So far I'm not entirely sold on the Axe Fx 3....

I will say from experience that FAS will not divulge 'where it's going'. I would say 50% from competitive practice and 50% because they just do not know. I doubt when the Axe II came out they had solid ideas of where it would end up.

Stick with the II if it fills the need. But IMO you judge a product based off the company behind it. FAS is never 'satisfied', so we see continual improvement. I know that the III will be this way too.

R
 
bdrepko said:
Regardless of how often new firmware is released, you have the option to choose when you want to update. Unless there is a needed bug fix or new feature, you could still use FW15.
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True. And that school of thought is even more reason for me to wait on the III. I'd rather use a mature II for my job than stick with the current firmware of the III for a substantial period of time and hope that there is no need or desire to update firmware (because there will be). For example, until the latest firmware, midi bank change didn't work. The III will have a long and rich development. But I don't want to reprogram every step of the way for my job. Home use is a different story. That is where new firmware is fun and exciting.

I've resigned myself to the fact that, even with a preset translator, it is in my best interest to gig with the II and buy the III for home recording and pleasure once the firmware and my finances develop a bit.
 
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I have my III for four hours now. I'm glad I jumped in early because I wanted to be part of the ride and had the coin laying around. Wasn't sure how long I would have to wait so I bought when I got the email. The workflow is much improved with the UI, tons of cabs and the ability to mix as you want. Fenders sound amazing. Faster switching. Channels are going to be so welcome. I don't think you would have any regrets. I only wish I knew when the FC's are coming and I'd rather now see a new waitlist for them either. I think they should go in the order of the III's waitlist. Good luck to you.
 
bishop5150 said:
YouTube and Facebook videos do not do this thing justice. I can easily hear the difference when playing. The III has noticeably more punch and definition. You can feel it when you play.
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Agree 100%. Plus YouTube/FB videos compress and degrade the audio signal masking any difference between the two that would otherwise be apparent.
 
Wish Fractal wouldn't have dropped there price on the axe 2+ for so long. I would have liked them phase out the 2+ just a little bit differently. In a slower liquidation process. I'm not sure I can offer any alternative practical options.
I would like to sell my 2+ and pick up the 3. The sale running this long, forces me to take a good size loss. I've read so much over the few years regarding the resale value. Lots of curious watchers, but nobodies grabbing them at $1500. I certainly could say I got my money's worth out of it over the past 2 years if I dump it for $1400. Things would feel more user friendly if they ran the Xmas special.. then bumped it to only 200 % discount for 6 months. So I can put it up for 1500.. and be able sell it quickly. After 6 months.. entering it into a clearance sale... at $1400..until thier inventory is sold. It just slows sown the liquidation process, but that would invite increase in sales.. and average out at the target average sale price.
Think I'll get the 3, but I'm afraid I can't sell it at a fair salvage price at the same time they do. So my next idea is you wait until the stock is sold off.. that has a chance for my unit to go up off the bottom because of supply and demand. That's going to delay my purchase date.. decreasing sales.. but they don't have enough as it is. Not sure how I feel about them being opportunist on a supply and demand roll out.. the buy it now price... I guess business is business and they're very fair about the waiting list price I think I appreciate that more
 
electronpirate said:
I will say from experience that FAS will not divulge 'where it's going'. I would say 50% from competitive practice and 50% because they just do not know. I doubt when the Axe II came out they had solid ideas of where it would end up.

Stick with the II if it fills the need. But IMO you judge a product based off the company behind it. FAS is never 'satisfied', so we see continual improvement. I know that the III will be this way too.

R
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Agreed. I see the word “epiphany” come up quite often on the boards then development seems to move forward.
 
Tahoebrian5 said:
One of the most exciting things about the 3 imo is the foot pedal integration, and being able to program it with scribble strips per preset, and hopefully per scene. Add that to the better noise floor and tone, more cpu, future potential... No brainier for me
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That whole footswitch think would have been very welcome since the III has neither the FC12 or 6 nor Axe Edit right now. That IS a problem even with the improved UI.

Icarusuki said:
Yeah, that was a major selling point. I'm one of those that had a second guitar player running through my XL+... I doubt I'll do that again (he's using my AX8 Live for now), but if they ever decided to do something like 4 amps with 2 channels instead of 2 amps with 4 channels, I would consider it. Especially, if they could add something like a switching block (like a virtual A/B/Y box), that could divert signal from one path to another via midi.
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I was bummed to find out that two amps are the max right now! I was thinking that I could use the Axe Fx III for a whole band. Not with just two amps. The Helix can do that now but this reminds me of the beginning with the Helix. "Not at Launch"

JimmyD said:
I have my III for four hours now. I'm glad I jumped in early because I wanted to be part of the ride and had the coin laying around. Wasn't sure how long I would have to wait so I bought when I got the email. The workflow is much improved with the UI, tons of cabs and the ability to mix as you want. Fenders sound amazing. Faster switching. Channels are going to be so welcome. I don't think you would have any regrets. I only wish I knew when the FC's are coming and I'd rather now see a new waitlist for them either. I think they should go in the order of the III's waitlist. Good luck to you.
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I LIKE being the first to check out any modeler. You sometimes get to be part of history that way.
 
On an observation basis only .....and not even a decent 'sit down and read more' one.There looks to be improvements in I/O, CPU capacity to expand in the future, grid architecture and screen.

The cost when compared to that of the XL+ when it first came out seems to be fair when those improvements are factored in.
 
And, by the way... one (1) Friedman BE-100 head, $3699. Every time I look at amp prices, it makes the purchase of an Axe FX, any Axe FX, suddenly make sense no matter what I was thinking prior. You can nearly buy a II and a III combined for that.

This has nothing to do with the OP, just a sticker shock moment I was passing along. Keep the II, get the III... either makes good sense.
 
BaronVonGrim said:
Wish Fractal wouldn't have dropped there price on the axe 2+ for so long. I would have liked them phase out the 2+ just a little bit differently. In a slower liquidation process. I'm not sure I can offer any alternative practical options.
I would like to sell my 2+ and pick up the 3. The sale running this long, forces me to take a good size loss. I've read so much over the few years regarding the resale value. Lots of curious watchers, but nobodies grabbing them at $1500. I certainly could say I got my money's worth out of it over the past 2 years if I dump it for $1400. Things would feel more user friendly if they ran the Xmas special.. then bumped it to only 200 % discount for 6 months. So I can put it up for 1500.. and be able sell it quickly. After 6 months.. entering it into a clearance sale... at $1400..until thier inventory is sold. It just slows sown the liquidation process, but that would invite increase in sales.. and average out at the target average sale price.
Think I'll get the 3, but I'm afraid I can't sell it at a fair salvage price at the same time they do. So my next idea is you wait until the stock is sold off.. that has a chance for my unit to go up off the bottom because of supply and demand. That's going to delay my purchase date.. decreasing sales.. but they don't have enough as it is. Not sure how I feel about them being opportunist on a supply and demand roll out.. the buy it now price... I guess business is business and they're very fair about the waiting list price I think I appreciate that more
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Nobody is grabbing them at $1500, and in a couple months, no one will be buying them at $1400. Hard facts, but time to face them. And this is simply what happens when you combine the Second Law of Thermodynamics with Free Market Economies. And this is especially true with high-tech toys because, guess what... “high tech” today is outdated in 6 years and antiquated in 12.
Your “wait for FAS to run out of stock” idea may pay off. Probably won’t. The problem is, you have no idea as to what their stock is. Their stock may outlast demand. In which case, they will eventually drop their prices further, and you, in turn, will be more annoyed.
Why blame FAS? They want to dump their Axe-FX IIs just as bad as you want to sell yours. The just happen to have a larger supply. Again, market economy forces.
And I feel your pain. I sold my Axe-FX II a few weeks ago... $1400. Got the AF3 and haven’t thought about it since.
 
FWIW... Bought my Axe FX II nearly six years ago - its even more awesome than it was back then ( thanks to the over the top efforts by the fractal team to continually improve and push the envelope) ...I stand pat with what I have for now and am grateful. This has been an awesome company and fantastic user community - so grateful to everyone contributing to this Forum. Its been a great ride!!!
 
Ben Randolph said:
You're buying into an evolving platform. It's as much about the journey as the destination.

Also, Analog Devices no longer produces the TigerSHARC chip. Further production of the AxeFX II would be impossible because of this. It makes sense for Fractal to come out with a new product based on actively produced and supported DSPs.
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Woah that's deep.... Actually no, it's about the destination. I'd rather have some indication of what I'm buying into / what direction they are going to focus on for future developments.
 
Stratman68 said:
Your minds obviously made up and that's fine. I get that. No problem. Honestly, I do not get the point of your post. I do not get that.
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Have a look at my OP. I stated that I hope I see something that changes my mind. The point of my post is that I am simply stating that in spite of the hype I am reluctant to buy an Axe Fx 3 if I am not going to see the developments i was pining for in the Axe Fx 2. Pretty straight forward.
 
I see an awesome machine already, and great potential when I look at the III. Cliff has been looking at it longer than we, so........ :)

I think it would be really easy to integrate another device with all the I/O. So add what you feel is missing?
 
bishop5150 said:
YouTube and Facebook videos do not do this thing justice. I can easily hear the difference when playing. The III has noticeably more punch and definition. You can feel it when you play.
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Agreed. I've been going back and forth between the two and it's very noticeable. I'm not sure if it's something that could be dialed into the II (there are a millions settings available after all :) ), but as I've been manually recreating presets from my XL+ on the III, the III is definitely "livelier" in a good way.

Austin
 
As far as effects there's a new chorus, new better pitch tracking, more pitch shifter voices, improved reverbs, doubled plex delays, cab block with 4 ir's at once, channels make many versions of these instantly available.

The one huge thing I can think of would be polyphonic pitch tracking but what the III has is pretty amazing.
 
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