Hey there -wanted to take a moment and say hi, and drop a quick story of how I ended up here.
I’m a long time fractal user. I’ve been using the AX8 on the road since it was released, had an Axe II in my studio, and just recently upgraded to the III.
A couple weeks ago I realized I hadn’t powered up my Axe in some time and I sold it (I ended up just using my MBP and plugins for my studio work 98% of the time, so the axe wasn’t getting used). So a few days ago a buddy of mine asked if I wanted to borrow his Kemper profiler head- he knew I had never played one, and Iwas mildly curious. So I went by this morning and scooped it up.
Now- I went in with VERY low expectations. Not that I didn’t respect the unit ; but coming from the Axe III I assumed I’d had “the best” already and this was just gonna be a few minutes of my fooling around and then returning it to him. well... BOY was I wrong! I powered it up, landed on an M Britt profile, and before I knew it I had been PLAYING for over an hour. I emphasize that because I haven’t zoned out on a piece Of gear like that in ages. It was SO musical. I was feeling the “push back” I never had with my previous modelers. It was THE thing- the X factor - that I could never quite nail as to why I wasn’t 100% satisfied with my tone.
SO... i immediately called my buddy and asked “you’re sure you don’t want to sell it?!”. He of course said “not for sale”, and i then called MF and placed an order for a Stage unit. I’ll be working with it through next week, and then it will hit the road with me for some good old fashioned road shows. (I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll also be getting a rack unit for the studio).
Anyways - glad to be part of the community . Look forward to learning the ins and outs of this thing, and most of all, making some music . Cheers. MBR 
).