What Prompted You To Buy A Fractal?

I'll just list my journey to AxeFXIII Mark II Turbo to cut long story a little...keep in mind there was trading and alot of hoarding in all this.
1) Peavey Triumph 120 and Peavey Classic VT with a few Boss pedals for years
2) Podxt and Bass Podxt
3) Roland JC120 - sold at some point
4) Fender Cybertwin - sold at some point
5) Line6 Vetta II with extra 2X12 cab - pretty cool and should have been more supported by Line6 as opposed to selling Spyders to kids..SOLD
6) Carvin mini head (poor man's Mark IV) with 2X12 EVH and 2X12 Carvin cabs. Added Carvin TS-100 to run Pods through. SOLD
7) GOIN BACK TO BASICS - Marshall DSL40C with a bunch of Keeley Workstation Pedals!
8) LEON TODD and COOPER CARTER - smooth talking the FM3! I had always looked at Fractal since the beginning and almost pulled the trigger a few times, then I thought this would simplify and solve all my problems!
9) Overpaid by today's prices a "Mint" FM3 on REVERB, ran in through a little Carvin pedal amp into cabs. Decided I wanted to use the cabs in the unit so sold the 2X12's, Sold the DSL40C and STOLE a MINT Mission Engineering Gemini II off ebay (was the only bidder at $600!)
10) Loved it but really wanted two amp capability and put myself on the waiting list for FM9, while waiting the WIFE said wouldn't the III be a better choice - get it off the floor, don't play out so why not have the mack daddy on the desk and not worry about what you are missing. GOD LOVE HER!
11) AxeFX III Mark II Turbo in rack in my desk, Temple Audio Trio 43 board with two FC-6's, (2) EV-1's and (1) EV-2, (4) Mission dual switches - Output 1 going to Gemini II and Output 2 going to two Kali LP-8 V2's and two Kali LP-6's
12) only real amps left are an actual Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb and an old LabSeries L-5 I've had for years...both collecting dust.
13) DONE, don't even mention Axe IV...
Happier and playing more than I ever have in the last few years, point/click on Edit as opposed to crawling around messing with cables. 14 guitars and one Jericho bass hanging on slit board, grab one, flip a switch and bam, I'm playing!
Thank you FAS for the support and members of the Forum that have answered my stupid questions!!!
 
Periphery guys and everyone on the Sumerian scene in 2012. I knew I had found the perfect piece of kit and saved for a year with my students' income back in the day, haha.

Got it in August 2013.
 
For me... My home is my stage and at the time didn't have a spare "studio" room for the gear. I was looking for a single solution and getting rid of all those cables and energy wasting gear that allways hum throughout the whole building .

The AxeFXII was my first enter to the fractal community after seeing youtube vids of Misha Mansoor. His band Periphery used the fractal on their albums and sharing knowledge and presets on axechange.

Im glad I joined

Cheers 🍻
 
I read some interviews with Cliff and then the 'Cliff notes', that's what pushed me over the line; it was clear to me that he had a deep knowledge of and a deep love for tube amps and I knew that he was the guy I would bet my money on for getting as close to actual tube amps as anyone ever could.

And still was I not prepared for 'Firmware Fridays' and the constant and relentless effort to improve on a thing that already seemed perfect to so many.
 
Hearing the Pete Thorn Ultra Demo... holy crap !
Mark Day Videos...
And NOT wanting to carry around my 250+ pound shock mounted rack, and 100 pound 4x12 cabs... ;-)
From an Ultra to an AxeFX II and an AX8 to now, a complete gain whore with AxeFX III's, an FM9, and an FM3
 
Was interested in since release of AX FX.
But no money at this time and went from used Johnson (sadly for short time built) over Line6 and others to finally a used Ultra.
After release of FM3 I've sold the Ultra and got an FM3 and never looked back.
 
I saw an add in an American guitarmag in (I think) 2008. Got me curious because I was (already) into modeling big time (GX-700, GT-Pro, the famous red kidney etc.) Then I found out my man Anand Mahangoe had one. So I asked him what he thought of the thing because I know he is really meticulous when it comes to his guitarsound. He loved it. So I took the plunge and here we are in 2022.
 


Ketil Strand's videos demoing different sounds on the first gen Axe-Fx. I thought it was really cool that you could get all that from this little black box.

I got into it around a time when the Axe-Edit software had been out for a bit and to me that would resolve a lot of the concerns I had about working the front panel.
 
I came from using Marshall stacks (4) to Mesa to ADA, Hughes & Kettner, Kockh, Ernst amps...
Later on Line 6 Vetta
I liked the versatility but always thought something was missing.
So I started looking for a tube amp again and began searching on forums.
Here were these guys that have had everything from Mesa to Bogners, Diezels, .... and now they had a Fractal.
So I became interested.
In 2009, I bought my first AxeFX....and have never looked back since
 
In 2010 I was pondering an Eventide eclipse and stumbled upon the Axe Fx from a Harmony Central post. After hearing @simeon demo recordings I was sold (purchased an Ultra). The quality, support and excellent sound have kept me coming back. It's been a really amazing and fun journey.
 
Many years ago an old friend of mine, who is a longtime recording engineer and has worked as a consultant with many music companies, told me about how various people were working on modeling the sound of amps. This was probably a decade before the first Pod appeared. I’ve always been curious about the technology as a result, but it was pre-internet and we couldn’t find information like we can now. Eventually the Pod was launched and I started watching their progress and I ended up buying the biggest floor unit they made.

I’d owned a variety of the competitors over the years and didn’t like their sound or quality or responsiveness when it broke mechanically or a component died. I also didn’t like their lack of updates to fix obvious bugs.

I finally decided to try Fractal as a last resort and signed up for a FM3 and got stuck in the waitlist. I think the FX3 went on sale a short while later so I figured WTF, I didn’t want a rack unit but I needed something because we keep a very quiet house, and bought it, was really impressed, and later got the FM3 invitation and bought it for travel.

The FM3 impressed me so much that when they announced the FM9 I got on that list.

Now I’m surrounded with blinking lights and have a lot of women clamoring for me. :)
 
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It’s funny I was telling some friends the other day how once piece of gear that I’m super sentimental to is first ultra I bought.

I believe it was reading about it on the huge gear page thread. I’d done some recording with a JVM using the emulated line out and messed with some early modellers and got ok results but nothing spectacular.

But when I got the ultra I knew very quickly this thing was the real deal. I got two particular IRs someone shared and I finally had one of my “own” signature tones.

Ive pretty much been on board since sometimes jumping off the train and getting on later.
 
Came to AX8 since I was looking to get rid of analog pedalboard problems (noisy power supply, weight, a lot of tap-dancing, etc.).
After finishing my thesis, I bought my first "real" tube amp - the Engl E646. One of the best amps I owned, integrated noise gate working like a charm. I actually hate myself a little bit that I sold it, but it was so big and clunky. Want the clean/crunch/distortion sound of the E646 channels in the FM9^^
For MultiFX I used a tc electronic Nova System. Fine FX, and the "switch on lift up" was great since I also sing, and it helped to get tight timing (love this feature in the current generation). Switched FX and amp channels via Midi. Then figured out that the amp was too big and changed over to the Ironball with an additional ISP amp to get it loud. Build a big pedalboard around a G-System and needed to do the power supply cabling depending on the venue (though I don't know why I got these problems). I was looking for a solution, and knew there was this Axe-Fx II thing which was way out of my price range (and since it was a rack unit, out of my use case). Found an AX8 and bit the bullet. Now I own the FM3 and FM9, everything works as expected, and I am happy :)
 
I played… um… a peavey rage 158 for a long time in my early days. Don’t judge me I was broke!

Eventually my dad helped me buy a Boss GT6. I had wanted one for years and I was so excited! A bought a Presonus tube pre as well.

That lasted three days.

Since the tube pre was the only thing that even remotely salvaged the GT6, I was converted to tube amps, just like that. (Before that I was quite cynical about tube snobbery.) I got a Fender hot rod deluxe and after switching to JJ tubes I was very happy.

Around that time I was seriously into U2 and had been almost like a religious fanatic trying to cop that whole sound - not just the tone but the feel and vibe. I researched FOR. FOUR. YEARS. trying to find the perfect delay pedal for the purpose. Ended up with a TC Nova Repeater that served my journey well for many years.

Around this time I was on some gear forum where people were debating about effects. I was gassing for a TC G Major since I was a TC fan by now. Someone posted: if you can afford it, just get an AxeFx to do everything. It was this exotic, out-of-reach option, so I didn’t pursue it, but I guess it stuck in the back of my mind.

Fast forward many years, and I hadn’t been playing for about a decade due to pretty bad RSI from my IT job. My dad, who always pitched in to help us follow our dreams, was about to pass away from cancer. He has always loved buying me guitar stuff and my sister cameras and other gear. When he passed, he left a small amount of money.

I was lying on my bed one day (a mat on a family member’s floor because I was ‘between homes’) and found a video of that English guy poking around inside the axe with a chopstick and being very offended at Cliff calling him a chucklehead. I thought I’d do some more research, and found a review by @2112. It wasn’t so much the features but Leon’s huge sound and even bigger enthusiasm that sold me. Then of course I saw that The Edge had gone fractal, and I knew how exacting he was with his sound, and I was IN.

So for someone who usually took literal years to choose gear, I was sold in one afternoon. I just felt like my dad was smiling on me, and that this was one last gift he would have wanted to buy me.

It came on Christmas Eve believe it or not. Andrew from Independent Music was super helpful. Of course, I had no idea how to dial in anything but my trusty HRD, so I sounded like anus for many months!

But it reinvigorated my desire to play. It’s been a pretty personal journey for me, and I’m very grateful for the Axe, Fractal, and of course this forum. Now my mate and I have a regular gig in our town and are getting solid bookings. I’ve got my passion back, all thanks to Leon, my dear old Dad, and a some guy’s critical chopsticks.
 
When I attended the second Dweezilla music camp way back in the early 21st century, not only was Dweezil teaching and performing with AxeFX, but @Admin M@ and @FractalAudio were in attendance and running personal demos onsite….so sorta a no brainer for me to jump onboard….also got to hang with @austinbuddy there, before he started his preset empire……and made many lifelong friends..one of whom, Joe Guzzo , shared this bucketlist moment with me some years later when I was promoter for the last concert in Illinois where Dweezil was still allowed to use the Zappa Plays Zappa band name…..Joe is Playing MY AxeFXII on This …..
 
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