Front panel poll

[LiamH]

I have a dim and distant recollection (possibly wrong, memory is fallible) that when I got my Axe FX III the (maybe most recent at the time?) firmware did not have a working version of Axe Edit to go with it. If not because of that, then for some other reason, I started out with the Axe FX III using the front panel. It made me slightly nervous, because although I had done at least one gig using an Axe FX II from the front panel, I was a lot more comfortable using Axe Edit.

Result? I'm totally comfortable driving the Axe FX III from the front panel. Could it be improved? Maybe. I don't give it a lot of thought. Doesn't need improvement from my perspective. If I could ask for just one thing, given a recent thread on usability, "authentic" page payout for effects as well as amps would be something I might use. (If someone tells me they already exist, I won't be surprised...)

Liam

(This poll is going the way of Brexit; 1/3 happy as they are, 1/3 want change, 1/3 don't feel qualified to answer the question... )

 

[vangrieg]

Curious why you would need to deep dive in the manual to do something on the front panel that you can do without that requirement with the editor?

Maybe some examples?

I feel like I could see people saying this when in fact it's only because they learned how to do it in the editor but not on from the front panel.

Not saying that's true for you, but genuinely curious.

I personally do sometimes have to spend more time finding some advanced parameters but that's kind of the benefit of GUI in any case.

I never need a manual for doing anything in the editor. You just drag, drop and click, nothing to explain there.

With the front panel, I generally can't do just about anything related to editing presets, since buttons never do what I expect them to. Simplest things like navigating to a block and starting to edit it are a hurdle. Like I press the big knob and expect to enter a block's settings, and instead things start blinking, whatever that means.

I've been using Axe-FX for years (II and now III), so occasionally I do use the front panel, and with some effort I can get used to it, but after I don't use it for a couple of months or more, I forget the weird logic and everything starts over. I think it's the most unintuitive piece of gear I've ever had.

Not that it matters much to me, but since we're at it...

 

[sprint]

"Maybe do it left handed, so you can be satisfied?" -- Inigo Montoya

speaking of left handed, I find the value wheel very unwieldy for left handeds like myself as it obstructs left handed access to the Nav buttons - providing a left handed Axefx with reversed Front Panel would definitely improve the user experience for left handers, who, I might add, account for an estimated full 11% of Axefx users.

 

[Dave Merrill]

I never need a manual for doing anything in the editor. You just drag, drop and click, nothing to explain there.

With the front panel, I generally can't do just about anything related to editing presets, since buttons never do what I expect them to. Simplest things like navigating to a block and starting to edit it are a hurdle. Like I press the big knob and expect to enter a block's settings, and instead things start blinking, whatever that means.

I've been using Axe-FX for years (II and now III), so occasionally I do use the front panel, and with some effort I can get used to it, but after I don't use it for a couple of months or more, I forget the weird logic and everything starts over. I think it's the most unintuitive piece of gear I've ever had.

Not that it matters much to me, but since we're at it...

Just to say it, there's an Edit button, and arrow keys to navigate through the blocks.

It's hard to see how they could make that aspect of it clearer.

Other things take some familiarity with the architecture of individual blocks, like all the parameters in the amp block for instance, but basic block navigation and getting into Edit mode, don't think so.

 

[TSJMajesty]

but once muscle memory kicked in my use of it got smoother.

Hmmm, funny how that works. I think it applies to playing the actual guitar too!

 

[unix-guy]

I have a dim and distant recollection (possibly wrong, memory is fallible) that when I got my Axe FX III the (maybe most recent at the time?) firmware did not have a working version of Axe Edit to go with it.

Your memory is correct... I did the same thing.

 

[touch33]

Needs improvement. Functionally, the front panel controls/layout are just fine for those occasions when I’m AxeEdit-less — as long as the ambient lighting is great. A field of all-black button caps on a black face panel, whilst certainly very sexy, scores pretty low on the “ease of use” scale. Appropriately-colored button caps are the same manufacturing cost as the black ones.

Thank God my iPhone has a built-in flashlight.

 

[boardwlk17]

The front panel can do everything the editor can do , If you don't learn how to use it and then say it sucks or needs improvement I don't understand that. It doesn't matter how many features you have on it or how big you make the screen someone's always gonna complain about everything

 

[KingOfMemes]

I'm never one to shine Fractal's shoes, but if you're going to purchase an expensive, pro-level level unit like this the least you can do is take time to learn it properly. If all you rely on is Axe-Edit then of course the front panel will be daunting. Force yourself to use solely the front panel for a week and things will be different. It's really not that hard. Just my opinion.

 

[unix-guy]

The front panel can do everything the editor can do , If you don't learn how to use it and then say it sucks or needs improvement I don't understand that. It doesn't matter how many features you have on it or how big you make the screen someone's always gonna complain about everything

It actually doesn't do some things that the editor can do and some things are harder to do, but most things can be done from the front panel quite nicely.

 

[Joe Bfstplk]

Needs improvement. Functionally, the front panel controls/layout are just fine for those occasions when I’m AxeEdit-less — as long as the ambient lighting is great. A field of all-black button caps on a black face panel, whilst certainly very sexy, scores pretty low on the “ease of use” scale. Appropriately-colored button caps are the same manufacturing cost as the black ones.

Thank God my iPhone has a built-in flashlight.

The gray text many gear makers use on the black background is fun, even in good lighting. Thankfully Fractal does well with that....

 

[RockYoWorld]

Axe Edit is fantastic. Front panel is not intuitive for me. I don't care about graphics; the buttons didn't do what I expected them to do as I tried to navigate. I'm sure if I gave it time, I'd totally understand it and be fluid like many users are, but I don't need to since Axe Edit is great and I don't really need to edit my presets at gigs.

 

[laxu]

Just to say it, there's an Edit button, and arrow keys to navigate through the blocks.

It's hard to see how they could make that aspect of it clearer.

Other things take some familiarity with the architecture of individual blocks, like all the parameters in the amp block for instance, but basic block navigation and getting into Edit mode, don't think so.

Except the system works by "Enter = Open thing" everywhere except Layout grid. Edit button only does its labeled function in the Layout grid. IMO the functionality of Edit and Enter should be reversed in the layout grid. You Edit the connections, you Enter the selected block. Then the functionality would be consistent across the entire system.

There's a lot of small "need to remember" type things in how the onboard UI works. Sure, everyone can work around those but that does not mean they are good design.

 

[vangrieg]

Except the system works by "Enter = Open thing" everywhere except Layout grid. Edit button only does its labeled function in the Layout grid. IMO the functionality of Edit and Enter should be reversed in the layout grid. You Edit the connections, you Enter the selected block. Then the functionality would be consistent across the entire system.

There's a lot of small "need to remember" type things in how the onboard UI works. Sure, everyone can work around those but that does not mean they are good design.

Exactly this.

I'm never one to shine Fractal's shoes, but if you're going to purchase an expensive, pro-level level unit like this the least you can do is take time to learn it properly. If all you rely on is Axe-Edit then of course the front panel will be daunting. Force yourself to use solely the front panel for a week and things will be different. It's really not that hard. Just my opinion.

Well, Axe-Edit allows me to rarely touch the front panel, which is a good thing.

But the flipside is that I don't use the front panel on a regular basis, maybe that happens once in a few months or even years, so that makes learning how it works quite useless - I simply don't remember it.

I don't care much either way, I have nothing against using a laptop, and thankfully I rarely need to make adjustments to presets on the go, but that I can work around the problem doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I can see quite a few people for whom this is a serious hurdle.

 

[DLC86]

There's a lot of small "need to remember" type things in how the onboard UI works. Sure, everyone can work around those but that does not mean they are good design.

I don't find the UI too difficult to operate after getting used to it, but I agree with you here and with most of your observations.

Another thing that I find cumbersome is moving blocks in the grid, why do we need to go to another page and select among four different functions to move a block up/down/left/right when all that could be done with a single "move" button which could just select the block and you could just drop it anywhere with the arrow keys (similar to how we drag and drop blocks with the mouse in axe-edit)?
And the same could be done to move rows or columns

PS: and also, when moving blocks imho the default action performed should be to "insert" the selected block where you drop it and not "swap" it with the block that's currently there

 

[vangrieg]

And the same could be done to move rows or columns

Moving blocks, rows and columns is cumbersome even in Edit.

 

[DLC86]

Moving blocks, rows and columns is cumbersome even in Edit.

In some regards yes, but not as much as on the front panel

 

[vangrieg]

In some regards yes, but not as much as on the front panel

I don't even dare move anything on the front panel, there's no undo function, it's way to easy to mess everything up.

 

[laxu]

Another thing that I find cumbersome is moving blocks in the grid, why do we need to go to another page and select among four different functions to move a block up/down/left/right when all that could be done with a single "move" button which could just select the block and you could just drop it anywhere with the arrow keys (similar to how we drag and drop blocks with the mouse in axe-edit)?
And the same could be done to move rows or columns

PS: and also, when moving blocks imho the default action performed should be to "insert" the selected block where you drop it and not "swap" it with the block that's currently there

Yes the onboard UI's block/row/column system is rather overcomplicated. In general the feature most commonly used is "move block to another spot". This should be a process that looks like this:

1. Go to "Arrange blocks" page.
2. Select the block you want to move with nav keys or big knob.
3. Click Enter to pick it up.
4. Use nav keys/big knob to move it where you want.
5. Click Enter to drop it in place.
6. If there is something else already in that spot either replace it or swap their positions. The current functionality of swap is perhaps better because you don't lose that block's settings.

Rows vs columns could work like that too and having separate functions for moving back/forward/up/down is just bad design, no questions about it. It's a "this is how it's easiest to do in terms of programming" feature rather than "this is how it is easiest for the user to operate".

Axe-Edit is massively better for these tasks so it's not a big issue since I expect majority of users build their grid layout in Axe-Edit and then just do tweaks to the block settings from onboard UI when needed.

For next gen Axe-Fx it might be better for Fractal to just abandon the front panel UI in favor of having robust computer, phone and tablet editors. Just have some knobs for input/output levels on the front panel and plenty of I/O in the back like it has right now. Axe-Edit is a great software.

 

[Chad Beattie]

An observation. I have always used Axe-Edit and struggle with front panel. My son only uses front panel and jets around it quickly and can configure things faster than I can do it with Axe-Edit. I think it just is where you spend your time or what your used to.