I guess I'm a lifer...

[Ugly Bunny]

I've been through all the modelers and nothing satisfies like the Axe Fx III. I just returned my NDSP Quad Cortex to Sweetwater today. I had hoped it would be on par, but it was just so undeveloped and incomplete. It'll be literally YEARS before it's anywhere near what the Axe can do in terms of functionality and features, let alone models. It sounded just fine, but modelers have sounded fine for decades.

I even picked up the FM3, hoping it would be a portable Axe Fx III, but it wasn't - mainly due to the DSP limitations and yet-to-be-improved pitch block.

Now that I'm no longer using a single 'kitchen sink' preset, I think the DSP wouldn't be an issue anymore. I automate most of my preset/scene changes, so the 3 footswitches wouldn't be limiting. I just need that darn pitch block to be updated

I guess this is all to say that I'm spoiled and nothing will ever be as good as the Axe Fx III in my mind for my workflow. Why do I keep letting my GAS convince me that something will be better than it?!?

 

[My name is mud]

Because some features of the quad are not in the axe . But in the end only the sound matters . I really dislike the sound of the quad demos . Sound harsh , mid high brrrr (in high gain, the clean seems to be ok) . But yes it’s normal to be hyped with modern features. And it’s very good to have new competitors in the market . Everything is good in the quad except the sound (and the distance between knobs)
The day fractal will release a complete axe 3 floor with 8 buttons and a big screen …

 

[JoKeR III]

I had chased the 'perfect' tone for about 15 years before going Full-Fractal. I've had several amps, production and boutique, as well as more modelers and pedals than I care to admit to, not to mention the time spent researching and trying them. Since getting the Axe III, I have stopped searching for "better". There's no tone or sound I've needed or wanted that the Axe has not been able to deliver. I've discovered that if it's not possible with the Axe, it's not possible with any other gear, digital or analog.

 

[Ugly Bunny]

But in the end only the sound matters

I respectfully disagree; except maybe to the audience. To me, it's gotta feel right, sound right, and be accessible in the way that I need (in this case, MIDI functionality). The QC does have some features the Axe lacks: WiFi, an easy app with cloud sharing, touchscreen, etc. - but where it matters, it lacks most (MIDI functionality, deep editing, IR storage, etc.

I had chased the 'perfect' tone for about 15 years before going Full-Fractal. I've had several amps, production and boutique, as well as more modelers and pedals than I care to admit to, not to mention the time spent researching and trying them. Since getting the Axe III, I have stopped searching for "better". There's no tone or sound I've needed or wanted that the Axe has not been able to deliver. I've discovered that if it's not possible with the Axe, it's not possible with any other gear, digital or analog.

I think I'm there now. Took me about as long, too. I have a butt load of pedals still, but I never use them. I ought to just put them up for sale and accept I'm all in on Fractal. Maybe I'll treat myself to an FC12 for my home studio since I returned my QC lol!!

 

[Justincase]

I respectfully disagree; except maybe to the audience. To me, it's gotta feel right, sound right, and be accessible in the way that I need (in this case, MIDI functionality). The QC does have some features the Axe lacks: WiFi, an easy app with cloud sharing, touchscreen, etc. - but where it matters, it lacks most (MIDI functionality, deep editing, IR storage, etc.

I think I'm there now. Took me about as long, too. I have a butt load of pedals still, but I never use them. I ought to just put them up for sale and accept I'm all in on Fractal. Maybe I'll treat myself to an FC12 for my home studio since I returned my QC lol!!

Guitars, fractal, and amplification.
Life is good.

 

[Mark Al]

Imagine the FX modeling in a form factor and DSP power of NDSP Quad Cortex

No one else matches the modeling quality and functionality of Fractal, I been through enough modelers to know that, and I didn’t even think of ordering QC.…

However, form factor seems not one of the things that Fractal is passionate of pushing the boundary on. I was honestly disappointed by the FM3’s form factor and limitations.

Perhaps, when one day @FractalAudio is happy enough with the modeling algorithm, and there are new gen of DSPs, that they will really innovate on the hardware design and form factor aspect.

 

[Robert Twiddy]

I moved to Axe Fx III from a big pedal board which was at least $4500. I was waiting for the FM3 which kept getting delayed and my shop had a special price because of that so I went for it with Leon Todd's help in identifying everything you can do. I added an FC6 and 4 Boss FS 5U switches for up/down scenes and select presets/FX. My go to workflow is switch on Axe, load Axe Edit, Load Logic template, switch on wireless on Axe, switch on wireless on guitar and I am off and running. My studio monitors are Presonus Eris E5s and Tambor 10in subwoofer. Sounds fantastic as the Presonus is good at mids. I still have 2 amps set up for wet dry Laney IRT studio with Celestion G12 Anniversary and Jenson C12K, and Marshall Origin 20w with Greenback and Creamback 65. Small pedal board and wireless into those. I rarely use the amps, its always the Axe because the workflow is so quick. So here is my message. If you like what you have dont look at anything else focus on playing not keep focusing on sound. IF IT ISNT BROKE DONT TRY TO FIX IT OF CHANGE.

 

[Triaxis75]

Because some features of the quad are not in the axe . But in the end only the sound matters . I really dislike the sound of the quad demos . Sound harsh , mid high brrrr (in high gain, the clean seems to be ok) . But yes it’s normal to be hyped with modern features. And it’s very good to have new competitors in the market . Everything is good in the quad except the sound (and the distance between knobs)
The day fractal will release a complete axe 3 floor with 8 buttons and a big screen …

I'll always support the fair competition aspect, as a consumer. I hope it makes rival entities up their game, product, and vision. Without being too much of a fan boi, if they mimicked the product support alone they could at least have that to pride themselves in. Honestly, having another product line that rivals the III would be pretty cool as a consumer...but realistically the gap appears to be too wide at this point, with all associated services that are included.

I get that mental picture that when other product lines brain storm or try to create a winning business model, they're forced to use the Axe as a benchmark for ability and updates/upgrades. Great time to be alive as a guitar player!

 

[Ugly Bunny]

I was honestly disappointed by the FM3’s form factor and limitations.

The DSP limitations got me. My kitchen sink presets, which included a bunch of effects and pitch shifting, were too much for the FM3. Now the only thing holding me back from re-buying it is waiting on the pitch block to be updated. In the last year I've started using simpler patches, but more of them, to create specific tones for specific songs. I acquired a Variax, so it's a lot of fun to try to nail tones. That said, I still NEED the improved pitch block for the downtuned songs. I suppose I COULD just use the Variax for tuning, but I like how everything is automated as it is. I'd have to remember to manually switch the tuning knob lol. Not a huge deal, just a step backwards.

IF IT ISNT BROKE DONT TRY TO FIX IT OF CHANGE.

Why oh why can't I learn this lesson?!!? lol!!

Honestly, having another product line that rivals the III would be pretty cool as a consumer...but realistically the gap appears to be too wide at this point, with all associated services that are included.

Yeah. This is the conclusion I came to with my time with the QC. I wrote a big post about it over on the Neural forums - stating CLEARLY that I was writing from the perspective of a years-long Axe Fx III user - and I still get called a fanboy and trolled because the facts are just simply that the Axe Fx III is the most fully-featured, well-developed, customizable, and most powerful unit on the market. I guess the QC "defenders" are more or less galvanizing me into a fanboi lol! I'm confident that every user request and/or feature update on the QC for the next couple years - save for the ones that deal specifically with captures and cloud features - will have been already implemented on the Axe III or FM3.

 

[giantslayer]

Yeah. This is the conclusion I came to with my time with the QC. I wrote a big post about it over on the Neural forums - stating CLEARLY that I was writing from the perspective of a years-long Axe Fx III user - and I still get called a fanboy and trolled because the facts are just simply that the Axe Fx III is the most fully-featured, well-developed, customizable, and most powerful unit on the market. I guess the QC "defenders" are more or less galvanizing me into a fanboi lol! I'm confident that every user request and/or feature update on the QC for the next couple years - save for the ones that deal specifically with captures and cloud features - will have been already implemented on the Axe III or FM3.

Now that I'm a little more of a grown-up, I've started becoming more realistic about how long it takes to implement features and improvements to things. It always seems so simple and easy to the end user to fix an issue, but somehow it takes months or years or never gets done. The speed at which Cliff does updates is pretty astounding and yet, it is still finite and limited. Realistically, it would take QC years to catch up on on all the things people think should be "fixed," and then there's the tiny issue of their modeling not being anywhere as good as Fractal, in my biased fanboi opinion.