Run Axe-Edit III on Linux

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:
- The obvious choice: Download the Windows installer of Axe-Edit III, double-click and install. That's the option I would try first.
- 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
- Open https://www.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-iii-edit/
- 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 placeholderx.y.z
with the correct value announced on the website. - Save the file
Axe-Edit-III-Win32-vxpypz.exe
to dir~/Downloads
- 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"

Axe-Edit III
Axe-Edit III.desktop
[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
- 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/