Axe-FX 3 - Can A Newbie Create A Usable Tone?
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
- Over the weekend I took hold of a Fractal Audio AXE-FX 3 The Studio Rats are core band members Paul Drew on guitar/production/mixing, drummer James Ivey and Dan Hawkins on bass. They collaborate with singers and musicians to produce radio-ready songs.
Holy shit, finally! It’s a fantastic unit, the presets are also excellent! But to be honest, the best thing about Fractal products is Cliff Chase who is the mad genius behind the modeling technology. He is obsessed and releases firmware updates at a frightening pace. It’s constantly evolving and improving.
Now if he would only send me my FM9- over a year and still waiting is getting old.
@@UTAH100 hasn’t been a year yet, much less “over a year”. They’re dealing with chip shortages, but, you should know that already - there have been informational updates detailing what Cliff has been going through trying to source supplies. It’s definitely harder being a small manufacturer when competing with larger companies for limited supplies.
@@456or7strings I really don't care what you say. It's about a full year which is a joke and yes, I am getting very frustrated by it. Splitting hairs with me about a month give or take is not a good idea and not appreciated.
I get it- you are sipping the Fractal cool-aide. I like(d) them too but as a company you do not market a product, sell a handful of them knowing you can't deliver the rest. They went through all their units in a day. I got on the list day 2. So on Friday, 8/27/2021 they were not aware that they could not fulfill orders on Monday? Give me a break. They knew. Do not market a product you can't sell- it's that simple. I never got any email update either. I don't stalk the forum. I've been in but didn't see what you are referring to.
I'm sure they could get chips if they were willing to pay a premium for them. It would cut their profits so they are holding out. Many of their competitors have been selling units all year long.
Honestly, I do not think they want to sell them right now. I think they are holding back on an AxeFX IV announcement. I have a good track record of guessing these thigs correctly. Right now, if they were available, FM9 sales would cannibalize on the AxeFXIII. The units are way too evenly matched. Dare I say I would prefer the all in one FM9 over a rack unit. The III does not have many advantages to the average user. You can play 95% of the same presets on the FM9- not true of the underpowered FM3.
@@UTAH100 dude, just move on. Unless you preordered on day 1, you’ll probably be waiting a very long time. You were the one being hyperbolic about the timeframe to put down a small US company.
I got the Axe3 about a month before the FM9 was released, so I was a little disappointed that I didn’t wait, but hindsight, I prefer the rack. And, to be clear, I have a QC, Kemper, GT1000, FM3, and AxeFx 3 - so, I’m not sipping any company’s Kool-Aid.
@@456or7strings You replied to me and I simply responded with my thoughts. I call things the way they are. I don't accept excuses.
Small company or not, do not market and take orders on a product you know that you will run out of by day #2. Yes, I will call that out all day long. You don't have to like it.
By contrast, you already have five (5) amazing units so it is no wonder you are so chill about it. I've got nothing, and you are telling me to move on? That's rich. Who are you, queen Marie-Antoinette? She said "Let them eat cake" when her subjects had no bread. I would say you are being amazingly hypocritical but I would not want to offend you by coming across too hyperbolic. You seem a bit fragile.
Perhaps now you should move on. Truth be told, you should probably be practicing anyway.
Cheers Marie.
I went with Fractal 10 years ago, sold all my amps. I have an Axe 3 and FM9, one for the studio and one live. With amps you are stuck with 3 tones, bulky, heavy and large. You can get combos but very heavy. If you use full range speakers, you can use 1000s of IRs. I use 2 JBL PA cabs in stereo for power and speakers. The tone is to die for. You can bypass the power amp and get tube power and run guitar speakers, but I don't see the point. You are narrowing your tone choice. You can even run tube amps totally and just use the effects. Nothing on the planet can touch Fractal. Cliff is putting out updates all the time adding more amps, effects and such.
Great demo and video!! Thanks!!
Great video, as a new owner of a FX3 I look forward to more videos... thanks mate.
Glad I got to see your channel. Awesome video and can’t wait to see more. I am new to the Axe Fx3 and love the sounds. Like you said you just have to tweak a bit to get a great tone.
Thanks 💪🏻💪🏻
Awesome video!!! Please do more Fractal videos... Great work..
WOW !!!!!! that sounds amazing
I have been playing over 50 years and I have done every evolution of guitar gear and amps(i still own most of them!) and I moved to Fractal about 12 months ago and I literally haven’t plugged any of my Boogies Marshalls since then. Its like having a rack full of every amp,pedal,effects etc and it does take months to really know the gear and get over choice confusion. Fantastic video showing just how great sounding out of the box!
Mick, sorry, this may be a stupid question, but when you do a gig, what do you use now to amplify your guitars?
@@twelthstring Hi not gigging much now but I use a Fractal and Headrush 12” FRFR for lightness or put my Fractal through the return of my Marshall TSL 100 into a 4x12 which sounds great. Both ways are great but a bit of tweeking on the eq for the Headrush.
Great channel, great info well presented got me to subscribe. And now you won me over to give Fractal a try after I had sworn to never try a modeller again a couple of years ago. FM3 seems best bang for buck to me, has a nice form factor and is available which is something in it‘s own right nowadays.
I'm following this modeling journey with you, thanks.
Great job!
Tip for tremolo in Axe-Fx III (and II):
Try the bias tremolo in the amp block (i think it's under power amp), as that is an intergral part of the amp.
Works very well for me and I like this better than a tremolo fx block before or after the amp.
To be clear: This is not the trem-fx block, but in the amp model itself.
What amp model has the bias tremolo as part of the amp block? Thanks.
Superb video Paul, I have had an AXE FX 111 for two years and still learning. Would appreciate a video on scene controllers if possible. Thank you.
Would love to see you capture (Tone Match) your Matchless using the AX FX. It is a feature not talked about as much as it should be.Then share it on the Fractal Forum. Cheers.
I’ll do that Michael.
The ins and outs used to be automatically set in the older Axe Fx units, on the Axe III they decided to make them dedicated blocks probably to take it even further in terms of unlimited flexibility as to where you want your blocks.
Yeah its much better this way
Sounds really good :D
Really nice demo Paul. Lucky me I lived about 45 minutes away from the Fractal Audio factory. I drove to the factory and bought an AxeFX2 XL many years ago when it first came out. After using it for a long time I found that I stopped using my pedals and amps. I've finally sold all my gear and have gone fully digital. Have not looked back and I don't miss any of it. I will be upgrading to the 3 at some point. Limitless sound options that you could never afford in actual gear. Just imagine how much space you would need for the cabs alone. LOL
The 3 has been out for some time now - the 4 is long overdue.
Very interesting point of view
I've owned the axe FX for about 6 months now and it's incredible the tones and FX are insane there was a bit of a learning curve at first but now it's more familiar to me and I really like how deep you can go but I find myself tweaking and going down the rabbit hole a lot instead of playing but I guess I'm a bit of a tone junkie but all an all I love it best investment I've made in gear ever it's definitely worth the money and I would love to see more videos on it I'm more of a heavy tone guy but I love to learn so make more content on the axe FX please and thanks watch you all the time I also own the boss katana MK2 head witch is amazing also keep doing what you're doing 🎸👏
Nice one cheers Ron
I run my amp into a load box,then into the AxeFXIII and use it for FX,routing,IR’s..Best sounding rig I have ever had….I love pedals,but this is so much simpler,and sounds as good if not better…
Cool tip, thanks Scott
Very good presentation. Everything is professional and respectful but enthusiastic at the same time. Thank you for this video.
I’m sticking with Scuffham. 🤷♂️🤘👍🤓
Yeah you should definitely do more videos on that bad boy.
is the best piece of gear ever!
Congrats Paul - I know that these things are a substantial purchase! I got an Axe-Fx3 a month ago, after losing all hope that the FM9 would ever arrive in Europe! I have already managed to build a stock of presets to a standard template, using my choice of amps. It didn't take me long to realise that the block Library, and Global Blocks, would save me a lot of time in the long run.
In my view, the FC12 floorboard adds enormous flexibility. For instance, my template utilises all 4 channels for every block. Most of the blocks are assigned to a footswitch in the Effects layout. A quick tap switches the effect on and off, but a longer press cycles through the channels of that block. 12 effects become 48! On the Channels layout, a standard tap on the footswitch will cycle channels, and this is where I would switch channels for the Amp, Reverb, etc. There are many other layouts, and all can be customised.
I have also adopted my standard method of using an expression pedal to control all of the main amp parameters, which is what I have always done on the Helix. I dial in a good clean sound, note the settings, and do the same with the highest gain I would ever use, and note the settings for that. Then I assign each parameter to the expression pedal, and enter the max/min to each end of the sweep. This takes care of adjusting all the settings at once, which I find much better than just having 3 or 4 Snapshots or Scenes for Clean, Crunch etc. For instance, as the gain ramps up, the bass might come down, the mid and treble might increase, and the output volume will come down to keep the levels right. This leaves the scenes to manage things that might normally only need adjustment when I change guitar, like Input Gain, Bright Cap and Bright Cap value, Boost, Fat, etc.
I must admit I was similarly fazed by the number of amps and cabs. The Fractal Audio Wiki and Yek's Guide is a huge resource for the amps, and for everything else. That helped me choose a selection of amps to build my presets around.
I did spend some time auditioning quite a lot of IRs (mostly the ones with familiar names) and saved my favourites to the Block Library - then I can just grab a batch of 4x12s etc that I know I like.
It hasn't really taken long to get to a point that I am comfortable using the AxeFx3 and FC12, and I have pretty much passed the stage where I feel I need to change something every time I use a preset. Last week I even took an hour to make a passable emulation of Andy Timmons Keeley Halo pedal!
Nice tip cheers
Any chance you could upload the setup you describe to the Fractal Forum?
@@michaelarthurmusic307 My system is more a methodology than any particular preset, and the FC-12 is obviously heavily integrated. My template is a "swiss army knife " approach, and only the amps change. But it is a system that I have found works well on Helix, Quad Cortex, and AxeFx3. It is a lot easier to implement on the AxeFX, and it can be much more comprehensive. I will upload a typical preset, with accompanying FC12 layouts, in the next few days.
@Michael Arthur Music Now uploaded to Axe Exchange Expression Pedal controlled Amp settings, with "swiss-army knife" preset for Axe-Fx3 and FC12
Yes more axefx videos. It’s like watching a UA-cam channel with Lamborghinis when you’re a car enthusiast :)
tis great
3:42 = exactly what I was thinking lol. Sounds incredible already without doing anything haha.
Hi Paul
I forgot to say, there is a UA-camr guitarist called Cooper Carter. He is a big axe fx user.
I think he now sets up axe fx for professional artists.
For example maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine is a big axe fx user and had his rig programmed by Cooper (I think) . Check it out, tonnes of vids online 👍
Nice one Hollywood, I was looking for those types of vids.
@@TheStudioRats Leon Todd is another UA-cam Axe-FX power user who you should check out as well.
I would add Rosh Roslin’s UA-cam channel as well - very organized and to the point
Hello, What a great down to earth video and I learnt a lot to take to my fm3, Id like your advice if you don't mined,I'm running my fm3 with the 4 cable method straight in to my marshall twin speaker valve amp, The manual says the fm3 has its own built in interface ? I have a brand new focusrite 8i6, would it be better to run it through that then to the amp, Or shale I buy a set of monitors not sure whats type or how much to payout, so that I can get the sound I hear in the head phones out in to my guitar room, Thank you so much.
Hi Paul. I have a Fractal FM3 and I've always wondered about how people setup the effects chain. If I were using one of my amps, I would put drives and stuff into the front of the amp and delays and reverbs in the loop and everything would go to the power amp and then the speaker. So, my question is why doesn't the cab in a modeler come last in the chain? Thanks for this video, it definitely taught me a few things. :)
Hi JHPRS it’s just personal preference. I’m from a studio background so to me reverb and delay sound best after the cab.
Great video! Your videos are excellent! I would like to ask you for a tip, I know that preferring one piece of equipment or another is also a matter of taste! But in your opinion that you've had contact with both, the quad cortex and the axefx3 can deliver a sound with the same quality? Or do you think any of them are better in terms of amp simulation? Fractal reverbs are said to be superior so far. But in terms of sound, did you find one better than the other?
Cheers
Hi Daniel. Both are great, the Axefx doesn’t capture, but in my opinion I can get a more realistic amp tone using the axe fx. The QC is easier to use due to the touch screen, the effects are far superior in the Axefx
Hey Paul, great video. How are you enjoying the Axe-Fx? I did get a Kemper and am loving the simplicity of it compared to the Axe. The Axe is amazing and can do a hell of a lot but I just found myself constantly tweaking (all my fault) haha
Anything you want to know just send me a text mate.
Yes.
The most basic patch i.e. input -> amp-> cab -> output on default ... sounds good.
If you cant do that then you cant do it using an amp.
Sounds awesome! What's the tune you're playing at the beginning of the video? I heard you playing it in other videos too. Thanks for the content!
I was just noodling. Cheers Fred.
Great demo. Thanks ! Can the AXE-FX-3 load external third party captures (such as the ones I just purchased from your site for the TONEX) or do they have to be done inside the unit ?
It does not load captures
As a helix user at the moment, I'd love to hear your take on 80s style rack gear.....Lukather/Huff etc...
Cheers Paul 👍🏻
Hi Richard, I grew up on rack fx. I love them.
@@TheStudioRats I actually meant it'll be good to hear how you would replicate those classic rack tones with the Axe III. 👍🏻
Thanks for the video. Are you still using your BOSS IR-200 pedalboard that you set up?
Hi Bill I am not, that board was just for a few gigs.
I would be completely overwhelmed. The Line 6 POD HD Pro was a bit too much for me. I realised that I need an amp or two and have a core tone that doesn't change much. Mixing amp sims and cabs/IR's, tweaking amp sims to get the sound I want (do I even know what the sound is and what I can get from what amp?), and then there are all the pedals and effects... It's too much for me. Option paralysis is no more!
Edit: I tried the Line 6 Helix once, for a few days. I couldn't set up a patch that sounded good if my life depended on it. I've read that it need a bit of tweaking.
Paul, download firmware 20.02. The speaker impedance curves are updated and it feels and sounds better than ever.
Nice one Dver thanks for the tip
Nice one Dver thanks for the tip
Love the channel. Hey, was wondering if you had any opinion to share on your favorite modeler currently? I bought a Pod Go awhile back and its neat, but I have frustrations with it sounding fizzy to me when using high gain through fx return of a real amp (i have cab sim turned off) and the limited DSP also annoys me. I get lost trying to modify built in IRs or picking from 3rd party ones. I recently got a Boss GX-100 at a great price; I like that it has seemed to get me better sounds with less digging and stock IR's sound pretty good but now miss some of the amps the Pod go provided haha. I can't justify keeping both...maybe I should just go back to tube amps!
Haha so true. Tube amp with two notes captor X or Suhr Reactive load IR is great.
However if you want to stick to the digital world which is also great. (Btw one is not better than other, just depends on what your goal is and learning how to use them)
I would suggest the nux mg30 or mg300. mg300 is older Uni with less buttons but great for home use and some love if needed. Also cheap secondhand on eBay 👍
Hi El. I still don’t think you can beat a tube amp. And as Hollywood says going into a two notes unit is my preference. I like the GX-100, kemper as you can profile. The Axe fx is really good although I haven’t had it long enough to say wether it’s better than the rest or not.
@@TheStudioRats and you can profile amps and pedals through the quad cortex as well. You seem to have loved it and now have forgotten that you owned one. Odd.
HI Mate !! I use an FM3 wit an external FC6 switch to give me effectively an FM9.. I tried the QC ..No....This is easily the best modeller I have tried and is a keeper !! Just get the hang of it and you are sucked in permanently !!
Cheers Clive, I didn’t know you had one.
Nothing wrong with the QC. It’s a great piece of gear. Feels like an amp and sounds great too. Easy to use like an iPad. You don’t have to put it down to push up your Axe FX. If you want to go down that road the Kemper and helix don’t feel or sound all that great. They need pedals to help them with both. So do what you want but the qc’s are literally selling out on reverb to the point that there are none left in America and none left in any stores. So there are a ton of Axe Fx in case you want a second one. And this guy who will delete this I’m sure loved the quad. Idk why he sold it.
Sounds great.
It would be good to get your opinion on it vs the boss gt1000.
It might be my ear and UA-cam audio, but the axe fx sounds similar to your other multi fx. This is from my memory and not a side by side comparison.
It could be how you dial in your preferred tone and your fingers 😊. I can defo tell it is you. 👍
That is the problem, I’m always going to dial in a similar tone as that’s what I like. If you own a GT, I’m sure you’re going to be very happy. Please don’t fall down the same tone chasing money pit as me. 😀
@@TheStudioRats haha, tone chasing money pit.
To be honest, it is not a bad thing
Better than some hobbies that would cost way way more and lose more money in the long run.
Least with gear, and good quality gear there is also a value there even when buying and selling secondhand.
Also regarding your tone and dialling it in. Least you have your own signature tone and we know it is you 😃
Is this like a line 6 rack mount from back in the day?
! I have the standard AXE FX3, how can I do to turn it TURBO...? what are the steps to turn it TURBO ?
Geeze I thought the old rack units from Line 6 and Digitech had a lot of options. Yikes!
Hey Paul, what about a comparison between Axe Fx 3 and Scuffham?
Nice idea
When comparing tube amps on UA-cam we usually hear Amp, Cab and the results speak for themselves
Sometimes a front end hit maybe Maxon or boss OD-1
With the fractal the same comparison yields weak thin results until one adds stereo effects
usually the presets are soaked in 2 different verbs, delay and some form of modulation at least
I find AxeFx 3 unusable live as I wash the whole bands mix into the toilet especially if your going to attempt live stereo
Depending where each patron is located they are getting hit with a different vibe
Depending on the individual effect balance settings
Great for the bedroom if you want to settle for “in the ballpark” cloning just flattened and clickey lacking real valve warmth
Or tracking in stereo but I don’t know who would print this overly processed sound
In our shop the real deals are usually chosen over the clones by the talent
And who wouldn’t choose a JP2C over a clone of a JP2C when it’s available to them
I get the idea and have purchased 5 of the top name cloner modelers whatevers
So we are not lacking the options for paying clientele
But they just don’t sound like tube amps in the live room at volume
And it’s funny because they could by adding preamp tubes
And choice of a quality poweramp
(I prefer tubes here as well)
A high end cab is paramount
Can you please compare it to the quad cortex, you mentioned that axe 3 had good immediate feel. How dose the qc compare?
I had an early Cortex with an early firmware. I didn’t like the feel but I’m sure they have sorted that now.
@@TheStudioRats 🤭 I wouldn't be so sure, thanks
@@blue_mountains28 you can be sure it feels great. The most like an amp compared to the Kemper and helix which I will be selling. Nothing beats a great tube amp and great pedals. But the QC is great. Funny how Paul loved it at one time.
@@TheStudioRatsNo they haven't !
Hi could i hook Axe fx-3-up to my Friedman ASM 12 500-watt powered monitor?
Yes absolutely
ah, you're doing it all wrong...
just kidding, i'm starting presets the same way.. have had my FM3 for over 2 years now (was one of the earlier pre-orders for the European market) and just upgraded from v1.06 that mine came with to v5 this week.. FM3edit, or in your case Axe-Edit is pretty much a necessity when trying to dial everything in, as it's just so much faster and more intuitive than using the knobs and buttons on the actual unit.. love the unit and am considering getting the Axe as well
Please post the preset! Thanks
I don’t know a single touring guitarist that uses pedal with a Kemper.
If you think the kemper is not for live situation then try to make a preset in the AFX in a live situation XD the AFX is useless live if you don´t have a ingenier with a pc in the show XD
Ok, so how much better sounding is this than the Boss GX or GT units? 30% better?
It’s not night and day difference, the Boss stuff is great.
How is the feel compared to the boss stuff? That's my favorite part of my gt1000 core
Do you sell tones?
Funny enough I’m currently working on a preset pack.
@@TheStudioRats great to hear! Let us know when it's ready sir!
Its a program not a 'a software' as much as a hammer is not 'a hardware', both are plural.
All that choice is hideous
It's like the real world. All these things exist. You have to try stuff to see what you like, then choose. It's like having a virtual Thomann in a box that's all. You don't have to 'buy' everything. It's just there if you want it.