Axe Efx 3??

JTyson

Well-known member
So, who has one that has some amps to compare it to, and what are you guys using for power amps? Anyone using a tube power amp?
Im thinking about taking the plunge, I have a Marshall Dual Monoblock 100/100 power amp I could run it with along with a bunch of cabs, but what say you??
Anyone had a Kemper to compare it to?
 
I've only been able to compare PooToob clips, JT, 'cause I've never owned an Axe.

Been a Kemper man for a few years now, and being the "keep-it-real" dude I know you are, I'd strongly recommend you try / borrow one. If it's an authentic tube sound and feel you're after, no digital product can match or better it IMHO.

Good luck man, and I hope you're well, bro'.

EDIT:
I see sevenstringer's selling his Kemper unpowered rack (what I have). Could be good timing?

Here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=196249
 
My personal opinion, is that the axe-fx III is less about tone and more about fixing problems with patch/scene/whatever delay limitations the II has along with bringing the bigger screen so many have asked for. It has the same qwirks the II has in recording to my ears. Just seems like a beefed-up user interface and a re-design to fix a hodgepodge of problems or limitations the II had.
 
glpg80":b60mztjw said:
My personal opinion, is that the axe-fx III is less about tone and more about fixing problems with patch/scene/whatever delay limitations the II has along with bringing the bigger screen so many have asked for. It has the same qwirks the II has in recording to my ears. Just seems like a beefed-up user interface and a re-design to fix a hodgepodge of problems or limitations the II had.

I've never used an Axe FX, but I'm curious about the new version. Especially how it can connect to a DAW directly via USB without the need for a separate interface. What did you mean by "recording quirks" with the II? Can you elaborate?
 
Monkey Man":17vbkn57 said:
I've only been able to compare PooToob clips, JT, 'cause I've never owned an Axe.

Been a Kemper man for a few years now, and being the "keep-it-real" dude I know you are, I'd strongly recommend you try / borrow one. If it's an authentic tube sound and feel you're after, no digital product can match or better it IMHO.

Good luck man, and I hope you're well, bro'.

EDIT:
I see sevenstringer's selling his Kemper unpowered rack (what I have). Could be good timing?

Here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=196249
Well, I took too long, its sold...
Im gonna try to do just that, they have some kempers at a store in pensacola, thats good advise. I dont expect it to feel the same, Ive talked to people who have already said it is different, but adaptable. You running through a power amp and guitar cabs? Can you do a wet/dry/wet setup with one?
You too, hope all is well with you and yours!
 
glpg80":3rdzgudy said:
My personal opinion, is that the axe-fx III is less about tone and more about fixing problems with patch/scene/whatever delay limitations the II has along with bringing the bigger screen so many have asked for. It has the same qwirks the II has in recording to my ears. Just seems like a beefed-up user interface and a re-design to fix a hodgepodge of problems or limitations the II had.
What recording issues did you run into ? (just curious)
I was primarily gonna record with it, I have not heard of these issues.
Thanks for the honest reply :thumbsup:
 
JTyson":pv4mdyc6 said:
What recording issues did you run into ? (just curious)
I was primarily gonna record with it, I have not heard of these issues.
Thanks for the honest reply :thumbsup:

nigelpkay":pv4mdyc6 said:
What did you mean by "recording quirks" with the II? Can you elaborate?

It's strictly a tonal problem and not an interface problem. The II, as well as the III, have a slight chirp on the leading edge of every note played on them. It's hard to catch but it's there. More pronounced in the II than the III, but it's like fingernails on a chalkboard to my ears. If you're using the axe fx as an amplifier source, it's on every model of every video I've been able to find which is unfortunate.

I'm not a hater either. I really wanted the III to be an end all, be all solution for effects and a FOH solution for me. Maybe a future update will remove it since it's a more powerful unit with headroom to grow. As of right now, it just seems like a more user-friendly axe fx II.
 
Unbelievable. Uncanny. That chirp is exactly what got me into a number of arguments with Axe users, and after a while I gave up trying to "make" them hear it. I actually posted a declaration in my signature (since removed - that was a while back) that I'd no longer participate in debates of Axe vs Kemper for that reason alone.

Like you, I can't stand the chirp. I suspect that had we never noticed it, we'd be fine, and that it's one of those things that once one hears it, it can't be unheard or unlearned.

JTyson":2o0sk3cx said:
Monkey Man":2o0sk3cx said:
I've only been able to compare PooToob clips, JT, 'cause I've never owned an Axe.

Been a Kemper man for a few years now, and being the "keep-it-real" dude I know you are, I'd strongly recommend you try / borrow one. If it's an authentic tube sound and feel you're after, no digital product can match or better it IMHO.

Good luck man, and I hope you're well, bro'.

EDIT:
I see sevenstringer's selling his Kemper unpowered rack (what I have). Could be good timing?

Here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=196249
Well, I took too long, its sold...
Im gonna try to do just that, they have some kempers at a store in pensacola, thats good advise. I dont expect it to feel the same, Ive talked to people who have already said it is different, but adaptable. You running through a power amp and guitar cabs? Can you do a wet/dry/wet setup with one?
You too, hope all is well with you and yours!
Don't even know what a W/D/W setup is, matey, but obviously I've heard the term. What I do know is that the options for monitoring and live house feeds are plenty.

For many, including my die-hard tube-head brother, it does feel the same. Just sayin' 'cause it could be that way for you too, JT.
 
Like religion, the Axe seems to have this "close enough" mentality. Close enough is fine but when $2500 is involved I prefer more than close enough. That's a lot of quid to invest into something that has a noticeable downfall on the leading edge of every note. It seems more pronounced in players that dig in than those who have a really soft picking hand. I find it hilarious that someone else hears it too. I figured I must be nuts because no one else is mentioning it - but every clip I've ever heard - direct/DAW, mic'd, iphone, etc. has the leading edge chirp that sits just before every picked note out of the unit. My tube amps certainly don't do that, and it's nothing I've ever heard with effects units. Drives me insane.
 
I have the 2 and have been using it for recording demos for the past few months. I know EXACTLY what you mean by the chirp. It gets especially irritating when playing muted runs. At first i just thought it was the picks i was using combined with my growing sloppiness. Also - I noticed I'm using more hammer ons and pull offs to avoid the chirp.
 
Ok, thats good enough for me, that would drive me crazy trying to go into settings and fix that, when you can't really fix it. Thanks for the honest answers, Ill just stick with what I have, which has been pretty good for me.
Carry on gentlemen :rock:
 
Monkey Man":9xn73deg said:
Unbelievable. Uncanny. That chirp is exactly what got me into a number of arguments with Axe users, and after a while I gave up trying to "make" them hear it. I actually posted a declaration in my signature (since removed - that was a while back) that I'd no longer participate in debates of Axe vs Kemper for that reason alone.

Like you, I can't stand the chirp. I suspect that had we never noticed it, we'd be fine, and that it's one of those things that once one hears it, it can't be unheard or unlearned.

JTyson":9xn73deg said:
Monkey Man":9xn73deg said:
I've only been able to compare PooToob clips, JT, 'cause I've never owned an Axe.

Been a Kemper man for a few years now, and being the "keep-it-real" dude I know you are, I'd strongly recommend you try / borrow one. If it's an authentic tube sound and feel you're after, no digital product can match or better it IMHO.

Good luck man, and I hope you're well, bro'.

EDIT:
I see sevenstringer's selling his Kemper unpowered rack (what I have). Could be good timing?

Here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=196249
Well, I took too long, its sold...
Im gonna try to do just that, they have some kempers at a store in pensacola, thats good advise. I dont expect it to feel the same, Ive talked to people who have already said it is different, but adaptable. You running through a power amp and guitar cabs? Can you do a wet/dry/wet setup with one?
You too, hope all is well with you and yours!
Don't even know what a W/D/W setup is, matey, but obviously I've heard the term. What I do know is that the options for monitoring and live house feeds are plenty.

For many, including my die-hard tube-head brother, it does feel the same. Just sayin' 'cause it could be that way for you too, JT.
Thanks brudda, I'm gonna try out one and see, The Ax3 is out at this point :thumbsup:
 
JTyson":3bfyodxm said:
Ok, thats good enough for me, that would drive me crazy trying to go into settings and fix that, when you can't really fix it. Thanks for the honest answers, Ill just stick with what I have, which has been pretty good for me.
Carry on gentlemen :rock:

We keep it real. Reminds me of the shitstorm I accidentally started by pointing out the disappearing trick Herbert's can do in a live situation. That thread got so bad pappa himself had to step in :LOL: :LOL:
 
nigelpkay":8vbnvluv said:
I've never used an Axe FX, but I'm curious about the new version. Especially how it can connect to a DAW directly via USB without the need for a separate interface.

The AFX2 has been able to connect directly via USB to a DAW since it was released in 2011. It’s the AX8 that doesn’t have a built in audio interface.
 
glpg80":38l61njg said:
Like religion, the Axe seems to have this "close enough" mentality. Close enough is fine but when $2500 is involved I prefer more than close enough. That's a lot of quid to invest into something that has a noticeable downfall on the leading edge of every note. It seems more pronounced in players that dig in than those who have a really soft picking hand. I find it hilarious that someone else hears it too. I figured I must be nuts because no one else is mentioning it - but every clip I've ever heard - direct/DAW, mic'd, iphone, etc. has the leading edge chirp that sits just before every picked note out of the unit. My tube amps certainly don't do that, and it's nothing I've ever heard with effects units. Drives me insane.
As I suggested, it was such a relief to hear that someone else was hearing it too, man. Where were you during those ridiculous arguments I had? I sure could have used the support, brother, as I'm sure would've been the case for you too.

Still, better to find out that I wasn't alone late than never, eh?

PeteLaramee":38l61njg said:
I know EXACTLY what you mean by the chirp. It gets especially irritating when playing muted runs. At first i just thought it was the picks i was using combined with my growing sloppiness. Also - I noticed I'm using more hammer ons and pull offs to avoid the chirp.
Amazing. Years later glpg80, you and I all learn that we're not nuts after all! Thanks for that, Pete.

JTyson":38l61njg said:
Thanks brudda, I'm gonna try out one and see, The Ax3 is out at this point :thumbsup:
Awesome, JT!

Please let us know how you go, man. Bear in mind that there's little chance you'll get to audition the best Profiles out there in the store. It's likely you'll only have the factory Rigs (presets are called Rigs, which are Profiles (the "raw" amp footprints) combined with whatever stomps, EQ and FX have been dialled in) at hand. You might even be able to surf the Rig Exchange (10 000+ free Rigs uploaded by users) if the store happens to have a net-connected computer hooked up to the Kemper, but every Kemperite knows that the best Rigs out there generally come from the many commercial vendors. This is likely because of their experience dialling in and mic'ing amps in pro situations; the Profiling process itself is super-simple, but setting amps up to sound great isn't necessarily everyone's forte.

You're welcome to join the Kemper forum and ask questions there before even buying the unit, although you'll not be able to post in the members' section. Heaps of dudes have done this and we at the forum are always more-than-willing to help out.

A word of warning 'though - there's a simian idiot, who I suspect you may have already met, who's likely to cross paths with you. My advice is just to ignore him. :LOL: :LOL:
 
glpg80":29jqdkyu said:
JTyson":29jqdkyu said:
What recording issues did you run into ? (just curious)
I was primarily gonna record with it, I have not heard of these issues.
Thanks for the honest reply :thumbsup:

nigelpkay":29jqdkyu said:
What did you mean by "recording quirks" with the II? Can you elaborate?

It's strictly a tonal problem and not an interface problem. The II, as well as the III, have a slight chirp on the leading edge of every note played on them. It's hard to catch but it's there. More pronounced in the II than the III, but it's like fingernails on a chalkboard to my ears. If you're using the axe fx as an amplifier source, it's on every model of every video I've been able to find which is unfortunate.

I'm not a hater either. I really wanted the III to be an end all, be all solution for effects and a FOH solution for me. Maybe a future update will remove it since it's a more powerful unit with headroom to grow. As of right now, it just seems like a more user-friendly axe fx II.
I'm glad I'm not the only one hearing this. I have a III and heard the same thing on the AX8 when I had it. I haven't seen many people griping about it over on the Fractal forum but it bugs the hell out of me. I own three of the modeled amps and none of them chirp like their corresponding model in the Axe does. There may be a little bit of a chirp on the real thing, but it's really exaggerated on the Axe Fx. It's a shame, because otherwise it sounds and feels ridiculously good. I'm sure it could be dialed out or even fixed in future firmware if enough people complained.
 
Can some one post this in a clip or even seconds of a clip? I'm not a huge clip listener but wow.. is this in a live application as well or a recording chirp* as mentioned?
 
Wayniac3":1iwlelci said:
I'm not sure if I've ever noticed it.. is it kind of like a noise gate opening & closing quickly?
For me it's a high frequency "chirp" that sounds like the initial pick attack is being emphasized in an unpleasant way. It's most noticeable on bright, high gain models when playing through a regular guitar cab.
 
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