Brian Wahl
Member
I spent most of the afternoon updating presets with the new 3.02 firmware.
The new drive block - the Jan Ray and King of Tone in particular - sounds awesome. Plus the drives use less DSP, which is nice. The KOT model is definitely going to be one of my main drive options. I also use drive a ton, so this update makes my heart happy - although I thought they sounded great previously.
I also enjoyed using authentic controls both on the drives and amps. Using Axe-FX III with these control layouts feels more like sitting in front of a real amp than any other modeler I've ever used. You can get great tone just as easily as on a real amp, and if you want to make more changes, the advanced tab still has all the other controls if you need them.
My background with modeling gear has mostly been Line 6 (been a Helix user since it first came out) and Kemper. With Helix, you've got to do a lot of tweaking (and use IR cabs in my experience) to get the tones out of it. The tones are there - but you have to work for them. With Kemper, it all depends on the profile, but even then the control layout and user experience takes some getting used to. I love both of those platforms, but Axe-FX III has been the most like sitting in front of a tube amp experience I've had with a modeler.
I've read a lot of back and forth here on the forum about the 'authentic' vs 'ideal' controls. Being new to Fractal and having come from Helix/Kemper, I personally find seeing the authentic controls initially and having the option to deep dive in another tab an ideal workflow. I can see how a person used to the ideal controls would hate to see them being buried under a menu (which is addressed with a global setting anyway), but I personally really love the authentic controls being the first thing I have access to. It's a great connection to the actual gear being modeled that felt missing previously.
Pretty awesome and significant update in my opinion. Crazy that Fractal just calmly puts it out as a '.02' update .
Another thing I've noticed as new firmware has rolled out for Axe-FX III... Initially the tones I heard coming from AX8 and Axe-FX III were pretty comparable. These days AX8 is falling further and further behind in the tone department. It's clear that Fractal is going to develop Axe-FX III into something better and better in the future.
The new drive block - the Jan Ray and King of Tone in particular - sounds awesome. Plus the drives use less DSP, which is nice. The KOT model is definitely going to be one of my main drive options. I also use drive a ton, so this update makes my heart happy - although I thought they sounded great previously.
I also enjoyed using authentic controls both on the drives and amps. Using Axe-FX III with these control layouts feels more like sitting in front of a real amp than any other modeler I've ever used. You can get great tone just as easily as on a real amp, and if you want to make more changes, the advanced tab still has all the other controls if you need them.
My background with modeling gear has mostly been Line 6 (been a Helix user since it first came out) and Kemper. With Helix, you've got to do a lot of tweaking (and use IR cabs in my experience) to get the tones out of it. The tones are there - but you have to work for them. With Kemper, it all depends on the profile, but even then the control layout and user experience takes some getting used to. I love both of those platforms, but Axe-FX III has been the most like sitting in front of a tube amp experience I've had with a modeler.
I've read a lot of back and forth here on the forum about the 'authentic' vs 'ideal' controls. Being new to Fractal and having come from Helix/Kemper, I personally find seeing the authentic controls initially and having the option to deep dive in another tab an ideal workflow. I can see how a person used to the ideal controls would hate to see them being buried under a menu (which is addressed with a global setting anyway), but I personally really love the authentic controls being the first thing I have access to. It's a great connection to the actual gear being modeled that felt missing previously.
Pretty awesome and significant update in my opinion. Crazy that Fractal just calmly puts it out as a '.02' update .
Another thing I've noticed as new firmware has rolled out for Axe-FX III... Initially the tones I heard coming from AX8 and Axe-FX III were pretty comparable. These days AX8 is falling further and further behind in the tone department. It's clear that Fractal is going to develop Axe-FX III into something better and better in the future.