Axe FX III

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laurie
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Axe FX III

Post by laurie » Sun Sep 30, 2018 8:14 pm

As some of you will remember, I had an Axe FX II for a few years and eventually gave it up and moved back to tube amp (Dr Z) and pedals.

I miss it. I'm seriously thinking about getting an AxeFX III. And keep the tube amp. There is just some stuff I miss - like the wicked stereo effects processing.

Haven't made my mind up yet...

https://www.fractalaudio.com/iii/

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laurie
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Re: Axe FX III

Post by laurie » Sun Oct 07, 2018 12:43 pm

I think I've decided to stay off the technology round-about.

What will work for me, I think, is buying a second amp to give me stereo. Probably something like a reissue Fender Twin. That won't go obsolete. And it is way cheaper than the AxeFX.

Then all I'll need is a Waza DC-2 to drive the stereo pair of my Dr Z and the new amp :)

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Re: Axe FX III

Post by Boogieman » Sun Oct 07, 2018 8:05 pm

For a brief period of time, I thought about going for the Axe FX + power amp + 2 speakers combo. Then, I thought, "how am I going to get rid of all the effects and amps?". It would take a long time to clear enough gear to fund the new purchase, so that probably meant that I would have to spend the money on the new setup and hope to recoup it from the sales of the old stuff.

I was also thinking of a stereo setup, so I started playing with 2 amps. I use a smaller tube amp to get the crunch, pairing it with an old Mesa amp set to Fender-ish clean for the stereo image. The effects chain is the typical wah>compressor>OD/drive>chorus>delay>Dimension>reverb. All modulation effects are stereo, with the right side output of the last pedal going to the small crunch amp, left side to the Mesa clean amp.

There was quite a bit of experimenting with the amps' output to get the stereo sound that I like. I must say it was quite strange to hear the way chorus and delay effects sound in stereo at first. It is often suggested that the 2 amps used should be as similar as possible. I just used whatever I have.

When I first got the DC-2, I plugged one end of the stereo output to a Pignose that I had at the time. It was alright, but I did not think I needed stereo so much to get an extra amp for it. This was back in the one guitar/one amp days.

Right now, I have the Fromel Seraph Deluxe after a TC Nova delay. Eventually, it will be the DC-2W.

So, yes, I blame it on the DC-2. That was the pedal that got me started tinkering with the idea of running in stereo. It also likely saved me from putting down much money (and the time to learn using the UI, doing updates, etc.) for Axe FX.

I would like to think of my current old-school setup as a modular approach. If I don't like the sound of a certain effect, I can just replace it with something else. Same thing if something breaks.

New techs are cool, until the next big thing (better processor, better engine architecture, better software, etc.) comes along. It probably makes more sense for the pros, who have the bigger needs (and budget) for it. As a hobby player, I don't know if I could use it to its full potential.

The new stuff seem to go obsolete much quicker. I have been trying to resist to be on the hook for that sort of thing. I prefer to just play and be a user, rather than a tester.

All that is about running in stereo. That said, I often just plug my guitar straight to an amp with no effects. Effects are nice, but so is going straight to the amp.

Still on my iPhone 6S and I am happy with it, but my long-gone Nokia was still a much better phone. :D

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Re: Axe FX III

Post by laurie » Sat Oct 05, 2019 3:42 am

Soooooo.... I ended up buying a used Fractal AX8 from a friend after he upgraded to an AxeFX III.

Gives me the tone and FX processing I want at a fraction of the cost.

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Re: Axe FX III

Post by Pepe » Sat Oct 05, 2019 7:58 am

I didn't know this model. Looks good to me, especially because it's a floor unit. I bet it's a bit more intuitive and may lack in-depth sound tweaking - the target group seems to be the touring guitarist who doesn't need a billion varieties of every mode, right?
Pepe at YouTube and Instagram

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laurie
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Re: Axe FX III

Post by laurie » Tue Oct 08, 2019 12:30 pm

It's an OK unit. A cut-down version of the AxeFX II. Has a few limitations, for example there can only be one instance of an effect in a patch (i.e. you can't have two chorus blocks). But it is fun, does AWESOME stereo effects, and it is way cheaper to buy a used one of these than a new AxeFX III.

Doing the whole thing on-the-cheap. Bought a dead Ernie Ball volume pedal locally and replaced the pot with a 50k linear one so I can use it as a controller pedal (that's now my wah). Bought a cheap expression pedal designed for some sort of organ from Cash Converters and re-wired it to work with the AX8 (now my master volume).
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