Looking to buy Axe fx3 BUT!!!!!

F

Frosted Flake

New Member
Hey folks. Inaugural post to the boards. Very new to the world of modeling. I don't lack for real amps or for that matter rackmount power amps. So I feel set to start gigging again, though I'm a little old-fashioned. I'm not likely to use FRFR cabs, but rather 2 4x12's at low volume in stereo thru my vht2150.

I wanted to get rid of my pedal board which has several drives and distortions, plus all the time-based fx one could reasonably be expected to use in a band that does everything from 80's to arena rock to new romantic stuff like Duran Duran.

I guess my fear of plunking down on the fx3/controller is both price and the fear of near-future obsolescence. Does anyone have ANY idea when the 4 is coming out?

I sure wish Fractal would get financing. That would be so nice.
 
I don’t think it’s going to happen for a few years to come. With the AxeFX III MKII boosting up memory, it can be assumed they’ll be sticking to this for quite some time to come. I thought I heard at one point that it wouldn’t make sense to upgrade to another model until DSP tech advanced further, but that could be pulled entirely out my ass.

All that said; I got my III a year and a half ago and if it never got another update from that point, I’d be happy with it. I’m not sure, on a tonal level, how much more these things can go and I’d imagine the next AxeFX will most likely have more UI features than any crazy breakthroughs in modeling technology. Unless Cliff decides to take on profiling/capturing and sees it beneficial to release what’s basically the AxeFX III + Fracturefiling in a new unit.
 
Frosted Flake said:
Does anyone have ANY idea when the 4 is coming out?
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Only one person and he's not telling.

That said, a MkII was just released. I wouldn't bet on a new model coming any time soon.

Frosted Flake said:
I sure wish Fractal would get financing. That would be so nice.
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Credit card? Quadpay? PayPal? Afterpay? Plenty of options to do this yourself.
 
The questions about when the next version will debut are frequent and never answered; at least not by FAS. The best advice I can offer is that the quality of sound in one unit doesn’t decrease when a new unit comes out. I understand what you’re asking and why, and am giving the best answer there is. I’m still using my “obsolete” original III and it still sounds better than I can play!

As @iaresee notes above, there are lots of finance options these days. I’d look there.
 
iaresee said:
Only one person and he's not telling.

That said, a MkII was just released. I wouldn't bet on a new model coming any time soon.


Credit card? Quadpay? PayPal? Afterpay? Plenty of options to do this yourself.
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Im sorry, Im new to Fractal. when was the mk2 released?
 
You should think of this machine as a dedicated computer that gets specialized software updates frequently. More than any other company I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s a pursuit of relentless continuous improvement. Best MI purchase I’ve ever made. It is a reputation that FAS has earned and likely changed the whole modeling industry.

Easily one of the best products I’ve ever purchased in my entire life. (I owned the prior FAS Axe products as well.)
 
∞Fractals said:
You should think of this machine as a dedicated computer that gets specialized software updates frequently. More than any other company I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s a pursuit of relentless continuous improvement. Best MI purchase I’ve ever made. Easily one of the best products I’ve ever purchased in my entire life. I owned the prior FAS Axe products as well.
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I have a 4k card thru musicians friend with NOTHING on it. But then I found out Fractal isnt sold there. I honestly cried.
 
Frosted Flake said:
Hey folks. Inaugural post to the boards. Very new to the world of modeling. I don't lack for real amps or for that matter rackmount power amps. So I feel set to start gigging again, though I'm a little old-fashioned. I'm not likely to use FRFR cabs, but rather 2 4x12's at low volume in stereo thru my vht2150.

I wanted to get rid of my pedal board which has several drives and distortions, plus all the time-based fx one could reasonably be expected to use in a band that does everything from 80's to arena rock to new romantic stuff like Duran Duran.

I guess my fear of plunking down on the fx3/controller is both price and the fear of near-future obsolescence. Does anyone have ANY idea when the 4 is coming out?

I sure wish Fractal would get financing. That would be so nice.
Click to expand...
"I guess my fear of plunking down on the fx3/controller is both price and the fear of near-future obsolescence"

Even the idea of near future obsolescence is kind of ridiculous. The Axe FX 2 isn't obsolete, nor is the AX8. An Axe FX Ultra that was released 12 years ago, still commands an asking price on the used market that is greater than that of the much, much newer HX Stomp. They all still sound fantastic, if not different from one another. If the hardware never fails me, I'll be using the AXE III until I'm forced to change due to some unanticipated future event regarding incompatibility with my DAW.

"I sure wish Fractal would get financing. That would be so nice."

PayPal does 6 months interest free. My credit card company is doing interest free from now until March of 2022. There are ways!!!
 
Being as I am new and I don't want to bore everyone with all the newbie questions...where can I find a list of things this thing does? I'll just go read that.

Is it a fair assumption that this thing does a great Dumble impression and also has a good chorus, delay, and reverb?

It seems as though this is marketed towards prog metal and the Steve Vai's of the world. Can it do other things like country and 80's rock?

I want to get to the point where I can sell all my amps and pedals. I want my guitar, wirelesspack, fx3 and a power amp out to 2 cabs in stereo. Thats it. no more bullcrap, batteries and effing around with pedalboards.
 
I don't feel like obsolete is even the right term for when Fractal releases it's next units. In terms of tone, the Axe has matched modern amps and effects. New amps are released but how much better are they than the current amps we have, if at all? It's usually just a new take or flavor on a pre-existing amp. So if no major steps are being made in the sound of real amps and the Axe has already captured the great amps we have, how will it ever become obsolete?
 
Frosted Flake said:
Being as I am new and I don't want to bore everyone with all the newbie questions...where can I find a list of things this thing does? I'll just go read that.

Is it a fair assumption that this thing does a great Dumble impression and also has a good chorus, delay, and reverb?

It seems as though this is marketed towards prog metal and the Steve Vai's of the world. Can it do other things like country and 80's rock?

I want to get to the point where I can sell all my amps and pedals. I want my guitar, wirelesspack, fx3 and a power amp out to 2 cabs in stereo. Thats it. no more bullcrap, batteries and effing around with pedalboards.
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Here is everything you need to know.
All amps, cabs, pedals etc.:
https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Axe-Fx3
I've been doing studio and live music for more than 25 years and all I can say is that I sold all my amps and cabs and only using the Axe III MKII for everything right now. It's worth every single penny and even more!
And for your question it is worth buying it for the Dumble alone.

Cheers
Sash
 
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Your problem isn't going to be the ones you mentioned. It's going to be time-management skills, i.e, you better have your guitar chops and song knowledge where you want them to be, before entering into the modelling world with an Axe Fx III Mark II, because once you get it, your main focus will be on all it has to offer. (I'm in the same exact boat as you, still playing thru Mesa rack amps and 2 Recto cabs, first modeller ever purchased just after the Mark II came out.)

Do not worry about how good the effects are. Not only are they at least on par with the top brands, you can string together more than 1 of several types of effects (some, like delays, allow you to use many at the same time.)
 
Only the resale value will plummet if a new product gets released. The old ones will sound just as good as they ever did.

I can't recommend the FC foot controllers due to their high cost and the fact that they will only work with Fractal units, with no guaranteed support for an Axe-Fx IV.
 
laxu said:
Only the resale value will plummet if a new product gets released. The old ones will sound just as good as they ever did.

I can't recommend the FC foot controllers due to their high cost and the fact that they will only work with Fractal units, with no guaranteed support for an Axe-Fx IV.
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AX8 didn’t plummet. Took awhile for the IIs to drop off in value.

There’ll be people who buy a generation deep that will like a branded foot controller.
 
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