AXE FX 3 Why I Feel It's The Best Modeller And Using Dual Amps 

I agree completely! The Axe-Fx III is a dream come true.Sometimes I can't believe how good it is & that I own one!

Absolutely killer tones!

The dual amp mode is great to get the right blend of highs and lows. Interesting fact EVH did this in the 70's. Not with amps but speakers. He used JBLs for that high thin treble sound and then GreenBacks for the main tone. One reason people could never replicate his tone.

I used a very similar setup with my Axe fx 2 a few years back. My "secret sauce" was to delay on side 15ms to create a hard panned guitar effect. The drives were in the "front mono" line, but had some modulation and different delays on the panned lines. So the effect was genuinely "2 guitarist like". During live shows the guitars out of the way of the vocals really allowed for a pristine and clean FOH mix. For solos I'd switch to a snapshot where the 15ms delay was turned off and had a wide but still centered solo tone with some added delay and reverb. I switched to a Helix (as I didn't want to drag the rack and midi footswitch) since then and you can almost replicate that - but you'll have to use legacy effects for the stomps, otherwise you run out of DSP power pretty quick.

Cliff from Fractal Audio is a genius but a grumpy genius. He can come across as a bit rude at times, but like you say the Axe FX III is an amazing bit of kit. I use mine daily and in 3 years I haven't scratched the surface in terms of what it can do. The continual updates are great, so I recommend keeping an eye on the FAS forum as updates get posted on there.

Can we just take a min to appreciate that guitar!... and the playing.. ;)

I could not care less about the amp in a room thing, I owned 4 tube amps before getting my AFX3 in 2018 and sold all of them: the Axe sounded much better through proper monitors at home, at any volume.

I so totally agree with your perspective on "amp in the room" versus studio sound. I personally prefer the "finished" sound you get from monitors over the sound/feel of amp in the room.

some really awesome sounds. I think that is a great way to approach the Axe FX - get the sounds out of it that work for you. It's easy to get lost in the options.

I was just blown away by your playing skill. You are so talented.

The first guitar modeller I've heard I actually want to own. Tell Fractal to stop being rude to you. I may be buying one of their units thanks to this video.

Great video! Will you be making this preset available for download? Thanks!

Sounds great, but then again, you make everything sound great!

If it’s good enough for Guthrie Govan then it’s good enough for me. His clean tones are amazing with the FM9 and he now uses an FRFR solution and has ditched real amps. All his tones come directly from the Fractal amps and IR’s.

Sounds Amazing! Great tone and lots of variations. Keep the Axe videos coming.💪🏻💪🏻

Man🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 absolutely loved your tones mate. Best clean and Marshall tones I have ever heard from the Axe fx. I wana step up from my Helix to Fractal Fm9 soon

Incredible tones! Any chance you have shared this preset or have it for sale?

I have a Quad Cortex and Mission Gemini 2 Cab to get the amp in the room and wind on your pants. You can also use a PS-100 Frettye with your quad cortex and go direct into any cab. Literally the best of both worlds!

amp 1 and ax3 , best combo and looking forward to ampx

Просто наслаждаюсь этой игрой!)

will you share the axe patch

it´s really overwhealming, but that outstanding sounding is worth all the time trying to get in it

One thing I noticed moving from kemper to axe fx 3 is how bad the kemper is. 😢 had it for 9 years and thought it was pretty good. Now I’ve realised it doesn’t take pedals well at all. The bass frequencies are not good. The gain stricture reacts and seems be the same across any profile. The effects sound pretty bad. I’m having so much fun with the axe fx. It’s more usable all round. Way more authentic sounding.

I use the same trick but with two behringer simulators, bass and guitar. But when I heard this, I'm gonna buy it

Is this preset available to download somewhere? Sounds GREAT!

Aw man the last minute of the video really saddened me, but I guess we just have to live with it. Anyway, great tones as usual, cheers!

I also am new to the Axe III. I always wanted one, but I just couldn’t resist the smokin deal for $1700 for a barely used original III. It came with an EV-2, and I scooped an EV-1 and a Thru Tone EX-ULT which is a boutique level TRS expression pedal made from a brand new Ernie Ball MVP full size pedal that has been upgraded in every way possible. It’s the best expression pedal that I’ve ever seen no question. Anyway, I am absolutely blown away with how freaking insane this box is. It sounds absolutely phenomenal, and the tone in your head exists inside without question. It responds to different pickups beautifully. And the effects are as good as anything ever. Just a monster piece of gear that is well worth digging deep into. Spend a month and really learn what’s what and take notes. Read the awesome manuals and watch RU-vid videos, all the work has already been done…spend the time to learn the operating system and how to listen like an engineer. I am liking it more every day. I got a 20th Anniversary JP6 Ernie Ball guitar with a boost and a piezo system that is on a separate signal path and the DiMarzio pickups in the middle position with the tone knob pushed out for the out of phase Strat sound, blended with the piezo is the best clean tone one could ask for. This thing rules!!!! I’ve been playing for 32 years and I feel like a kid who stole Christmas. If you’re a fan of Mesa Boogie tones, you’re gonna be a happy camper…there is like every Boogie inside, and they all sound fantastic. There is a bit of a learning curve though, it didn’t really start sounding incredible until a couple weeks ago. I was too busy being lazy and option paralyzed. After that wears off and you start really reeling it in….that’s when the real fun begins. WOW!!! It’s that good.

The dual amp chain aspect is what I had wished my FM3 did. But it just doesn't have the power. I was going to upgrade to the FM9, but I don't use it for anything but in the studio now. And I realized I didn't need it. Since I record multiple guitar tracks anyways and simply layer. The AXE FX III is a very nice unit though, and gives you a lot of processing power. For someone who needs a lot of different tones and high quality effects, it's an amazing option.

I noticed something listening. When you merged the 2 amps hard left and right, they actually came and merged in the center rather than staying hard left/right. Is there away to keep them hard left/right or do they come center regardless of pan?

It is such a great unit, I love mine. Very tasty playing mate

Lincoln Brewster does a great job blending the Marshall and Vox sounds using the old Line 6

Get a Friedman ASC-12 cabinet. Unbelievable how it opens your Axe Fx 3 tone!! Sounds like an amazing FRFR/real guitar cab moving air!! It’s a total game changer for the Axe Fx!!

Alguém saberia qual modelo é está suhr utilizada na demonstração ?

Since the Axe-Fx III has been out for awhile do you think Fractal is going to come out with a Model IV?

Care to share this patch on the axe exchange? amazing sounding patches

Amazing review and approach to the way you develop that tone, also that Suhr sounds amazing in your hands...!!! Just have my Axe-Fx III and is really different than his previous brother the Axe 2, still with me, but this new piece of equipment really sounds awesome and full of steroids, still need some time to take it out to a gig but very soo I will do it. thanks for your points of view about every gear that shares with us.. Regards and respects 👏👍💪

can i download this patch anywhere? or is this uploaded to axe exchange

Is there any chance to download this patch? I would pay for this patch if possible? This is one of the best presets I’ve heard yet! Incredible sound!!

Where can your preset be found? In the forum, at Preset Exchange?... Please post your preset, thank you,

Sounds amazing man! I love the idea of using scenes so much, keeps the switching times to a minumum as well :) Do you mind me asking what you were using in the cab block? I find that the IR has a bigger effect on the overall tone than pretty much anything else on the whole unit.

that guitar has such a dope clean tone. Clearly very well played too ✌

i hate using double amps and cabs,i prefer to use one amp,one cab and use a different amp on another scene,but well that was some time ago,now im using the Kemper Stage that to my ears it sound better,but to each his own

Great review, great playing.

one of my favourite youtube channels lately! Great reviews, very well explained and stellar playing. love it, cheers

Sounds Amazing Thanks

long wait list on the FM9 at this point and am tempted to pull the trigger on AXE-FX3. your tones sound gorgeous btw...

It's def the best digital amp . I'm not quite sure why there's even a debate tbh. Expensive obv tho. I think we have a mutual acquaintance in Dan Hawkins? Nice playing and good channel mate 👍

Is that a Pete thorn sig? I made a video playing mine through an FM3 just the other day’ cheers

Is there anywhere i can download this preset at?

I would love to try(and afford) one of these. They sound so good even though Im a tube snob(except for a Katana 100 head). Great review Sir!

I think Fractal sounds best right out the box

Really nice guitar tomes, have you put any of these on axchange?

I wish you made dual amp presets. I love that tone you're getting.

Is this preset available to download?

I'm thinking of adding a Keeley Halo delay in the loop and the Keeley AT mod OD in front of the AX3.Have you tried any OD pedals in the loop yet and if so, what do you think about that?

It’s the best I’ve ever had. All the tones in your head can be found inside this unit.

You mention panning the amps hard left/right but your amp block is centered. Are you panning just the cabs then?

Whomever says the Axe FX 3 "doesn't have good clean tones" clearly doesn't have an Axe FX 3, and has no idea what they're saying.

Thanks Paul, I love your playing and your tones. Any chance that you would share your preset ?

Have you used it live ? How does it sound with pedals in front of it ?

I’ve tried the power amp in on the katana with modellers? I have a GT 100 and it sounds great all the mids are there that I lose going into monitors

This is the next video you made with the Axe Fx, did you ever let us know anywhere what the cab you used on the dirty Shirley was in the "4 steps to better clean tone" video? Btw, do you apply these same clean tone tips to the overdrive amps or do you adjust things totally different?

This sounds great! Is this preset available anywhere? What cabs are you using?

Is this patch available for download?

Do you play directly out through monitor speakers? If so, which ones do you recommend?

Great stuff Paul, im running the turbo and just no need for the extra power but couldn"t resist ;-) Will you being sharing the .syx?

it might be the best, but it's completely out of reach for most musicians. How about a proper demo of the Mooer GE300 - a bit more in real people's price ranges (even that is a bit expensive for some though).

Really like how your stereo amps sound like they aren’t so different. Curious what cabs you are using?

Love that delay at I mins. A bit like Eric johnson. I have a kemper. Wondering whether to get one of these too

Sounds great ! I wonder what you think about the new Fender modeler in comparison with this one. Cheers !

Your sound is so nice !!! What do you use the pickups on you guitar?

A while back you did a review of a marshal JVM, there is a JVM in the axe-FX 3, can you tell me if it’s comparable to the real one. Thank you for the video

Great video, what kind of strings are you using?

Hi, How would you say it compares to the gx100? Recently I watched few of your videos and you state that the feel is superior to the competition and now I found your axe fx video. Especially when it comes to the feel I would like to know how gx100 compares to the fractal. I know axe fx is great but for the price it has to be 😂

Fractal reply was "fractious by axe-ident"....(better get my coat). Sounds terrific to me. I wish they did a cheap player amp version that would just playback presets and only allow a tiny bit of tweaking. I think there is no doubt that this thing sounds superb. I have zero interest in tweaking beyond what you seem to do. I don't want to adjust the carpet pattern that the guitar in the room with.... I like things on the cleaner end of the scale and that clean tone is superb. Maybe axfx3 is the way to go and skip all the amp malarky altogether....food for thought!

I assume the FM9 sounds a bit less good....what is the difference between these and the Neural DSP?

Incredible great awesome tone...How to buy your presets for fractal axe 3? So great tones man. I go on site but nothing for fractal. Best regards Nenad

Nice (and honest) review... Even though I am on the waiting list for the FM9, I may actually consider buying the FM3 instead. I mainly want it for recording direct into a DAW, especially for over-driven and high gain solos...Please anyone chime in whether I should wait (endlessly) for the FM9 or go with the FM3. Very nice review...Gave you a Sub also. Phil NYC Area

Given the fact that you get great tones from the Gt 1000 series how would you say these units compare? I for example gig live maybe 2 times in a month on average. Is the Gt 1000 still good enough for the average joe or is it a huge step down. I understand that the gt 1000 has way less options.

You mind sharing that intro preset ? its killer

Would love to buy these presets too ! Such an awesome tone !

Great sound man ! Could you share details on can blocks>> cab air / smoothing and so on… I use dual amp most of the time but I had to tweak the air parameter to open up the sound otherwise it sounds muddy

Thanks Paul. Any interest in making a video on using pedals with the Fractal? Or, is using pedals with it kinda missing the whole point of getting a Fractal?? ;)

How come haven’t you reviewed any Nembrini Audio plugin yet?

whats the song at 6:30 ?

I remember you saying you prefer the Amp1 tones to the Quad Cortex; how do the tones of the Axe fx iii stand up to the authenticity of the Amp1? I ask as I’m due to take delivery of an FM9 next week and I’m wondering whether or not I should keep my Amp1. Would be interested to hear your thoughts. Cheers, absolutely love the channel.

Do you sell your presets? I’d love to try this

Thanks a lot for sharing really amazing sound. Question how does the FM9 compare to AXE-FX III

Hi! Great video! I guess that your unit from G66. How loud/silent is the fan?

What kind of shimmer reverb were you using here? Sounds awesome!

Do you think its better than the Boss Gt-1000? Cheers from Portugal 🤘🍺🇵🇹

Considering selling my amps and using the FX3 for digital recordings in my studio, since I don't perform live.

So how much money do I need to throw at you for this patch?

I think most people use it the same way, one or two amp models and hit record..

great demo 👍👍 I was considering getting an axe fx iii. I am still on the fence. I had an axe fx ii and regretfully sold it during the pandemic / shutdown. so far I am not hearing anything sound/tone wise I could not produce with the ii version. it's a bummer fractal has gotten rude in artist support, they certainly didn't start out this way... Kindest Regards DW

Brilliant video Paul can I ask have you ever tried the axe fx2 and how did you feel about that?

Can we have axefx vs kemper vs QC???

Hi Paul, Is the Axe FX (or Kemper) going straight in to your DAW and then continues through your studio monitor? Correct me of I’m wrong but didnt the Quad Cortex went through your cabinet? I’m in thoughts buying Kemper or Axe, but Axe seems a bit complicated to use if you are unused to this kind of gear. I’m I right? Thx for your good videos and playing🎸

Great Vid, could you share the patch please? 🙏🙏🙏🙏

Can I get your patch?