Magazine Reviews & Honors

GUITARIST - UK 
Gold Award Recipient, March 2009
 
"Still not convinced that nothing can replace a real amp? Stand by to have your preconceptions blown away!

The Rivals: Easy answer... there aren’t any!

The intention was not to create warts ‘n’ all reproductions of specific classic amps, but to simulate their sounds in the context of a modern unit, with more control and flexiblity than the orginals ever had.

The effects are all of the highest quality and wouldn’t be out of place in an Eventide oder Lexicon unit and can be used independently for various studio tasks.

Then you’ve got the amp simulations, with more levels of control than we’ve ever seen, and by far the most realistic recreations of real amp tones we’ve ever heard.

There’s also the incredible attention to detail and Cliff Chase’s determination to create the very best tones.

And quality of sound, not to mention performance, is what the Axe-Fx Ultra is all about." (View entire article)

PERFORMING MUSICIAN - UK
August 2009

"In taking an entirely new approach to guitar-amp digital simulation the Axe-Fx Ultra from Cliff Chase's Fractal Audio offers some of the most in-depth modelling ever seen on any guitar processor unit.

If you're into the esoterica of amplifier design and performance, then you're going to be a very happy bunny indeed.

If you're really into getting the best sounds that you can and are prepared to put in the work to get them, then you'll struggle to find better.

As a pure effects unit, you'll find cheaper and you'll find more expensive, but you'll struggle to find anything much better. The level of editing that you have on virtually every single effect is deeper than any that I know of, and the fact that you can run multiple instances in parallel or series just adds to the versatility inherent in its design.

.. you'll be rewarded with amplifier sounds that just don't exist in the real world, and you'll have a lorra, lorra fun building them." (View entire article)

TOOLS - GERMANY 
March 2009

"The Axe-Fx combines two superlatives: what is currently without doubt the best-sounding guitar modelling workstation also happens to be a high-end effects processor containing everything that guitarists and/or producers could ever wish for, from reverb and delay to intelligent pitch shifter and multi-band compressor.

Take the way it reacts to playing dynamics and the volume pot of your guitar – the Axe-Fx turns all this into bits and bytes in a matter of milliseconds and then calculates a sound that really does leave you speechless.

The superb sound quality, enormous variety and well thought-out, guitarist-friendly concept make it stand very much alone at the top of the field." (View entire article)

GRAND GTRS - GERMANY 
March 2009

"Power amp distortion that is exuberant and full of life but at the same time silky smooth, chiming bell-like tones… the Fractal Audio simulations handle all of this with ease.

Steve Lukather is tucked away in here, too. Delicate and creamy, but still with the requisite dose of aggression.

The huge variety of possibilities are a real support for your creativity and before you know it you’re playing melodies and chords that you would never even have thought of with conventional equipment.

Now I understand why so many studio aces are already using the Axe-Fx as a luxury effects processor. And equally how the superb sound quality makes an Axe-Fx equipped guitarist a welcome guest at any studio session.

Not just a whole music shop full of the finest amps and effects, but also a built-in sound-tech who’ll reconstruct everything at the drop of a hat – the Axe-Fx is an exceptional bargain.

The high-end effects alone are worth the price of an Italian designer motorcycle and leave nothing to be desired.

Take a holiday and get yourself an Axe-Fx. But don’t forget to let your wife know that you still exist now and again."

GITARRE & BASS - GERMANY
January 2009

"Sound wise and in the way it reacts to the guitarist, guitar and playing style, this really is the dawning of a new era. The amp simulations seem so three-dimensional and direct, and there is such a complete lack of latency that straight away you can feel and believe in the amp you are playing. And the fact that the sound and frequency spectrum are consistent with those of real tube amps, and that there is not the slightest audible trace of anything digital or any kind of compromise mean that the Axe-Fx actually does become a real amp, as opposed to just being a model of one.

The same applies to the effects. Rather than sounding like models they sound like analogue originals; warm, full-bodied and three-dimensional.

The reaction to nuances in playing style and the way each tone blooms are simply fantastic." (View entire article for EUR 2,-)

GUITARRISTA - SPAIN
May 2009

Galardón Guitarrista 'Gold  «««««'               
"¿Aún no estás convencido de que algo puede reemplazar a un ampli auténtico? ¡Prepárate para que desaparezcan tus prejuicios!

La intención no es recrear con pelos y señales reproducciones de amplis clásicos concretos, sino simular sus sonidos en el contexto de una unidad moderna, con más control y flexibilidad de la que nunca han tenido los originales.

Los efectos son todos de la mejor calidad y no estarían fuera de lugar en una unidad Eventide o Lexicon, y pueden usarse independientemente para varias labores de estudio…

Luego tienes simulaciones de amplis, con más niveles de control de los que hayamos visto nunca, y las recreaciones más realistas de timbres de amplis que hayamos escuchado hasta ahora.

También está la increíble atención al detalle y la determinación de Cliff Chase de crear los mejores timbres.

Y calidad de sonido, por no mencionar el rendimiento, es de lo que va el AxeFx Ultra. El futuro empieza aquí." (View entire article)

GUITARRA TOTAL - SPAIN 
April 2009        

"En Fractal Audio han realizado una ardua e impresionante labor, que combina la puesta al día de los sonidos clásicos de guitarra, con la implementación de la máxima libertad de innovación para el usuario, todo ello en un solo producto. El alto grado de adaptabilidad de este concepto reafirma al Axe-Fx Ultra en la élite de su categoría, ya que permite tanto replicar con absoluta precisión sonidos clásicos de guitarra de cualquier género musical, como investigar hasta límites insospechados para conseguir nuestro propio sonido.

La unidad resulta enormemente intuitiva… Para un usuario con experiencia mínima en el uso de multiefectos de guitarra, se puede decir que utilizar el AxeFx Ultra no tiene más dificultad que sacarlo de la caja, conectarlo a la etapa de potencia, previo, mesa de sonido o interfaz de audio, encenderlo, conectar la guitarra y … ¡A tocar!" (View entire article)

GITARIST - NETHERLANDS
May 2009    
    
"Nog steeds van mening dat niets in de buurt komt van een echte versterker? Hou je vast: dit artikel maakt namelijk korte metten met al je vooroordelen.

Rivalen .. Het eerlijkste antwoord: de Axe-Fx heeft geen concurrenten.

Los van het vermogen van de processor is er ook waanzinning veel aandacht aan detail besteed, met dank aan Cliff Chase' voornemen om de allerbeste sounds te maken.

Het effectgedeelte alleen al kan zich meten met TC Electronic of Eventide.

Vervolgens zijn er de versterkersimulaties, die meer regelmogelijkheden hebben dan we ooit eerder zagen, en veruit de meest realistische simulaties van echte versterkersounds die we ooit hoorden. Praktisch gezien is de Axe-Fx geschikt voor veel live- en studiodoeleinden.

De Axe-Fx is een fantastische investering voor serieuze muzikanten.

Kortom: hier begint de toekomst! (View entire article)

FUZZ - SWEDEN 
February 2009        

GUITAR WORLD - USA 
Platinum Award Recipient, January 2009

This review entitled “Big Audio Dynamite!” bestows GW’s most prestigious award on Fractal’s Axe-Fx Ultra. Seasoned writer, Chris Gill states “[The Axe-Fx] delivers stunning, expressive tones and effects that most players would have difficulty achieving with even the finest analog gear” and “it may be the last guitar processor many players will ever need to buy”.


GUITAR PLAYER - USA
Editor’s Pick Award Recipient, December 2008 

Veteran gear reviewer and GP Associate Editor, Barry Cleveland, taps Fractal’s Axe-Fx Ultra for the magazine’s coveted “Editor’s Pick”. “… the Axe-Fx Ultra is easily the most touch sensitive and responsive [amp simulator] in my experience” Cleveland writes “don’t be surprised if you see me using one on my next gig!”



PREMIERE GUITAR - USA
September 2008

When the makers of the massively popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band need a player to nail a classic guitar sound and playing style for a song to be included on one of their offerings, many times they call on the services of world class-studio guitarist and gear aficionado, Steve Ouimette. Premier Guitar summoned the in-demand guitarist to harness his other skill, writing, to do a review of the Axe-Fx Ultra. Steve noted that the Axe-Fx “felt a lot like one of [his] old Superleads” when he asked it to.

Since the review, Steve tells us that he continues to use the Ultra with excellent results. On one occasion, after being frustrated trying to recapture a tone by using the same vintage gear that was used on the original recording he needed to cop, he gave the Ultra a shot at it - sure enough it nailed the tone better than the real thing! (View entire article)