I'm neither methodical enough or verbally gifted enough for an epic review. But I will say the following -
I bought my first unit, an Ultra, exactly ten years ago. I bought it primarily for the convenience of writing / recording. After owning the unit for a little while I brought it to the practice studio and plugged it into the FX return of my Mesa Mark V. I was blown away. Up until that point, my modelling experience consisted of an old Digitech RP200 and a Boss GT-8, which I had thought were decent for what they were, or really, for what else was available. The Ultra immediately became the center of everything I did on guitar, and I told everyone I knew.
I remember when the II came out, I jumped on the waitlist, although I confess to A) feeling a little embarrassed due to some ribbing I get from a couple guitar buddies about having to have the latest and greatest and B) thinking that I really couldn't imagine it getting better than the Ultra. The Ultra sounded so good, what more could be done? But I bought the II, and I was blown away again. The sound, the flexibility and convenience, and the genius in the overall design improvements from a usability standpoint. Fractal delivered huge improvements in ways I didn't even know I wanted. I fell in love all over again.
For the next five or so years, I went through too much of the band grind, trying to find the right members, trying to keep the right members, trying to strike the right balance between writing, recording, practicing for performance, trying to balance between giving creative license to new members without taking huge steps backwards on written material... I'm sure you all get it. Enough time passed and my family was growing, and I think at some point I finally came to grips with a realization I was never going to be a professional musician. I gave up the practice studio, bought a house in the suburbs, sold a bunch of my gear (none of my fractal gear), and spent the next couple of years playing my guitar maybe once a month. I'd almost always play through the Axe FX II, or sometimes through my FX 8 and Mark V I had held onto, although the Mark V through a 4x12 didn't see a lot of use. As we all know, it's a little much for a 10'x10' bedroom in my little cul de sac house in the suburbs.
I saw the III come out, and I was intrigued. I saw all the improvements and successfully fought the urge to buy the unit for several months. For what I was doing, the II was way more capable than I needed, so it was hard to justify the expense. I finally gave in though and got the III in December of last year. We started a major renovation on the house (doing the work myself) so I haven't had time to touch it more than a couple times in the past 6 months. But the renovation is winding down and the wife and kids have been out of town for a couple of weeks. I set the unit up and started really diving in this week. There's always going to be some learning curve with this capable of a unit, especially after playing so little over the last two years. But HOLY $H!T. My mind is blown all over again. I haven't been this excited about playing guitar in years. And after going through that same thought process upgrading from the Ultra to the II, I can honestly say that Cliff and company have taken us into realms I wasn't visionary enough to even hope existed. I thought it would be a few incremental improvements with better routing flexibility and a pretty screen. But it's so much more. The way Fractal completely reimagined their own product - not just to stay relevant - but to drive the industry through innovative design...
I know that so many of us are (and get accused of) being fanbois for Cliff. But the Axe Fx III has reminded me all over again why we are. This unit is in a league all it's own, and Cliff is peerless as an innovator in this industry. The Axe FX III leaves me wanting nothing, but I already can't wait to see what genius thing Cliff comes up with next. Whatever it is, I already know I want it. I'll overcome that future embarrassment with my frugal but judgmental buddies, then have my mind blown and never look back. Hats off, Fractal. And thank you for re-inspiring me on my instrument!
(now back to falling back in love with my guitars)
I bought my first unit, an Ultra, exactly ten years ago. I bought it primarily for the convenience of writing / recording. After owning the unit for a little while I brought it to the practice studio and plugged it into the FX return of my Mesa Mark V. I was blown away. Up until that point, my modelling experience consisted of an old Digitech RP200 and a Boss GT-8, which I had thought were decent for what they were, or really, for what else was available. The Ultra immediately became the center of everything I did on guitar, and I told everyone I knew.
I remember when the II came out, I jumped on the waitlist, although I confess to A) feeling a little embarrassed due to some ribbing I get from a couple guitar buddies about having to have the latest and greatest and B) thinking that I really couldn't imagine it getting better than the Ultra. The Ultra sounded so good, what more could be done? But I bought the II, and I was blown away again. The sound, the flexibility and convenience, and the genius in the overall design improvements from a usability standpoint. Fractal delivered huge improvements in ways I didn't even know I wanted. I fell in love all over again.
For the next five or so years, I went through too much of the band grind, trying to find the right members, trying to keep the right members, trying to strike the right balance between writing, recording, practicing for performance, trying to balance between giving creative license to new members without taking huge steps backwards on written material... I'm sure you all get it. Enough time passed and my family was growing, and I think at some point I finally came to grips with a realization I was never going to be a professional musician. I gave up the practice studio, bought a house in the suburbs, sold a bunch of my gear (none of my fractal gear), and spent the next couple of years playing my guitar maybe once a month. I'd almost always play through the Axe FX II, or sometimes through my FX 8 and Mark V I had held onto, although the Mark V through a 4x12 didn't see a lot of use. As we all know, it's a little much for a 10'x10' bedroom in my little cul de sac house in the suburbs.
I saw the III come out, and I was intrigued. I saw all the improvements and successfully fought the urge to buy the unit for several months. For what I was doing, the II was way more capable than I needed, so it was hard to justify the expense. I finally gave in though and got the III in December of last year. We started a major renovation on the house (doing the work myself) so I haven't had time to touch it more than a couple times in the past 6 months. But the renovation is winding down and the wife and kids have been out of town for a couple of weeks. I set the unit up and started really diving in this week. There's always going to be some learning curve with this capable of a unit, especially after playing so little over the last two years. But HOLY $H!T. My mind is blown all over again. I haven't been this excited about playing guitar in years. And after going through that same thought process upgrading from the Ultra to the II, I can honestly say that Cliff and company have taken us into realms I wasn't visionary enough to even hope existed. I thought it would be a few incremental improvements with better routing flexibility and a pretty screen. But it's so much more. The way Fractal completely reimagined their own product - not just to stay relevant - but to drive the industry through innovative design...
I know that so many of us are (and get accused of) being fanbois for Cliff. But the Axe Fx III has reminded me all over again why we are. This unit is in a league all it's own, and Cliff is peerless as an innovator in this industry. The Axe FX III leaves me wanting nothing, but I already can't wait to see what genius thing Cliff comes up with next. Whatever it is, I already know I want it. I'll overcome that future embarrassment with my frugal but judgmental buddies, then have my mind blown and never look back. Hats off, Fractal. And thank you for re-inspiring me on my instrument!
(now back to falling back in love with my guitars)