Howdy! Axe FX Ultra vs Waiting for Axe FX 3?

patdavidmusic

patdavidmusic

Member
Hey all!
Long time forum lurker here, my name is Pat.
I've been looking at an axe fx for years now, so many of my favourite bands and artists from Karnivool to Periphery use them!
At the moment I'm doing a lot of recordings at the moment with some new EP's in the next few months, I also record a ton of youtube videos per month.

I'd love to pick up a Axe Fx XL+ but in my country of Australia they are 4k, which is way out of my price range for the next few years anyway.
I'm only after a few tweakable tones from the Axe Fx not the whole rainbow. This is why I was thinking the Ultra might be a good idea.




At the moment I can pick up a used Ultra for $1000, will this be enough for a few tweakable tones till I can save for the eventual Axe Fx 3?
Also is there still a program I can edit tones on the Ultra via a mac?

Thanks for the advice gang, I cant wait to be a member of the Axe FX family here,

Pat
 
Or the middle ground would be to pick up a used II. With a used II you get all the benefits of continued firmware updates, not to mention the hardware / feature upgrades. Not sure what the exchange rate looks like, but a used II is going for about $1800 USD.
 
metal190 said:
Or the middle ground would be to pick up a used II. With a used II you get all the benefits of continued firmware updates, not to mention the hardware / feature upgrades. Not sure what the exchange rate looks like, but a used II is going for about $1800 USD.
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In australia they are going for 3K, or if i order one from the states it looks like the same price.



Do I need to spend three times the amount or will the ULTRA be enough?
I know the III wont be out for years, just wondering if I need to spend 3k-4k
 
Friendly Advice Bro, You can still live with your Ultra better wait for the III, I bet you it won't be too long from now. If you can easily produce that amount of amount of money then yes go ahead buy a II but if not better wait or else once the III is out you will be scratching your head like me. I work for HI tech companies in the Bay area and the tech world is if you don't upgrade as often as you can you will be left behind one more thing The most user friendly gadget wins, that's a fact.




patdavidmusic said:
Hey all!
Long time forum lurker here, my name is Pat.
I've been looking at an axe fx for years now, so many of my favourite bands and artists from Karnivool to Periphery use them!
At the moment I'm doing a lot of recordings at the moment with some new EP's in the next few months, I also record a ton of youtube videos per month.

I'd love to pick up a Axe Fx XL+ but in my country of Australia they are 4k, which is way out of my price range for the next few years anyway.
I'm only after a few tweakable tones from the Axe Fx not the whole rainbow. This is why I was thinking the Ultra might be a good idea.




At the moment I can pick up a used Ultra for $1000, will this be enough for a few tweakable tones till I can save for the eventual Axe Fx 3?
Also is there still a program I can edit tones on the Ultra via a mac?

Thanks for the advice gang, I cant wait to be a member of the Axe FX family here,

Pat
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Yeah, I think just having new updates would be worth the extra investment. I see used MK 1's from time to time either on her or eBay or even reverb.com for around 12-1400. And if your going drop a grand on a used ultra I would think just look around and and maybe save up an extra 300 or so and buy a Mark 1?
 
Boogie291 said:
Friendly Advice Bro, You can still live with your Ultra better wait for the III, I bet you it won't be too long from now. If you can easily produce that amount of amount of money then yes go ahead buy a II but if not better wait or else once the III is out you will be scratching your head like me. I work for HI tech companies in the Bay area and the tech world is if you don't upgrade as often as you can you will be left behind one more thing The most user friendly gadget wins, that's a fact.
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Thanks for taking the time to write :) Completely agree with the user interface

Jbmetal said:
Get the AX-8 in October.
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Some how I missed this news!!!! Wow that may be a game changer for me, I just wonder what the price will be


cgraci said:
Wait. although i miss my ultra, the new models blow away the ultra
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I am hearing alot of similar comments, thanks for letting me know buddy


ChrisCG said:
Yeah, I think just having new updates would be worth the extra investment. I see used MK 1's from time to time either on her or eBay or even reverb.com for around 12-1400. And if your going drop a grand on a used ultra I would think just look around and and maybe save up an extra 300 or so and buy a Mark 1?
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That's an amazing price I have not seen them for that yet I will keep my eyes peeled!
 
The Axe 3 is years from coming so you're in the clear. The Axe 2 has the best dsp chips on the market. The only way an Axe 3 would come is if a new dsp chip would come out that is better. The Axe 3 is probably not even on Fractal's mind.
 
I an thinking the AXE 3 will be out in 2 years, going on how things worked in the past but who knows, only Cliff and maybe the Fractal team know:)
 
acidfrost said:
The Axe 3 is years from coming so you're in the clear. The Axe 2 has the best dsp chips on the market. The only way an Axe 3 would come is if a new dsp chip would come out that is better. The Axe 3 is probably not even on Fractal's mind.
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I agree that it's pretty far off for sure, but of course, that's just a guess....no facts..
 
patdavidmusic said:
Thanks for taking the time to write :)

Some how I missed this news!!!! Wow that may be a game changer for me, I just wonder what the price will be
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I am guessing it would have to be in line with the Helix price--a bit lower would be a good business move IMHO, but we'll see.
 
acidfrost said:
The Axe 3 is years from coming so you're in the clear. The Axe 2 has the best dsp chips on the market. The only way an Axe 3 would come is if a new dsp chip would come out that is better. The Axe 3 is probably not even on Fractal's mind.
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Even with the same DSPs there are certainly things that could be improved. Like 4 DSPs instead of 2 would make me very happy as I constantly run out of CPU while setting up patches. :)

As for Periphery and similar tones, I guess you don't need plenty of power.
 
If you got the cash I'd grab the xl. the axe 3 is years off and its not liek its gonna get cheaper or our dollar better
 
G'day Pat,

Mate - In your shoes (after all - I've known you what.... the time it took to read your post? ;-)) I'd move heaven & earth to get either a second hand Mk II or an XL+ new. Yes it's 3.8k for the XL, however once you have it, the money is just a memory and you'll be motivated to play like you never have before. I say this from experience by the way. Also, keep in mind that any comments on an Axe 3 in this thread are purely speculation. None of us really know what will happen but can make stuff up based on available evidence haha.

Anyway - Good luck with it.
Pauly



patdavidmusic said:
Hey all!
Long time forum lurker here, my name is Pat.
I've been looking at an axe fx for years now, so many of my favourite bands and artists from Karnivool to Periphery use them!
At the moment I'm doing a lot of recordings at the moment with some new EP's in the next few months, I also record a ton of youtube videos per month.

I'd love to pick up a Axe Fx XL+ but in my country of Australia they are 4k, which is way out of my price range for the next few years anyway.
I'm only after a few tweakable tones from the Axe Fx not the whole rainbow. This is why I was thinking the Ultra might be a good idea.




At the moment I can pick up a used Ultra for $1000, will this be enough for a few tweakable tones till I can save for the eventual Axe Fx 3?
Also is there still a program I can edit tones on the Ultra via a mac?

Thanks for the advice gang, I cant wait to be a member of the Axe FX family here,

Pat
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Ultra is still a very fine machine. I have an Ultra and I have an XL. I still use the Ultra live. There are sounds on the XL that are heavenly no doubt. But, honestly, there are sounds on the Ultra that I have been unable to beat. I much prefer Studio Lead, Poltergeist Pig, Subway Verb, Thick Cali, Crystal Reverb & Carlos on the Ultra.
 
pauly said:
G'day Pat,

Mate - In your shoes (after all - I've known you what.... the time it took to read your post? ;-)) I'd move heaven & earth to get either a second hand Mk II or an XL+ new. Yes it's 3.8k for the XL, however once you have it, the money is just a memory and you'll be motivated to play like you never have before. I say this from experience by the way. Also, keep in mind that any comments on an Axe 3 in this thread are purely speculation. None of us really know what will happen but can make stuff up based on available evidence haha.

Anyway - Good luck with it.
Pauly
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I agree with this. Just get the II or the XL, you won't regret it.
 
Second-hand Axe II's cost about $2100 at the moment, I just sold mine (one I bought from Northlane, hehe) for $2100 with no effort. I could've gone lower, and I've seen a few go for $2000 flat. Just gotta know where to look.
 
Start here: Axe-Fx II: hardware - Axe-Fx II Wiki

then scroll up for the improvements found in the XL and the XL+. Only you can decide if the improvements / feature adds are worth the delta in price.

My two cents on an AXF III - I wouldn't put any stock into speculation on the III or factor it into a buying decision in any way. Buy something that's available (or wait for the Ax-Eight). The good news is you truly can't go wrong with any of Fractal's offerings.
 
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