Focus of New Development

[zenaxe]

You know what you get when customers make product management decisions? The platypus.

I can live with that. Platypus is delicious when prepared properly.

 

[Sidivan]

Not voting here, but just to throw this out, to demonstrate how much of a MONSTER the AxeFxII is, and further could be, if FAS decided to create feature-specific firmwares for the AxeFxII, that concentrate on heavily expanded/detailed aspects of groups of blocks and their functions:

- reverb/delay firmware (TRUE STEREO, one processor for delay/reverb, one processor for true spillover across presets...oooh....ahhhh)
- amp/cab firmware (imagine multiple mic placement on cabinets with a virtual 3D interface? woooo...)
- effects only firmware (concentration on specific rack effect and stomp effect emulations)
- EQ/compressor/mic pre firmware (vintage and current)
- looper/delay firmware (put that boomerang to shame, please)
- footpedal drive/stomp & amp model firmware ($10,000 worth of the most desirable vintage/boutique drive pedals in one rack box? Yup)
- *my favorite* bass guitar version firmware
- hyper-routing version firmware (true morphing of sounds via modifiers, expanded Scene functions, more scene controllers, more parameters exposed to modifiers - ahem, bass/mid/treble/presence - & more modifier iterations!)
- pitch/whammy/synth firmware
...etc, etc, etc...

of course, token iterations of some effect blocks could be included to make each firmware version more broadly usable, but stripping down the "low focus" fx blocks to accommodate the higher priority focus of the firmware version.

Could you imagine the damage you could do in a recording project with this one machine? The end user could decide which firmware to use depending on how they implement it into their performance situation, taking the specific block functions to an entirely new level...sort of the opposite of being "all things to everyone" in a SINGLE firmware version, but rather, focusing on individual functions and allowing the user to decide where they want the focus to be.

I would PAY for these options. I understand this goes against FAS philosophy, but ...

IMO, this would also attract new users who have more specific high-end needs (perhaps cutting the tech staff some cpu processing slack to implement some of the features that power users feel are "missing"), as well as existing fanboi users who would consider buying a second unit....for example, especially in the EQ/Mic Pre/Vintage tube compressor department, in order to replace finicky, quirky hardware. Redundancy of hardware/firmware architecture would mean you'd have a backup as a by-product (with 2 units). Would I pay another $2k+ so I could get rid of just about every other piece of rack gear I own for live and studio? Absolutely! I've got a pair of EL8s that would fit that bill perfectly.

You know what I just realized? I could run my in ear monitor return into the rear input, run that through a compressor internally and back out through output 2, which wouldn't effect my front of house mix, but I get the benefits of a highly configurable compressor on my in ear mix... and you could put some reverb on it to simulate the room... oh man!

 

[boleary2]

I voted delays as I'd love to have something voiced like the timeline..but Actually I'd be most stoked if I could get a drive
do react the same as my fulldrive into my badger.

 

[slash07]

Everything is awesome, as is today, but some thoughts
AxeEdit for iPad
Modelled Drive pedals including some boutique ones and some classic out of production ones (like Marshall Shredmaster, Guvnor Mk1 etc)
There are more amps in this unit that we are losing count, still more amps, cabs will be good: like the Marshall Major, Engl Blackmore sig, 1959RR, MarshallVM
Enhancements in the delay and modulation units
Don't know if this is possible: Provide some sort of controls to the user to create the amp component by component by scratch thru axeEdit sort of visually, this can result in some interesting species

 

[slash07]

You know what I just realized? I could run my in ear monitor return into the rear input, run that through a compressor internally and back out through output 2, which wouldn't effect my front of house mix, but I get the benefits of a highly configurable compressor on my in ear mix... and you could put some reverb on it to simulate the room... oh man!

Reading this felt very interesting need to try

 

[pyba]

- reverb/delay firmware (TRUE STEREO, one processor for delay/reverb, one processor for true spillover across presets...oooh....ahhhh)
- amp/cab firmware (imagine multiple mic placement on cabinets with a virtual 3D interface? woooo...)
- effects only firmware (concentration on specific rack effect and stomp effect emulations)
- EQ/compressor/mic pre firmware (vintage and current)
- looper/delay firmware (put that boomerang to shame, please)
- footpedal drive/stomp & amp model firmware ($10,000 worth of the most desirable vintage/boutique drive pedals in one rack box? Yup)
- *my favorite* bass guitar version firmware
- hyper-routing version firmware (true morphing of sounds via modifiers, expanded Scene functions, more scene controllers, more parameters exposed to modifiers - ahem, bass/mid/treble/presence - & more modifier iterations!)
- pitch/whammy/synth firmware
...etc, etc, etc...

Probably not feasible due to the massive firmware re-engineering needed, but a totally f**** awesome idea !!!!!

 

[dr bonkers]

One of the things I would like to see is an easy way to assign X/Y status for all blocks in a preset to one pedal so that you can use it like an amp A/B switch on steroids by just toggling status on one switch.

Another thing is some bass amps & cabinets like the ones I pointed out in other thread (Acoustic, SWR, Hartke, Vox, et al.).

Everything else listed in Simeon's thread I champion as well.

 

[simeon]

One of the things I would like to see is an easy way to assign X/Y status for all blocks in a preset to one pedal so that you can use it like an amp A/B switch on steroids by just toggling status on one switch.

just using a pedal to switch from one scene to another would accomplish this, wouldn't it? all X in scene 1...all Y in scene 2?

 

[edo]

The major improvement I could think of is modelling the actual parameters for the given models faithfully so that people like me, coming from a big complex rig, would just have to set the knobs and parameters like on actual pedals / fx as opposed to dive into advanced parameters. E.g. Have the ts9 drive, tone and level work like the actual pedal, have the tc2290 eq cut set to the same frequencies as the real tc and modulation parameters have same values etc.
Advanced parameters can be great and useful for shaping the tone, but sometimes i find myself spending more time trying to nail the tone of a real stompbox than making music with it

 

[UnsungHeroGuitars]

Advanced parameters can be great and useful for shaping the tone, but sometimes i find myself spending more time trying to nail the tone of a real stompbox than making music with it

I can see that... but I believe Cliff is more enthused by the 'scope for creation', as opposed to 'obsessive recreation'

 

[edo]

I can see that too, in fact I said people like me, coming from a big rig entering the axe world to replicate it with a single unit! I didn't say I don't want the adv parameters, I'm just saying it would be nice if the stock parameters worked like the models they're after. I often read "use your ears, not your eyes"... Well, for a ts or the sd1 it'd be nice if I could use my eyes instead!

 

[metalpriest]

I'd like to see the user interface more organized. For example the cabs are not in any kind
of logical order. I can't imagine being a new user trying to navigate around.

For me personally, I'd like to see Cliff round out the amp and cabs selections with the "classics"
that are still missing. We don't "need" them, but he's so close to having everything, might as well
go the last mile. Some of the classic 'missing' Fenders, an Ampeg or two, one of the original Orange
amps, etc. Are additional cabs now an "aftermarket" item, or will Cliff be adding more to stock?

 

[UnsungHeroGuitars]

I didn't say I don't want the adv parameters, I'm just saying it would be nice if the stock parameters worked like the models they're after.

Indeed edo, no argument with your general sentiment of course, but - and someone please correct me if I've got this way wrong - but the Drive Pedal emulations, for example, are merely a collection of the same parameters, which are 'pre-set' to different values to offer the 'essence' of a known type or something we may be familiar with, rather than anything deeper going on to really nail the operation and response of a given pedal..?

Maybe people feel the 'model title' given each collection of settings is perhaps not as accurate as their experiences lead them to believe..? I can see that being the case, but as with many things, there are just so many variables before and after the pedal, that it seems to be a moving target anyhow

Despite playing for 25 years and being in bands the whole of that time, I've not actually had much by way of different traditional amps and pedals during that time, so in a way, I feel lucky not to have any pre-formed views on what any given pedal or amp 'should' sound like! The AxeFX opens up a whole new world that I've not personally accessed before, so without those preconceptions, I can easily take or leave anything the box produces, but can appreciate how it may not be exactly like someone else's previous experience leads them to expect

 

[Phil emptiness.be]

Not sure what is meant by "dirt" but i voted for that
There are still a bunch of need-to-be-convinced out there who have a feeling the axe fx is too "clean" for them.

 

[brokenvail]

For example the cabs are not in any kind of logical order.

Aren't they in speaker size and number of speakers order?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[strat714]

You know what I just realized? I could run my in ear monitor return into the rear input, run that through a compressor internally and back out through output 2, which wouldn't effect my front of house mix, but I get the benefits of a highly configurable compressor on my in ear mix... and you could put some reverb on it to simulate the room... oh man!

DING< DING< DING!!! Yes!!! Great idea!!!

 

[jimfist]

Originally Posted by jimfist
- reverb/delay firmware (TRUE STEREO, one processor for delay/reverb, one processor for true spillover across presets...oooh....ahhhh)
- amp/cab firmware (imagine multiple mic placement on cabinets with a virtual 3D interface? woooo...)
- effects only firmware (concentration on specific rack effect and stomp effect emulations)
- EQ/compressor/mic pre firmware (vintage and current)
- looper/delay firmware (put that boomerang to shame, please)
- footpedal drive/stomp & amp model firmware ($10,000 worth of the most desirable vintage/boutique drive pedals in one rack box? Yup)
- *my favorite* bass guitar version firmware
- hyper-routing version firmware (true morphing of sounds via modifiers, expanded Scene functions, more scene controllers, more parameters exposed to modifiers - ahem, bass/mid/treble/presence - & more modifier iterations!)
- pitch/whammy/synth firmware
...etc, etc, etc...

Probably not feasible due to the massive firmware re-engineering needed, but a totally f**** awesome idea !!!!!

Yeah, I acknowledge that the idea of more specific firmware versions is likely to never happen, and even if it were to happen, it would take a massive amount of rewriting of code with a lot of developers. I guess the point being this: FAS (and other hardware designers) have already proven that the hardware is nothing more than a "shell" (a bunch of hardware ins/outs buttons/knobs) which can be configured and re-configured to do whatever they want it to do. I was really just fantasizing some "what if..." scenarios. Imagine if they decided to use the AxeFxII hardware format as a vehicle to concentrate only on one or two aspects of elements that already exist (and thus already have some sort of code written for them), but simply taken to the "next level" of comprehensive features, quality, and user application? It would be sick! I'd hazard to guess that they would scare the crap out of Eventide and TC Electronic (probably already do), as well as Strymon and other boutique manufacturers, as well as entice vintage gear freaks who lament an expensive and limited market for the old school gear they desire, not to mention the noise and maintenance.

Perhaps it is only a minority of users out there, but IMHO, when you try to be the Swiss Army Knife of guitar processors, chances are you're going to have to make compromises somewhere (though, truthfully, the AxeFxII is hardly compromised IMO). Focusing on just a couple features that are always used at highest resolution, with additional bells and whistles to satisfy even the most critical users, seems to me to be an interesting idea. I know from being on this forum for years that users often wish for the items I listed above, so that they can finally confidently kiss goodbye some older legacy hardware that they only carry b/c the AxeFxII doesn't quite hit the target (specific/peculiar whammy pitch shifting features, or true stereo reverb, as just a couple examples).

Oh well...like I said, my suggestions had nothing to do with feasibility or practicality given the small company (a GREAT thing) nature of FAS...and they're doing just fine last time I checked.

 

[6L6C]

The unit is already more than I ever imagined but I did vote for
Other: Synth/Wah/Pitch etc

In a future unit; the AF III two things I would like to see (off the top of my head)
Blue tooth to be used with the editor, on your laptop, iPad, whatever. With no cable to worry about.

A new reverb so you can load convolution reverb impulses, kind of like “Pristine Space” does, with the ability to load 8 impulses and mix them and manipulate in other ways also.

John

 

[Toozey]

Personally, there is still so much to try and tweak with, it would be hard to even think of any more possibilities. I would however, like to see more Solid State amps added, things like old Randall amps but that would be pure greed on my own part!

 

[edo]

Indeed edo, no argument with your general sentiment of course, but - and someone please correct me if I've got this way wrong - but the Drive Pedal emulations, for example, are merely a collection of the same parameters, which are 'pre-set' to different values to offer the 'essence' of a known type or something we may be familiar with, rather than anything deeper going on to really nail the operation and response of a given pedal..?

Maybe people feel the 'model title' given each collection of settings is perhaps not as accurate as their experiences lead them to believe..? I can see that being the case, but as with many things, there are just so many variables before and after the pedal, that it seems to be a moving target anyhow

Despite playing for 25 years and being in bands the whole of that time, I've not actually had much by way of different traditional amps and pedals during that time, so in a way, I feel lucky not to have any pre-formed views on what any given pedal or amp 'should' sound like! The AxeFX opens up a whole new world that I've not personally accessed before, so without those preconceptions, I can easily take or leave anything the box produces, but can appreciate how it may not be exactly like someone else's previous experience leads them to expect

Well, i hear your point, and my post was not a complaint, it was more of an idea! Since I'm sure I'm not the only user on earth who's gone the axe way to simplify a complex rig I've used for about 12 years (some pedals have gone, some have come, but the core stays the same), I'd be very happy is, for example, after using the ts for 15 years with drive at 10 o'clock, tone at 9 o'clock and level at 12 going into my ac30's, i could just load the ts model with the same settings and hear the same tone, as opposed to messing with lo cut, hi cut etc! Just my 2cents! I'm just throwing this in as I think fractal is always striving to improve the already awesome sounding amps and just leaving the fx as they are!