Moved from AX8 to Axe Fx III...

I agree! I just got mine Wednesday and I don’t want to go back to AX8. It just sounds better and is seems easier to dial in tones. Took my AX8 to practice Thursday night and was missing III. The new drives are awesome
 
Couldn't agree more - I loved my AX8 (still would if I hadn't sold it) but the III is a whole different thing. I didn't think I would notice a real difference in the tones, but I do. The interface is great, Axe Edit is great, the FC12 is great - so happy I decided to take the plunge and can't wait to play live with it.
 
Same here, honestly didn't think there'd be that much of a difference but the AX8 - the thing I'd say to folks was the best thing I'd bought in 30 years of playing that didn't have strings on - lasted a month after I got the iii

With the FC6 it's such a versatile piece of kit

I'm so pleased with it, Fractal have just killed it with this unit
 
I also moved from an AX8 to the FXIII and the biggest thing I've noticed is that I can just pull up a bone stock amp/cab combo and with zero tweaking, it sounds incredible. The AX8 and AxeII also sounded amazing but it took a few minutes to really dial them in. The III just nails it out of the box and being able to use channels in the scenes means I can have every possible rig combo I can think of available in one preset and with gobs of CPU left over. I really can't say enough good things about this unit.
 
The Axe Fx III is the Cadillac of the fleet, so you’re riding in style when you're using it, compared to anything else. Nothing is as powerful, and that really becomes apparent when you step up to the top level.
 
Welcome to the machine! Not much has changed for me in portability from the AX8 to the Axe III. Just one more bag and I'm using the same pedalboard. Not in any way knocking the AX8, but the tone of the III is more than well worth the extra "baggage"!
 
Welcome to the machine! Not much has changed for me in portability from the AX8 to the Axe III. Just one more bag and I'm using the same pedalboard. Not in any way knocking the AX8, but the tone of the III is more than well worth the extra "baggage"!
Good point - I was carrying a rack anyway for my iem’s - just got a new one that also holds the III.
 
Welcome to the machine! Not much has changed for me in portability from the AX8 to the Axe III. Just one more bag and I'm using the same pedalboard. Not in any way knocking the AX8, but the tone of the III is more than well worth the extra "baggage"!

Agree with this completely

Moved from FX8 to AX8 to the III and it's a no brainer. I still have to carry my board and guitars, I just have a shallow 4U rack to get from the car to the stage too now. Can carry it in 1 hand, setup is a breeze and the sounds when using it are so, so worth it
 
I'm starting month 4 of my AFXiii journey (also coming from the AX8) & i still find myself tweaking every week a few hours...its pretty damn awesome and the response/sound difference & feel is way more substantial than i thought it would be. My only regret was not making the leap sooner!
 
Welcome to the club!!!

I'm totally in love with my III and still love my AX8, but I've been vocal about how something feels 'missing' in the overall experience once you are playing the III and then you switch to the AX8. I keep rooting for the ARES port for the AX8, but then there are people in the AX8 forum that keeps saying 'Why do you need ARES? Just let it be as is'
ec1.png
 
Just pulled out my AX8 for the first time in quite a while. Still enjoy the presets I made on the AX8, I spent enough time getting them dialed in that I do think they are good for me. However, I made to transition to the Axe III, FULLY, and I'm super happy.

Sure, flying with the Axe III is a bit more of an issue, yet I have an SKB 4 space case weighing in at 49.5lbs and I just throw my FC6 and EV2 in my suitcase, with a couple cables...and done.
That's it.

By comparison, I was using a Pelican, still have it, for the AX8 and accessories all together. Perfect, yet it's not a crazy difference. Just a bit extra in the suitcase with the Axe III. DEFINITELY worth ANY extra bulk. Amazing unit and killer tones with TONS more flexibility.
Very happy with my Axe III, thanks to all at Fractal...love the new firmware as well.

Fractal is FAR above the competition at this point. Not that it's a competition ;)
 
Tonewise I for one noticed some subtle and some major differences:

E.g. on the AX8 I somehow was never able to dial in a decent Diezel Herbert. It always sounded kinda dull and flat. On the Axe Fx III every combination of gain, equalizer, depth and presence sounds great with this amp. There are now so many nuances in the tone. It's just amazing. It seems like a totally different amp model to me now.

To me this is of great importance, since the Herbert was the first amp I fell in love with. With the Axe Fx III I feel like I found my old love once again.

I'm just so happy right now! :blush:
 
Update:

I was realizing that I originally just tried my previous presets on my AX8, they were great.
However, someone was saying it is more difficult to get a good tone out of the AX8 and so I started a new preset from scratch.
Got things dialed in pretty quickly, even after having to re-adjust from the Axe III.

I still think the AX8 is a great piece of gear and EXTREMELY useful.
Whether or not I purchase a FM3, the AX8 is NOT obsolete by any means...just saying.

All that said, the Axe III has so much more horse power, that it's really not in the same league ;)
 
Keeping the AX8 as a 'back-up-...Just unpacked the AXFXIII & FC-12. Whew! Getting (ever so slowly) the lay of the land...no more 'banks' like AX8 where I hit the top right button, they show up and I hit the appropriate 1-8 #. I guess that's now called 'layouts' haven't tried switching from one ... which video addresses this different vernacular? Watching Rosh now.
 
Keeping the AX8 as a 'back-up-...Just unpacked the AXFXIII & FC-12. Whew! Getting (ever so slowly) the lay of the land...no more 'banks' like AX8 where I hit the top right button, they show up and I hit the appropriate 1-8 #. I guess that's now called 'layouts' haven't tried switching from one ... which video addresses this different vernacular? Watching Rosh now.
Preset banks are still called Banks. Layouts refer to different 'pages' of switch configurations. The FC Controller Guide, https://www.fractalaudio.com/fc-download/ , will help with some of the new features and terminology. With the FC-12, you can still have a switch dedicated to banks (inc/dec or specific #) but if you want it on a particular switch, you will need to assign it to the switch. Before trying to program the FC, try the default setting and learn to navigate through scenes and presets.

When it comes to programming the FC, I will admit that it was a bigger learning curve for me, even coming from the FX8 and AX8. It was overwhelming, every switch is capable of doing anything. Not as simple as just learning what particular a switch does or is limited to. I ended up sitting down and making a list of what I wanted to accomplish within a preset and what was needed to control what I wanted to do. Then it was a matter of creating/editing the different layouts to fulfill those requirements. My FC (FC-6 in my case) ended up with these layouts that I use consistently:

Layout 1 = Presets (preset switches use Layout Links to my first effects layout)
Layout 2 = Scenes
Layouts 3-5 = Performance pages: Effects, Scene Toggle/Number(s) and Control Switches.

Start simple, use one layout (default Layout 3 is where I started) and configure a switch to toggle between 2 presets. Then assign another switch to select a specific scene. I like Control Switches so I assigned a 3rd switch to use as a Control Switch by attaching a few modifiers to it. Once you get a handle on programming switches, you can move on to Layout Links, Per-Preset Switches and Per-Preset Overrides if you feel the need.

Point is to start simple and gain an understanding of the workflow. It appears daunting but once you program a couple of layouts it starts to make sense.

This guy does a good job giving an overview of features:
Per Preset Switches:
 
I just recently got an Axe Fx III and I moved to it from the AX8. Wow is all I can say! I really love the power the Axe 3 has! I still have my AX8 as a backup, but I'm really loving the tone I get with my III! I used it last week at church and got so many compliments on my tone!!!
 
I just sold my AX8 and before I did so I checked to make sure it was in working order. Wow!! I was super impressed with the tone I dialed in prior to getting the Axe Fx III. It certainly held up against the III. If anything was missing, I'd say some 'girth' or the feeling that the speakers were pushing air. But honestly, if I didn't have the III, I wouldn't notice. The AX8 is really awesome. It also reminded me that I should spend some time and dial in some wetness into my Axe III. I've gotten addicted to a dry tone because it's that good.
 
Back
Top Bottom