So how many people here who all have AX8's ended up upgrading to an FM3/9 AF3?

dsouza

dsouza

Experienced
Just curious are most people on this AX8 forum with just AX8's or have most of you bought other units and upgraded as the subject line above states?

I know @chris has told me he bought virtually the whole line!
 
Greg Ferguson said:
I sold my AX8 to a friend and upgraded, and now have all three units.
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Which of the new 3 do you find yourself using the most? ATM all my presets that come with the AX8 and my custom U2 presets were designed perfectly for AX8 10.01 firmware. So I don't believe there's any chance they would sound better on an FM3/9. I know my other presets like my G&R presets etc were custom made to take advantage of FM3/9 technology so they would definitely benefit from the cynus uprgrade. 👍 Eventually, if need be is the plan to get an FM9 and use my AX8 as backup. But that's a longs ways off. Maybe another 5+ years. Right now I can get all the tones I need out of my lovely AX8.
 
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I upgraded from the AX8 to the FM3, to the Axe-FX III, and back to the FM3.

At first, I missed the physical tone controls on the AX8, but once the Performance Pages were added, I was a happy camper.
 
dsouza said:
So I don't believe there's any chance they would sound better on an FM3/9
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The firmware for the current generation was a rewrite. Cygnus actually blew away the modeling that was initially in the FX3 and FM3, which was already an improvement on the AX8's modeling. Between Cygnus 2 and the Dyna-Cabs I think you'd find a difference quickly.

I use the FM9 and FM3 differently; The FM3 is compact and portable, so it travels with me when I leave town. The FM9 is what I tend to use when I play "out", unless I'm testing something that I want to subject to live conditions. I don't take the FX3 out much, mostly because it's bulkier and I use it with the FC12 so it takes up a lot of floorspace on a small stage.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
The firmware for the current generation was a rewrite. Cygnus actually blew away the modeling that was initially in the FX3 and FM3, which was already an improvement on the AX8's modeling. Between Cygnus 2 and the Dyna-Cabs I think you'd find a difference quickly.

I use the FM9 and FM3 differently; The FM3 is compact and portable, so it travels with me when I leave town. The FM9 is what I tend to use when I play "out", unless I'm testing something that I want to subject to live conditions. I don't take the FX3 out much, mostly because it's bulkier and I use it with the FC12 so it takes up a lot of floorspace on a small stage.
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So FM3 for travelling, FM9 for live gigs, and AF3 for studio. Nice setup if your whole life revolves around music. For most of us we can make due with the AX8 or FM9 for everything.
 
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If you are content with your tone and comfortable with the functionality of the AX8 stick with it. The AX8 is still being used on stages around the world.

I have the AX8, FM3, and FM9. There are times when I will take the AX8 for gig (lots of bands on bill and we have a 30-45 min set, stage space, etc). Still sounds great through FOH.
 
I upgraded from AX8 to Axe FX II XL+ to Axe FX III and FM9. I traded the FX2, but have the other 3 units. The singer in my original band actually uses my AX8 while I use the Axe FX III. My FM9 is on a pretty big board, and he just needs a simple preset with a JCM 800 model so the AX8 works fine. I keep toying with the idea of buying an FM3T as a compact backup and have him use that instead of the AX8 since it would be smaller than my AX8 board.

The current gen Fractal products sound different than the last gen. I still like how the AX8 sounds, but it's different. Don't expect to be able to just port your old presets to the current gen and have them sound the same (they won't). It actually took me a few months to learn the Axe FX III's character to make a preset that I liked better than my FX2's presets that I spent years tweaking.
 
RockYoWorld said:
I upgraded from AX8 to Axe FX II XL+ to Axe FX III and FM9. I traded the FX2, but have the other 3 units. The singer in my original band actually uses my AX8 while I use the Axe FX III. My FM9 is on a pretty big board, and he just needs a simple preset with a JCM 800 model so the AX8 works fine. I keep toying with the idea of buying an FM3T as a compact backup and have him use that instead of the AX8 since it would be smaller than my AX8 board.

The current gen Fractal products sound different than the last gen. I still like how the AX8 sounds, but it's different. Don't expect to be able to just port your old presets to the current gen and have them sound the same (they won't). It actually took me a few months to learn the Axe FX III's character to make a preset that I liked better than my FX2's presets that I spent years tweaking.
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This makes me all the more just want to keep my AX8!
 
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