Axefx Standard and Ultra Owners Unite! (A Fractal Gen-1 Users Gathering)

[JasonE]

I still have the real manual for my Ultra as well as an old print out of the amps portion of the wiki. I am still trying to figure out what to do with my Ultra. I pulled it out of the desk it was mounted in. I have everything to hook it up by USB and run the Ground Control Pro controller I have as well. There are two BOSS expression pedals in the case with the GCP controller. It is basically a full rig with the latest firmware on it.

 

[chrishurley]

I still have the real manual for my Ultra as well as an old print out of the amps portion of the wiki. I am still trying to figure out what to do with my Ultra. I pulled it out of the desk it was mounted in. I have everything to hook it up by USB and run the Ground Control Pro controller I have as well. There are two BOSS expression pedals in the case with the GCP controller. It is basically a full rig with the latest firmware on it.

I mostly use mine for effects but sometimes for Amp tones. I'll tell you what I don't use it for... A USB audio interface or headphone Amp. I'd like to find a tiny headphone Amp to graft into it somehow

 

[deathbyguitar]

I have an Axe-FX III after having a II and an Ultra previously. I still think the Ultra has cooler sounding presets. "Crystal Echoes" and "The Planets" don't sound nearly as nice on newer units. For The Planets specifically, I think the more advanced/precise pitch shifting does that preset a disservice. The Ultra version sounded more gentle and rounded...kinda hard to explain. I might repurchase an Ultra to try and duplicate this behavior.

 

[riffy]

I ran my Standard for a long time. It sounded great!

 

[Ultricity]

Hi! I am happy to have discovered this thread and am enjoying the read! it's not easy to find so many Standard/Ultra users in one place However, desperation requires I dampen the mood with a technical support question. I'm afraid my internal battery is nearing its lifespan and I've been trying to back up my Ultra, but can't get Axe-edit to work. Tried running Axe-edit on 3 different computers/operating systems with no success.

So far I've tried Axe-edit version 1.0.191 on:
Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11.6
Windows 8.1
Windows Vista
Ultra has firmware 11

Always same results:
Sync and backup reaches 94% and stops.
Axe-edit always connects but will almost never sync from hardware. (maybe 5% of the time it will, but only for one or two patches then it's done)

I'm using the Gordius Little Giant as midi interface

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated!!

 

[stratzrus]

I have an Axe-FX III after having a II and an Ultra previously. I still think the Ultra has cooler sounding presets. "Crystal Echoes" and "The Planets" don't sound nearly as nice on newer units. For The Planets specifically, I think the more advanced/precise pitch shifting does that preset a disservice. The Ultra version sounded more gentle and rounded...kinda hard to explain. I might repurchase an Ultra to try and duplicate this behavior.

If you decide to get one hit me up. I have a low mileage unit that has been boxed since the II came out.

 

[jrjones]

I don’t but I had an ultra back in the day. I played a bunch of rock festivals and everyone called it the magic black box. So many guys came up to me after my sets gushing about my tone and asking what amp I had backstage then demanded I show them this thing. All the guys with marshalls and mesas wanted the SLO sounds in it. I don’t blame them, they were crazy good.

 

[chrishurley]

Hi! I am happy to have discovered this thread and am enjoying the read! it's not easy to find so many Standard/Ultra users in one place However, desperation requires I dampen the mood with a technical support question. I'm afraid my internal battery is nearing its lifespan and I've been trying to back up my Ultra, but can't get Axe-edit to work. Tried running Axe-edit on 3 different computers/operating systems with no success.

So far I've tried Axe-edit version 1.0.191 on:
Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11.6
Windows 8.1
Windows Vista
Ultra has firmware 11

Always same results:
Sync and backup reaches 94% and stops.
Axe-edit always connects but will almost never sync from hardware. (maybe 5% of the time it will, but only for one or two patches then it's done)

I'm using the Gordius Little Giant as midi interface

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated!!

Things I would try- different USB cable to the MIDI interface (can't tell you how many times I was using an ancient USB cable that didn't work right but looked great) and/or different MIDI cables.

Barring that, I'd grab an inexpensive USB to MIDI off amazon and try that- there may just be a compatibility issue here.

I have used this one successfully on some pretty junky old PCs, although they've all been Windows 10.

usb midi

 

[Ultricity]

Things I would try- different USB cable to the MIDI interface (can't tell you how many times I was using an ancient USB cable that didn't work right but looked great) and/or different MIDI cables.

Barring that, I'd grab an inexpensive USB to MIDI off amazon and try that- there may just be a compatibility issue here.

I have used this one successfully on some pretty junky old PCs, although they've all been Windows 10.

usb midi

Haha, someone on Fractal forum suggested a Roland um-one the other day so I quick shelled out 50 bucks (used ones were $35-$45 on ebay) and am waiting for it now. If the Roland cable works I will try the one you linked (for $12 ya boy) and, if IT works, return the Roland. Like yours, the Roland is also an interface itself. Your also the second person to say there could be a sysex support issue with the Gordius LG so it will be bypassed with this solution. In any case the LG would have to be modified internally (just move a jumper) to use a cable like this because it's set up to utilize one 7 pin midi cable for two-way communication with the Axe fx (it has pins connected from the "midi in" port to the "midi out"). Many thanks for the advice!!

 

[JasonE]

I have one of these that I have had for as long as I have had the Axe Ultra. I ran it on a couple of different computers with Windows XP and 10. The key for this unit was to just plug it in and let the OS find it and download a driver for it.

I also ran this on my Macbook Pro up to the Catalina OS. Once I upgraded to Big Sur, it stopped working. I revamped my whole setup so I didn't dig in to find out if I could make it work.

M-Audio Uno 1x1 USB MIDI Interface

1-In/1-Out In-Line Cable USB MIDI Interface

www.sweetwater.com

 

[kelso]

Looking for axefx ultra presets to try.

 

[chrishurley]

Looking for axefx ultra presets to try.

The stock presets are really quite good and demonstrate a lot of cool things. I was surprised when I went through them recently. Went back through with a notepad and jotted down things that I wanted to use again.