Axe-Fx III Vs other Axe-Fx units

MesaMitch

Member
Hi! i own a Kemper i kinda stumbled upon the axe fx iii a couple days ago on youtube and my mind is blown from it and i want one now
i know there is more axe effects units like the floor unit which i think is called the ax8

i would love to own a floor version of the axe fx iii

but basically my question is, Does the axe fx 3's amp modeling sound better then the ax8,
what is the difference between all of the axe fx products and the axe fx iii besides the DSP / CPU power,

and is the axe fx iii unit going to be in a pedal board version soon

sorry if these are complete idiot noob questions but i kinda just found out about this thing
Thanks for anyone who answers my questions back
 
Hi, I owned an ax8 until some months ago, then switched to axe fx iii. Ax8 sound very well, better than other effect I owned in the past(line 6). I like very much the effect and, of course, the amp modelling. Axe fx iii introduce more instrument to permit to create very stunning tone and has more possibility to create effect chain. It has a lot of eq possibility, that in my opinion, are the basic instruments that permits to create a great tone. It sound better than ax8 in the amp modelling, and has more parameter that let the user can operate in all amp circuit. Of sure, it is more complex. I never change axefx3 with other product, it will give me a lot possibility also when the next version will came out. It is an investment for the future.
 
Hi Mitch,
The iii is way better!
Maybe you should get a iii now, and. When the new floor unit (fm3) is available, get one of them?
Thanks
Pauly
 
As an FYI, the AX8 is no longer for sale new. The FM3 will be released soon.

Not likely there will be a floor version of the Axe Fx III... But the FM3 will be sort of Axe Fx III "lite" in a floor version.
 
As an FYI, the AX8 is no longer for sale new. The FM3 will be released soon.

Not likely there will be a floor version of the Axe Fx III... But the FM3 will be sort of Axe Fx III "lite" in a floor version.

So kinda like the cheap helix for a grand?

and the rack mount version is always the best version i am guessing? or am i completely wrong?
 
As an FYI, the AX8 is no longer for sale new. The FM3 will be released soon.

Not likely there will be a floor version of the Axe Fx III... But the FM3 will be sort of Axe Fx III "lite" in a floor version.
So kinda like the cheap helix for a grand?

and the rack mount version is always the best version i am guessing? or am i completely wrong?
and when is the FM 3 suppose to be available?
 
So kinda like the cheap helix for a grand?

and the rack mount version is always the best version i am guessing? or am i completely wrong?
I'm not so well versed with Helix because I've been an Axe Fx user since before the Helix existed...

But nothing about the FM3 is "cheap" except maybe the cost.

It shares much in common with the Axe Fx III architecture but has less processing power and less instances of effects blocks per preset. But, it is a floor unit and fairly compact. Also includes a USB interface for recording and headphone output, unlike the AX8.
 
Long story short:

AXE FX III is the newest Fractal rack unit, and it sounds and feels a tad better that it’s predecesor, the AXE FX II. It has like 8 times the processing power though so expect it to be highly improved over the next couple months/years.

The FM3 is a Lite floor version of the AXE FX III. Same sound, same feel, less instances of FX, less I/O, can’t dual amp.

The FM3 is to the AXE FX III, what the Helix LT is to the Helix.

The AX8 is the Lite floor version of the AXE FX II.

The AXE FX Standard and Ultra are still good but nowhere near the AXE II and III good.
 
i think based on the type of preset needed the fm3 may sound as good as the 3. I don’t know for certain but it looks like fractal wants the fm3 to be a sonic improvement over the axe8 albeit with less capability than the af3. So if your preset or sound sculpting desires are not intense, the fm3 may prove to be a good choice.
 
FWIW I was able to recreate my main Axe-Fx III live patch on the FM3 in about 5 minutes at Axe-Fest and it sounded spot on.
So for less than half the price(~44.4%...$999.99 versus $2249.99) you not only get the sound, but an easy, compact package. That’s going to be a great deal for guitar players. :)
 
In short:
Axe FX 3 sounds slightly better than AX8. Allows more instances of effects, some new effects, has more in/out ports and other features you might not need.
AX8 is discontinued and FM3 (Which is a tiny, a lot less powerful Axe FX 3 (sounds the same)) will be released at a not disclosed time. All we know is "Soon".
Though, you can find used AX8's to buy.
 
The extra DSP on the Axe3 comes in handy when you want to know what dual amps and parallel effects chains with tons of high quality reverbs would sound like. I never regretted getting the Axe3. It does it all. The FM-3 paired with an FC-6 would be a great live rig.
 
In short:
Axe FX 3 sounds slightly better than AX8.

That’s subjective.

I thought the III with FW 1 sounded significantly better that the AX8, enough so that I sold my AX8 and I’m putting up with the inconvenience of the rack/foot controller format over the all-in-one convenience of the AX8.

The III has gotten even better over the last year, including amp modeling updates as well as the updates made to the drive and reverb blocks, and the ability to combine and align up to four IRs in the cab block. I also find the III much more responsive to touch and dynamics.

YMMV...
 
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