Anyone else think the Axechange can benefit from a refresh?

I am probably about as new a user as one can conceive, but I would be interested in helping out on the new exchange. I have been a programmer for over 25 years, and customize websites on a daily basis. Most of my work these days is in PHP, JS, HTML and interacting with MySQL DB's, but I have worked in dozens of languages, some of them only one time as I had to learn to solve a problem, did so, then never had to use again. There have been a lot of good thoughts on what to do here about the Axechange, and some of mine may echo those, but here is my list of ideas on what can/should be done.

  • UI should emulate the Axe Edit as much as possible. I believe this will not only encourage users to feel at home, but will also help in any integration that may be built in the future.
  • As mentioned by Ian, if the API is clean and proper, integration could be a real thing sooner rather than later.
  • I see it as a real possibility that in the future, the Axe Edit could be an online experience. This would allow several features including but not limited to vendors being able to publish with subscription based logins, updates being instantly available, users able to download only those presets/block/layouts they are interested in for their unit, users being able to share elements, better sorting/searching capabilities, etc.
  • Although some may complain that a web based approach is not going to work for everyone, I think the number of folk who are not connected to the internet with the computer running Axe Edit is pretty small, and for those users the "Work Offline" mode could be enabled (save zip to a thumb drive, move to Axe Edit computer).
  • I would like to see ALL items available. Presets, scenes (which could just be a preset with a single scene if we can not get the scenes separated), blocks, layouts for controllers, etc. The whole kit and caboodle!
  • As for rating systems, I think download numbers are the best rating system. If it has been posted for 3 months and has 2 downloads, probably not worth your time. Kind of like "vote with your dollars"!
Feel free to PM me about what I can contribute or where help is needed ;~)) This product is truly incredible (which I don't say often or without merit) and I know that my journey down this rabbit hole is going to take a lot of time from me, but I have already smiled more than the Cheshire cat in playing with this thing (had it only 5 days now and I was an amp modeler virgin) so totally worth it for me! LMK!!
 
Moondog Wily said:
Feel free to PM me about what I can contribute or where help is needed ;~)) This product is truly incredible (which I don't say often or without merit) and I know that my journey down this rabbit hole is going to take a lot of time from me, but I have already smiled more than the Cheshire cat in playing with this thing (had it only 5 days now and I was an amp modeler virgin) so totally worth it for me! LMK!!
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Welcome! Great to have you onboard!
 
GlennO said:
Axechange was doomed from the beginning due to the firmware update policy where there is no backwards compatibility for presets. That means 99% of the presets on Axechange are from old firmware versions (mostly very old) and sound weird if you try to use them with a recent version of the firmware. You can glean some ideas from them, but they're not very useful as is. I'm not saying that policy is good or bad, but a robust preset sharing community like you have with other modelers is never going to happen with Fractal Audio. A better source of ideas for presets are videos like Leon's that demonstrate patch building.
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There are pros and cons to Fractal's speed of development, but that's unlikely to change, ditto backwards compatibility.

That said, if I remember right, the firmware version used to create each preset isn't displayed, and isn't searchable, both unhelpful.
 
Dave Merrill said:
There are pros and cons to Fractal's speed of development, but that's unlikely to change, ditto backwards compatibility.

That said, if I remember right, the firmware version used to create each preset isn't displayed, and isn't searchable, both unhelpful.
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Just to be clear: I'm not saying I disagree with the firmware update policy. I'm just saying it puts a damper on any attempts to build a preset sharing community.

The advanced search allows you to search by firmware version, but if you use that it just demonstrates the problem with Axechange. About 97% of the presets are pre-Cygnus. There is some value in inspecting old presets, but you can't really use them. The Axechange interface has never been the problem. The problem is the presets have a short shelf life.
 
GlennO said:
Just to be clear: I'm not saying I disagree with the firmware update policy. I'm just saying it puts a damper on any attempts to build a preset sharing community.

The advanced search allows you to search by firmware version, but if you use that it just demonstrates the problem with Axechange. About 97% of the presets are pre-Cygnus. There is some value in inspecting old presets, but you can't really use them. The Axechange interface has never been the problem. The problem is the presets have a short shelf life.
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Yes of course but we have to live with that. OTOH, some users run older FW related to CPU load issues or simply because they gig a lot and are not systematically updating. I guess that what may be a loss for certain users can be a bargain for others.
 
Agreed. I currently don't use Axe Change because it doesn't have the features I want:

i) easily filter for specific firmware

ii) "most downloaded" & "highest rated" filtered by time (i.e., last month, last 6 months).
 
^^^ THIS ^^^ I haven't checked it out for a bit, but for example, Brother Leons(2112)'Sykes' patch still kicked serious ass last time I used it, and of course, it can be utilized as a fantastic starting point for your own stuff. On that note, thanks again, Leon!🙏🤘
 
GlennO said:
Just to be clear: I'm not saying I disagree with the firmware update policy. I'm just saying it puts a damper on any attempts to build a preset sharing community.
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Yeah, it sounds like a tricky problem to solve. Today I was wondering how we could possibly "version" presets, and how that would be enforced or maintained, which probably leads to userbase involvement, and the preset versions end up sounding completely different. Wouldn't solve anything.

The good news is, I can open up presets from version 1.x on my AxeFx 3 (18.3) and they sound pretty fine.
AWESOME MK IV LEAD I'm looking at you :eyes:
I don't really see anything wrong with this, if someone has chosen not to update their hardware unit firmware, and by doing so can't access newer presets, that's their choice.

Perhaps a rating system could be somehow tied into which version of firmware the user had when they rated it.

Something I've realised is that there isn't any sense of community at all in AxeChange, or the Helix / NeuralDSP preset sharing platforms. Definitely, something the project would need to consider. This forum is VERY active, and it's fantastic! Integration to share presets via the right here would be cool and help develop a sense of community. Perhaps via an embedded widget linked to the shared preset library.
 
discondition said:
The good news is, I can open up presets from version 1.x on my AxeFx 3 (18.3) and they sound pretty fine.
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Fine? Maybe. However, with old presets, the gain staging is weird, effects have changed, the amp models have evolved, new parameters are added, old ones are removed, parameter scaling goes through changes, etc.

If you're just looking for a random preset without any regard for what it sounds like, maybe that would be ok. But if you're looking for a sound that is similar to what the original preset author intended, you'll need to be pretty close to the same firmware version. If you think it's a small matter to keep presets sounding similar through firmware updates, just ask Austin Buddy :).

This is a consequence of the rapid pace of development at FAS. We're all here because we're ok with that. We're willing to abandon our old presets or put in the effort to update them when there is a major firmware update. But, the inherent preset obsolescence this causes is IMHO is why Axechange doesn't get much traffic, not any deficiency in the interface.

discondition said:
Something I've realised is that there isn't any sense of community at all in AxeChange, or the Helix / NeuralDSP preset sharing platforms.
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Not sure what you're referring to. All last year on Axechange, a couple of hundred presets were uploaded. The Helix preset exchange gets that many in a week.
 
Bruce Sokolovic said:
Thrilled this may be actually getting some legs.

One feature hugely helpful would be 5-10 sec mp3 clips next to the preset if the uploading user is so inclined. Would be nice to demo the preset that way before downloading.
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That is a good idea. At VGuitarForums.com almost everybody has the nice consideration of uploading both the preset and a mp3 sample of how the preset is intended to sound (at least at the VG-99 section)
 
GlennO said:
Fine? Maybe. However, with old presets, the gain staging is weird, effects have changed, the amp models have evolved, new parameters are added, old ones are removed, parameter scaling goes through changes, etc.
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Yeah true, but you can filter on presets tied to your firmware already. Some of the older presets still sound great tbh or at least are good starting points.

GlennO said:
If you're just looking for a random preset without any regard for what it sounds like, maybe that would be ok. But if you're looking for a sound that is similar to what the original preset author intended, you'll need to be pretty close to the same firmware version.
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Sure, I assume people are aware of the limitations of using older presets at that point and are only looking at them for inspiration or tweaking purposes.

GlennO said:
Not sure what you're referring to. All last year on Axechange, a couple of hundred presets were uploaded. The Helix preset exchange gets that many in a week.
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Sorry if I didn't make it clear what I meant, I mean there isn't any communication or socialisation on the preset sharing platform itself. People like interaction with other people and there is literally none. Definitely not dead though, however looking at numbers it's a lot less than I believe it can be.
 
Piing said:
That is a good idea. At VGuitarForums.com almost everybody has the nice consideration of uploading both the preset and a mp3 sample of how the preset is intended to sound (at least at the VG-99 section)
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Definitely been thinking about this as a feature. Awesome! I'll check out their platform thanks!
 
Haha wow it's literally a forum, shows that we could easily create something similar here on forum.fractalaudio.com
I do like the social aspect of it, however the preset filtering/searching looks pretty tedious.
 
It would be nice if somehow there were multi-versions of uploads (I know this is user dependent) but almost how Austin buddy updates for firmware so you could see a presets evolution over time. If these existed it might remedy some of the older presets not working properly. AXE can be set up in so many ways, half the time on presets I have to turn volume or was pedals off to get sound and even so it doesnt age well. Of course "power users" like burg and Leon's presets age better.

I agree that it's really heavily depending on the user interaction ( + hardware, firmware, etc) but if the site is "easier" or "nicer" to use, hopefully we could encourage a 'new' way of using it?

And maybe possibly some type of "live performance" "recording" or made with monitors or FRFR tags for the uploads -- since listening experience can vary.... (is this helpful?)

Also I used to make websites and went on to have a long-term graphic design career that because creative direction I would love to help out if anyone needs an extra set of eyes - my coding skills are "meh" anymore as I kind of hated what coding did to my brain ( - obsession - )


I also agree that if there was an mp3 recording some users could update older presets to sound "closer" in newer firmwares even if the original preset maker doesnt...
 
baby dracula said:
It would be nice if somehow there were multi-versions of uploads (I know this is user dependent) but almost how Austin buddy updates for firmware so you could see a presets evolution over time. If these existed it might remedy some of the older presets not working properly. AXE can be set up in so many ways, half the time on presets I have to turn volume or was pedals off to get sound and even so it doesnt age well. Of course "power users" like burg and Leon's presets age better.

I agree that it's really heavily depending on the user interaction ( + hardware, firmware, etc) but if the site is "easier" or "nicer" to use, hopefully we could encourage a 'new' way of using it?

And maybe possibly some type of "live performance" "recording" or made with monitors or FRFR tags for the uploads -- since listening experience can vary.... (is this helpful?)

Also I used to make websites and went on to have a long-term graphic design career that because creative direction I would love to help out if anyone needs an extra set of eyes - my coding skills are "meh" anymore as I kind of hated what coding did to my brain ( - obsession - )


I also agree that if there was an mp3 recording some users could update older presets to sound "closer" in newer firmwares even if the original preset maker doesnt...
Click to expand...
Obsession you say? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ha.
 
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