Axe FX III An Improvement Over Axe FX II XL+?

[Shask]

Exactly! And the hardest thing is trying to explain this scientifically to an Axe 2 owner. "Yeah it's like... more 3D, you know?" which sounds like bullshit

But for everyone who's considering the jump from 2 to 3, all I can say that for me the jump was huge. And very unexpectedly so.

Yeah, having an Axe II and a FM3, I can say there are a lot of things that just make it easier. If you take FM3 settings and apply them to the Axe II you can get them closer, but it is more work.

A few examples are the amp block SIC curves. You can select them instead of dialing it. Input eq curve, input boost, etc... instead of needing additional blocks. Same for the effects having more pre defined types, so you don't have to dial in your own variations of famous effects.

There are several things that cut down on tweak time like that.

The first Axe to the II was the same way.

 

[kmanick]

jesus, I 've been thinking about grabbing another Fractal product, when I'm done gigging and this thread was absolutely zero help LOL!
I see XL+II's with MFC 's for $1,300 quite regularly, I 'm still in the fog about whether or not the II is worth the extra $$$ especially when it's only going to be used at home.

 

[Seabeast2000]

jesus, I 've been thinking about grabbing another Fractal product, when I'm done gigging and this thread was absolutely zero help LOL!
I see XL+II's with MFC 's for $1,300 quite regularly, I 'm still in the fog about whether or not the II is worth the extra $$$ especially when it's only going to be used at home.

III Turbo , start with your best foot forward.

 

[Crungy]

@kmanick Hard to say if you're used to the real deal with some volume. I'd think the 2XL+ would be more than adequate, but everyone is accustomed to different things. Despite the 2XL+ being 8 years old, it's light years ahead of the old tech as far as sound and feel IME.

Or ball hard and go big like @Seabeast2000 is saying!

 

[budda]

jesus, I 've been thinking about grabbing another Fractal product, when I'm done gigging and this thread was absolutely zero help LOL!
I see XL+II's with MFC 's for $1,300 quite regularly, I 'm still in the fog about whether or not the II is worth the extra $$$ especially when it's only going to be used at home.

Get a used iii (not mk2 or turbo) for $1500usd or so and go.

Best piece of gear Ive bought.

 

[Crungy]

Get a used iii (not mk2 or turbo) for $1500usd or so and go.

Best piece of gear Ive bought.

Damn those are that cheap?

 

[budda]

Damn those are that cheap?

Isnt a new mk2 $2200 usd or so?

I paid $2k cdn in 2020 which was a great deal then, and they still go for that sometimes here. So i imagine they should be around at $1400usd or so for the mk1 stateside (not on reverb lol).

 

[Choop]

Isnt a new mk2 $2200 usd or so?

I paid $2k cdn in 2020 which was a great deal then, and they still go for that sometimes here. So i imagine they should be around at $1400usd or so for the mk1 stateside (not on reverb lol).

Cheapest I've seen is around $1600, but you may get lucky.

 

[Crungy]

not on reverb lol

That makes more sense!

 

[budda]

Cheapest I've seen is around $1600, but you may get lucky.

Thats when you lob $1400. Not an insult to the seller with that one.

 

[Choop]

Thats when you lob $1400. Not an insult to the seller with that one.

Yup you could! But just saying, I've not been seeing anything actually listed for sale anywhere near that price.

 

[budda]

Yup you could! But just saying, I've not been seeing anything actually listed for sale anywhere near that price.

To be fair, the one I got wasnt listed. I put a wtb and someone in the same city as my brother offered his for said price. Im seeing a few for $1600usd shipped on the fas forum.

 

[NoodleFace]

Just replying to the first page, but I'm also a firmware engineer - if I had a nickel for every time a customer wanted a piece of hardware changed and wanted it to operate 1:1 with the previous gen because it's "just a small change", I'd have at least 50 cents. There is inherent hardware changes that are going to color the sounds coming out of these amps, it's not just processing power.

 

[Shask]

I have been doing all kinds of wiring experiments lately and last night I found both of my Fractal units were way more transparent coming after my Synergy preamp instead of in the loop. I also always found them kind of weird in the loop of the 5153 50w also. I am starting to think they just dont like being fed an instrument level signal when not being used as a preamp. It might just work to run straight through them instead of using a mixer, which would make things WAY easier.

Funny enough, I have struggled to get them as transparent as my older rack effects units when being ran through a parallel mixer.

I think this weekend I will try 4CM again. Maybe I will need a new Axe III Turbo, lol. It sounds like the Axe has less latency than the FM pedals.

 

[Badlander1994]

There’s an Axe II XL+ for sale near me, and the seller says he’ll take $750 for it. It was only used at home and is essentially brand new. It’d become the brain of my little home studio and I would use it as an interface, in 4CM with real amps and as a straight up modeler. I could get an FM3 for about the same price, but the dual amp capability of the Axe II and the ability to run way more effects is tempting. Worth it or nah?

 

[budda]

There’s an Axe II XL+ for sale near me, and the seller says he’ll take $750 for it. It was only used at home and is essentially brand new. It’d become the brain of my little home studio and I would use it as an interface, in 4CM with real amps and as a straight up modeler. I could get an FM3 for about the same price, but the dual amp capability of the Axe II and the ability to run way more effects is tempting. Worth it or nah?

Will you actually consistently run two amps at once in the axe since you already have real amps? fm3 sounds like the choice there to me.

 

[Shask]

There’s an Axe II XL+ for sale near me, and the seller says he’ll take $750 for it. It was only used at home and is essentially brand new. It’d become the brain of my little home studio and I would use it as an interface, in 4CM with real amps and as a straight up modeler. I could get an FM3 for about the same price, but the dual amp capability of the Axe II and the ability to run way more effects is tempting. Worth it or nah?

The Axe II can run more blocks, 2 amps, and has lower latency for 4CM. The FM3 will have the updated algorithms for everything, and the newer effects, such as the cloud reverbs.

I still use my old Axe II for effects with my stereo tube setup, and my FM3 is at my desk for computer playing.

 

[Badlander1994]

Picked up the Axe II and, as expected, it sounds great. Most of my playing before was through a Scarlett 2i2 and VSTs, and the Axe blows that out of the water in terms of feel and sound. The newer units must be incredible if the Cygnus firmware is as much of a step up from Ares as people say, definitely going to pick up an Axe III or FM9 down the road.

 

[budda]

Hell yeah

 

[Daevasmodeus]

Picked up the Axe II and, as expected, it sounds great. Most of my playing before was through a Scarlett 2i2 and VSTs, and the Axe blows that out of the water in terms of feel and sound. The newer units must be incredible if the Cygnus firmware is as much of a step up from Ares as people say, definitely going to pick up an Axe III or FM9 down the road.

I still think this technology basically peaked at the Axe II. I’m too stupid or deaf to notice anything appreciably better in any newer units and I don’t really need Eventide-level multi-layered time FX. If they could fit a III in a 2U case then I’d be interested just for the added amp models but something tells me the IV (if it even releases in the 20’s) won’t even be rack based.