Amp Modeling - Eleven Rack

Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 818 Location: Canada

Hey guys, just wondering how many of you are into amp modelers.

I am thinking about getting an Eleven Rack if I can find one cheap or refurbished. I will be going to University soon and this will replace my traynor tube amp and be my main rig.

Just wondering about any of your experiences with the Eleven Rack.

I would love an Axe FX but they are just way too out of my price range. Also looking at Pod HD pro but Eleven Rack seems far superior in every way.

One thing about buying used or refurbished is the lack of Pro Tools license. How crucial is Pro Tools to the Eleven Rack? I think there is a preset editor in Pro Tools but other than that will I be able to use it without issues in Reaper? Is there any way to buy a license for Pro Tools LE or is one required to buy the full version?

Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 818 Location: Canada

Ah, I didn't think I would get any replies here.

With all my years on this forum, I don't think I have once seen any discussions about amp modelers.

I'm probably going to pull the trigger and get one of these sweet things.

Joined: 19 Dec 2011 Posts: 421 Location: Northern Arizona

sexy.

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 2:49 am

Sit tight bro. There were several people on here that checked them out and may not have seen this yet. In the mean time do a search and check the "all terms" box and I am sure you will find some info on here.

Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 818 Location: Canada

I just found this guy on youtube who uses the Eleven Rack..

His videos make me want one even more. I think this is some pretty sick tone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r_NaOR-bxk&feature=plcp

Don't get me started on his drums though. That kick and snare sound horrible.

This is also a pretty sick demo from another guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=Rw8fFjXBn1w&feature=endscreen

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

I bought 11 Rack when it first came out. I kept it through quite a few updates to see how it was as they updated it. I wasn't very impressed. It sounded ok. At the time it was cheaper than an Axe Fx and better than the current POD. Then I bought an Axe FX and IMMEDIATELY sold the 11 Rack. I recorded an album with the Axe Fx and then got bored of it because I spent more time programming it than playing it. I got a POD HD500 after that which I think was better than the 11 Rack in terms of feel and immediate gratification for programming but I ended up selling that after a while because I was once again tired of programming.

Out of the 3 the Axe Fx was king then the Pod HD500 and then the 11 Rack. The 11 Rack was better at lower gain sounds than the metal stuff. The studio effects were good but didn't have the depth I wanted.

Most of the programming I did with these was in a multi-million dollar studio with an awesome engineer and we tried to get a few really convincing sounds from the units. The 11 Rack was by far the most finicky and least fun to play.

Right now if I was to get a modeller I would buy an iPad and Positive Grid's JamUpPro. For roughly the price of a new HD500 you can get the iPad which if you're going to school will serve other functions, and then just get the Jam Up Pro app... Then you're all set!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpMDhrjCGVg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruipSVgXBl4
It's the closest thing to having an AxeFx right now at a fraction of the price and it's much better sounding than the other modellers out there except the Axe Fx and the Rocktron Prophesy II.

Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 818 Location: Canada

Thanks for the info guys! Now I'm just really confused.

Lanning, you are the first person I have heard praise the Pod over the 11R. I do trust your great knowledge and wisdom when it comes to guitar gear though.

God, now your throwing iPad ideas at me! Is it really that amazing or are you being paid to promote it Laughing

I will definitely look into it. Dam I work in Computer retail and we just clearance a bunch of iPad 3s to make way for the new iPad 4. I think we sold them all now but I had an awesome opportunity to get one cheap.

Can these iPad's really keep up with the processing? I heard amplitube on an older iPhone and wasn't impressed with the latency issues it was having. Actually that is my biggest concern. Since this will be my only unit to play through, I would like to have something that has zero latency issues. I actually have a fair bit of experience with Amplitube Metal. Using a Line6 Toneport and my really fast i7 system, I was still experience latency issues. I mean it was really good but there was just a weird feel to it. Didn't have the same feel as playing through a real amp. Everyone says the ELevenRack has the feel of a real amp. Is that the same with the Pod stuff and JamUp Pro XT?? Do they feel like your playing through a real amp?

Obviously one big downside to the iPad route is no connectivity.

I wish they had this stuff on Android. I would get it in a heart beat. I have owned many IOS and Android devices (including an iPad2 which I sold) and I am just far more into Android. I have a Galaxy S2 LTE which I think just rocks the hell out of any iPhone out there.

@Steinmetzify I'm not sure about modeling but given my situation I am in need of something portable, that works good with headphones and can get me recording with decent tone. I would love to have a 6505 but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't fly with most university dorms or share houses, lol Laughing

I would love an Axe Fx but that's just out of my price range. I will also need a decent interface because the Axe FX Standard doesn't have that built in. so it would be more around $1,300 when done and finished.

EDIT: on an unrelated note. I love Ola and Keith! Never heard of that Jeff guy though Laughing

Lanning have you used JamUp Pro XT? I'm not an amazing sound engineer so would like something simple. I know Ola and Keith are both amazing at getting godly tone out of anything.

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

Sorry to confuse you more. The Jam Up Pro app is amazing and in my opinion better than anything you're going to find except an Axe Fx, Kemper modelilng amp or Rocktron Prophesy.

The only reason I brought up the studio thing wasn't to gloat. It was more to say that we had the units plugged into super high fidelity equipment and monitored with very high quality reference, near and far field speakers. We spent time tailoring programs to sound the best they could. We tried using on-board speaker sims as well as add on cabinet impulses.

The only unit that truly shined was the Axe Fx. The POD sounded great with the add on impulses though. The Eleven Rack just had a tonal character that we didn't like and the playing feel was kinda clunky. It's not a horrible unit or anything, but it just didn't do it for us.

I don't want to push you on Jam Up Pro and an iPad but it really is amazing and the iPad serves so many other purposes, so it's not like you're buying something with one use, especially since you'll be in school. it's also a lot easier to carry around than a rack unit lol

Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 818 Location: Canada

Nah man, confusion is good. It's what helps sort the things out. If I wasn't confused at some point in my decision then I probably wouldn't end with the right unit in the end. Very Happy

The reason I sold my iPad2 was to actually get a laptop for school, lol. I'm doing Computer Science so I needed a windows system for programming in Java and C+.

Your JamUp Pro recommendation has definitely intrigued me.

My only concerns are:

1. How does it feel in real time? I'm sure the after results are amazing but is it good for real time playing too?

2. How does the iPad handle with processing everything. Are there ever any lag issues or latency issues.

3. Connectivity. The iPad with JamUp only gives you an analog signal out so I will also have to pick up a decent Audio Interface for recording with which could also bump the total price up a fair bit.

What are your opinions on the above? Have you owned JamUp Pro yourself?

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

dan_plus_o wrote:

Nah man, confusion is good. It's what helps sort the things out. If I wasn't confused at some point in my decision then I probably wouldn't end with the right unit in the end. Very Happy

The reason I sold my iPad2 was to actually get a laptop for school, lol. I'm doing Computer Science so I needed a windows system for programming in Java and C+.

Your JamUp Pro recommendation has definitely intrigued me.

My only concerns are:

1. How does it feel in real time? I'm sure the after results are amazing but is it good for real time playing too?

2. How does the iPad handle with processing everything. Are there ever any lag issues or latency issues.

3. Connectivity. The iPad with JamUp only gives you an analog signal out so I will also have to pick up a decent Audio Interface for recording with which could also bump the total price up a fair bit.

What are your opinions on the above? Have you owned JamUp Pro yourself?

I don't own it but my experience with it was positive. Latency isn't an issue. Real time playing is great. If you watch the second video you can see it's keeping up with Jeff and Keith's playing no problem. You can gig with it direct to a PA or into an amp. As far as recording? That part I don't know what to tell you since I don't know what kind of computer you own. If you get a MacBook then you're all set. You can use Garageband which comes with the Mac. If you need Windows for school then just run Boot Camp and put both Windows and Mac OS on the same computer. The drive will be partitioned so you can run both on the same computer. I'm a Mac guy so I can't say what the experience would be like with a Windows machine. You can just get a cheap interface to run the JamUp Plug into. It's what I would do instead of messing with a Pod or an Eleven Rack.

Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 818 Location: Canada

One more question.

I just remembered that Garageband is now on the ipads.

Is it possible to record the sound from JamUp Pro straight into Garage Band on the ipad? If so, that would be like the ultimate portable workstation. Only a guitar and iPad would be needed.

For computer recording, I have a custom built intel i7 machine. It can handle anything I throw at it. Also an intel i5 laptop.

Just getting a decent audio interface would be the only other issue with going the ipad route.

I actually have a really old Line6 toneport UX1. It has served me well but I'm really not to fond of it. Wouldn't mind something smaller.

The Apogee one would be awesome but not the cheapest option.

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

I'm not sure if you can use Jam Up as a plugin to Garageband on the iPad. I don't know if they have that as an option but it would be cool if they did. Hey if you're in Vancouver on Monday you should come to our show at the Biltmore. We can talk gear lol

Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 818 Location: Canada

Well not even as a plugin.

If there was a way for garageband to select the audio output of the iPad as an input to garageband, it should work. I wouldn't think that would be a hard thing for them to do.

I'm going to dig into that some more because that could be a major deciding factor for me. I'll post back here with my results.

Obviously a plugin would be sweeter. On the fly tone changing is always nice to have. That's my only downside I can see with this iPad route. Not being able to record dry tracks into my DAW and then re-amp.

Or maybe there is a way to set that up?? Record dry tracks then run the output of those dry tracks into the iPad and then out again back into the computer?? Just keep a copy of the dry tracks so you can change the tone whenever you want.

Unfortunately, I don't get off my little island too often. Thanks for the invite though Very Happy

Would love to see you guys live!

EDIT: Found a post on another forum which describes my idea about GB recording. Apparently garageband will record in the background but with JamUp Pro it will only record the dry sound which defeats the purpose.