Any plans for a small stomp AX4?

Randalljax said:
I think a new unit is on the way BUT January is to soon considering AF3 just came of the wait list and the FC
Controllers have not started to ship yet
Maybe next Sunmer
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I would imagine Cliff has a few ideas on the design table we'd love to get our mucky paws on, but as to when or if we get to see them only time will tell
I've said a couple of times id like to see them in the new year, but that's just wishful thinking
It'll come when It comes

I do wonder if Line6 get to pump out more stuff than Fractal due to the Yamaha financial muscle behind them.
Not saying I'd like to see Fractal in a similar position, just an observation
 
FractalAudio said:
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Folks,
Look at the door behind! “Kitchen, Private” - they are cooking our next meal: A portable tiny AX4. People new to Fractal will buy loads of them because bedroom players don’t need the III. Then they will buy the bigger brothers because this is how guitar players are. They always want more.
 
Hhuent said:
Folks,
Look at the door behind! “Kitchen, Private” - they are cooking our next meal: A portable tiny AX4. People new to Fractal will buy loads of them because bedroom players don’t need the III. Then they will buy the bigger brothers because this is how guitar players are. They always want more.
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I've just spent the past day or so with my new Line6 Stomp

It's really good, brilliant in fact,. But it's not at the level of my Ax8. So when, if, there is a mini Fractal I'll be ordering straight away
 
Little thingy arrived the day before yesterday. Not bad I must say. Not bad at all. The user interface is great despite the small screen. For me there exist enough and the right amount of parameters you can tweak. One or two hours with this box and you know how to use it, I found a few amp cab combinations that are on par with the AX8 for my ears. On the other side, the overdrive and distortion section is underwhelming, sounds a bit stiff and fizzy, but I will check again. Mind you, I am mostly playing clean to mid overdrive sounds, so this is not a big loss for me. I don’t use overdrive blocks to often on my AX8 either and I stick to the boosts to drive the amp. Midi implementation of the stomp is excellent, so is the headphone out. I never expected a reverb quality like on my AX8 but what I heard is good enough for quite some of my purposes: put the little thingy in my guitar case, use it with headphones or a small monitor at rehearsals. And this might happen more often than being on stage, right?
People who complain about the stomp not having nearly the same feature set as the big brothers are missing the point. This thing is so small, weighs 1,5 lbs and does so much, it’s frightening. It is a very handy backup solution for my AX8 also. Yes, only six blocks available, but I know guitarists who plug their guitar into a Fender Princeton, use the knobs on their guitars and sound great.
Line 6 made a clever move with this one and they will attract many new customers. I would kill for a mobile Fractal that fits into my guitar case (+ guitar of course) and offers the same feature set as the Stomp. And the same tone as my AX8 certainly ;-).
 
It does look like a great solution, lots of my gigs would suit a small version and it would be awesome to have access to some of the fractal sounds in a little box. I’m holding out for a fractal equivalent but if I cave in and get the L6 I guess I can sell it when the small fractal arrives.
 
Atte said:
To be honest, I would be ssuuper happy if Fractal made a product that only has an amp block and a cab block. One footswitch for amp xy.

No need for firmware updates, just bug fixes and it's done.
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I think you are on to something here. Guys looking for a small back-up to there AX8 are missing the market idea as well I believe. I desire a small unit to be my amp and cabinet through my home PA so I can still also use my pedals I have collected over the years. Now I can sound good at any volume. A small Fractal unit, like the HX Stomp would fit on an existing pedal board and act like an amp head. I believe Fractal would still sell with all the effects but if you had box that could do amps, cabs, delay and reverb; the rest would be pedals. The AX8 is designed to replace your tube amp and traditional pedals. It plays nice with pedals, but you can build your whole rig in the AX8. Maybe Fractal just does what Two Notes does with there Le Clean, Le Lead, Le Crunch and Torpedo CAB box. Just do it better and more compact. That would sell like crazy I think.
 
All jokes aside, whatever the successor to the AX8 is, it will surely have a massive demand as long as the same principle is applied: same sound quality as the rack, but fewer bells and whistles. I would only like to see a smaller, not larger, footprint. If it could fit into the front pocket of a standard gigbag, I would be happy.

Wanted to like the Firebox, but it just doesn’t do the wide and ambient Lifeson/Eric Johnson sounds I like.

Keep up the good work Cliff. Excited to see what comes up next.
 
Hhuent said:
Little thingy arrived the day before yesterday. Not bad I must say. Not bad at all. The user interface is great despite the small screen. For me there exist enough and the right amount of parameters you can tweak. One or two hours with this box and you know how to use it, I found a few amp cab combinations that are on par with the AX8 for my ears. On the other side, the overdrive and distortion section is underwhelming, sounds a bit stiff and fizzy, but I will check again. Mind you, I am mostly playing clean to mid overdrive sounds, so this is not a big loss for me. I don’t use overdrive blocks to often on my AX8 either and I stick to the boosts to drive the amp. Midi implementation of the stomp is excellent, so is the headphone out. I never expected a reverb quality like on my AX8 but what I heard is good enough for quite some of my purposes: put the little thingy in my guitar case, use it with headphones or a small monitor at rehearsals. And this might happen more often than being on stage, right?
People who complain about the stomp not having nearly the same feature set as the big brothers are missing the point. This thing is so small, weighs 1,5 lbs and does so much, it’s frightening. It is a very handy backup solution for my AX8 also. Yes, only six blocks available, but I know guitarists who plug their guitar into a Fender Princeton, use the knobs on their guitars and sound great.
Line 6 made a clever move with this one and they will attract many new customers. I would kill for a mobile Fractal that fits into my guitar case (+ guitar of course) and offers the same feature set as the Stomp. And the same tone as my AX8 certainly ;-).
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Completely agree, I just got back from rehearsal and used the stomp for the first time
i dialled up 3x simple patches before leaving the house and it sounded and worked great, though my newly acquired Dxr10 helped with better tone too

I'm really impressed with the Stomp and hope Fractal have something in the pipeline
 
I could only guess that new floor units are in the works that resemble the new FCs for the III.

There are many ways it could go. If the AX8 had - had the capability of controlling the III , it would have been amazing. It seems logical to me for both functionality and sales.

A new floor unit that can control the III , and still have limited on-board sounds , would be a home run ( IMO ) Then , the new FC ( AX6 or AX12 - perhaps ) becomes a backup for the III , with either a few limited downloaded patches on it , from the III , or a full fledged floor unit that can double as a FC for the III.
The possibilities are endless.
For my little jam sessions or shows , I’d be happy with a single patch , taken from my III , for the road , on a simple small pedal.
Tweak at home or in the studio , and travel with the finish product on a simple pedal that allows control of V , B , M , T only.
 
1poorplayer said:
I could only guess that new floor units are in the works that resemble the new FCs for the III.

There are many ways it could go. If the AX8 had - had the capability of controlling the III , it would have been amazing. It seems logical to me for both functionality and sales.

A new floor unit that can control the III , and still have limited on-board sounds , would be a home run ( IMO ) Then , the new FC ( AX6 or AX12 - perhaps ) becomes a backup for the III , with either a few limited downloaded patches on it , from the III , or a full fledged floor unit that can double as a FC for the III.
The possibilities are endless.
For my little jam sessions or shows , I’d be happy with a single patch , taken from my III , for the road , on a simple small pedal.
Tweak at home or in the studio , and travel with the finish product on a simple pedal that allows control of V , B , M , T only.
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I'd be surprised if they did something like that, having it so closely tied to the flagship
It's a good idea but I'd be expecting something like the Stomp. Small form with stacks of features, a modelling multi tool if you like, or a scaled back Axe3 in a floor formate, kind of like what the Ax8 is to the Axe2

Time will tell
 
of all the major players fractal brings me closest to a purchase soon in 2019/2020. Not a rack unit but a floor unit with much better gui then the ax8- a headphone jack and usb audio. After demo of the 3 in person i was floored but do not want a rack unit.
 
I think we’ll see two units in the new “floor” line. Both based on Axe FX III modeling and tech.

One more of an all-in-one processor with foot controls the size of the AX8. This one would aim for the Axe FX 2 in functionality and processing but with Ares tech (2 amps/cabs, most FX blocks from the III, headphone out, USB audio).

The smaller unit would be more compact. 3-4 buttons, less DSP. Probably less functionality than the bigger bro too, but plenty enough to replace an average guitar/pedalboard rig. It needs basic on-board editing, otherwise I doubt many people would buy it.

Both would be compatible/expandable with the FC6/FC12.
 
Daveis said:
The AX8 successor should work with the new FC6 foot controller. I don’t mind if the solution is two boxes the size of the FC6. Those that want more buttons get the FC12 option.
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Agreed w the layout options that’s enough or chain an FC 6 to it
 
I haven't used the HX Stomp but I used the Amplifire 3 and the Headrush Gigboard. I'd shoot for something between the size of the HX Stomp and the Gigboard. Six switches, a decent size screen, and controls similar to the Axe III. Trying to navigate on a tiny screen and with very limited controls is a nightmare. And having incredible modeling power yet extremely limited switching handcuffs the user so much.

I was really not impressed with the Gigboard's interface. The touchscreen used was not terribly responsive and you are covering the controls you are trying to adjust. There's probably better ways to execute (pressing the screen pops up a slider for instance rather than adjusting a fixed slider). But I really missed having knobs. I liked having something small enough to keep on a desk though.

The other thing I'd like to see is a mode switch like Helix. Being able to toggle between stomps and scenes is really handy. Although it's tough with limited switches available.
 
A smaller AX8 would be cool, but unless FAS can get it out the door fairly soon, the HX Stomp is going to own that segment of the user base. I suspect a newer AX8 would not be smaller, but have the Keystone chips to run AXE III code. It seems like we have run out of road on the Axe Fx II \AX8 due to the hardware it uses.
 
chrisjnyc said:
but unless FAS can get it out the door fairly soon, the HX Stomp is going to own that segment of the user base.
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You mean just like Blackberry owns the corporate phone market and Apple has no chance for pretty any success with the iPhone, as it was in 2007? Being first to market in a segment is not as important as you might think.
 
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