John Petrucci interview discussing the use of his Axe-Fx III

Im curious: with all the professionals of stature, all of us semi-pro and amateur home recorders, and all of the axe fx iii/fm3 owners; what does the competition really offer at this point?

Kemper is an amazing product, but its now very outdated and still priced high; and Helix, I mean it has its market, but I mean, with Cygnus, I think were looking at a decade of Axe 3 domination

I read in one article that went so far as to say if you own an Axe Fx 3, you literally will never need or want for another amplifier again, and I think they are right

I mean the only thing that could compete is an Axe Fx 4, but like thats not even close to being anything like an idea since Cygnus just started to retake and reshape and reROCK the axe world - yet again

IDK what Cliff is doing these days - but whatever it is, keep it up dude, FAS RULES!
 
C Holdz said:
Im curious: with all the professionals of stature, all of us semi-pro and amateur home recorders, and all of the axe fx iii/fm3 owners; what does the competition really offer at this point?

Kemper is an amazing product, but its now very outdated and still priced high; and Helix, I mean it has its market, but I mean, with Cygnus, I think were looking at a decade of Axe 3 domination

I read in one article that went so far as to say if you own an Axe Fx 3, you literally will never need or want for another amplifier again, and I think they are right

I mean the only thing that could compete is an Axe Fx 4, but like thats not even close to being anything like an idea since Cygnus just started to retake and reshape and reROCK the axe world - yet again

IDK what Cliff is doing these days - but whatever it is, keep it up dude, FAS RULES!
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While the Axe is amazing, the Kemper just got a new beta FW last week, and also has the Kemper Kabinet, which is a speaker cab that integrates with the Kemper profiler...
 
chrisjnyc said:
While the Axe is amazing, the Kemper just got a new beta FW last week, and also has the Kemper Kabinet, which is a speaker cab that integrates with the Kemper profiler...
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The hardware is still 10 years old. It'll be interesting to see how a new FRFR and FW that runs on an old processor improves the experience. I had one and didn't have any issues with it, but FAS products offer unparalleled performance and versatility. I prefer my Axe FX III to pretty much everything.
 
C Holdz said:
I read in one article that went so far as to say if you own an Axe Fx 3, you literally will never need or want for another amplifier again, and I think they are right

IDK what Cliff is doing these days - but whatever it is, keep it up dude, FAS RULES!
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Yep. I'll go so far as to say, for myself, I honestly believe I'll never need to buy another piece of gear (plus, I was born in the 60's, so there's that, lol!)

I also firmly believe, that as more and more players discover Fractal gear (as well as other brands too), prices for used tube amps, effects units, etc., are going to seriously drop. In fact, I think it's already occurring.

What's Cliff doing...? Wouldn't it be cool if there was a modeller for vocals? I mean, why not?
 
lyricbread said:
Are we still supposed to believe that John doesn’t use the amp modeling in his Axe-FX III’s? Why go through the trouble of modeling his personal amp and cabinet if he isn’t?
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Maybe has something to do with his endorsement from MB? I get the impression that Petrucci will always use amps, especially since they built the first ever MB signature amp for him!
 
I love my FM3 too, but there's still nothing like playing a real amp. It's not the same experience and it doesn't have to be. FM3/Axe is awesome at being what it is - it's absolutely incredible - but it's not a reason to never use tube amps again. Having one doesn't mean you have to lose the other.
 
I have purchased amps because of the AxeFX. I never heard of Friedman until I played the BE model on my Axe II. I bought a Runt 50 as a result. I also bought a Morgan AC20 because of the AxeFX.

As someone just said, having one doesn’t preclude the other. There’s nothing like having a real amp, if you have the context to use it to its’ fullest ability. The Axe comes close, but not the same. However, if I want to jam late at night, nothing beats headphones into the Axe.
 
Isn't the tale of Def Leppard getting into Fractal gear that they heard JP jamming on the Axe in the dressing room and were floored?
At this point, I haven't turned on my Kemper in months whereas in 2019 when I got my Axe I honestly preferred Kemper for most things (not cleans, Kemper cleans are shit!).
Since the first public Cygnus beta I can't wait to play guitar. Axe Fx III is easily the most inspiring gear purchase I've ever made and I barely scratch the surface most of the time.
I don't really care what a celebrity has to say about it, even though I think JP seems like a really cool guy.
 
lyricbread said:
Are we still supposed to believe that John doesn’t use the amp modeling in his Axe-FX III’s? Why go through the trouble of modeling his personal amp and cabinet if he isn’t?
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So people who've never used it can do so virtually? It also adds value to the unit.
 
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lyricbread said:
Are we still supposed to believe that John doesn’t use the amp modeling in his Axe-FX III’s? Why go through the trouble of modeling his personal amp and cabinet if he isn’t?
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biggness said:
Interesting interview. Keep in mind, JP isn't going to toss away his endor$ment deals by publicly stating that he uses something else.
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Juliangartner said:
Totally agree, he must get paid quite well by MB, now Gibson, he won´t publicly say otherwise.
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This is all so silly. Why is it so hard to believe he prefers his real amps? They are a totally different thing and serve a different purpose than an AxeFX model. They also feel quite different to play, and sound different in a room or on a stage. This is not to say one is better than the other, but that they are different and thus likely to lead to a preference in a given situation.

Pettruci clearly has his preference, which is totally understandable and makes sense.
 
TubeStack said:
This is all so silly. Why is it so hard to believe he prefers his real amps? They are a totally different thing and serve a different purpose than an AxeFX model. They also feel quite different to play, and sound different in a room or on a stage. This is not to say one is better than the other, but that they are different and thus likely to lead to a preference in a given situation.

Pettruci clearly has his preference, which is totally understandable and makes sense.
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No offense, but here’s the proof that marketing and endorsement work: i highly doubt that JP is hearing on stage the sound from the amps. I’m pretty sure he has in-ear monitoring: so how exactly would that be different from using AXE 3 ?
Of course amp in a room is way different than axe 3 through FRFR, but the cons of tube amps today are too many (cost, weight, maintenance, reliability, flexibility).
My money is on the endorsement 😀
 
angelworm said:
No offense, but here’s the proof that marketing and endorsement work: i highly doubt that JP is hearing on stage the sound from the amps. I’m pretty sure he has in-ear monitoring: so how exactly would that be different from using AXE 3 ?
Of course amp in a room is way different than axe 3 through FRFR, but the cons of tube amps today are too many (cost, weight, maintenance, reliability, flexibility).
My money is on the endorsement 😀
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In addition to IEM's, Petrucci uses a pair of monitor wedges that he rests his foot on regularly during shows, and that transmits a certain amount of feel.
 
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TubeStack said:
I love my FM3 too, but there's still nothing like playing a real amp. It's not the same experience and it doesn't have to be. FM3/Axe is awesome at being what it is - it's absolutely incredible - but it's not a reason to never use tube amps again. Having one doesn't mean you have to lose the other.
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Gotta disagree respectfully - pair the Axe with an Atomic CLR Neo wedge, and it does everything a tube does, only better and without the need to change tubes
 
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