Anyone want Improvements in Axe-Fx User Interface?

Hi mkbigmoz
Get into Axe Edit III, and tap the 'quickbuild' button - Drag anything you want anywhere!
Thanks
Pauly

mkbigmoz said:
I was watching a few videos for Amplitube V and I'm blown away by their UI. So clean and beautiful. The setup of just drag and drop any amp/box/etc wherever you want is awesome. I think that element is really missing from the Axe. I love my AxeFx but the UI of Axe-Edit is really meh. I know you will have purists who say "Who cares about what it looks like blah blah" but UI can really be inspiring for arts. Am I alone?

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From watching the video with the robo-mike (which was super cool) I think it is really only selecting slightly different IRs, not really adjusting a virtual mic or ‘controlling’ the IR as such. I think it says they create like 2000 IRs or something per shoot like this? So you would need IRs shot at each position for this to work anything like that on the Axe.
 
tysonlt said:
From watching the video with the robo-mike (which was super cool) I think it is really only selecting slightly different IRs, not really adjusting a virtual mic or ‘controlling’ the IR as such. I think it says they create like 2000 IRs or something per shoot like this? So you would need IRs shot at each position for this to work anything like that on the Axe.
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For IR selection, making choices graphically in real time like this is so efficient (check MIKKO). At the very least, a hierarchical tree of folders with a rigorous naming standard, or a search capability with a rigorous naming standard.
 
In my humble opinion I like Axe Edit as it is, I don't need or want any fancy eye candy as long as everything functions as it should, each to their own but for me putting fancy images of amps etc would just distract me from what I am doing, they may look nice on a software plugin but for the Axe FX I think the current Axe Edit is just fine.
 
mkbigmoz said:
I was watching a few videos for Amplitube V and I'm blown away by their UI. So clean and beautiful. The setup of just drag and drop any amp/box/etc wherever you want is awesome. I think that element is really missing from the Axe. I love my AxeFx but the UI of Axe-Edit is really meh. I know you will have purists who say "Who cares about what it looks like blah blah" but UI can really be inspiring for arts. Am I alone?
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The two big problems with AxeEdit (aside from the fact that it doesn't run as a plugin that's capable of storing the state of the AxeFX) are working with the block chain and preset/IR browsing.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/block-rearrangement.152886/#post-1821498
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...-presets-irs-and-blocks-and-set-lists.162038/
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/daw-plugin-editor-for-axefx.163900/

However, just so you know, you’re asking a bunch of Old Spice users, wouldn’t you rather use Paco Rabanne? ;). So, you will get a lot of pushback to the idea of making AxeEdit slick.
 
I’ve been playing on various Axe Fx units for a hair short of a decade now, and there have been many upgrades to the onboard interface, along with creation of a remote PC/Mac interface. It is apparent FAS isn‘t adverse to investing in upgrades there when it benefits the actual function of the instrument. Some of that funding went to appearance, readily apparent comparing the II to the III, but most goes (rightly) to functionality. As Cliff has noted, interface changes are expensive. Regular firmware upgrades are free to us, but not to him. I’m one of those who is happy with his priorities. I am simply pointing out that a lot of funds have gone to the user interface of all products in recent years.

As we who grew up on an “interface“ being knobs and switches and no screens at all eventually become a minority number in the user market, there may come a day FAS will have to prioritize interface over interior. A demographic that never knew life without screens will surely expect that. When I first saw those pretty depictions on my DAW, I thought they were cool and useful. Now I minimize them because they take up space and don’t provide anything I don’t get without the images. I think I’d be the same way with a flowery Axe Fx interface. Then, as noted, I’m an older amp guy.

I don’t think anyone would mind if Cliff decided to fancy up the interface, and I’m surely not saying it’s a bad idea. But at any point where there is a choice to be made between visual experience and audio experience, I hope Cliff will always opt for the latter.
 
Yes, glad someone else said it. Would be interesting to have fractal have a UIUX designer take a look and do some mockups. It really is a different skillset.
 
The color coding in AxeEdit can be really helpfull to organize the cab list and make IR selection easier along with the search and audition functions. Navigating big IR packs is a tough use case to design for within a menu'd/folder system because of the often large number of captures and all the elements that users want to key into:
  • IR Brand (ML, Ownham, ...)
  • Cab Type (Open, Closed ...)
  • Cab Size (212,412...)
  • Speaker type (V30, Greenbk...)
  • Mic type (57,121...)
  • Mic placement (Fromt/Rr, On/Off Axis...)
  • Mic position (inches from cap...)
  • ...

Its a lot, even for a really good menu'd system, and even if a great "file picker" process is available, a GUI'd IR picker is much faster to use when auditioning IRs.

But is it worth doing in Axefx? - I don't think so really as I suspect it
would suck reasources away from what Fractal does best and if we want a GUI'd IR picker, there's 3rd partys that can provide it. For the smallish collection of cab IRs in Axefx, the search, color coding, and naming standard in place are sufficient.

I feel it's imprtant to keep on mind in this type of discussion, how good AxeEdit is - having used the editors of a number of modellers, and coming from a sw development background, I'm really impressed with how efficient AxeEdit is to use and far it has evolved - I remember challenging times when the early releases of AxeEdit were in progress - kudos to the Fractal Editor team for the hard work they've put into AxeEdit - it shows in this excellent product
 
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tysonlt said:
- as a software developer (and a web developer) I will not pick on anyone's software (or website) because building software is haaaaaaard and it's always a matter of priorities and trade-offs.
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As a professional UI/UX Designer for a lot longer than I care to admit, I'll just keep my mouth shut on this topic. Except to say that software design and UI design are different disciplines with different gifts.
 
I like the interface as it is on Axe Edit. I own the PRS Super Models, S-Gear and all Mercuriall Plugins, and each interface has its own appeal but I do not think it is near easy to make something like that with the overwhelming amount of options (models and parameters) and routings that the Axe offers. I guess every amp panel or pedal would be a mess of switches and knobs, or just a simple , beautiful representation that we would have to hide to access the rest of the controls. I understand it may be difficult to see the actual thing in the model representation, until you get used to it. Like every workflow, takes some time to get adapted to it, that is my humble opinion.
 
greiswig said:
As a professional UI/UX Designer for a lot longer than I care to admit, I'll just keep my mouth shut on this topic. Except to say that software design and UI design are different disciplines with different gifts.
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Being a web d00D, I have a foot in both camps. They are completely different skill sets and even different mentalities. Some of my requested small UX/UI improvements have shown up in AxeEdit, though, over the last year.
 
Amplitude has come a long way. Impressive video. Wow!

I'd still favor even slightly perceptible auditory improvements over max eye candy, but it does look really nice.
 
With the Ultra I did all my editing via the front panel. With the III I'm using the SW editor for everything. I have no problem with the UI of either the HW or SW of the III. There are some things I would like to see in the SW editor that would improve usability, but they wouldn't require a fancy graphic UI to accomplish.

I'm of the school that functionality comes first.
 
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