VG-99 versus Axe-FX Ultra

I’ve played the VG-99 for one and a half years and the Axe-FX Ultra for half a year and I didn’t have very much time for the latter. So it might be a little unfair to compare the two units but still it can be interesting for somebody who wants to get an overview, I assume. I’ve used the VG-99 on our live gigs with Schaltkreis Wassermann while the Axe-FX has mostly been played in the studio.

Roland_VG_99

The VG-99 by Roland has a basic concept that’s completely different from most other guitar processors: it uses a so-called hex pickup that takes a separate signal of each string. There’s a big advantage with this concept as you can apply compression or distortion for each string separately. This allows for playing heavily distorted chords without the typical muddiness you would get from an ordinary processor. But you need a “Roland Ready” guitar or at least the GK-3 pickup that can be mounted on most guiatrs.

The VG-99 has a lot to offer in synthetic sounds, for instance it contains the famous GR-300 guitar synthesizer in digital form, a very nice emulation that goes far beyond the original. There’s a lot more of other synthetic models and they all work with the hex model – that means for instance that each string has its own envelope that can be used to control filter cutoff. In the VG-99 there’s not only a plethora of amp models but you can also choose from a wide variety of different guitar models, for instance a Fender Telecaster, a Gibson Les Paul, an Acoustic, a Steel or a Sitar and all the models can be extensively tweaked. Different tunings can easily be accessed.

Axe_FX_Ultra

The Axe-FX by Fractal Audio on the other hand uses the normal pickups and just one cable as usual. But it has one big big advantage: it sounds really fantastic! In my opinion sonically it’s clearly superior to the VG-99. The amp emulations are incredible and allow for dynamic playing like with real tube amps. On top of that you get additional effects in the quality range of Eventide and Lexicon. Most parameters can be assigned to a pedal, an LFO or whatever so you can really freak out if you’re into sound design. If not you can just enjoy playing. Although I’m basically a tweaker I often find myself just playing the Axe-FX because it’s so much fun. You also get quite some nice synthetic sounds which I need to explore more into depth but you have the disadvantage that in most cases you can only play one string at once as the Axe-FX doesn’t use a hex pickup. This is especially clear when you use the synth module, a nice sounding and well playable guitar synth with ADSR and LFOs, that breaks down as soon as you play more than one string at a time.

In terms of handling I prefer the VG-99. It comes as a lightweight plastic box that can easily be mounted on a stage stand (it can also easily be hurt by scratches). It has a large display and lots of knobs and switches that make editing really easy even without the practical editor software that comes along. It is very well integrated with the FC 300 pedal board, you just plug it in, make some assignments and have two pedals going and some footswitches.

The Axe-Fx is a sturdy 19 inch metal box. Its editing is quite old fashioned with its small display and a lot of scrolling through menus and sub menus. There’s no easy way of plugging in a pedal board and have it going within minutes or at least I haven’t found it yet. The editor software looks great but is still in its beta stage and people in forums complain about lost sounds.

So this is my summary:
• The VG-99 is really handy for traveling. It’s extremely versatile and has a good sound although I don’t like the effects so much – Roland just doesn’t get flanging in my opinion and the delays have no ducking.
• The Axe-FX has THE SOUND, it has to be heard and played to be believed! But if you travel by plane it’s clumsy and a bit heavy. It doesn’t easily integrate with a foot pedal board.

So as long as I don’t have roadies to carry my stuff I prefer the VG-99 for live, especially if I travel by plane. In the studio I love the Axe-FX but I still have to dive deeper into its editing. In the future I want to play them both at a time – I never had such a fantastic sound as when I tied them up!

~ by pjwassermann on December 24, 2009.