Had the ultra and now have the axe2-though I will be selling it and going back to the elevenrack. It used to be that I needed the axe for all the extra stuff-violin tones and wierdness, thought I was never really happy with those tones. Long story short-I grabbed a GR55 which kills on all the wierd stuff. Sax, keys, cello, violin, harmonica-and no single note limitation on the synth stuff. B3, geez the list goes on. Well over half our set I play something besides a guitar tone-on at least 3 songs I dont play any guitar. Sax, piano and flute on moondance for instance.

So the axe2 became amps only-I dont use much beyond a wah on a few songs, and a rotary on one or two. Maybe a well effected(chorus delay etc) clean tone here and there. So I press 5 buttons total on the MFC-all freaking night, 3 presets, boost, rotary(seether lead). Kind of a waste or a rockstar unit.

A lot of money sitting there-so I looked into the Blackstar ID series-but I wasn’t sold. Then I noticed that the 11R without protools was everywhere for under 4 bills. Crazy. I've paid more than that for overdrives. Then the lack of need to deal with protools at all-perfect. Two days after arrival, I have my all-access programed, 4 banks of tones ready to roll-and band practice tonight. I had one before, so the learning curve was shorter-though I did pick up some new info-like the FXloop as a boost thing. I gigged the 11R for a while year before last. Got a ton of complements, but I thought I was missing something - and got the Axe2 that November. I was also sick of fighting with protocols and being locked to the home computer to mess with patches.

Axe2 is the bomb. No doubt about it. What's the saying-once the drummer kicks in...but do I need it with the 50-60 tunes we gig? Nope. Heck, I’ve done it with a mini-rec and the GR55. And being able to buy 2 11Rs for the price of the MFC101…

Side by side-through the same power amp and speakers…I like my two day old presets better. Probably some honeymoon going on there. Don’t get me wrong, I have a great Jubilee patch on the Axe but I wouldn’t say the 11R patches suffer in comparison.

And the most important part-it looks cooler on top of my 2x12 orange cab! I seriously get a ton of complements on that stupid little cab, more than all other gear combined. And the all-access and gr55 are both blue, so my foot controller situation almost looks like I planned it. It’s also shorter than the axe and fits in my short rack case-which is a perfect match to that amazing little orange cab.

Had...a lot of modelers. HD500, Kemper(2), 11R, GSP1101, assorted other line6 stuff, tonelab, all the way back to a little zoom box that you stuck on your strap…going back to my Seattle days. Pretty sure if you work at it you can get a workable tone out of any other them. I’ll be working the eleven rack at this point.

Thanks to sangtall and benoni and the rest of the patch masters out there. Really too many to choose from. Reminds me of the tons of Kemper rigs I had-but at least you can just try these patches without a bunch of stick swapping and reboots. Sorry for the rambling.
Rock on!

WELCOME BACK TO DA RACK!

Dang that is crazy

Mirrors my experiences as well... went through a ton of high end gear, including Axe products, eventually sold everything and landed back on the Eleven Rack.

Why?

Simple... for the money it provides the best tone bed, the best interface and the best variety.

The Axe FX is more capable, sure it is, but it's not better by any means.

The Kempler is another awesome product, but again, for the difference in price just doesn't make sense.

My assumption is the internet is what has killed the Eleven Rack. The product itself is phenomenal, but everyone bagged on them from the start.

It amazes me how opposed so many people are to this product having never even played one. They just look at the price and conclude it must be one fifth the quality of the Axe FX.

Well, worked out for us as we were able to get one for cheap cheap cheap!

Says the guy who told me the axe fx 2 wasn't all it was cracked up to be having never played one . Not trying to be a dick just proving your point;)

Haha... I never said above I played an Axe FX 2, I mirrored my experiences stating what is true, that I've owned both, and played through both an Axe FX Standard and an Axe FX Ultra.

While the Axe FX II provides a slightly different interface and a second CPU for amp simulations, the bulk of tones produced are the same between the two products.

As I've also said before, the Axe FX is an outstanding product with amazing tone and functionality. But, at the end of the day, so does the Eleven Rack, and for the difference in cost, I kept the 11.

Your mileage will most certainly vary.

But how do you know that about the axe2 if you have never played one? And when I said I was getting the Axe 2 this is what you said, "Enjoy it dude! But from my own personal experience it's not all it's cracked up to be." Tons of firmware updates since the axe 2 between the ultra and they still sound the same? Cliff stated that the Ultra and Standards could not run G2 modeling because of their limited horsepower, so they obviously are not the same core tones....

Wait, I'm confused... I've said several times I've never owned an Axe FX II.

Also, I've said multiple times the tone was amazing and feature set comprehensive.

The differences between an Axe FX Ultra and the Axe FX II are not absolute, there are differences, yes, but it's not a system wide overhaul. It will produce for you, more tonal option, more connectivity and interface methods as well as variations on amp/cab simulation.

Dialing up a specific tone on either will provide like results.

My points have been made several times, I have owned Axe FX products, as well as Line 6, Boss and Vox products... I settled on the Eleven Rack due to lack of complexity, quality of specific tones, and finally price.

I've also said, you might enjoy the Axe FX products... and have never suggested you were making a mistake in buying one, I simply said if you could keep your Eleven Rack until after having time to play with the Axe FX you might come to a similar conclusion as I have.

That's all.

I am speaking from my own personal experiences. There's no need to suggest the Axe FX II is so revolutionary in it's capability that having only owned an Axe FX Standard and FX Ultra removes me from being competent in drawing experienced comparisons.

I can help here..

The 11R is fantastic! But it cannot keep up the Axe 2. As far as the Standard and Ultra goes, I spent half a day with a guy that has gigged with an Ultra since it came out, an absolute genius with it, and it does not hold a fart in a bag compared to the Axe 2..NO ONE that has SPENT TIME with BOTH will ever tell you anything different. I would love to figure out how to get a Kemper too, but I do not see that happening..I would however love to have another 11R, as I am most familiar with it and it has some GREAT tones!

I am confused too. You say you never owned the Axe 2 but you keep making comparisons like you have played one. I am puzzled. If I have never owned something I would never make comparisons. I am not saying the axe2 is so revolutionary from the Ultra/Standard I am just saying how would you know for sure if you never used one. Just seems like common sense to me.
See now Birdie here is talking common sense.