Poll: MK1 owners, 1024 User 2 cab slots or 32 FullRes cab slots?

[mr_fender]

About a 90% to 10% split so far. I wonder if splitting the User 2 bank in half would be an option. Then we'd have 512 regular cabs in User 2 and a smaller FullRes bank of 16. Would be a good compromise for folks that still need User 2 space for regular cabs. I'd be happy as a clam with 16 room mic sounds to pick from!

 

[sprint]

Damn! I didn't know that. It was only $1999 when I was looking last year. That's one hell of a price drop since it was first released.

Yes, all the mk1 waitlisters and many after the unit was readily available in 2018 paid $2499. I had planned to wait a year
or 2 before upgrading my Axe2 but there were comments floating around in mid-2018 about the price going up due to trade issues with china or something like that, so, to get it at a good price, smart me bought at $2499 - then I watched the price drop 20% - doh!

 

[humpfrey]

stop smearing honey . i find it is a big disadvantage for mk l owners. more space for the mk ll that's fine a better display also , but with the ability to use the better ir's ,it becomes sort of serious , if this problem can not be fixed.

 

[StratPIt]

Due to chip and resource shortages, there will probably not be a small upgrade for the MK1.
So only a new purchase. Therefore we all make ideas how it might be possible via FW. Whether it is feasible must check and decide FAS.

 

[Dave Merrill]

Due to chip and resource shortages, there will probably not be a small upgrade for the MK1.
So only a new purchase. Therefore we all make ideas how it might be possible via FW. Whether it is feasible must check and decide FAS.

Cliff has said that the mk II uses memory chips that weren't available when the mk I was released, and that are in a different package. There won't be a memory upgrade for mk I because it's not physically possible.

 

[mr_fender]

stop smearing honey . i find it is a big disadvantage for mk l owners. more space for the mk ll that's fine a better display also , but with the ability to use the better ir's ,it becomes sort of serious , if this problem can not be fixed.

"Better" depends on whether or not you want a room mic sound/convolution reverb. FullRes does not really add better close mic'd cab sounds. The current IRs are more than capable of capturing the response of the cab itself. FullRes is a longer IR, not a higher resolution one. All Fractal IR's are 48 kHz, 24 bit resolution regardless of their length.

 

[StratPIt]

Cliff has said that the mk II uses memory chips that weren't available when the mk I was released, and that are in a different package. There won't be a memory upgrade for mk I because it's not physically possible.

I haven't seen the inside of an mk2 yet, so I can only assume that everything CPU, Ram, Flash is on one board like the MK1.
It's just not like the Amiga in the past...

 

[666was999]

1k of user IRs should be way enough. Walking through libearies with hundrets of IRs that's something you do that at home. You wouldn't do that in the rehearse or on stage, so you don't need 2k of user IRs.

 

[mr_fender]

I tend to agree, but everyone has their own approach.

 

[Jasha]

I want Fullres

 

[Bruce Sokolovic]

What I’d really love to see is a cab block that works like the Mikko or two notes stuff. Fishing thru 9000 IRs is hugely counter productive to me but this is a horse of a completely different color.

seems this full res feature proposed has overwhelming support so hopefully fractal can find the means and grace to implement it.

 

[jin1995x]

The way i see it, mostly no one needs all user 2048 irs at once for any gig. or anything, even if people have filled them.

Userbank of 1024 irs is more than enough for most gigs or recordings .

Also its very very easy to manage loading cabs on the axe fx 3.

So people can still shuffle ir's and replace a few of them that they dont need at a given time if they feel so without feeling "oh i dont have this ir, because of lack of space".

Whilst the longer fullres IR's have their specific use scenarios, it will be a part that will be missed having if it doesnt ever come., especially considering most of us have unused memory , which we arent likely to fill even if full res ir's dont come for us.

So in all likelihood it makes sense to get them for us.

Idk i read its not possible keeping it optional but that would be the best thing.

Idk how much i might be missing not having full res irs , but it will certainly be better to have that available, even if i dont mind missing out on them in the worst case scenario.

 

[jclemensfl]

stop smearing honey . i find it is a big disadvantage for mk l owners. more space for the mk ll that's fine a better display also , but with the ability to use the better ir's ,it becomes sort of serious , if this problem can not be fixed.

This makes the erroneous assumption that these IRs are "better." They may be better for some uses. I, for one, will probably never use them, although the development may lead to some future feature I do like.
I don't really have a dog in this hunt, but I do get worried about something else that I do care about being taken away from a unit I have already purchased in return for something I will never use. It's a tough decision for Fractal and quite the precedent.
Let's say they've sold 2500 units. Even if only 5-10 percent of those buyers want to keep all their IR slots, that's still 125-250 customers who will lose a feature they had when they bought the unit. Is that fair?

 

[steadystate]

This makes the erroneous assumption that these IRs are "better." They may be better for some uses. I, for one, will probably never use them, although the development may lead to some future feature I do like.
I don't really have a dog in this hunt, but I do get worried about something else that I do care about being taken away from a unit I have already purchased in return for something I will never use. It's a tough decision for Fractal and quite the precedent.
Let's say they've sold 2500 units. Even if only 5-10 percent of those buyers want to keep all their IR slots, that's still 125-250 customers who will lose a feature they had when they bought the unit. Is that fair?

To address this, I can only fall back on the standard (and official) statement, "You don't have to update the firmware." While it might be a sledgehammer, it is nevertheless true.

 

[touch33]

I am well aware that FAS is a company and as such needs to turn a profit in order to exist.

My point wasn't that FAS is not a company. My point was that FAS is a unique and spectacular company.

One could argue that “spectacular” might be a bit hyperbolic. They make a great product whose bleeding-edge capabilities provides us with great enjoyment and/or a unique tool with which to ply our craft.

“Unique”? Hardly. The FAS business model is no different than the auto business has been for umpteen years. “You want the safety and convenience of anti-lock braking and skid control? Well, step right up and flip that 1968 Excaburbinator you bought last year and purchase this brand-new 1970 Excaburbinator and you can have all of those features PLUS an electrically-operated sunroof”…

Do I love my AFX3Mk1? You betcha. Is it a better product than I am a guitarist? Sadly (for me as a guitarist) most certainly yes. Was it my first Fractal product? Nope. Do I appreciate the FW updates? Mostly, but I also recognize that my continued business supports that process, AND it was a part of my decision to purchase a new AFX3Mk1 and lose $628.00 in the process of flipping my 1yr. old II+. Will I upgrade hardware again and continue to ride the FAS Train? We shall see…

 

[mr_fender]

As @steadystate said above, firmware updates are not mandatory. If you're happy with what you've got, then don't update. If you want the new features in a firmware update, it's all or nothing. You take the good with the bad sometimes. Features have been removed in the past (mic modeling the cab block, vocoder block, numerous other block parameters, etc.), and I'm sure there were folks that were not happy about losing those. That's the way it goes if you want the latest and greatest. You don't get to have your cake and eat it too.

 

[DougB415]

My user 1 and 2 are empty....!!!

Well, yeah. The user (you) has to put IRs in there.

 

[jclemensfl]

To address this, I can only fall back on the standard (and official) statement, "You don't have to update the firmware." While it might be a sledgehammer, it is nevertheless true.

As @steadystate said above, firmware updates are not mandatory. If you're happy with what you've got, then don't update. If you want the new features in a firmware update, it's all or nothing. You take the good with the bad sometimes. Features have been removed in the past (mic modeling the cab block, vocoder block, numerous other block parameters, etc.), and I'm sure there were folks that were not happy about losing those. That's the way it goes if you want the latest and greatest. You don't get to have your cake and eat it too.

As I said, this feature isn't a big deal for me. My only point is that the posters who are making this seem like an easy decision, or even worse, that Fractal would be damaging them in some way by not giving them this new feature, are a bit callous to their fellow players. And a bit presumptuous about what they deserve.
I hope everyone here gets the improvements they want.

 

[DougB415]

There should be a way to store both type of IR is the same bank independently of their size, potentially with the restriction to have 32 continuous slots available to store a FullRes IR.

Since Cliff has already stated that there isn't, your point is moot. I'm pretty sure that Cliff knows what he's talking about.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

User named subfolders could be useful within the libraries but that could create as many problems as it solves.

And they would only exist on the computer, under control of the editor, and wouldn't be reflected on the device itself. Since the device is the source of truth, and the editor is just a convenient interface to the front panel, I doubt we're going to see anything like subfolders.

Perhaps a more universal solution that would work on both would be the ability to define tags and then mark IRs with those allowing easier filtering, but, for every additional feature we want implemented, we also have to be willing to give up something else. We don't have infinite memory for the firmware.