Either or both, likely. Seriously, I think the Axe FX sounds great but I don't think it's much, if any better than the 11R for basic amp tones. I do prefer the effects in the Axe, though.

But is the Axe II better than JamUp? Well, here's a post I made on the Positive Grid Users Facebook page :

This past weekend I performed my solo show, along with another solo act, alternating sets. Pascal, the other musician, had an Axe-FX II and sounded great, but three times over the course of our two-night engagement, he sincerely complimented me on my sound.

Genuinely curious on the first night, he asked what I was using and was astonished when I showed him my iPads running JamUp. I think we have another convert to the Positive Grid camp.

Nice man! Decided then. Keeping the iPad and just saving the money towards a new guitar. Thanks guys!

My only beef with the iPad is that every thing you buy to use with it is high dollar and the lightning port is limited to one connection and I use the line 6 sonic port and there is no way to get midi to it and have all the control I have with the 11r and my fcb1010 I'm hopping some one will come up with a new interface the doesn't use the 1/8 ear phone jack has a 1/4" In and out will charge at the same time and has a MIDI the alesis dock 2 is close but its expensive and I think the Epsi is my next acquisition.

See, I don't have that problem...I wouldn't use either of them live; I have amps for that...would be just for home recording and I don't really need to switch patches on the fly...can always load up another track with a different sound whenever I need to. This thing sounds great but is becoming more and more unnecessary the more replies I get and the more research I do.

Also, I always find myself coming back to basically 2-3 sounds and while the FX sound good in Soundcloud clips and YT vids, I don't really see my self using more than 5 patches, ever. I think I'm growing up and might have just successfully defeated the GAS.

If I could find a used one in good shape for like $200 or whatever I'd probably snag it just to try it out but I guess I just don't need it. Kinda bummed about it...this seems like a really cool forum and you guys are nice.

If the tone matching on the upcoming bias is as good as they are claiming it to be, fingers crossed. I don't think I would need anything else, and would use my eleven rack at church, I have been holding out, waiting to see before I pickup another one on eBay, I mean let's dial up some Van Halen little dreamer, and put the the speakers on 11....

Steinmetzify, my amps live a comfortable, if boring existence, seldom leaving home. As a rule I run direct to the mixer from my iPads, without even using a specialized monitor (though I have one if needed). For monitoring, I just send the house mix back to myself through a miniature monitor on a mic stand.

Jim, you are quite correct... every peripheral for the iPad is expensive; many are outrageously so. The iRig Pros I use are an example. They're small, which is nice, but also have very limited features. For the same price as 1 iRig Pro I had also bought a Tascam US-200, which has 2 inputs, 4 outputs + headphones, proper MIDI in & out, dry/wet monitor knob and a separate headphone level knob. That was a real bargain compared to the IK gear.

You can thank Apple for that. Wallets for devices, for instance, were a couple, maybe a few dollars before smartphones & tablets became popular. Now most iPad wallets are $30-$50. Come on... for a folded piece of leather (or plastic)? Really? That's the nature of business... charge what the market will bear. And with all the Apple fans out there... it seems that that is a lot.

All that said - and while still not an Apple fan - I love my little valise of sonic goodness. It's pretty much as small as a guitar setup could be but sounds fantastic.

once jamup is available as a plugin for pc then i'll be all over it. i like the tone i got using an ipad2, but the latency was way too much.

Bias is available for the Mac now, so I imagine it won't be long before they port it over to the PC. Hopefully JamUp won't be far behind.

The latency you experienced, Ross, is unfortunate. I don't notice any, even on my recent purchase - a silly little iPod Touch. I do know, however, that some people are more sensitive and intolerant of latency. I showed JamUp to a couple of my friends. One, a studio owner, liked the sound, but found the latency to be a little distracting. The other, the owner of a P.A. rental company, was amazed at the sound and told me he felt no latency at all. Go figure...

Bias is available for the Mac now,


How is the amp matching features?

I think the latency has more to do with which version of the iPad you're using...I have a 64GB #3 (I think?) and there's no latency...I've noticed more people complain about it using the iPad 2 than not.