Fractal Audio's library/museum of great amplifiers

[yek]

Fractal Audio relentlessly keeps improving its state-of-the-art authentic component-based modeling, as demonstrated in FW 25.

Next to scientific and commercial goals, this has evolved into something else: the opportunity to build a library (museum) of virtualized classic amplifiers.

Only white box modeling can accomplish this.

 

[Budda]

With photos?

 

[chris]

right now people are going for the easiest to use modeler, smallest unit, this and that. but i think one day in the future - pretty soon maybe - Fractal modeling will be the repository for remembering gear where no physical units exist.

maybe cliff is just trying to get all the top players to use modeling, but the endless pursuit of that last 1% of amp updates needed will let guitar amps forever be in our lives with his machines.

 

[yek]

Exactly.

 

[weird guitar person]

And to that, thank you Cliff and teams!

 

[Frodebro]

right now people are going for the easiest to use modeler, smallest unit, this and that. but i think one day in the future - pretty soon maybe - Fractal modeling will be the repository for remembering gear where no physical units exist.

maybe cliff is just trying to get all the top players to use modeling, but the endless pursuit of that last 1% of amp updates needed will let guitar amps forever be in our lives with his machines.

Some people are going for easy or compact, but they are by no means the driving demographic.

 

[weird guitar person]

Some people are going for easy or compact, but they are by no means the driving demographic.

I think @chris was referring to the competition, not the potential user base, no?

 

[hblu2002]

As someone who has tried multiple “easy” options I can say, hands down, that the fractal camp (outside of tube amps etc.) is where people who appreciate and understand tone and feel and ridiculously accurate modelling live. And happy to be a member.

 

[api4u]

From a "gear-geek" stand-point, it would be great if photos of the actual amps used by FA could be included in either the wiki or FA manuals, just for a point of reference.

 

[Chromatizm]

the opportunity to build a library (museum) of virtualized classic amplifiers

It would be so nice to have some of the unique amps also included.
I still grief over Joe S.'s personal amp being removed a few FW's ago Things like this have unique value which increases value of FAS gear in return.

 

[Chuck P]

With photos?

I have often thought that photos of the amps would be amazing. Like an occasional Fractal instagram thing. Obviously privacy would need to be respected but the fact is I have a relationship with a Suhr Badger 18 in the Northeast somewhere that I've never even seen. I thought about sending it a Christmas card last year.

 

[Adman103]

Absolutely. Take the Carol Anns for example- notable and excellent amps with a fairly small number of them out there, but Alan Phillips legacy is still active through the Fractal models. We can make beautiful art with his designs, even if we don't have a physical amp sitting in front of us.

 

[Chris Hurley]

right now people are going for the easiest to use modeler, smallest unit, this and that. but i think one day in the future - pretty soon maybe - Fractal modeling will be the repository for remembering gear where no physical units exist.

maybe cliff is just trying to get all the top players to use modeling, but the endless pursuit of that last 1% of amp updates needed will let guitar amps forever be in our lives with his machines.

Guitar amps are pretty easy to repair. If all the tube plants shut down / get bombed then we may be in more trouble in terms of preservation.

I do think you're onto something in terms of people wanting to collect notable amplifiers, or amplifiers that were modded or dialed in by a certain person. Look at all the captures you can buy of specific amps, or rare amps that you can't really get that have something mythical about them.

On the Fractal, we can make a lot of those things ourselves but I have witnessed personally how people want the mystique or the collectability of things more than the practicality some times.

 

[moxypants]

Exactly.

Dude. I've used your document to make so many youtube videos / amp scenes. THANK YOU for your work!

 

[vector]

Cliffsonian Museum of Tone.

The Cliffsonian Institution is the world’s only museum of tone, gallery, and research complex, shaping the future by preserving tone, discovering new FAS amp models, and sharing our resources with the music world.

The Institution was founded in 2006 with Cliff and according to his unending pursuit of tone “under the name of the Cliffsonian Museum of Tone, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge on matters of tone.” We continue to honor this mission and invite you to join us in our quest. Yek is the director of said institution.

 

[Shahar]

We also need to keep his head in a jar.

 

[MackieFX]

What is white box modelling?

 

[weird guitar person]

What is white box modelling?

Full access to everything being modeled, opposite of black box testing (erm, and modeling) where you don't know exactly what the contents are composed of.

 

[skydog]

right now people are going for the easiest to use modeler, smallest unit, this and that. but i think one day in the future - pretty soon maybe - Fractal modeling will be the repository for remembering gear where no physical units exist.

maybe cliff is just trying to get all the top players to use modeling, but the endless pursuit of that last 1% of amp updates needed will let guitar amps forever be in our lives with his machines.

“Where no physical units exist”? Hey, I maintain my amps diligently. Thanks to Fractal Audio, they’ll actually last longer. No nightly venues and lugging these things through hell, to get to the stage and back.

 

[skydog]

I have often thought that photos of the amps would be amazing. Like an occasional Fractal instagram thing. Obviously privacy would need to be respected but the fact is I have a relationship with a Suhr Badger 18 in the Northeast somewhere that I've never even seen. I thought about sending it a Christmas card last year.

If there was a place to send photos for such a purpose, I’d be happy to share.