What Prompted You To Buy A Fractal?

Idea came from @Chewie5150 over in the Gift of Tone thread where he said Mark Day's videos inspired him to enter into the Fractal world.

What was yours? Was it one of the main artists using the gear, or a video, or..., something else?

For me it was seeing @Cooper Carter demo'ing all 263 amps (at the time) with a song clip using each one. And then when I saw that John Petrucci used one as a replacement for his big 3 rack unit effects (Eventide, TC Electronic, & Lexicon), that sealed the deal and I just had to have one!
The ability to have such a large amount of gear at my disposal without spending a million dollars.
 
I think I was playing though a Pod XT when I heard of the Standard and started hearing all the great clips. I was hearing things I only heard Steve Vai get with his Eventide. I finally decided to jump in and bought an Ultra. About a year later the II came out, but I could never hear enough difference in the sound to justify upgrading.

When the III came out I decided to get back on the FW train and upgraded.
 
Like many people, having a lot of free time during the early pandemic inspired me to start playing my instruments again, after several years without touching them.

I had been using a Line 6 Pod Studio UX1, which I had packed away with all my other stuff. I felt like I really needed to get better tone if I was going to start playing frequently again. I had been considering my options over the course of several months and one night I stumbled upon a Rig Rundown interview with Troy Van Leeuwen, while researching his gear.

During the video Troy mentions "the newest piece of gear" he has, which he calls a "fractal." And to my surprise, and good fortune, the interviewer knew what it was and asked if he was using the Axe-FX 2. To which he responded, "yeah...yeah."

So, as you might imagine, going from a very inexpensive Line 6 Pod to the Axe-FX 3 was a huge mental hurdle to overcome. Obviously this story has a very happy ending though. After doing a bit of research on the Axe-FX, I made the decision that I was going to give it a try. That was almost 2 years ago now and I only get more and more confirmation as time goes by that it was the right choice for me; through my personal use of the unit, the community, updates, and the increasing number of artists that I respect making the switch.

For those interested, the interview with TVL can be found on YouTube by searching:

"Rig Rundown: Queens of the Stone Age's Troy Van Leeuwen"

The point at which they start discussing "the fractal" is at about 3:50
 
I first heard of Fractal maybe about 10 years ago, a couple different guitar players I worked with were using them and the Axe-FX already had the reputation of being at the forefront in terms of having the highest quality amp modeling. Other guitarists I knew were using Pods and later the Helix for direct to FOH silent stages.

In 2017 after an abysmal fly date gig with an unpleasant backlined amp and extremely limited stage volume where I struggled with getting anything to sound good, I starting looking at other solutions that would eliminate the uncertainty of what I'd be playing through if my requested Mark IV couldn't be provided. I strongly considered the Helix but liked the smaller form factor of the Ax8 so went with it as soon as I could get one. This forum and Leon Todd's channel were vital to me getting up and running with this totally different kind of setup.

Now I have the whole family - the III at home, FM9 for gigging, FM3 for certain gigs and golly it also makes a nice little effects processor for my analog keys. :cool:
 
Periphery and Animal as Leaders. I had used a Johnston J station most of my life and had only gotten my first tube amp when I was like 22-23. I finally had money to get the gear I wanted. I had a standard for a while but then I was like "let me just make the jump." and got a II. From there I was hooked.
 
I have been using digital / rack gear since the 80s, and although I'd experimented with modeling systems in the past, they really weren't right for me. I was a Mesa Boogie amp owner for a long time, and nothing really could capture the feel of my tube amps. I started to read more about Fractal gear in the guitar publications, but what got me interested was an interview with Alex Lifeson where he said his guitar tech had surprised him by recreating his tone and signal chain in the AxeFX. Some of you might know who that guitar tech is :) That was then I started to get serious about looking at Fractal gear. The list of artists, each playing different styles, was impressive. Knowing that each of them could have whatever they wanted, and they wanted Fractal... well, that was when I took the plunge. I had my AxeFX II for a year, and one of the FW updates included a mind-blowingly accurate version of my Boogie Lonestar. That was when I sold my last tube amp, and I've never looked back. Currently using AxeFX III in my main rig, and a FM3 for my grab-and-go rig. Love love love this equipment, and the company that makes it.
 
Cliff's promises — although he never came through... ;)

Cliff, HRI 2007: "After the Ultra will be the Super-Colossal-Mega and then the Bitchslap-Yo-Momma versions."

I'm pretty sure I found Cliff at HRI in ±2006, where he started talking about the Axe-Fx. After a while I probably joined the first forum where the talk of a lot of knowledgeable people sealed the deal for me.

Cliff was often enticing people with comments like these...

Cliff, HRI 2007: "The Axe-Fx uses a much different technique for chorus than other digital products. Every (AFAIK) digital device with chorus (except the TC2290) uses linear interpolation. The Axe-Fx uses a Lagrange polyphase interpolator. It requires a lot more horsepower but is sonically superior."

In the end, your only option was to succumb... ;)

I think I had one by then, but for the LA style fans, Enzo Sutera had awesome clips + the Tri-Chorus emulation, and a few other guys. I still treasure these clips.

It was this for me as well. And to be honest, I remember reading Cliff's first post with a hefty bit of skepticism initially and if I remember right, a bunch of people started piling on him with "digital will never replicate a tube amp" and he got into detail about his methods and motivations. I can't remember if the first clips of it were put out in that same post or a little while after, but it was those clips that got me. There was something doing an edge of breakup tone and even though I was pretty much 100% chugga chugga at the time, I knew if it could pull that off well it could do anything well.

And then it took me 15 years to afford one. :D

I joined this forum fairly early on and would watch update after update, like a sick kid watching his friends play outside on a snow day. I didn't even see one in person until around 2013 or so and I geeked out so hard, but the guys using them were so damn quiet onstage I couldn't hear them, despite them playing out of 4x12's. Then I saw Brit Floyd shortly after with that big ole screen project saying something along the lines of "Brit Floyd's Tones Are Brought To You By Fractal Audio" and I just about lost it. My ex-wife had already been seeing the AxeFX on every grocery/christmas list for a few years at that point, she just sighed. :tearsofjoy:
 
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In my case it wasn't any artist endorsement. I was experimenting with elaborate pedal board configurations, stereo setups etc.. but wanted even more flexibility. I started researching online and the moment I saw how capable the AF3 was, I decided to try one out. And wow was I impressed. Beyond the amazing effects and preamps tones I realized I could use 4CM and continue to use tube amps as well when in the mood. Best of both worlds.
 
Leon Todd. I used to search youtube endlessly about my JCM2000. Leon had some good video's on that amp. From their, I stumbled upon one of his video's on the Axe-FX. Watched a couple of my favorite bands that were using it as well. From there, I went on the forum and it peaked my interest even more so I decided to pull the trigger on the Axe Fx III. I knew that I could just resell it if I didn't like it.

Once I received the III, I then did an A and B with my JCM 2000 and one of the Freidman's in the Axe that someone on the forum said was pretty close to the JCM2000. It not only hit everything I wanted sonically, it surpassed my expectations. Haven't looked back since.

Now own the FM9 along with the III and my amps are just decoration in my studio.
 
2011, a video on Youtube of an Italian guy playing the blues. I had a Ceriatone ODS 50 at the time. He got better blues tones than I did.
I got on the wait list for the Axe FX II on day one it was announced. Never looked back!
 
I like others went through the other modelers and was always disappointed, sold them promptly.

I think it was Ola Englund’s early Fractal comparisons that really got my attention.

I bought a used Ultra in 2010 and was shocked at how much better than the rest it was at the time. I got the II XL+ that was replaced by the Axe Fx III Turbo and a FC12.

I’ve been very happy since !
This was the same for me - I bought all the Boss ones starting with the ME5 and then to Line 6 PODS of all types and was just never happy with them. I gave up on modelers for a long time until I found Fractal
 
I got married, and cash was pretty tight for awhile. I had a bunch of nice stuff that I really loved, but had to sell most of it to pay the bills. That hurt. But wouldn’t ya know it, I had these two silver non horsie Klons, back when you could buy them from Bill F. by way of a phone interview. They were great pedals, and more or less what I had left of my guitar stuff beside my main axe. Bill announced he wasn’t going to make them any more, and the price went up, up, up…. To stupid levels. At some point, I cashed out and sold them and picked up my first Axe Fx Standard, and an MFC when they came out. Eventually upgraded to a 2, then a 3. It was worth it, because it kept me playing. The pedals are worth more today, but really, I made out like gangbusters and ended up with a rig that has been my mainstay ever since. And I can practice quietly- that’s huge for me.
 
I was using an 11 Rack through FRFR with my cover band and read an interview with Cliff right before the Ultra came out, and really thought Fractal's approach to modelling seemed the smartest way to go about it. I was just getting married and money was tight so I stuck with the 11R until I managed to save up for an Axe II Mk 2. Now I have an Axe FX III, FM3 and FM9 to fill out the ranks.
 
When the AXE FX 1 was released I was but a wee lad, still trying to not make my fingers hurt from playing guitar.
There were always articles in guitar magazines about who was using it and then even full page ads, as far as I remember.

Young me was absolutely transfixed. I had to have it! But I was still going to high-school, so no chance!
I kinda forgot about the axe a bit for years, because money was tight.

When I got my first job, it all came back to me - "Should you make it come true now? Your younger self would be happy to know that you did"

I scoured youtube for vids and found the cooper carter stuff and was immediately sold (to the glee of the marketing team - good job lads!)

Bought it - regreted a bit not having the money earlier, but such is life!
 
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