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When Cliff Chase, founder of Fractal Audio Systems, set about designing the Axe-Fx, he wanted to build the best effects processor ever, and to take amp simulation further than ever before. We all have big ambitions, but Cliff put his ideas into action, designing the software and hardware of the Axe-Fx single-handedly. He was convinced that the secret to great amp simulation lay in using the very best digital processing, rather than trying to reinvent analogue circuitry or using low-voltage valves. True to the name of his company, Cliff looked into the tiniest details, creating accurate digital replicas of real valves and making use of the latest DSP technology to store the massive amounts of data.

Straight out of the box, the results look impressive. Housed in a two-unit rack format, the Ultra has a clearly arranged control panel and a large LCD display. Despite the complexity and sophistication, it's easy to focus on the bare essentials for getting up and running. We were instantly impressed by the proper input/output level knobs on the front panel. Navigating and editing the presets is more complex than on the majority of modeller/fx units out there, but not overly so. There's a group of six pushbuttons for moving around within a preset (up/ down/left/right, page up/ down) along with a large value dial and enter button for setting parameters.

In the middle of the panel is a set of 12 menu buttons providing access to common tasks, such as editing presets, adjusting global parameters or setting up the various inputs and outputs. On that subject, the rear panel offers a suitably professional set of connections: stereo line-level inputs, stereo effects returns, balanced and unbalanced outputs, digital outputs and connections for external controller pedals and MIDI devices.

Combined with the clever internal routing options, this array of connections means that you can use the Axe-Fx in a huge variety of ways. For the purpose of reviewing it in isolation, we spent most of our time using it in the simplest way possible with a guitar into the front input, balanced outputs into a mixing desk and monitors. However, you can use it purely as an effects unit, plugging it into the effects loop of your favourite amp, or as a dedicated studio processor. If you have a separate preamp and power-amp, the Axe-Fx can be set to place effects before or after the preamp, as required. You could use just the cabinet simulation section of the Axe-Fx to record your favourite amp in a home studio (via a Hotplate) or even recreate the sound of your favourite cabinet/ room combinations by using impulse responses.

The Axe-Fx's operation is based on the concepts of an Effects Inventory and an Effects Grid. The Effects Inventory contains all of the Axe-Fx's effects and amp/cab simulations, and these can then be placed into the grid. The grid has four lines, each with 12 effect locations, and any effect can be connected to any of the four locations in the adjacent column. Thanks to the 600MHz dual-core processor, up to 12 effects can be used simultaneously, connected in series or parallel, and there are plenty to choose from – 49 amp sims, 22 cabinets, 10 microphones and 22 effect types. Using multiple instances of effects is obviously going to be a great creative tool, but you can also run dual amp blocks in a true stereo rig.