Purchased a Axe Fx ii just befoer the iii came out.

Advice: Love your Axe FX II... I have loved mine for 6 years running; Furthermore I don't feel compelled to upgrade ( still only scratching the surface of the capabilities of the unit after all this time).....Gigged with it again two nights ago and people still come up and say they love my tone! - It's all I need for the duration of my musical foray
 
The only reason I can currently think of of upgrading to the III is the additional DSP. I like using lots of FX and I often run into the dreaded CPU overload. That being said is it currently worth saving/selling stuff to raise €2500+? I think not. I don't have a band at the moment, outfitting my new home and the home studio I'm building takes priority and due to a recent move haven't fired up my XL+ in months. Still have to upgrade it to Q9.04. Also the CPU limit keeps me creative.
 
you've just effectively bought a warehouse full of great amps and cabs
additionally, you've just bought was is probably the most configurable and most capable FX unit out there
there will be a great many of us that are extremely happy gigging, touring and recording with the Axe-II and have been for years..

you have bought a superb unit..
it's value is best measured in what it does for you rather than simply $$ alone
an alternative way of looking at it is that you may find that you never feel that you outgrow the Axe-II
if it ain't broke, does it need fixing?

the Axe-III has just a single disadvantage
and it is that the Axe-II is that good
 
Name one thing you ever bought that remains new forever. There was a day when an Apple IIc was state of the art. The XL is an awesome piece of gear. Enjoy it.

At around the same time your Apple IIc was state of the art, my BC Rich Mockingbird was made. It's as good as new almost 40 years later. Come to think of it, my 1950's National Dynamic lap steel is still pretty cool, too.
 
You bought the Axe-FX II at the best time. The firmware is really mature and has had millions of user hours put into it and a lot of updates from the Fractal team to improve it and iron out all the bugs over the years. At this point it's a rock solid mature platform that you can confidently build presets on without worrying about things breaking down the road or running into bugs while using it.

Axe-FX III I'm sure is also really high quality, but it hasn't had the same amount of time put into it ironing out all the kinks. As with any software there's bound to be bugs in it that will take time to shake out. The longer you wait to buy it the better it will get, and you won't have to worry about updating your firmware and fixing up your presets.
 
I have to agree with Kamil. I just bought the XL+ a few weeks ago with the price drop. After spending some quality time with it, trying the various hook-up methods and learning the Axe-Edit software, I cannot possibly fathom how it could be improved... Some of the presets are so good they've actually made me "WOOOO!" out loud or get misty-eyed. In fact, if the presets were the only tones in the box, I'd still be thrilled with my purchase. It's one of the few pieces of musical gear that has not only lived up to the "fanboy hype", it has surpassed it.

Back in December, I got to sit down and play through only the second Axe-Fx unit I had ever seen in my life. It was a used model at our local Guitar Center. I took a set of over-the-ear headphones and sat down with it for almost 90 minutes. I left thinking: "Holy cow... Everything they say about this thing is true. I will have one... Oh, yes... I will." Saved some cash, sold some gear that hadn't seen daylight in a couple of years and hit the "Order Now" button on the eve of the Axe III official sales release. While the III looks impressive as hell, I chose the discounted XL+ and haven't regretted it for a second. Like I said, I cannot begin to imagine how they have improved on something that is already so refined.
 
For some update perspective, I just watched the recent "Rigged" with Between the Buried and Me. Paul Waggoner is using an Axe FX XL into a Mesa 2:90 into a Port City Cab. He has a second unit as a backup. It's an Ultra. I really identified with something he said during the course of the interview. He said, "The older I get, the less I want."

If it sounds good, it sounds good. I haven't updated since 2015. I found the sound I wanted and haven't felt the desire to go through the tweaking required to update. Of course, the sound I found/wanted was basically a recreation of the Dual Rectifier/G-Major/pedal switcher rig I used for years. I just wanted it in a more compact, easier to record rig....

Enjoy your Axe 2...and stay out of the Axe 3 forum so you won't come down with a violent case of FOMO...:tonguewink:
 
Back
Top Bottom