Axe-Fx 2 still worth grabbing?

[SHEPPARD]

I still have an axe 2 and it rocks! You might even be happy with an ultra. I would still have mine if it had more IR space.

 

[antonioaabad80]

Both sound amazing, can you tell the same about the feel when playing? Is the iii more amp feeling than the ii? Thanks, i'm in the same crossroad, classic clean/lead 80s gear user here, nothing crazy

 

[Decimator]

The FM3 makes more sense really unless like someone else mentioned you need two amp blocks. The FM3 is closer to the Axe Fx 3 for sound and uses the same algorithm and comes with some of the same presets as the 3 I believe. The 2 is still completely capable and still sounds amazing and is far ahead of anything other than the 3 in my opinion. A used Axe fx 2 is probably going to cost more than the FM3 as well and when I saw the price recently I almost bought one but I just can not justify it yet,

 

[John Hamulak]

Vastly different? No. One thing to keep in mind though, the AxeFX II won’t work with new Mac computers.

In what way does it not work with new Macs? Is it the 64-bit-only issue or something else? I have an AxeII XL+ and was thinking of upgrading my old Mac soon.

 

[GlennO]

In what way does it not work with new Macs? Is it the 64-bit-only issue or something else? I have an AxeII XL+ and was thinking of upgrading my old Mac soon.

The newest Macs use a new cpu architecture and audio interface drivers must be rewritten for this new architecture.

 

[Fox]

Vastly different? No. One thing to keep in mind though, the AxeFX II won’t work with new Mac computers.

See thread "USB Driver for Apple Silicon" comment #6. Some tasks to get it there but it is just working fine on M1.

​

 

[Voron]

I'm longtime AX8 user and now I grabbed Axe-FX II XL+ to go I my rack. I use Mesa Boogie Mark V and TC-50 with Torpedo Studio and Axe-FxII all together. And it's a killer setup for studio use. But when I go for a live I'll do Fractal only

 

[Iron1]

I'm sort of in the same boat as the OP, but want to move to a rack unit. I'm a rhythm guy, using an HX Stomp right now, but have decided to ditch Helix for an Axe FX. Since I haven't played live in many, many years there's no need for me to have the latest & greatest.

Normally, in my Stomp, my presets have an OD, Gate, Amp, Cab and the occasional reverb, delay or something else. Can't imagine I'd get exotic with much of anything requiring a ton of processing power - the Stomp has never had an issue.

Also, I just got a 2019 iMac... but, from what y'all are saying, the FXII will still be fine for me, right? iMac and all? Thinking I want an XL or XL+, depending on the deal I find.

 

[Valhalla]

I bought my XLII+ less than four years ago for the then full price. Today you can get a mint one for ~$1500US. The newest firmware Ares 2.00 was released not even a year and a half ago. It's a phenomenal value for a Fractal rack unit.

 

[Iron1]

Good to know, Valhalla. I take it, from what I've read, longevity isn't an issue either. Have seen some people say they have to replace the wheel and/or screen sooner or later, but otherwise no issues?

 

[Repartee41]

Good to know, Valhalla. I take it, from what I've read, longevity isn't an issue either. Have seen some people say they have to replace the wheel and/or screen sooner or later, but otherwise no issues?

I have an original Mark I, and while I'm not the original owner, it's still almost a 10 year old machine. There are 0 problems with it, the screen still functions perfectly (though I've seen others with lines or dots), the wheel still works fine, all the buttons push, I don't have any issues with it besides some scuffs and aesthetic damage which is of course going to happen when gigging anyways, so no big deal at all.

I believe at some point the battery will need to be replaced, but that's an easy 5 minute swap. It's a studio only machine for me now and I use AxeEdit for pretty much everything on it so I believe it'll last a very long time.

 

[Iron1]

I have an original Mark I, and while I'm not the original owner, it's still almost a 10 year old machine. There are 0 problems with it, the screen still functions perfectly (though I've seen others with lines or dots), the wheel still works fine, all the buttons push, I don't have any issues with it besides some scuffs and aesthetic damage which is of course going to happen when gigging anyways, so no big deal at all.

I believe at some point the battery will need to be replaced, but that's an easy 5 minute swap. It's a studio only machine for me now and I use AxeEdit for pretty much everything on it so I believe it'll last a very long time.

That's good info, thanks. It's funny how some hi-tech things don't last 5 years and others go forever. I have an Alessis Quadraverb 2 sitting next to me my brother bought brand new in 1994 that still works exactly the way it did when he bought it. Certainly sounds like the Axe series is in the same vein.

 

[Iron1]

Found a deal on an FXII and look to be getting it tomorrow. In preparation, I figured I'd download Edit and the drivers and such.

When I went to open the USB driver, I got this error message:

Here's the specs on my iMac. Any idea how to get this to work? Not having access to Edit might be a deal breaker...

****EDIT: Found this solution on Reddit and it worked like a charm:

I updated to Catalina last week and ran the same .pkg file, which worked and fixed Axe-Edit for my II mk. II. Have you tried...: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Allow apps downloaded from: Anywhere.

 

[Hubertus]

Found a deal on an FXII and look to be getting it tomorrow. In preparation, I figured I'd download Edit and the drivers and such.

When I went to open the USB driver, I got this error message:

Here's the specs on my iMac. Any idea how to get this to work? Not having access to Edit might be a deal breaker...

****EDIT: Found this solution on Reddit and it worked like a charm:

System Preferences > Security & Privacy, under the General tab click Open Anyway to open or install the app.

 

[Nahuntahaven1]

I’m a new member to the forum and I just bought a mint condition Axe Fx II. This is my first Fractal piece so I have no experience but I have been using rack rigs for 20 years. I’m also a studio guy with much digital experience. My problem is that every preset patch sounds like the signal is routed through a thin, distorted Leslie or tremolo effect. What am I doing wrong? Admittedly I haven’t had the time to read the manual yet. I’m a touring pro and these sounds make no sense. Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks for any ideas or instructions. Jeff

 

[Bodde]

I’m a new member to the forum and I just bought a mint condition Axe Fx II. This is my first Fractal piece so I have no experience but I have been using rack rigs for 20 years. I’m also a studio guy with much digital experience. My problem is that every preset patch sounds like the signal is routed through a thin, distorted Leslie or tremolo effect. What am I doing wrong? Admittedly I haven’t had the time to read the manual yet. I’m a touring pro and these sounds make no sense. Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks for any ideas or instructions. Jeff

Can you start from a totally blank preset and add some blocks and see what happens? Also do a factory reset first.

 

[Brewce]

I’m a new member to the forum and I just bought a mint condition Axe Fx II. This is my first Fractal piece so I have no experience but I have been using rack rigs for 20 years. I’m also a studio guy with much digital experience. My problem is that every preset patch sounds like the signal is routed through a thin, distorted Leslie or tremolo effect. What am I doing wrong? Admittedly I haven’t had the time to read the manual yet. I’m a touring pro and these sounds make no sense. Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks for any ideas or instructions. Jeff

I don't recognize this specific problem, but I would ask if the presets were all current. Some updates can change a lot to them, so if the seller decided to update to the final firmware before selling, this can change what was usable into a less ideal situation...
I'm pretty sure there have not been updated preset banks for the last firmwares, but I don't know in how much it made them "unusable" either. I would just suspect they are not in the optimal intended state.

Although I've not played with any presets by austinbuddy, I would consider one of his packs on Black Friday
This will give you ±1000 sounds that are specifically tailored to the latest firmware.

To make it even better, reading the threads for York Audio IRs, it seems this will seriously elevate it even more (and austinbuddy seems to acknowledge that).
For me, not that experienced with real tube amps (sure, I've played some), many sounds are already KILLER (for hardrock, I specifically love one of the JVM presets). Like many, I've also "lost" a lot of time on the first preset. Then to know some IRs can improve them more, and quality presets are out there...

I have not played though a newer gen Fractal yet, but as long as I haven't, I would hardly know what I'm missing and be very happy with a II for many years to come.

 

[Brewce]

Despite any of what I may have said above, I'm also close to getting an FM9, so I have been contemplating a few things.

Despite loving the II, I've been mostly playing acoustically in the last 5 years or so, losing contact with the forum and new developments.

Catching up, what I seem to see, is...

• Not that many amps have been added to the new gen. Seems like 5 to 10, and the others mostly being the other channels of amps we already had. So you're not missing out here that much with the II.
• While that is on one hand a disappointment, I prefer that maybe that time was spent on developing the amp algorithms, and I'm impressed, very thankful, and looking forward to experiencing those. As long as I have not, I would remain very happy with a II for years to come. I also know that you can usually come close to any amp with the ones that are in the II.

Seems the main thing I would lose getting an FM9 is one pitch block, tonematching, making IRs, ... The pitch block I find somewhat serious, as an old DigiTech unit often had 8-voice detuned presets. OTOH, the available similar sounds are endless in the Axe. So just keeping the II, I would have all of this, and the amount of blocks you can use seems comparable to an FM9. (IIRC, you can also use some other blocks for detuning)

IF I was an experienced user of real tube amps and distortion/overdrive, what would most pain me is how ODs (and amps) seem to have improved a lot in the newer gen. But if you don't have the golden ears for this, the II might do fine, as it has been to me.

If I sell it, it will still be painful, as most awesome sounds I've heard from a modeler came from the II, and a few from the Ultra, and DigiTech. The G-Force seems less memorable to me.

 

[Brewce]

Oh, what did frustrate me was to just miss the Tri-Chorus (not enough room in the II), but recently listening back to some old clips, I was amazed how good Enzo Sutera's emulation of it in the Ultra already was. He also made a Circular Delay using a dual delay. One of these presets was my favorite one for the Ultra.
You will probably have that if you can copy the chorus block from this preset...
https://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=579
I can't find his own presets there anymore.
I could also show you the settings from the Ultra if you want.

 

[Nahuntahaven1]

Thanks Bodde, yes I did a system reset and several user data resets. No change. All the preset names are still there but they all sound the same……just at different volumes. Is it possible to do an old fashioned factory reset which brings all factory presets back? Or can the factory preset sounds be downloaded and reinstalled? I can’t find it in the manual. Thanks for any help guys.