Where to try it?

Perhaps he is just window shopping and can’t spend the Gz (what happened to k or M?) in order one to demo/hear it at his home.

But as many stated, we live in a world which comes with a fair amount of malevolence, and I agree with the post just prior to mine. TANSTAAFL
 
I have a suggestion for you Alex. Someone on here would have to be willing to do this with you but it saves you the drive and prevents any "stranger danger" issues. (I mean.... you are brand new to the forum)
  • Record a DI of yourself playing
  • Provide the WAV file to someone willing to Skype with you.
  • They use your DI to run it through the Axe-III and demo it for you.
  • You can direct them as to the effects you would like to here/sample.
  • If you have specific examples you're looking for, it would be relatively easy to set up a demo showing how the Axe-III can certainly accomplish it.
That being said, you could also accomplish the task like this:
  • Record a DI of yourself playing
  • Provide the WAV file and examples of what your looking to hear, directions, etc to someone willing to work with you on this.
  • They use your DI to run it through the Axe-III and demo it for you.
  • Depending on who does it, they could provide the audio and/or video.
 
I know $2,250 is a lot to shell out on a piece of gear you've never tried. But I'd much rather base that decision on almost two weeks of playing it at home with a money back guarantee than an hour or two at a stranger's house.
 
I can appreciate where the dude is coming from in terms of the amount of money, but as far as not wanting to buy something that expensive until he's played it, that's the whole point of having 15 days. You still get to try out the item, and if you don't like it you're not stuck with it. There isn't a music store in town where I can try out an Engl, or a Friedman, or Bogner, or Kemper, or Hughes and Kettner, or Diezel. Maybe the the low- to mid-level Marshalls if I'm lucky, and one store may have a Mesa or two. I'm not sure how things are in the violin world, but in a lot of places the quantity and variety of gear on hand with our local guitar mongers has diminished considerably in the last 15-20 years. I'm sure the large cities are an exception, but most other places, if you want something high-end you have to buy it to try it. It's not an inviting model for window shoppers, but I don't think it presents much of an obstacle for serious buyers.
 
The thing is that damn near all of us mere mortals (i.e. people who cannot get sponsorship/endorsement deals) who have owned an Axe FX faced the same delimma as OP: To take the plunge or not to take the plunge. It is a bit intimidating. It has a big price tag. The funny thing to me is that people don’t seem to think twice about purchasing a $2,600 Marshall head or $1,600 Marshall 1960AHW cabinet sight unseen online, but get squeamish about buying an Axe FX site unseen.

I was all over the place before purchasing the Axe III. I wondered if the hype is real. In hindsight, that Axe III is one of the best investments that I have made for my rig. All I can say is that as someone who was an Axe FX skeptic 8 months ago, the “hype” is not a bunch of bullshit. This is the real deal.
 
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I'm not going to go into details, but I echo the sentiments of everyone else. I live in Ohio, but I'm not allowing anyone from the forum except Cliff, Matt, and maybe Mark (I stress maybe, here) to come over my house for 4 hours to jam.

For the gas and time you'd spend to do that, you could have the unit at your house for 14 days, and pay return shipping. You'd spend less money overall, and have a more informed decision without cramming in your evaluation in a stranger's house, who you know is extremely heavily armed and has the tactical training to wield such weaponry with a high degree of proficiency. I mean, who could relax in that environment?

If the issue is that you don't have the money yet, then you don't need to evaluate the product at someone's house right now.

You see where this is heading, right? When you do have the money saved up, buy one, and return it if you don't like it. Use the money you've saved, to buy something else from Sweetwater, or GC.
 
Just last night I had a conversation with a buddy and he asked me what led to me buying my first Fractal gear. Answer: If it’s good enough for Britt Floyd and Alex Lifeson then its good enough for me. A 4 hour demo in a Guitar Center wouldn’t scratch the surface of what the unit can do. I spent two 7-hour days playing through the factory presets. Then the Austin Buddy naked amps and two more full days demoing. Then combing Axechange for some Rush presets. Very time consuming but rewarding. A 15-day trial is about the right amount of time. You can A/B it against your current gear in a controlled environment. A forum thread where members list where their bands can be heard might be cool.
 
...There isn't a music store in town where I can try out an Engl, or a Friedman, or Bogner, or Kemper, or Hughes and Kettner, or Diezel. Maybe the the low- to mid-level Marshalls if I'm lucky, and one store may have a Mesa or two. I'm not sure how things are in the violin world, but in a lot of places the quantity and variety of gear on hand with our local guitar mongers has diminished considerably in the last 15-20 years...

This is very true for band and orchestra instruments as well. I play clarinet as well as guitar. In the '70s most music stores in a city of reasonable size had a selection of a few professional clarinets - Buffet, Selmer, Leblanc - often with a few copies of the same model to try. Today, your choices are:
  • go to the ClarinetFest annual conference to try instruments
  • order from a consultant - a professional player who plays and select instruments for clients
  • order multiples from mail order (the CC is charged for all of them) and return the ones not wanted
  • take your chances with new or used, and have a great repair tech
It's driven by economics. The 15-day return policy is a great way to address this.

Dave
 
Another option is to order a used axe fx II from guitar center and have them ship it to the store near you. Try it out there all you want. The Axe III will be everything the II is and more.
 
@Alex Kerezy - I would suggest you private message bshaw92 with your information and delete your post. As it is, Google and other search engines have probably already picked it up, making your phone number widely available to robocallers and scammers. :(
 
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