Axe-Fx II Firmware "Ares" 1.00 Public Beta

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RichM said:
As much as I also appreciate the efforts Cliff and team put in, he’s not doing this ‘for free’ - this is part of the ownership experience that commands the prices that FAS charge, I bought an end of line XL+ assuming that we’d get more updates as that is the expectation he has set previously. We are all happy bunnies because of this customer model and I feel it is part of the buying equation.

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Hi Richard, and welcome to the forum :)

Actually, Cliff has never set any such expectation for end of life products. In fact, when the prior AxeFX models reached end of life he did precisely what is being done here - he released one last firmware with as much of the next gen's modeling advancements as would fit on the EOL units.

While folks have come to expect this constant development and regular firmware releases that continually improve the AxeFX, Fractal has never been under any obligation to do so. It's a nice perk but it's not something to which we are entitled.

The fact is that the AxeFX - every version - was/is worth the asking price at its release. Any further development and subsequent firmware releases have been at Fractal's discretion. I dare say that every new major firmware release would have been something worth paying for. The fact that all firmware releases has been free, and a very generous service provided to all AxeFX owners, whether purchased new or used.

I'm merely hoping to provide a bit of perspective here. Fractal is now providing this unique ongoing product development and regular free firmware release experience to the new current AxeFX III owners. The earlier one adopts the current product the longer they will get to enjoy this unique service.

I say all of this as one who purchased a new AxeFX Ultra just three weeks before Fractal Audio announced the release of the AxeFX II. Though I too was looking forward to the regular firmware releases and the improvements the would bring I also felt content that the state of the Ultra was a mature, bug-free, and consistent sounding modeling & multi-effects DSP. I used this opportunity to learn how to get the most from my Ultra (experience that was very helpful when I eventually upgraded to the AxeFX II) while I followed the firmware frogress of the II. I chose to upgrade when I heard recorded examples that I found compelling enough to warrant the expense.

Food for thought.
 
Deaj said:
Hi Richard, and welcome to the forum :)

Actually, Cliff has never set any such expectation for end of life products. In fact, when the prior AxeFX models reached end of life he did precisely what is being done here - he released one last firmware with as much of the next gen's modeling advancements as would fit on the EOL units.

While folks have come to expect this constant development and regular firmware releases that continually improve the AxeFX, Fractal has never been under any obligation to do so. It's a nice perk but it's not something to which we are entitled.

The fact is that the AxeFX - every version - was/is worth the asking price at its release. Any further development and subsequent firmware releases have been at Fractal's discretion. I dare say that every new major firmware release would have been something worth paying for. The fact that all firmware releases has been free, and a very generous service provided to all AxeFX owners, whether purchased new or used.

I'm merely hoping to provide a bit of perspective here. Fractal is now providing this unique ongoing product development and regular free firmware release experience to the new current AxeFX III owners. The earlier one adopts the current product the longer they will get to enjoy this unique service.

I say all of this as one who purchased a new AxeFX Ultra just three weeks before Fractal Audio announced the release of the AxeFX II. Though I too was looking forward to the regular firmware releases and the improvements the would bring I also felt content that the state of the Ultra was a mature, bug-free, and consistent sounding modeling & multi-effects DSP. I used this opportunity to learn how to get the most from my Ultra (experience that was very helpful when I eventually upgraded to the AxeFX II) while I followed the firmware frogress of the II. I chose to upgrade when I heard recorded examples that I found compelling enough to warrant the expense.

Food for thought.
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I agree with all of this ... I had an 11Rack before which was a classic appliance-style fixed release. My point is that I was drawn to FAS (and the huge price difference) because of the continuous imorovement and support that Cliff offers. This is a great thing and increases the inherent value of the products for me.

That said, I was also completely happy with 10.01 - I am an amateur who will never have enough time to explore every model let alone every setting. I wasn’t trying to moan, simply put some perspective that the continuous improvement ownership model is part of the attraction and hence the business model. Hope that makes sense.

Richard.
 
RichM said:
I agree with all of this ... I had an 11Rack before which was a classic appliance-style fixed release. My point is that I was drawn to FAS (and the huge price difference) because of the continuous imorovement and support that Cliff offers. This is a great thing and increases the inherent value of the products for me.

That said, I was also completely happy with 10.01 - I am an amateur who will never have enough time to explore every model let alone every setting. I wasn’t trying to moan, simply put some perspective that the continuous improvement ownership model is part of the attraction and hence the business model. Hope that makes sense.

Richard.
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Makes good sense to me. :)

I hope you dig your AxeFX II as much as I do mine. Still the single best musi gear purchase I've ever made. This is a great forum with a lot of helpful and very knowledgeable people. Glad you're here!

Have a great night :)
 
Deaj said:
Makes good sense to me. :)

I hope you dig your AxeFX II as much as I do mine. Still the single best musi gear purchase I've ever made. This is a great forum with a lot of helpful and very knowledgeable people. Glad you're here!

Have a great night :)
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Best bit of kit I've bought for sure ... have a room full of high-end tube gear gathering dust. Nuff said!
 
I've not upgraded yet due to a lot of issues i've seen in this thread.
I just feel so happy with what i've got. I'm so glad I'm an AXE FX owner.
 
RichM said:
I agree with all of this ... I had an 11Rack before which was a classic appliance-style fixed release. My point is that I was drawn to FAS (and the huge price difference) because of the continuous imorovement and support that Cliff offers. This is a great thing and increases the inherent value of the products for me.
Click to expand...

I think that this is the core point to this discussion. It was probably a factor for all of us when we decided to drop thousands of $$$ on piece of gear; that FAS shares the improvements in its technology with its existing customers as much as possible. To at least some extent, this value is baked into the price of the equipment.

As long as the gear is current and Cliff is doing the development anyways (to drive new sales), the cost of making it available to current customers is minimal. That changes when the direct sales incentive is removed when the model is no longer available for sale, but the underlying value added by the way that FAS stands behind and supports its products as much as possible still contributes to the pricing of the next model.

All that being said, we went 9 months since the last release and I think most of us were resigned to the idea that we'd had all we were going to get. Cliff could have said, "Sorry, it's all done", and none of us would have felt hard done by.

So, I'm personally grateful that Cliff made the effort and gave us one last upgrade.
 
StickMan said:
I think that this is the core point to this discussion. It was probably a factor for all of us when we decided to drop thousands of $$$ on piece of gear; that FAS shares the improvements in its technology with its existing customers as much as possible. To at least some extent, this value is baked into the price of the equipment.

As long as the gear is current and Cliff is doing the development anyways (to drive new sales), the cost of making it available to current customers is minimal. That changes when the direct sales incentive is removed when the model is no longer available for sale, but the underlying value added by the way that FAS stands behind and supports its products as much as possible still contributes to the pricing of the next model.

All that being said, we went 9 months since the last release and I think most of us were resigned to the idea that we'd had all we were going to get. Cliff could have said, "Sorry, it's all done", and none of us would have felt hard done by.

So, I'm personally grateful that Cliff made the effort and gave us one last upgrade.
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There are some that feel like they got clapped when they bought the axe 2 and 3 months latter the 3 came out :,0
 
paulasbell said:
Feelings are funny things. It's not always the best way to evaluate purchases, design products, or run a business.
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Yeah, and it's unavoidable.
You can't anounce a new product without someone who has just bought the previous version a minute ago.
I can sympathize with the disappointment, but it's just something people should get over with.
 
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FractalAudio said:
It's a mistake. All the "Class A" amps are affected. It has been fixed for the official release.
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Thanks for the update about the update!

Looking forward to the final Ares release for my Axe-Fx II and hopefully, for my AX8. In my sixth year with the Axe-Fx II and I couldn't be happier!!! :)
 
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