Axe-Fx Ultra in 2020 

I ordered a Standard direct from Cliff when he was a 1 man show building in his kitchen in spring 2007. What's funny about this is exactly what you experienced in the video - it's still workable and capable. It was fun watching and listening to you go through it. One thing you say is what I've said - explicitly and loudly - for all these years, it's all about the Cab IR. Was then, is now.

More Ultra content let’s gooo

Some sick tones to be had with this unit! Still a great value for someone trying to get into modeling! Like always killer playing man!

Im still blown testing patches from "Ultra sounds" series. Thank you my friend :) Great unit in the hands of a great guitar player!

oh yeah !!! really enjoyed that Leon . Nice to hear the old ultra on fire. Still packs a punch i just wish i had your skills to make mine sound that good .. more vids on it for sure please

Hi Leon. I'm Claudio from Argentina. Yesssss, i want more videos of the FX ULTRA !!!

you are so gifted my friend! keep rocking!!!!! allways

Amazing content and review. This thing did the big shout back then in 2012 that brought the amp simulations to the table. I'm using the Axe Fx ultra almost 7 years, through 295 Mesa Boogie simul class 12 tubes power and 2x12 mesa v30 left Marshall T75 right. Its the best sound ive ever had. I've had the Axe Fx 2 and Ax8 also in the studio, but it actually dosen't matter when u have that kind of high end preamp sounds by the ultra and connect it to REAL 12 tubes power into some cabinets on stereo. I mean the ultra is missing some amps and fx from the current fractals' models but when it comes to amps, drives and time based fx that thing is incredible no less than 2, plus u have the ability to edit almost any serious paramter u need from chips to frequency of each. The fractal quality we all know and love - the ultra is actually more than perfect for pre amp sections still today, the power signal section, cabinet/mics or Ir packages matter no less !

I was one of the first guys in the UK to have my Ultra back in mid 2009 before pretty much anybody had even heard of Fractal Audio. I played that thing EVERY SINGLE DAY for at least an entire year I was so blown away by it, coming previously from a Boss GT8. I had a load of videos on my channel which, stupidly I deleted. Good to see it's still sounding stellar over 10 years later!

Went to Fractal's website to check the FM3 availability and guess who is there demoing the unit...?! GO LEON GO!! WELL DONE SIR!! YES! surely they are not gonna pick someone just because...no no no, this is professional equipment and they are gonna trust the best for their demos, CONGRATULATIONS "MATE"....wish you much more success to you and your band.!!

it would be cool to hear more IR's finally i just put yours on mine and man, it is amazing the change in the tone, thank you Sir!

Holy f... I just got your IRs. They just bring new life to the vintage Axefx!!! Thank you so much!

I enjoyed you doing this video, it is neat to compare and contrast older models.

I literally just bought one of these today, can't wait to receive it tomorrow!

Superb, really enjoyed watching this. It's really good when someone does a video of a demo and they know what they are doing and can share their expertise. It's pretty close to the real thing, I've got a lot of the real thing, now looking at a more room usable copy. Lol. Yes, more demos please.

Well done mate, I really appreciate your content, thanks for that. As I'm about to buy an Axe FX ultra after this crazy time is over, I would love to see more content about that unit, specially about high gain and 80s tones. Congrats on your job, cheers!

That sounds really good for a piece of gear that has evolved so much over the years.

Really enjoyed this killer recto tone

It's great to revisit earlier use gear! Thanks for sharing brother! Be Well All!

I remember when these came out, folks were ditching their ‘preamps’ left and right and going with the new rage: Fractal. It has been a wild ride ever since, with the 2 & 3 dominating the airwaves. They’re built for results. You know Leon, all this time I never heard one. It wasn’t until I started listening to you. You’re just a damn good demo guy, play like wildfire, and have a gifted set of ears, with no mention of the incredible set of influences that shape your style. I’m stuck in the 80s, that’s just me, but I get stoked on the new gear. For example the KSR Ceres arrived today. Can’t even power it up, didn’t come with a wall wart. But it looks cool. I’m going to figure how to patch it in, and then order accessories. You don’t look tired, you look healthy, vibrant as ever. That jammed! It sounded JUST LIKE YOU!!

The Ultra was great then and is still great today. I use mine for the effects since I bought a Suhr RL for my tube amps and the effects alone are STELLAR!!

I just sent this to my mate who has the ultra, he's gonna love this, ripping Leon, thank you

you said it right, choosing the right cab or IR is what makes this older unit better, I'm still using an axe fx ultra too, never really felt the need to "UPGRADE", I usually dont use the stock cabs, I use converted cabs from ML cabs and ownhammer

loved it! Would love to hear more clean tones too!!! and some ambient stuff????? :DD love your work!!

Wow that's still a very usable tone for a unit that's 12 years old now. That's good because I plan to keep my Axe-Fx III for a loooong time! =0)

Still sounds great.

Hi Leon, I had the ultra and it was my first trip down the rabbit hole as well haha gotta say if had this video and an understanding of th IR factor I wouldn't have sold it, sick tutorial mate

Daaaaaaamn these things have gotten ridiculously cheap! Will definitetley keep an eye out for one. Thanks for the demo!

Very cool vid Leon, makes me want to re-explore the Ultra that has been sitting unused since the AX8 showed up. Something I really loved about being able to run two amp blocks (and two cab blocks) was having the input split into two completely separate signal chains and using mixer blocks tied to an expression pedal. Pedal up = clean, pedal down = dirty. Seamlessly morphing between the two was so cool. Ok, downstairs I go....see you in a few days!

Love your work been lurking in the woods just subbed☮

Great product that can still hold its own. I’ve seen several touring bands that use the Ultra. The resell price also holds strong

After all your great videos I finally ordered my Fractal fx3 today, very excited it's coming tomorrow I only live an hour and a half from fractal in New Hampshire USA. Thanks again buddy .I'm replacing my boss gt8 should be a massive upgrade.

If people are still getting great tones out of a Pod XT today, the Ultra certainly holds up. I'm getting one for $400 before I hit the road with Cordyceps!

Great video, again. You can pick these up for half nothing nowadays. Crazy

I have FM3 and I wanna to buy ultra because I like this old unit. still sounding great

I loved my old ultra! The only reason I upgraded to the II was for aftermarket IR cab space, otherwise I was perfectly happy with my ultra! Nice video and great playing!

I literally just got gifted with one of these by my long time friend, and uncle no more than a day or so after this video was posted. Still getting my head around programing it, but it seriously sounds soo freaking good plugging mono straight into my knock about Katana 50 MkII's "power amp in" jack?! I was honestly floored. So much in fact that I'm now shopping for a second Katana 50 to rig a ridiculously cheap, bang for buck, absolute pennies on the dollar, stereo rig of awesome! I'd definitely be game for some more demo vids on the old Ultra. Perhaps you could showcase how well it works with pedals? That wouldn't be a hard one to sell. lol! Cheers Leon! Stay gold man!

I literally just hit buy on one. So keen

They definitely sound different, but still really good. Hope everything is ok in Aussieland. Working from home these days.

Please do more Todd!

Please make more videos like this one!

It would be great if you do a few more vids with ultra! :)

Holy guacamole, Leon! P-p-p-p-lease do a side by side with the Ultra and the 3!

Maybe it's the RU-vid compression but to my ears it sounds like some new staff like some good VST to Axe-FX 3.

Thanks for the video! It's an inspiration, considering that today I was playing around with my old Ultra and considering to sell it. But now, I'm back into the editor to browse for some of the good stuff and to create new patches.

I'm so glad you take the time to show how useable this "old" piece of equipment is. It happens to be the version in my price range. Did you mention in another video that the editing software is no longer supported/available? You need to get a 3rd party editor?

lOVE IT!! Made me buy one.

Still sounds amazing! Thanks for this Leo... By the way, what kind of IRS do you recommend me? To get the best out of my axe fx 2? I was looking for the Heavy Hitters 2... are they good? And thanks again for all your content it's amazing!

I’m probably skipping one generation, from AX8 to whatever comes next. Hearing the previous gen Ultra hold up to time helps me not feel so bad about it.

Hello Leon great video. I own one of the axefx Ultra and love it. What speaker are you running for your axefx ultra. My Axefx ultra doesn't sound that brutal like yours.

The reason i was asking for those IRs in other format is that i don't have a fractal unit (i had to sell most of my gear since i have no job atm), but when i had it, i had problems getting good sounds out of it. It all sounded dull and with lack of highs. Maybe its my guitar, but i see many people getting amazing tones without effort. I tried many presets but they all sounded very different, they sounded better when the owner played them.

Great great great ULTRA

Sounds great, I have the axe fx 2 and maybe I am tone deaf but I can barely hear the difference.

Good stuff as usual, Leon. Hope you and yours are well. When you create a patch, are you doing it at stage volume or do you find you have to tweak it at all when you are at stage volume?

more yes more 😀🤘

Just subscribed! Awesome video. Do you have any Ultra presets available? Thank you!

I actually sold my EVH 50 watt in order to get an axe fx ultra. I still don't regret it due to being able to record at home, and have the use of all my effects etc. Just found it suited me better

Man. It sounds great with just the amp and cab block. I was about to ask if that was your fathers. Very cool.. That tube screamer really tightems it up. Sounds really good man... So how different are these blocks from the new axeFx 3? I realize you have newer features, but as far as tone, it looks like it sounds pretty damn good. I'm assuming there isn't as much chip power as well? That Brit 900 was almost instantly classic 70s. Please do more Atmoic 6, and OR atomic 12. I'm trying to decide which to buy being that they are only 100 dollars difference in price. The 12 though has more switches and ins and outs, plus a better screen so looking hard at it. Also looking at the gigboard. It's cool too, but don't think it probably sounds as good...

Please make a video about the DV Mark Multiamp. :)

Still using a Standard and definitely love it!)))

Hi! Which editing software did you use in this video? Is there any way one could use a MacBook Pro with Mojave on it these days to do the editing on those older Axe FX Ultra machines?

Hi @LeonTodd, Could you please demonstrate how to use these units in a real amp FX Loop just for FX like Petrucci does and how to switch the amp channels from it?

Its those vintage bits....can't replicate that with modern modelers. ;) This does bring back some memories. I thought that Cliff really had the gain stuff down for a while even back in the day, but the clean amps were the ones that took the longest to really nail down. I remember right around the last of the firmware releases for the Ultra that the Vox and Fender amps were really improved. Then of course I was one of the folks that was "I don't need to upgrade" right up until about FW 4 of the AxeFXII came out and the 10 cab limit of the Ultra just finally forced my hand. I just got the III about 2 months ago (half of that is you and your videos fault) and it's great. The thing is that it's really just been incremental tweaks to the amp models for the last couple years. You don't see a massive difference all the time, but if you go back a year or two prior and do an A/B all of those little incremental 1-5% changes add up to something significant. But I still maintain that if you couldn't get a tone out of the Ultra you probably aren't going to fair much better with the III. There are more features and it is a better box, but the first gen stuff has more than enough.

Hey Leon, Great video! What do you think about getting an Ultra to use as a multi effects for my rack setup? Planning to use my triaxis and marshall stereo poweramp but use the fractal as a stereo multi effects for those 80's/90s rack tones. I can't think of a better unit for the price to fit those needs without needing switchers, line mixers, etc. Thanks!

wow!

MORE!!!!!!

I have an Ultra, XL and the III and I still think the Ultra pulls off some things better than any other. Studio Lead, Early Carlos, Cali Lead, Subway Verb with reverb cut back a bit are hard to beat and the special effects Poltergeist Pig and Crystal Echoes sound best, to me, on the Ultra.

More please

I need my Ultra back to the game¡¡¡¡¡

Sounds great. You should flog your AXE III and put the money toward a Mark IV

Hey man, it's me again, is it possible to you explain us(new users of fractal) how to run 2 amps in the unit without sound it like crap? It would be cool hehe cheers!

Amazing video as always. Is there any chance you can share those IRs in Wav format to use them in other units/software? Thanks in advance

Great My friend....in your opinion Ax Fx Ultra is better than Amplitube 5 o Thu Overloud with a good audio system? as tube amp modeler

direct to PC most of (even old) processors record well. When it comes to concert mixer most of them fail. Could you please try the units connected to big PA system with high volume.

The stereo delay soubds fuckin amazing

Yeap more Ultra

How do i import a cab ir on the axe fx ultra, i can olny find ax edit 11.00 and it doesnt seem to find the ir's on my mac.

Nice! Did you by chance change the fan in your unit? The fan in mine is so loud!

Hi! It’s this a better option instead of a line 6 pod go?

please do another video!

This made me feel a bit better, recently bought a minty ultra, fcb1010 with uno chip, midisport 2x2 in an entire package, for 700 and started to have buyers remorse. When I get gas i try to buy instruments and amps, because they tend to keep their value. I would like to see more ultra content. I'll just play and enjoy it and not worry about buying the latest and greatest. I already have people telling me...you should have just bought this and that. and or saved up a bit more and bought this new. Old stuff, old sound., my new stuff sounds so much better than that. oh well.

Great video Leon ! What is the best way to connect an axe fx ULTRA to a Marshall JMP-1 pre amp, just to use the ultra for delays reverbs etc?I also use a 1936 stereo cab

mesa tube preamp in front or return imput axe fx standard?

Am I the only one who prefers the look of the older Axe-Edit for the Ultra compared to the one for the III? I don't like the look of the knobs or the colors they use for the blocks in the newer version.

Hi Leon thanks for the cabs, they sound great in my ultra, any chance I could get a version of these suitable for use with a kemper? Thanks man.

loved your demo

Are they a guitar effects. Or for vocals

how you convert your favorite impulse for ultra

I have an ultra, can i add a whammy pedal that matches or exceeds the digitech whammy4 ?

nice .. can you do another video about ULTRA ?

Great unit, I bought mine for a ridiculous price

Hi, i have a boss footswitch fs6, how can i conect that and how can i switch between presets?

Please do a video using this like a tube preamp Ala piranha into fx return of a tube amp. It's awesome for that.

You should give a go to the HoTone Ampero, it`s pretty good for the buck, wish i had money for a Axe FX hehe :D

Hey Leon!! I have a question. I´ve been using AXE FX Standard all my life, and recently, I purchased the JP neural plugin. This one has an option to double track guitar, and its sounds amazing. I have been trying to get this type of tone on my AXE FX Standard but I am not able to achieve it. It's possible to make a preset with this features?

I have one first fractal unit that I got

That Corncob amp was amazing. It missing from the AX8 was a let down, but I soon got over it as there were a few other amp options. haha. The Ultra if nothing else is a top notch effects unit to use with amps still. The effects were great. I think it totally hangs today, and if anyone feels limited with the lack of IR spaces for recording, just use a IR plug.

For it's 2nd hand prices in reverb or 2nd hand market, is there any better modeler ? Don't include floor pedals/expressions in equation

iv got the axe 2, can i get your custom cab?

Maybe a video showing all of the things in the ultra that do not exist in the other generations? That would give some good info. Imo.