Fractal Audio Bring TONE3000 and NAM A2 to the Axe-Fx III
Plus NAM A2 capture powered by TONE3000 coming soon!
Founded in 2006 by Cliff Chase, Fractal Audio helped revolutionize digital guitar processing with the original Axe-Fx. Over the past two decades, Fractal Audio has become a favorite of some of the world's most celebrated guitarists, including Steve Vai, John Petrucci, John Mayer, Metallica, and The Edge.
Today, we're incredibly excited to announce our partnership with Fractal Audio to bring Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) A2 and TONE3000 to the Axe-Fx III with the upcoming firmware 33 update.
For the first time, you'll be able to combine Fractal Audio's world-class amp modeling and effects with the accuracy of NAM A2 captures, and discover and load new tones directly from TONE3000.
Discover and load tones with TONE3000
We're bringing the TONE3000 library directly into Axe-Edit III, powered by the TONE3000 API.
Instead of downloading NAM files from our website and transferring them to your Axe-Fx III manually, you'll be able to discover and play captures right inside Axe-Edit, the free editor/librarian companion of the Axe-Fx III.
Requirements: TONE3000 support requires Axe-Fx firmware 33.0 or newer and Axe-Edit III version 1.15.03 or later.
Here's how it works:
- Open TONE3000 from the Tools menu in Axe-Edit III.
- Sign in with your TONE3000 account. New to TONE3000? Here's how to get started.
- Search for a sound or filter by gear type.
- Explore popular captures in the Discover and Creators tabs.
- Install your favorite captures directly to your Axe-Fx III.
Already using TONE3000? Your downloads and favorites will be waiting under Your Tones, so you can pick up right where you left off.
Because the integration runs on the TONE3000 API, new captures from the community are ready to discover as soon as they're shared, with no files to download and no separate tone library to update.
Learn more about the TONE3000 API →
The best of modeling and captures
Fractal Audio has spent two decades perfecting its approach to amp modeling. Its component-level "white box" modeling recreates the behavior of real circuits, so every knob, switch, and setting responds like the original amp.
NAM takes a different approach. Instead of modeling individual components, it uses a neural network to learn how a specific amp, pedal, or complete signal chain responds to an audio signal. The result is a remarkably accurate capture of real gear at its exact settings.
With NAM A2, we've pushed that accuracy even further. In our blind listening study of more than 1,000 participants, NAM A2 scored closer to the original gear than any other capture technology we tested.
Amp Modeler Blind Listening Test
Over 1,000 participants compared recordings of real gear to anonymized digital models using the MUSHRA blind listening methodology. Higher scores mean the model was rated as sounding closer to the original amp, pedal, or signal chain.
Meet the NAM Player block
Fractal Audio's new NAM Player block lets you combine NAM A2 captures with everything that makes the Axe-Fx III special. Load a capture of a vintage amp, pair it with Fractal Audio's DynaCab speaker simulation, add your favorite drive and modulation effects, and build an entire rig around it.
Fractal Audio has also added modeled analog tone stacks to the NAM Player, so you can shape captures with familiar Bass, Mid, and Treble controls instead of a generic EQ. Adjustable Bright and Bright Cap parameters give you even more control over how a capture responds.
The result is the accuracy of a neural capture with the flexibility and control of Fractal Audio's modeling.
Built for serious rigs
The Axe-Fx III has plenty of horsepower for NAM A2. With firmware 33:
- Run two NAM Player blocks per preset in A2 Full mode.
- Each NAM Player block has four channels, for up to eight different captures in a single preset.
- Presets containing one or more NAM Player blocks can also include one traditional Amp block for modeled amps. (On Axe-Fx III non-Turbo, the second NAM Player switches to Lite in this config.)
- Store up to 256 captures: or 128 on original/Mark I units.
- Pair with DynaCab or IRs: match amp-only captures with DynaCab or traditional cabinet IRs for even more tonal possibilities.
- Build complete rigs: use Fractal Audio's extensive library of effects, flexible routing, scenes, channels, and modifiers.
Fractal Audio has also partnered with Amalgam Audio to provide a free starter bank of NAM captures, so you'll have great tones to try right away.
More than just NAM: What's new in firmware 33?
Firmware 33 brings several other major improvements to the Axe-Fx III.
- Cygnus X-4 amp modeling: more open, dynamic, and responsive amp tones.
- Improved Drive block: remastered pedal models with a warmer, more organic sound and additional options.
- 13 new DynaCabs: including two new "Pre-Rola" cabinet models.
- Upgraded Pitch block: faster, more natural-sounding pitch shifting with new Formant controls for improved Virtual Capo performance.
- More effects improvements: updates to the Flanger, Reverb, Plex, Filter, and Megatap blocks.
Firmware 33 is a free update for all Axe-Fx III owners.
Coming soon: Capture your own gear
We're also working with Fractal Audio to add a NAM capture utility in Axe-Edit for the Axe-Fx III.
In the meanwhile, since the Axe-Fx III already serves as a professional quality audio interface, you can easily use the existing TONE3000 process to capture your gear with NAM.
How to get started
Once firmware 33 and the compatible version of Axe-Edit III are available:
- Update your Axe-Fx III to firmware 33.0 or newer and install Axe-Edit III version 1.15.03 or later.
- Open Axe-Edit III and load an existing preset.
- Replace the Amp block with a NAM Player block.
- Load a NAM A2 capture using the NAM Player's capture selector.
- If the capture already includes a speaker cab, bypass or remove the Cab block. For an amp-only capture, add a Cab block and select your favorite DynaCab or a Factory/User IR.
- Adjust the modeled tone stack, Bright, and Bright Cap controls to taste, then save your preset.
To find even more sounds, open TONE3000 from Axe-Edit III's Tools menu and explore the library.
Note for Axe-Fx III Mark I owners: Firmware 33 repurposes User Cab Bank 2 for NAM storage. Back up any IRs in that bank before updating.
Thank you, Fractal Audio
A huge thank you to Cliff, Matt, Michael and the entire Fractal Audio team for partnering with us. Fractal Audio has been pushing the boundaries of digital guitar technology for two decades, and we're honored to bring NAM A2 and the TONE3000 community to such an iconic platform.
And thank you to everyone who has shared a capture on TONE3000. Your work makes integrations like this possible, putting incredible sounds into the hands of more musicians around the world.
We can't wait to hear what you create.
