Axe Fx III Firmware 25 | Cygnus X-3 Modelling, New Amps, New Routing Modes & More

[@LeonTodd]

If you like that intro jam you can own it and support what we do - leontodd.gumroad.com/l/backtozero?layout=profile

[@davehendrix671]

Hey Leon love the channel man and the axe 3 vids. Got a question? A friend of mine is convinced the axe 3 cannot replace a Dr.z or various popular small amps like the fenders and Bruno's I strongly disagree with him. imho I think the axe 3 is the best thing since sliced bread and I was also stuck in that mode of tubes good and digital bad. And I like to think I'm a pretty seasoned guitar player. played tube amps for going on 30 years, Friedmans Soldano's, Plexis etc. AND they are awesome don't get me wrong. And now I think a lot of guys are just stuck in the old way of thinking. On an endless journey of that I have to buy a million amps to find that 1 in a million perfect amp. Anyhow can you throw down some patches that can prove him wrong Please

[@PatternRecognitionMusic]

I don't know how many times I have to say this, but what an amazing time to be a musician. The gear we have now is just so far beyond anything I dreamed of as a young guitarist. I would look at rigs in magazines and on stages, flip through catalogs and think about how awesome it must be to be able to afford a Bob Bradshaw rig or something. Now, plug into the Fractal, launch Axe Edit and Bob's your uncle... As always, thanks for sharing your expertise with us - you've helped me wrap my head around getting usable tone out of amps I always thought I hated!

[@LeonTodd]

It is worth reminding ourselves how incredible this sounds!

[@rockstarjazzcat]

"Bob's your uncle..." And as someone currently emulating Bradshaw rigs, gotta say, nicely played! 🤣

[@deanbibb3680]

The world needs a quality “Gretchen Goes To Nebraska” tone. Can it be done in five minutes @LeonTodd?

[@NervousFlashlights]

DOPE! Firmware videos go well with my morning coffee! Thanks again Leon!

[@LeonTodd]

Morning!

[@BobbyLaneProductions]

My AF3 just keeps getting better and better.. I had no idea back when I bought it 2.5 years ago that it would keep improving with each FW update.. thanks again LT for sharing all your knowledge and insight into the FAS products.

[@LeonTodd]

Couldn't agree more!

[@brettgarsed]

5:50 Shadow Play!!! Thanks Leon! I haven't updated in a long time. Will I notice a huge difference in my existing sounds? I'm using the Euro Blue model mostly.

[@LeonTodd]

The "Live at Montreux" version of that song gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. There's definitely some differences with a few amps but nothing you can't recover fairly quickly with a few EQ tweaks. I was trying the Euro Blue yesterday and thought it sounded pretty awesome.

[@Team512]

+100 for the new kill dry feature. 🎉 Would love to see a 5 min tone on the Friedman models. I’ve been messing with them lately as an alternative to the 800 models. 🤘🔥🤘

[@LeonTodd]

Soon!

[@electronik808]

i asked for it on the feature request in the forum :-) and they did it super fast!!!!

[@PondoSinatra680]

That’s because you’re not a bass player.

[@thomasaquinas601]

Thanks, Leon. This is like watching Top Gear doing a segment on a car I am interested in - you provide a valuable public service, hahahaha. Your playing is always tasty and highlights the features of the AFX3 so well.

[@LeonTodd]

Glad you enjoyed it mate :) So fun

[@NelderGuitar]

Mannnnnnn I hope this hits the FM3 soon.

[@LeonTodd]

According to the forum it's soooon!

[@edtlonsway]

Thanks, as always, for a timely and spot on update. I wouldn't even know how to turn my AF3 on without you! ;)

[@LeonTodd]

😁

[@ironblast5]

Sounds incredible

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

Man, Fractal really gives you loads of updates from what I can see compared to others in the same business. Not inexpensive, but quality never is. Remember my friend. You can only have two of these three: Inexpensive, fast service, or quality. Never all three usually. 😂 At the intro the clip was of you playing your single cut which I've not seen you play lately, which is a good problem to have that you have to decide what guitar you will make wonderful filth guitar sounds with. 😂 That single coil tone in the neck was great man❤. All of those tones were. Very cool. ❤ I need more string coffee. That first cup is always the best. It's getting warm here.. Fall there isn't it..? It's amazing all the effects and amps and cabs you get with fractal. Amazing! ❤ I'm going to be working outdoors for some spring stuff that needs caught up. Have a great day sir and even better the rest of the week my friend. ❤

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Rock on Indiana Man! 🌱🌼🌽🎸

[@PatternRecognitionMusic]

Yup, cheap, fast and good, pick two. Definitely agreed about the frequency of updates and the speed of bug fixes - Cliff and the team are at the top of the game. As far as the pricing, my Axe FX III mk2 with an FC-12 and a pair of Peavey DM112 wedges didn't cost me much more than my entire 6505+ rig, but the versatility makes it worthwhile. I had one amp, one cab, and a modest array of effects. Now I have more than I could ever conceivably use in a real world scenario.

[@LeonTodd]

I use that saying a lot with my guitar students!

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

@@LeonTodd hahahahaha. It's true too!

[@JarickL]

Great tip on the AC30 tone! I accidentally figured that out last year when I was playing a real AC15. I never knew how to use the controls when I was younger and would play humbuckers so just kept the high cut all the way down. But I found that you can use the treble and high cut to create kind of a scooped EQ that sounded really cool with the same settings you showed. This new Fractal model seems to really match the real tone stack!

[@LeonTodd]

Yeah it's the AC30 tone I've always heard in my head but never been able to dial in on the Axe. Can't get enough of it!

[@davidshankle7359]

Yes will put this in right away my friend.

[@anthonyreid3516]

I love the Shadow Play riffing! Sounds great.

[@LeonTodd]

Rory 😍

[@heavybrett-al4082]

Just want to say glad you and Troy back to the podcast, the pick up discussion was great... actually helped me make an important decision 🙏

[@LeonTodd]

next episode is going to be awesome, we got a really great guest on!

[@heavybrett-al4082]

@@LeonTodd awesome, can't wait....🎸👍🙏

[@V8LC100]

What’s the podcast title? I’m missing out.

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

@@V8LC100. There’s a link to it in the video description

[@d-mack7053]

@LeenTodd Once again us being "Tone Chashers" this made my early morning and set the mood for my day!!!!

[@benoitquinton]

Awesome as always! Clear, no wasted time, straight to the point. I love it! Is there a possibility to have an A/B switching with the prior firmware? I'd love to hear the comparison. Thank you for all you do and have a nice day!

[@PatternRecognitionMusic]

I was thinking it would be cool to see DI guitar tracks re-amped through various firmwares for comparison.

[@benoitquinton]

@@PatternRecognitionMusic Exactly!

[@lyricbread]

5:29 Damn that new AC30 model sounds fantastic! 😮

[@LeonTodd]

I absolutely adore it. It does the early Deep Purple thing too!

[@chaosinsidemetal]

Great video.Stellar tone!

[@TudorAdrian]

Dig the intro song!

[@LeonTodd]

Cheers! That's "letting Go" from Ragdoll - Back to Zero

[@grampstries]

Good tones and tasty playing there LT!

[@LeonTodd]

Thank you kindly!

[@horizonxx_1]

That opening shred reminded me of Dan Palmer from Death By Stereo, nice 🤘

[@AlexAlexAlexMartin]

What a great player!

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Fan-tastic! Super excited about this one. Another giant leap forward. And another killer demo in the bag! 🤙🏼 Is kill dry eliminating the need to set the bypass as well??? 😊

[@randalljax]

would love to hear the Bogner XTC red / blue models in this Firmware as many are saying it is greatly improved , maybe with the York Mesa Dyna if you have a chance

[@LeonTodd]

Your ears must be burning, I was just jamming with the Ecstasy blue!

[@c22880]

The AF3 is something special as a MFX/preamp unit

[@martincockburn6821]

this just makes me want an axe even more.... couple on marketplace at the moment too.. im sure my missus wont notice 😅

[@LeonTodd]

DUDE!!!!

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Me: **sees CygnusX1** Cool! I fully expect some Rush now. _32 seconds later_ 😶 Yep. Don't care if Leon accidentally forgets to play any Rush now. Holy smoking divers man.😮

[@MikeC-cm7pc]

Awesome Intro Jam, man can you ever rip 🤘

[@veronatragedy7016]

sounds good

[@louderthangod]

I’m confused by the kill/dry while using it in parallel and using the mix feature. I’ve used kill/dry in my Eventide H9’s and it’s essentially 100% mix on the “wet” amps for my wet/dry/wet rig. Parallel as I understand it is to mix a wet signal with a dry one which is essentially what the mix knob does so how does the kill/dry, mix and running effects in parallel doing here that wasn’t done with the mix knob wasn’t doing before or how kill/dry effects would work with multiple outputs?

[@jameslugo]

Awesome video. What is that riff around 9:30? I’ve heard you play it before. Really vibey.

[@LeonTodd]

Heaven Above brotha!

[@2979paul]

Hey Leon, did you ever get around to writing/ publishing Ragdoll music?

[@gypsydoodles]

Hope Todd does a Foo fighters one

[@theanalogkid4171]

The Brit 800 2203 has never sounded better!! Just when you think the AFX Marshalls/amps can't sound any better, they do. Hoping this will roll down to the FM9 soon.

[@LeonTodd]

I wish my actual Marshalls sounded this good

[@dantahoua]

Berserk intro! 😊

[@nickynoshoes]

Leon, what do you like about the normal channel over the vibrato one on the deluxe reverb?

[@LeonTodd]

They're both pretty great, I've been enjoying the normal channel on my DRRI so I tend to gravitate towards that on the model too.

[@jimmygrant3151]

Hello Leon. Is it possible to run two separate guitarists using separate foot controllers daisy chained into one FXIII? I am trying to program the per presets, but they are the same for each pedal board. Ideally we want each foot switch to trigger a different block on the preset. So guitarist 1 would be able to on/off his amp, delay, reverb etc and the same for guitarist 2. Is this even possible?

[@LeonTodd]

Yeah that's possible. Setup different layouts for each foot controller eg FC1 uses layout 1 and FC2 uses layout 2

[@billzaferatos2256]

Everyone wont agree but for me while running stereo with parallel fx this update with the kill dry is a game changer for me.

[@LeonTodd]

One click vs turning mix up to 100%, selecting the bypass mode and then riding input gain or level. I massively appreciate how much easier it is!

[@billzaferatos2256]

@@LeonTodd It really cleaned up my tone.

[@jlynnb1]

i'm glad I'm not the only one accidentally opens up the controller menu all the time 🤣🤣

[@LeonTodd]

Good old fat fingers!

[@veronatragedy7016]

Is there any guitar pedals that you feel don't sound as good with the axe fx as they do with an actual amp?

[@barryeverton2532]

Hi, so I don't understand Killdry. Is this just an option so that when you put anything in parallel you don't have to put the mix to 100 and adjust the level elsewhere? If so is there really a point does it give you anything else?

[@LeonTodd]

Yes. Fewer steps to the desired result, easier for some people to understand.

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

Funds are limited as far as Fractal gear goes. would you recommend buying used (second hand) and what's your opinion on the fractal audio ax8?

[@V8LC100]

I bought a used Axe3 and a used FC12 separately. Both are mint! Do it.

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Save for used current gen so you can keep up with these firmware improvements! Fractal keeps upping their game. This time particularly in analysis tools used. That said, lots of folks still using the II’s. But yeah, with Turbo models around, plenty of current gen for sale in great condition.

[@PatternRecognitionMusic]

I would say if you can find a used Axe FX III, III mk2 or Turbo you'll be set for a while. The last round of firmwares have really improved the efficiency, I never even come close to maxing out my CPU usage on my mk2. There are probably plenty of IIIs and mk2s on the market from cats who've upgraded to a Turbo, and most of the used Fractal gear I've seen has been well taken care of.

[@ToneScientist]

Ok, got it: you're using your videos as a trojan for your music, lol! Cuz I got those riffs stuck in my mind even tho I've listened to the whole songs just a few times... joking aside, that ac30 sounds killer!

[@LeonTodd]

😁 the secret is out!

[@johnplaystheguitar123]

Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus

[@adiecummingsshredguitar9306]

Shadow play rules

[@LeonTodd]

Rory was a force of nature

[@Taylor___]

I'd pretty much just use a blend of Mark IV and 800... and a Fender Twin clean. The 5150 stealth is decent too. But I'm not dipping into Fractal until they release the Axe FX4 because the 3 is super underpowered, it's got a 10-15 year old CPU in it. It probaly has the same power as a mid range laptop from 2012. And, I want them to release a 2x12 powered combo version to compete against the Boss Katana.

[@LeonTodd]

Not a great comparison. It's far more powerful than anything else on the market and DSP chips for audio are still far better for high quality, low latency audio than currently available ARM based processors. Then again you can't connect to the internet and watch porn on one.

[@DavidMacVicar]

Still don’t understand kill dry 😢

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Most rack units (and some modern pedals) over the years had a quick way to make the effect 100% wet. Total convenience feature. Was especially important in early days of digital and needing to run parallel. Or think of a Marshall with a parallel effects loop. Typically folks would end up with phase cancellations not understanding the implications.

[@DavidMacVicar]

Thanks. I guess I just don’t know why we need this is we already have mix and input gain controls to control it. Why another?

[@tombest610]

​@@DavidMacVicarit's just a convenience thing. No new sounds to be had. It is simpler to hit Kill Dry and adjust Mix (one switch and one variable setting) to taste rather than working with mix, level, and gain, which are 3 variable settings.

[@jayjaymerritt2785]

Revisited my 2203 high preset because of this video, and was initially disappointed...lots of high cuts/ eq fiddling. Then I tried Leon's LT TV mix 2. Bam. Problem solved. Much "smoother" and less fizzy than whatever i.r I was using previously...I don't remember but I must have mistaken a G12 i.r for a V30. Lots of fizz previously. I'm guessing greenbacks and a 57/421 combo for Leon's i.r. Still learning, but man it's fun!

[@LeonTodd]

Happy days! TV Mix 2 is an SM7b and a Royer 121, Mix 7 adds a 421 to those :)

[@jayjaymerritt2785]

@@LeonTodd Ahh right on! Another one of my favorite mic combos!

[@Allann882]

Too Scoopy😢

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Great that you can turn up the mids for yourself then , huh?

[@jconner3891]

You can put more mids in your tone when you want. Lmao.

[@jayjaymerritt2785]

That's a mean axe Leon. I can't get over those humbuckers?! They look more beveled and "squared" than standard ones, almost like a P90 mated with a regular humbucker😮,💪👌👍

[@LeonTodd]

Yeah the shape is ever so slightly different