Any word on the FM3 getting the Axe III's Pitch Block?

jetdriver1775 said:
They could go up a price bracket, on par with QC and Helix at around $1700US and probably squeeze that cou power in there. Throw in a couple footswitches too. Like a small - medium - large family of axe products. Just my wish anyway. Love my FM3, but an FC12 (or slightly smaller) sized floorboard with AFX III level horsepower would be sweeeeeeeeet. The rack format doesn’t interest me at all, but something on par just in a floor unit and I’m buying immediately.
Click to expand...
I understand why so many people want this, but expecting an Axe III in a floor unit to cost LESS than the rack version is unrealistic.
 
jetdriver1775 said:
They could go up a price bracket, on par with QC and Helix at around $1700US and probably squeeze that cou power in there. Throw in a couple footswitches too. Like a small - medium - large family of axe products. Just my wish anyway. Love my FM3, but an FC12 (or slightly smaller) sized floorboard with AFX III level horsepower would be sweeeeeeeeet. The rack format doesn’t interest me at all, but something on par just in a floor unit and I’m buying immediately.
Click to expand...
I don't know if I would love that; I'd love the horsepower, but the form factor of the FM3 is perfect. My FC6 fits perfectly where I need it between the legs of my keyboard stand next to my damper pedal. But if it was legitimately the the full guts of the Axe III with like 9 switches, I might be able to make an exception :)
 
marshall2553 said:
I understand why so many people want this, but expecting an Axe III in a floor unit to cost LESS than the rack version is unrealistic.
Click to expand...

& when we had a thread asking for a more powerful floor unit we were also unrealistic...
Many prefer Not having a Rack Unit. Helix Floor Outsells the Helix Rack by a wide margin.

FM8+ with 8 switches & AxeIII Horsepower, yes please
 
marshall2553 said:
But is anyone buying that at $2,500 minimum?
Click to expand...

I have a FM3+FC6 $1500 + a HX Stomp for a useable Capo & to free up DSP $600, so I am already at $2100
If people are Buying an AxeFX III + FC6 at that Price then YES, they will.
Like I said the Helix Floor Outsells the Helix Rack, there is obviously a Preference for having it all in One Unit.
I didn't buy an FM3 over a Axe III because of Price.
 
Kruegmeister said:
I didn't buy an FM3 over a Axe III because of Price.
Click to expand...
This is an interesting point. I'm kind of in the same boat. I'm not rich, but I buy the best tools for the jobs I do. An all-in-one would be great - which the FM3 is, save for my one reservation with the pitch block.

I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who buy based on price, but I'm always willing to spend a little more on something that will last and is the best of the best (within reason; I'm not going to spend $35k on a Mac Pro lol). The danger in my way of thinking is that you start to compare them all as if they're on equal footing: the HX stomp, the Kemper, the Axe Fx III, the QC - when in reality, I suppose price point is a significant factor.
 
Kruegmeister said:
I have a FM3+FC6 $1500 + a HX Stomp for a useable Capo & to free up DSP $600, so I am already at $2100
If people are Buying an AxeFX III + FC6 at that Price then YES, they will.
Like I said the Helix Floor Outsells the Helix Rack, there is obviously a Preference for having it all in One Unit.
I didn't buy an FM3 over a Axe III because of Price.
Click to expand...
I don’t really like racks either. But $2,500 (likely a low estimate) for an all in one that’s as big as or bigger than an FC-12 and even heavier does not appeal to me at all. I could be way off base, but I imagine Fractal has run the numbers and knows that just isn’t something that’s worth bringing to market.
 
marshall2553 said:
I don’t really like racks either. But $2,500 (likely a low estimate) for an all in one that’s as big as or bigger than an FC-12 and even heavier does not appeal to me at all. I could be way off base, but I imagine Fractal has run the numbers and knows that just isn’t something that’s worth bringing to market.
Click to expand...

So you're saying we think people would rather spend $2500 on a AxeFX III Rack + FC6 when they prefer All in the Floor @ $2500???
 
Last edited:
marshall2553 said:
I don’t really like racks either. But $2,500 (likely a low estimate) for an all in one that’s as big as or bigger than an FC-12 and even heavier does not appeal to me at all. I could be way off base, but I imagine Fractal has run the numbers and knows that just isn’t something that’s worth bringing to market.
Click to expand...
Agreed. My Helix Floor is great but it's a real surfboard. FM3 is much more portable and you can add extra crap to it for more switching capabilities. The FC floor controllers are way overpriced for devices that only work with one manufacturer's gear though.

I would rather have a FM3 size device but with no switches and the space used to accommodate beefier hardware. Doesn't even need to be Axe-Fx 3 level stuff, just a bit more powerful than FM3. Then I could put that unit wherever is convenient (floor, desk, on top of a cab) and have a separate footcontroller. No, it's not the same as the rack version because it's a much more portable box that is easier to place where operating it is convenient.
 
Kruegmeister said:
& when we had a thread asking for a more powerful floor unit we were also unrealistic...
Many prefer Not having a Rack Unit. Helix Floor Outsells the Helix Rack by a wide margin.

FM8+ with 8 switches & AxeIII Horsepower, yes please
Click to expand...

And let's not forget that the Helix Rack was designed AFTER the Helix Floor, not the other way around, so it has the same HP as the floor unit. If Line 6 wanted, maybe they could've designed the Rack to be far more powerful than the floor unit.

IIRC the QC has more power than the Helix, but the Axe-FX III has FAR more power than those units. What I mean is that because the Helix Floor and Rack has the same CPU it's not the same as asking FAS to put the same HP into a hypothetical "FMX", it's not an apples to apples comparison by any margin.
 
marshall2553 said:
I’m saying I doubt there are enough people that fall into that category to make it profitable for Fractal to make such a product.
Click to expand...

Conversely, I think there are enough people who would buy it to make it profitable. And neither of us really knows for a fact.

There are clearly enough people interested in all in one floor based modelers. You’re only contending that they wouldn’t be interested at the higher price it would come in at?
 
Deadpool_25 said:
Conversely, I think there are enough people who would buy it to make it profitable. And neither of us really knows for a fact.

There are clearly enough people interested in all in one floor based modelers. You’re only contending that they wouldn’t be interested at the higher price it would come in at?
Click to expand...
I would assume the vast majority of potential customers would prefer an all-in-one floor unit, but I'm not sure they would be interested at the price and size (8 footswitches was mentioned) of a hypothetical Axe Fx III Floor. With 6 or 8 switches it would be heavier than and at least as big as an FC-12. The price is going to exceed the Axe Fx price by at least enough to cover the extra hardware, potentially even higher to avoid cannibalizing sales of the rack version and floor controllers. And $2,500+ is a lot of money to have sitting on the floor susceptible to spills. But this is all just speculation on my part, maybe I'm completely wrong and they'd sell like hotcakes.

I personally prefer the modular approach, even though I don't like rack gear. Buying the controllers separately from the Axe/FM3 makes more sense to me than buying an all-in-one with a bunch of integrated switches. I currently have an Axe and FM3 and love that I can move my FCs between them. And assuming the FCs will be compatible with the next generation of hardware, it will make upgrading less expensive than it would be with an all-in-one. It also allows you to keep the most expensive part of your rig, whether it's the Axe or FM3, somewhere safe instead of out front at your feet.

I'll also add that I'm not bumping into the CPU limits on my FM3 and I don't use the pitch block extensively. So I have no interest in a higher horsepower floor unit right now, but I understand why others do. I tend to make kitchen-sink presets on my Axe, but I have no problem scaling things back to work on the FM3. I'd love for the pitch block improvements to be ported over, but it's not a deal breaker for me. I am very thankful that Cygnus is coming though, I think it's a huge improvement over Ares amp modeling.
 
Last edited:
decreebass said:
Customer feedback is the only way products improve. I would wager a good 50% or more of the features in the Axe family are from customer feedback and requests. I don't think anyone's so brash as to tell Cliff how to design his gear, but we are the customers who use it as our professional tools so our feedback should be very important to him, IMO.

But you're right; his effors are monumental. I think the fact that people in this forum are so "demanding" and "greedy" for features shows an unprecedented level of confidence in the company (let alone the thousands of dollars most of us have invested).:)
Click to expand...

For sure, customer feedback is important in ANY venture where money is exchanged for a good or service. :)

I just note a tendency for "some" to say what they would do when they have literally ZERO capacity to do any of it.
 
Come on... it'll fit :)

800px-III_circuit.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom