How to appreciate the AXFX3

I know what you mean. I had a similar experience when a friend let me borrow his Isuzu Trooper to compare my MacLaren F1. No idea why people would pick a Trooper over an F1.
Haha... probably same reason I was borrowing the katana....to go camping. Lol 😂
 
I spent years playing through shitty practice amps with even worse floor modelers (shoutout to the Vox Tonelab). I eventually upgraded to a Mesa Express 5:50 and a really solid pedalboard. I spent thousands on that pedalboard. I was super proud of my rig, although still a bit disappointed I couldn't produce the tone I was hearing in my head. Fast forward to now, I haven't touched my old rig in weeks.

I'm going to my first jam session in over a year tonight. I have my Axe and a 1x12 Headrush FRFR cab. SO excited to hear this bad boy at real volumes.

I fully expect to feel that same appreciation you're talking about. My buddy has a Fender Hot Rod deluxe with a solid pedalboard that he is super proud of-- a small part of me really hopes he wants to try out my Fractal and come to the realization how amazing it is.
 
I spent years playing through shitty practice amps with even worse floor modelers (shoutout to the Vox Tonelab). I eventually upgraded to a Mesa Express 5:50 and a really solid pedalboard. I spent thousands on that pedalboard. I was super proud of my rig, although still a bit disappointed I couldn't produce the tone I was hearing in my head. Fast forward to now, I haven't touched my old rig in weeks.

I'm going to my first jam session in over a year tonight. I have my Axe and a 1x12 Headrush FRFR cab. SO excited to hear this bad boy at real volumes.

I fully expect to feel that same appreciation you're talking about. My buddy has a Fender Hot Rod deluxe with a solid pedalboard that he is super proud of-- a small part of me really hopes he wants to try out my Fractal and come to the realization how amazing it is.
If you think the headrush sounds good you should build a celestion spec cab for the f12-x200. There is no comparison between the two.
 
If you think the headrush sounds good you should build a celestion spec cab for the f12-x200. There is no comparison between the two.
Oh I have no doubt about that! The Headrush was more of a temporary purchase so I could actually use my Axe during jams. I have full intentions of selling it down the road to fund a better cab situation.
 
Oh I have no doubt about that! The Headrush was more of a temporary purchase so I could actually use my Axe during jams. I have full intentions of selling it down the road to fund a better cab situation.
Yeah I did the same. Just bought a couple headrush FRFR12s go get going. Funny thing is it cost me about the same to build a couple of those celestion cabs and buy an amp as it did for a pair of headrush. I still use the headrush for backing tracks and to take to blast music at the river.
 
The Katana is IMO pretty great for what it is: A cheap, giggable amp with a lot of sounds and some fx in it. There's nothing better in its price range.

If you can't get a decent sound out of those then it's all on you. Sure, it's no Axe-Fx 3 or even 2 but it's also not several thousand bucks. I'd be the first to sell my Fractal gear if a Katana sounded just as good or better.
 
The Katana is IMO pretty great for what it is: A cheap, giggable amp with a lot of sounds and some fx in it. There's nothing better in its price range.

If you can't get a decent sound out of those then it's all on you. Sure, it's no Axe-Fx 3 or even 2 but it's also not several thousand bucks. I'd be the first to sell my Fractal gear if a Katana sounded just as good or better.
Did I say i can't get a somewhat usable tone from it? ....No.
Would I gig with it? Absolutely not.
Would I like it if I were a 14 year old kid. Without a doubt.
However it just sounds so terrible in comparison to the rig I'm used to playing that I doubt I will even bother messing with it.
If all I had were 400 bucks I wouldn't buy a katana. I'd buy a 100 dollar interface, a few plugins, a used laptop, and a headrush.
 
I appreciate it opening the mouth while playing the Poltergeist Pig preset 🐷
 
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I'm blessed and humbled to have a nice library of amps and probably every amp plugin around. I admit I leave ONE amp on my amp stand by my recording rig going into a Captor X (most amps haven't been fired up in years now). Given this, I REALLY appreciate my Fractal! I've re affirmed over and over again amps are nice, they're really nice to have and play through but I know by my own ears the AxeFXIII covers those bases just fine, too.

Side note: I have a gig this year with a pretty big named guest guitarist who I'll probably bring out a Friedman for (he's asked for the BE100 in the past). Last time I figured what the hell, may as well bring out 2 amps and 2 cabs. I think this year I'll just bring the one amp and my AX8 board. It just doesn't pay (not in money, in sound) to my ears anymore and the confirmation bias is long over, I've had all this gear for years now.
 
Yeah I did the same. Just bought a couple headrush FRFR12s go get going. Funny thing is it cost me about the same to build a couple of those celestion cabs and buy an amp as it did for a pair of headrush. I still use the headrush for backing tracks and to take to blast music at the river.
Hey Justin, I don't know anything about these Celestion cabs. Can you clue me in? I do a lot of Woodworking and would LOVE to build a couple of FRFR cans to use, but I would need plans. If you have them I would be really psyched. Let me know? Thanks so much!

Joe
 
Hey Justin, I don't know anything about these Celestion cabs. Can you clue me in? I do a lot of Woodworking and would LOVE to build a couple of FRFR cans to use, but I would need plans. If you have them I would be really psyched. Let me know? Thanks so much!

Joe
 

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