Accessory Product Idea

Rane

Rane

Experienced
There's probably too small a market to make producing something like this profitable, but here's the idea anyway:

I'd love to have a 1u rack unit with about 12 motorized, amp-like knobs on it that represent and control the position of parameters in the Axe II; the user being able to select exactly which parameters to be controlled with each knob.

I have no idea what this would involve technically, but it sure would be cool. :D
 
Rane said:
I have no idea what this would involve technically, but it sure would be cool.
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That would basically be kind of an Axe-Edit in a physical shape. The values could be readout by MIDI or USB, and then you'd need the motorised "potentiometers" and knobs on them. The rack must contain some kind of computer or an equivalent that can access the values and control the motorised potentiometers.
 
I don't mean to rain on your parade, but you really can get to that place of comfort on the Axe panel with time & patience.

I can edit using the front panel MUCH faster than using AE now. I only use AE for updating FW or good presets.
 
I don't get why you'd want the knobs motorized. Without a human hand to twist them, knobs have no purpose.
 
Philip34 said:
I don't mean to rain on your parade, but you really can get to that place of comfort on the Axe panel with time & patience.

I can edit using the front panel MUCH faster than using AE now. I only use AE for updating FW or good presets.
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I AM already that comfortable with the front panel. Just thought it would be cool to have some physical knobs that will not only show you what the settings are for a given preset, but also be instantly tweak-able in a live setting. Just to get back some of the vibe of having a tube amp.

Funeral said:
There are a few that already exist.
One is this http://forum.fractalaudio.com/other-midi-controllers/56166-ferrari-axe-fx-editors-ipad-w-lemur.html
The other is this http://forum.fractalaudio.com/other...idyax-project-using-bcr2000-pilot-axe-fx.html
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Hmm... The midyax thing looks pretty neat. But it doesn't have cool spinning knobs. :( :lol

Rex said:
I don't get why you'd want the knobs motorized. Without a human hand to twist them, knobs have no purpose.
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You've never seen a motorized knob?!? They're AWESOME!

Check it out:

 
Rane said:
You've never seen a motorized knob?!? They're AWESOME![/video]
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I get motorized knobs on a knob-based device, but on a device that's already programable, the knob motors only serve as indicators. With a visual indicator like LEDs or an LCD panel behind the knob, that fuction is covered, and all you need is a rotary encoder. The motorization gives you more potential points of failure with no added fuctionality.
 
Rex said:
I get motorized knobs on a knob-based device, but on a device that's already programable, the knob motors only serve as indicators. With a visual indicator like LEDs or an LCD panel behind the knob, that fuction is covered, and all you need is a rotary encoder. The motorization gives you more potential points of failure with no added fuctionality.
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But they're cool, dude!

Seriously though, they would add functionality, the recall screen offers no setting indicators and limited control options. I just thought it would be cool to have a row of knobs that work exactly like a real amp for on the fly changes. No need to open editors of any sort. Turn the unit on. Select a preset with your midi pedal and instantly see (and change) where your go-to parameters are set without ever having to navigate a single edit screen.

As you said, motors would add a potential for failure, but I'd personally still prefer it over LED-style indicators, just for the "real" factor.

I do see your point, though. Practically speaking, you're probably not going to be changing the settings of a dialed-in patch all that often. That said, guys accustomed to tweaking their pedals on the fly would likely find a floor-based unit much to their liking.

I think I just miss the tangibility of knobs on a real tube amp. Just thought this would be a cool and practical way to have the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, it's not something you can just throw together yourself with a soldering iron and a few pots.
 
I had the Fender Cyber-Twin head amp...and it had motorized knobs. It was pretty cool....when I would change patches, the knobs would auto-rotate to how I had that patch setup so that I could see that my treble was on 4 or 5 and adjust the knob on the fly that way...i think it was a great feature.
 
An easier way would be the use of knobs with LED-lights, which indicate the value of the readout parameter. That would make motors obsolete.
 
Rane said:
I just thought it would be cool to have a row of knobs that work exactly like a real amp for on the fly changes. No need to open editors of any sort. Turn the unit on. Select a preset with your midi pedal and instantly see (and change) where your go-to parameters are set without ever having to navigate a single edit screen.
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I totally agree. My GP-100 had six knobs assigned to gain, bass/mid/treble, presence and master. Dial it in and save. I'd love to have that feature on the Axe-Fx, with the knobs assignable to other parameters, depending on what you're editing.
 
Stillbruch said:
An easier way would be the use of knobs with LED-lights, which indicate the value of the readout parameter. That would make motors obsolete.
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Bingo. Either LEDS or an LCD display behind the knob, with a floating "chicken beak" indicator or some such.
 
Rane said:
Hmm... The midyax thing looks pretty neat. But it doesn't have cool spinning knobs. :( :lol
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OK the MidyAX does not have these "cool spinning knobs" you're after. Since it is, for now meant to be uses with the BCR2000 it has 32 encoders with Led Rings to indicate the value of the parameter (in %). Further to that it displays the values on a VGA screen in real time. The MidyAX is actually designed to display and control the parameter value of all the AXE-FX parameters. But it will also have a few "main parameter" control pages to be able to regroup say all the most useful parameter of the AMP, DRIVE block. Hope that helps in the understanding of the way the MidyAX works.
 
Rex said:
I totally agree. My GP-100 had six knobs assigned to gain, bass/mid/treble, presence and master. Dial it in and save. I'd love to have that feature on the Axe-Fx, with the knobs assignable to other parameters, depending on what you're editing.
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+1

I've expressed a wish for something like this for quite some time. There are a scant few threads (even going back to the pre-AxeFxII days) where others have shown interest in some sort of hardware interface for us knob addicts, so that we can have a little bit more robust physical (non computer) interface with which to tweak, or also to see the values of key parameters that may not be part of the same FX block or on different pages of and FX block (for example, Amp Block B/M/T/Pres, Delay Time, Delay FB, Reverb Time, Reverb Level)

This thread really should be in the Wish List area, shouldn't it?
 
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