Purging all my gear and getting an Axe FX 3

Mongillo19 said:
Any initial thoughts?
Click to expand...

Sounds killer!

Dunno if it's placebo or not but I set up a preset with dual amps and really enjoying it even through monitors, more than the FM3. I never had much luck with dual amps in the Helix or when I had the Axe 3 before, but I put an AC30 and a Plexi next to each other and dialed them to clean-ish and it's awesome. On another scene for crunch I did a Friedman BE and a Cameron CCV and that also sounds awesome.

Effects sound great as well. Reverbs can run ultra-high which probably helps. But there's just a richness to the sound I like with the Fractal effects, especially when you get into modulated delays like the new Aurora.

The rack format works much better for me now...see that above picture where I have the Axe on a side table right at arms reach. I didn't have that kind of space in my old house so easier to use now. I don't see any issues using the front panel even though it's a touch low. The screen seems super bright, more than the FM3, with better off axis visibility.

Also, when I had the Axe 3 before, the fan was noisy. Now I don't even hear it at all. That's an improvement.

Another good indication, I'm loving my Strat through this thing, and I usually fight the Strat. It actually sounds awesome not only clean but with gain, and the bridge sounds great too. I had a set of K-Line 64's in it but swapped out to my Suhr V60LP set which is a little warmer, and I'm really not missing a bridge humbucker right now. I turned the noise gate up a little and it's really quiet, almost like I have noiseless pickups.

At the end of the day, I think if I commit to this system and keep building off the improvements I've made to my monitoring situation, I should be good to go. I don't expect that a tube amp will sound any better at low volumes, assuming I play through similar speakers. And I don't expect that getting a bunch of high end Strymon pedals will sound any better than the Axe 3 effects. It's got way more power than I need which should serve me well for quite a while.

I may pick up another Line 6 Catalyst to run stereo power amp/cabs this weekend. There's a used one and I have some GC bucks to burn. Otherwise I should be well set, and I need to start that gear purge!
 
Jarick said:
Dunno if it's placebo or not
Click to expand...
Usually its not , we know what what we hear as its a daily common occurrence so we will notice a difference, same as when say we change something in a patch we know hey this sounds better or Hmmm dont sound as good , as Chefs we cook with our ears
So when we notice a difference we will know if it sound better to us

:headbang
 
Last edited:
Jarick said:
Sounds killer!

Dunno if it's placebo or not but I set up a preset with dual amps and really enjoying it even through monitors, more than the FM3. I never had much luck with dual amps in the Helix or when I had the Axe 3 before, but I put an AC30 and a Plexi next to each other and dialed them to clean-ish and it's awesome. On another scene for crunch I did a Friedman BE and a Cameron CCV and that also sounds awesome.

Effects sound great as well. Reverbs can run ultra-high which probably helps. But there's just a richness to the sound I like with the Fractal effects, especially when you get into modulated delays like the new Aurora.

The rack format works much better for me now...see that above picture where I have the Axe on a side table right at arms reach. I didn't have that kind of space in my old house so easier to use now. I don't see any issues using the front panel even though it's a touch low. The screen seems super bright, more than the FM3, with better off axis visibility.

Also, when I had the Axe 3 before, the fan was noisy. Now I don't even hear it at all. That's an improvement.

Another good indication, I'm loving my Strat through this thing, and I usually fight the Strat. It actually sounds awesome not only clean but with gain, and the bridge sounds great too. I had a set of K-Line 64's in it but swapped out to my Suhr V60LP set which is a little warmer, and I'm really not missing a bridge humbucker right now. I turned the noise gate up a little and it's really quiet, almost like I have noiseless pickups.

At the end of the day, I think if I commit to this system and keep building off the improvements I've made to my monitoring situation, I should be good to go. I don't expect that a tube amp will sound any better at low volumes, assuming I play through similar speakers. And I don't expect that getting a bunch of high end Strymon pedals will sound any better than the Axe 3 effects. It's got way more power than I need which should serve me well for quite a while.

I may pick up another Line 6 Catalyst to run stereo power amp/cabs this weekend. There's a used one and I have some GC bucks to burn. Otherwise I should be well set, and I need to start that gear purge!
Click to expand...
It’s a great update , I don’t think it a placebo, I think it is one of the most audibly noticeable improvements they have done on the 3 yet
 
1ADCBA2C-6F6C-4103-9579-ED48F1BFE518.png


forum.fractalaudio.com

About the Plate Suppressor Diodes Parameter

The new "Cygnus X-2" amp modeling introduced a new parameter called "Plate Suppressor Diodes". Plate suppressor diodes, also known as "snubber" or "flyback" diodes are diodes connected between the power tube plates and ground. The purpose of these diodes is to clamp the inductive "kick" caused...
forum.fractalaudio.com forum.fractalaudio.com
 
The FM3, HX Stomp XL, Iridium, and DSM are all sold, so officially down to one modeler.

Speaking of, loaded up a JCM 800 this morning, put the Ownhammer GNR 4x12 on it, bumped the gain, and it sounded killer. Adding in a boost and some post effects and it's a blast to play. My mock single channel amp I suppose. Also, only 40% CPU at the moment so I guess I could add in a second delay, a big ambient reverb, and a bunch of other stuff too.

I had planned to get some Neural plugins for Black Friday but now not sure I'll bother. Maybe I'll get the Tone King since it's different.
 
dk_ace said:
Is it 2009 again?

Sci-Fi Metrocolor GIF by Turner Classic Movies


D
Click to expand...

Pretty funny, but ignores the fact that a man can learn.

I think Cliff admitted that he’s been hunting down transformer behavior for a while. Been a constant pestering notion in his head. I think he believes he solved it.

Doesn’t mean or invalidate his previous solutions being better than the rest of the marketplace.
 
fretworn said:
Pretty funny, but ignores the fact that a man can learn.

I think Cliff admitted that he’s been hunting down transformer behavior for a while. Been a constant pestering notion in his head. I think he believes he solved it.

Doesn’t mean or invalidate his previous solutions being better than the rest of the marketplace.
Click to expand...

I’ve owned an Axe-fx since the original waitlist for the standard. I’m just pointing out that the fanboys have said that exact thing for over a decade now…. I have been one of them before. I see the humor in it. I don’t know about being better than the rest of the market, they’re one of the very best and have their pros and cons that work for you or don’t.

D
 
I've rarely heard any of the differences in the firmwares. Even this time around I'm not sure how much of it is me vs the firmware vs the improved hardware. I always just assume it's me causing problems (or not in this case).

One thing that's underrated is the impact reverb has on tone. I found that when shooting out modelers a few years back. You can get a dry tone that's really close but if you add in reverbs that have different tone, even short room verbs with low mix, it changes things drastically. So it's entirely possible that running the Axe with ultra high room reverb sounds a lot better than FM3 with normal or economy.
 
dk_ace said:
Is it 2009 again?

Sci-Fi Metrocolor GIF by Turner Classic Movies


D
Click to expand...
I have owned Fractal stuff alongside my amps since FX2
That is why I said for the first time In my opinion , I have always dug the Fractal as a recording tool and a fun and creative box but never did I think it totally could replace my amps mic’d until the recent firmware It’s now doing the things that I love about my amps

So I agree and I can see the skepticism as it has been repeated
Many times , but this firmware feels and sounds different to me
 
Jarick said:
I've rarely heard any of the differences in the firmwares. Even this time around I'm not sure how much of it is me vs the firmware vs the improved hardware. I always just assume it's me causing problems (or not in this case).

One thing that's underrated is the impact reverb has on tone. I found that when shooting out modelers a few years back. You can get a dry tone that's really close but if you add in reverbs that have different tone, even short room verbs with low mix, it changes things drastically. So it's entirely possible that running the Axe with ultra high room reverb sounds a lot better than FM3 with normal or economy.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought when comparing the Helix to the Axe III. With verb off I found little difference, if anything I leaned towards the Helix. Turn on the Fractal verb and I preferred the Fractal. Love their verbs...
 
I don’t know I personally hear a noticeable difference the low end is much tighter and there is much better attack and clarity

The amps seem to also show of their differences and individual characters now .
The drives and fx seem to blend better now

And the Snubber cap parameter really does help to filter some of the high end fizz out of the distortion ,it was engaged in the 5153 red channel preset by default and when I turned it off you could hear the fizz and sizzle it pretty cool for taming the harsh top end frequencies
 
GTR37 said:
And the Snubber cap parameter
Click to expand...
What is that? Where is it? That's my only gripe about the Axe- the fizz I hear in the higher gain presets. My tweaked presets have certain cuts in certain places, but I'm still open to trying other ways to tame it.
 
TSJMajesty said:
What is that? Where is it? That's my only gripe about the Axe- the fizz I hear in the higher gain presets. My tweaked presets have certain cuts in certain places, but I'm still open to trying other ways to tame it.
Click to expand...
It's probably on by default by the sounds of it with the new firmware
 
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