Fractal Audio Axe-Fx

I found the menu fairly easy to navigate through...I must admit I was a little scard at first after reading some comments, but it was actually pretty easy. I have used a lot of menu based gear though...so perhaps that has helped. I admit theres tons I still don't know how to do...But setting up basic patches is pretty easy.

The unit sounds great, plus it feels great under your fingers...so to speak...when you play soft or dig in it really has a dynamic response. Plus it is an all-in-one solution to your sound. Albeit it can be a little daunting with so many editalble parameters. The urge is there to over do it sometimes...you kinda get the mindset of "if a little bit sounds good...a lot more will sound a lot better" so be careful of that, because there is plenty there to pile on...

And the effect are super good!! They are the best part of the whole package.
They just blend and sound so much like part of the signal and not just added to it...
They really are high quality!
I do wish they had put a usb connection on it though.

don't know...mine is still quite new...but no problems so far.

don't know...haven't tried to contact them directly...
there seems to be a good response on the user forum though...
I dont think it will be problem...
but if i understand rightly the users are able to make change requests and if the engeneers like it it will get put into a firmware update. Thats pretty unheard of...

I think it's a great sounding, well thought out unit.

Not the easiest device on this planet, if you are still "analog" (I mean you prefer rotary knobs) you could have some troubles in the beginning since you have so many settings.

Anyway I consider it a very good "digital" interface as everything is easily reachable.
Presets are valuable, and you can copy the setting of each effect/amp between the presets.
The editor (that's not a Fractal product) is far from perfect but you don't have to pay for it. LarsB made a very good job, but a product of this class deserves a professional product.
Anyway even if I've no midi pedalboard (I'm waiting for the Fractal one) I've had no problem in editing patches directly on the Axe.
The manual is good and the wiki and the forum are a gold mine of informations.
Firmware revisions comes for free and it's easy to upgrade the unit (just avoid midi interfaces that use the standard USB driver).
I do not rate 10 for some of the reason I've tried to explain, anyway I wonder if its possible to have a better "ease of use" with a product of this class.

I use the Axe-Fx with a 57 Commemorative Strat and a Custom Elite LX Ovation.
It sounds great with both.
I have two SR Technology Club 60A FRFR speakers so I can play stereo. I thought the 6" speakers was a comprimise since most users plug the Axe-Fx into powerful 12" speakers.
The pleasant surprise is that sound is great and it still sounds great at low (and very) volumes so it's the best I can have for home usage.
Speakers are just above my JBL HI-FI stereo speakers, I play a Pink Floyd DVD or a CD and I feel myself in the mix.
Effects are pristine quality, and you can even tweak anything you can think of.
The sound is really dynamic, it follows your struck and amazingly follows the volume of the guitar (it changes with it as it does on a real tube amp). I still don't understand why they don't want to call it a modeler.
Fantastic.

I have it from few months, so the unit it's just after the burn-in period. Never had a problem. Never had a spontaneous reset. Never had to reset it.
You can see the designer is a real engineer, the components are really the best you can find, if you deal with electronic components you can verify it.
The only thing I found strange is the front input jack that is a little bit slack (not as hard as the one I have on the Strat and the one I expected), anyway it could just be my feeling.

Simply perfect.
I've never seen a company taking user's opinion and suggestions into account as Fractal does.
They (I mean both Fractal and G66, that's the EU distributor) always reply within 1-2 days. Very kind.
As I said firmware upgrades comes for free. Most of the times you get enhancements and new features.

I mainly play rock/blues, but I also love some metal tones (John Petrucci).
I played when I was a kid, then I've left the guitar in its case for many years and recently started playing again.
If it were stolen or lost I would buy it again, no doubt.
Favourite feature ? The huge arsenal of sounds at your disposal.
Why I choose this one ? It's the only one that doesn't sound "digital" and cold, you know what I mean.
Wishes ? I'd like to have its companion pedalboard (hope it comes out soon). Oh, may be I would buy a 1-2U rack mountable midi unit full of pots and small (programmable) displays showing "rate" "depth" "master" and anything you want...

I Give it a 10. All you have to do is open your eyes its all right there in a little green window.If i can do it anyone can and if you cant buy a amp.

Very Very good.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All Amps and effects are over the top or close enough to not care. I fave the marshall tones. But all other amps sweet also.

Had it a year now NEVER had one issue yet don`t see any either. Unless you drop it 10 stories off a roof.

The Best I`ve ever had to deal with.. I`ve seen peeps get them used and had a issue and he still fixed them free. That`s service.Always gets back to your emails VERY FAST not sure what >>>>Fractal User<<<<< Is even talking about..Think hes just a flamer for bad reviews.Anyway cliff and his wife do one hell of a job.. TY CC

Overall if it got ripped off id get another ASP..

This is in response to the guy who blasted the product below. First off, if firmware updates use a little more CPU power and you don't like them, you can *always* revert back to the old firmware. 2nd, his rating of '1' is based on a lot of assumptions, his thoughts on the Standard vs the Ultra, and *not* anything remotely related to actually programming the unit (which he says at one point is "one of the better sounding digital processors out there"). Third, Boss, Line 6, TC Elec, etc will not release something on this quality because they won't be able to give you something of this high quality at this price and still maintain the profit margins large companies need to make it a viable product. For what you get this is not that expensive of a device. Eventide gear is more expensive, offer only effects (i.e. less versatile), for no real improvements over the AxeFX. If they (Eventide, TC Elec, Lexicon, etc) has released the AxeFX I guarantee that it would be far more expensive then what Fractal is charging.

"I am losing tone for the sake of CPU usage"

Again, you can revert back to an old firmware if you need the extra CPU resources, so this should be a non-issue.

No problems here, but with any piece of gear time is the only tell.

OK, the comments about customer service is complete and utter B.S. If you didn't get an e-mail response you either 1) typed in the address wrong or 2) Fractal's response went into your SPAM folder. I know for a fact that the owner of Fractal reads each and every e-mail himself. I have contacted him on several occasions and have never had to wait more then a day for a response. A phone number is not listed on their website but they will give it to you if asked.

As for going to the AxeFX forum, what's wrong with that? I regularly see tech support problems being asked there and the owner will always respond.

Given his history of addressing user-reported bugs, responses on the message boards, and the fact that you are the first person who I've seen that has criticized his e-mail support, I have to believe that the e-mails were lost. Did you write a 2nd time to make sure the message was received? No, probably not... you seem like the type of person to jump to conclusions.

There are so many resources out there for this unit that anyone how claims to have "trouble associated with using it" probably shouldn't be using one anyway. It's not a plug-and-play device and never claims to be one. It's whatever the user makes of it and, apparently, this user is a bit short on imagination.

I have an Ultra. I'm not much for reading manuals even though I know I should, but this unit was VERY easy to get a good tone out of right out of the box by simply using my knowledge of amps. As I started actually reading the manual, I realized that this thing is an endless journey for tone...I mean you can get pretty much ANY guitar tone you want out of it if done right.

This is the top dog right here. I have never heard my guitar sound so crystal clear, clean and still get brutal sounding before the Axe. I don't know how they did it but they did it. It has the feel of a tube amp and also "breathes" like a tube amp. I've been playing Marshalls for years and I have no intention to even turn my JVM on at this point. The effects are world class...right up there with Eventide and TC. Godly sounding really. The amp sims can be tweaked to get utterly close to the originals or take you in a totally new direction to create your own sound.

I've only done 2 gigs with it so far but both gigs gave me the best tone I've ever had. It's funny because I was using my marshall for power and I had 2 people tell me that the marshall sounded great tonight. They couldn't understand when I told them this little box was giving me my tone. I just got a QSC FRFR speaker that I can't wait to start gigging with.

I haven't had to deal with customer support directly as of yet but just by using the Fractal forum has given me all the help I've needed so far. Even Cliff has been kind enough to frequent some forums to answer questions. 2 big thumbs up.

I play guitar for a Bon Jovi tribute band called Jovi (www.jovitributeband.com). I really wanted something that could help me achieve Richie's tone from each era of the band but also not having to lug around a complex guitar rig. With the Axe-FX I'll be able to carry a rack case, my fcb1010 midiboard and a QSC as a personal on stage monitor, run direct out to FOH and be able to enjoy the best guitar sound I've ever gotten.

Here is a sample of the jargon used in connection with this product to help you make a decision on whether to get the Ultra model or the Standard:
20% faster DSP plus 6X more memory.
More sequencer steps (16 instead of 8)
The Axe-Fx Standard is limited by the amount of memory on board to the existing feature set. Effects can be updated, with new controls and tweaks being added, but expansion is highly unlikely. The Ultra has much more room for growth. Cliff has stated his intention to keep the quality of the effects, especially the Amp & Cab sims, the same in both processors. Thus the Standard isn't an "inferior" or "outdated" product, it simply has a more specific feature definition.
Now here is what this means to someone who bought the Standard. After you go through all of the trouble to create and tweak your tones and you try to install the new "firmware" for your unit, the extra load on the CPU from the new firmware will make some of your patches not work because there is not enough computing power. So you have to go back and take things out of your patches in order to free up space and not overload the CPU. In other words, it seems like the more they improve the firmware, the less effects you can use. I will be happy when Boss, Line6, or TC Electronics tear one of these apart and come up with a common sense approach to using a similar sounding unit along with a good editor.
They are still working on the midi foot controller for this unit and that is just more trouble trying to use it.

The sound quality is very good for a digital processor but now I am losing tone for the sake of CPU usage. By the time we get to a couple of more firmware updates this category will be a 5.

Don't know if I can depend on it yet.

What customer support? There is no phone support!!! There is an email support address but I wouldn't call that support. I didn't even get an answer the last time I asked for help. Don't think just because you pay a big price for this that you are entitled to get someone on the phone to help you. Your job is to go to the Axe-FX forums and search through them for as long as it takes to find someone with the same problem and read until you find the answer. If you can't find it, then you can write a new thread and hope someone that has had that problem or knows about it will help you.

This is one of the better sounding digital processors out there at this time. However, considering the trouble associated with using it, I like it less and less each day. I would not buy one again. Within a year, I expect the other companies that make this kind of gear to figure out the good stuff about this unit and incorporate it into a more practical form with a great, easy to use editor, and midi foot controller. It is worth the wait for me not to have to deal with Fractal Audio again.

I must say, when I first tryed axe-fx, It was very complicated for me. Than after some time I realised that this thing actualy isn't that complicated at all. Making patches is very simple. One thing that I don't like on axe is connection troo midi cable.

When I fist heard the sound of this device I was amazed. Some factory sounds are really astonishing. The amp simulations are very realistic. The choruses are very clear. Axe-fx sounds amazing.. !

Well I have it about 4 weeks now and I didn't have any problems. All working fine.

I bought thing in Europe from G66 (They import thing in Europe). I must say that customer support is very nice, really helpful.. They upgraded mine to newest firmware and change fans to silent one. Great deal.

I must say that I was little surprised on beginning, I didn't expect that much of it. With Axe-fx you can create any sound you want. The choice between sounds really big. Every guitar player should have it.

Ease of use?
Here is the REAL scoop on the Axe-FX.
It's as simple or complicated as you want to make it. That's it!
Meaning, if you want to just plug in and play you can easily find many awesome patches already on the unit. (Especially with the release of the extra bank "C" for the Ultra).
If you want to tweak deeper, than this is your huckleberry. You can get really deep with it. The trouble I think with most users that have put down the Axe-Fx's "ease of use", are basically just unfamilar with the interface. You don't even need a few hours with it. The manual is not 2 inches thick. It's about a quarter of an inch thick. Keep it handy to refer to, and just explore a little on it. You'll be an ace at running it in now time.
If your the "Bread good, fire bad" caveman type, then perhaps line 6 or Boss may do it for you. The Editor program makes things even simpiler yet! I am not an engineer, or computer geek, but yet I was able to get up and running in no time. It's a relatively new piece of gear, so the interface may seem a little alien. But in no time at all be looking at it like it's an old friend. Really, it's not nearly as bad as some of the past reviewers have tried to make it seem. Based on that, I would give it an 8.

Well here is where it really kicks butt! Quiet, clean! Everything is of the HIGHEST quality!! Just about any guitar tone your looking for, you'll find it in the Axe-FX! From clean to monsterous metal, it really covers the spectrum WELL!! It's an extremly organic sounding processor! And the effects are to die for!!! Others have gone into deeper evaluation of the tones so I'll leave this with a 10 rating!!!

According to users on the Axe-Fx Forums, reliabilty has been VERY high. The highest quality components are used in the building of them and the steel chassis is as solid as anyone could hope for. And these incude rack handles to protect the controls on the front panel! If there were ANY issues, Axe-Fx seems to address them promptly. I would feel as comfortable gigging with this without a back up as I would any other, quality built, high end processor.

I have not had to use customer support. The best option would be to use the forum first, (Answers come pretty quick!) then e-mail. Fractal Audio would direct you from there as to call or not. Being a small company, I'm sure they do not have the staff to sit around taking calls for operational support. Again, the forum is your best friend here. With that said I would rate them an 9.

Whatever your style of music may be. The Axe-FX will get the job done! I have been playing for over 25 years and have had my share of GAS "and" Buyers Remorse!! With years of false promises from various manufacturers like Boss or Line 6, etc. etc. I had leanred to set my sights LOW on digital guitar processors. Being "accepting" of what i was paying for. If you don't have the cash, $500 to $1000 is quite a bit to lay out for guitar processor, like the GT-10 or the X3, so looking at an Axe-FX Standard or an Ultra may be WAY out of your price range. That alone will kick in the buyers remorse (like the guy who recommended buying 3 GT-10's for the price of an Axe-Fx!) I have onwed the GT-10. You get what you pay for. It's okay for the money, but NOT EVEN CLOSE to being in the same league as the Axe-FX!! If I could have saved $1300 (like anyone) and just bought a cheaper unit, I would do it!! But Cliff and Fractal Audio has said, he only uses the BEST components in these units! The Convertors are EXCELLENT!! Even if the money was being spent on the Axe-FX as a guitar amp with NO effects it would be worth most of the sticker price (a new Ultra can usually be had for around $1900, a standard for around $1300. The main difference between the two is the Ultra has maxed out memory and a faster CPU plus a few other effect features.) But when you had the high end, Lexicon/Eventide/TC type effects, this thing is a STEAL!!!!!!!! Jeez! Listen to the reverb tails on an Axe-Fx and you'll get what I mean!! Let alone the other effects!!!! No CHEEZE here!! If you are serious about your tone and the quality of your effects, the Axe-FX is for YOU! Not to put these people down, but if it's a hardship to come up with $500, then Line 6, Boss, Digitech, Zoom, Vox, etc. are where you need to be. There is no need to scrap up enough money to buy an Axe-FX, just to spend a few days fooling around with an Axe-FX to justify to yourself something like a GT-10 is a superior unit....
within in a year previous to the Ultra, I wanted to start moving away from tube amps (because they were not getting any lighter to lug around, etc). I owned a Vetta II, a Prophesy, a GT-10, an X3 Live, and what I thought was a pretty excellent amp modeler. The Fender Cyber-Twin SE (I though the first Cyber-Twin was not ready for prime time, but was pretty happy with the Second Edition). NONE OF THEM COME CLOSE, EVEN REMOTELY, TO THE AXE_FX!!! I find the longer I own my AFX the more I love it!!!! And I have been known to be the poster child for Buyer Remorse!! lol!

Almost does the work for you!

I have amps that are best in the world. I am the man when it comes to tone. This incredible device is better than the best amps in the world and it rocks the house.

I have use this miracle of reality for a few hours but already can tell that it will not break, and also nothing will ever go wrong.

I have heard that these people rock the house.

Listen, as mentioned above, I am (quite simply) nearly a deity when it comes to the topic of tone. If I say this box rocks the house... then THIS BOX DOES ROCK THE HOUSE.

aw yeh

Definitely designed by an engineer who wants to appeal to those that are technical and understands effects - if you don't "get it", he won't care. It's this mentality that leaves the unit sitting at a solid 7 for me. It has a daunting number of knobs and parameters and you will end up spending at least a week to just get the thing dialed in on a few patches. There is some hope though - a beta software editor shows promise but still needs a lot of work.

Well this is where the Axe-Fx shines - there simply is not better sounding amp modeling and effects unit on the planet. And while I won't be selling my tube amp any time soon, I will say the Axe-Fx sounds very very close to mine once it is dialed in - way better than any other modeler out there. Recent software releases have further improved the tube amp modeling. Effects are in another league as well and continue to improve - here again, a recent software release improved the reverb, delays, and compression.

The unit is solid and I've gigged with it a few times with no problems. The beta software editor locked up my Axe-Fx a couple of times, which is obviously not entirely the Axe-Fx's fault.

Customer support on their forum is good. Email support is okay. Phone support...they'd prefer you didn't call.

Overall if tone matters to you then the Axe-Fx is a must have. You'll need to fight through the cumbersome interface and daunting complexity to get you to tone-nirvana, but it is well worth the effort once you sort it all out. As the company grows and they attempt to reach new customers I suspect their customer support and product design (user interface, manual, etc.) will continue to