AX8 Price Point - At what price do you get upset?

[JamDoc]

Fractal Audio will take care of us & has a firmware update due for the FX8 after they get home form the Amp show

- It's not the notes in your music, it's the music in your notes

 

[JTroska]

the FX8 was designed for using with a guitar amp and there are much higher-end components in it to keep noise at a minimum. the first product of its kind from FAS for this specific purpose, as opposed to making an amp modeler also work for that purpose. if that's the price for the FX8 and its components, that's the price. what we do know is that it will continue to be updated and improved over time, which helps it keep its value.

i'm successfully using an FX8 at "general" gigs going direct, using a Fender Micro DI pedal that is an amp/cab simulator (no options, just a amp sim). but i really do miss the amp/tone options found with Amp modeling. having the FAS quality in such a small unit like the FX8 is amazing, but i'm definitely a fan of modeling and haven't touched a real amp in years.

i don't think the AX8 has "more for only $50." i think it has a different usage, which happens to be $50 more. it's been very difficult to explain to "Amp Guys" how to interface an Axe-Fx II with their real amp setups - having to take out the Amp/Cab blocks from every factory preset and explain why sometimes is very confusing. the FX8 is definitely easier to setup with a real amp, i feel.

also, as we've seen, the progress made on the AX8 might/should be heading over to the FX8, like being able to freely assign switches per preset, etc. so we don't really know what the immediate future holds for the FX8 and updates. but it's a great product and its price is on par with building a high-end pedal board of individual components.

different products for different uses. it's a great time to be a guitarist!

I'm still unclear on what the specific differences are even though I understand what each product's intended use is.

So the FX8 has I/O that's optimized for interfacing with a real amp. And the AX8 has an additional processor and knobs and amp and cab blocks. Still doesn't seem like the FX8 should cost as much as the AX8. Is there anything else we're giving up on the AX8 that I don't know about to make the two products the same price?

 

[DavidE]

But the AX8 can't channel switch a tube amp, correct?

If it can't, then that's another important factor in a strictly tube guy going with the FX8, & thus helps the FX8 retain its value.

I didn't want to sacrifice a block or two for the relays so I kept my footswitch on my board. I don't think the relay feature is a big deal when there are only 8 available blocks. Maybe when the FW upgrades we'll get the 4x12 matrix or even a 4x10 matrix to use so we can have 8 effects and 2 relays. But until then, I won't use the relays.

 

[DavidE]

i'm successfully using an FX8 at "general" gigs going direct, using a Fender Micro DI pedal that is an amp/cab simulator (no options, just a amp sim). but i really do miss the amp/tone options found with Amp modeling.

Interesting. I have one of those Fender Micro DI pedals. I think I have the same one with another label too... Monoprice or Mooer etc... I haven't tried it with the FX8 because I didn't expect it to sound good. I did try my FX8 with my Tech21 Blonde at a gig and I regretted it the whole night. Awful. Ethomas borrowed my Sansamp Vox pedal to try that one and he wasn't happy with that one either.

 

[Rex]

Am I upset? Yes and no. Until we know for sure how the AX8 will sound as an effects only device in 4cm, there's no reason to be upset.

There's no reason to be upset, regardless.

My mind is still boggled by your original question, which boils down to, "At what price point would the AX8 be such a fantastic bargain that it pisses you off?"

There is no such price point for me. If they charged $50 for them, I'd be thrilled. I bought my Fractal products because they did what I wanted them to do, at a price I was willing to part with.


If you want to prevent future upsets, start a campaign to get Fractal to stop innovating—or at least convince them to charge more money.

 

[DavidE]

There's no reason to be upset, regardless.

My mind is still boggled by your original question, which boils down to, "At what price point would the AX8 be such a fantastic bargain that it pisses you off?"

There is no such price point for me. If they charged $50 for them, I'd be thrilled. I bought my Fractal products because they did what I wanted them to do, at a price I was willing to part with.


If you want to prevent future upsets, start a campaign to get Fractal to stop innovating—or at least convince them to charge more money.

I don't think you understand the question. It's directed to those of us who paid $1349 for the FX8.

 

[Audiounity]

I doubt they will discontinue the FX-8 anytime soon. Like Cliff said, they are different products aimed at different setups. I can see them dropping the price slightly on the FX-8 though....that would make sense. If all you need are effects, it makes sense to buy the FX-8 as it was designed for the 4CM.

Yeah.... Considering I decided to keep the FX8 and not return it for a refund a few days ago, the only thing that could piss me of is if development on the FX8 would cease. I had to make a choice amid all these threads and discussions. The relays and sound quality are worth it for me. I don't get pissed off if another product is the same price, if that mattered I could have returned the FX8 and put the money toward the AX8.

However, we do need new firmware. Sometime there is weird behavior coming from the FX8 until you reboot. Rare, only has happened three times since I've had it (and each time something different) but I've never had that happen on the Axe FX II. All in all, 99% of the time it's been fine, and each time I reboot fixed whatever software glitch happened. But this is why I got a bit ansty about keeping the unit. I never had an Axe FX on their first formwares but I didn't expect such random though rare glitches from Fractal. At the very least I would have thought that new firmware would be priority one for Cliff to make the FX8 not do random weird things once in a blue moon, above and beyond making Quantum (and another beta firmware) when the Axe Fx is already stable, and the AX8. But I understand timing is everything in business, and with the amp show and Helix coming out, I respect Cliff's decision to re-prioritize. After all, business for Cliff means money and resources to keep developing these products.

So I decided to keep the FX8 out of faith that Cliff will take the same care in developing and stabilizing the FX8 as he did with Axe FX. I'm also putting faith that this will mean time and care put into the FX8 itself, as much as goes into the Axe FX and the AX8. What I mean is, I don't expect to just get trickle down developments from the AX8 since it is similar. There is enough difference between the two that I feel there are opportunities for developing things specifically for the FX8 which will trickle down to the AX8. For instance, I hope Cliff develops some drives specifically for use with tube amps, and maybe utilizing the optimized components of the FX8 to program some drives and effects which may not translate as clearly in none tube amp, higher noise floor AX8 applications. I also hope Cliff develops more effects such as Strymon type analog sounding delays. I hope he is as excited to bring us new effects as he is excited to bring new amp sims to the AX8 and Axe FX.

In the end I decided to keep the FX8 because I believe this to be so as Fractal's track record with Axe is phenomenal.

I'm also still hoping for a grid with shunts for more interesting effect possibilities.

One day I would love to see Quad Chorus added, even if I could only run it by itself because it was so CPU intensive... OK I'm dreaming now, don't want to get to far into fantasy land.

But this unit is platform that has much potential, especially if it is developed on it's own merits and not of that as trickle down firmwares for AX8. For instance, since we don't have amp sims, some studio type pres made specifically for going in front in a tube amp would be cool.

Anyway, I decided to keep mine, BECAUSE the sound quality in 4CM.

Cheers,

 

[Rex]

I don't think you understand the question. It's directed to those of us who paid $1349 for the FX8.

I understood the question. I've been there. I bought an Ultra, and a few months later the Axe II came out, at essentially the same price. The only upsetting thing was that I wasn't in a position to buy the II at the time. If it had been priced lower, I'd have been happier, because I'd have been that much closer to getting one.

The only reason a person might be upset is if they bought the FX8 as an investment. Spoiler alert: buying musical gear as an investment is wicked risky. And Fractal gear still has strong resale value—even my old Ultra.

 

[FullReverse]

I'm not mad, but like others have stated, FX8 sales are going to go by the wayside with an AX8 price that low. I know, I know.. different applications, blah blah blah.. but that's not going to stop MOST people from just buying the AX8 for $50 bucks more. You can buy a normal Ferrari, or for $50 more, you can buy a Ferrari that does what the first one does but can also fly. I'd buy the flying Ferrari.

I'm just VERY concerned that Fractals FX8 love is going to diminish along with its sales. that would be horse shit considering it was JUST released.

Also, is the FX8 just way over priced or are they just not going to make any money on the AX8? Crazy.

 

[Rex]

I'm not mad, but like others have stated, FX8 sales are going to go by the wayside with an AX8 price that low. I know, I know.. different applications, blah blah blah.. but that's not going to stop MOST people from just buying the AX8 for $50 bucks more.

Die-hard tube-amp lovers will continue to buy and use the FX8. They want a great effects box that does channel switching and slays at low-noise 4CM.

 

[dbun]

I'm just VERY concerned that Fractals FX8 love is going to diminish along with its sales. that would be horse shit considering it was JUST released.

I think you are worrying about nothing.

 

[FullReverse]

I sincerely hope you are right.

 

[ML SOUND LAB]

The price is out and it's way less than I expected and it only makes me happy.

It's been a bit frustrating to carry my Axe-Fx back and forth but now I feel like I might just use my Axe-Fx at home and get the AX-8 for using it in rehearsals and live. This is awesome!

Why would the price piss you off? Is the Axe-Fx and AX8 going to be equally good for every purpose? No. The FX8 is clearly a 4CM unit with true bypass. It's better with real amps than the AX8.

Still I happen to think that the AX8 is going to kill the modeling market with that price point. I know people are focusing on it beating the price of Helix but did you realize that the AX8 is also cheaper than a Kemper? Now.. let's see if people were really interested in the profiling aspect of just the price point.

 

[willowdale]

Also, is the FX8 just way over priced or are they just not going to make any money on the AX8? Crazy.

Thank you for taking one for the team.......you way overpaid for the FX8 so that Cliff could afford to basically sell the AX8 to the rest of us pretty much at cost! Yeah that's it......thanks again bro!

 

[AlGrenadine]

I guess this topic can be closed
No-one could seriously be upset after having discovered the ax8 price
Maybe someone could, European users whom, as usual, get robbed by their government taxes, but that's another discussion

 

[Andrevv]

the FX8 was designed for using with a guitar amp and there are much higher-end components in it to keep noise at a minimum. the first product of its kind from FAS for this specific purpose, as opposed to making an amp modeler also work for that purpose. if that's the price for the FX8 and its components, that's the price. what we do know is that it will continue to be updated and improved over time, which helps it keep its value.

i'm successfully using an FX8 at "general" gigs going direct, using a Fender Micro DI pedal that is an amp/cab simulator (no options, just a amp sim). but i really do miss the amp/tone options found with Amp modeling. having the FAS quality in such a small unit like the FX8 is amazing, but i'm definitely a fan of modeling and haven't touched a real amp in years.

i don't think the AX8 has "more for only $50." i think it has a different usage, which happens to be $50 more. it's been very difficult to explain to "Amp Guys" how to interface an Axe-Fx II with their real amp setups - having to take out the Amp/Cab blocks from every factory preset and explain why sometimes is very confusing. the FX8 is definitely easier to setup with a real amp, i feel.

also, as we've seen, the progress made on the AX8 might/should be heading over to the FX8, like being able to freely assign switches per preset, etc. so we don't really know what the immediate future holds for the FX8 and updates. but it's a great product and its price is on par with building a high-end pedal board of individual components.

different products for different uses. it's a great time to be a guitarist!

Is fender micro DI recommend for recording direct with FX8? Is it better quality than mooer micro DI?

 

[chris]

Is fender micro DI recommend for recording direct with FX8? Is it better quality than mooer micro DI?

i believe the Fender version is the exact same as the Mooer version.

i'm not recommending it or saying it's necessary at all. i personally don't take amps to gigs (heck i don't even own one anymore) and chose to try the Micro DI as my amp/cab sim for going direct to the PA system. for me, it works really well.

if you are going for an Electric Guitar sound, especially with the Drive blocks, you need to have some sort of "electric guitar amp" in the signal path. for many people, it's an actual electric guitar amp! for me, again, i choose to use an amp/cab sim pedal. similar pedals are the H&K Redbox, Carl Martin Rock bug, or even the Behringer Ultra-G DI box with cab sim.

for my Acoustic guitar going through the FX8, i definitely do NOT use the Micro DI pedal, as i don't want it to sound like it's going through a guitar amp. i want the full range instead, and just use the FX8 by itself.

 

[Andrevv]

i believe the Fender version is the exact same as the Mooer version.

i'm not recommending it or saying it's necessary at all. i personally don't take amps to gigs (heck i don't even own one anymore) and chose to try the Micro DI as my amp/cab sim for going direct to the PA system. for me, it works really well.

if you are going for an Electric Guitar sound, especially with the Drive blocks, you need to have some sort of "electric guitar amp" in the signal path. for many people, it's an actual electric guitar amp! for me, again, i choose to use an amp/cab sim pedal. similar pedals are the H&K Redbox, Carl Martin Rock bug, or even the Behringer Ultra-G DI box with cab sim.

for my Acoustic guitar going through the FX8, i definitely do NOT use the Micro DI pedal, as i don't want it to sound like it's going through a guitar amp. i want the full range instead, and just use the FX8 by itself.

Thanks, I just looking for simple solution to recording direct in the studio without an actual amp with my FX8. For live use I will still sport fender deville amp. But it might be too loud for recording in studio.

 

[chris]

Thanks, I just looking for simple solution to recording direct without an actual amp with my FX8.

there are no controls on the Micro DI other than on/off, so remember you won't have the EQ/Tone shaping of even a simple clean channel amp. you'll have to EQ using the tools in the Drive block or some other EQ method. since you are recording, you could probably do a lot in post.

but just keep that in mind with that type of amp/cab sim pedal.

 

[ethomas1013]

There will always be amp guys who want nothing to do with modeling. Paying for the true bypass and low noise optimization that the FX8 offers will be very attractive to them. For them, "good enough" in the loop is definitely NOT "good enough". Any tone suck at all and they are on a never ending quest for pedals that don't take away from the glorious tone of their favorite amp.

And it seems that many of you are forgetting what Cliff said earlier in this thread about cost of the components used in the FX8 to achieve low noise and true bypass. Maybe you should stop wining about the FX8 price and go back and read those comments...

I'm not worried that the value of my FX8 may have diminished with the announcement of the AX8. It's still the same great sounding piece if gear it was two days ago... Maybe it's worth $150 less on the used market than it was two days ago? Oh the horror.