Guitar Interactive – Issue 66 2019

(^90) Guitar Interactive Issue 66
any other line level equipment. Outputs 3
and 4 are designed for unity gain scenarios
such as ‘four-cable’ method or for running
external FX pedals into the FX loop section
of your signal chain. AES and SPDIF are
provided for digital applications and the
USB connection converts all of this into
a high-end 8x8 audio interface with USB
procedures all handled by a fourth dedicated
DSP chip for rock solid stability. Finally,
a pair of expression pedal ins, full midi
capability and a dedicated FASLINK II port
are provided, the latter allowing a single
cable connection to the new FC-6 and FC-
12 foot controllers.
To match all this impressive I/O capability,
Fractal have ensured that the Axe FX III has
the highest quality signal path of any product
they’ve created thus far. Every component is
of audiophile quality, providing the lowest
signal to noise ratio and best sound quality,
ensuring that your tones are pristine whether
on stage or in the studio.
Of course, none of this would matter if the
amp modelling and FX weren’t up to scratch
and there are a lot of products in the market
now that give the Axe FX III much stiffer
competition than when the Axe FX II was
launched. Fortunately, Fractal Audio have
incredible form in this area and the Axe FX
III takes the already superb ‘Quantum’ amp
modelling from the II and builds upon it
further with a brand new modelling engine,
where almost every effect and amp model
was rebuilt from the ground up to take
advantage of the vastly more powerful DSP
for this generation. The most impressive
upgrade is just how touch sensitive and
realistic the feel of this new modelling engine
is under the fingers. Tonally we reached a
point several years ago where modellers were
hard to distinguish from the real deal, but
the touch and feel remained elusive for many
players. The Axe FX III improves a great deal
in this area, especially for clean tones and
edge of break up sounds where the touch and
feel are so important to expression and being
‘in the zone’ with your playing.
The FX are unparalleled in terms of quality
and sheer quantity, with a new 6x14 grid
allowing for unprecedented levels of signal
complexity and routing, no longer limited by
CPU power, but only by your imagination.
Even complex signal paths with two amps,
cabs and multiple FX only see the CPU
usage rise to around 50%, so processing
headroom is no longer the issue it could be
on the Axe FX II and AX8. This flexibility
is further enhanced with movable input and
output blocks that can be placed anywhere
in the signal chain and the ability to place up
to four instances of some effects into a given
preset.
Each block within any of the 512 onboard
presets can now have up to four channels,
with each channel being a completely unique
REVIEWS_AUIDO REVIEW THE REVIEWS FRACTAL AXE FX III