Official Axe-Fx Q&A thread!

[brian_ward]

Double post.

 

[brian_ward]

Thanks for the information! That’s what I needed to know. If I can swing the extra funds for an AxeFx II, would I notice an appreciable difference in performance? Im not too concerned with resale value.

 

[mnemonic]

Thanks for the information! That’s what I needed to know. If I can swing the extra funds for an AxeFx II, would I notice an appreciable difference in performance? Im not too concerned with resale value.

It depends how deep you want to go with effects and routing.

With the AX8 you can’t record via USB, use dual amps, and you run out of CPU power faster if you want to use a lot of high quality reverbs and delays. I bought my II Mk.2 before the AX8 came out, but if I had the choice I would have went with the AX8, as I don’t use dual amps, and I wouldn’t run out of CPU as my patches are always pretty simple, just boost > amp > reverb and delay (sometimes).

I think there are limitations on the amount of cab impulses you can use at once also, like you can have two stereo cab blocks in the axe fx, so 4 impulses at once (I think, it’s been a while since I’ve used impulses, for a long time I’ve just went poweramp > guitar cab). With the AX8 I think you’re more limited, but at the end of the day you can blend multiple impulses into a single impulse using cablab anyway, so it’s not really an issue.

The axe fx forum may be more use for this type of question if you do intend to use a lot of effects.

It’s the high quality reverbs and ultrares impulses that take up the most CPU. To be fair It’s hard to tell any difference between normal quality and high quality on the reverbs and impulses.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

I got my Axe-Fx III purchase invitation today. I don't know if I should order it now or skip and see if there will be a holiday discount. Thoughts? I have the Axe-Fx II and I'm not sure when I'll sell it. I need both in hand for a little while in order to recreate my patches on the III.

 

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

I got my Axe-Fx III purchase invitation today. I don't know if I should order it now or skip and see if there will be a holiday discount. Thoughts? I have the Axe-Fx II and I'm not sure when I'll sell it. I need both in hand for a little while in order to recreate my patches on the III.

If you buy now, it’s only because you want it now. I waited years to buy a IIXL+ once they were priced for clearance, because it was and is inevitable in Cliff Chase’s established planned-obsolescence model.

 

[Elric]

I got my Axe-Fx III purchase invitation today. I don't know if I should order it now or skip and see if there will be a holiday discount. Thoughts? I have the Axe-Fx II and I'm not sure when I'll sell it. I need both in hand for a little while in order to recreate my patches on the III.

They've had what? A three month long and counting wait list at the current price? I personally wouldn't expect them to discount it anytime within the next 12 months or so after getting sufficient stock to just actually have it in their store (if they even manage to do that within the year ).

You're probably looking at Holiday 2019 or later if you are waiting for a further discount beyond the current price (which is crazy cheap for how powerful that box is, IMHO).

If you don't really want it fair enough, they'll certainly have it in stock on the regular someday like they did when the II and AX8 came out... but if you have cash in hand and are just holding out for a discount I wouldn't count on one soon enough to make it worth passing on.

 

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

discount beyond the current price (which is crazy cheap for how powerful that box is, IMHO).

Compared to what?

 

[Decapitated]

I got my Axe-Fx III purchase invitation today. I don't know if I should order it now or skip and see if there will be a holiday discount. Thoughts? I have the Axe-Fx II and I'm not sure when I'll sell it. I need both in hand for a little while in order to recreate my patches on the III.

Doubtful there will be any discounts soon. I have had my III for about 3 weeks or so. I didn't have a II, but had an Ultra back in the day. Love my III, especially with Axe Edit. If you can wait until they have them in stock without a waitlist, since you have the II, that may help curb GAS, but I am glad I pulled the trigger.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Is there a time to buy in that's the best? Doing some quick estimations I'm thinking the following...

Buy the Axe-Fx III for $2500 now and sell my Axe-Fx II XL+ for $1600 (it's less than a year old). I'm out $900 for the III.
OR I wait until much later (like near the retirement of the III)
Axe-Fx III is $1800 then but my Axe-Fx II XL+ only sells for $800 around then too (what Ultras are selling for now). I'm out $1000 for the III but it's also EOL (end of life) when bought.

I'm thinking buying in as early as possible to get rid of the Axe-Fx II XL+ is maybe the best way to go?
If I was just now buying my first Fractal product, waiting would be better but I'm try to sell a Fractal unit at the same time in this situation.
Plus, I'm really needing a controller and I'm not sure the MFC-101 MKIII works with the Axe-Fx III (this the new controllers that are coming out).

 

[mnemonic]

Is there a time to buy in that's the best? Doing some quick estimations I'm thinking the following...

Buy the Axe-Fx III for $2500 now and sell my Axe-Fx II XL+ for $1600 (it's less than a year old). I'm out $900 for the III.
OR I wait until much later (like near the retirement of the III)
Axe-Fx III is $1800 then but my Axe-Fx II XL+ only sells for $800 around then too (what Ultras are selling for now). I'm out $1000 for the III but it's also EOL (end of life) when bought.

I'm thinking buying in as early as possible to get rid of the Axe-Fx II XL+ is maybe the best way to go?
If I was just now buying my first Fractal product, waiting would be better but I'm try to sell a Fractal unit at the same time in this situation.
Plus, I'm really needing a controller and I'm not sure the MFC-101 MKIII works with the Axe-Fx III (this the new controllers that are coming out).

The Axe Fx II came out in 2011 and is only just recently end of life, so if you want to wait for the III’s end of life, you might be waiting the better part of a decade.

 

[Shask]

The Axe Fx II came out in 2011 and is only just recently end of life, so if you want to wait for the III’s end of life, you might be waiting the better part of a decade.

Exactly. The II has been going strong for 7 years or so, so I don't see the III being replaced for a LONG time.

Who knows, processors might be obsolete by then, and we all run gigs off of an Apple watch.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

The Axe Fx II came out in 2011 and is only just recently end of life, so if you want to wait for the III’s end of life, you might be waiting the better part of a decade.

And that's mainly due to a component being end of life, not the unit itself.

So the Axe-Fx II XL+ goes down in value over this time just because of age (albeit gradually) while the Axe-Fx III remains the same price except for random discounts, if there ever are any. So overall, I'm thinking I should buy in ASAP if part of the purchase is contingent/benefited by the sale of my current unit which is only going to go down in value the longer I wait.

Anyone think differently?

 

[Elric]

The Axe Fx II came out in 2011 and is only just recently end of life, so if you want to wait for the III’s end of life, you might be waiting the better part of a decade.

This. Look at the specs on the III and the lifetime of the II series; which isn't even completely unsupported yet as it just had a 10.x firmware last month. These units are not likely to be replaced in any major way quickly, I would expect them to live at least as long as the II series.

So jumping in early is probably the best bang for your buck.

I got in fairly late on the Ultras and regretted it. Fairly early on the IIs (MkII; did not regret that for a moment) and am going in even earlier on the III.

There is a decent chance the III will be my last AxeFx... not because I am not sold on Fractal but I am just not getting any younger and the II is stupid powerful already. So the stopping point on the III should be pretty mind blowing.

 

[laxu]

Is there a time to buy in that's the best? Doing some quick estimations I'm thinking the following...

Buy the Axe-Fx III for $2500 now and sell my Axe-Fx II XL+ for $1600 (it's less than a year old). I'm out $900 for the III.
OR I wait until much later (like near the retirement of the III)
Axe-Fx III is $1800 then but my Axe-Fx II XL+ only sells for $800 around then too (what Ultras are selling for now). I'm out $1000 for the III but it's also EOL (end of life) when bought.

I'm thinking buying in as early as possible to get rid of the Axe-Fx II XL+ is maybe the best way to go?
If I was just now buying my first Fractal product, waiting would be better but I'm try to sell a Fractal unit at the same time in this situation.
Plus, I'm really needing a controller and I'm not sure the MFC-101 MKIII works with the Axe-Fx III (this the new controllers that are coming out).

You could wait until any used IIIs end up on the market. Other than that, the only product you could wait for reasonably is a successor to the AX8 and that is most likely a few years off at least.

To me this is not a great time to hop onto the Axe-Fx III train. The foot controllers are not yet available and there seem to be bugs to fix in the firmware and it doesn't sound much different from the II. A year later it might so I would just stick with the 2 unless you want the improved front panel user interface or are a power user who needs all the stuff the 3 can do.

I've got an Axe-Fx 2 MK I that is still going strong and all the firmware updates over the years have been great but this time around we are talking much more diminishing returns soundwise unless Fractal manages to up the ante in a way that we don't know yet. I bought mine used around 1 year after its release, was a Axe-Fx Standard owner until then because the 2 did not sound much different at the time.

MFC-101 does not work with the Axe-Fx 3 at the moment at least except as a basic MIDI controller. It remains to be seen if Fractal manages to support it somehow but so far it seems they are going for their proprietary controller.

 

[Shask]

This is hard for me. I LOVE my Axe II Mark II. I have had it for about 5 years, and had an Axe Standard before it. It sounds amazing, does anything you could want, and I think I use maybe 10% of what it can do. The Axe III looks amazing, but the II is overkill, so the III is complete overkill for me. I find it hard to see why most people would need that powerful of a unit if they are not someone like Devin Townsend who is a professional studio and touring musician. I can see using my Axe II for many years. My only concern is the software going obsolete in the future.

I think the next Fractal product I will look at is the AX8-II, or whatever it will be called. I would have seriously considered the AX8 if it were available when I bought. I usually dont like floor units as well as rack, but a 3 unit monster rack is kind of pushing it into absurdity in the other direction.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Bought the Axe-Fx III today. Already on the waitlist for the foot controller. I need to convert all of my existing presets ASAP and then sell the II XL+ whenever I can instead of holding on to an EOL product whose value is just going to diminish. The Axe-Fx II XL+ is fantastic, don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with the sound imo and I'm perfectly happy with the tone. There's not much of a reason for me to upgrade but considering I was about to invest in a foot controller for the old unit, I might as well start with a clean slate by getting a product with a just-beginning lifespan. I have complaints about the II and I'm hoping they're ones that get addressed in the II (some have already even).

 

[Decapitated]

This is hard for me. I LOVE my Axe II Mark II. I have had it for about 5 years, and had an Axe Standard before it. It sounds amazing, does anything you could want, and I think I use maybe 10% of what it can do. The Axe III looks amazing, but the II is overkill, so the III is complete overkill for me. I find it hard to see why most people would need that powerful of a unit if they are not someone like Devin Townsend who is a professional studio and touring musician. I can see using my Axe II for many years. My only concern is the software going obsolete in the future.

I think the next Fractal product I will look at is the AX8-II, or whatever it will be called. I would have seriously considered the AX8 if it were available when I bought. I usually dont like floor units as well as rack, but a 3 unit monster rack is kind of pushing it into absurdity in the other direction.

I completely agree. The III is completely absurd, especially for a lowly bedroom player like me. With that being said, I love it, even if I never even come close to scratching the surface of what it can do. Oh, and it sounds marvelous.

 

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

I find it hard to see why most people would need that powerful of a unit if they are not someone like Devin Townsend who is a professional studio and touring musician.

Well...This is a gearwhore site for young men who believe you can buy your way out of how you sound. Compare the threads about new dust-collectors to the number of lesson/theory threads, or even posts to do with people playing guitar - then set your expectations accordingly.

Anyway, rack-mounted overkill is what Cliff Chase is known for selling; so he’s going to work that corner up until the Axe FX that flips pancakes and rubs your balls moves fewer units than the last. Then the trajectory will change. But for now, we can expect the III XL to have a Big Gulp holder.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Well...This is a gearwhore site for young men who believe you can buy your way out of how you sound. Compare the threads about new dust-collectors to the number of lesson/theory threads, or even posts to do with people playing guitar - then set your expectations accordingly.

Anyway, rack-mounted overkill is what Cliff Chase is known for selling; so he’s going to work that corner up until the Axe FX that flips pancakes and rubs your balls moves fewer units than the last. Then the trajectory will change. But for now, we can expect the III XL to have a Big Gulp holder.

Not just that but I love tech stuff too. I play a wide variety of stuff and I jump around with amp sounds. Axe-Fx was a no brainer. I can't settle with just a single amp and cab. Honestly, no piece of gear has made me so happy, inspired, and satisfied like the Axe-Fx has. My playing ability exploded once I got that and the Kemper. Things ALWAYS sound the way I want them to sound.

 

[Andromalia]

Well...This is a gearwhore site for young men who believe you can buy your way out of how you sound. Compare the threads about new dust-collectors to the number of lesson/theory threads, or even posts to do with people playing guitar - then set your expectations accordingly.

Anyway, rack-mounted overkill is what Cliff Chase is known for selling; so he’s going to work that corner up until the Axe FX that flips pancakes and rubs your balls moves fewer units than the last. Then the trajectory will change. But for now, we can expect the III XL to have a Big Gulp holder.

Dude, the salt business is overflowing already. If you can't use an axe fx doesn't mean everybody is like you. (Thankfully)