Fractal Audio Systems / AXEFXIII

The latest flagship model, the Axe-Fx III, combines the latest digital technology with realism to transport players to another dimension.

・Overwhelming DSP power
The original Axe-Fx shocked the industry by being the first to feature a military-grade DSP in a commercially available product. Using the power of this DSP, it was possible to achieve detail and realism that other products could not achieve.
The Axe-Fx II expanded this concept by equipping it with two DSPs. The Axe-Fx III inherits this philosophy and has evolved even further.
The main audio engine uses the Texas Instruments DSP “KeyStone”. This processor is the most powerful DSP with more than twice the performance of the one used in the Axe-Fx II.

・Color display
The large 800 x 480 color display has 30 times the resolution of the previous model. By improving the brightness and contrast compared to off-the-shelf displays, visibility is ensured in a variety of situations.
Five push encoders and the main encoder allow for quick data entry and parameter control. Editing is quick and easy with minimal operations required to access and edit parameters. Direct access to five on-screen parameters and five ""push"" functions at the same time.

・Input & Output Blocks
The number of input and output sources has increased to four each. Axe-Fx III has one instrument input on the front and one on the back, and both inputs feature Auto-Z technology that simulates input impedance.
Routing flexibility has been further improved by being able to place an unlimited number of input and output blocks anywhere in the grid. It is easy to insert different outboard devices at different parts of the signal path, or to process stereo outputs of acoustic and electric guitars simultaneously. It is also possible to send a stereo signal to the audience, output wet/dry/wet on stage, and record a DI out for re-amping. Each output also has a dedicated LEVEL parameter.

・8-in, 8-out USB audio
The 16-core, 500MHz processor delivers 8-in, 8-out USB audio, making the Axe-Fx III a mainstay of your music production environment. Audio-grade parts and converters provide better performance than most third-party USB audio interfaces. 8x8 channels allow you to record multiple tracks of processed audio, DI signals, etc. while listening to backing tracks and stereo amp sounds in real time. USB audio sources can also be placed on the grid with dedicated blocks.

・Audio-grade signal path
Fractal Audio Systems has always developed with the idea that every part is important. Just as the body material, frets, electronic components, etc. are all important in an electric guitar, the Axe-Fx III is designed with parts selected to maximize performance and sound quality.
The meticulously designed multi-layer circuit board is gold-plated to lower electromagnetic interference and increase resistance to interference. This groundbreaking engineering has resulted in the most natural sound quality, lowest THD (total harmonic distortion) and reduced noise.

- Industry-leading amp models, speaker simulations and effects
- Amp modeling
The power of the Axe-Fx III makes it the perfect platform for cutting-edge amp modeling. The latest “Ares” modeling is the most expressive, musical and picking-intuitive model ever developed by Fractal Audio Systems. As always, the preamp and power amp sections are also modeled separately and in detail.

- A wide range of speaker cabinets
The Axe-Fx III features a unique UltraRes? speaker simulation with over 2200 impulse responses (IRs) available, including all IRs from the Axe-Fx II in the legacy bank. The redesigned cabinet block features a 4-channel mixer based on the popular Cab-Lab software, allowing you to mix IRs with the speaker cabinet just like you would with a real microphone. The factory bank includes IRs created by some of the industry's most renowned manufacturers and artists, including Fractal Audio, AustinBuddy, Celestion, ML Sound Lab, Ownhammer, Chris Broderick, John Petrucci, Chris Traynor & James Santiago, Valhallir, York Audio, and Dr. Bonkers. 2,048 user cabinets allow you to load Cab-Packs (including those compatible with Axe-Fx II) or third-party IRs, and you can even use the built-in tools to capture and save your own speaker tones. The tone matching block has also been improved, allowing you to clone the tone of your amp or recording.

-Amazingly evolved effects
Axe-Fx III is a multi-FX processor that can recreate the sounds of a huge number of industry-leading stompboxes and studio effects. The number and type of effects have been expanded from previous models, and each preset includes four drive blocks (each with four channels), four delay blocks (each with four channels), and more.
In addition to revamping the algorithms, most effects have been updated to take advantage of the increased processing power. The Plex block now features up to eight delay lines for recreating shimmer effects. The reverb algorithm has been improved to be heavier and smoother. The Pitch block with an improved pitch detector offers whammy, double tracking, harmony, detune and more with incredible tracking and fidelity. The new real-time analyzer block provides detailed visualization of the audio spectrum. The stereo looper has overdub and undo capabilities and can record more than five minutes at full resolution.

To take full advantage of the increased effects and power, the routing grid has been expanded to 6 rows and 14 columns, allowing up to six effects to be used in parallel.

-Perform the perfect performance with presets, blocks, scenes and the newly added ""channels"".

The Axe-Fx III contains 512 presets, each equivalent to an entire rig, from as simple as an amp to as complex as a large pedal board or multi-amp rack system.

Each effect block has up to four channels, each containing all the parameters of that block. Channel switching is instantaneous and seamless, and can be done manually or automatically (e.g. with a foot controller) when changing scenes.
Channels allow you to quickly and easily switch parameters without the side effects of changing presets, such as delayed reactions. Set the Amp block to have the “Deluxe Verb” model on channel A, “Plexi” on channel B, “Recto” on channel C, and “FAS Modern” on channel D, and you can instantly change channels with the press of a button.
Eight scenes within each preset store the bypass state and channels of each block. You can program each scene to have a different channel combination, and quickly change channels of multiple blocks with the press of a button. Like channels, scenes can also be switched via MIDI for automation applications.
Using channels and scenes, you can use one preset for anything from a single song to an entire live show.
Dimensions: 482mm x 131mm x 292mm Weight: 6.87 kg