AX8 Discontinued?

JRFarmer said:
There is so much gnashing of teeth about this.

If having a dedicated button for scenes is a requirement for you, then you should consider the FC6 or FC12 as a necessary add-on, and your cost/benefit analysis of the product should include the cost of that additional controller. This isn't a design flaw, or something the engineers overlooked. You pay for what you need, you don't pay for what you don't need.
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Just a question for my own understanding and my statement about it being simpler, was my opinion. I’m quite happy with my Axe-Fx II and AX8. Both great pieces of gear! :)
 
JRFarmer said:
I got ya, Tony. There's just been a lot of needless effigy burning about this topic.
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...there's something to be said about a squeaky wheel.. If the wheels didn't squeak every once in a while, there would never-ever be another SuperSonic Type 7 in the works, would there? ;) :D
 
hbucker said:
For those who don't own one of these products already, there are quite a few decisions to make. Since I already own an AX8, there is no decision.

Nothing good/bad or right/wrong about it. It's just what it is.
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yeah, if I didn't already own an AX8 I might give it some thought, but I'm VERY happy with the AX8, and will continue to use it. Was actually thinking of picking up a second one as a backup, and if used AX8 prices tank because of the FM3, then SCORE!

The reality is an AX8 didn't suddenly become a crap piece of gear, it's still killer. I haven't updated mine for ages as I didn't have a significant stretch of time without a gig that I felt safe to risk it (paranoid probably), but I still dig the hell out of it, even several firmwares 'out of date'.

Very cool though that there's a new piece of gear with different capabilities/configurations available.
 
Better get an AX8 before they are all gone! I suspect once production stops the price will go up...
 
DaveO said:
Better get an AX8 before they are all gone! I suspect once production stops the price will go up...
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They've been out of stock for some time and waitlist members were transferred to FM3 list... I think production has already stopped.
 
unix-guy said:
They've been out of stock for some time and waitlist members were transferred to FM3 list... I think production has already stopped.
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Oh, didn't realize, haven't been following the forum much for a while, love my AX8 and not planning on selling it even after I get a FM3, I see a few of AX8's for sale on Reverb they are all commanding good resale, I suspect the majority of AX8 owners if there like me will not part easily, I should have gotten two...
 
Well, spoke to soon about my main AX8 never letting me down. Switch 1 died at a gig on Monday. First time I have ever had to use the backup. Hope it’s just going to be some switch cleaner to cure it.

EDIT. Just got all my gear back and out of the cases. Turns out it was only the nut holding the switch to the chassis that had worked loose. Tightened it up, switch working fine and all great to go again for the 5 gigs in Europe starting next week. So, my main AX8 is still functioning perfectly. :)
 
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jhatem81 said:
Ax8 users just wanted a real upgrade...to an ax9 with ares....why did this not happen
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Evidently what you think AX8 users wanted was not what Fractal Audio thought their users wanted. So, you were overruled ... it happens.
 
Perhaps what many users would have wanted, and simply what was possible and/or economically feasible were not the same things?
 
jhatem81 said:
Ax8 users just wanted a real upgrade...to an ax9 with ares....why did this not happen
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It did happen, just in a different form factor and different name. The FM3 has all of the Ares modeling and most of the effects from the Axe-Fx III. With the FC controllers, the FM3 can become an FM9, FM15 or any combination thereof.

The FM3 and FC6 together only cost $200 more than the initial price of the AX8 so my presumption is this was their thinking as the "upgrade" to the AX8.

All one has to do is go through the AX8 Wish List and look at how many boxes the FM3 check off:

Ares Modelling - Check
Tri Chorus - Check
Multi-Compressor - Check
Pitch Block from Axe-Fx III - Check
Ability to name Scenes - Check
Add Scribble Strips - Check

and so on.....
 
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JoKeR III said:
It did happen, just in a different form factor and different name. The FM3 has all of the Ares modeling and most of the effects from the Axe-Fx III. With the FC controllers, the FM3 can become an FM9, FM15 or any combination thereof.

The FM3 and FC6 together only cost $200 more than the initial price of the AX8 so my presumption is this was their thinking as the "upgrade" to the AX8.

All one has to do is go through the AX8 Wish List and look at how many boxes the FM3 check off:

Ares Modelling - Check
Tri Chorus - Check
Multi-Compressor - Check
Pitch Block from Axe-Fx III - Check
Ability to name Scenes - Check
Add Scribble Strips - Check

and so on.....
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One big deterrent here is that the FM3+FC6 is 22" long with 9 switches vs the AX8 being 16" long with 11 switches. That 6" is a big deal to many.
 
Tones2 said:
One big deterrent here is that the FM3+FC6 is 22" long with 9 switches vs the AX8 being 16" long with 11 switches. That 6" is a big deal to many.
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Then the choices are clear: Figure out how to make the new size work or find another product that does the same thing in the size you want.
 
I think the FM3 is the logical 'next step'. There were a lot of people who complained because the AX8 didn't have an expression pedal, but I think the general consensus (and I'm sure there are outliers) is that it 1) reduced the size/cost/points-of-failure of the AX8 and 2) allowed you to choose what pedal you liked best. Fractal made one, but you don't have to use it.

Fast-forward to the FM3 and it's taking that 'modular' approach to the next step. You've got an even smaller footprint that is very flexible on its own but you now have more choices in how you would like to build on this rig. Yes Fractal offers a couple choices for footswitches (and still offers the expression pedal), but you don't *have* to use any of those, there are plenty of other options out there (or the option to use nothing else). And as JoKer said, it clicks a lot of buttons on the AX8 wish-list.

Yeah, it's not going to do it for everybody, but no product does. And ultimately it's up to the individual to decide what tool (I think sometimes we forget that's all any of this is) will fit their needs best.
 
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