What Prompted You To Buy A Fractal?

TSJMajesty

Fractal Fanatic
Idea came from @Chewie5150 over in the Gift of Tone thread where he said Mark Day's videos inspired him to enter into the Fractal world.

What was yours? Was it one of the main artists using the gear, or a video, or..., something else?

For me it was seeing @Cooper Carter demo'ing all 263 amps (at the time) with a song clip using each one. And then when I saw that John Petrucci used one as a replacement for his big 3 rack unit effects (Eventide, TC Electronic, & Lexicon), that sealed the deal and I just had to have one!
 
I read about it for the first time in a now dead italian forum from a guy who sold his amp rig and went blindly for an Axe Fx Standard.
I remember searching for it on youtube and finding the Ketil Strand videos were he played a bunch of songs.

Those vids (alongsay the Mark Day's) were the ones that sold the Ultra to me (even though I was still a teen back then and some time had to pass for me to find the fundings).
 
I like others went through the other modelers and was always disappointed, sold them promptly.

I think it was Ola Englund’s early Fractal comparisons that really got my attention.

I bought a used Ultra in 2010 and was shocked at how much better than the rest it was at the time. I got the II XL+ that was replaced by the Axe Fx III Turbo and a FC12.

I’ve been very happy since !
 
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Cliff's promises — although he never came through... ;)

Cliff, HRI 2007: "After the Ultra will be the Super-Colossal-Mega and then the Bitchslap-Yo-Momma versions."

I'm pretty sure I found Cliff at HRI in ±2006, where he started talking about the Axe-Fx. After a while I probably joined the first forum where the talk of a lot of knowledgeable people sealed the deal for me.

Cliff was often enticing people with comments like these...

Cliff, HRI 2007: "The Axe-Fx uses a much different technique for chorus than other digital products. Every (AFAIK) digital device with chorus (except the TC2290) uses linear interpolation. The Axe-Fx uses a Lagrange polyphase interpolator. It requires a lot more horsepower but is sonically superior."

In the end, your only option was to succumb... ;)

I think I had the Ultra by then, but for the LA style fans Enzo Sutera had awesome clips + the Tri-Chorus emulation, and a few other guys, Dweezil doing Eruption, ... I still treasure these clips, making us proud and feel wise we jumped on board early.
 
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For me, I'd destroyed everything with valves in with a G System and then an FX8.



The natural progression was a modeller to save time, money and endless headaches. So i got a Kemper and hated it ... it was an admin burden flipping through profiles so I got the Axe FX IIXL then the Axe 3.

I'm in my happy place
 
Had seen alot of metal bands and artists resort to using the 2.

But what really prompted me me to get one was the realisation that this little black box can do everything in the guitar world with little effort.
I am also someone who always uses the advanced parameters and dont really care how the real tube amp sounds ffs. because theyre limited and dated . This thing can beat the real thing out of the water the second you tweak a few advanced parameters.
EOD the choice was clear. Even for fx there is no competition.
Will absolutely get the 4 too the second it is up for orders.
To sum it up it is " The AXE FX3 is single most important and versatile piece of guitar gear anybody can fathom buying "
 
I first leaned about FAS products from Mark Day's videos that he posted over on TGP. I had been following his playing since he was using a Suhr OD100 Se+ amp and I loved his tone. When he started posting Axe-FX II clips I was surprised how good he made it sound. That cemented FAS as the leader in the modeling realm in my mind. I still think he shouldn't have sold that awesome looking Suhr Modern he used to have.

Fast forward a few years and I was looking for a new delay unit that wouldn't kill my amp's tone when in bypass. That lead me to research the FX8 and I found Leon Todd's YouTube channel. His videos demonstrating the various effects in the AX8 sold me on purchasing a used FX8 MK II. After getting the FX8 I was impressed with the build quality of the hardware, the range of excellent sounds that could be dialed in, the fact that it didn't kill the guitar volume / dynamic response when placed between my guitar and amp (as so many other digital processors do), and the great software editor.

Around the same time when I purchased the FX8 I had also been fighting with my analog rig to try and come up with a solution for playing through headphones. I was using a reactive load box to load down my amp along with a TwoNotes C.A.B. I had discovered that when I dialed in the amp to sound good for headphone use I would then need to again adjust the amp's settings to make it sound good through my cab. I also had to swap some cables to switch between playing through a cab and playing through headphones. The time it took to change my settings and get everything setup ended up making me want to play guitar less often. These are some true first world problems, but I guess I'm that guy.

I realized that I was making things way too complicated by trying to make my analog amp do what it was never intended for. Switching to a fully digital system would solve all of my problems. In the digital realm you can make presets dedicated to headphone use or live use and then switch between them in only a second or two. That realization coupled with the added benefits of easy recording, easy direct to FOH setup, and the draw of trying the hundreds of amp models pushed me over the edge. I knew within the first 5 minutes of playing that the Axe-FX III was the solution that I had been looking for.
 
For me, I love techie things and I love music so I started researching what was out there and things just kept coming back to Fractal. I also have a love for owning things that (I feel) are on the cutting edge. Like my 2015 Yukon, a 1964 Martin, A winter coat from 8 years ago, etc. hahahah. But MUSIC wise, I really do like the cutting edge stuff!

Watched a million YT vids with a bunch of people who were AMAZING players and sounded great, and then found out those same people were out here when I joined and stalked the forum before buying. A huge deciding factor though, besides the sound, was that the person that created it was an active forum member - still blows my mind in the best possible way.

I only wish I had found it sooner!
 
For me, it was actually Neural DSP's inability to deliver their product (Quad Cortex) on time. I owned a Kemper at the time and thought it would be cool to have the ability to profile pedals as well. I didn't even care about the modeling. After selling some gear, I got another notice that the delivery date was extended......made me mad so, I looked into the Fractal gear and ordered an AXE FX III and cancelled the QC order. I was blown away. I sold my Kemper the next day! My amp collection has been dwindling ever since. I have been replacing amps with guitars! I believe I had 4 guitars when I first got the AF3 and now have 9! I still have 3 Marshall amps and 3 cabs. I think by this time next year I will own just one Marshall and one cab.......and maybe some more guitars?
 
First checked out a Std because I was tired of dealing with a cranky pedalboard. I was able to eliminate 75% of my pedals and the Std replaced most of it. Fast forward to the II and I could run that direct to FOH and/or through a pwr amp/cab on stage. Since then it's just too easy to get good sounds with all the improvements. The III and FM9 both just sound too good not to use.
 
The marketing in guitar magazines is what originally caught my attention. At the time I think I was actually happy with my live rig but was investigating the idea of a modeler I could use live and easily at home. I wanted a piece of independent hardware. I owned an Avid 11 Rack and also I think Guitar Rig with its companion foot pedal but that required a laptop which I didn't want to rely on at the time. I remember being a little reluctant to purchase one based on the cost and not being able to check one out in person before buying. I exchanged some emails with fractal and they assured me it would be no problem to return it if I wasn't satisfied... but said that never happened ;) ... returning that is! They were right in my case. I'm pretty sure my first unit was the Ultra but might have been a standard. I've owned something from Fractal ever since and currently have the whole suite III, FM9, and FM3 and seem to be finding a use for all of them.
 
1. Was downsizing my existing amp combo and effects board for easier transport concerns...located HeadRush Gigboard & FRFR108.
2. Wasn't entirely happy with the Gigboard's tone quality.
3. Did additional research with amp modelers. Was smitten at first with LT's YT videos.
4. Looked at Helix, Quad Cortex, Fractal.
5. Concluded that an FM3 would be adequate & most cost effective (read: value/money).
6. Sold Gigboard, kept FRFR108.
7. Purchased FM3.
8. Added 2 EV-1s.
9. Later realized I needed an FC12 as well.
10. Added Temple Audio Duo 24 & Duo 17, with XLR FAS-Link Modules.
11. FAS announces the new FM9, which solved problems 7 & 9.
12. Sold FM3, FC12, Duo 17 & Duo 24, 1 EV-1, purchased FM9.
13. Added Temple Audio Duo 34. Kept remaining XLR module for Duo 34. Purchased 2nd HeadRush FRFR108.
14. Added 2 external stand-in switches, homebuilt. Also, TA IEC Power Module, an additional XLR M/F module in case of a FC upgrade.
15. Upgraded existing ¼" TS & TRS/XLR cables.
16. Added Peterson StroboStomp & Furman AC215A Power Conditioner/Surge Protector.
17. Added TA Mini-Module Access Plate, ¼" TS locking jack, and Neutrik USB A/B Reversible jack.

Was it the wisest use of funds for the history of these purchases? No. Will I likely ever need upgrade again? Maybe. Am I currently content with what I own now? Yup.
 
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