Axe-FX II Rig – quick look

A short introduction to my Axe-FX II adventures with a quick look at my new rig.

Despite my rant regarding Axe FX pricing in Europe, a few months ago I finally bit the bullet and bought the Axe-FX II and MFC-101 Controller from the European distributors G66.

It’s an amazing device – so many possibilities, so many options, so many sounds! I’ll get around to posting some clips eventually, I promise.

However, as I haven’t had as much time with it as I would like, and therefore haven’t finished setting up my live presets nor even used it with the Phazys yet, the only thing I can say – now that I’m getting used to dialling in sounds (especially with the latest v12.04 firmware) – that this is going to be a fantastic live rig for the Phazys.

So, by way of an introduction to this rig, here’s a quick look at my 6U rack case, custom-made by kronecustomcase.com here in Suisse Romande, loaded as follows:

• Furman CE-Plus power supply/conditioner – although it’s a weighty piece of kit, it does enable me to manage the rack’s mains wiring neatly and efficiently.
• Line 6 Relay G90 Wireless
• Empty rack space
• Axe-FX II
• Rack interface – I put this together myself, inspired by the custom interface panels from the guys at Vafam Sound. What this does is enable me to bring the connections I need on the Axe’s rear panel to the front of rack, for easy setup and breakdown. I will post more info about this in a future article.

Some concerns…

Well, frankly, as great as the rack looks and is, there’s no escaping that a traditionally constructed 6U rack case loaded up with all these goodies weighs… a ton. No single-handed lifts from car to stage door here.

So, I’m going to have to downsize it and re-house the gear in a lighter SKB-style plastic case. I’ll probably ditch the Furman too, as it alone weighs 6 kilos or so, and a part from providing neat and tidy management of the various units’ power requirements, isn’t really necessary at the sort of venues I play.

Anyway, that’s a project for another day. In the meantime, I must dash, I have an overwhelming urge to plug in, scroll through a few amps, and rock out!