Closed Ability to Load 3rd Party Plugins

[Brady Lee]

I realize this is probably way far away. But it would be super slick to be able to load in my favorite studio plugins into my axe fx - such as preamps, tape saturators, all that.

 

[bradlake]

It is happening now. Use a DAW.[

 

[Brady Lee]

It is happening now. Use a DAW.[

You’re fake news pal.

 

[Dave Merrill]

Not gonna happen.

DAW plugins are built for the OS they run on, and the VST environment standard, none of which exists in the Axe.

The audio parts of the Axe are almost certainly written in a low level language for speed and efficiency, and the display parts are custom to this display, and the infrastructure code Fractal has built to make maintaining the code base simpler.

I wish I wasn't so sure of this, because I'd like it too, but it's a non-starter I'm certain.

 

[Brady Lee]

Not gonna happen.

DAW plugins are built for the OS they run on, and the VST environment standard, none of which exists in the Axe.

The audio parts of the Axe are almost certainly written in a low level language for speed and efficiency, and the display parts are custom to this display, and the infrastructure code Fractal has built to make maintaining the code best simpler.

I wish I wasn't so sure of this, because I'd like it too, but it's a non-starter I'm certain.

It’s just a wish list item. While it may seem difficult at the minute, all I’m wishing for is some way to host plugins within the unit.

 

[AJ Vargas]

And let's not forget that many, if not most, of the plugins aren't tailored to process real-time audio. I know Cliff is very meticulous when latency becomes a problem within the Axe, I guess he wouldn't want to deal with any potencial 3rd party plugin that don't meet his standards.

 

[lqdsnddist]

I’d like to be able to run Excel and Word on the Axe too....

Maybe a way to check email too

 

[Budda]

Use the DAW as has been mentioned. You can use usb in/out and DI to add VST processing to your track too, no?

 

[JamesBWood]

Maybe Axe-FX IV can run a hypervisor OS. Then you can run everything as a VM. Probably would suck for latency, though.

 

[guitarobert]

Obviously VST and AU plugins aren't feasible. But I would love if the Axe III had an API to create a custom block, written in C.

 

[Dave Merrill]

Obviously VST and AU plugins aren't feasible. But I would love if the Axe III had an API to create a custom block, written in C.

You're probably one of the 3 serious people who would use that, and supporting all the under-qualified wannabees would be a major drag for fractal.

 

[alexjplant]

This device already exists and is cheaper than an Axe-Fx... it's called an iPad.

 

[jefferski]

... supporting all the under-qualified wannabees would be a major drag for fractal.

I was thinking the same thing. Imagine the support calls and posts here for that!

 

[Brady Lee]

I’d like to be able to run Excel and Word on the Axe too....

Maybe a way to check email too

Maybe just don't quit your day job?

 

[Brady Lee]

Use the DAW as has been mentioned. You can use usb in/out and DI to add VST processing to your track too, no?

Yes it's doable, but there are a lot of potential failure points there. Would rather just have a block that could host a single VST.

 

[Brady Lee]

You're probably one of the 3 serious people who would use that, and supporting all the under-qualified wannabees would be a major drag for fractal.

Totally understand that.

 

[Brady Lee]

This device already exists and is cheaper than an Axe-Fx... it's called an iPad.

You, sir, are fake news.

 

[alexjplant]

You, sir, are fake news.

I hope you're being satirical :-D

This would ruin the value proposition of the Fractal ecosystem... tight hardware/software integration allows significant optimization and eliminates entire classes of issues that arise when you allow execution of third-party code. Allowing what you suggest would turn the Axe into the functional equivalent of a PC with DSP accelerators a la DigiDesign or UA except in different packaging. If you want to run third-party plugins then get a platform that's designed around doing that. People pay money for a dedicated unit like the Fractal because it's reliable and works well in its ecosystem - there are other great-sounding amp modeler VSTs but people don't feel like dealing with the headache that comes with a DAW, plugin architecture, etc.

Why would Cliff go to the extraordinary effort to implement something that would wreck stability and be difficult to monetize? It doesn't make sense.

 

[Budda]

Yes it's doable, but there are a lot of potential failure points there. Would rather just have a block that could host a single VST.

The axe fx is also a computer. How do you figure there's less failure points?

People have been loading VST's for a long time at this point. If you're having issues with a specific one, post here or to various boards, email the company's customer support and see if there's anything on youtube about the issue.

Most DAWs these days are set up to handle VST's easily.

 

[sacredgeometry]

As has been pointed out trying to get your plugins venders to rewrite their plugins to target the Axe FX is never going to happen. Regardless of how Cliff feels about it.

While it may seem difficult at the minute, all I’m wishing for is some way to host plugins within the unit.

It's not just difficult, it's impossible without emulating x86-64, then rewriting a bunch of VST dependencies (and sections of the VST SDK), then getting the developers of all the plugins you want to use to rebuild their plugins against those dependencies in hope that it all works seamlessly ... or canning that idea and persuading them to rewrite their plugins using a proprietary SDK so they can deploy them to the axe.

In all senses I would suggest listening to the people in this thread.

You have some options. You could either just run your computer (which would be the most sensible solution) or if you really need outboard gear to do it there are a few options. I cant post links yet but have a look at the muse research receptors.