Development with the next firmware

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jastan said:
Because if they weren't included we'd be charged for the updates.
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It's a stretch, to put it very mildly.
The product is ready when it's ready. If product description doesn't have promises not fulfilled on launch (like NDSP), or if it clearly says updates are supported (maybe the way Reaper does it - "all versions from 7 to 8.99"), then product developer owes customers nothing.
You can notice that Dyna-cabs and IR packs before them are sold, not gifted. Clearly, there should be a reason for that.
I personally believe Fractal will support Gen3 until its hardware is capable of running certain gen of algorithms, after which they will focus their efforts in the Gen4. Nothing says I'm right, just the way I see it.
But I paid for a finished product, and never ever expected them to put any more efforts in it than what was available at day one. It's their decision to have this fight and be the top dog, but to include this many years of support and updates for free in already competitively priced product and not being a Yamaha corp. or treating their HW owners like an economy class people is really something else.
 
sprint said:
wrt Fractal: my experience has been that their business model provides tremendous value to me as a customer. I feel that I get much more functionality per $ spent than any other gear I've ever purchased - its one of, if not thee best purchase experiences I've ever had with any product.
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Same. Easily the best gear purchase I've ever made. I've been been wanting to go Fractal for many years, but couldn't justify the cost of the flagship rack unit and foot controller (axe II era). It would've meant selling off my entire rig to fund it, and I was chicken LOL. I did it piecemeal, and got into the modeling world with Helix ( I saw it when it was first unveiled at NAMM and bought immediately). It was great way to start the journey, but still wasn't on the level of Fractal. So when Fractal got into the floor game with FM3 I jumped on it (OG non headphone FM3 lol). Then I got in on the first run of FM9s. Now, after 4ish years, I have the FM9 and FM3T MkII. I feel really at home with the Fractal workflow and continue to discover new ways to get the best tones I've ever had. That's coming from a guy who's owned lots of great tube amps (including some highly collectible ones) with a huge pedalboard (GigRig G2 switcher, Strymons, Eventide, boutique ODs, etc etc).

It's like being the kid in class with the extra jumbo, super deluxe Crayola crayon kit (with built in sharpener). I can draw anything!
 
Admin M@ said:
A few weeks ago, FM3 firmware was almost ready for public beta. Then we made the decision to include the latest amp modeling updates. Once the new Axe-Fx firmware is released, the FM3 firmware will be cleared for final development and public beta release.
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Looking forward to it. Thanks for all the hard work.
 
jetdriver1775 said:
The constant software development and product improvement are part of what drew me to Fractal (from using a Helix). I believe it is possible for more than one thing to be true at once. It is possible to be excited about forthcoming new features, and (admittedly impatient or disappointed at times with the wait), while also acknowledging the hard work going on behind the scenes by the Fractal team. It should be ok to express these feelings of excitement and/or frustration on this forum, because we all feel it at one time or another. We should be allowed to express ourselves without the almost immediately being admonished as ungrateful or unappreciative. That is not the case (speaking for myself anyway). We are all passionate about our Fractal gear, or we wouldn't bother engaging in this forum. Seeing the new features and improvements implemented on other units and being demoed on YouTube only heighten the anticipation.
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All expression is fair game on forums - so it also goes the other way as well, does it not? If users are free to express their dissatisfaction or frustration about a lack of an update, others may also comment on why those expressions are distasteful. That is the nature of the internet. Particularly when it comes to the written word where context and tone are often misunderstood and hard to convey. Nobody is censoring anyone here, but if opinions are going to be expressed freely, then I think it reasonable to expect all kinds.
 
I just want to say what an amazing company Fractal is for us insufferable guitarists. My gratitude for their non-stop innovation and customer service cannot be overstated. I am sure we will be able to survive the time it takes to get your work completed to your very high standards. Thank you. 👍😎🎸
 
Cam Heiliger said:
All expression is fair game on forums - so it also goes the other way as well, does it not? If users are free to express their dissatisfaction or frustration about a lack of an update, others may also comment on why those expressions are distasteful. That is the nature of the internet. Particularly when it comes to the written word where context and tone are often misunderstood and hard to convey. Nobody is censoring anyone here, but if opinions are going to be expressed freely, then I think it reasonable to expect all kinds.
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Agree! I stand by my point about assumptions though. Just because I might express feelings of frustration or be at times impatient, doesn't mean I also don't recognize the hard work that's happening to keep a product at the top of the pack. Mostly, I try to keep it light and make comments in jest. I'm sure at times there have been outliers who are being flat out rude, and they usually get checked pretty quick.

A side effect of waiting - I forced myself to dive deeper into the unit and learn new things. My 'go to' preset sounds better than it ever has.
 
Cam Heiliger said:
All expression is fair game on forums - so it also goes the other way as well, does it not? If users are free to express their dissatisfaction or frustration about a lack of an update, others may also comment on why those expressions are distasteful. That is the nature of the internet. Particularly when it comes to the written word where context and tone are often misunderstood and hard to convey. Nobody is censoring anyone here, but if opinions are going to be expressed freely, then I think it reasonable to expect all kinds.
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I agree but I’ve seen innocent expressions of hope or excitement for upcoming beta releases be interpreted as distasteful or entitled.
 
jastan said:
I agree but I’ve seen innocent expressions of hope or excitement for upcoming beta releases be interpreted as distasteful or entitled.
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Sure. I have seen genuine displays of entitlement dismissed as playful or harmless. It is all a matter of individual interpretation which gets murky on the internet. My point being that any opinion posted in a public forum is open to criticism. It is the nature of the beast and we don't all view things the same way. We can't expect either group to receive protection. We simply all don't see things the same way.
 
Chromatizm said:
Are you in EU?
Because in US the price of FM9 is about the same Fender asks for their Tonemaster modeler, and with a few hundred dollars more you'll get a
flagship. FM3 is $1100 - which competitor has flagship around this price? None. L6 and NDSP top products stuff priced same as FM9 while being so much less powerful and flexible.
We are not calling Hotone an "FA competitor", right?... Let's not do that :) Maybe Line6 Stomp is a competitor for FM3, but only in case you need some very basic presets and effects.

So this comment doesn't really stand, sorry. The world is quite big. For EU - yes, maybe.
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Yes, I am in EU. And your argument can play in both directions. Not the whole world is US. In EU FM3 costs 1500 EUR. While Line 6 Helix costs exactly the same. Both floor and rack version.

While Axe FX3 Turbo costs 3100 EUR. I didn't consider the fender Unit because it's quite fresh and I don't know that much about it.


Chromatizm said:
Well, I only can tell for myself and people I know, but only NDSP people I know ever considered updates as a part of the price. And guess what - they've been f*d big time. Nobody ever I dare to say bought Line6 stuff expecting it to keep providing updates.

But wait, there is more. Updates we receive for FAS are not simply "patches" or "new amp models". Not even "liquid profiling" is close to what we have here.
Quite literally we have updates which qualify as new OS versions. They change so much no other company ever changes in their existing products. It's more like a new version of Windows than a "security and functionality improvements" updates.

So why I can agree - I don't want to, but I can agree that updates should be free, it is clear that they should be free only to a particular point. What we get is actually extra and any other company would sell it as "subscription-based updates". We get it for free.
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I don't know why you telling me about the failing marketing step of Helix, while we are talking about FAS'es successful marketing steps. It might be that FAS just like their product and what they are doing and providing great updates because of that, but they sure do charge for that decent money. Because if they don't do the good updates, they will lose this benefit. I don't know how it's not that obvious to you, that business is business and every step is a reputation and price-affecting factor.
As I said, I am very happy, with how they are doing it, but it is one of the reasons why I paid so much money for these units. Because I know that it also gets great updates. Don't you think that I am not alone in thinking like that?
When somebody makes a list of pros, it would look something like this:

  • Beautiful tone
  • A lot of tweaking possibilities
  • Sturdy exterior
  • Great and frequent updates with many new amps and other devices
 
Admin M@ said:
A few weeks ago, FM3 firmware was almost ready for public beta. Then we made the decision to include the latest amp modeling updates. Once the new Axe-Fx firmware is released, the FM3 firmware will be cleared for final development and public beta release.
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Paul Rudd Movie GIF
 
gaaarfild said:
Yes, I am in EU. And your argument can play in both directions. Not the whole world is US.
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Don't I know it! Where I live, we don't have an official dealer, and I paid for both my units much higher than the price you've mentioned :) Same for NDSP stuff, insane price, but that was not the reason I didn't even consider it.
Yamaha has distributors here so the price for Helix is reasonable, yes, but their flagship does nothing FM3 can't do, so it's not a hard choice for me.
gaaarfild said:
I don't know why you telling me about the failing marketing step of Helix
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I didn't even mention it. I was talking about NDSP promises. But yeah, that is also a great example that "the product is ready when its ready". They just tried to made even more money - this is exactly what you call business is business.
gaaarfild said:
but they sure do charge for that decent money
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The price in EU is not of their making. Their original price is fair. We need to talk to whole different people about taxes and other stuff in EU.
gaaarfild said:
I don't know how it's not that obvious to you, that business is business and every step is a reputation and price-affecting factor.
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Quite the opposite, I've mentioned this is their choice to stay the top dog.
But they'd be that dog on the original version of the FW which was sold with the unit. Competitors don't upgrade their algorithms, so there would be no danger to Fractal reign anyway. They are just way ahead of the competition, way way ahead, and need to do nothing to stay there.
But they do. Little to no chance that it's your and my money are the reason for them to push the envelope.
 
seclusion said:
FYI AxeFX III 24.05 is not beta now...
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So is the FX firmware release step from @Admin_M’s post here:
Admin M@ said:
A few weeks ago, FM3 firmware was almost ready for public beta. Then we made the decision to include the latest amp modeling updates. Once the new Axe-Fx firmware is released, the FM3 firmware will be cleared for final development and public beta release.
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Is that done now then?
 
Patience good fractal friends. The fine folks at Fractal i am sure are working diligently to bring us yet another incredible FREE update. Always remember they work their butts off to bring us these upgrades constantly unlike other products out there. I always appreciate everything the good people at Fractal Audio and I for one am very appreciative when the updates happen.
 
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