Am I alone in keeping the Ultra????

wake911 said:
i hope it's longer than 3 minutes of availablity. I might just buy one...cuss at myself for spending money that i shouldn't,....and then sell my Ultra for too cheap on ebay to split the difference....then in like 6 months forget i ever made the stupid mistake out of pure joy of axe II - dom. haha
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Of course I was exaggerating, but ultra's have been out of stock the majority of the last year.
Unless they have expanded there production I expect the demand for the axe 2 to be as great or greater then the previous generation.
 
I won't be getting rid of my Ultra any time soon. The only thing I have considered was getting the II and using my Ultra in the studio instead of my live rig, or vice versa. That being said, I still need to get the MFC-101!
 
i just got my ultra a month or two ago. Would make no sense to sell it and take a price hit. I can't imagine the Axe FX 2 will be avaiable for quite sometime. As good as Cliff and the crew are, u have to be leery of any first run of a new gadget.
 
+1

also i have other gear I'd rather make my next purchase. Likely my next purchase will be a pair of atomic cabs (powered), next need to upgrade my recording interface..my presonus firepod is practically dying. next after that will be the mfc > then eventually another guitar? oh and a nice tube amp...perhaps an ENGL... looks like i better get a second job.
 
well, well, well, I've been giving the F.W. 11.0 a real go for a week or so now: going through my list of "best of" presets gathered from all the nice people here on the forum. Been shutting down a hell of a lot of EQ blocks (not needed now) and tweaking ever so slightly. wow! It's a terrific upgrade that gives both control and power; totally upgrading the sound and feel of the Ultra. I am very pleased and am amazed at how much more pleased I am as compared to a week ago when I was just...well, pleased with the sound of the Ultra. How much more pleased can one be. I'll wait a long to while truly find out, see how the first batch of II's sit with the masses, wait for a few magazine reviews too. What can I tell you: I'm am happy with the Ultra as it does everything I want it to do, and so much more, so I'll wait a while as in and of itself, it is not a hurdle in quality that is getting in the way of my progression as a guitarist. Strangely enough, after all the expensive gear I have accumulated, my greatest stumbling block continues to be this one thing, the one thing that even the great great Axe-II won't solve....it always comes down to my ability to actually play the guitar. The one thing the axe does do is make me "want" to play more, which can only help my ability. The Ultra suits me just fine right now and it has been a good friend. I'd hate to be fickle.
 
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Shreddy Better said:
well, well, well, I've been giving the F.W. 11.0 a real go for a week or so now: going through my list of "best of" presets gathered from all the nice people here on the forum. Been shutting down a hell of a lot of EQ blocks (not needed now) and tweaking ever so slightly. wow! It's a terrific upgrade that gives both control and power; totally upgrading the sound and feel of the Ultra. I am very pleased and am amazed at how much more pleased I am as compared to a week ago when I was just...well, pleased with the sound of the Ultra. How much more pleased can one be. I'll wait a long to while truly find out, see how the first batch of II's sit with the masses, wait for a few magazine reviews too. What can I tell you: I'm am happy with the Ultra as it does everything I want it to do, and so much more, so I'll wait a while as in and of itself, it is not a hurdle in quality that is getting in the way of my progression as a guitarist. Strangely enough, after all the expensive gear I have accumulated, my greatest stumbling block continues to be this one thing, the one thing that even the great
great Axe-II won't solve....it always comes down to my ability to actually play the guitar. The one thing the axe does do is make me "want" to play more, which can only help my ability. The Ultra suits me just fine right now and it has been a good friend. I'd hate to be fickle.
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Well said, Dude!
+1
 
I dont plan to go for the II anytime soon. I just really HOPE that Cliff continues providing upgrades for the Ultra. That would be fair for people who bought one recently and were promised upgrades in firmware, as well as older loyal users.

I can understand the fact that Ultra might be close to maxed out as far as Amp blocks go. But what about delays, reverbs and other effects? Im sure ultra can run most of the same delays, reverbs, etc as the II.

For me, since i use the Ultra with 4CM, effects are as important as preamps. What else to say than Eventide eclipse sells for $1500, and ultra can do same effects plus much more.

Cliff, make many of us happy, and continue updating the Ultra effects!
 
Its a bummer that the Ultra is missing headphone and USB outs, but is nobody wondering why the Axe FX II is missing Firewire, which is the most commonly used port for recording? I'm pretty certain that the next version will feature firewire etc - stuff that would have made total sense to be included in this version, just as a headphone out seemed like a VERY obvious requirement on the Std/Ultra, but wasn't included. It's a business practice among some companies to hold back and not give out all the fruits of your R&D in one product. Just maximising profitability, really.

What happens when Axe FX III comes out with firewire, some new amp sims, and a "more modern" look? I'm sure people will ditch the Axe FX II in a hurry. I have to admit, I was one of those who was going to dump his Ultra and buy the new one as soon as I heard the news. After the initial lust cooled off, and I tried firmware 11, I've changed my mind. I'm really not happy with the way buyers were kept in the dark about future plans, but I'll hold on to my Ultra for a while. Mine's only 2 months old, but I'm sure it would depreciate ridiculously now.
 
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Keepin' my Ultra. It has never sounded better (v. 11) and I'm finally getting pretty good at getting the sounds from it I've always heard in my head.
 
harsh said:
Its a bummer that the Ultra is missing headphone and USB outs, but is nobody wondering why the Axe FX II is missing Firewire, which is the most commonly used port for recording? I'm pretty certain that the next version will feature firewire etc - stuff that would have made total sense to be included in this version, just as a headphone out seemed like a VERY obvious requirement on the Std/Ultra, but wasn't included. It's a business practice among some companies to hold back and not give out all the fruits of your R&D in one product. Just maximising profitability, really.

What happens when Axe FX III comes out with firewire, some new amp sims, and a "more modern" look? I'm sure people will ditch the Axe FX II in a hurry. I have to admit, I was one of those who was going to dump his Ultra and buy the new one as soon as I heard the news. After the initial lust cooled off, and I tried firmware 11, I've changed my mind. I'm really not happy with the way buyers were kept in the dark about future plans, but I'll hold on to my Ultra for a while. Mine's only 2 months old, but I'm sure it would depreciate ridiculously now.
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As a studio and live tool when this unit came out 4 years ago it was killer and still is killer. Chances are that if you record you would already have an audio/midi interface that you like along with headphones and a headphone amp.

Usb and headphones are a nice touch, but it wasn't ever a deal-breaker and never will be for a product that does such a good job at its intended application.

The new Axe uses two of the same old dsp chip as the last Axe. I suppose you could grab a used ultra in time to double the power if you really need more blocks in you patches. As far as the newer algorithms; the ultra had everyone that owned it selling off all their tube gear already so how much better do you suppose the new one sounds?. If you can't tell the difference between the real thing and the ultra with your eyes closed does anyone think they will hear a positive difference between the ultra and Axe II in a similar test?.

I think you on to something about the Axe 3. Keep your ultra and wait till that comes out.
 
Keeping the Ultra. I have had it for 2 years and it still makes me smile every time I turn it on and plug in. Although I can buy the II justifying the $700 difference is wait and see
for me. $700 buys another decent microphone, IR's, etc... But, you never know one day I might hit that buy now.
 
More time with F.W.11, going on 2 weeks of exploring and revisiting presets. All I can say is wow, the Ultra sounds just great and my personal presets and modded forum presets just sound amazing. Way too much backlog of quality tones to put me in any buying mode at present, so the Axe II can wait, till when I don't know.... but I have no "need" for it at present. I do "want" it, but don't "need" it; 2 very different things. After a slew of firmware upgrades in the II, maybe the need will come though.
I look forward to the reviews and opinions though as I'm sure it's fab, especially to the people that have never owned an Axe-FX till now. Me, I own one and am very happy, even moreso after the firmware upgrade. thanks to Fractal for all the fun. :)+)
 
I'm keeping mine!!!!!

firmware 11.0 is off the hook.
I may finally leave the tube amp home and gig this thing
firmware 11.0 has finally nailed the reponse/feel and tone for ME that was missing it's that much improvement and So much easier to dial in
even the art sla-2 feels and sounds very tube like with no geq

People selling off their ultras before the axe II is even off the assembly line is nuts IMO
I'll be waiting until it's out at least a year and bug free and gig worthy
With all the wave flow solder and ROHS components.............who knows
plus I really want a Bricasti for the studio......


To much money to gamble with and now you have no ultra to fall back on
No Thanks,I'll sit this one out and enjoy the reviews/posts fever pitch and start saving now8)
 
Yeah, I'm happy with the Ultra for now. I'm bidding on another on ebay for my brother. I believe Cliff is a person of great principle and honor, and I believe that he did all he could to get some of the benefit of the Axe FX II into firmware 11. (Of course, the axe fx two is an improvement, obviously, but I don't think people with either the standard or ultra should feel forced to jump ship yet. There's a trade off when you get the latest techie gadget - its like buying a new car in that respect, except that a lot of new gadgets in cars are just pointless and annoying, whereas the Axe FX IS actually improving.) That's my guess - Cliff did us both right, those of us that can afford to upgrade were given a treat, and those that can't also have it really good. Firmware 11 is a huge leap, since every amp model I try is a pleasure to dial in; there aren't unwanted artifacts, the frequencies all sound like the real deal - tube amp response.

Just IMO.
 
Usb and headphones are a nice touch, but it wasn't ever a deal-breaker and never will be for a product that does such a good job at its intended application.
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All of that! We all know, however, that the only thing that would really piss us (the recent owners of Ultras) off will be the improved SOUND quality in the Axe II. On the other hand: the same chips, no firewire/thunderbolt, etc. I'm keeping my Ultra absolutely and am going for III or IV only if I see/hear dramatic sound improvement.
 
My DAW's motherboard $h1t the bed prompting some much needed upgrades. It's a dual-boot Pentium-D based system that also serves as my primary desktop workstation. The case provides less than ideal airflow for cooling and it's too loud besides. My 15 year old son's PC uses the same chipset and will support the 3.4GHz processor, 4GB RAM, high performance graphics adapter, and DVD/RW optical drive so I'd much rather use the working parts in this way and assemble a new system.

The new parts will arrive later this week and I should be up and running again by Monday. New system will be a 64bit Windows 7 / Intel i7 2600K / P67 chipset based, 8GB RAM, and other goodies including a high quality, low noise case and power supply. I'm also upgrading from Cakewalk Sonar 8 to X1. As was the case with my Pentium-D system I hope to get at least 4 years of hicup-free operation and acceptable performance for both audio and visual arts work.

One more positive that came out of this: I've been seriously considering picking up an Axe-FX II upon release (no plans to sell the Ultra regardless). I guess I just got caught up in the excitement a bit looking forward to checking out the new modeling algorithms. Truth is I don't really want to be an active participant in regular firmware updates that may sometimes cause re-work in user presets. I waited years to buy an Ultra until the firmware update intervals slowed considerably for just this reason. I'm exceedingly pleased with the Ultra so there's no reason to switch at this time. I can save that upgrade at least until the warranty has expired on the Ultra and longer depending on firmware development.

So, while not necessarily convenient, the timing of this little workstation hiccup turned out to be a good thing all the way around.

Definitely sticking with my Ultra! :)
 
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