AXE compared to the little red one from the other company

A

AAEN

Experienced
Hi

While I was waiting for the AXE-8 i had to get one of the smaller and cheaper products on the market.

When the AXE arrived I got it right away and put it to good use. And may I say that I like it very much.

For more than a year I didn't have the chance to listen to them side by side - Until now!

By itself the little red box is quite a good solution for the money. BUT side by side it is NO comparison.

Some have been saying that the amp-sims are on PAR with the axe. NO it is not.

The Axe is much MUCH more natural, 3D-like than the other one especially on the slightly overdriven amp sounds that I use very much. The highs are not near as hard/Piercing on the AXE....

In the 7 years or so I have been using Fractal products I have had a back-up in my car. BUT NEVER USED IT !!!!

So I am a very satisfied AXE user

Also I am exited to see what is next form this company. I seem to remember that 4-5 product were in the mind of the master.....And I think that we have only seen a few...

Kind Regards

AAEN
 
I just came from being an AA owner (2 years). I would still have it if it didn't develop a rare bug in the software that the vendor can't figure out. Fortunately, it's not a common bug so don't let that deter you.

I thought the sound of the amp models DID stand up to the AX8. I do love my AX8 better (larger pool of amps means more options to find MY tone, greater effects quality and options).

But the little red box DOES sound good and is fantastic for the money, especially if you can part with having as many effects and amp choices.

AAEN said:
Hi

While I was waiting for the AXE-8 i had to get one of the smaller and cheaper products on the market.

When the AXE arrived I got it right away and put it to good use. And may I say that I like it very much.

For more than a year I didn't have the chance to listen to them side by side - Until now!

By itself the little red box is quite a good solution for the money. BUT side by side it is NO comparison.

Some have been saying that the amp-sims are on PAR with the axe. NO it is not.

The Axe is much MUCH more natural, 3D-like than the other one especially on the slightly overdriven amp sounds that I use very much. The highs are not near as hard/Piercing on the AXE....

In the 7 years or so I have been using Fractal products I have had a back-up in my car. BUT NEVER USED IT !!!!

So I am a very satisfied AXE user

Also I am exited to see what is next form this company. I seem to remember that 4-5 product were in the mind of the master.....And I think that we have only seen a few...

Kind Regards

AAEN
Click to expand...
 
Maybe the other amp models suffice but when I had an AA the vox/matchless amps and ir’s were not even close to Fractal’s factory offering.

I even spent some money on pro presets and IRs for the AA and it still couldn’t compare.

What I did love is the AA’s small form factor. I wish Fractal would do an amp+IR small box that I could use with my standard pedalboard.
 
I have the newer smaller solution, and to be honest its just plain fun... sure the Fractal amps sound way better, but the Atomic emulation is by far the closest i have tested to Fractals.

A comparable size unit by Fractal could become the best selling product in this market segment, IMO.

37205080091_42fb7dbd16_z.jpg
 
nicolasrivera said:
I have the newer smaller solution, and to be honest its just plain fun... sure the Fractal amps sound way better, but the Atomic emulation is by far the closest i have tested to Fractals.

A comparable size unit by Fractal could become the best selling product in this market segment, IMO.

37205080091_42fb7dbd16_z.jpg
Click to expand...
agreed, there are some great tones in there, but the mini toggles and general UI sucks
 
bradlake said:
agreed, there are some great tones in there, but the mini toggles and general UI sucks
Click to expand...

Well, its a pedal size unit that do a lot of things. But UI i don't know if you mean the unit or the software, software could not be more strait forward with lots of opportunities for improvements.

Its remarkable what the pedal can do, but you buy it for the amp tones and in that department it delivers the goods.
 
Last edited:
I had the red box for about a week. At that time I didnt hav the AX8. To me, it did nothing. It might be a personal thing, but didnt impress at all.

Then there appeared that demo of Pete Thorn of the new product. I know a lot of people were in awe, but again, I found it weird. There were about two sounds I liked, but nothing that moved me, nothing to get me out of bed and buy it, nothing spectacular
 
I have the new smaller AFB. It's great and does so much for the size. A great back up. I've loaded some IR's I've made and bought and managed to get very compariable tones to my AX8. I take it to gigs as a back up.
Lately, I've been thinking about getting the red box and leaving the AX8 at home in the studio. I don't need the AX8 to be smaller, just need more midi control of other devices. So i need more room on my pedal board for things i wish i didn't have to use. Also it would be nice if the I could use the better sounding reverbs without them being canceled because of limited cpu.
 
Wanted to do an audio comparison:



I did only a little editing to get the to sound similar. Sure someone could get both to sound different/better. They were both ran through the same IR loaded in the DAW.
 
I agree that the little one holds it own. And it is staying as a back-up.(Just never needed a back-up with FA-gear)

And for the price it can't be beaten.

And please also notice: opinions are personal.....So your opinion is as good as mine....Even though we dont agree.

Kindest regards

AAEN
 
My AX8 froze on me on a gig. It froze a Friedman preset and i just rolled off my guitar volume for clean. I was able to make it thru but could have used a back up. Had two use my FX II and MFC for a couple weeks and found that old set up was so much bigger and heavier. Again, could have used the AFB to get me thru.
 
For me they complement each other really well to be honest. I have both and I use both:

- AX8 is better sounding, no questions asked. But, is it 2x better? Not really. Effects and stock IRs are far better on the AX8, but with a good 3rd party IR the AA can sound amazing;

- I prefer to record with the AX8, obviously;

- If I am going to a small pub, I prefer to take the AA since it is cheaper and smaller. It is just convenient and gives me piece of mind;

- Bigger gigs, I will bring my AX8 and the AA on the gig bag as a backup;

- Silent practice, I prefer my AA because of the convenient headphone port;

- Normal practice, AX8 inspires me more on 2x FRFRs (one Friedman ASM12 and one Alto TS212 for stereo effects);

- And finally, sometimes, I hook up the AA on the AX8 fx loop in parallel with the amp and cab block to build “two amp presets”, since I don’t have the AxeFX that can do that :)
 
I found the Amplifire to be really good for a few amp tones, but the Ax8 has much more options. I sold off the Amplifire because of the limited delay and reverb tones. The stock Fender Twin on the Amplfire is as good as anything out there.
 
etzel said:
I had the red box for about a week. At that time I didnt hav the AX8. To me, it did nothing. It might be a personal thing, but didnt impress at all.

Then there appeared that demo of Pete Thorn of the new product. I know a lot of people were in awe, but again, I found it weird. There were about two sounds I liked, but nothing that moved me, nothing to get me out of bed and buy it, nothing spectacular
Click to expand...

Agree with everything you said. And you had the AA for a few days longer than me as I couldn't get rid of it fast enough!
 
I've had the Ax8 quite some time and bought the Amplifire-Box a month ago (similar to Nicolas Rivera's scenario) and I like the Amplifire-box just great. Absolutely love the Dumble model , like the Cornford a lot, and HBE is good,etc. Some are not so great. (btw I still have an original POD also and LOVE the Soldano sound on that as well as others. . . . SO, why would I buy it, if I love the Ax8 so much? I use my Ax8 with my band and don't like to unpack/re-pack it constantly. . I also wanted to play along with some music with my computer. It's great for that. I also wanted a backup where I can go thru a PA at a gig.. It's great for that. The Ax8 (and Fractal stuff in general) is incredible, but the Amplifire-box is just a really simple , excellent sounding unit.

Eric
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom