Has anyone here used/is using an AxeTrak?

[Random Hero]

I hear that some of you guys have used one in the past?

Looking to use one with my 2 ch Recto.

Whats the story?

 

[fredster]

I hear that some of you guys have used one in the past? Looking to use one with my 2 ch Recto. Whats the story?

I'm expecting mine to be delivered tomorrow - I'll let you know!

 

[JamesD]

I had never heard of it before this post. I have looked into and it seems like a pretty cool device. Only thing i don't think would be good is not getting to tone from your certain speakers.

 

[SeasonOfPain]

I just saw this mentioned today on one of the HCAF threads, and was fairly intrigued. Someone there mentioned that he had heard a decent recording of a Mark IV through it, so naturally I was intrigued.

If anyone can post clips once they get it (preferably A-B'ed to a mic'ed clip) it would be appreciated!

 

[JamesD]

definately interested in hearing some clips from someone here on the forums.

 

[Micah]

I havent used one of these things either. They are interesting though. I found some clips @ http://www.jlhproducts.com/axetrak/soundclips.asp

I also wonder about getting tone from your speaker cabinet not being aqn option with this scenario. Also the speaker in it is only rated @ 75 watts and that pretty much says it for my 150 watt Triple rectifier unless I got some kind of pad for it. Also that really limits what you can use directly with it. I mean you couldnt record without a wattage soak of some kind with a Mark IV, a dual Rectifier, a Triple, a Lone Star Classic in 100 watt mode, etc... Its also $399. I bought an M-Audio Black Box on ebay for $150 and I love what it does. Sure its slightly colored but so are most recordings I hear od the recto's. Unless you have a spectacular recording technician they dont always sound the way they do when your standing in front of them. I think it sounds great for what I need it for and its made by the same people that made Pro-Tools--the name says it all. Its worth checking out for you guys that are looking for something to record with--not to mention you get like 140 efects, 40 amps, a drum machine and a tuner. :wink:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MAudioBlackBox-main.html

 

[JamesD]

I run a pro-tools setup, i will definately have to check out the blackbox. Looks very interesting. I will read up on it tonight when i get home from work.

 

[Random Hero]

So, I ended up ordering one. Gainfreak from HC loves his. There are 2 versions. The first one is apparently modelled on a v30 (mid spike), and version 2 is much flatter, with more bass. I went for version 1 due to the inherent scooped nature of a Recto, and the amount of bass it has.

About not being able to use a 100w to it's fullest through it due to the 75 speaker - I dunno about you guys, but I prefer my Recto between 4 and 6 on the master, rather than cranked up full :shock:

 

[Micah]

So, I ended up ordering one. Gainfreak from HC loves his. There are 2 versions. The first one is apparently modelled on a v30 (mid spike), and version 2 is much flatter, with more bass. I went for version 1 due to the inherent scooped nature of a Recto, and the amount of bass it has.

About not being able to use a 100w to it's fullest through it due to the 75 speaker - I dunno about you guys, but I prefer my Recto between 4 and 6 on the master, rather than cranked up full :shock:

I hear you on the last comment about the wattage but wattage really has nothing to do with volume, but the amount of force that you apply to the speaker cone. Whether your playing low or high you still have risk of blowing the speaker because your putting more force on it than it was made to handle. You might be able to get away with this for a little while depending on how well the speaker is made but ultimatly you are placing more wear and tear on the speaker than its made to handle. Its like allowing the Hulk to punch you or allowing someone your own size to punch you, you might live on the person your own size but the hulk will most likely cause severe damage to you. :wink: The same rings true with speakers. They are just cones that are attached to a magnet that has another magnet around it. When you change the charge of the magnet from + to - or from - to + it causes the magnet attached to the speaker cone to move the cone which moves air and creates a "frequent breeze" called sound waves that your ear interpret as sound. The cone gets its flexibility to move the cone from a rubber piece that attaches the cone to the metal "basket" that the speaker assembly mounts to. If too much force is placed on the cone the rubber or cone could rip or tear and give you what is known as a "blown" speaker.

Also, the Vintage 30 has more of a "V" contour in the eq than a mid-spike. The top end isnt quite as harsh as a true "V" eq but it is larger on the bottom end with "taylored" (as they describe it) mids. Its what I would say to be a smooth speaker especially when paired with an amp voicing that does the same thing eq-wise like the recto. Either way, you'll like the V30 one I think--Great speaker! :wink:

 

[macaddict]

The site says it can handle up to a 100 watt head.

 

[Micah]

The site says it can handle up to a 100 watt head.

My apologies! You are right! I did find that statement about it handling a 100 watt heat a little further down in the reading. I wonder how they came to this conclusion though being the drive could handle 75 watts? Ive always been told that the best possible scenario for a speaker cabinet to avoid damage to the speakers is to have double the wattage capability of the speaker cabinet as opposed to the RMS power of your amp. RMS power is not the maximum output of your amplifier and thats what Amps are rated @. RMS is constant power. So under this assumption, my 150 watt Triple Rectifer could possibly have a peak output of 300 watts in the most extreme conditions. This is why Mesa makes a 280 watt Recto 4 x 12 Cabinet. Thats why they allow so much extra room in the wattage of the cabinet when the biggest guitar amp they make is 150 watts. For protection of the speakers and also for the stereo capability(assumed 2 single rectifiers but not Duals or Triples in stereo through 1 cabinet). As I was reading the description of this device they seemed to have referances to the manual quite a bit arond the talk about wattag handling. I didnt read the manual(maybe someone has) but Id wonder if there was a patch of fine print detailing the user takes all responsibility for speaker damage if they use more than a 75 watt amplifier to the speaker. Anyone know?

 

[timmerel]

A sequis motherload is perhaps a bit more flexible, and from experience worth looking at. A very different sort of approach.

 

[Spirithunter]

What about the Randall Isolation Speaker box? Same price($399.00) and seem to have more options as far as you can use different microphones with it and mic placement. It features a Celestion Vintage 30 . For me i am thinking this is the way to go.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/IsolationCab/

The AxeTrak does seem pretty cool also.

 

[JamesD]

What kind of wattage does the Randall handle?

 

[SabuJSE]

I'm all over one of these sooner than later - everything I've heard seen on them ahs been positive.

 

[fredster]

A sequis motherload is perhaps a bit more flexible, and from experience worth looking at. A very different sort of approach.

Do you have any clips of the motherload? I've heard the clips on their site but not any user clips.

 

[fredster]

What about the Randall Isolation Speaker box?

I had one of these for a while, I just didn't like it. It was kinda big, and sounded pretty boxy. I wound up sending it back.


BTW - got my AxeTrack yesterday. I'm holding off judgement until I can tweak some more this weekend. I will get some clips posted so you guys can hear for yourselves.

 

[Spirithunter]

I had one of these for a while, I just didn't like it. It was kinda big, and sounded pretty boxy. I wound up sending it back.


BTW - got my AxeTrack yesterday. I'm holding off judgement until I can tweak some more this weekend. I will get some clips posted so you guys can hear for yourselves

You have had the Randall and now AxeTrack. I am very interested in this subject. Looking forward to hear what you have to say about AxeTrack.

 

[disassembled]

Seems like a rip off to me. They are just using a 6" eminence speaker mic'd inside a cab. Not worth the $400 they are asking for sure. I bet you could get someone that builds custom cabs to build something similar and use a tonewood. From the sound of it the company doesn't even build the cabs but have them built (most likely overseas) and they are just a distributor.

I think this sums up whether they build the cab or not:

The sound is converted into an electrical signal with the use of a dynamic microphone cartridge, which has been carefully selected and modified exclusively for this device. This cartridge is meticulously placed and aligned to our exact requirements, and is permanently mounted inside the enclosure. This allows the user to produce the best possible variety of USABLE guitar tones.

And the question on whether it can handle 100 watts is here:
The AxeTrak® is fuse-protected and will handle approximately 75 watts RMS of power. The AxeTrak® works perfectly with any 15 - 100 watt RMS guitar amplifier that can drive an 8 ohm load. However, it is not designed to handle high-power guitar amplifiers cranked at full volume like a power attenuator

The answer is no the speaker is rated at 75 watts but the speaker will work with an amp rated at 15-100 watts but you if you peak it over it's rating then you are surely to damage the speaker.

Here is the answer in the faqs section:
Can I use the AxeTrak with high power tube amps rated over 50 watts? The AxeTrak can usually handle a 50 watt tube head at full or close to full volume. However, most of our customers have 100 watt heads that they would like to use with the AxeTrak. For high power amplifiers we suggest that you do one of four things when using the AxeTrak.

1. If your amp has a master volume, Crank the channel gain to get the desired amount of overdrive for the sound that you wish to record and then slowly turn up the master volume until you get a good level reading on the LED of the AxeTrak. This is how the device is made to work.
2. Switch your high power tube amp to half power if that option is available on your amp.
3. Pull two of the power tubes if the manufacturer will confirm that this won't hurt your amp in any way.
4. Use a power attenuator or similar device to control the power output of your amp.

We crank 50 watt Marshals through the AxeTrak all day long without blowing the fuse and without any problems. Some tube amps, especially "Class A" types, are a lot louder than other amps with the same wattage ratting.



They recommend using as little power amp as possible. What the crap is that? The whole idea of using a tube amp is to get the power section working hard not just the preamp.

It seems this device is not going to be a fix all recording solution like they make it out to be. I don't think this company will be seeing my money anytime soon.

 

[Random Hero]

Seems like a rip off to me. They are just using a 6" eminence speaker mic'd inside a cab. Not worth the $400 they are asking for sure. I bet you could get someone that builds custom cabs to build something similar and use a tonewood. From the sound of it the company doesn't even build the cabs but have them built (most likely overseas) and they are just a distributor.

I think this sums up whether they build the cab or not:

The sound is converted into an electrical signal with the use of a dynamic microphone cartridge, which has been carefully selected and modified exclusively for this device. This cartridge is meticulously placed and aligned to our exact requirements, and is permanently mounted inside the enclosure. This allows the user to produce the best possible variety of USABLE guitar tones.

And the question on whether it can handle 100 watts is here:
The AxeTrak® is fuse-protected and will handle approximately 75 watts RMS of power. The AxeTrak® works perfectly with any 15 - 100 watt RMS guitar amplifier that can drive an 8 ohm load. However, it is not designed to handle high-power guitar amplifiers cranked at full volume like a power attenuator

The answer is no the speaker is rated at 75 watts but the speaker will work with an amp rated at 15-100 watts but you if you peak it over it's rating then you are surely to damage the speaker.

Here is the answer in the faqs section:
Can I use the AxeTrak with high power tube amps rated over 50 watts? The AxeTrak can usually handle a 50 watt tube head at full or close to full volume. However, most of our customers have 100 watt heads that they would like to use with the AxeTrak. For high power amplifiers we suggest that you do one of four things when using the AxeTrak.

1. If your amp has a master volume, Crank the channel gain to get the desired amount of overdrive for the sound that you wish to record and then slowly turn up the master volume until you get a good level reading on the LED of the AxeTrak. This is how the device is made to work.
2. Switch your high power tube amp to half power if that option is available on your amp.
3. Pull two of the power tubes if the manufacturer will confirm that this won't hurt your amp in any way.
4. Use a power attenuator or similar device to control the power output of your amp.

We crank 50 watt Marshals through the AxeTrak all day long without blowing the fuse and without any problems. Some tube amps, especially "Class A" types, are a lot louder than other amps with the same wattage ratting.



They recommend using as little power amp as possible. What the crap is that? The whole idea of using a tube amp is to get the power section working hard not just the preamp.

It seems this device is not going to be a fix all recording solution like they make it out to be. I don't think this company will be seeing my money anytime soon.

The Randall Iso cabs are supposed to be very boxy sounding and have quite alot of bleed so i've heard. Also, they don't really recommend using as little power amp as possible... they say they crank 50w Marshalls through it all day long. So if you pull 2 power tubes, you got 50watts to crank.