I'll never understand what makes it so difficult...

I think it can be tricky to find an IR that suits the tone you're looking for + that work well with the equipment you have. I had to do some forum research to find really great combos, because I don't know anything about cabs or mics. Easier with Cygnus but can still be tricky.
This! Choosing the right IR or combination of IRs is probably the single most important thing to getting a tone you like. One thing I've found is that it's not always the "logical" choice that makes a good tone. In other words, you might find a Celestion alnico or Greenback might sound best for you with a Fender amp instead of the obvious choice of a Fender cab.
 
But apparently, the audience can tell if the tubes aren't cooking. :rolleyes:
I know there are tubes working in the Axe III. I seen 'em and hear 'em inside the box. I mean...the fan in there is to cool the tubes.....right? ;)

Because after all....it's just "realer" than the real thing. :hearteyes:
 
You don't need an Axe Fx to fool an audience but I think realistic interfaces are to blame for the majority of problems people have with it
There is a lot of people who don’t know how set things up properly too. Like some person jamming up the master volume in a patch and wondering why their sound is so compressed. Master volume is one of those controls that is mega powerful and not everyone knows that.
I think since the amp block output volume doesn't compensate for the amp master volume as you turn it people probably get lost trying to figure out where it should be. The new headroom meter hopefully helps.
Imagine trying to play next to a modern high gain amp with the master over 2. Since learning that lesson, my tones in Axe have improved drastically.
 
Here is a perfect example. Years ago I had to go to a customers house that just bought a new stick shift Aries K car. I did say years ago lol. The customer said he couldn't get it in reverse. I jump in put it in reverse a couple time nothing wrong with it. Customer exclaim reverse is up on this car and my old Corola was down, take the car back. So I did.

I have a hard time understanding people that buy a fractal product expecting it to be adjustable the way their old gear was. Or I want to turn pedals on and off like I did on my 1978 pedal board. One of the oddest things Ive seen is a user setting up presets as you should be doing scenes, Guys a monster player and wanted to set up the AFXIII like he ran his Helix.

Seems that some people expect the pretty black box to know exactly what they want when they hit the power switch. This thing sounds nothing like the video's Ive listened to!

And while I'm on a rant it's Preset not patch damnit!
 
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as far as dialing in a tone. Time and time again we hear "I ditched the Fractal because it was too hard to dial in a tone". I heard it yesterday. Twice. (ok I read it twice)

Today, I needed 6 blocks and minimal touching of the dials. Under 5 minutes. I'm rockin' like Dokken.
I can dial in a sick ass monstrous riffing tone with in+amp+cab+out. Hell, I played on that exact physical setup for years.

These things sound great stock, I have no idea where this idea that it's hard to dial in comes from.
 
I think amplification is a big part of this too. I recently got a pair of studio monitors for a recording project and am finding quite a different tonal experience at low volumes (in a much better way) than with my CLR. Going to try to redial my CLR as a result, which was already sounding great anyway.
 
When I had the FM3 new, I could not do anything with the factory presets.
But after 20 minutes at low volume I had a Marshall sound that I had always dreamed of. Then I started to upgrade further and got better monitors and stands, I took care of the adjustment and placement of the monitors and dampened the room a bit.
And as if by magic, several factory preset suddenly sounded pretty good.
 
I keep saying this, but one of the main reasons I love the Axe FX is that you don’t have to work hard to get a great sound. Pick an amp and matching cab and you’re well on the way there. Unlike some other modellers, there’s absolutely no need to deep dive into the advanced settings if you don’t want to, but they‘re there if you do.
I LOVE that I can watch a video about dialling in the real amp and get the same tone out of the Axe FX with pretty much the same settings.

I’ve played Marshalls and their derivatives all my life, so know where I’m at with them, but have learned everything I know about Fender type amps from the Axe FX and Yek’s fantastic guide. I cannot stress enough how useful this guide is for amps you’re unfamiliar or struggling with. So many little tidbits that can have a dramatic effect on tone, just like the real amp, not to mention the cab recommendations.
 
My limited tweaking background- and new to the Axe-FX 3, FYI there are "tutorials" online by a guy named "Jason Sadites" in tweaking Helix. Altho I know that the Axe-FX III is NOT a Line-6 product, Jason did "wonders" for the tones in his videos on YT for Helix. One of the things he did in his videos, and I need to try some tweaks in the AX3 (Like Jason did with Helix) was adding a studio compressor at the "end" of his patches set to a mid-range area, and he also added a crossover like eq after the cab block. The cross over point for the low and hi split was IIRC 650 Hz, and he boosted the highs by 2db and lessened the lows by -2db to start with. Made a big difference on the Helix presets tone.
 
My limited tweaking background- and new to the Axe-FX 3, FYI there are "tutorials" online by a guy named "Jason Sadites" in tweaking Helix. Altho I know that the Axe-FX III is NOT a Line-6 product, Jason did "wonders" for the tones in his videos on YT for Helix. One of the things he did in his videos, and I need to try some tweaks in the AX3 (Like Jason did with Helix) was adding a studio compressor at the "end" of his patches set to a mid-range area, and he also added a crossover like eq after the cab block. The cross over point for the low and hi split was IIRC 650 Hz, and he boosted the highs by 2db and lessened the lows by -2db to start with. Made a big difference on the Helix presets tone.
You shouldn’t have to do that on the axe because the low and high end of the modeling already sounds good. People on Helix use the crossover to reduce the high end that you can’t get out of their models sometimes. I struggled getting tones that matched my AX8 on my friend’s helix when I setup his rig. There’s a high end that is just difficult to tame in many models.
Can it sound good? Sure, but these things need to be done.

On the Axe, no need.
 
Many seem to really underestimate the importance of good monitoring. $50 headphones and $199 FRFR's aren't cutting it...
This. I cannot fathom why someone would buy a best-in-class digital modeller and connect it to a bottom-of-the-line powered wedge with a "FRFR" sticker on it.
Would you put retreads on a new Ferrari?
 
I think that translates to being overwhelmed by all the options/params to edit, way beyond the scope of a real amp, and think they have to fiddle with EVERYTHING to get good tone. It really isn't necessary most of the time (or ever?) and tweaking the wrong parameters can turn a good model into mush.
 
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