Review Demo - Fractal Audio AX8

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Fractal Audio System’s rackmount Axe-Fx units awakened many players to the possibilities of modeled amps, cabinets, and effects. Nowadays many touring players, seduced by Fractal’s realistic modeling, travel with compact digital rigs in lieu of cumbersome amps and cabs. Fractal expanded into the pedalboard format with their FX8, which provided Axe-Fx effects minus the amp and cab modeling. Now AX8 adds those missing amps and cabs as the company's first an "all-in-one" unit—at some $500 less than FX8’s original price.

The AX8 amp modeler and multi-effects pedalboard is almost a pedalboard version of Fractal’s flagship Axe-Fx II modeler. The main difference: less CPU. That means the sound quality is identical, but you just can’t pile on as many simultaneous models (though you can create parallel effect chains using a single amp model.) But there’s plenty of juice for most applications, and AX8 sells for nearly a grand less than the big box.

Many will flip for AX8’s form factor, nearly identical to the FX8. Measuring roughly 16" x10" x 4" and weighing less than 12 pounds, the board fits into backpacks and overhead bins. Mind you, it has no built-in amplification—you must connect to a PA or full-range/flat-response amplifier. (Plugging into a conventional guitar amp might yield cool sounds, but you would need to disable the AX8's onboard sims to avoid stacking amp coloration on top of amp coloration.)

Despite its size, AX8 offers comprehensive connectivity, with 1/4", XLR and S/PDIF outputs. A USB jack lets you connect to a computer (which is almost essential, as we’ll see). There are MIDI in and out jacks. You can connect up to four controller pedals (not included). There’s also a programmable stereo effects loop for inserting external hardware. (One odd omission: there’s no headphone jack.)

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