Axe-Fx 3 good and reliable for live shows?

Yes. I've done about 20-30+ gigs on my AxeFX3 so far without any issues. Playing one tonight at the local House of Blues. The ONLY issue I've had since getting an AxeFX3 (that wasn't even AxeFX3 related) was my 7-pin midi cable failing at soundcheck so I lost power to my MFC-101. I always gig with a backup of pretty much everything and replaced the dead cable with a backup and played the gig with no issues.

I've also programmed rigs for several artists (who are household names) that are playing large venues like arenas and touring across the US (and worldwide) with zero issues live. Barring any actual physical damage (don't drop the rack or spill something on it), all of Fractal's Products are time tested for basically a decade. Way more reliable than any tube amp I've owned.
 
1 more for yes. I’ve been gigging the Axe Fx only since the Ultra days, with zero failures of any kind. Average about 50 gigs a year. I bought the III as soon as it came out. Plenty of gigs with it now, and the III looks to be every bit as reliable as the previous versions.
 
I’ll be the voice of reason. Everything can fail. I’ve been a fractal user since 2008, ultra, II and now III. My three white screened at my first gig with it. Since then I bring a backup. Most of these big touring bands have redundant everything.

Yep, last video I saw (and posted here) about Metallica's use of them featured the II XL, and they had 2 each for both James and Kirk. We all know the old units are tried and tested, but I suppose the III's are still very new, so we'll have to see if they hold up the same way. I personally had to get a replacement unit from factory, but since then have been sweet. All the reports I've seen here about issues, seem to be identified pretty much right after delivery, and then replaced, haven't seen any threads yet about units having problems in live settings.
 
I have used the Axe3 12 live shows so far with no problems. Consistent sound every night. But as everyone says, always bring a backup.
 
The concern obviously isn't about previous fractal units which had amazing reliability. The concern is about the Axe-FX III specifically. I can tell you that my Ultra's and II's and IIXL+ were solidly reliable but that doesn't tell you if the III is reliable.

I certainly hope it is...
 
The concern obviously isn't about previous fractal units which had amazing reliability. The concern is about the Axe-FX III specifically. I can tell you that my Ultra's and II's and IIXL+ were solidly reliable but that doesn't tell you if the III is reliable.

I certainly hope it is...
The same design philosophy went into the III. In general I overdesign things. I.e. if a capacitor is used to filter a 5V rail most designers will spec a 6.3V part. I'll spec a 10V part. For electrolytic caps I always spec long-life and high-temperature parts. We always use ENIG (electroless nickel immersion gold) circuit boards with FR-4 cores, no phenolic crap or HASL.

The one area where we don't have control is the power supply and display. In the past we've had some minor reliability issues with those items and the III has had some display failures but the manufacturer has improved their process so that should be in the past.
 
i just saw Def Leppard play an all Axe-Fx III show last week. i'd say yes.

curious why there's a thought that live can be problematic compared to not live? anything specific you're wondering about?

Just that i haven't seen them much onstage and more in studios, but then again I've seen guys like Def Leppard and Keith Urban changing to the Axe for live use, so there's gotta be something cool about it right?
 
I don't use one, but a UPS would prevent the AXE from rebooting during an intermittent power brown out. After all it is a computer of sorts. I added one in my rack for my digital 32 channel board, right after it reset in the middle of a show. So I should probably add one for my AXE.
 
A, B and C rigs with the III (main and spare in each rig) - all around the world this year and no problems.
 
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