I know it's been asked-but AX8-

Looking at the AX8 photo again....

You'd be surprised how many musicians put their drinks in a cupholder, on a mic stand, right by the footswitch...doh! Then drunks hit the boom and the performer's drink sloshes onto the unit.

Or like everyone else is saying, drunks trip on the floor monitor or dance near the footswitch or talk to you on break and slosh their own beer onto it.

Or it's an outdoor gig and a wind gust drives rain under the coverage onto it, or a squall comes ripping in and everyone's too busy saving their guitars etc., and the floor monitor and footswitch get soaked.

No matter though, there'll be a forum member selling a CNC'd plexi "rooftop" to go over knobs and inputs. Still...a click-lock plexiglass lid over knobs/display would make sooooo much sense.
 
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solo-act said:
Looking at the AX8 photo again....

You'd be surprised how many musicians put their drinks in a cupholder, on a mic stand, right by the footswitch...doh! Then drunks hit the boom and the performer's drink sloshes onto the unit.

Or like everyone else is saying, drunks trip on the floor monitor or dance near the footswitch or talk to you on break and slosh their own beer onto it.

Or it's an outdoor gig and a wind gust drives rain under the coverage onto it, or a squall comes ripping in and everyone's too busy saving their guitars etc., and the floor monitor and footswitch get soaked.

No matter though, there'll be a forum member selling a CNC'd plexi "rooftop" to go over knobs and inputs. Still...a click-lock plexiglass lid over knobs/display would make sooooo much sense.
Click to expand...
Yes, it's a shame there is no rack mountable unit that has similar capabilities and a separated foot switch; that would be a much better solution... oh wait never mind.
 
zenaxe & Chris -- AFAIK there's no floor modeler unit that has a see-through, removable see through "storm/beer" lid to protect just knobs/screen.

That doesn't mean there shouldn't be.

I have two friends that use floor modelers. They perform full time, inside, outside, etc.
One is on his fourth unit, the other is on his third. Liquids are the primary culprit. The other is vulnerable power connector and/or switch.

By the time you go through three units, you've likely spent enough to buy the AX8. But if it's equally vulnerable at 3x cost, will the pros I know get one? Probably not. That's my point.
 
solo-act said:
zenaxe & Chris -- AFAIK there's no floor modeler unit that has a see-through, removable see through "storm/beer" lid to protect just knobs/screen.

That doesn't mean there shouldn't be.

I have two friends that use floor modelers. They perform full time, inside, outside, etc.
One is on his fourth unit, the other is on his third. Liquids are the primary culprit. The other is vulnerable power connector and/or switch.

By the time you go through three units, you've likely spent enough to buy the AX8. But if it's equally vulnerable at 3x cost, will the pros I know get one? Probably not. That's my point.
Click to expand...

If where in this position I would buy a rack module (AF2) and a cheap controller (Behringer FCB1010). Probably a little heavier, but much saver.
 
solo-act said:
zenaxe & Chris -- AFAIK there's no floor modeler unit that has a see-through, removable see through "storm/beer" lid to protect just knobs/screen.

That doesn't mean there shouldn't be.

I have two friends that use floor modelers. They perform full time, inside, outside, etc.
One is on his fourth unit, the other is on his third. Liquids are the primary culprit. The other is vulnerable power connector and/or switch.

By the time you go through three units, you've likely spent enough to buy the AX8. But if it's equally vulnerable at 3x cost, will the pros I know get one? Probably not. That's my point.
Click to expand...
My point exactly. Floor modellers make sense up until a certain price-point. Unless you want that portability at all cost and are willing to take every possible compromise.

If I'd ever lose my MFC due to beer spillage (I actually had that happen already, but it still works ... just cleaned it properly and everything still runs fine), I'd probaby go for an FCB1010 instead. It's just so ridicolously cheap that you can effectively treat it like a throwaway product.
 
When I play festival stages outdoors. I use a 18 inch ziploc clear plastic bag. 4 in a box $3 its big enough to put the Mfc (AX8 plus one expression pedal in) and you can close it with just a little opening for the cable to come out to the axe fx. I usually store the axe fx off stage somewhere dry if there's a hint of rain. I'm sure you can do this in a club if the places you play have drunk people that close. :0) I can usually (nit the best) work my expression pedal and hit the switches when need be through the bag
:0)
 
voes said:
If where in this position I would buy a rack module (AF2) and a cheap controller (Behringer FCB1010). Probably a little heavier, but much saver.
Click to expand...
These guys don't have income for AF2 thus the cheap units. I happen to gig more and have lower overhead so I could barely manage an AFX2 and Little Giant controller. I bought a spare LG as soon as I had spare $. Very happy with the rig, but also very interested in the AX8 when I'm gigging without my all-in-one rack (AFX, mixing board, wireless units).

If the AX8 is under $1,500 (hoping for $1,000ish) it's a big investment, but still in reach of my friends. Just wish knob/screen area was more rugged for working musicians in the trenches.
 
FractalAudio said:
The earlier one was a prototype. This is a production sample.

Re. the various questions:
1. There will be no pay-to-play stuff. All amp models from the Axe-Fx II will be included as well as all the Drives, etc.
2. Still hoping for October availability.
3. Price will be announced shortly.
Click to expand...

Great news. Owner of an fx8 since 2 days here in Europe. Impressed by how low noise it.
Based on what you write above, I will certainly also buy an ax8. Keep the good work going congrats!
 
Larry Mitchell said:
When I play festival stages outdoors. I use a 18 inch ziploc clear plastic bag. 4 in a box $3 its big enough to put the Mfc (AX8 plus one expression pedal in) and you can close it with just a little opening for the cable to come out to the axe fx. I usually store the axe fx off stage somewhere dry if there's a hint of rain. I'm sure you can do this in a club if the places you play have drunk people that close. :0) I can usually (nit the best) work my expression pedal and hit the switches when need be through the bag
:0)
Click to expand...

+1

I also use those "Space Bags", they come in larger sizes than the ones for food storage and work great too!

(They are originally designed to store clothing in a compact way by using a vacuum to suck the air out of the bag after filling it with clothes.)
 
solo-act said:
These guys don't have income for AF2 thus the cheap units. I happen to gig more and have lower overhead so I could barely manage an AFX2 and Little Giant controller. I bought a spare LG as soon as I had spare $. Very happy with the rig, but also very interested in the AX8 when I'm gigging without my all-in-one rack (AFX, mixing board, wireless units).

If the AX8 is under $1,500 (hoping for $1,000ish) it's a big investment, but still in reach of my friends. Just wish knob/screen area was more rugged for working musicians in the trenches.
Click to expand...

A price closer to $1000 would be amazing, and would really open FAS to a large market (such as your friends). Honestly though, I'm bracing myself for a price more along the lines of $1500+.
 
solo-act said:
If the AX8 is under $1,500 (hoping for $1,000ish) it's a big investment, but still in reach of my friends. Just wish knob/screen area was more rugged for working musicians in the trenches.
Click to expand...

I have had this discussion with my Marshall, Friedman, Vox, Fender, Carol-Ann & Matchless friends. What they don't seem to realize is the up front investment for everything including support and firmware updates is that it so closely replicates tones so well that you don't/won't need to carry around all that gear. If your buddies reviewed what they have invested in their current rigs, they would be able to save up and invest in FAS.

The AX8 is the future for guitar modeling and appeals to the majority of "lighter" gigging musicians. IMO, $1K-1,500 is too cheap for FAS to be willing to sticker it for, it's worth more in all honesty. I invested $2,200 in my MFC and AFX II Mark I and could not be happier. I haven't had to buy any new pedals, new amps or new anything (other than PRS')... Literally the AX8 could do everything I need for probably $1,899-$2,199 of justifiable investment. FAS - don't sell yourselves short and try to go all Helix on us ;)
 
I just pulled the trigger on a 7 string strandberg to tide me over until the AX8 drops. I just hope the price of the AX8 will be somewhere around $1749.99 so I can can grab one because if it's too close to an XL+ price wise, might as well spring for a second XL
 
JayCM800XL said:
I just pulled the trigger on a 7 string strandberg to tide me over until the AX8 drops. I just hope the price of the AX8 will be somewhere around $1749.99 so I can can grab one because if it's too close to an XL+ price wise, might as well spring for a second XL
Click to expand...

You can get an XL for like 2K used these days.
 
Larry Mitchell said:
When I play festival stages outdoors. I use a 18 inch ziploc clear plastic bag. 4 in a box $3 its big enough to put the Mfc (AX8 plus one expression pedal in) and you can close it with just a little opening for the cable to come out to the axe fx. I usually store the axe fx off stage somewhere dry if there's a hint of rain. I'm sure you can do this in a club if the places you play have drunk people that close. :0) I can usually (nit the best) work my expression pedal and hit the switches when need be through the bag
:0)
Click to expand...

Liquipel ? They are doing it to phones and iPads why not the Ax8 FX8 MFC101 ?
 
will the ax-8 benefit from the same amp modeling updates as the axe-fx II?

How "future proof" is the ax-8? If an axe-fx III comes out with different amp modeling what will happend to the ax-8?
 
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