advice on upgrading to 3

Pronihilism

Pronihilism

Member
Hello friends,

I did a little digging around out there and I apologize if this is redundant. I was more seeking advice tailored to what I am doing.

I bought the Axefx 2 xl+ in 2015 I believe it was. It blew my mind and has remained the coolest thing I have ever owned bar none. I know that now 7 years later it is still extremely powerful and valid. My most complex patch uses about 77% of cpu. To me it sounds amazing and I'm sure I still don't use it to it's full potential.

I am not a gigging musician or a master of the ways of dialing things in. I work a trade job. I mainly just play by myself with headphones or my monitors, I also use an apollo twin for certain plugins/fx.

Money not really an issue. Just curious if that same "damn" factor is felt with a 3 to others who have upgraded. I like some of the stock presets and to try others presets as I am not as savvy at dialing in. I have someone interested in my 2 to boot. Or might this be overkill for someone like me as I don't currently push the 2 to the max.
 
I didn't upgrade from the II, but I upgraded from the Helix.

That "damn" factor is there almost every time I turn it on, and it's been nearly 4 years. I now gig solely with the FM3, but it uses the same sounds (more or less). If money is not a factor and you do it for enjoyment, I would whole-heartedly say GO FOR EEET!!!! DOO EEET NOOOWWW!!!

For real; you deserve to have the best, most inspiring tones at your fingertips. It's not about how much percentage you use, it's about having the ability to create whatever sound you can think of. It's too bad my Axe Fx III never gets used any more since all my playing time these days gets devoted to cover songs for my band, but the Cygnus FW sounds so damn good that I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything (or that it's overkill to have the Axe Fx III as well).
 
i dont feel the axe is overkill. If you buy any real amp, set the knobs and never expand on that then you’re using 1% of what that amp can do. Leave the tone and volume knobs on 10? Congrats thats 1% of what your guitar electronics offer.

Look at it less as “will I use everything” and more as “will I enjoy my guitar time more?”

You have the funds, someone wants your axe 2 - buy the 3.
 
Sounds like you want the best regardless of your playing environment, it could be said that the Axe II is overkill for your use. I 'upgraded' to the Axe III from the AX8 and over the course of the Axe III's Firmware updates, the difference has gone from being pretty close with FW 3.0 to a very noticeable difference both in tone and feel to me after FW 11.0. I haven't had the opportunity to compare since FW 11 but needless to say, there have been many 'improvements' from FW 12 through the current FW 19 including the new Cygnus modeling platform.

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that you'll notice a difference but whether that difference is enough for you to 'upgrade' can only be answered by trying one. Keep in mind that there's a 15 day return policy. You can get the Axe III, run through some of the factory presets and/or create a preset from scratch and compare for yourself.
 
If money is not an issue then treat yourself...you deserve it and you can't take it with you.
I have the III, the FM3 and an AX8 in storage somewhere...I don't regret it for one second. :)
 
Thanks for the advice all!

I hope my "damn" factor phrase made sense...you know...when you boot up and get going...can't get the grin off your face and just go "damn!"

Part of me was just thinking I would be more or less just getting more power and fx that I didn't necessarily need as I am 100% happy with my 2. I was reading on all the improvements and such. I imagine it will probably blow my mind again.
RLD said:
If money is not an issue then treat yourself...you deserve it and you can't take it with you.
I have the III, the FM3 and an AX8 in storage somewhere...I don't regret it for one second. :)
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Love this. Thank you.
 
You don't need a III as the IIxl+ is still a beast, but if you get one, you'll definitely find yourself in "dayum!" territory. Processor wise, connectivity wise, there's a lot there.
 
I don’t think anyone really ‘needs’ all the power in a Ferrari either, but that’s not why they buy them! 😁 Yes it is definitely worth it, even if only to get in on the new innovations in amp modelling that Cliff is always coming up with
 
You don’t want to ask me…. I upgraded to the III Turbo from a III Mk I with nary a gig on the horizon!

Sometimes it just isn’t about need. I could still be using the Ultra I bought over 10 years ago, and probably still not be maxing it out. But new stuff is fun, flagships are great to sail in, and I had the cash and live in a free country. Why not? Zero regrets, zero remorse. Love it, have fun with it, and yes… say “damn!” regularly!

Besides, Cliff needs to eat too. Give the man a break. ;)
 
I did the same upgrade a couple of months ago... completely and utterly happy with my decision. There is a noticeable difference between the two.
 
Pronihilism said:
Or might this be overkill for someone like me as I don't currently push the 2 to the max.
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Like you, I bought an Axe-Fx II XL+ in 2015 and loved it. I ended up selling it about a year after the III was released to fund that purchase. I didn't sell the II because I felt it lacked CPU power; I didn't have a tendency to push the CPU to its limits. I bought it because I believed that, sonically (and feature-wise), the unit would steadily improve, and I wasn't wrong. At this point, the feature set is head and shoulders superior to the II, but more importantly for me, sonically, it just sounds better, in my opinion.

Having said that, if you're completely happy with the II, what piqued your interest in the III?
 
I started with a 2XL+, the 3 came out a few months after I bought the XL+. I waited about a year and bought a 3. I actually waited almost another year before I started gigging with the 3, because I knew I would be getting a FC-12 once they were available. My gig schedule was too heavy for me to take the time to program the MFC for the 3, and and then turn around and have to do it all over again once the FC's were available. So I kept gigging with the XL+ until the FC's were available. Normally when I upgrade my rig, the rig I upgraded becomes my backup, so on and so forth. A handful of gigs with the 3 and FC, and I bought a second 3 and FC for a back-up rig. The "damn" factor was enough for me to splurge and have a 3 for a backup as opposed to the XL+. That being said, the XL+ still sounds as good as it ever did and my original game plan was to sell it. BUT....It's still sitting in my studio.
 
I started with AX8, went to the FM3/FC6, and now have the Axe III Mk II. I can't see ever going back. The FM3 just sits in my studio gathering dust!
 
Pronihilism said:
Hello friends,

I did a little digging around out there and I apologize if this is redundant. I was more seeking advice tailored to what I am doing.

I bought the Axefx 2 xl+ in 2015 I believe it was. It blew my mind and has remained the coolest thing I have ever owned bar none. I know that now 7 years later it is still extremely powerful and valid. My most complex patch uses about 77% of cpu. To me it sounds amazing and I'm sure I still don't use it to it's full potential.

I am not a gigging musician or a master of the ways of dialing things in. I work a trade job. I mainly just play by myself with headphones or my monitors, I also use an apollo twin for certain plugins/fx.

Money not really an issue. Just curious if that same "damn" factor is felt with a 3 to others who have upgraded. I like some of the stock presets and to try others presets as I am not as savvy at dialing in. I have someone interested in my 2 to boot. Or might this be overkill for someone like me as I don't currently push the 2 to the max.
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Get one, you will love it!
 
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