📊Opinions on the AXE-fx III in 2024?

[nightlight]

I have some amps and an Axe FXIII. The Axe is a really good tool, all those options have a use in crafting tones that are pretty stellar imho. And if you're like me and struggle with recording, the Axe is a good way to get workable tones that sound good in a recording.

My favourite method these days though is to pair one of my amps with the Axe FX. I run my amp using the 4 cable method within the loop of my Axe and use that for tone generation. I then use the Axe FX for tone shaping with EQs, noise gates and other tools to get a great sound. Finally, run this through an IR or the Axe's Dynacabs to get a good tone.

The Axe FXIII is also very good into a tube power amp like my Fryette PS-2. Cab has a lot of impact on your tone though, but it's fun as hell.

 

[ClintN667]

I actually am ampless for the first time in Over 8 or 9 years after getting the FM3. I'm running it with a KSR PA50. I ended up selling my last couple amps after shooting them out side by side through the PA50 and a v30 2x12.

Will I never own another amp? I can't say that at all. I actually just want to replace my Atla and Mark IV but if I don't, I will be more than happy with what I have in the FM3.

 

[ChuggNorris]

I actually am ampless for the first time in Over 8 or 9 years after getting the FM3. I'm running it with a KSR PA50. I ended up selling my last couple amps after shooting them out side by side through the PA50 and a v30 2x12.

Will I never own another amp? I can't say that at all. I actually just want to replace my Atla and Mark IV but if I don't, I will be more than happy with what I have in the FM3.

Really?

What were some of the amps you sold?

I've also read that the fractal has the mark tones absolutely nailed in the iii on the fractal boards.

Would you say that's accurate ?

 

[Shask]

I actually am ampless for the first time in Over 8 or 9 years after getting the FM3. I'm running it with a KSR PA50. I ended up selling my last couple amps after shooting them out side by side through the PA50 and a v30 2x12.

Will I never own another amp? I can't say that at all. I actually just want to replace my Atla and Mark IV but if I don't, I will be more than happy with what I have in the FM3.

The FM3 into a tube power amp is definitely very good. I think there is still a difference in the immediate dynamic punch, but that is being very nictpicky.

I have a 200W 4xKT88 power amp I use, and I alternate using that with my Synergy stuff. It helps bring in the fullness that you dont get as much with a SS power amp.

 

[Crunchity]

Really?

What were some of the amps you sold?

I've also read that the fractal has the mark tones absolutely nailed in the iii on the fractal boards.

Would you say that's accurate ?

I know you didn't ask me, just chiming in anyway lol. I'm not sure how accurate many of the models are in the Axe III but in all honesty I personally didn't buy one for that, I simply wanted another tool that gave me great tones to record with, didn't really care if model x, y or z came within' a certain % of the physical version, etc, I just needed to dial in a variety of cool tones and have a bunch of killer effects to boot, the Fractal delivers on that front in spades.

For the record I DID sell one of my babies after getting comfy with the Axe III....I kept the Bogner and sold my SLO. No regrets either (loved the SLO, recorded plenty of tunes with it that I'm proud of, nobody can take that away, was just time to move on).

 

[rsm]

No more digital hardware modelers for me, unless they're low end (e.g., Mooer Prime S1). Software plugins sound great IMO. I run my plugins into my nearfield studio monitors; and my guitar computer rig into a powered PA with a sub. Sounds great, and costs much less than the high-end hardware modelers, and I can upgrade different components as needed. The computer cost $300, the audio interface cost: $99; $94 for the touchscreen. Already had everything else.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

Has anyone used the Positive Grid Bias software and loaded it up into one of their heads or preamps? Wondering how that works out through a real speaker cab.

 

[Shask]

I know you didn't ask me, just chiming in anyway lol. I'm not sure how accurate many of the models are in the Axe III but in all honesty I personally didn't buy one for that, I simply wanted another tool that gave me great tones to record with, didn't really care if model x, y or z came within' a certain % of the physical version, etc, I just needed to dial in a variety of cool tones and have a bunch of killer effects to boot, the Fractal delivers on that front in spades.

For the record I DID sell one of my babies after getting comfy with the Axe III....I kept the Bogner and sold my SLO. No regrets either (loved the SLO, recorded plenty of tunes with it that I'm proud of, nobody can take that away, was just time to move on).

I think if people plug into an Axe FX and expect it to be identical to some specific amp, with every little nuance it has, they will be disappointed.

However, when I plug an OD, then an EQ, into my Triple Recto, with an EQ in the loop, Noise Gate, and then a Chorus and Delay, etc..... the Axe is good at trying to recreate a snapshot of this situation. That is what I like best about it. I can try to recreate all that crap in one single preset I can recall at any time.

 

[ClintN667]

Really?

What were some of the amps you sold?

I've also read that the fractal has the mark tones absolutely nailed in the iii on the fractal boards.

Would you say that's accurate ?

I sold my Headfirst Alta, Mesa Mark IV, 6505, ceriatone plexi, Peavey VTM, and KSR Orion. I agree that it nails the mark tones but also Marshall tones especially after the last update. The 6505 and the fm3 were indistinguishable at same volumes.

I'm using a lot of IR's that have the EQ curve of some of my favorite albums.

I will likely buy another Atla, 6505, and Mark IV but at this point in my life I'm not missing them too bad. With the KSR PA50 I'm able to adjust the NFB, presence and resonance and pretty much get exactly what I would expect from my amp heads.

 

[GrimTrigger]

I think if people plug into an Axe FX and expect it to be identical to some specific amp, with every little nuance it has, they will be disappointed.

However, when I plug an OD, then an EQ, into my Triple Recto, with an EQ in the loop, Noise Gate, and then a Chorus and Delay, etc..... the Axe is good at trying to recreate a snapshot of this situation. That is what I like best about it. I can try to recreate all that crap in one single preset I can recall at any time.

I love my Axe. I think it is an amazing piece of gear.

I never use it for amp modeling though because I get fatigued and lose interest pretty quick, while I am okay playing my real amps for hours with the knobs in any position.

 

[Chronic Narnia]

 

[rsm]

I posted above "no more digital hardware modelers for me" above; that turns out to not be true, as I have a Helix Floor now, and just built a more portable computer rig for guitar using a refurbished Dell rugged tablet I purchased for $200.

What I realized is that it doesn't take much compute power for a dedicated computer to run software plugins, 1-2 at a time, for guitar. I expect the same to be true for Fractal and Helix; as long as they continue to find ways to optimize their software, they can continue to squeeze more out of the current hardware, even if it's a few years old.

I'm sure the cost of the hardware components have experienced inflation just like everything else.

What I like about the computer rig is its' modularity vs hardware modelers. I get upgrades for the plugins I use on a regular basis; if a new guitar plugin is released, I can add it to my collection; if latency or other compute power related limitations become an issue, I can buy a newer more powerful computer, etc. for a few hundred vs getting a brand new hardware digital modeler for $1.5K or more.

For reference, the Dell rugged tablet I have: Dell Lattitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet, 11.6" FHD (1920x1080) Touch LCD, Intel Core i5-6300U, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, WiFi, and Win 10 Pro (which I was able to upgrade to Win 11 Pro for free). It weighs about 4 lbs.

As you can see, it's not a high performance gaming machine, nor does it need to be. The only downside is having too few USB connections; it has one USB-A connection I use for my KMI SoftStep2, and a USB-C connection I use to connect to my audio interface; that's all it has, but it's enough. I may run out of storage for all of my plugins eventually, but I don't need all of them on this device.

Amazon has another one of these Dell tablets for $449.95 (more than twice what I paid for mine a month ago!)


FWIW, I create my patches on my desktop computer, then copy them onto the Dell; easier to create patches with a keyboard and mouse though the Dell touchscreen works fine for making minor adjustments:

Running PolyChromeDSP - McRocklin Suite on it:

 

[napalmdeath]

I’m in the “Fuck That Thing” camp but that option wasn’t there

I've often thought of trying one, but I know the endless tweaking would drive me batshit crazy. I can't stand things that require days or weeks or months of dialing it in, then feeling the need to continue tweaking puts it in the "Fuck That" camp for me too. To each his own, but it's a rabbit hole that would ultimately lead me to insanity levels of constant tweaking. Mic positions, power tube bias, sag, endless cesspool of IRs, Power amp behavior, parameters for parameters, Fuck That. If they made a stripped down version that was for dummies, maybe. I don't need 75% the bullshit extras.

 

[rsm]

I've often thought of trying one, but I know the endless tweaking would drive me batshit crazy. I can't stand things that require days or weeks or months of dialing it in, then feeling the need to continue tweaking puts it in the "Fuck That" camp for me too. To each his own, but it's a rabbit hole that would ultimately lead me to insanity levels of constant tweaking. Mic positions, power tube bias, sag, endless cesspool of IRs, Power amp behavior, parameters for parameters, Fuck That. If they made a stripped down version that was for dummies, maybe. I don't need 75% the bullshit extras.

that's why I sold my Axe-FX Ultra years ago, and the latest Axe-FX has even more parameters and options that can be a rabbit hole for me.

the Helix works better for me, not as many deep parameters and I rarely tweak them (usually only sag and bias), and I have a simple process to get amp+cab+mic+placement set quickly. Also, I use the global EQ to cut the lows and highs.

 

[lespaul6]

anyone know what happened to the OP, I just sent him 220 dollars for some speakers and now it shows he's banned.. I hope he needed the money that bad

 

[Shask]

anyone know what happened to the OP, I just sent him 220 dollars for some speakers and now it shows he's banned.. I hope he needed the money that bad

He was just posting a day or 2 ago...

 

[lespaul6]

He was just posting a day or 2 ago...

working it now, he has responded to me. He didn't know he was banned until I told him. Maybe it can be just a temp ban and he will agree to whatever terms the mods can come up with. He can then finish the deals he was making in the classifieds. I think there is more than just me.
Anyway, thanks to jackbooted for listening to my concerns on this... will see how it all works out.

 

[boltzthrower]

I had the FM3 and still have the Standard.

I’ve never been able to create a modeler into FRFR tone that I liked in the room. Could be user error but I’ve tried for hours & hours.

My main rig is Axe into tube power amp and real 4x12. The Axe is virtually noise free, all analog preamps introduce a shit ton of noise in comparison, which is something I never hear anyone talk about but is a big deal for me. It’s night & day difference if you’re A/B’ing Axe VS analog pres. I’m not talking about what you use a noise gate for, if you A/B them you’ll definitely hear it, there’s a constant wall of noise behind all analog high gain tones.

The FM3 as a preamp is pretty close to a real analog/tube pre in terms of dynamics & feel but it’s not quite there. The Standard is not very close to a real analog/tube and has its own flavor, no matter which amp model you’re using it’s always there, but I’m way into that flavor. Idgaf about copying an existing amp, I want to program the amp I need that doesn’t exist.

The “Tightness trick”, in which you attach a high pass filter to an envelope controller, is a game changer for tight down tuned high gain. I’ve never heard an analog pre with actual tight fast responding bass like this.

Channel changes on the Standard is instant and seamless. It’s so good you can play some fast ass 16th note alternate picking and switch between clean/high gain with nearly perfect timing. I’ve never had analog gear come close to that, it’s always latency, or pops, or the high gain has to swell into existence.

So with the Axe FX’s high pass filtering, noiseless amps and easily tweakable parametric EQ’s, my in the room live tone cuts significantly better than any head or analog pre I’ve ever had (and I’ve had tons of different preamps). I still play analog/tube rigs daily but my Axe into tube power amp rig hasn't been dethroned for 12 years.

 

[VESmedic]

It literally takes me 47 seconds to dial in a fantastic tone on the axe III. There is zero reason to go into sub menus and tweak this and tweak that etc. That’s a complete myth with the modern axe fx variant. In the past? Sure, I guess it was definitely a thing however I’ve never owned anything other than the 3. If you know how to dial in the amp in real life, the axe is no different. Pull up a good IR and an amp block….done. It’s literally that easy. If you have a problem with fiddling with IR’s, that ain’t a problem with the axe fx; that is a different problem entirely.