The Fractal Thread

kennedydream1980

I also have the Austin Buddy cab pack, but most of the presets sound a bit meh to me.

Leon Todd’s presets are the only ones that translate well to my personal setup. So I always start with his stuff if I’m looking for something specific. 

Dannic

I thought @kennedydream1980 was asking for people to actually post and share presets.  Everyone is different on how they achieve their sound. I’m quite relaxed about using other people’s knowledge on building presets and sharing my free ones.  No drama if others  don’t want to do that. 

Roland

Ditto

ToneControl

I'm sure I could learn more about creating presets, and create more of my own. However I have more cash than time, so am happy to buy presets and tweak them a little

octatonic

This is a nice little surprise for those of you with an Axe FX II:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axe-fx-ii-ares-rev-2-00-firmware-release.154149

sweepy

I keep hankering after another Fx2 as I preferred it the Fx3

Roland

Do I, don’t I? Everything has been stable for quite a while. I’ll wait a couple of weeks in case there are any bug fixes.

octatonic

sweepy said:

I keep hankering after another Fx2 as I preferred it the Fx3

You've said that a bunch of times, enough for me to take notice and then really test the III out with your view in mind.

I don't know what you re heaving with the III that you dislike so much.
It sounds great and it has a huge amount of DSP- I cannot exhaust the DSP no matter how I try and the extra IO gives me the ability to use other gear with it in a much more efficient way.

I wouldn't go back to the II if I could.
Please enlighten me.

sweepy

Maybe the Fx3 drastically improved but I preferred the feel and response of the Fx2, by the time I sold mine the Fx2 was a mature product and the Fx3 was on @ it’s 3rd update iirc but it just didn’t feel as “natural” to me. Touch response is a deal breaker for me and the Fx3 felt that there was even more of a barrier between me and the guitar than the Fx2 but we all have different ears and expectations of kit

Kebabkid

I'm not a Fractal or modeller owner but the closest I've got to wanting one has been the AX8.

The demos always impress me as do Fremen's presets, and more so than the Helix or Kemper, but I've yet to hear or try one in person, unless you count hearing Dare's Vinnie Moore live and that was a fabulous sound. They just sound very amp-like and for my needs, the fx seem fine, as does the processing power.

Are there many users here of this unit and have any swapped over to another modeller and preferred it?

Would running one through a valve amp using the AX8 effects and just the amp models but disabling the cab simulation work or will it sound awful/seriously colour the sound?

With the FM3 out, if these start appearing at reasonable prices and I could see one working for me, I'm seriously tempted.

ToneControl

sweepy said:

Maybe the Fx3 drastically improved but I preferred the feel and response of the Fx2, by the time I sold mine the Fx2 was a mature product and the Fx3 was on @ it’s 3rd update iirc but it just didn’t feel as “natural” to me. Touch response is a deal breaker for me and the Fx3 felt that there was even more of a barrier between me and the guitar than the Fx2 but we all have different ears and expectations of kit

just with a little tweaking of ropey factory presets, it was clear to me that the III was much more real-sounding and feeling than the II with polished mature patches

firepaulmusic

Kebabkid said:

I'm not a Fractal or modeller owner but the closest I've got to wanting one has been the AX8.

The demos always impress me as do Fremen's presets, and more so than the Helix or Kemper, but I've yet to hear or try one in person, unless you count hearing Dare's Vinnie Moore live and that was a fabulous sound. They just sound very amp-like and for my needs, the fx seem fine, as does the processing power.

Are there many users here of this unit and have any swapped over to another modeller and preferred it?

Would running one through a valve amp using the AX8 effects and just the amp models but disabling the cab simulation work or will it sound awful/seriously colour the sound?

With the FM3 out, if these start appearing at reasonable prices and I could see one working for me, I'm seriously tempted.

I agree that the AX8 sounds and feels more amp like than any off it’s competitors. I’ve got a patch for 4-cable method which I’ve used in the past which didn’t colour the sound.

DavusPG

@welshboyo may chime in on here, but he just bought my AX8 and I believe is very pleased with it, as was I whilst I had it. 

I ended up making my own presets for it after downloading and buying many, none of which were quite right for me, but nearly all of which taught me something new.

It was GAS and the desire for more CPU that made me buy a III, but with no foot controller for over a year I continued to gig the AX8 and for my needs it sounded superb and was a breeze to set up at gigs.

I moved to it from a Hughes & Kettner Grandmeister and never ever missed it. I doubt I could tell the difference between a real amp and the Fractal gear in an A/B comparison, but in a band mix in a pub absolutely no chance. They're so good and give you access to so much that would ordinarily be out if reach both financially and practically. The only caveat is that they need tweaking to your own personal taste, but once you crack that you're laughing.

That's been my experience anyway

Kebabkid

So, they could work or you could integrate it with a valve head but obviously, an FRFR or direct to PA would be the better way to go?

Roland

You can run any of the Fractal gear through a conventional power amp and speaker. There are additional benefits of running direct to PA, including less equipment to carry, and control over on-stage volume. FWIW I go direct, and also carry a small FRFR speaker to provide acoustic coupling back to my guitar.

Kebabkid

Thanks guys for your comments on the AX8.

welshboyo

Yep @Kebabkid I am now the owner of an AX8!!

Came over from a Helix (gigged one hard for 3 years) and yes there are quite a few differences:

1. The Amp modelling and the FX IMO is in a different league to the Helix - I used to think this was fanboy bullshit but actually there is a night and day difference - I think @kennedydream1980 summed it up in a message exchange we had - its instant gratification as far as amp tones are concerned - I'd even go as far as saying that the factory presets translate well into FRFR/PA/whatever with no real tweaking (Cab Lo/Hi cuts etc tweaks excluded). I spent hours with the Helix getting the amps to sound right with 3rd party IR's, EQ's here and there etc etc - AX8 essentially worked out of the box.

2. The UI isn't quite as intuitive as Helix, but its not as bad as L6 users will make you think, its fairly logically laid out, OK, its looks like you are programming a Commodore 64 but once you get your head into it, it becomes a complete non-issue. I have managed to tweak stuff on the fly at a gig after 3 days of ownership - AX8 Edit though makes it a breeze (not ideal for gigs though I agree)

3. Coming from the Helix (which obviously has more DSP) I have to think about presets a little more - the Helix essentially had enough power to build 1 patch that would see me through a whole gig - the AX8 and its capability to reach DSP limits quite quickly means I have to have 2 patches instead of 1 - not a drawback by any means, just have to think about things differently.

4. Same goes for the I/O - Helix has more routing options than the AX8, so you have to be a bit more creative with 4CM etc (I used to run 4CM and a mix to FOH from an IR on Helix - that is not possible on AX8) - however, in saying that, it does do  amix to FRFR and to FOH simultaenously and TBH, the amp modelling is so good I just run it into the FX return on my Atma and it sounds glorious (the most expensive poweramp in the world LOL) I don't really need 4CM anymore - but the option is there to do it - I haven't actually tried it yet - no external switching on the AX8 (FX8 for that) so you either have to use amp footswitch or a midi switcher (RJM or the Nux one) - again, not a drawback, just a different way of doing it. As an FYI, I run the FX loop block pre cab block to feed the amp so it doesn't IR treatment - Poweramp modelling is still on and I prefer the sound through the Atma with that poweramp modelling on - in 4CM I would imagine that if you are using one of the AX8 preamps in the chain then you would need to turn this off globally.

The bottom line is that they are all good units, all with their weaknesses and strengths at different things - they can all do (within reason) what you want them to do but for me, the amp tones the AX8 produces far surpasses the Helix and to me that is more important than having the ability to touch a footswitch to edit something on a colour screen....

My advice is if you can find one, do it...I love it...however, I 'kin hate setting up patches....

John_A

@welshboyo as a long term Helix user myself, I’m going to have to try an AX8 now!

kennedydream1980

John_A said:

@welshboyo as a long term Helix user myself, I’m going to have to try an AX8 now!

I think you should @John_A, I was a long time Helix user and I’m so glad I switched to the AX8.

Freebird

I thought it was settled science that Kemper had better amps than Fractal?