Axe-Edit III - the full-featured editor for the Axe-Fx III guitar processor - lacks one feature: It doesn't run on Linux out of the box.

Although the direct operation of the Axe-Fx III together with the large display works very well, complex setups are sometimes difficult to manage. This is where Axe-Edit III comes into play.

That's what the website says about it: "Axe-Edit III is a full-featured Mac/PC editor for the Axe-Fx III. You can view, edit, and manage presets, and much more. You will immediately discover the advantage of working on a large computer screen with a full keyboard and mouse/touchpad. Axe-Edit III makes it even easier to create and dial in even the most complex setups" [1].

Since there is no dedicated edition for Linux, I recommend the following solutions:

1. The obvious choice: Download the Windows installer of Axe-Edit III, double-click and install. That's the option I would try first.
2. The fine granular way: As an alternative or if #1 doesn't work, we can try to use a dedicated Wine prefix (.wine-axefx), the 32-bit version of the Windows installer and, if necessary, a patch to fix cursor problems.

Preliminary Steps

1. Open https://www.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-iii-edit/
2. In the section Axe-Edit III for Windows click on the download link for the 32-bit version for Windows 7 or newer labeled Version x.y.z. Please substitute the version number placeholder x.y.z with the correct value announced on the website.
3. Save the file Axe-Edit-III-Win32-vxpypz.exe to dir ~/Downloads
4. Open a terminal

Installation

Assuming a Debian-based system the commands are as follows. The first step is to install winetricks:

sudo apt-get install winetricks

export WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-axefx
export WINEARCH=win32
export WINEDLLOVERRIDES="mscoree,mshtml="

wine wineboot --init
winetricks -q corefonts tahoma vcrun2015 dotnet452 win7
wine "~/Downloads/Axe-Edit-III-Win32-vxpypz.exe"
    

sudo apt-get install winetricks

export WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-axefx
export WINEARCH=win32
export WINEDLLOVERRIDES="mscoree,mshtml="

wine wineboot --init
winetricks -q corefonts tahoma vcrun2015 dotnet452 win7
wine "~/Downloads/Axe-Edit-III-Win32-vxpypz.exe"
    

At this point, the installation should be far enough advanced that the program can be started. Normally a launcher should have been created with content something like this:

Axe-Edit III

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Axe-Edit III
Exec=env WINEPREFIX="/home/username/.wine-axefx" ⤦
        ⤥wine C:\\\\windows\\\\command\\\\start.exe /Unix ⤦
        ⤥/home/username/.wine-axefx/dosdevices/⤦
        ⤥c:/users/Public/Desktop/Axe-Edit\\ III.lnk
Type=Application
StartupNotify=true
Path=/home/username/.wine-axefx/dosdevices/⤦
     ⤥c:/Program Files/Fractal Audio/Axe-Edit III
Icon=3952_Axe-Edit III.0
StartupWMClass=axe-edit iii.exe

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Axe-Edit III
Exec=env WINEPREFIX="/home/username/.wine-axefx" wine C:\\\\windows\\\\command\\\\start.exe ⤦
        ⤥/Unix /home/username/.wine-axefx/dosdevices/c:/users/Public/Desktop/Axe-Edit\\ III.lnk
Type=Application
StartupNotify=true
Path=/home/username/.wine-axefx/dosdevices/c:/Program Files/Fractal Audio/Axe-Edit III
Icon=3952_Axe-Edit III.0
StartupWMClass=axe-edit iii.exe

If everything worked as planned, Axe-Edit III should appear on the desktop and connect to the Axe-Fx III.

Strange mouse cursor behavior

If the program works without any problem, you are done. Happy shredding.
However, if you experience strange mouse cursor behavior, I recommend applying a mouse cursor patch. I will tell you how this is done in the follow-up article Apply Axe-Edit III mouse cursor patch.

References

1. Fractal Audio Systems, Axe-Edit III - Editor Software For The AXE-FX III, Accessed on Feb. 23, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-iii-edit/