Guitar Rig vs Axe-Fx III: is there really a better tone?

(There is a similar thread from 2009 but it has been 11 years now)

Hi everyone, an Axe Fx has been on my bucket list for a few years now.

In 14 days I will be 40, and I thought it would be a good way to celebrate my birthday.
I currently have a Marshall and a Randall with a 2x12, but they are covered in dust. I always use Native Instruments Guitar Rig 5 (amp simulator).
After a while using it I've managed to get very good results, I have some presets, which I think they are 100% accurate to my ears but I'm still tempted to buy the Fractal.

I have seen that the FM3 has limitation with the CPU, on my Mac I can use 10 amp blocks and 10 reverb blocks on Guitar Rig and there is no problem with the CPU. That is why I thought that I should buy the Ax Fx III, go big or go home right?

The main use is going to be at home, I will not use it as a recording device, at most once in a while I will meet with some friends to play some old metal covers.
I'm a more a tone chaser than a good guitar player, I love to spend most of my spare time tweaking presets and playing guitar.

so my question is:

As long I can't enter to a store and try my self the sound of one of these beasts...

Anyone familiar with Guitar Rig 5 or 6 can tell me if I will I have a noticeably better tone out of the Axe III?

Thank you so much.
 
You're probably going to get two types of answers:
  1. Stick with what you have and already works for you.
  2. Yes, get the Axe, it's way better.
Of course, both are valid. I think the Axe sounds, feels, and works better than any other modeling platform (hardware or software) that I've used, period. Even the "small" things like the boost and cut switches in the amp block have become addictive to me and have limited my ability to really flow with any other platform.

I unfortunately can't answer your questions directly as I have no experience with the Guitar Rig stuff. I can tell you that I think Fractal is the top dog in this arena, and I can advise you to take advantage of the return period if you get to a point where you have to hear it to believe it.

I had this thought occur to me while typing the rest of my comment. @Guitarjon has a few videos on his YouTube channel comparing a bunch of different modelers. These all include Axe and GR5:
 
I had most of the amp sims out there (Guitar rig, Revalver, Amplitube, S-Gear,...), then I went with Helix, Kemper and finally bought the Axe Fx 3. In my opinion, the Axe is by far the best unit out there. You won't be disappointed.
 
I’ve used many amp sims for recording over the years. Since getting an FM3, I’ve reamped them all with the FM3 and the sounds are much better or amp like, if you will. It only takes a few minutes to find a good tone unlike with amp sims. However, I never tried Guitar Rig.
 
Last edited:
I cant vouch for the axe 3 but i am a current axe fx 2 user. I also spent years chasing bliss and have used all the usual suspects ie guitar rig, amplitube, etc - actually spent more money than i care to imagine on software. I then came across Michaels U2 Tutorials and thats when i fisrt became aware of the axe fx units. I bought an axe fx 2 a few years ago and have never looked back. There is nothing wrong with guitar rig and it gets you a decent sound but it does not feel like a real amp. the axe fx feels like a real amp as far as using the tone, volume, pick attack etc on a guitar. yes the axe fx is expensive but you wont need to upgrade again (apart from maybe getting the next axe fx unit that comes out)
 
I think @Brian Angiel had it exactly right -- if GR gets you where you want to be, nobody's opinion is more valuable than that, but lots of people, including me, will tell you that the III is way better.

Like others here, I've used a bunch of different software sims, and was happy at the time. I moved to Helix, then Axe III, originally because I wanted a rig I could take out of the house more easily and with less worry, but at this point I find the Axe III just more rewarding and fun to play than the rest.

FWIW, which is exactly $0.00, GR was always pretty far down the list of sims I dug, but it's your fave. Goes to show that each person has to find their own path through this. It's your voice, you'll know. It's too bad Fractal gear isn't available down the street to try, but you can return it (within the time limit I don't remember) if you don't like it, or feel it's not worth the money after a good hands-on. And you'll still have GR too!
 
I was traveling the other day and I brought guitar, macbook, interface and headphones. I was playing one night through Helix Native. It sounded pretty good and I started wondering if I really needed my AxeFx.

Then the plugin crashed in Logic. Fixed after a reboot. Then my email notification bell kept going off so I had to deal with that. Neither problem took long to resolve, but they both messed with my guitar playing flow state. And with that, I blew off silly ideas like ditching my AxeFx...
 
so my question is:

As long I can't enter to a store and try my self the sound of one of these beasts...

Anyone familiar with Guitar Rig 5 or 6 can tell me if I will I have a noticeably better tone out of the Axe III?

Thank you so much.

Well - I've never seen them in a store around here. It's order online for me.

I've played with GR5 a bunch over the years and the AXE (all of them) sound and play much better with less hassle. I was able to get good sounds out of GR5 with some tweaking and some IRs. But like others have said the modeling in the AXE is just so much more natural and when I got the AX8 several years ago I never went back to GR5. I can't speak to GR6 which just came out - but have no intention of upgrading just for that now. I also have used Helix Native - and like it a little better than GR, both have strengths. I'm happy with Helix for more cleanish tones and Bass. All of them can be a hassle to get the input levels just right so they work as expected. A big bonus of the external processor like the AXEIII/FM3 is that there is less latency [a few ms] with your processed signal.

Contrary to some opinion - when I got the AXE, I found that I needed to spend much less time dialing in sounds, most amps sound great with a few turns of the bass or treble knobs. More time playing!

One thing I've never liked doing is recording dry and then changing amps, so if you do that a lot, it might not be optimal. You tend to stay in the Mac for all your stuff, so think about how that workflow would change for you. I use the AXE as the audio interface, get a tone I like and then record it to audio in the Mac - done. Sometimes add some delay or effects in the Mac as post. I'm no professional, but I'm probably a bit of a tone snob for my own practice demos and small gigs. I will caveat this all by saying I don't do much modern high gain/metal so it's hard for me to have an informed opinion on that.

Some things to think about. Good Luck and happy birthday.
 
The Axe Fx III is worlds apart from Guitar Rig 5. There is really no comparison.

If the question had been a difference between the Helix, Kemper and the Axe III, I would’ve been a lot more detailed about an answer since those three units are on the same league. But comparing the Axe Fx III to Guitar Rig 5 is like comparing a Mesa Rectifier series to a Gorilla amp, or a Ferrari to an Otto Krauss toy car idk. I’m not even exaggerating.

Comparing the Axe Standard to Guitar 5 is already out of place and unfair, let alone the III.

That said, you won’t get to run 10 amp blocks simultaneously out of any big units, be it the Axe, Kemper or the Helix, despite them having dedicated signal processors for such a task. But that’s because the simulations are too detailed and precise.
 
There's no doubt that everything will eventually be a plugin.

However, I would say that the day isn't here yet, I think in a couple of years time it might be, certainly within ten years.

Today in 2020, the Axe FX is the best you can get, IMO - get one and enjoy your day. Or hold off for a few years.
 
I had most of the amp sims out there (Guitar rig, Revalver, Amplitube, S-Gear,...), then I went with Helix, Kemper and finally bought the Axe Fx 3. In my opinion, the Axe is by far the best unit out there. You won't be disappointed.
Same here (less the Kemper). Still have GR5 but never use it. Don't like it at all. I record all my tracks with an AxeFx III and the studios I work with are always impressed with my tones, hopefully my playing too, but I always get the call.

I see they finally have GR6. Listened to some demos, didn't inspire me to pull out my credit card and get the upgrade. "Maybe" the feel is better but the tone, imo is only marginally improved.
 
I envy your ability to get a good tone out of plugins! I dont have any experience with GR, but I've never had a plugin tone I liked, regardless of how much I tweaked it.

With the Axe, a great tone takes me maybe 5 mins to dial in, then I'll spend an additional 15 mins (sometimes several hours) just adding effects and making fine adjustments. The workflow is pretty great (and I only use the front panel, currently) and the sounds are fantastic.

I think you can probably foresee the bias you'll hear from us here on this forum, but it really is hard to overstate the sound and capabilities of the Axe. I would say go for it. If you dont like it, sell it. You already know how GR is, but you wont find out which you prefer until you try both.
 
Axe III, you have nothing to lose by giving it a try. If you enjoy chasing tones and tweaking you will be occupied for many years to come.
 
I've got Bias, versions of GR and Amplitude, all are very good but all seem like I'm playing into a computer

The Fractals i've had, AX8 and currently have a III and an FM3, sound and feel like the real thing

YMMV
 
I've played Guitar Rig for a couple years and I think it's trash. Native Instruments isn't really a guitar company, the amp sims and effects sound bad, and FAS' updates put every other company to shame. Don't look back!
 
Anyone familiar with Guitar Rig 5 or 6 can tell me if I will I have a noticeably better tone out of the Axe III?

Thank you so much.

I’ve used Guitar Rig for years. It’s a pretty nice tool, and I managed to get decent sounds out of it. But, believe me, Axe-FX is a whole different planet.
 
I owned or demoed almost any amp sim plugin that came out over the last 10 years, all the while being a Fractal owner (Axe Fx II and then III). I always hoped I find a plugin that is good enough to replace the Axe for the simple convenience of working entirely in the box on my recordings. None even came close, the Axe sounds better and feels miles ahead of all thr plugins, and among the plugins, I consider GR5 (which I own for a long time now as part of Komplete) one of the worst. The difference between GR5 and the Axe is extreme, and if you love to chase tones, dialling stuff in and just enjoying how good it sounds, then the Axe will be THE thing for you.
 
I have Guitar Rig 5 and I had to spend a hell of a lot more time tweaking to get something usable out of it compared to the III.
 
Back
Top Bottom