NGD: AxeFx.... Ultra?

[grrr_me_scary]

Hey you be you my man, apologies for calling shenanigans on ya. While I don't understand the point of keeping EOL electronics when you have a unit that can do everything the others can and more my basement looks like an AC/DC concert so I'm not gonna judge

If I had a basement then I would probably start going down a similar path

We had talked about moving out of state in the not-to-far-off-future since everything in California just keeps going up and I want to get a place with a basement so a place with a basement is a must-have for me

 

[saxxamafone]

I've always said AxeFx's are the iPhones of the gear world.

Always a new flashy next model.

It's funny because the great guitar tone we're often chasing has never changed.
So in theory if an Axe Ultra nailed that tone, where's the need for future models? Apart from added features.

 

[GOHOINC]

As much of a Fractal fan as I am, the IV would have to do something really, REALLY impressive for me to want to upgrade from the III (MK I). I can’t imagine anyone on the planet having an actual need to ”upgrade” from the III MKI to an MK III turbo or whatever iteration there is, they run the same FW, the only difference is storage space for IR’s and presets.

I’m already getting my dream tones out of it, unless the hardware shits the bed, it already does exactly what I want it to do already.

The turbo has a faster processor and more ram I thought? Allows you to run more blocks without overloading cpu. That said, I've only built one patch on my Axe III MKI that had too much going on and it would only overload when a TS808 or Klon channel on my drive block were active along with having a synth block which I rarely used, so I get your point and tend to agree to a large degree.

 

[RevDrucifer]

The turbo has a faster processor and more ram I thought? Allows you to run more blocks without overloading cpu. That said, I've only built one patch on my Axe III MKI that had too much going on and it would only overload when a TS808 or Klon channel on my drive block were active along with having a synth block which I rarely used, so I get your point and tend to agree to a large degree.

My bad, you’re indeed correct, it gives about 25% more processing power. Hahahha I’m guessing I forgot/blew it off because the idea of someone actually needing that extra 25% is getting into the “The Edge just replaced EVERYTHING in his rig with a single AxeFX” territory

The thread here discusses it https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...e-and-turbo-dsp-module-25-clock-speed.191566/

 

[Crunchity]

As much of a Fractal fan as I am, the IV would have to do something really, REALLY impressive for me to want to upgrade from the III (MK I). I can’t imagine anyone on the planet having an actual need to ”upgrade” from the III MKI to an MK III turbo or whatever iteration there is, they run the same FW, the only difference is storage space for IR’s and presets.

I’m already getting my dream tones out of it, unless the hardware shits the bed, it already does exactly what I want it to do already.

Same here. If and when they release a IV it would have to be a mighty significant upgrade in the TONE dept for me to purchase one. I will personally need more than just a few new bells and whistles at this point because like you (and obviously many others) I'm really content with the current sounds, already getting really nice, pro level recorded/mix ready tones with the III Mk II (granted this is my only use with the Fractal these days - purely a studio tool).

It would be an interesting little joke to pull on future "IV" owners and post music tracked with the III but state it's the "IV" and see if anyone could tell (SERIOUSLY doubt it) lol

 

[RevDrucifer]

Same here. If and when they release a IV it would have to be a mighty significant upgrade in the TONE dept for me to purchase one. I will personally need more than just a few new bells and whistles at this point because like you (and obviously many others) I'm really content with the current sounds, already getting really nice, pro level recorded/mix ready tones with the III Mk II (granted this is my only use with the Fractal these days - purely a studio tool).

It would be an interesting little joke to pull on future "IV" owners and post music tracked with the III but state it's the "IV" and see if anyone could tell (SERIOUSLY doubt it) lol

I really think the IV will be more about UI and making things user friendly. It’s the only modeler out there where you’ll see people say “I hate the UI, but it’s the only one that gets the tones right” and there’s even a few self-hating Fractal owners out there over this stuff There’s one dude on my forum who slags Fractal quite a bit, to the point you’d never think he’d be interested in one, come to find out he’s an FM3 user and has been the entire time he’s slagged Fractal.

 

[GuitarGuy08]

Grabbed this thing for $450 off Reverb and it finally showed up yesterday. Super clean condition and even had the plastic on the display still when it showed up. Did a little reorganization in my rack and moved the XLR patch panel to the rear and dropped it in. Still want to upgrade to a bigger rack but for now this will do.

First impressions are yeah, it's old and may not be as refined as the newer units, but it still rips! I have it running into my 1824c direct into Reaper with my own IR's loaded in Pulse. Seems to do pretty good though I want to get some different IR's and play around a bit more there.

Mainly wanted it to build patches to add layers to stuff I am working on to blend with my live guitars from my JCM800 and 5150III Stealth. Now I've just got to learn this thing and understand how to build patches correctly.

The ONLY thing that sucks, is lack of availability of high gain patches out there. There's a few on Axe Change, but if anyone has any they'd like to share I'll happily accept them.

Off to start messing around with it for a while instead of working like I should be today


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That is a hell of a lot of fun for $450!!

Definitely going to sink some hours into that with patches, etc. Have a great time!!

 

[notyet]

Just thinking of it in terms of effects- it is a monster effects unit. I use one every day with my amp heads. It powers on immediately, it has tons of horsepower, you can put piles of blocks into your preset to do pretty much whatever you need. I'm hard pressed to think of many units that can fill the "swiss army knife" role like an Ultra can for such small money.

The amp simulation isn't up to current standards, though I'm not sure it isn't competitive with a Helix perhaps. The preamp simulations into a tube amp are pretty solid.

I have owned all the newer generations and have an Axe3 but the Ultra is still awesome.

 

[PhloridaMan]

I've always said AxeFx's are the iPhones of the gear world.

Always a new flashy next model.

It's funny because the great guitar tone we're often chasing has never changed.
So in theory if an Axe Ultra nailed that tone, where's the need for future models? Apart from added features.

The way I approached it is not "does it sound like this amp" it was more, "can I get a badass tone" and the answer was beyond yes.

 

[Crunchity]

The way I approached it is not "does it sound like this amp" it was more, "can I get a badass tone" and the answer was beyond yes.

Bingo, at least for me too. I've never been concerned with the modeled accuracy of amp "x" (I know, I know, that IS a big deal for many and even a selling/focus of the developers)...all I want is a way to get kick ass, pro level tones , from break up to shred for tracking purposes....I can tailor them to taste as I would with an actual tube amp/cab...and in that regard, the Axe FX delivers in spades.

 

[firegate]

I'm not a modeling fan in general but $450 is a good buy. Honestly the original Axe with its latest firmware still has a better feel to me than some of the current modelers on the market, in particular stuff like the Headrush or the Positive Grid

That and even the early Fractal units have much better FX than everything else on the market. At the end of the day even if you don't like the modeling it's not a bad buy just to use it as a delay/chorus/verb.

 

[ghosty999]

I've always said AxeFx's are the iPhones of the gear world.

Always a new flashy next model.

It's funny because the great guitar tone we're often chasing has never changed.
So in theory if an Axe Ultra nailed that tone, where's the need for future models? Apart from added features.

This logic is why I went from the Ultra, to the Axe2 and then called it a day. Axe2 does all I need. To update would be a lateral step gear-wise, and a bad decision financially. Late stage corporate consumerism doing it's thing. I'm sure the top brass love the concept Fractal GAS haha