Glad I finally pulled the trigger

[alias7]

Now that I have one in hand I really “get it”. This thing really works and lives up to the hype.

I had not realized how intrusive my effects were in my sound until I started to play around with the AF III. Even with nasty wet sounds, my tone and playing still punches through. Subtle articulations are still there. Also, I had not realized how sloppy my playing had become.

I say what you see and hear online does not do the experience justice. There is “feel and air” when using this unit. I had been playing an 11R and headrush... the sterility started to discourage my playing. My 4x12 setup is just not practical at home anymore.

Glad I mortgaged the farm!

 

[Ugly Bunny]

Yeah, man. I have a hard time going back to my Helix. It's such a dramatic difference; seems so lifeless and sterile after playing through the Axe III. I can't get over how great this thing feels. Sure, to the audience, average listener, even maybe even myself: if I were blindfolded and you played me great tones from both units, i may not be able to tell them apart. But with a guitar in hand and headphones on, holy cow. It's night and day! Congrats!

 

[matthew111]

Man, I'm hoping to pull the trigger on an AXE III sometime in the not too distant future. I'm stoked to hear all of the glowing reviews on here. I'm brand new to modeling and I'm wondering what type of speakers you guys are using? Are you going through a cab of some sort? A studio monitor? Computer speakers?

Thanks!

 

[Andy G]

I'm brand new to modeling and I'm wondering what type of speakers you guys are using? Are you going through a cab of some sort? A studio monitor? Computer speakers?

Not specific to Axe FX III - there has been a lot of discussion on this with regards to the Axe FX II. Have a look in the "Amps and cabs" section for many threads discussing this. In brief, people either do:

i) Full-range, full response (FRFR) speaker(s).
ii) Traditional guitar cab with power amp (either solid state power amp, or valve power amp).
iii) Studio monitors (which I guess are a subset of FRFR).

Don't use your standard computer speakers - you will find it much harder to get a tone you are happy with if you are fighting with sub-standard speakers. I've finally ended up with a 2nd hand pair of Adam A7X studio monitors, and I couldn't be happier with them. Pricey, but worth it.

If you are gigging at all, a FRFR option would be my recommendation - but certainly not the only option. Going FRFR allows you to use the cabinet modelling in the Axe-Fx. If you have a traditional guitar cab you're happy with, you could also try that. Just be aware that you then lose the versatility that comes with having a neutral speaker and choosing the guitar cab from within the Axe-Fx - you lock yourself into one particular cab sound.

 

[matthew111]

Hey, thanks for the response! Yeah, I definitely want something neutral to take advantage of the amp modelling. Sadly, I’m still a ways off I think for the Axe III but it will happen in the future for sure.

I’ll check out the Adam speakers you mentioned. I also hear good things about the Atomic CLR’s...

 

[Andy G]

Hey, thanks for the response! Yeah, I definitely want something neutral to take advantage of the amp modelling. Sadly, I’m still a ways off I think for the Axe III but it will happen in the future for sure.

I’ll check out the Adam speakers you mentioned. I also hear good things about the Atomic CLR’s...

You could also consider getting a used Axe-Fx II. Prices seem to be pretty good given that people are selling to fund Axe-Fx III purchases. The modelling on the II is still very good.

For FRFR speakers, Xitone get excellent reviews, which might be a good option if you're in the US (or even if you're not - they will ship worldwide I believe). If you're only playing at home, Yamaha HS7 is a studio monitor option that also gets good feedback from people, and is a fair bit cheaper than the Adams.