Description of Features: Chapter 3
AxSys 212 User Manual 19
CHAPTER 3: DESCRIPTION OF FEATURES

What is TubeTone™?

TubeTone is the groundbreaking tube emulation technology at the heart of
the AxSys 212. By intricately modeling the subtle characteristics of vintage
tube guitar amplifier circuitry, TubeTone gives you complete control over
a wide range of classic guitar amp tones integrated into a single combo
amp (just look at the list on page 27). We spent a lot of time in the studio
and the lab dissecting amps. We broke down the signal path to its most
essential elements in order to create the building blocks we would need to
develop complete physical models of each of these amps.
Specifically, the AxSys models three types of guitar amp tubes: the 12AX7,
the EL34 and 6L6. The 12AX7 is probably the most famous, since its the
preamp tube responsible for the distortion called ÒoverdriveÓ. The AxSys
accurately replicates the 12AX7Õs response to overloaded signals to create
a signature distortion that is unmistakable. The EL34 and 6L6 are power
amp tubes found in most British and American amps, respectively. They
are responsible for the distortion brought about by high ÒGainÓ levels.
To provide for this, dual digital signal processors are at the heart of the
AxSys 212, each more powerful than most rack mount effects devices. This
dual DSP power provides 24-bit processing and can perform 48 million
instructions per second (mips). In comparison, many signal processors on
the market can only perform between 1 and 6 mips. The AxSys is the first
amp to dedicate this much signal processing to creating perfect guitar
tone, making it unlike any other guitar processor that has come before it.

What is a Sound?

A ÒSoundÓ is a combination of all of the settings of the AxSys 212: a
combination of a particular preamp type, EQ, and other various effects
which can be stored and later recalled.
For example, letÕs say you select a Sound that has a nice tone, but you
want to make a few changes. You boost the Treble, and add more Drive.
By storing the Sound, the new version is kept. The next time you select
this Sound, itÕll be exactly as you saved it.

Memory

The AxSys has enough memory to store 128 User Sounds, along with the
128 Preset Sounds that come preprogrammed from the factory. Almost all
parameters found within the AxSys are remembered when a Sound is
stored into memory. The few parameters which are not stored with a