A fascinating debate. I've been ogling the AXE FX for a while now. The simplicity of transport/cartage is very compelling - esp when you fly to gigs and are at the mercy of backline, which can be extremely hit or miss - often disastrous & painful if you love tone.
I've heard (if I recall right) your stuff on the AXE
FX site, Simeon, and liked it a lot. Of course, I've also heard Bill's stuff and like it a lot.
And I don't really like a whole lot these days. I enjoy a lot, but really like very little. Old, jaded, probably millions of hours of music have danced thru these old ears.
Bill's point about the value decline of digital stuff drives me crazy. That's why I'm more inclined to buy amps and fine guitars. I've spent many many tens of thousands of bucks on digital stuff - big Pro Tools rigs and the plugins etc. It's incredibly depressing to spend $25K on something that's worth MAYBE 8K five to eight years later. It pays for itself always, but just bugs me. The digital world is a capitalist's wet dream.
Sound should always come first, so I take these losses to keep the work and creative juices flowing. But when it comes to guitars and amps, the old school in me tends to
dominate, given ALL the considerations.
If I start touring a lot more, I will most definitely get an AXE FX. It's a no brainer.
As far as colors and choices - great art can be done with pencil and paper (Tele and Vibrolux) or the entire rainbow of colors and technique (monster pedal boards, tweaked synth guitars). It's all in the imagination. Imagination comes first, middle and last when it comes to art. The rest is just the lifeless wooden board, brushes and gooey oils we use to translate our imaginations into the ears and eyes of the appreciative.
We are artists! It's semi pointless to debate our mediums. But I do enjoy the debates.
On Jul 20, 2012, at 4:34 AM, Simeon Harris wrote:
ppps bill, I'd be happy to offer any help and advice I can. I can send you some patches, or talk you through dual amp layouts etc. Just send me a pm.
Sim
