I like the idea. I had once suggested that they create a utility that converts previous firmware patches to the newest firmware as Fractal knows what has changed in each update and by how much. This way the sound would sound the same (or very close to it).
i don't think the changes can be calculated specifically all the time. but it'd be cool if some could be
Yeah - I'm clearly speaking out of ignorance here as to what it would take. The fact that there isn't a utility to convert patches between the XL(+) and the original axe units and the AX8 (which I think people would want much more) would seem to indicate that it is a lot harder than just sitting down and writing some code.i don't think the changes can be calculated specifically all the time. but it'd be cool if some could be
This way he would't have to maintain multiple fw's as some have suggested, everyone could upgrade to get the benefits of new amps and effects, people would not have to spend a lot of time recreating patches (as this would be done by the utility), the axe exchange would become more useful etc and yet still have the sounds that they like or change to the latest version if they prefer. And then Cliff could make whatever changes he wanted and as long as people had their presets saved for conversion everyone would be happy and we wouldn't have 15 pages on 2.01 v 2.02
i think the thought is about how the sound can change from FW to FW, and the user's desire to keep the sound the same, basically "not" using the changes the FW brought. but yeah, i'm in the camp where i think if you update FW, it will be a different sound. many don't want that, but want the feature updates that come with new FW. i think lately though, with quantum, the differences are very subtle. i think it's why i'm so surprised how some are hearing such a difference between 2.01 and 2.02. i mean, FAS did "critical" listening sessions, probably blind tests, etc., while some users are like "it's an obvious difference." not saying anyone is wrong or less correct, i'm just always surprised is all.
someone else said that earlier in this thread i believe. the idea has come up over the years as well. it would create too many versions and combinations of FW states, and a nightmare to support IMO.
i think right now, some like 2.01 for various reasons, and others like 2.02 for various reasons. though i've seen the same reasons for 2.01 and 2.02, like "____ is smoother" - it's weird when both are smoother than the other. so i'm not sure this is unlike any other FW change we've had before. at least at this point. not sure what's going on at FAS HQ
I had been thinking along these lines awhile back. So long as major changes cause parameters to be added or radically changed this would seem unwieldy to add to the workload of a small team. Once no new parameters were added for a few FW, it would probably take a lot of work to write something like that; but of course maybe there is existing code elsewhere that could take a spreadsheet and do this. Of course, who knows where the code is, and how hard it would be to make an interface for it. Bringing it into the Axe Edit would be outstanding, but how would the interface go, since the idea is to avoid paging through the preset, I guess it would be ideal to highlight each of the left hand tabs pointing to a screen on the Amp Block, and then within the page, to highlight the knob with the change.
