Typical Time Between Major Revisions

The current operating system and software editor software both look like they are relatively complicated, but also logically designed. […]
There is always going to be complexity when there are as many parameters as Fractal exposes to us. Their editing panes start at a higher level and increase in detail as you move through them as necessary. Some blocks are very simple and their editor reflects that. Others, like Amp and Delay blocks, can be complex because what they're modeling is complex, but still, the first, top-most, pane is the most simple and is always the starting point when modifying the sound of that particular block.

However, if a new unit were to be released that reduced the complexity of the unit front panel operation that would be very welcome.
See my previous paragraph.

Reducing the interface too far just dumbs it down to the point people skip over it and go to the next layer. There's a balance between complexity and simplicity, and, while highly simplified GUI interfaces seem great at first, we outgrow them, and unless there are ways to quickly and conveniently get to the lower-level parameters we'll get tired of the handholding and being confined to the kiddie playground. Fractal doesn't target that "I need simple" audience, they're after people who are serious about their sound and demand the ability to get to what they're imagining.

Fractal has been doing this for a long time and has learned a lot about how to balance simplicity and complexity, though it might not seem so when we first jump in. Based on reading other people's paths that they followed getting to Fractal, very few started with a current generation Fractal modeler, so most people have had an introduction to modeling and the related realms in music that modeling touches. For the novice, uninitiated mortal, Fractal says this 'bout that:

Screenshot 2023-01-03 at 1.43.24 PM.png
The language, and the controls, are crossing into a lot of different disciplines, all in one box. So, yeah, it's gonna make your head spin, but how much is determined by your previous experiences, both with a modeler but also amps, pedals, guitars, and their mods and what those were based on, recording, acoustics and sound reinforcement, a bit of psycho-acoustics and how our brain works. Many things we can do with a knob or switch would take a soldering iron in the real world, which, if we did it wrong would let the smoke out of the chips, but on the Fractal we can safely experiment. It's a long list of things to know but it's a fun trip experimenting to get there.

PS - Reading the manuals, searching the forums and reading 'Da Wiki, are always the first steps to answering questions you'll inevitably ask. Don't be afraid to twist knobs and try things because you can't break the modeler by doing those things. It might sound bad, but we can revert or reload a preset and get back to the normal sound and try again. After trying and exploring, if you're still stuck write a well-asked question and let us get involved. We love helping.
 
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if a new unit were to be released that reduced the complexity of the unit front panel operation that would be very welcome
the UI is not complex imo - just something getting waay overblown in s.m. (and here). What's modelled can be very complex (ie tube amp design), but that's not Fractal's responsibility to make simple + if the advanced parms make a user anxious - they don't need to deal with them as they are pre set for us.
 
There is always going to be complexity when there are as many parameters as Fractal exposes to us. Their editing panes start at a higher level and increase in detail as you move through them as necessary. Some blocks are very simple and their editor reflects that. Others, like Amp and Delay blocks, can be complex because what they're modeling is complex, but still, the first, top-most, pane is the most simple and is always the starting point when modifying the sound of that particular block.


See my previous paragraph.

Reducing the interface too far just dumbs it down to the point people skip over it and go to the next layer. There's a balance between complexity and simplicity, and, while highly simplified GUI interfaces seem great at first, we outgrow them, and unless there are ways to quickly and conveniently get to the lower-level parameters we'll get tired of the handholding and being confined to the kiddie playground. Fractal doesn't target that "I need simple" audience, they're after people who are serious about their sound and demand the ability to get to what they're imagining.

Fractal has been doing this for a long time and has learned a lot about how to balance simplicity and complexity, though it might not seem so when we first jump in. Based on reading other people's paths that they followed getting to Fractal, very few started with a current generation Fractal modeler, so most people have had an introduction to modeling and the related realms in music that modeling touches. For the novice, uninitiated mortal, Fractal says this 'bout that:

View attachment 113775
The language, and the controls, are crossing into a lot of different disciplines, all in one box. So, yeah, it's gonna make your head spin, but how much is determined by your previous experiences, both with a modeler but also amps, pedals, guitars, and their mods and what those were based on, recording, acoustics and sound reinforcement, a bit of psycho-acoustics and how our brain works. Many things we can do with a knob or switch would take a soldering iron in the real world, which, if we did it wrong would let the smoke out of the chips, but on the Fractal we can safely experiment. It's a long list of things to know but it's a fun trip experimenting to get there.
Thank you for your comments.
 
Augggghh! Was ready to pull the trigger and started to add items to my cart…when I learned that the FC-12 is out of stock currently! The web page says that more FC-12s should arrive by mid-January. so I ordered the AXE FX III and the expression pedal since they are currently in stock. I sent an email to sales asking to be notified when the FC12s come in and I will order one then. Thanks to everyone for all your great input. Your comments, along with the research I did, helped me make the decision to become a member of the Fractal user community! I plan to be an active member of this user group so look for me here in the future.
 
Augggghh! Was ready to pull the trigger and started to add items to my cart…when I learned that the FC-12 is out of stock currently! The web page says that more FC-12s should arrive by mid-January. so I ordered the AXE FX III and the expression pedal since they are currently in stock. I sent an email to sales asking to be notified when the FC12s come in and I will order one then. Thanks to everyone for all your great input. Your comments, along with the research I did, helped me make the decision to become a member of the Fractal user community! I plan to be an active member of this user group so look for me here in the future.
Bummer that you have to wait a bit for the FC-12, but congrats on your first Fractal order!

I'm a bit late to ask this, but I'm surprised no one brought this up. Since you're coming from Headrush, did you consider the FM9 Turbo? I have the Axe FX III Mk2 AND the FM9 Turbo. I'm amazed at what the FM9 can do. I basically max out the Axe FX III with my "kitchen sink" preset and I only had to slightly pair that preset down to run on the FM9T. All that on the floor without the NEED to buy another foot controller! It is much more portable than my Axe FX III rig.

However, the only reason I'd get rid of my Axe FX III is to get an Axe FX III Turbo to do even more crazy presets, but I am really loving the FM9T. I still use the rack unit for my main band's gigs since we have racks for our in-ears and wireless mics; I have a quick plug-in with my FX3 rack on top of our IEM rack and a single XLR from there to my FC12 board so maybe you have a similar setup where the rack makes sense. Otherwise, for rehearsals, open jams, or gigs with other groups, I just take my FM9T board. Those situations, it's usually more convenient to have the audio sends up at the front of stage as well.

I also have an AX8 and used to have an Axe FX II XL+ w/ MFC-101 mk3 and have never been disappointed in any of my Fractal products. I gig 30-60 times a year and Fractal never let me down.
 
Bummer that you have to wait a bit for the FC-12, but congrats on your first Fractal order!

I'm a bit late to ask this, but I'm surprised no one brought this up. Since you're coming from Headrush, did you consider the FM9 Turbo? I have the Axe FX III Mk2 AND the FM9 Turbo. I'm amazed at what the FM9 can do. I basically max out the Axe FX III with my "kitchen sink" preset and I only had to slightly pair that preset down to run on the FM9T. All that on the floor without the NEED to buy another foot controller! It is much more portable than my Axe FX III rig.

However, the only reason I'd get rid of my Axe FX III is to get an Axe FX III Turbo to do even more crazy presets, but I am really loving the FM9T. I still use the rack unit for my main band's gigs since we have racks for our in-ears and wireless mics; I have a quick plug-in with my FX3 rack on top of our IEM rack and a single XLR from there to my FC12 board so maybe you have a similar setup where the rack makes sense. Otherwise, for rehearsals, open jams, or gigs with other groups, I just take my FM9T board. Those situations, it's usually more convenient to have the audio sends up at the front of stage as well.

I also have an AX8 and used to have an Axe FX II XL+ w/ MFC-101 mk3 and have never been disappointed in any of my Fractal products. I gig 30-60 times a year and Fractal never let me down.
Hello and thanks for your congratulations.

I did seriously consider the FM9T. However, the AXE FX III is so much more powerful that It appears that it will be quite “future proof”...which gives me added confidence that my purchase is a wise one. But, equally important, the FM9T is out of stock and there is no posted date when more will be available.

Have a rack that holds my digital PA, four in-ear monitor transmitters, a backup Avid Eleven Rack, and a power conditioner. I will replace the Eleven Rack with the AXE FX III so having a rack mount unit will not be an issue.

Now that I have made the decision to replace my Headrush Pedalboard..I am anxious to do so. lol

Again, thank you very much for your help. Have a great night.
 
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I'll upgrade my 3mk1 at some point. Regardless of when - have to commend Fractal on keeping a lid on prices so far - I can't help but notice the price of similar products jumping - getting into ripoff territory imo, since the general rate of inflation is a lot lower than some of these increases (I know it varies by industry / product ..., but I feel some of these increases have some price gouging in them).
 
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wouldn't this almost entirely depend on the advance of DSP processing available? can't imagine what bumping the power 2x+ would enable, other than maybe enhanced resolution/bit depth. maybe add some features becoming ubiquitous across competitors.

Its an incredible piece of gear as it is, clearly the best at what it does
 
wouldn't this almost entirely depend on the advance of DSP processing available? can't imagine what bumping the power 2x+ would enable, other than maybe enhanced resolution/bit depth. maybe add some features becoming ubiquitous across competitors.

Its an incredible piece of gear as it is, clearly the best at what it does
It would be comparable to the difference between the Axe Fx III and the FM9 (minus the dedicated core optimizations).

Just getting the Turbo version provided 25% more CPU allows more complex presets, a 100% increase would be significant. Possibly allowing 4 Amp blocks...

Trust me, I can imagine it ;)
 
Hello and thanks for your congratulations.

I did seriously consider the FM9T. However, the AXE FX III is so much more powerful that It appears that it will be quite “future proof”...which gives me added confidence that my purchase is a wise one. But, equally important, the FM9T is out of stock and there is no posted date when more will be available.

Have a rack that holds my digital PA, four in-ear monitor transmitters, a backup Avid Eleven Rack, and a power conditioner. I will replace the Eleven Rack with the AXE FX III so having a rack mount unit will not be an issue.

Now that I have made the decision to replace my Headrush Pedalboard..I am anxious to do so. lol

Again, thank you very much for your help. Have a great night.

You're in for a treat! The FX3 is a superb piece of kit. I have the FX3 Turbo and the FM9, and am continually amazed at the sounds I am getting. You can do a lot with just an expression pedal, too. Many of my presets use one to get as many as 4 different sounds throughout its sweep, which means I can ride the "gas pedal" for entire songs.... :) Once you get the FC12, you'll have a ton of options for switching and performance workflow. There are nine basic layouts, but also the option to override any switch in any layout on a per-preset basis (and 24 per-preset switches available in each preset). The manual will be your best friend early on, but we're here to help you get up to speed also. :)
 
You're in for a treat! The FX3 is a superb piece of kit. I have the FX3 Turbo and the FM9, and am continually amazed at the sounds I am getting. You can do a lot with just an expression pedal, too. Many of my presets use one to get as many as 4 different sounds throughout its sweep, which means I can ride the "gas pedal" for entire songs.... :) Once you get the FC12, you'll have a ton of options for switching and performance workflow. There are nine basic layouts, but also the option to override any switch in any layout on a per-preset basis (and 24 per-preset switches available in each preset). The manual will be your best friend early on, but we're here to help you get up to speed also. :)
Thank you very much for the info. I have been reading the manual and watching a number of the very good tutorial videos found on YouTube. I am a “seasoned” musician (70 year old who started playing playing guitar when I was 6) who embraced digital audio starting in the early 80s…so I have quite a lot of experience in the use of modeling equipment and digital audio recording…but nothing as advanced, complicated and feature-rich as the FX3! This thing is a beast! lol I am very happy that so many experienced forum members have stepped forward to give me very good advice and help! I really appreciate your comments, and those of everyone who also posted here in this thread.
 
It is hard to imagine something better than the III. The sounds have just gotten better and better and it's been a work in progress since I got a 3 mkii 5/2021. I have used amps my entire.life and was slow to adapt. That being said it covers anything I want to do with the electric guitar and is more fun to play period. If the 4 gets closer to real.amps I'd stay with the 3 personally, I like what it does that amps don't do, probably could but I'd hat to see the amount of mods and or gear needed. Support is the best of any music gear ever, only close would be Friedman as Dave pioneered product support for tube amps from my experience..Keep it rockin
 
Thank you very much for the info. I have been reading the manual and watching a number of the very good tutorial videos found on YouTube. I am a “seasoned” musician (70 year old who started playing playing guitar when I was 6) who embraced digital audio starting in the early 80s…so I have quite a lot of experience in the use of modeling equipment and digital audio recording…but nothing as advanced, complicated and feature-rich as the FX3! This thing is a beast! lol I am very happy that so many experienced forum members have stepped forward to give me very good advice and help! I really appreciate your comments, and those of everyone who also posted here in this thread.
While you wait, I recommend you go to YouTube, find Cooper Carter's and Leon Todd's channels, and start looking at their AFX3 videos. They will be helpful in getting your head around it when it hits the door.
This way you won't have to dig around and wonder how to do certain things you were doing with other gear.
I came from the refrigerator-sized racks of the 80s and never gave them up until I got the AFX3 mk2 in 2021. I did this and had my rig ready and programmed in the AFX3 in less than a week, this included all my Bradshaw switching and complex rack effects combining.
 
Thank you very much for the info. I have been reading the manual and watching a number of the very good tutorial videos found on YouTube. I am a “seasoned” musician (70 year old who started playing playing guitar when I was 6) who embraced digital audio starting in the early 80s…so I have quite a lot of experience in the use of modeling equipment and digital audio recording…but nothing as advanced, complicated and feature-rich as the FX3! This thing is a beast! lol I am very happy that so many experienced forum members have stepped forward to give me very good advice and help! I really appreciate your comments, and those of everyone who also posted here in this thread.

I recommend if you have not already download the following
The Gift of tone series , Honestly there is so so much in there and you’ll will see how different artist
And long time Fractal users set up and arrange things in their presets

Second download Leon Todd’s block library from the forum
And save his video less tweaking and more playing he just did
This video goes through how to create your own presets and use block library etc it’s is very good

Most of all have fun remember Rome was not built in a day and it will take some time but just using the presets or gift of tone you should find some inspiring sounds out of the gate
 
While you wait, I recommend you go to YouTube, find Cooper Carter's and Leon Todd's channels, and start looking at their AFX3 videos. They will be helpful in getting your head around it when it hits the door.
This way you won't have to dig around and wonder how to do certain things you were doing with other gear.
I came from the refrigerator-sized racks of the 80s and never gave them up until I got the AFX3 mk2 in 2021. I did this and had my rig ready and programmed in the AFX3 in less than a week, this included all my Bradshaw switching and complex rack effects combining.
Thank you very much for your advice. I have been watching both Cooper’s and Leon’s videos…and they are great as you stated. I started gigging in the 60s with a nine piece band…the volume of equipment we had to cart around was immense…we had a 24’ box truck and three roadies that traveled with us everywhere and we still had to carry guitars, horns, microphones and other delicate gear in our bus to keep them away from the roadies and their rough hands! lol Things have changed a lot for sure. Being able to bring one rack to a gig and a few guitars is a godsend…especially at my age (70) because handking heavy amps is not something I can no longer do safely.
 
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I recommend if you have not already download the following
The Gift of tone series , Honestly there is so so much in there and you’ll will see how different artist
And long time Fractal users set up and arrange things in their presets

Second download Leon Todd’s block library from the forum
And save his video less tweaking and more playing he just did
This video goes through how to create your own presets and use block library etc it’s is very good

Most of all have fun remember Rome was not built in a day and it will take some time but just using the presets or gift of tone you should find some inspiring sounds out of the gate
Good morning and thanks so much for your comments! I checked-out the Gift of Tone preset download page…what a great resource! The free presets offered by guitarists of the stature of Tim Pierce are amazing!

I will definitely download Leon’s block library as well.

Thanks again for the heads-up!
 
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Well, my new Axe FX III Turbo arrived late yesterday afternoon. This morning I set it up, along with an EV-1 expression pedal. I have given up on being able to purchase an FC-12 any time soon, so I ordered a FC-6 yesterday…it should be here in a week. When the FC-12s are in-stock again I will order one and daisy chain the two FCs together.

I installed the Axe III Edit software as well as the Fractal-Bot software. The Axe Fx III Edit software is very good…it is very easy to adjust stock presets and create new ones. This is the first digital device I have ever purchased that came with the latest firmware installed so I didn’t have to upgrade the new unit...that says a lot about Fractal‘s customer support to me.

The Axe Fx III is an amazing modeler! The tones/presets are every bit as good as all of you stated. It was super easy to tweak presets to optimize them for each of my guitars...much easier than I expected.

Its going to be fun exploring all the details and settings and exploding what this thing is fully-capable of.

Thanks again to everyone who offered me advice and helped me make up my mind to become a Fractal Axe FX user!
 
Well, my new Axe FX III Turbo arrived late yesterday afternoon. This morning I set it up, along with an EV-1 expression pedal. I have given up on being able to purchase an FC-12 any time soon, so I ordered a FC-6 yesterday…it should be here in a week. When the FC-12s are in-stock again I will order one and daisy chain the two FCs together.

I installed the Axe III Edit software as well as the Fractal-Bot software. The Axe Fx III Edit software is very good…it is very easy to adjust stock presets and create new ones. This is the first digital device I have ever purchased that came with the latest firmware installed so I didn’t have to upgrade the new unit...that says a lot about Fractal‘s customer support to me.

The Axe Fx III is an amazing modeler! The tones/presets are every bit as good as all of you stated. It was super easy to tweak presets to optimize them for each of my guitars...much easier than I expected.

Its going to be fun exploring all the details and settings and exploding what this thing is fully-capable of.

Thanks again to everyone who offered me advice and helped me make up my mind to become a Fractal Axe FX user!
Welcome...to the machine....
 
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