RBM01991
Member
I bought my Axe FX III from a very nice gentleman from Texas on May 2nd, 2020. He shipped it in its original box, with all of the original cables and everything. The unit was virtually brand new. When it arrived, I took the afternoon off from work and started fiddling with it because hell...why not.
I'll say this, coming from a Line 6 POD HD Pro...this thing has a learning curve. I'm a pretty smart guy and I'm used to high tech equipment, but this thing had me stumped for a few days until I realized that power amp simulation was somehow still turned off, even after a factory reset...and the thing is, it didn't sound that good until you cranked it.
But that's the thing, ITS SO GOOD, that it even emulates that particular behavior from, a tube amp. I play this thing through studio monitors here at home, and I have to turn my monitor control almost to half way up, just so you can hear all the characteristics from whichever amp model you choose to use.
I deleted all the stock presets, because I just didn't need them and I have some really specific sounds and amps that I like to use, and I immediately went to work on formulating the signal chains that I wanted. Initially, it was a bit of daunting task, just because of the sheer number of amps, cabinets, effects, effect parameters, multi-chain effects paranormal chicken shit configurations (I'm being facetious here) that is available in the unit, but now, I can start from an empty preset and in under 5 minutes I can have a very usable tone that I can plug into any DAW, or plug into my guitar player's Friedman cabinet and absolutely SMOKE any half stack that tries to compare.
I'm gonna try to make this as simple as humanly possible, so even the bass players understand (that's a Glenn Fricker joke). This is NOT a beginner's unit. This is a professional grade, behemoth of a unit, made for people with vision.
This is made for people who have specific requirements, have a game plan on how to use it, have previous experience with amps, pedals, signal chains of all types, and for people who want the most efficiency, weight savings, and tone for their money.
I have owned and played through the most popular high and low gain tube, and solid state amps out on the market, and this thing either gets extremely close, or just decimates them completely.
Speaking of bass, you know that cutting, EMG flavored, Queensryche tone from Operation Mindcrime? It took me all of 10 minutes to set that up and its so easy to mix, that I barely have to move the fader and it just sits perfectly well in a Pro Tools mix. I don't have to do anything to it, its astounding.
As far as guitar tones, when I used to play the Line 6, all my guitars would pretty much sound the same through the patch I would normally use. Now I'm having to favor certain guitars over certain patches, or even the same patch as they now ALL sound radically different through even the exact same patch. Its made me realize some things and now I prefer certain pickups, guitars and even pots...all of which I used to not even have to think about. It's added a positive level of complexity which I certainly appreciate.
My only complaint about the unit is that a lot of the stock cabs sound darker than I like, even when they're supposed to be bright. Luckily the gentleman who I bought this unit from, had bought a set of OH IR's and left them in this unit and I was very grateful for that.
I play a lot of hair and glam metal, so that biting, searing Marshall tone is very much what I need, and I had to work hard to get that tone, but with the right IR, anything is possible.
Onto my final and main point, I no longer NEED any other amp. You know how guitar players get G.A.S for amps and pedals? I don't get that anymore. Because it's all available within the AXE-FX III. Do I WANT a huge collection of amps and cabs? Sure, but I certainly don't have the room for them or the budget to afford the maintenance upkeep or the electricity bill. Even if I do win the lottery and get a room full of Soldanos, Mesas, Marshalls and Fenders, I'll probably still use the AXE-FX just for the sheer convenience.
Props to Cliff and the whole team, you've solved a part of the equation for me.
I'll say this, coming from a Line 6 POD HD Pro...this thing has a learning curve. I'm a pretty smart guy and I'm used to high tech equipment, but this thing had me stumped for a few days until I realized that power amp simulation was somehow still turned off, even after a factory reset...and the thing is, it didn't sound that good until you cranked it.
But that's the thing, ITS SO GOOD, that it even emulates that particular behavior from, a tube amp. I play this thing through studio monitors here at home, and I have to turn my monitor control almost to half way up, just so you can hear all the characteristics from whichever amp model you choose to use.
I deleted all the stock presets, because I just didn't need them and I have some really specific sounds and amps that I like to use, and I immediately went to work on formulating the signal chains that I wanted. Initially, it was a bit of daunting task, just because of the sheer number of amps, cabinets, effects, effect parameters, multi-chain effects paranormal chicken shit configurations (I'm being facetious here) that is available in the unit, but now, I can start from an empty preset and in under 5 minutes I can have a very usable tone that I can plug into any DAW, or plug into my guitar player's Friedman cabinet and absolutely SMOKE any half stack that tries to compare.
I'm gonna try to make this as simple as humanly possible, so even the bass players understand (that's a Glenn Fricker joke). This is NOT a beginner's unit. This is a professional grade, behemoth of a unit, made for people with vision.
This is made for people who have specific requirements, have a game plan on how to use it, have previous experience with amps, pedals, signal chains of all types, and for people who want the most efficiency, weight savings, and tone for their money.
I have owned and played through the most popular high and low gain tube, and solid state amps out on the market, and this thing either gets extremely close, or just decimates them completely.
Speaking of bass, you know that cutting, EMG flavored, Queensryche tone from Operation Mindcrime? It took me all of 10 minutes to set that up and its so easy to mix, that I barely have to move the fader and it just sits perfectly well in a Pro Tools mix. I don't have to do anything to it, its astounding.
As far as guitar tones, when I used to play the Line 6, all my guitars would pretty much sound the same through the patch I would normally use. Now I'm having to favor certain guitars over certain patches, or even the same patch as they now ALL sound radically different through even the exact same patch. Its made me realize some things and now I prefer certain pickups, guitars and even pots...all of which I used to not even have to think about. It's added a positive level of complexity which I certainly appreciate.
My only complaint about the unit is that a lot of the stock cabs sound darker than I like, even when they're supposed to be bright. Luckily the gentleman who I bought this unit from, had bought a set of OH IR's and left them in this unit and I was very grateful for that.
I play a lot of hair and glam metal, so that biting, searing Marshall tone is very much what I need, and I had to work hard to get that tone, but with the right IR, anything is possible.
Onto my final and main point, I no longer NEED any other amp. You know how guitar players get G.A.S for amps and pedals? I don't get that anymore. Because it's all available within the AXE-FX III. Do I WANT a huge collection of amps and cabs? Sure, but I certainly don't have the room for them or the budget to afford the maintenance upkeep or the electricity bill. Even if I do win the lottery and get a room full of Soldanos, Mesas, Marshalls and Fenders, I'll probably still use the AXE-FX just for the sheer convenience.
Props to Cliff and the whole team, you've solved a part of the equation for me.