Official Axe-Fx Q&A thread!

[budda]

I see there's artists presets now being featured on the Fractal website. Pete Thorn, Devin Townsend, and now Steve Stevens! Fractal is wearing me down.

And cliff released fw12.09 yesterday.

Might as well join in

 

[budda]

12.10 is live, requires an axe edit update if that's how you prefer to edit.

 

[budda]

12.11 is live.

 

[budda]

12.12 released yesterday. A modifiers' delight.

 

[budda]

13.00 beta out now. Drive block overhaul by the looks of things.

 

[c7spheres]

Hi it's me again, the tire kicker! : )
- I've noticed in the last couple updates from reading on the Fractal forum it seems they might be moving a bit to fast or something. It seems like theres been a lot of bugs popping up even in comparison to previous updates.
- I think if (when) I finally get one of these units that I'll always stay a version or two behind and let eveyone else deal with the bugs and whatnot before I do updates myself.
- Then again, the ability to backup and rollback firmware is a huge plus. This is why I'm just gonna have to get two of them so I can experiment on one and play on the other. That's my excuse and I'm stickin to it : )
- I might wait until the Axe IV to comes out though.

 

[budda]

I backed up today so I can try 13.

I don't think they are moving too fast, but I'm also not the type who has to run the latest the day it comes out.

I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[Elric]

Hi it's me again, the tire kicker! : )
- I've noticed in the last couple updates from reading on the Fractal forum it seems they might be moving a bit to fast or something. It seems like theres been a lot of bugs popping up even in comparison to previous updates.
- I think if (when) I finally get one of these units that I'll always stay a version or two behind and let eveyone else deal with the bugs and whatnot before I do updates myself.
- Then again, the ability to backup and rollback firmware is a huge plus. This is why I'm just gonna have to get two of them so I can experiment on one and play on the other. That's my excuse and I'm stickin to it : )
- I might wait until the Axe IV to comes out though.

A lot of the forum posted firmware updates are public betas... in fact to some degree I sort of consider all of the forum announcements of FW to be public betas... I pretty much wait for new releases to drop via Fractal-Bot instead of religiously upgrading the second Cliff posts something on the forum. Waiting for the Axe-Edit update is the other surefire way to avoid jumping on something too early. They don't release a new Axe-Edit (most but not all FWs require or drive some update to AE) until the FW is stable.

It's cool that the unit gets updated a lot but honestly, most updates I can live without until they are properly baked.

Good luck waiting on a IV.

I've owned all three generations and still have a II and a III... Never say never because I am a gear nerd, but I could see the III being my last AxeFx/processor barring some major leap forward in modeling. Things do feel like they have pretty much arrived... I cannot reliably tell the AxeFx from a real tube amp into a reactive load in a blind test, TBH, and I find myself less and less excited about new updates or competing products because it is already so excellent that every update feels very incremental.

There are still dudes on the forum who blow a wad with every FW update and like I said the feeling of forward motion is nice but the last really major things for me were the gain enhancer and the select-able impedance curves. Those felt like notable forward steps, but most other stuff has been side to side. Back in the Ultra days and the early days of the II, every update seemed major to me, but somewhere late in the II's life modeling crossed the threshold for me on my bread and butter sounds for direct tones.

I used to login in there everyday hoping for new FW. Now I check like every two weeks or more. LOL.

I still enjoy amps and cabs, too. I think in the FRFR realm things are at a really good point. Would love to see a fractl version of Line 6's powercab or something like that. The PC seems like a cool step but it is probably just a starting point for that kind of effort. I sort of do not trust them to get it right to be brutally honest, either. Not at the level of attention to detail that Fractal does stuff.

 

[c7spheres]

@Elric That makes a lot of sense that beta's would have issues. Good advise on handling updates. Thanks for the info!
- Can I ask how you compare the feel and dynamics of the AxeFx III to a tube head and cab? Curious how it responds to pick attack and dynamics. Things like picking really light to really hard on a grit channel and how it responds to distortion amount and breakup etc.

 

[Elric]

The AxeFx feels pretty ‘alive’ to me... I can throw a tube unit in the loop (preamp or an amp via a Fryette PS2) and get confused as to which is which if I am not looking at the screen and they are dialed in to match up. If you are set to a light crunch on a Marshall you can pick really light and get a clean sound and then bang the strings and it sounds seriously crunchy.

I think the big things with the modelers are:
1. FRFR vs cabs. Modelers can work in either context but most go for FRFR and that Is WAY different than a cab rig. Some can’t stand it, some get used to it, and some like it better but I think this is the deal breaker for most people that genuinely give them a fair shake but never bond with them.

2. The interface/use model. It feels a lot more like using a computer than an amp rig does. This can be really liberating if you are good with patches presets, etc, TBH. But again, some people cannot abide this.

3. The psychology of it... people are always pushing the magical mystical aspect of tubes and it is easy to get caught up in obsessively being insecure about whether you’d be getting “better” tones with tubes or if it really sounds like the amp it models.

I have a good mix of digital and tube gear now and I don’t really see myself ever NOT having a modeler they are so good and so powerful, you can do everything with them. If I had to do a fire sale, the Axe is the last thing out the door. I could replace it with another unit or something someday, because technology, but it would have to be for a comparable unit, at this stage it is my most useful piece.

 

[budda]

@Elric That makes a lot of sense that beta's would have issues. Good advise on handling updates. Thanks for the info!
- Can I ask how you compare the feel and dynamics of the AxeFx III to a tube head and cab? Curious how it responds to pick attack and dynamics. Things like picking really light to really hard on a grit channel and how it responds to distortion amount and breakup etc.

They've had good dynamics and feel since the ii. Elric has nailed the frfr/cab thing. I switched and literally thought nothing of it, but some folks get very hung up.

I check the forum daily, but not for FW updates

 

[budda]

Speak of the devil, 13.00 is live.

 

[c7spheres]

The AxeFx feels pretty ‘alive’ to me... I can throw a tube unit in the loop (preamp or an amp via a Fryette PS2) and get confused as to which is which if I am not looking at the screen and they are dialed in to match up. If you are set to a light crunch on a Marshall you can pick really light and get a clean sound and then bang the strings and it sounds seriously crunchy.

I think the big things with the modelers are:
1. FRFR vs cabs. Modelers can work in either context but most go for FRFR and that Is WAY different than a cab rig. Some can’t stand it, some get used to it, and some like it better but I think this is the deal breaker for most people that genuinely give them a fair shake but never bond with them.

2. The interface/use model. It feels a lot more like using a computer than an amp rig does. This can be really liberating if you are good with patches presets, etc, TBH. But again, some people cannot abide this.

3. The psychology of it... people are always pushing the magical mystical aspect of tubes and it is easy to get caught up in obsessively being insecure about whether you’d be getting “better” tones with tubes or if it really sounds like the amp it models.

I have a good mix of digital and tube gear now and I don’t really see myself ever NOT having a modeler they are so good and so powerful, you can do everything with them. If I had to do a fire sale, the Axe is the last thing out the door. I could replace it with another unit or something someday, because technology, but it would have to be for a comparable unit, at this stage it is my most useful piece.

They've had good dynamics and feel since the ii. Elric has nailed the frfr/cab thing. I switched and literally thought nothing of it, but some folks get very hung up.

I check the forum daily, but not for FW updates

Thanks for the perspectives guys! It helps a lot. : )

- I think what my personal "deal/issue" is, is that I've been down this road so many times with digital tech and just computers in general and I'm so jaded I find it impossible to believe the hype around these units is true, however the more I look into it and learn the more it seems that it's finally here.

- Interfaces and learning curves don't bother me. I've been through the manual and seen enough videos on the Axe that it seems fairly straight forward.

- From what I can surmise, the feel and behavior of tubes is there and predictable and usable, but also it seems that the most important, critical/vital thing to it all working is that it all comes down to the IR's, of which there are many good IR's it seems now. I'm hearing good results with these units now and it's very exciting. I know the sound is good on these but the feel and bio-feedback response I get is what it's gonna be all about for me.

- The main thing that interests me about the unit is the basic stereo Looper, the I/O patching and the occasional special one-off effects I could use rather than the amp and cab models. I honestly don't need all the amps and effects, but it would be great to actually be satisfied with the unit to explore them out.

- My thought process (self affirmation) is to try out the Axe III and if It's not my thing I could still gain all the other uses out of it. I've really wanted a stereo looper with proper quality and glitch free switching and midi capability for a long time now and it's not possible without spending close to the Axe's price anyways.
- As for one-off effects it would be a god-send. I could do all these little extra unique things used on only one song and not need to buy a special pedal for it.
- All that being said I'm stilll torn between "other" stuff/gear too, but I will take my time, kick tires, and eventually make the right choises. I'm thinking I may try this unit first however specifically because of the 15day return policy. It's really the single thing that is making me look into it. If it wasn't for that reassurance just in case I really wouldn't like to keep it for some reason then I wouldn't consider it without trying it first through the grapevine.

- Thanks again guys. I really appreciate it.

 

[budda]

Or buy a used one and sell it for what you paid. These still seem to move.

Either way, get to trying one!

I'm going to update after work tomorrow, provided I have energy and willpower.

 

[budda]

13.03 live today.

 

[Andromalia]

For a newcomer, I'd advise trying to get a hold of someone owning a unit, and spend like 30 minutes with axe-edit and see if you're getting sounds you like. Nowadays you don't need to tweak a lot to get usable tones.
Unfortunately, the most time consuming part is still finding the right cabinet. :/ There are now way too many and I wish they culled the bad/useless ones from the list.

 

[budda]

There were always a lot. Just start with what you know you like, or the matching cab.

 

[Lax]

I remember 2015, getting an already upgraded several time axefx2xl+, and took nearly a year to really make it sing.
I felt that latest firmwares were way more plug and play, as I stopped fiddling bias and whatever comp thing, so I imagine the axefx3 with the authentic tab of axedit must be way easier and natural to tweak than it was in the past.

PS : You have to at least read "yek's guide to amp" and same for drives, to get the minimum knowledge about how this amp is setup

 

[c7spheres]

The IR thing seems like the cumbersome aspect of it to me. Obviously you gotta search for the right one for the application so I can see why there's a 1000+ IR's in it and why it's needed though. Seems like once you get one you like you'd probably stick with it and the rest would just be for experimenting as time permits. The fact you can have 4 and mix them is what's really appealing to me as you can really dial it in for proper stereo operation straight to the tracks, not relying on post production for it.

 

[budda]

People forget that you can treat it like a real amp - one amp, one cab IR, build your effects chain and go. And yes I understand the why .

Oddly I've been way more concerned with getting a great recording bass tone than I have been worrying about guitar tones lately. Fortunately I've made good headway. For at home everything is gravy, I just want to start tracking not tweaking when I write more music.