Hello everyone

I recently started checking the prices of the Axe fx-2 on Reverb, And they seem quite appealing relatively to the previous prices and the new axe fx-3 price.

The ones descried with (excellent condition) their prices range from 1200 to 1500 USD.

So What to do u think about this choice?

Bear in mind that I don’t have any experience with the Axe FX unit before, and all I know it’s an amp modelling/sound interface that can be connected to Pc/Mac and you’re ready to go to record your guitar tracks along with jamming tracks in a DAW software.

I watched a couple of videos on Youtube of guitarist comparing the Axe Fx2 with Fx3 and they both sound almost close. I also see that the Axe fx2 is still on the racks of top guitarists/bands.

So any ideas, thoughts, recommendations, warnings, advice about other gear needed to have a flexible user experience with the unit are welcome.

Or maybe you want to recommend another product why not !

Aslo if you have any experience of buying gears from Reverb please let me know how it was

Thanks all

I've had the Ultra (the predecessor of the II) for 10 years.
They are great and the presets that are available from others paid and free will more than likely be enough for you if the stock ones aren't enough. But even then you can tweak just about any setting you can think of.

The Axe 3 may sound close to the 2 at the moment but give it time and some updates and it will improve in giant leaps, even in the last couple weeks they have unveiled some new reverbs that sound amazing.

I haven't needed to scratch the surface of what the Ultra can do for what I need.
I'm looking to sell and get the Ax8 unless they come out with a new floor unit soon.

Had experience with an Ultra in a studio 1-2 years ago.

The owner is a guitar teacher too and gave us a short demo while describing the unit. We agreed the tones were very comparable to the better plug-in amp sim.s we have today but it made a difference on the little things like responding better to drop of volume knob. The unit is still used today at the studio although there are 1-2 cool amps in the studio too. Though it was an older model, could get very deep in settings.

So my general observation was it takes 10 max 15 years for computer or more affordable processors (Helix etc.) to achieve a comparable quality in tone compared to Fractal units, which is more than good for a digital hardware unit.

On axe2-3, my only concern is if one is paying too much for what he/she won't use. For example, its rare for me to see someone blending 2 amp/cab.s in their processor, more complex routing, good understanding and use of post fx...let alone use the extra input/outputs on the hardware. I strongly believe major bands using these units today had good help from the engineer at the recording studio.

I guess thats why we see more Kemper, Helix, ax8 users specially for home use.

A lot of artists get help with people like Mark Day and Matt Piccone who work for Fractal to set up their Axe Fx Rigs

As processors go the axe is sorta the gold standard by which others are measured. The kemper is a profiler, not really a modeller, so its a bit of a different beast. Even the older AXE FX units are still great units and will serve you for many years. They are a bit more affordable now that the III is out, so if you have the spare change, it's hard to go wrong with one. They are the unit that other units get compared to. Short answer, never heard anyone say they regretted getting one.
Todd

Thanks all

I had the unit (XL+) for more than 3 months now, it sounds great it, feels great compared to my experience with with other plugins, I can not explain that in a technical terms but man i can hear those dynamics right trough my bones, i'm pretty sure the "the real amp thing" is still much more interesting but i'd let you know how i feel about that when i get in touch in with a real amp, that's if they would still make them by that time.

one of the issues i faced with plug-ins is that i always hear ground loops when i use my lap top while plugged to the charger, so i had to always stay on desktop, but when i hooked the axe unit to my laptop while charging, all the unnecessary, unwanted sounds were dead silent.

so, yeah that was a good investment, my wallet hurts a little bit but im not disappointed haha

Thanks again buddies