Comparing the Axe-Fx III to the Axe-Fx II

The information on this page supplements the official manuals.

Migrating from the Axe-Fx II

For more information, read the Owner's Manual.

What's new

• Inputs and Outputs must be placed on the grid as blocks.
• The Axe-Fx III features up to four Channels per block. Like X/Y, Channels give you multiple sound settings from a single block, but they change much more quickly. Change a block’s channel with dedicated buttons revealed when you press the MORE button (Push-knob E) from any Edit menu.
• Each scene now has its own name.
• A new architecture allows multiple clients such as foot controllers or editor software to share control, updating each other seamlessly without re-sync issues or paused communications.
• FASLINK II connects the Axe-Fx III and the new FC controllers.
• Axe-Edit III scales to hi-res displays.

What's changed

• Hardware:
  • The unit is taller, at 3U instead of 2U, but shallower, at 11.5” deep instead of 12.9”.
• I/O:
  • There are 4 independent stereo outputs instead of 2, plus auto-switching front/rear instrument input and 3 stereo inputs. INs and OUTs can be used in the usual ways, or paired to insert outboard gear in up to 3 stereo loops.
  • The red LEDs in the front panel meter bridge now light at -1 dBFS.
• User interface:
  • Instead of a RECAll screen, the Axe-Fx III has a HOME button. The new Home menu provides access to preset and Meters pages, with soft-button access to the tuner, layout, controllers, and setup menu.
  • Instead of a LAYOUT button, the Grid is accessed from a soft-button in the Home menu, or by pressing ENTER or VALUE while on the Home page. The Grid has new features like Zoom, CPU meter, and a mini tuner.
  • You can use old familiar workflows with the NAV buttons and VALUE wheel, but you’ll move much faster through editing if you try to use the five Push-knobs under the display.
• Presets and blocks:
• The grid now 14x6.
• More CPU available:
  • The number of Scene Controllers has been doubled to 4.
  • To control the bypass state of a block using a modifier, you no longer modify the Bypass Mode parameter, but a dedicated Bypass parameter.
  • Presets no longer default to Scene 1 but now load whichever scene was selected when you saved them.
• Cab:
  • It mixes up to 4 different IRs at once.
  • Mic modeling has been removed, but "Proximity" remains.
  • There are now Factory 1, Factory 2, User 1 and User 2 banks, each with 1,024 IRs, and a Legacy bank containing all 189 IRs from the Axe-Fx II, and 16 Scratchpads.
• Other:
  • The tuner works on any input.

What's gone

• X/Y switching.
• Swapping presets locations on hardware.

What's more

• All of Axe-Fx II's amp models and factory cabs appear in the Axe-Fx III.
• All of the effects have been either ported directly or improved upon.
• All existing Cab-Packs and user cabs are 100% compatible.

• Ares modeling, parameter changes, input EQ
• 512 preset slots
• 4x Drive, 4x Delay
• new: Plex, Ten-Tap, Multiplexer, RTA
• Tri-chorus
• 4-voice Pitch
• improved Reverb
• more Looper time
• UR TMA
• improved Tuner
• 8x8 USB Audio
• faster MIDI-over-USB
• Scene MIDI
• Preset MIDI
• FASLINK II, FC
• Comms between editor, FC and III
• high-impedance inputs
• no Recall Effect
• no global blocks
• Windows: driver, Mac: not
• easier reamping
• Damping
• 4 controllers
• 4 scene controllers
• nominal +4/-10
• no Send realtime SysEx
• I/O: Send MIDI PC

Comparing the blocks

Comparison of available effects in each device.

The Axe-Fx II and Axe-Fx III cannot share presets electronically, but you can transfer sounds by re-creating them on the grid and entering parameter values, which match up identically or very closely.

Comparing sound quality

”Everything sounds better. I think a big part of it is the quality of the I/O. The I/O measures flatter and less distortion than my $2000 interface.” source

"It actually does sound a little better. The extra DSP horsepower means that we didn't have to make compromises in some of the algorithms. The amp modeling algorithm is very similar but there's a few places on the II where we had to make compromises to get the algorithm to run within the allotted time. Also the III has a higher internal oversampling rate and a higher bit depth on some calculations (64-bit vs. 40-bit)." source

"Better algorithms, higher upsampling, better analog I/O design."

More ...

(about heat) "Less than an Axe-Fx II." source