Citation:
The AC and Bogner are flippin' great! It's what I heard when I played through one yesterday.
Here's my gooey first impression. Also posted on TGP
I'm not a beta tester but I did plug my axe into one yesterday. Thanks JavaJunkie!
Two words: NAKED and RAW
It was like walking around a room of amps with axe and cable in hand, plugging in and hearing the tone completely exposed.
If there was a Fractal version of the "overhaulin" show, the axe-fx II would be the full reveal at the end except you're there in person and no one else is around. That's kinda what it feels like.
There's WAY more happening inside the tone when you play your guitar; it's so complex you can almost hear the processor sweating inside.
NAKED and RAW
Naked -- It feels like there's nothing between you and the amp. Everything you do with your hands is revealed; everything the amp has to offer is right there smacking you in the face.
Raw -- The translation from hands to rig is stark, raw, humbling reality. Touch the strings just right and WHAM...pure magic rock-god overtone and complexity; touch them wrong...and you're the music store guitar-hack annoying everyone in the place.
The axe-fx II is both a humbling and addictive experience as you chase the tonal rabbit down the rabbit hole -- but instead of chasing it in the modeler, you're chasing it in your hands and heart...which is where it belongs.
