Apr-24/2012: Firmware 6.0 for the Axe-Fx II released!

Fractal Audio Systems Press Release

Brian Nutter gets the Axe,
on tour with Keith Urban,
the Axe-Fx II and MFC-101

FEB 17, 2012, PLAISTOW NH - It had been years since Steve Blucher from DiMarzio first introduced us to Brian Nutter, who plays (guitar and lots more) in Keith Urban's touring band. Brian had finally gotten a real taste of Axe-Fx II at the 2012 NAMM show, and we'd done a little work together since then. Last week finally brought the call we'd been waiting for.

"Hello?"

"Hey! It's Brian Nutter."

"Brian! How'd it go today?"

"It went awesome. I finally used the Fractal rig at rehearsal and it was amazing. It just sounded incredible."

"That's great to hear from you."

"Yeah, I set it up, tucked in on the floor alongside my regular rig with all the amps and cabs powered up everyone just assumed it was business as usual. One of the guys in the band actually came up to me afterwards and was like, 'your guitar sounded really good today… really open.' When I sprung it on them that this was the Axe-Fx they'd been hearing that was a pretty cool moment.

I actually used it on everything—all the other instruments I play in the show too…. Acoustic guitar, banjo, pedal steel, and one guitar with both regular and piezo pickups where I'm going into two inputs. It just sounded flawless. Warm…natural…musical… Everything you want in a great guitar tone. And I will tell you we have some pretty critical listeners in this camp."

No matter how many times it happens, it's still a great feeling when someone tells you with a note of surprise and excitement that the Axe-Fx has replaced a giant rig. Finally taking that plunge is a big step, but once you do, players tell us it is actually liberating.

"And not only did the rig sound as good if not better, when I told the tour manager that instead of taking up two rows in a semi, I was going to use zero."

Brian called us back a few days later after the first show of the tour to say things had gone "great as expected". The small size of the rig had been a big plus, guitar tech Chris Miller explained,

"The stage we were on in San Antonio is literally like a taco—it folds up and you've got about 4 ½ ft by 10' and two small areas to put all of your backline. And the crazy thing is, it sounds so good our sound guy was just raving."

We thanked Chris and and asked Brian by email if he wanted to add anything here. Here's what he told us:

"The Axe-FX II is absolutely the most useful and flexible tone tool you could ever have. It is custom made for everyone."

For more information, see http://www.fractalaudio.com and http://www.briannutter.com

Tour dates at http://www.keithurban.net/

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