Axe fx III vs Axe fx II XL+ discussion

S

Sundaday

Member
Hello,

First of all sorry if this kind of post already exists.

So I'm looking to upgrade my gear. I've never had quality gear except for the electric guitar of my dreams. I live in an apartment and play mostly by myself, preferring to concentrate on my musical skills rather than getting lost in the search for the perfect sound.

But today, I'm looking to get a really professional sound and I'm thinking of getting an axe fx but I don't really know what to choose.

My logic is as follows: I'm planning to buy a second-hand one, as there are some in very good condition in my country.
I find the axe fx II XL + around 1000euros vs 2300e for axe fx III.

So my question is very simple: is the 1300 euro difference really worth it?

After some comparative research, I often come across comments like "the sound is better or this is better". For me, this answer makes very little sense, given that the Axis Fx II already offers very high quality sound.
Having a very, very high quality sound would make no difference to me as a beginner in studio engineering.

What would you advise me to do?

Please give me as many comments as possible!

Thanks a lot !
 
I've listened back to gigs with my regular old II and they sound as good as they do now with my III. there are many benefits to the III from the II other than sound upgrades. IO, Interface, Editor, ease of use, list goes on and on. Take a look and maybe do a pro / con list, and see what wins. Do you need all the IO, and other changes afforded by the III? Sound is subjective, so you'd have to make that up on your own.

Good luck.
 
The upgraded 3rd Gen effects alone are worth the difference in price.

I am looking to replace possibly every single pedal I have, including multi effects units, with an FM9, with the exception being a couple analog drives.

The modeling and IR improvements are definitely there as well.

If the difference in price isn't the biggest factor, consider the III. A II XL+ in that price range is awesome though.
 
lol the anti-spam of this site prevents me from quoting your messages...
No real limit as for my budget, I'd say I'm more interested in logic and common sense than in buying for the sake of buying.
Regarding the choice of the FM3 it looks nice, it's small and compact and has the technology of the fx III axis but I'd like to ask the same question as at the beginning.
I see I've been given a link to the wiki, so i'll have a look at it and get back here when i see Greek-sounding terms

Thanks a lot for your advice everyone!
 
The II is more than capable of sounding good - what you need to do is decide if its limitations are holding you back. for example number of channels. Being that you are a home player I would think the II is more than enough for your needs unless you have a specific use case that you need that you cannot get working for you the old one. I have a II that I use for rehearsing at home. Not disappointed but I'm just using a kitchen sink preset that cover most of my needs. i never reprogram it
 
There is also the foot control to consider. The FCs work so, so well.

So maybe, an FM9 is worth considering? You might be able to find one used for around the same as the II plus a foot controller.
 
Lou said:
The II is more than capable of sounding good - what you need to do is decide if its limitations are holding you back. for example number of channels. Being that you are a home player I would think the II is more than enough for your needs unless you have a specific use case that you need that you cannot get working for you the old one. I have a II that I use for rehearsing at home. Not disappointed but I'm just using a kitchen sink preset that cover most of my needs. i never reprogram it
Click to expand...
Yeah that's what i'm thinking. I play for 22 years now, never really got any real amps or effects.
Just have bought a really good guitar so i usually play with one distortion and one clean sound absolutly every time in any cases.
Now i have a neural DSP which is nice but i weirdly feel that i'm not playing with a real amp, it's difficult to explain lol
 
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Sundaday said:
Yeah that's what i'm thinking. I play for 22 years now, never really got any real amps or effects.
Just bought a really good guitar so i usually play with a distortion and a clean sound absolutly every time in any cases.
Now i have a neural DSP which is nice but i weidly feel that i'm not playing with a real amp, it's difficult to explain lol
Click to expand...
I would say that FAS's digital modeling + IR integration is as realistic as you're going to get.
 
pima1234 said:
I would say that FAS's digital modeling + IR integration is as realistic as you're going to get.
Click to expand...
Yes, I've been watching the whole world play with fractals for almost 15 years now. I've become more and more convinced every year that they're the best possible choice, and many well-known bands/guitarists continue to use them.
I hope the feeling will be right, I also see a lot of people playing on analog amps and using fractals only for effects.
 
Hi Sundaday,

I’m going to buck the trend and say get the 3.
You’ve got the guitar of your dreams now, so getting an Axe FX 3 will complete the package. The 2 is good, however it’s nowhere near as good as the 3. You’ll think of the money once, the rest of the time you must live with your choice.

Thanks
Pauly

Sundaday said:
Hello,

First of all sorry if this kind of post already exists.

So I'm looking to upgrade my gear. I've never had quality gear except for the electric guitar of my dreams. I live in an apartment and play mostly by myself, preferring to concentrate on my musical skills rather than getting lost in the search for the perfect sound.

But today, I'm looking to get a really professional sound and I'm thinking of getting an axe fx but I don't really know what to choose.

My logic is as follows: I'm planning to buy a second-hand one, as there are some in very good condition in my country.
I find the axe fx II XL + around 1000euros vs 2300e for axe fx III.

So my question is very simple: is the 1300 euro difference really worth it?

After some comparative research, I often come across comments like "the sound is better or this is better". For me, this answer makes very little sense, given that the Axis Fx II already offers very high quality sound.
Having a very, very high quality sound would make no difference to me as a beginner in studio engineering.

What would you advise me to do?

Please give me as many comments as possible!

Thanks a lot !
Click to expand...
 
Sundaday said:
Yes, I've been watching the whole world play with fractals for almost 15 years now. I've become more and more convinced every year that they're the best possible choice, and many well-known bands/guitarists continue to use them.
I hope the feeling will be right, I also see a lot of people playing on analog amps and using fractals only for effects.
Click to expand...
And actually, that's me... So, I am planning to use the FM9 with a couple different amp-pedals. It will require different configurations, depending on which one I use, but both have their own cab sim outputs. Or, if I wanted to, I could run them with IRs.

We'll see. I actually prefer the way the FX8 works and its layout. It's just a lot simpler. It was specifically designed for 4 or 7 cable method integration.

Of course, the FM9 by itself can do everything I would ever need and more, but I do like having a few extra footswitches, and I prefer the analog modeling for playing at home through different speakers. For recording, there is no doubt that you're getting pretty much the best possible sounds from an FAS product.
 
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