My honest review

hippietim said:
I don't know how anyone that uses a KPA could be critical of the Fractal UX. I'll admit that the screen on the KPA is nicer looking than the Fractal green screens. However, the UX workflow on the KPA blows.
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I'll disagree with you here. While the new Axe-III UI is far better than the previous, the KPA doesn't even need an editor to be productive. Very intuitive buttons and knobs. Tweaks can be made in seconds. I love the new III experience too, but this is probably the first time I've ever heard anyone say the the KPA UX is bad.
 
Karl Houseknecht said:
I'll disagree with you here. While the new Axe-III UI is far better than the previous, the KPA doesn't even need an editor to be productive. Very intuitive buttons and knobs. Tweaks can be made in seconds. I love the new III experience too, but this is probably the first time I've ever heard anyone say the the KPA UX is bad.
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Switching presets and adjusting amp BMT was not hard but I thought editing effects was not intuitive at all. My first Fractal product was the Ultra right when it came out. I was immediately productive with it. The Axe UX has always made sense to me. It may be cumbersome in some spots (particularly the AX8) but it's never been difficult for me to figure out what I had to do. The KPA is nowhere near as straigtforward to me. It's actually the worst UX of all the current top modelers to me.
 
Damn, these threads tempt me. I had the Ultra and now have a II at home and AX8 I use for what has become frequent gigging. I'm mostly happy with the AX8, but, of course, who doesn't want even a slightly better tone? What I absolutely don't want to go back to is lugging a rack unit and foot control, plus guitar(s) and speaker. Kudos to Fractal for trying to make even older products the best they can be and not squeezing your wallet up the upgrade path. Sorry for the interruption on the KPA vs III comparison. BTW our second guitar player uses a Kemper and it doesn't seem to have near the tonal range of the AX8.
 
addedc said:
Damn, these threads tempt me. I had the Ultra and now have a II at home and AX8 I use for what has become frequent gigging. I'm mostly happy with the AX8, but, of course, who doesn't want even a slightly better tone? What I absolutely don't want to go back to is lugging a rack unit and foot control, plus guitar(s) and speaker. Kudos to Fractal for trying to make even older products the best they can be and not squeezing your wallet up the upgrade path. Sorry for the interruption on the KPA vs III comparison. BTW our second guitar player uses a Kemper and it doesn't seem to have near the tonal range of the AX8.
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He can try profiling your ax8 :) Always ultimately gonna sound "like a kemper" in the nuances, and feel like it, compared to source, imo, but yea.
 
I can only afford one high end amp modeler- either the Kemper or the Fractal Axe FX III. I like the new color interface better on the Fractal Axe FX III but the pedal board controller is not out yet (wait list) and not sure which is better for classic rock, thrash metal, punk and modern metal.
 
dupere11497 said:
This is just a bigger version of the II right? With more RAM and power but still it's almost the same modeling......NOT!!! No placebo effect here, I swear! Like I said, I know how an Axe fx sounds and feel and this is by far the best experience I had pluging my guitar in a processor ever, period!!
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I used to own an XL before upgrading to the 3. Yes the AxeFx3 has ~3x the CPU and more RAM and I/O - but that is just the difference from a Hardware perspective. The Firmware is a total ReWrite from what was in the AxeFx2 - I would suggest that the modeling code is the next generation/ next step in the evolution of ever improving algorithms that are enabled by the more powerful hardware platform. THAT IS really what makes the AxeFX3 "feel and sound as good as it does". I totally agree with the original post "this is by far the best experience in playing my guitar in a processor "
 
I'm currently looking at both the Helix and Axe3 as a long term investment for direct recording (I don't gig). Can you tell me what it was about the Helix that you didn't like?
 
hippietim said:
However, the UX workflow on the KPA blows.
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Perhaps you we're looking for a workflow on the KPA that doesn't exist. ;)

I agree, from a routing and flexibility standpoint, that the Fractal stuff is CLEARLY superior. But I do find it surprising that anyone would be flummoxed by the KPA interface. I mean, it's as simple as it gets.
 
The Kemper sounds great but I highly dislike the clunky interface and lack of a color screen. Even cheaper units like Headrush and Line 6 have color screens. So Axe FX IIII is the winner in that area plus better pedal type effects.
 
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