
Tweedman (Fender Bassman)
Tweed Delight (Fender Tweed Deluxe)
Ultrasonic (Bogner Überschall)
Van 51 (Peavey 5150 or Peavey 6505)
Rammfire (Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Rev. C)
Microphones [edit]
Con 30 (Earthworks M30)
Con 47 (Neumann U 47)
Con 54 (Neumann KM 54)
Con 67 (Neumann U 67)
Con 87 (Neumann U 87)
Con 149 (Neumann M 149)
Dyn 6 (Audix D 6)
Dyn 20 (Electro-Voice RE 20)
Dyn 40 (Heil PR 40)
Dyn 57 (Shure SM 57)
Dyn 112 (AKG D 112)
Dyn 421 (Sennheiser MD 421)
Dyn 441 (Sennheiser MD 441)
Rib 121 (Royer R-121)
Rib 160 (Beyerdynamic M 160)
Cabinets
Control Room (Pro):

2 x 12 AC Silver (Vox AC 30 Silver Alnico Speakers)
4 x 12 Modern (ENGL E412VG)
4 x 12 Vintage (Marshall1960 JTM50 4×12 75W cabinet)
2 x 12 British (Vox AC30)
2 x 12 American (Something like a Fender Super-Sonic 60 212)
1 x 15 Bass Vintage (Supro Thunderbolt Jensen Speaker)
4 x 10 Bass Alu (Hartke 4.5XL Aluminum 10s)
8 x 10 Bass Pro (Ampeg SVT 810 SVT 10s)
4 x 12 Van 51 (Peavey Sheffield 51501200s)
4 x 12 Ultra B (Bogner Uberkab Celestion Vintage 30s)
4 x 12 Ultra A (Bogner Uberkab Celestion G12T)
1 x 12 Tweed (Fender Tweed Deluxe Jensen P12R)
4 x 10 Tweed (Fender Bassman Jensen P10Qs)
2 x 15 Twang (Fender Dual Showman JBL D130s)
2 x 12 Twang (Fender Twin Jensen C12Ns)
2 x 12 Jazz (Roland JC 120 Roland 12s)
4 x 12 Hot Solo+ B (Soldano 412B Eminence Legend)
4 x 12 Hot Solo+ A (Soldano 412B Eminence S12Xs)
4 x 12 Modern (ENGL E412VS PRO)
4 x 12 UK 80s White (Marshall 1960 G12T 75s)
4 x 12 UK 80s Black (Marshall 1960 JBL K120s)
4 x 12 UK 70s White (Marshall Basketweave G12Ls)
4 x 12 UK 70s Black (Marshall 1960 V30s)
4 x 12 UK 60s Green (Marshall 1960 G12Ms)
4 x 12 High White (75 Hiwatt SE4123 50w Fane Purple)
4 x 12 Gratifier (Mesa Rectifier 4×12 V30s)
4 x 12 Citrus (Orange PPC 412 V30s)
2 x 12 AC Blue (Vox AC30 Blue Bulldog)
DI Box (generic)
Cabinets & Mics (Legacy):

1 × 12 Tweed Alnico ‘(Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Tweed)’
1 × 12 Custom (Fender Blues Junior)
2 × 12 Tweed (Fender 57 Twin? (Blue/Green/Cream = No idea)
2 × 12 Brit 60s (Vox AC30)
2 × 12 Chief V-30 (PRS 2×12 Open Back or maybe a Bogner Custom Shop 2×12)
2 × 12 Custom (No idea (Lopoline maybe?)
2 × 12 Jazz (Roland JC-120 Jazz)
4 × 10 Tweed Alnico (Fender 59 Bassman)
4 × 12 UK 60s Tall (Marshall 1960 JTM45 4×12 60W cabinet)
4 × 12 UK 60s (Marshall 1960 JTM50 4×12 75W cabinet)
4 × 12 UK 80s (Marshall 1982a)
4 × 12 UK 70s (Orange PPC 412-C)
4 × 12 High White (Hiwatt SE-4123)
4 × 12 Gratifier (Mesa/Boogie 4×12 Rectifier Standard Slant)
4 × 12 Ultrasonic (Bogner 4×12 Slant)
1 × 15 Bass Pro (Ampeg SVT-15E or B-115E)
1 × 15 Bass WR (SWR WorkingPro 1×15)
4 × 10 Bass Pro (Ampeg SVT-410HE or B410-HE)
4 × 10 Bass WR (SWR WorkingPro 4×10)
8 × 10 Bass Pro (Ampeg SVT-810E)
8 × 10 Bass WR (SWR Megoliath 8×10)
Rotator Horns (Leslies in different cases)
Effects units [edit]
Delay & Echo
Delay Man (Electro-Harmonix Memory Man)
Psyche Delay (Eventide H3000)
Quad Delay
Tape Echo (Roland RE-201 Space Echo)
Twin Delay
Distortion
Big Fuzz (Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi)
Cat (Pro Co RAT)
Demon Distortion (MXR Dime Distortion DD11)
Distortion (Boss DS-1)
Fuzz (Dunlop Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face)
Gain Booster
MeZone (Boss MT-2 Metal Zone)
Skreamer (Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer)
Sledge Hammer (Marshall Jackhammer JH-1)
TransAmp (Tech 21 SansAmp GT2)
Treble Booster (Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster)
Dynamics
Fast Comp (Feedback Compressor, behaves similar to an UREI 1176)
Limiter
Noise Gate
Noise Reduction (Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor)
Stomp Compressor (Boss CS-1 Compression Sustainer)
Tube Compressor (Electro-Harmonix Black Finger Compressor)
Volume Pedal
EQ
Custom EQ
EQ Graphic
EQ Parametric
EQ Shelving
Filters
AutoFilter (Musitronics Mutron III)
Cry Wah (Dunlop Cry Baby)
Filterbank (Moog Moogerfooger MF-105M MIDI MuRF)
Pro-Filter (Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 Filter Section)
Real Wah (Real McCoy Custom RMC-1)
Talk Wah (Heil Sound Talk Box)
Wahwah (Vox Clyde McCoy Wah Pedal)
Modifier
Analog Sequencer
Envelope
Input Level
LFO
Step Sequencer
Modulation
Electric Lady (Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress)
Ensemble (Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble)
Flanger (TC Electronic Stereo Chorus + Flanger)
Phaser Nine (MXR Phase 90)
Rotator
Stereo Tune (Harmonix Stereo Polychorus MK2)
Stoned Phaser (Electro-Harmonix Small Stone)
Tremolo (Boss TR-2 Tremolo)
Pitch
Harmonic Synthesizer (Electro-Harmonix Micro Synthesizer)
Octaver (Boss OC-2 Octave)
Pitch Pedal (DigiTech WH-4 Whammy)
Resochord
Reverb
IceVerb (Mooer Shim Verb)
Little Reflektor (stripped down version of NI Reflektor, IR-based)
Octaverb
Spring Reverb
Studio Reverb
Vintage Verb
Special FX
Grain Delay
Ring Modulator (moogerfooger MF-102 Ring Modulator)
Tools
Container
CrossOver
LoopMachine
MasterFX
Split

Billy

The only transistor amp I own and ever liked 1980's Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus-120 2x12" 120-Watt Stereo Combo Amp USA

Most "tube" equipment like this runs the tube at a fairly low voltage, rather than the high voltages inside actual tube amps. This often sounds fine, but not quite the same as an actual amp - sometimes digital does it a bit better.

That said, I built myself a high voltage tube preamp specifically for use as a DI, and it sounds pretty excellent compared to a solid state DI...

Guitarhacker.
once again i agree with you on another topic.
this one re useing hardware amps.
over several years now ive been following dsp vst amp sim plug in development via demos on you tube and other sites that demo various amp sim products...and yes i hear improvements over the years , but its as if still the "magic guitar tone" nuggets in classic rock often that we all love are just nearly there but not quite.
if you know what i mean.

also even with the amp sims i already have i find i spend too much time trolling through menus to find those golden nuggets.
in my song intergalactic spaceship in the user showcase i was very lucky however.
my search and persistence for a heavy power chord paid off. i had a certain power chord sound picture in my mind. i tried darn everything, my own amps, amp sims , pedals...you name it , i tried it....and finally lucked out with a power chord i got and edited/manipulated out of a bb real trak. took me ages to find what i wanted.

want to know what mekes me laugh , as a person born in the uk ??...is when marketing people slap "british" on something...lmao.
as though its some magic bullet. i have a certain device here with some "british" settings on, that , to be honest, sound awfull. so label me a sceptic when i see the word british used.
maybe i'm just asking too much of plug ins. i hate that "fizz" type of setting. never liked the "muffy" type sound.

Billy.
funny you should mention the roland jazz chorus. i was in a big studio once, and some of the best geetar sounds ive ever heard coming off 2 inch mtr tape were done useing a jazz chorus and just a few pedals by a pro session player with a huge playing talent who knew when a song needed simple licks but also when a song needed full bore "ba**s to the wall." a very tasty player who never did the lets see how many notes we can cram into a second thing.

best
om
ps simon. i believe you.
i would like to see lots more tasty classic rock sounds
in biab. i feel my whole life has been spent trying to find two things...lol...the perfect woman and perfect guitar sounds. i was lucky to find the first , very lucky...
but the second often eludes me.

Man, can you come to America and help me carry my twin reverb up the stairs.

It's too heavy.

But, it sounds good.



Tubes baby.

I find the amp tones coming out of a computer speaker are often lacking, where the amp tones coming from a modelling amp sound more realistic - like the Kemper amps or the Boss Katana. I think it's partly the latency in the computer, partly the interaction between the amp and speaker, and mostly the interaction between the speaker and the air. To me, putting a mic in front of any amp nearly always sounds better than an amp plugin.



He can carry my 2x12 Carvin too, 100 watts of tube power. It's what gave me a back injury a few years ago, but I refuse to give it up.

My favorite amp by far is my little Fender Super Champ XD.

It combines the best of tubes and a great selection of amp model sims built in, along with a lot of FX.

Mic'ed it just sounds great and works for everything.

And it won't throw out your back or give you a hernia like the twin.

I love it.

But still, I have to say the Amplitube Fenders are pretty impressive when you're lazy.

Yes, there's A LOT of discussion/argument about the "starved plate" range of gear...quite a few starved plate devices only bring the valve into the signal path when "dirt" is dialed in. It's not the "dirt" of drive pedals or overdrive either...just noise. Suss out what role the valve plays, whether it's starved plate (if it's powered by USB of a 12v or less transformer/wall wart then it's probably also set up with an LED to pretend the valve is generating light & heat - I know because I've been sucked in by this sales pitch before - a Behri M100 Mic Pre and a Presonus Blue Tube Pre), and, of course AUDITION it.

Review

That's from a bloke sponsored so not fab. Mind you he suggests not using the valve for anything above mild overdrive and to use external pres to get bigger/heavier sounds. From the other reviews I looked at the BEST thing about the SONO is the reamp out...and you probably won't need it. The claim is that the valve is High Voltage but I doubt it...a proper valve running at proper biased levels would be too hot for that enclosure. I'd LOVE a reamp feature or a reamp box.

My go to guitar tone machines are a Joyo ACtone and a Marshall Superbass modded to Superlead specs.

Re CARVIN.
tres YUMMY !
om