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Axe FX III
May 24, 2018 17:33:44 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Johnkenn on May 24, 2018 17:33:44 GMT -6
Damn. Really impressive.
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80hz
Junior Member
Posts: 65
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Post by 80hz on May 23, 2019 20:26:40 GMT -6
Literally the most indespensible tool for me in the studio! The feel and tone absolutely crush the Kemper in my opinion. I've been playing for 24 years...
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Post by Ward on May 23, 2019 20:57:57 GMT -6
Holy Smokes, that's impressive!! And realistic too.
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Post by mikec on May 24, 2019 6:49:28 GMT -6
I am a Kemper fan, but after getting the Axe FX III and spending a few days with it I ended up selling my Kemper after three great years with it. I think both sound great but the AXE FX III just turned out to be a better tool for me. Now five months later, I am even a bigger fan of the AXE and other than my Symphony MKII interface the AXE probably gets used more than anything else in my studio. The new bigger color screen and layout is vastly improved over the AXE II and the editor is fantastic for quickly tweaking an existing preset or just building your own from scratch. I am not a big effects users but the effects on the AXE are also addictive.
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Axe FX III
May 24, 2019 16:08:55 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Johnkenn on May 24, 2019 16:08:55 GMT -6
What do you like better about it?
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Post by mikec on May 24, 2019 17:20:27 GMT -6
What do you like better about it? Sound and tone all all subjective but I would give maybe a small edge to the AXE FX III. Where I like the AXE so much more is in the studio due to its I/O, which is way ahead of the Kemper. It can work as a stand alone USB interface which is cool if I am just experimenting with new guitar parts and don't want to fire up my main interface. Re-amping with it is cool due to the routing and I/O. The customer support and routine updates are some of the best I've ever experienced. The updates are so much easier than the Kemper due to their Fractalbot and AXE Edit. I love the built in metronome for practice. I think if I still played in bands I would give a slight edge to the Kemper for live work. In the studio, for my needs, the AXE is by far the better tool. I guess I would need both if I was still doing the live thing a lot.  |
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Post by Ward on May 26, 2019 18:52:16 GMT -6
I m really inrtrigued by this. Who's selling them, and how much are they going for? Are all the amp packages included?
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Post by dmo on May 26, 2019 19:23:59 GMT -6
The Axe-Fx is made/sold by Fractal Audio - Cliff Chase owner/designer. I started using an Axe-II late 2011, wanted something I could take on the ship during deployments. Constant product improvements and software updates, very active axe forum and lots of sharing of experience/knowledge. Now have a Fx-III - significant improvement especially with the extensive routing. Lots of pro users (Metallica, Dweezil Zappa,
as well as those who just use for effects, Vai, Edge, Petrucci). It comes loaded with everything plus lots of spots for user presets. I'm just a weekend warrior (although played with some fairly well know folks in the past), been playing 50+ years - its a great piece of gear.
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Post by Ward on May 26, 2019 19:35:54 GMT -6
Thanks dmo. So who all retailing it and how much are they going for? Or direct? |
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Post by dmo on May 26, 2019 19:50:52 GMT -6
Direct only through fractal audio - about $2200 I believe. The Axe has had lots of heavier guitar followers but the III really improved the Vox, Fender amps. Cliff has managed to get some really impressive amps in hand to model, and he's always tweaking something. The only major issue is that with so many parameters available to tweak it can become a little bit of a rabbit hole - but other than applying some low and high pass for live use it is pretty much plug and play.
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Post by askomiko on May 28, 2019 8:36:33 GMT -6
Yea, it's quite an amazing tool. I have the Axe2 and it really resurrected my guitar playing. Better and more inspiring tones at home than I've ever had with truckload of amps, so I played more than ever and funny enough, that improved my playing. Weird, huh? Great tones for live, home and studio. I use mostly Voxy and Fender tweed -type of tones and I'm very happy with them. Things to consider: If you are a guitar player who's played with full stacks all your life, the adjustment process is a lot tougher than for studio guys, who are already accustomed to the sound that a close miced guitar amp makes in the studio monitors. Because that's what it does, and it does it extremely well. If you need to feel the 120db of Plexi shaking your bowels, you will still need those 4x12s with lots of power. If you already know how recorded guitar tones sound, or are accustomed to hearing your guitar tones live through in ear monitoring etc, then it will be a breeze. I've seen those full stack guys with no experience with recorded tones stuggle with that point. "This doesn't rattle my teeth, sucks!" That's the whole point! I guess this will not be a problem for studio guys at all, quite the opposite really. You can shoot impulse responses of your own guitar cabs and use them if you want to, but I've found Ownhammer to provide better and more varied IR's than I've managed to do myself, despite days of trying and a truckload of mics Axes 2 and 3 have hundreds of amp models and cab impulses built in, so there's nothing extra required. Mix and match all those, with four cabinets at once. But still, it quick to do your tones: no need to go through million random profiles downloaded from internet, where most are crap. Intead, if you know you might want a Plexi type of tone, take the Plexi model and a Marshall 4x12. Need more bright/less bright = turn the knob that says "treble", and you're done. No need to search for a different amp profile where everything else changes with it. And turning the treble knob will be a familiar experience if you've used that amp in real life, in that it could increase the gain and amp breakup too, not just a "post recording eq'. 10/10 as far as useful gear points go for me. |
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Post by Johnkenn on May 29, 2019 6:51:47 GMT -6
Really wish I could hear this side by side with the Kemper. I’m sure like most things, one does some things better and vice versa.
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Post by dmo on May 29, 2019 12:12:59 GMT -6
John,
I held onto my Axe-II for gigging out since the foot control for the III wasn't ready when I switched over, not currently playing out so if you want you could borrow for a few weeks to check it out. I just need to update the II to the latest firmware. Only caveat - the switch to the III was made secondary to needing more processing power for the code (if I remember correctly - I'm not an engineer/software guy) and I do think it sounds "better" than the II, but you'd at least get a sense of capabilities to see if it might be a good fit for you.
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 20, 2019 16:25:35 GMT -6
Ohhh...the struggle is real...GAS
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Post by mikec on Nov 20, 2019 17:30:41 GMT -6
The new 11.0 firmware and the updated presets are killer. I was even able to put one together that is really close to my Two Rock Bloomfield Drive. I can't say enough good things about the AXE III and the support from the company and AXE community. I love my tube amps, but if it ever came down to owning just one amp type device, right now I would have to say the AXE hands down. I almost wish I didn't already have one so I could get that deal they are offering with the AXE and foot pedal bundle. My wife has even become addicted to using it with her electric violin.
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Post by ragan on Nov 20, 2019 23:25:19 GMT -6
Ohhh...the struggle is real...GAS Hey John, what's an example that's really got you GASing for the Axe FX? I'm interested in all these techs and wanna hear what you're hearing. Of the clips I've heard I've been pretty impressed but I've also felt like there was a kind of sameness to them (like the clips at the top of this thread). What's your fav example of this thing? |
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 21, 2019 9:20:52 GMT -6
The new 11.0 firmware and the updated presets are killer. I was even able to put one together that is really close to my Two Rock Bloomfield Drive. I can't say enough good things about the AXE III and the support from the company and AXE community. I love my tube amps, but if it ever came down to owning just one amp type device, right now I would have to say the AXE hands down. I almost wish I didn't already have one so I could get that deal they are offering with the AXE and foot pedal bundle. My wife has even become addicted to using it with her electric violin. Damn you |
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 21, 2019 9:23:26 GMT -6
Ohhh...the struggle is real...GAS Hey John, what's an example that's really got you GASing for the Axe FX? I'm interested in all these techs and wanna hear what you're hearing. Of the clips I've heard I've been pretty impressed but I've also felt like there was a kind of sameness to them (like the clips at the top of this thread). What's your fav example of this thing? |
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Post by indiehouse on Nov 21, 2019 10:56:21 GMT -6
Man, that sounds good. Urgh...money. How great would it be to be rich and not even think about it?
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Axe FX III
Nov 21, 2019 16:42:26 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Johnkenn on Nov 21, 2019 16:42:26 GMT -6
Man, that sounds good. Urgh...money. How great would it be to be rich and not even think about it? It would probably be a pretty unsatisfying existence. Although I often dream about it and then think how at that point it would probably be more fun to give stuff away... But yeah...I just can’t seem to pull the trigger on this thing. I keep talking myself out of it because it’s just another thing to put off. And I don’t make any money really from guitar playing. It would purely be for my demos and obsession. I went down the helix hole again today and there’s no doubt I can get some good tones with helix native. And then TH-U...but there just seems to be something different with the AFX. I got on the wait list for the FM3, so I might just wait it out for $1000. But I could also sell my Kemper for $1400 and the III is $1999 on sale right now. The problem is, I can buy any of those, but I still won’t play any better. |
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Axe FX III
Nov 21, 2019 16:59:28 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Johnkenn on Nov 21, 2019 16:59:28 GMT -6
Watched the vid again. That Captain Hook and the Vox’s. My goodness. My Kemper doesn’t sound like that. There’s some kind of midrange I hear in this video that I don’t hear in the Kemper stuff.
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Axe FX III
Nov 21, 2019 17:02:09 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Johnkenn on Nov 21, 2019 17:02:09 GMT -6
Compared to the Kemper
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Axe FX III
Nov 21, 2019 17:08:02 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Johnkenn on Nov 21, 2019 17:08:02 GMT -6
Listen to 15:32 to the Tie Your Mother Down riff in the Axe vid above and then listen to the same riff at like 1:16 on the Kemper vid.
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 21, 2019 17:10:58 GMT -6
Holy crap I’m literally about to order this thing. Might have some things going on the classys
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Axe FX III
Nov 21, 2019 17:54:05 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by svart on Nov 21, 2019 17:54:05 GMT -6
Holy crap I’m literally about to order this thing. Might have some things going on the classys I feel you. I'm starting to be a convert too, although used kempers are starting to get cheaper.. |
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