Axe-Fx III w/ Integrated ICEPower Amp

B

BSawyer

Member
My first thread here... I thought people might get a kick out of this little project. I've always been a fan of the compactness of the powered Kemper units for live shows, so I hacked into my Axe Fx III Mark I and installed an ICEPower 300 W power amp board on the underside of the top cover. I tapped the 120 V power from the main IEC input to the ICEPower unit and grabbed the balanced signal internally from Output 2 for the amp, so I can use the front panel Output 2 knob as a speaker volume control (Output 1 has the IR for in-ears and FOH). Turns out it works great and I don't think I've gone above the halfway point on the volume output in a live setting.

I've wondered why this wasn't ever offered as an option on the rack units given how much open space there is in the box. Interested to get opinions on this.

I'm new to this forum, so I can't post any pics yet, but I'll update the thread with some photos when I can.
 
BSawyer said:
I've wondered why this wasn't ever offered as an option on the rack units given how much open space there is in the box. Interested to get opinions on this.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I suppose my first thought of why they never went down this path might be the heat developed inside the box. The amount of air available to handle the existing design might not afford extra heat generating components. 🤷‍♂️ Juat a lay person’s opinion.

Cool photos of your beast! (Edited as the photos displayed as my posting accepted)
Cheers
Lee
 
I thought a bit about the heat generated. The ICEPower 300AS1 that I installed is 80% efficient (AC input to speaker), so I think I'm only generating ~20 Watts of heat in the box at reasonable stage volume. So far it's been stable.
 
I drilled two new holes for the speaker jacks, so nothing is removed here. I initially considered pulling the FASlink or expression jacks, but there was a nice open space just above the midi section that seemed perfect for two extra 1/4" jacks (see first and second pics).
 
That's awesome! I would definitely buy another Axe FX III if there was an integrated power amp version. I'm not going to modify mine to do this, but that's awesome that you got it working!
 
Cool project for folks who play through guitar cabs. Makes less sense for FRFR folks, since those mostly have their own amp(s) built in.
 
Yup, but it's super cool to have the option to use a cab without needing a secondary unit. I'm thinking like house backline situations where you can't bring your own cab.
 
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