| Fractal Audio Systems | |
| Founder: | Cliff Chase |
| Location Country: | Plaistow, New Hampshire, United States |
| Industry: | Guitar amplification |
| Products: | Digital amplifier modelers |
Fractal Audio Systems, often shortened to Fractal, is an American audio equipment manufacturer founded in 2006. Fractal became pioneers of the high-end digital amplifier modeling market with the release of the rack-mount Axe-FX, which has been credited as the first amp modelling and effects system convincing enough for professional use.[1]
Fractal was founded by Cliff Chase, who designed both the software and hardware of the company's debut product, the Axe-FX. Although classified as an "amplifier modeler", Chase has disputed the label, as his intent was not to exactly emulate classic guitar amps but rather to recreate their sounds in the context of a modern device that would offer expanded tonal control.[2] The Axe-FX has been adopted by many notable guitarists, particularly for live rigs, such as Steve Vai, John Petrucci, John Mayer, Matt Belamy, and Alex Lifeson. Metallica switched to Fractal equipment after using it in their Freeze 'Em All performance in Antarctica, for which they were unable to bring conventional analog amplifiers.[1] The success of the Axe-FX sparked an "arms race" among amp modeler manufacturers, with rivals like Line 6, Neural DSP, and Kemper bringing to market their own products with more advanced specs and build quality.[3]
Fractal expanded the Axe-FX into a family of products, including updates to the original rack-mount system, as well as floor units. Fractal's first floor unit was the FX8, which exclusively offered the Axe-FX's effects emulations;[4] amplifier modeling was added with the AX8, which was replaced by the more compact FM-3 and the larger FM-9.[1]
In the U.S., the Axe-FX can only be purchased via the company's website, rather than through retailers. Chase noted in a 2011 interview that demand was so high that buyers were using HTML scripts to ping the website and automatically place orders when stock was made available, and that as a result batches of new units would sell out in seconds.[5]
The Axe-FX and FM-series modelers were updated in 2024 with "Turbo" editions, featuring new CPU chips and increased processing power.[6]