Debate over… Axe Fx III Turbo ordered!

Rick

Rick

Axe-Master
As mentioned in another thread, I sold the Axe Fx III MK I that I’ve been gigging since they came out. The lack of gigs in the pandemic, which continues now, killed off my band of the last dozen years. Thought I’d update to something newer, mostly because I’m always thinking I’ll be done with gigging sooner or later and want the best unit I can have once that day comes. I had some time to rebuild from scratch, so the moment was right.

I was on the FM9 list. I looked at used and new FM3s. Played my amps at home, and really enjoyed the tone… reminding me of why I liked them in the first place. Incredible fun.

In the end, I’ve had and gigged the FAS Flagship since the Ultra, upgrading nearly every time a new one came out. I’ve always loved it. Then, while looking through my history, I ran into my Axe Fx II XL+ invoice. Do you know what it cost? The exact same as the III Turbo! That’s right, compared to my 2015 unit, no increase to today, other than the tax I’m now forced to pay because something is sent into my state, but that’s another rant for another day. If Fractal Audio Systems is holding the line on costs like that, who am I to break the Flagship string?

Order placed, so the wait begins. Looking forward to it. Thank you to Fractal Audio Systems for getting better, while not going for every dollar you could grab on these boxes of wonderfulness. After a decade plus, you still have my support.
 
Would have been nice if the price had been that consistent between Ultra and now but there have been ups and downs - I paid 2499 for Ax3-Mk1 direct from Fractal in 2018.

Still a great value.
 
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sprint said:
Would have been nice if the price had been that consistent between Ultra and now but there have been ups and downs - I paid 2499 for Ax3-Mk1 direct from Fractal in 2018.

Still a great value.
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Worth 5k easy, and Id pay $1500 for an fc. Lifesaver. I cant believe how affordable they keep their product.
 
For a value comparison, I went to my normal large dealer’s site and searched tube amps heads which cost equal or more than the Axe Fx III Turbo. Single amp heads, no cabs. How many were there?

74. Seventy-Four!

With all the Axe Fx offers at the price of admission, there really can be no argument on its value… it’s to the point of being ridiculous now. I love tube amps, and own about a dozen. Some are quite pricy, and worth every penny. But the Axe Fx is such a bargain that I just won’t be without one, even with a great arsenal of classic amps. That they’ve kept it reasonable, and support it like no other musical product I’ve ever owned, has kept me a happy Axe Fx Ambassador for many years.
 
Looking like a Wednesday arrival at the home base. Having spent the last few days reviewing videos, the blocks guide, and forum posts, I have a lot of great ideas to start in with my setup. I think I’ll back up my Mastermind GT/22 and start from scratch there too. I’m looking forward to some fresh ideas and starting with a clean slate. I didn’t think I’d be that fired up, with this being my sixth or seventh FAS unit, but I’m unexpectedly excited about building up a new rig.
 
Rick said:
Looking like a Wednesday arrival at the home base. Having spent the last few days reviewing videos, the blocks guide, and forum posts, I have a lot of great ideas to start in with my setup. I think I’ll back up my Mastermind GT/22 and start from scratch there too. I’m looking forward to some fresh ideas and starting with a clean slate. I didn’t think I’d be that fired up, with this being my sixth or seventh FAS unit, but I’m unexpectedly excited about building up a new rig.
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With the depth of axe units and fractal support, theres always new things to learn and figure out even 2-3 years down the line! Have fun!
 
yek said:
Here's some RJM inspiration for you:

Button page 1:

View attachment 91073

Button page 2:

View attachment 91074

Button page 3 (amps):

View attachment 91075

Button page 4 (Looper):

View attachment 91076
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That looks like a really nice setup, Alex… I may have to steal your settings file to see how you managed that! I definitely want to add a looper page, it’s one thing I’ve been wanting to get a lot more use from with the new setup. I’ll be back on the RJM forum more often, I’m betting!

Looking at your pics, it‘s clear that those big screens are sooo much easier to see. I’m glad I stayed with RJM on the controller.
 
Rick said:
The lack of gigs in the pandemic, which continues now, killed off my band of the last dozen years.
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Man that sucks. Sorry to hear that. I see you are in Texas. I am kind of surprised that is the case. Phoenix saw a period from around April to July in 2020 where everything was shut down. But shortly after that my band started gigging again (not quite as much at first). But by the end of 2020 we were back up to 2-3 shows a month. I would have thought Texas would be about the same.
 
bdrepko said:
Man that sucks. Sorry to hear that. I see you are in Texas. I am kind of surprised that is the case. Phoenix saw a period from around April to July in 2020 where everything was shut down. But shortly after that my band started gigging again (not quite as much at first). But by the end of 2020 we were back up to 2-3 shows a month. I would have thought Texas would be about the same.
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I think it is closer to the larger cities. I’m about 60 miles out of Houston, and the market was relatively small here to begin with. Some of the places that were closed for the pandemic never reopened. It’ll recover in time, but the whole live scene is cyclic down here… feast or famine, if you know what I mean.

My wife retires in a year, and we’ve discussed moving to an area where the music scene is more active. Time will tell, but it’s tough to get involved in bands where every rehearsal involves a 2 hour round trip. I’ll be visiting my daughter in Sierra Vista soon, so maybe I’ll swing through your area and see what’s happening there!
 
Rick said:
I think it is closer to the larger cities. I’m about 60 miles out of Houston, and the market was relatively small here to begin with. Some of the places that were closed for the pandemic never reopened. It’ll recover in time, but the whole live scene is cyclic down here… feast or famine, if you know what I mean.

My wife retires in a year, and we’ve discussed moving to an area where the music scene is more active. Time will tell, but it’s tough to get involved in bands where every rehearsal involves a 2 hour round trip. I’ll be visiting my daughter in Sierra Vista soon, so maybe I’ll swing through your area and see what’s happening there!
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I spent a couple days in Austin back in September. Actually Lake Travis. We did drive to Austin for a day, but we didn't really check out much on the music scene.
 
Spent a lot of time growing up on the shores of Granite Shoals lake … long ago.

Cottonmouths, water moccasins and rattlesnakes.
 
^^ Is that the constellation of Cygnus in the background? That's a nice touch! I love that as only someone who as a kid who rocked out to A Farewell to Kings can.
 
Coming up for air for a second.

Man… soooo much stuff inside every preset! Wow. The default stuff provided with the box as it arrives is so much more developed, with many more options per preset, than even my Axe Fx III Mk I just 4 years or so back. Although it’s always been a good idea to back up, this is the first time I’ve felt inclined to keep a backup of the out-of-the-box setup… it’s that good.

Spent the last 2 hours looking through the first 100 presets, and could have spent that whole time on many single presets. I’m quite sure I will after I tour the new terrain. It’s amazing that, on arrival, there was already a firmware update to load up. Only Fractal, man… those guys never stop improving.

Ok… back to the exploration. I’ll do a review in a day or two. Too much fun to be had right now!
 
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