I guess it's sort of obvious that I love this amp. For years, I've fiddled with mediocre amps, searching for that "sound", that tone that makes you wanna play forever. Well, no more searching for me. The AX2 eliminates my pet-peeve: THE CORD MENAGERIE!

No more rat's nest of patch cords hooking a string of pedals together. No rack to haul around. No trailer full of gear to mess with. This amp is small, miniscule in comparison to it's sonic capabilities. It can sound HUGE, or small and soft.

The trick is learning how to get the tones you want out of it. "Tweaking", as it were. If you've never tried one, or have test driven but never really got into the meat of the matter, here are a few simple steps to explain the intimidating front panel.

TWEAKIN

Along the bottom is a row of knobs. Don't let the labeling on these knobs fool you. That's not all they do. There's a vertical row of buttons that determine the function of these knobs. If you want chorus, you hit the corresponding button until the red arrow next to the chorus editing row lights up. Now, for each adjustable parameter in THAT row, there is a corresponding knob beneath it. The same thing works for ALL the tweaky stuff on the AX2. Once you know the basic navigation method, you should be able to take a decent test drive.

RECORDING/LIVE

Granted, there are some who say the AX2 won't cut it live, but I beg to differ. This thing has more volume than you'll ever need for any venue smaller than a huge concert hall. There is a headphone/line out jack in the back, and it's stereo, but for reinforcing, I don't recommend it myself, being partial to mics over line outs. But then, I've never tried the line out through the mixing board, so I'm only speaking from preference, not experience.

What the line out works EXCELLENT for is recording. Man, it sounds sweet! The sounds you wind up with on tape are VERY satisfying. Again, this is a personal thing too, and you gotta hear it to appreciate it.

SUPPORT

Now, here is where the LINE 6 corporation REALLY excels. I had a small issue with the main volume knob on my AX2. It was making some extremely ugly noises. I would have to warm it up for a half hour before I could play it. Apparently, one of their suppliers sold them some substandard pots and I was one of the "lucky ones". But they sent me the new part, shipping & all expenses paid, and it was simple to install.

Here's another curiosity...LINE 6 answers their email!  Yeah! They actually care about you after  you've purchased their products. Ain't that a hoot? The folks there are very personable and courteous, and as a result have gained my trust and admiration. I like people with integrity. If you'd like to actually hear the amp, all audio samples on this site are done using the AX2.

 

MIDI



Ok, so you got your AX2, and you wanna grab some of these patches that are circulating all over the web and stick em in your amp. What do you do? Well, you need a sound card with MIDI capability, which most people have. Now, the cable you see pictured above is meant to plug into your soundcard's joystick port. (15pin) You also need a program that will send and recieve sysex data to and from your amp. Sysex stands for "system exclusive" and there are tons of programs out there that'll do this. If you grab the AX2 Editor, or better yet, PatchWizard from my link list, you'll have all you need, including the ability to edit patches onscreen. Just remember to plug the OUT cable to the MIDI IN on your amp, and the cables IN to the MIDI OUT. (In some cases, the cables are labeled in reverse, you'll know when you try it.) Ok, now the next thing to ensure is that your MIDI OUT on your Sound Card properties is specified as "MPU OUT". There's all sorts of ways this will be worded, depending on the brand of card you're using, and the supporting software. Just look for the initials "MPU". That's the unit you're after. 1