“Jesus, is there anything you people don’t bitch about”

It's society today. We're all spoiled. We want instant gratification and we usually get it. When we don't get it we feel like we're being cheated.

I think society was better when life was harder. I grew up with nothing. Most of us did. I remember one of the best "toys" we ever got was the huge cardboard box the refrigerator came in. We spent hours in that thing pretending it was a spaceship. We would spend hours playing baseball with a worn out ball or walk along the railroad tracks looking for smushed pennies we left the day before. We didn't have any fancy electronics or social media or much of anything. We ate government issued cheese and powdered milk. And yet we were happy.

I really think social media was one of the worst things to happen to society. It had the power to be a useful tool but that power has been abused in the name of greed. People's brains are being rewired intentionally to addict them to it so they can generate more advertising revenue. People are accustomed to getting hundreds of little dopamine hits every day and it's made them irrational and demanding. Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey will go down in history as two of the most evil pricks the world has ever seen (Sheryl Sandberg will be right behind them at the gates of hell).
We had a refrigerator box from our neighbor's newly delivered refrigerator, cut a door in it, stuffed an old cotton mattress on the bottom and would jump out of a big eucalyptus tree into it, for hours. Then we found the box for someone's new washer or something similar, cut a door in it, laid the refrigerator box on its side, dragged in an old blanket and it was our castle for weeks, and was immensely useful when we were hiding from cars at sunset, for no reason, just to avoid them being able to see us. Eventually all the wars and tea parties wore them out, so they got dragged to the trash.

This is before most of y'all were even thought of. :)
 
I had to think back, but for some strange reason, I used to absolutely LOVE riding elevators. So much so, that when we went on vacation, I'd sneak out of our hotel room just to do that. I remember telling myself that when I became an adult, I'd go find a tall building just so I could ride the elevator as long as I wanted, without any grown-ups telling me to stop. Weird thing happened though. Once I was old enough to do so, the allure had somehow left me. Ahh, being a kid. Sigh...
 
I had to think back, but for some strange reason, I used to absolutely LOVE riding elevators. So much so, that when we went on vacation, I'd sneak out of our hotel room just to do that. I remember telling myself that when I became an adult, I'd go find a tall building just so I could ride the elevator as long as I wanted, without any grown-ups telling me to stop. Weird thing happened though. Once I was old enough to do so, the allure had somehow left me. Ahh, being a kid. Sigh...

Too true. Same with escalators. The only place with an elevator in the County I grew up in was at the Hospital with
2 floors and a Basement.

Oddly, now I take the stairs even if an elevator is available---because cardio and slower metabolism with aging.
 
My new mantra CTH: Cull the Herd!

It's okay when 'nature' does it but not so much when humans do it to each other. Then again, it seems to be in our DNA, so....
I thought more of the planet is overpopulated people might have hailed Covid as having been sent by the Messiah/universe/whatever but I guess if there is any chance that they might be included amongst the culled then perspectives suddenly swing to a stance that is a little more 'pro life,'

anyway, on a brighter note...

I F***ing love my AFXIII mkI. It makes me sooooo happy, inspired and creative. I got a good deal on a used one about a month before Cygnus came along. The day I got it delivered to work I took it home, plugged in and played through the presets and knew it was awesome and went to bed happy with my purchase. I bounced out of bed the next day, made coffee and sat down to start making some heavy tones in a non committal way to get into the swing of it while awaiting for Cygnus to drop. Over the next few weeks I made presets with Das Metal, IIC++ and Soldano 100 knowing I would delete them and start from scratch again with Cygnus and what I had learned. Then Cygnus came and I jumped in on one of the last beta releases. What was great before suddenly opened up and 'got real' (youth parlance I believe). The new presets that followed were amazing. If I want to play some classic rawk I just click on something suitable and start playing, no tweaks necessary.

Here is THE thing though.

Since Cygnus I have only gotten around to making one preset, USA C+ with Drive, Rev, Delay and 3 stock IRs I blend to taste, one is a Far Field. I am monitoring on my studio speakers. Sat next to the rack is my pristine Crate Blue Voodoo 300 and Celestion V30 4x12. It has a famously clean Ampeg valve power amp that even sounds good at low volume that I intend to run the Axe into, but I still haven't bothered to set it up. I just turn on the Axe and monitors and rip. I have barely scratched the surface CPU, memory or feature wise. I have felt no need to buy additional IRs. The only stuff in my User 1 is a few Leon freebies and the Fractal sourced far fields taking up 86 spaces. I've just scanned through looking at all the empty slots and got bored before User 2 has even scrolled into view. I will use the scratch pad to try the new IR format (forgotten what it's called already).

The reality is, at the rate I'm going, I'm simply not going to live long enough to fully explore what I've got and I have no GAS whatsoever (guitars not included, obviously). I just turn on and play, contentedly, for hours when able. Contentedly. How often do you hear that word? although if I was missing out on a new Cliff algorithm epiphany I would certainly start to yearn. Algorithm envy! Also, for the first time in a few years, I think I should be in a band again. It would be so much easier with this thing.

I only feel bad that I haven't donated to Fractal directly and yet I still regularly get these free update notifications. I will be ordering an FC12 in the near future. If an Axe FXIII Nitrous is released that spits flames out of the top when a footswitch is pressed I'm in, otherwise I'll wait for IV to become an impatient waitlister. That is when you might hear me bitch, a little. I'll keep the III and install it in the bathroom so I can play on the toilet.

Now I'm going to check for more people's cardboard box adventure updates, then plug in.
 
Last night I took my son out for some Caribbean food at this little local place. Chatted with the owner. Had a couple Smuttynose Old Brown Dogs. Came home and watched Family Guy and then went to bed.

People were complaining about something??? Just another day at work.
FAKE NEWS!

There is no way you have that much free time with all the innovations, updates and releases you push out.

Thanks for the support! We (Most of us) appreciate it.
 
Take a big cardboard box with the waxy side on the ground and go sliding down hills on the edge of town. Kept us occupied for days on end.
"cardboard box with the waxy side"
I don't think ours had those. Now I've got Skid Row's 'Wasted Youth' racing through my brain on loop :cry:
 
Also, for the first time in a few years, I think I should be in a band again. It would be so much easier with this thing.
I'm right there with ya! I swore off bands years ago after dealing with my best friend's LSD (lead singer disease), who was on a constant power trip.
But after about a year-and-a-half of serious rededication to playing, and getting my chops almost to where I'd like them, (due to in no small part having the Axe III), I'm beginning to reconsider. If that happens, I'll have FAS to thank.
 
I'm right there with ya! I swore off bands years ago after dealing with my best friend's LSD (lead singer disease), who was on a constant power trip.
But after about a year-and-a-half of serious rededication to playing, and getting my chops almost to where I'd like them, (due to in no small part having the Axe III), I'm beginning to reconsider. If that happens, I'll have FAS to thank.
I hear you. I walked away from band and friendship because it all got so intertwined. If the artistic vision gets watered down by it all then the time and expense just isn't worth it. Unfortunately I can't complete compositions alone because although I have tonnes of material I find I need to bounce stuff off a collaborator to keep things from becoming stale/formulaic. Fortunately I enjoy studying/experimenting with music more these days and the Fractal just makes everything so readily available without breaking the flow.
 
Unfortunately I can't complete compositions alone because although I have tonnes of material I find I need to bounce stuff off a collaborator to keep things from becoming stale/formulaic.
I'm the same way. In an early band, we started moving towards originals (found out that's really all the other guitar player wanted to do, and the only reason he reached out to me was because I was in a band with a good bass player), but I had ideas/riffs, but needed to collaborate. Plus, I felt it helped give the songs a more unique style, but all I ever got was, "We'll do your stuff when you bring in a completed song." I ended up leaving soon after. I had even written a harmony part for one of his solos, that everyone said sounded really cool, but ended up getting changed after I left. Just felt really childish.
Maybe with this incredible gear, I should try my hand again, but I generally don't feel I'm a good songwriter. Honestly, I get my enjoyment learning others' songs.
 
I'm the same way. In an early band, we started moving towards originals (found out that's really all the other guitar player wanted to do, and the only reason he reached out to me was because I was in a band with a good bass player), but I had ideas/riffs, but needed to collaborate. Plus, I felt it helped give the songs a more unique style, but all I ever got was, "We'll do your stuff when you bring in a completed song." I ended up leaving soon after. I had even written a harmony part for one of his solos, that everyone said sounded really cool, but ended up getting changed after I left. Just felt really childish.
Maybe with this incredible gear, I should try my hand again, but I generally don't feel I'm a good songwriter. Honestly, I get my enjoyment learning others' songs.
We just wrote our own stuff. We had a core of two guitars and drums which was mostly productive but got through two bassists who both had drug issues. Also one started seeing the other guitarist's ex-girlfriend which was a final straw between them. Could never get a settled vocalist for live shows. The ideal would have been a bassist/vocalist with charisma and the shared vision. That would have nailed it. Dealing with the messy drama just got too much like a soap opera for my liking. The core was special and may have been a one off. Like you, I think, the creative flow Fractal opens up to me now has me having regrets. Previously I had made peace with moving on. How good is a piece of gear that actually has you questioning your life choices:)
 
The ideal would have been a bassist/vocalist with charisma and the shared vision. That would have nailed it.
Yeah, for yours and every other band out there! Let's not forget tall and good looking too. I think that narrows it down to the late Benjamin Orr from the Cars.
 
There have been moles on forums for as long as there have been forums. Most of them we catch and dispense with accordingly but there are a few that are very slick in their approach so we can't ascertain for sure whether they are moles.

You are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Some of the stuff that our competitors do would make Gordan Gecko blush. I had vowed never to do a "Charts and Graphs" thread again but the gloves came off after the latest transgression. I have always told all my employees to "do the right thing" and play everything above-board as possible. We don't engage in the pay-for-play stuff, don't pay magazines, don't pay artists, don't send fake users into other company's forums, don't shill on YouTube, etc. We've got our share of detractors and we take a lot of crap but I doubt any company in this space can match our ethics. I'm old-school. I believe in hard work and build a better mousetrap. I'm sure there will be those who will poo-poo and ridicule these statements. That's fine, I still sleep well at night.
This post is why I like this company so much. I am a loyal customer for life because of this ethos.
 
Last night I took my son out for some Caribbean food at this little local place. Chatted with the owner. Had a couple Smuttynose Old Brown Dogs. Came home and watched Family Guy and then went to bed.

People were complaining about something??? Just another day at work.
Wait. The little guy is old enough to appreciate other cuisines? Seems like only yesterday, he could barely say, “Obot.”
 
I ran a BBS in the late 80s and early 90s, and people complained as much then as they do now. The only difference is that in those days, the only people who could complain online were technically proficient.
 
I have this Bad Kitty patch that I dumbfucked my way into on my Axe. I'm an 80s guy and have been trying to wrangle Marshall and Boogie things forever.

Just checking in to say that I have the worlds best guitar sound now and even my girlfriend says I sound and play better than ever.

Thanks Fractal!
 
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