Announcing Axe-Fx II XL

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I am really excited about this. More instances of effects, backup firmware, more cabs, more presets. The dedicated MIDI thru is huge (I assume it will not have to process MIDI in the Axe-fx buffer like it currently does). I am actually pretty excited about this.
 
steve_k said:
I do love the Axe II and Fractal, but despise the marketing slight of hand as I just bought a back up AII. Would have been great for a heads up to customers - especially when it involves preset memory. Reminds me of the step from Ultra to II.
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javajunkie said:
Lets see, it is January now and it isn't going to be released until March (at least)... That sounds like a heads up to me.
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There has to be a crossover somewhere though... otherwise Cliff may as well say that he's finished his work and cease any progress

It's just the nature of the beast and there will be some borderline cases - it's simply unavoidable
 
steve_k said:
I do love the Axe II and Fractal, but despise the marketing slight of hand as I just bought a back up AII. Would have been great for a heads up to customers - especially when it involves preset memory. Reminds me of the step from Ultra to II.

But, I will be right there in line for an XL.
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This is nothing like the 'step from Ultra to II'. This is exactly like the 'step' from Standard to Ultra... same amp algorithms and such just more memory and more fx instances (along with the added inputs and such). At this point we can expect the Axe-fx III in about 3-4 years...
 
mortega76 said:
This is nothing like the 'step from Ultra to II'. This is exactly like the 'step' from Standard to Ultra... same amp algorithms and such just more memory and more fx instances (along with the added inputs and such). At this point we can expect the Axe-fx III in about 3-4 years...
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Maybe even a little less of a step.
Standard vs. Ultra had some differences in available fx (if I remember correctly, MBC was available only on Ultra.....can't remember if there were others?)
 
A to the T said:
Yes, a cool upgrade but for us living in Ontario theres a 13percent tax plus shipping.... I figure, if I was to try and make an attempt at upgrading and give fractal my money it would cost me $1200. Sell mine for $2000, then buy the new one at $2700 + tax and shipping =
$3200. Wouldnt be fiscally responsible. Could buy a decent guitar for that. Great upgrade for Metallica though. They could build some really complex presets for the next album.... ;) My guess is that this new XL may sell mostly to the new or first time Axe FX buyer, or maybe an Ultra guy finally ready to bite the bullet and upgrade.
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But you have "free" health care. So, you've got that going for you. :)
 
As they say timing is everything... and I've had both good timing and bad.

I sold my AxeFXII a year and half ago to help finance a business venture that didn't work out (bad timing). Now that I'm ready to get back in the Fractal fold I decided to check out if there's any news on the Fractal forum (good timing!).

The AxeFX II-XL and MFC-101 MK3 are on my 'must have' list once gain.

My only (relatively minor) concern is whether the fan in the Axe has been upgraded to one that is quieter? I tend to work in studio control room type environments and quiet rooms with others who were annoyed by the fan noise, as was I.
 
A to the T said:
Yes, a cool upgrade but for us living in Ontario theres a 13percent tax plus shipping.... I figure, if I was to try and make an attempt at upgrading and give fractal my money it would cost me $1200. Sell mine for $2000, then buy the new one at $2700 + tax and shipping =
$3200. Wouldnt be fiscally responsible. Could buy a decent guitar for that. Great upgrade for Metallica though. They could build some really complex presets for the next album.... ;) My guess is that this new XL may sell mostly to the new or first time Axe FX buyer, or maybe an Ultra guy finally ready to bite the bullet and upgrade.
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13% tax is pretty good actually. I'd take that action any day. Here in the EU it's a different ball game though.
 
I wish they would offer a memory upgrade for the standard II.
And next a MFC with little screens and lots of memory as well:D
 
Smart release Fractal! More choice for new buyers, and for existing users we have enough good stuff to pique interest without obsoleting the II just yet. Everyone wins, no-one gets mad. :)

I'm sure quite a few well-funded II owners will take this excuse to upgrade, which might mean a few more older IIs on the used market. Some will just buy the XL and keep the old II as backup.. Dang, it would be nice to keep one in the live rig and the other hooked up in the studio.
 
keithguitarfan said:
Cliff I snapped the Value knob off of my axe fx and I have the link to order the replacement. My question if there is a new optical value knob is it compatible with my axe fx 2 and if so Id like to order it instead since i am going to get it replaced.....
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+1 ... would like to know this as well.
 
RichHowe said:
nicolasrivera said:
Having 512 free slots for IRs is something I have been enjoying for some months now with the Torpedo CAB, you guys will love to have that much slots, it's the only was IMO you can really hear the little differences between huge library's like Red Wirez.

the dedicated MIDI is cool to. One thing I'm thinking is that with more memory as Cliff said we will have the choice of more effects blocks, but we still have the same DSP power, so.... its a bit of an issue if you have much freedom with FXs, we will reach the DSP limit more quickly.... at least it's what I'm interpreting, correct me if I'm wrong.
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Good point. I'm almost maxing the CPU out now so maybe I won't be able to take advantage of the extra preset size. Unless the extra memory eases the strain on the CPU.
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I was thinking the same thing - right now the CPU seems to be my bottleneck on preset complexity; so how would the extra memory help here?
 
Leave the new slots blank!

gpz said:
eheh what a great news!! Congrats FAS!!


OMG you guys will have to create 128 new factory presets to fill the extra slots? :mrgreen
By the way thanks for this double preset capacity hint. I now better understand why the II provides up to 4 and generally 2 instances of a given block type.

Good job! :mrgreen
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HughJasol said:
right now the CPU seems to be my bottleneck on preset complexity; so how would the extra memory help here?
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I was wondering the same thing.

Will being able to make more complex presets matter if the CPU's are already at, or near their capacity?

I like the idea of a CPU upgrade, (maybe a daughter-board?), to add additional Sharc processors. I know... not realistic and adds to the cost.
 
HughJasol said:
I was thinking the same thing - right now the CPU seems to be my bottleneck on preset complexity; so how would the extra memory help here?
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This has me confused as well... I would think the XL would allow presets (more complex) with more memory requirements, but I must be wrong b/c others are saying the XL will not increase the CPU power, therefore if you're currently running a preset at 90%, the XL will run that same preset at 90%. So, what's the advantage here? If you can run additional instances of a block, then you can run 3 drive blocks all with X/Y settings? Whereas with the Mark II you can only run 2 drive blocks with X/Y?
 
pima1234 said:
Leave the new slots blank!
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A firmware update with a blank "Bank D" would be a dream come true for me on the standard Axe II. Not sure it would ever happen, or if it is even possible, but it sure would be nice!

BTW, great job with the new Axe II XL, FAS! I especially like the additional preset capabilities and the second expression pedal jack.
Fun Question: Did you ever consider naming it the Axe II Ultra?
 
I have on objection to this at all - I think it's cool.
My Axe II does everything I'll ever need and more but nice seeing FAS constantly pushing the envelope the difference between FW 1 and FW 12.04 have been as good as new hardware to me.
To put things in perspective there have been 6 " new " iphones in the past 2 years, none of them really offering anything new or innovative.
Will watch with interest to see how these new Axe II XL features work.
 
macphistoo said:
I want an option on the mark II to get less presets (192) but more X/Y like on the XL :)
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Or trade them for user cabinet slots. It would be nice to have an option of using a smaller number of presets in exchange for having more user cabinet slots and/or preset memory; perhaps on a per-bank basis - e.g. give us the choice of using 1, 2 or 3 banks for our presets (128, 256 or 384 presets); and each bank we choose not to use for preset storage can be used to either add more user cabinet slots, or increase the storage of the presets in the banks we are using.

Me personally, with 8 scenes per preset I could easily live with 128 presets . . .
 
Cliff I snapped the Value knob off of my axe fx and I have the link to order the replacement. My question if there is a new optical value knob is it compatible with my axe fx 2 and if so Id like to order it instead since i am going to get it replaced.....
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It is not compatible.
 
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