Axe FX III

Every time I get all hot about this, I go looking for opinions compared to the Kemper. I generally find people saying the Axe is superior in terms of routing and effects, but in terms of tone, they are similar. Of course, I am looking for reasons not to want this...

Whoever says that is an idiot. Lol. Seriously, though...IMO, it’s head and shoulders better sounding. I mean, I bet you could maybe get a similar “snapshot” with the Kemper, but it just sounds so much more dynamic and the mids are so much more “there”. Also, there’s no comparison on the pedals...AFX all the way. Put it this way - this makes me sound like a better player/producer than the Kemper did.

matt am I making this up?

Funnily enough, I'm not a big fan of the Periphery sound but I love his other tones. Give that amp sim a demo if you get a chance.

I think the AF3 effects are excellent and very very close to the emulated hardware in almost every case. A good example is the Phase 90- I A/B-ed a script 90 against the AF3 version and the difference is insignificant. And not worse or better. The reverbs and delays are really good, so much so that I'm going to add it as a hardware insert when I mix. 

For live use, since I already own a bunch of pedals and a Voodoo Lab Hex, I currently have the script 90, a Komet Mirasol, a Shin-Ei Vibe-Bro, and any one of several fuzz boxes (today it's a KR The Gypsy) set up in front of the AF3 in the Hex's loops. Not because I need to cover deficiencies in the AF3, but because I already have the gear and in the end, why not? Of my hardware pedals, only the Vibe-Bro defeats the AF3 emulation- it's effect is more intense with a deeper throb. The Vibe-Bro is a special box, an extremely close replication of the original Uni-Vibe circuit down to the form factor and pedal, and it's almost certainly not the "Classic Vibe" Fractal chose to emulate. So again, just different, not better/worse. If I didn't have all the pedals, using just AF3 effects would be fine, and easier to manage.

Of the modelers, I bought the Kemper first. I never bonded with it. I spent significant time modifying stock profiles and some profiles I found on the exchange and they didn't pass muster during tracking or for live use. Tracked guitars (low to medium drive, Marshallesque, nothing crazy distortion-wise) lacked body to my ears, and tweaking parameters couldn't fix it. With the band, the Kemper's tone was uninspiring no matter how loud I cranked it. Maybe it was the profiles I picked, but it was discouraging and I fell out of love pretty quickly. I find the front panel controls not particularly intuitive. At the time there was no software app for control, which ended up being a big deal for me. I never got around to profiling any of my amps. If I don't sell, maybe some day I'll try it. Maybe that's the secret to Kemper bliss.

Next I moved to the Helix. I very much like it, it is well-designed and does a lot of things right, such as control of external hardware. The foot switch is good. It's MIDI implementation is deep and excellent, and I had no trouble controlling my Synergy SYN-2 preamps however I wished. I think some of the amp models are not totally there -not quite the real thing- but opinions vary on this. Same for the effects, some are excellent and some not, such as the Leslie emulations. I never used the amp blocks for tone, always Synergy>amp loop return>load box>Helix aux in. I like the software, and got used to it's quirks pretty quickly. Firmware updates are rare and an issue for some users, it's something Line 6 needs to work on. However all this stuff made for a complex rig and I began thinking about simplifying. Enter the AF3.

It's pretty obvious that Fractal took cues from the Helix for the AF3 and FC-12. The foot switch is ground-up configurable, more-so than the Helix, and is awesome for live use. The software is excellent, fairly easy to learn, and mandatory IMO to get the best out of the AF3. The amp models are closing in on perfection. And updates are frequent and substantive. And it sounds good loud.

There’s no comparison

Set aside some time, like hours and hours. I went straight to the software but some people learn the front panel first. Either way, as I've said, the AF3 is crazy-deep, and the deep parameters have impact. You'll want to learn them at some point.

BTW, this morning firmware 11.02 beta was released on the Fractal forum. You'll want to join if not already. There's regular interaction with the Fractal chief Cliff and designated admins. Kind of like here on RGO. So far the AF3 is one of the only boxes where I am becoming confident that I can load beta builds without simultaneously throwing a pair of dice. It's all good.

Indeed.  I have all xmas week off..

First thing I want to do is tube up versions of all the amps I have in the studio and compare them before I start getting too deep.  I don't want to go down the rabbit hole and lose sight of the original tones.   It already sounds like I'll be happy enough with the Axe to go ahead and sell some/all of these amps and such, but I still want to see where it stands and perhaps where I stand in terms of tones.

Play with the different cabs too. Obviously, that can change the tone tremendously. Btw - mine came set to -10. Probably need to go in settings and change output to -4. Also, check out the Axexchange for Leon Todd and Burg’s (Brett Kingman) Recto stuff.

This x1000 for me. Been watching videos of these two pieces all day. I’m on the Kemper now and only use a few profiles. I can’t see that changing because I got a new modeler. Quality trumps all else for me, though. I’m interested to know how the amp tones compare between these two. I’d love to sell the Kemper, pick up the Iridium and pocket a grand.

Yeah. I almost bought one...I’m sure it’s really good - there are enough videos and responses to say that’s true...but I was just scared it would be yet another half measure. I also wanted more than just the three amps and no fx. Even if it sounds as good as the axe, I’m fine with my decision because it does so much more. But honestly, I don’t know what other improvements they can make to this thing to make it better. It’s just outstanding. I think I mentioned somewhere that it could possibly be one of those things I would say “why did I wait so long” to...and it most definitely is.

If you have a Piezo equipped acoustic check out Brett Kingman's acoustic presets that he just put out called Burg's Acoustic. I've been playing with them all morning with my Tom Anderson Crowdster and they sound really good.