Spicypickles
Sweeps & Mops
Looking into an Axe8 or an Axe-II. Is the dual amp thing worth the extra scratch? Most everything else I won’t use much, but the dual amp intrigues me. This will be my first high end audio purchase in a long while
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Looking into an Axe8 or an Axe-II. Is the dual amp thing worth the extra scratch? Most everything else I won’t use much, but the dual amp intrigues me. This will be my first high end audio purchase in a long while
Well now, what the hell is the FM3? The thing that appealed to me most was the ax8 being a floor unit, even though the likelihood of playing live is slim to none. I still like being able to swap patches and jam along to songs and I tend to write that way also, cleans into drive etc. I don’t want to have to turn a knob with my hand, and getting the floor controller would be an added expense.
All I’m really looking to do is record some stuff, I’ve been talking abut it forever, I need to just do it
Is it a definite improvement over the Ax8? I have an interface so that’s not a problem.
It looks like it will probably only have capacity for a very small amount of processing and be cheaper, based on a quick and dirty glance.
Funny how the axe FX II was ‘basically real’ sounding and there really wasn’t room for improvement or criticism.
Now the III is out, it’s even more realer, and we’re allowed to talk about the Axe II’s inadequacies.
Maybe after 2 years of firmware updates the III will be even more realistically realer, and we’ll all talk about how artificial those early Axe III firmware updates were in comparison.
At the end of the day this is a software product with a hardware platform, and the hardware is extremely over priced.
What makes you think you're only paying for the hardware ? You're paying for the hardware and the ability to run Fractal Audio's program, with a good 5-7 years of updates during the product life cycle. The reason why there isn't a Fractal VST would lend credence to the fact that what's really valuable is the software part.
Now the foot controllers *are* overpriced but eh, I never bought them. It's not like you have to.
This has been my feeling of how it's been. If tomorrow Fractal literally did nothing except change the name of the firmware from Ares to something else (insert empowering name here, like Zues or Athena or something) and then just boosted everything 1db, there would be all kinds of hype about it because of the placebo effect alone.
I love that Fractal does so much work on this but at some point the costs on this tech will come down dramatically, which is great, meaning that the sound and capabilities in less expensive units will be on par to this. Same goes for Helix and Kemper. That's just computer tech. At the end of the day this is a software product with a hardware platform, and the hardware is extremely over priced. It's the R&D from years ago that everyone is still paying for. If you had the Ares software in Standalone or plugin format for $200, like Bias or Reaxis or something like that, You would never buy a 1 or 2gb computer hardware for $2000 with a 1 year warranty to run it on.
I look forward to the future of all this kinda stuff and hope to one day be able to replace my entire rig with something like an Axe3 etc. , but with all the stuff I've been hearing, I hear this noise I can't unhear now. I never heard it, then did hear it one day. It sounds like air rushing out of a tire. It's on everything I hear now AxeII, GSP 1101, Helix, Kemper. I've went back and watched a bunch of demos and clips etc again and I now hear it, whereas I didn't before. I can't tell the difference when it's in a mix, which is great. When it's only the guitar I can hear it, if I listen for it. It's a really tight, plucky attack, with an airy smooth brittle high end and there is an anemic sense of energy in it. It's really strange. I haven't heard it for years of looking at this stuff but now I do. It's not a Youtube compression thing or something because only these modeler units seem to give that sound. Other vids and clips do not. I watched that guy that goes through every preset and it was on almost all of the sounds. Clean, dirty, heavy etc. I cna't hear it 100% of the time, but it's a lot. What I need to do is get my hands on one and really test it out over the course of a year or so.
I have a question for people that own the AxeFx III AxeII that know tube amps well and active and passive pickups. How is the feel of the unit compared to a tube amp and to a solid state amp. Does that impedance matching circuit help at all? Is it real feeling at all? Is it like a solid state fee? I really want to like these units but my checklist is still pretty empty so far compared to my full rig. Any input is appreciated.
I think this last Ares update is pretty good, it was a high note to go out on with the axe FX ii.
For what it’s worth, Cliff in one of the axe FX iii firmware update threads (firmware 4 or 5? Whichever one included the cathode follower improvements which were ported to the ii), mentioned how he finally ‘cracked the code’ on cathode followers and at this point he can’t really tell the difference between his real amps and the modeled counterparts.
Someone brought up how he had said the same thing about the II way back when, and even about the Ultra I think (including links). He addressed this by saying that at the time he thought he was ‘pretty much there’ but over time he started to hear and feel the differences (which I get, and experience myself as I get accustomed to a new piece of gear - it takes a while to get used to it and really hear all the nuances).
He also stated that while he feels like he’s ‘pretty much there’ now, he has no doubt that in time he’ll start to hear differences as he gets accustomed to the new firmware, and start chasing those differences.
I can accept that clarification, though I can’t speak for everyone. Maybe it’s just marketing, but it seemed sincere to me.
I would dig up the posts but I’m on my phone and those axe FX iii firmware update posts end up like 50 pages long.
The problem with hype really stems from the forum I think. Too many people take cliff’s word as gospel and if he said he couldn’t tell a difference then you’re wrong if you could. And if you have an idea, doesn’t matter what it is, it’s not a good idea because fractal didn’t think of it first. There’s just something about product forums I guess, it brings out the fanatic in people.
I guess whether you like the newest update will also depend on the amp models you use, as it doesn’t effect everything equally. From memory, some people think the Vox amps now have too much gain.
I’m really a Recto guy at the end of the day and I have always struggled with the models. However after Ares I have no problem at all dialing them in, and I can get them to sound like my real Recto pretty easily.
The ‘drive pedal’ modelling was updated in the iii but that was not ported to the ii. I’ve alwats kinda thought the drive pedal modelling was inadequate (you can say that on the axe FX forum now but not before the iii got an update), so I have always had a pedalboard with a few select boosts that I run into the input.
The drive models are usable and can be tweaked to sound good, but sometimes it’s like, what’s the point, when I can just click on a ts9 and it sounds right without tweaking.
I think the iii also has improved ad/da converters but I forget.
So my final opinion is that I think it sounds ‘real’ right now, but who knows, my feelings may change. This is the longest amount of time I’ve used a single preset without going in and tweaking, or getting tired of the feeling or sound. I would like to upgrade to a III at some point but not for a while, maybe once prices come down a bit or something.
Hi, I'm curious how the AxeFx II or III handle preset and scene switching in regards to dropouts and noise like pops, clicks delays silence etc. As far as I can tell by videos on editing, it will have a slight drop or hiccup when switching presets and a very slight but workable one when switching scenes. It also seems that this can vary greatly depending on what is being switched from /too. What is everyones thoughts about this regarding making it work seemlessly with no pauses, clicks, or dropout when playing a song that requires more extensive or drastic changes?
Yeah its BS. Its the main weakness of the units.
On my ax8 i had a rhythm tone and solo tone and that was it for the whole set.
Initially i was using one type of amp for rhythm tone and something else for lead.
Caused some huge and noticeable volume drop out swell thing between switching. Was terrible.
So THEN i changed both to being XY Scenes instead....and it STILL happened. Granted not quite as bad but it was there.
So to make sure it doesnt happen, i had to make sure what amp i was using was the same for both patches. That seems to be the only way to ensure you get truly seamless.
And thats ridiculous. Alllllll these sweet amp models in the unit and im stuck using just 1 live to make sure i get seamless switching?