What made you pull the trigger on the Axe?

kostein

kostein

Inspired
What was your turning point? What made you go "This box will be my next gear purchase no matter what" ? Was it something specific or a long drawn decision?

It took me a while to decide to splash the cash on my Ultra and Atomic Reactor MB50/cab back in 2010. I was ready to start getting into music/recording more seriously again and I made the decision to spend money on a decent guitar and amp. I had never owned an amp which was worth mentioning (still holds true to this day lol) and I was into the middle of looking at different amps. In the midst of my research I accidentally stumbled upon this thing that I had never heard before called the Axe FX. Naturally I was intrigued. The more I found out about it the more it felt right, especially with the amp prices being very high where I live. It wasn't something specific but the ease of recording along with the seemingly endless possibilities for great tone really appealed to me. I've never had much success with miking an amp/cab and I was unsure if I was ever gonna have any even with a decent amp. With that I decided to put myself on the waiting list in Nov/Dec 2010. 4-5 months later, my musical journey with Fractal began. Second best decision I made regarding gear with the first being my RME FF800 which has turned 10 years old this year and still running strong!

...and then before I got to grips with the damn thing, Cliff and co dropped the bomb with the II. A year later, I was on the waiting list again :lol Let's see how long it will take before I'll be on a waiting list again. Good thing I don't need the extra features the XL has, or else...
 
I buddy sent me an audio clip of a 6505+. I've been on one of those for 6 years and was very stubborn about it. My 6505+ was my baby.

Nevertheless, he asked me what I thought about the tone and I responded with, "it's great, but sounds just like every other 6505+ tone honestly."

He lost it, and told me that it was an Axe FX.

4 months, 2 jobs, -1 girlfriend later, we have an Axe II.
 
I gotta admit I likely seen a few YouTube Mark Day videos of him playing Whitesnake or Van Halen using the AxeFxII but a personal turning point was at a Harem Scarem concert, a friends band 'Heaven's Fire' opened for them, both bands guitarist had their AxeFxII and I couldn't believe the tones and the harmonizer. Shortly after I bought my AxeFxII.
 
for years I had the roland stuff,VG8-VG99 gr33 etc. through a marshall combo. was ok for the time but no updates or bug fixes to speak of.
Than the line 6 route with full dream rig of guitar/hd500 and valve amp, again verry little follow up of bug fixes or updates.
Came across axe fx on you tube and found out not only best sounding but lots of updates and good support.
I get a bit sick of companies bringing the ultimate upgradeable platform and than to leave it .I spend $8000 on a Korg Oasys which was supposed to be supported for years to come but instead they released the Kronos for less with the same features but their upgrades don't fit the Oasys
FAS outclasses all other music industry companies in support and quality of products.
Still have all the other products but only axe fx through clr's get used. still keep buying guitars but no more amps for me
 
In 2006, when the device was absolutely unknown and there was no advertising at all, I did read the first review (I think it was at Huge Racks Inc forum) and I could not believe what it said. I thought that it was setup by a friend of the manufacturer. So I decided to open an Axe-FX forum in order to attract the attention of real users and know the truth Axe-FX :: Index
After few came in and revealed their secret, and Dr. Cliff chimed in, I decided to pull the trigger. That was the first Axe-FX that came into Spain.


axefx.jpg


The old forum is in a mummified state since July 2008
 
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Good deal came my way.
Glad it did.

Edit: I should add that a crushed a couple discs in my back, and lugging around 50lb+ amps was no longer in the question.
...rig is still over 50lbs, but aside from the CLRs, it fits nicely into a small-ish rolling rack case. Take THAT, heavy $hit!
 
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Two words: Periphery | Deftones

I love it I really do, almost an exclusive club that has the fanciest toy, the best support and a product that just keeps getting better. Well done Fractal!!
 
It was 2008, and I needed a Marshall 50W, an AC30TB and a JCM800 for a tribute covers act. The Axe-Fx (Ultra) gave me the tones I needed, at half the price and at one quarter the weight. I bought in at Ultra ver. 5.19 and have been truly amazed at what's happened since then.
 
In 2009 I had a buddy who was selling his Ultra and let me take it home to check out. 20 minutes after I turned it on, I called my buddy he wasn't getting it back. A few years later, he got an AxeFx II.
 
I first heard about the Ultra on a thread about modelers. I was like "What's an Axe-Fx?" I looked it up and almost fell out of my chair when I saw how expensive it was (Line 6 being my reference for modeler pricing). My thinking at the time was "why would I pay that much for something that only emulates a tube amp when I already have the real thing?"

My tube rig consisted of a combo amp and a rack with midi controlled processors and switchers. There were a lot of cables. About a year after first seeing the Ultra, I was looking to upgrade from my cheap Lexicon effects processor, and started looking into the 4-cable-method. I was looking at the 11 Rack and then I started looking at the Ultra and reading about the modeling and ended up decided that I had to have one.

It took me another year to save up for the Ultra, and just as I was about to pull the trigger on it, I noticed Ebay prices went way down. I was like "what?" On a hunch, I Googled Axe-Fx II, and discovered it had just been announced.

I got my Axe II around firmware 1.5. I wasn't totally sure about it at first. It sounded good, and definitely had "feel" unlike the other modelers, but firmware upgrades through about 7 made huge strides in really capturing what I felt was missing.

Nowadays, when trying out other people's tube rigs, I usually find myself smiling saying "cool" and thinking "I don't like this."
 
2007 - Needed something to work in a variety of settings; was tired of the amp buy/play/sell merry-go-round tone chase and had tried all the 'then' new fangled modeling stuff; it seemed like a crazy dream when I saw posts on TGP about this high end boutique digital all-in-one powerhouse. A few emails to people, a phone call to Eric (Solo-Act) that owned one and I took a flyer on it and jumped in the pool. Spring 2007.... took me all of 20 minutes to know that this was game over for me. There was no forum, no ads, barely any reviews, very few owners on any forums posting about it, no wiki, no... nothing. It was like a crazy dream that some American made box came out of a guy's garage (at the time) and reset what I thought was possible.

Some of the guys on TGP really got on me about it (that is sort of Tube central to a degree) and one person that I distinctly recall posted in my initial review thread: "...give it six months, you'll be back to only tubes".

Over 7 years(!) later... here I am. :D
 
Hi, was uninspired.. Others called me lazy.
I needed a recording solution that could reamp , do vintage amps and modern snarling tones to record at home with a realistic sound that would not destroy my relationship with my neighbors AND give me the ability AND inspiration to record all nite.
I was about to settle for a 11r rack THEN.. I saw Mark Day on you tube.. I would wager that 95% or more of Fractalites HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON..losing a nite or two on one preset, just because it DOES inspire you.
Now, the police don't come to my apt anymore. IT has inspired me to finished a single I co-wrote with Ace Frehley called Rise Up(Back From The Grave). Guitars and bass were done in the late hours of the morning.
The master will be done tomorrow and released next week on itunes. Just gave Ace a copy yesterday. I am no longer uninspired. None of this would have happened without the AXE FX. Thanks Cliff.
 
Scott Peterson said:
2007 - Needed something to work in a variety of settings; was tired of the amp buy/play/sell merry-go-round tone chase and had tried all the 'then' new fangled modeling stuff; it seemed like a crazy dream when I saw posts on TGP about this high end boutique digital all-in-one powerhouse. A few emails to people, a phone call to Eric (Solo-Act) that owned one and I took a flyer on it and jumped in the pool. Spring 2007.... took me all of 20 minutes to know that this was game over for me. There was no forum, no ads, barely any reviews, very few owners on any forums posting about it, no wiki, no... nothing. It was like a crazy dream that some American made box came out of a guy's garage (at the time) and reset what I thought was possible.

Some of the guys on TGP really got on me about it (that is sort of Tube central to a degree) and one person that I distinctly recall posted in my initial review thread: "...give it six months, you'll be back to only tubes".

Over 7 years(!) later... here I am. :D
Click to expand...

Same story here... only your review of the Axe is what peaked my interest so I bought a standard used off ebay probably from one of those give it 6 months guys.
 
Saw it first as news on Steve Vai´s website May 2010.. "Steve Vai uses the Fractal Audio AXE-FX ULTRA". Didnt even check it out. I figure if Vai uses it and calls it "supreme" "flawless" I bet it cost $10,000.
Half a year later I Google it anyway and found Ketil Strands Re-evolution of rock videos on Youtube (or what it was called) and got one from Ebay shipped over to Hong Kong.

After AXE II came out upgrade was a no-brainer.
 
I've always been a multieffect guy. I got the Roland GP8 when it was new. Then went the rack/4x12 route, but never was really happy with what I got from the speakers. Most amps are 1 tone wonders and not really versatile and so rough. They just never sounded as smooth as the records I loved. Closest I ever got was with a Peavey Rockmaster preamp and Mesa 50/50 with a rocktron retro something fx and a Mesa 4x12. Also had a Mesa dual recto somewhen. I tried to have that one modded to get some of the crossover distortion crackle out of fading notes... I now know it couldn't be modded out...

Then moved on to a Vetta. Remember that thing, Sean? Loads of guys from the Institute of Noise Vetta forum are now proud members here. The Vetta showed a lot of promise but didn't entirely deliver... Really, really, really tried to convince myself it was awesome... But it wasn't quite...
After a couple of years and the realization line6 was never going to fix the bugs in Vetta FW 2.5(!) and abandon the user base that spent thousands on the thing, excitement on that forum died down a bit. Until someone posted about the new black box on the block. It peaked my interest hugely! Finally a unit that would deliver on the promise the Vetta made! And it did.


I started saving and after almost a full year on the waiting list I got my ultra. Never looked back to anything I ever used before.
Is it perfect, did I find the tone in my head? No, it isn't and I haven't yet. Am I still longing and searching for that tone? Yes, I am. But this is the best out there by an extremely long shot! Maybe I should pay more attention to the IR collections, I've gotten a bit lazy, but then again there are millions of them...

Maybe I should just get myself some other guitars to compare...



Only thing from my past I wish I hadn't sold would be the Fender Vibro Champ I started out on... I'd love to have that back... But just for sentimental reasons...
 
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I was watching a live video CAFO from Animals As Leaders on Youtube and than I saw this device with a green display behind Tosin. A few klicks around and after a few weeks it was on my table. A fact that I had a birthday coming helped me a lot.
 
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