Effects to supplement your AxeFX 3?

I have a FreqOut, and a Mimiq in the loop, and I keep a single drive pedal on my board, but that's just a preference thing. The drives in the box lack nothing- they sound fantastic.

The effects are absolutely great- unless there's a really specific pedal that you love, you aren't missing anything at all by just sticking with the Axe Fx.
 
My regular additions were a loop for various fuzzes (this is an issue for any modeling IMO at this point) and bit crushers like the WMD Geiger Counter, Rockett WTF, and currently a Beetronics swarm. The Spiral Effects fuzzes are sounding pretty special to me also, but that could be from David Torn's influence. On the other hand, some creative use of things like Speaker breakup and extreme advanced amp parameter settings can yield some nice "nasty" sounds.

Pre-covid I used an EHX V256 Vocoder in a loop. While we have a vocoder in the Axe, I only need the EHX to be able to switch both the Axe and my main vocal mic. An Axe setup would require a preamp and either a second mic or some sort of mic line switcher. So that's a case of actually keeping things simpler.

Some effects have a different sonic signature, no matter how much tweaking one does. I used an Eventide H9 in another loop for some different reverbs (e.g. Mangledverb, Tremoloverb) and other unique algorithms like the Undulator. Again, possible to recreate in the Axe, but it would take multiple blocks to approximate the sound.

At the moment, I have a Hologram Microcosm instead of the Vocoder. There's another thread going discussing glitch effects, which IMO, would be worthy of their own unique blocks. Again, it requires some complex and creative programming to approximate those sounds (check out Simeon's great presets).

tldr; Most won't add anything else. The loops offer a convenient way to add sounds that are on the margins of the Axe's wheelhouse.
 
The drive and modulation effects in the Axe are perfection. The reverbs and delays are stellar too but I can get “better” results from the new UAD pedals. “Better” probably just means GAS.
 
I have an EHX Rams Head Fuzz that I run in front of the Axe-FX III. That impedance loading of your pickups feeding a fuzz interaction is tough to model in the box.

To save on CPU, I also have a loop with the following chain:
Crybaby 535 (non Q version)
EHX Black Finger reissue
Protone Paul Raven Dirty Bird Chorus deluxe

With those, everything else I can do inside the Axe-FX III with memory to spare.
 
thud_peterson said:
The drive and modulation effects in the Axe are perfection. The reverbs and delays are stellar too but I can get “better” results from the new UAD pedals. “Better” probably just means GAS.
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Wait, are you thinking that me looking to buy things after I just laid down a couple of thousand dollars on the best amp modeler available isn’t just GAS? :laughing:
 
FullThrottle64 said:
I haven't found any need for anything that isn't in the Axe FX III. That said, the discussion above about a talkbox has me thinking......
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Realistically, I don’t have a ton of use for one, but I’ve always loved having one around. With the MXR one not needing power from anywhere else and finding one for $150 ($20 for a new tube, cuz gross) I couldn’t turn it away. For a while I was trying to run a mic signal back into the AxeFX so it could be entirely self-contained, but I couldn’t get a good level back into the AxeFX to be usable. I’m sure it’s possible if I worked harder at it, but screw it.
 
RevDrucifer said:
The only two things I haven’t been able to successfully replicate to do the exact same thing in the AxeFX; a Digitech Freqout and a Talk Box. I don’t want close impersonations of them, I want to be able to use them to their fullest extent, like saying obnoxious things with the Talk Box. Ya can’t program it to say a string of foul, offensive words. :D
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Definitely a talk box, yes. I have a TC Helicon Talkbox Synth pedal on my board with my AX8. It completely eliminates the unhygienic tube and sounds great. Actually easier to say obnoxious things than with a talk box. Check one out sometime.
 
The only pedal I still prefer for its capabilities vs Axe II/FM3 is the Whammy DT. I also still have some boutique drive pedals that aren't in the Fractal platform, so I keep those around as well.
 
Fuzz. Modeling can't quite yet do germanium transistors. In front of my FM3, I run an Analogman Sun Face CV7005 & Arcane Analog RangeBender (MKI TB + Rangemaster).
 
This thread got me messing with my Fat Fuzz Factory more tonight. Using Bandmaster as my core tone, tried to dial in a Hard Fuzz and then a Bender fuzz with lots of advanced tab tweaks to get some sounds.

Got some stuff that sounded pretty decent, but then I switched back to my zvex and it was just too good.

I need to finish rehousing my analogman modded fuzz face so I can play with that some more.
 
dongzo said:
I don't use them, and I keep them only for sentimental reasons
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Yup. I have an old Boss GE-7 that I bought in 1997 still. All the knobs on the sliders have worn off, there's velcro on the bottom, and my name is scratched into the top of the paint. Still works perfectly. I've kept it because that was the pedal that finally let me dial in my old 5150 the way I wanted it.

To this day on every AxeFX patch I make I gotta set the output EQ to 7-band or else I have a bitch of a time dialing it in (except for the Boogie Mark models). My guitar brain just thinks in those bands.
 
Still have to use an outboard performance (multi-phrase) looper, as the on-board Looper block is a rudimentary single-loop. Looking forward to someday having a SuperLooper block so I can live 100% “inside the box”.
 
I’m new to the A3, and I’ve definitely sold off 90% of my pedals. The ones I’ve kept so far are either a) inexpensive, versatile,and good to have around like the TC Spark or Zoom MS 60B, or b) ones I haven’t been able to replicate like the Source Audio C4, Electrofoods Nepenthes, and a high quality clone of the Ampeg Sub Blaster
 
mngolf said:
View attachment 81678These are all in my closet. I need to sell them. Since I received my Axe FXIII a year ago, I haven’t needed anything else. The only one that has tempted me is the AnalogMan red dot Sunface.
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What do you think about that Flint? I’ve been wanting to try one with a non-reverb amp I’ve got.
 
The Freqout as I just can't reproduce that in the Axe.

As of last night also my Slash Wah as I can't find a good controller pedal with a Wah style sweep. Only the Missions had that sweep and they were unreliable pedals so won't purchase another one.

I have them in the loop so I can use them as part of the reamp signal.
 
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