FAS Plugin…again….I know… m

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stm113

Power User
Long time FAS gear user (over a decade now) and I still think that we need a plugin version of FAS amps. I know Cliff and team are vehemently opposed to the idea but in my opinion it’s the biggest hole in the product offerings. It’s so convenient when I am working with Helix Native or AmpHub to be able to try new amps for multiple guitar tracks in a mix without having to physically reamp, import the track etc.

First world problems I know.
 
Piracy has been one of the past reasons maybe even the major past reason. I’m no coder, but I know there have been solutions suggested such as having to have a unit connected as a dongle which I would be all in for.

Ultimately they are FAS and it’s up to them, regardless of the reason and that is 100% their right. As the consumer, it’s still within my rights to want it, and to ask for it, even if it’s for the millionth time. I know it’ll never happen, and to post about it will serve no productive purpose. I’m really just in my feels about it today, wishing it were an option.
 
It’s a very valid point nonetheless on ease of recording tracks and re-amping. I have a couple of Neural plugins that I’ll reach for on some tracks for no other reason than it being much quicker to adjust on the fly and get the tone right for the song rather than routing it back through my favourite Fractal presets.
 
My AxeFx routes through my audio interface's SPDIF ins and outs, so it's always ready to process. Recently I think Fractal responded to a wish to make the connection and disconnection easier. Doesn't alleviate the desire to fire up a zillion Fractal plugins at will, but it works well for me. Cheers.
 
Really hoping that the rest of the Axe FX 2 Blocks become available as plugins because the FAS rever is pretty solid. A delay is badly needed as the second.
 
stm113 said:
Long time FAS gear user (over a decade now) and I still think that we need a plugin version of FAS amps. I know Cliff and team are vehemently opposed to the idea but in my opinion it’s the biggest hole in the product offerings. It’s so convenient when I am working with Helix Native or AmpHub to be able to try new amps for multiple guitar tracks in a mix without having to physically reamp, import the track etc.

First world problems I know.
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At least the amps from the Axe FX 2.
 
This is a slightly about face way of looking at it but hear me out...

I am the kind of user that embraces everything new as soon as it is possible, so by default I would always tend to want a plugin version of the Fractalverse. I have Helix Native, midi controllers, every kind of plugin you can possibly think of and yet... I am actually really glad that the FM9 wasn't available as a "plugin" when I decided to take a punt on buying one.

If the FM9 plugin had been an option at say 25% of the price of the hardware I would definitely have gone for that with the attitude "well I'm basically getting the same thing at 25% of the price" (I'd have kidded myself this was the case even though I would have known deep down that it wasn't ever going to be the same).

Playing through the FM9 is sooo much better than playing through plugins, like almost ineffably superior, and plugins are really only something I use as a fallback when the FM9 just can't quite do what I want (which is not very often), or for re-amping. For e.g. I will route through plugins for additional psychedelic or ambient effects where the difference of 10-15ms latency isn't killing me.

Don't get me wrong, STL, Helix, Guitar Rig etc. they are all great at what they do but coming from real World kit to digital over the years I can 100% still feel the huge difference when playing through the PC with plugins. The FM9 is not an Amp and Cab but it's a lot closer than a PC plus plugins in terms of response especially, for me at least.

The other aspect is hardware reliability. I've been working with computers for years, and the best shot you'll ever have at making a reliable architecture is to design and assemble the hardware configuration yourself. But that's almost a secondary point in this debate I suppose. As I said at the beginning I'm really glad that I got to discover just how good the Fractal units are compared with just about every other digital offering I've ever tried, and that wouldn't have happened if a plugin had been an option. That wouldn't be true for everyone, but it probably would for a fair few. So I guess, be careful what you wish for... if everything moves into PC World, we'll all miss out on these amazing pieces of hardware.
 
WhiteRoom said:
. So I guess, be careful what you wish for... if everything moves into PC World, we'll all miss out on these amazing pieces of hardware.
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I’m not sure that’s really even possible. Specialized I/O is critically important. A plugin lives inside a computer and requires outboard gear usually not super suited to musicians’ requirements. At some level hardware is inescapable.

And plugin focus comes with its own challenges. Fractal units don’t have to coexist with every non-music related computer concern under the sun. We’re buying a lot more than an algorithm, and thank goodness for that!
 
weird guitar person said:
I’m not sure that’s really even possible. Specialized I/O is critically important. A plugin lives inside a computer and requires outboard gear usually not super suited to musicians’ requirements. At some level hardware is inescapable.

And plugin focus comes with its own challenges. Fractal units don’t have to coexist with every non-music related computer concern under the sun. We’re buying a lot more than an algorithm, and thank goodness for that!
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Agreed. I think it's significant that the Axe FX/FM9 are superior to the Helix as a complete package. Line6 decided to create Helix Native and that has led some people to speculate that it's therefore possible to do the same with every guitar multi-fx, which I'm sure in the case of FAS is wrong, for the reasons above.

Maybe one day in the distant future basement geeks will reverse engineer and emulate all these devices and they'll run in the then equivalent of about 2% of the available processing power 😆 ... until then I'm happy with FAS as it is.
 
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