Talk me into purchase

Even if the tone/effects/routing/features difference is enough for you to have been glad you traded up, no one except FAS knows when a new unit may be introduced, and whether that unit would address enough of the issues that people in general would like to see dealt with, to make you happy you waited.
If the reason you're hesitant, (or a reason) is the financial aspect (ie, too big of a stretch for your comfort level), then only you can "talk yourself into it."
If it's just the improved sound, buy it. Don't worry about what's next. There will always be a "what's next?"
 
The AX8 and II are still amazing units and I'd be happy to have one. That said, the III is a nice step up. I went from a decent amount of tweaking to about 5 min of tweaking with Ares to no tweaking with the III. There's just a fuller sound that sits right with less fiddling and something even better about the feel.

Is it night and day? Probably not if you're just listening in a mix but when you have a guitar in your hand, I think its a big difference.
 
Century said:
I have owned (and cherished) my Axe-Fx II XL for six years now. I have absolutely no intention of letting it go, too many fond memories.

However, I have been eyeing an Axe-FX III for some time now. I've managed to hold off until now by telling myself that the II has been "good enough" for my needs, but I'm starting to feel 1) a little constrained in my tone questing and 2) envious of new features like the Archon model.

Please, someone help convince me that I need the III and that it's the right time to make the purchase. My reservations come from always getting spooked that a new version is just beyond the horizon (I know, I know...) and the fear that my dumb ears won't be able to tell the difference between the two models.
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I'll be the voice of reason... maybe...

The IIxl sounds awesome. Having recently had an Ultra, IIxl+ and III, I can tell you that the II compares very favorably to the III in terms of raw amp tone. It dials up like my real amps. I'm convinced that the IIxl+ could still be a flagship product as far as its raw tone.

With that said, the Axe-FX III has more of everything. Thats the real upgrade in my mind. You get multiple ins and outs. You get split FX send and return blocks (Hooray!!!!!), you get the channel features of the blocks, you get the reverb and delay improvements, you get the drive block improvements, you get a bigger grid, you get another set of feedback send/return to use the bigger grid. You get the performance views. There is a lot of improvements other than just amp tone.

You also get the ongoing development and excitement when a new firmware release comes out.

On the other hand, you shouldn't feel constrained in your tone questing on the II. It is a universe of tone.
 
Century said:
I should clarify that this thread was not entirely serious. I was always going to buy the III. I just wanted the good folks of the forum to really help convince me it was the right choice. :)
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I was going to reply the same.

Every person who said either 'talk me out of it' or 'talk me into it' has already chosen.

Welcome. It actually does sound better.
 
I have the II and FM3, and if you're well versed in tube gear, you will appreciate the latest Cygnas firmware, as it's much more accurate with regards to tube amp attributes and feel.

That said, the II still sounds great in it's own right, though it's older firmware just isn't as accurate with regards to tube amp attributes and feel.

The III of course has more than double the DSP, and improved FX as well.

I use my II for cab sim, tube power amp sim, and FX with my tube preamps, and the FM3 by itself with a custom tube buffer preamp, so Cygnas is doing all the tone shaping and gain staging, which sounds great!
 
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