Axe-Fx II "Quantum" Rev 3.03 Firmware Release

I sure miss all the excitement of new firmware and extras goodies. I've been on the Fractal Crack for too long I suppose. I did get the Ax8 a while back and that's fun. Now I'm Jones-ing for updates for both units. All in all, they are both great and if we get nothing else new then I'm totally happy and love Fractal. Thanks.
 
I sure miss all the excitement of new firmware and extras goodies. I've been on the Fractal Crack for too long I suppose. I did get the Ax8 a while back and that's fun. Now I'm Jones-ing for updates for both units. All in all, they are both great and if we get nothing else new then I'm totally happy and love Fractal. Thanks.
Whenever i feel that way i remember how much i haven't explored with the Q3.3 amps. Starting with the plexi with 'Ideal' saturation - has it always been so smooth on complex chords? I dialed the gain low and it has a great 'break up-to-mid distortion crunch with low enough gain, more of a cashew crunch than the roasted almond crunch of 'Auth' saturation..
 
I believe this is the first time I have ever been 100% happy with my tones. I have a feeling a lot is due to my experience now in dialing things in, things I've learned on this forum but this latest FW is insanely good. Famous last words but I think I'm gonna hold off from any future updates. Honestly, if this was as far as it went I'd be more than happy. there are more than enough amp models to shake a stick at and I've only scratched maybe 5-10% of them.
 
I'm happy too, especially now that I have some new strings. I actually sometimes play for over a month with the same set now that the firmware is this good. But the next firmware is brewing. The force tells me so Mr. Chewie. This firmware will not yet make strings obsolete (lol) but it will at least boost Cab Lab sales as people focus on the finer nuances of newness - one of my favorite pastimes last winter for sure. Whether it be Cliff's big epiphanies or his little nuances, its very exciting. Check me into the rehab unit now.
 
This is the longest inactivity between FW updates I've experienced. I'm guessing FAS main movers and shakers are having a much deserved summer vacation?
 
I've got to say, this FW has made me spend a lot less time on the forum and a lot more time realising what a terrible player I am :p

Seriously though, if we had note value incriments for all time based parameters (including modifier start/stop values), I'd be 100% set. Even more efficiency like we got a while back would be appreciated, but really just that one thing is missing that would make this absolutely flawless on the fly for my purposes.

The tones are killer, I feel like I can nail or get close enough to fool myself pretty much anything out there... even if we don't have "X" amp, we have "Y" with a "Z" tonestack and "A-W" parameters... there's really no "new" amp out there or new sound that couldn't be recreated in the box IMO.
 
Last edited:
...One other thing...

As a forum, it seems like we're in a refreshed state with a lot of new faces around here asking a bunch of old questions. Nothing wrong with that (yes, search bar and all that), but it might be wise for some of us old timers to maybe get together and create a sort of 'unofficial user manual' with what we've learned here over the years... just shooting fromthe hip here, but the kind of document that covers how to get that certain effect, like a tips & tricks for FAQs kind of thing? IDK, could be a dumb idea.
 
...One other thing...

As a forum, it seems like we're in a refreshed state with a lot of new faces around here asking a bunch of old questions. Nothing wrong with that (yes, search bar and all that), but it might be wise for some of us old timers to maybe get together and create a sort of 'unofficial user manual' with what we've learned here over the years... just shooting fromthe hip here, but the kind of document that covers how to get that certain effect, like a tips & tricks for FAQs kind of thing? IDK, could be a dumb idea.
Not a dumb idea! And, really, that's kind of how I see the wiki -- the user-augmented manual.
 
...One other thing...

As a forum, it seems like we're in a refreshed state with a lot of new faces around here asking a bunch of old questions. Nothing wrong with that (yes, search bar and all that), but it might be wise for some of us old timers to maybe get together and create a sort of 'unofficial user manual' with what we've learned here over the years... just shooting fromthe hip here, but the kind of document that covers how to get that certain effect, like a tips & tricks for FAQs kind of thing? IDK, could be a dumb idea.


I think its a great idea - by no means am I any kind of an expert- but 90% of the things I've learned about the unit, came from this forum. All the questions people ask - myself included, and the answers, opinions provided by everyone is a great resource!
 
Well other than a few bug fixes for my AX8, I'm not really jonesing. However, I would like to be sure everything is ok at FAS given the goings on last month. I realize it's not really my business or for public consumption, but that doesn't change my hope that everthing is ok.

RR
 
The good news for me is that I trust Cliff not to release a firmware just to promote himself or his products and company.

(But I still say a highly touted, trick "no change" firmware at some unexpected time would be acceptable to see if anyone "hears the difference". Keeping in mind that I am in America and we Americans are suckered all day and night ;) Lol, please don't take offense, just kidding if so...)
 
The good news for me is that I trust Cliff not to release a firmware just to promote himself or his products and company.

(But I still say a highly touted, trick "no change" firmware at some unexpected time would be acceptable to see if anyone "hears the difference". Keeping in mind that I am in America and we Americans are suckered all day and night ;) Lol, please don't take offense, just kidding if so...)

Soooo...as long as no offense taken you aren't kidding then? ;) LOL! I happen to agree with you - an oversensitive gullible bunch we are. :)

RR
 
I've got to say, this FW has made me spend a lot less time on the forum and a lot more time realising what a terrible player I am :p

Seriously though, if we had note value incriments for all time based parameters (including modifier start/stop values), I'd be 100% set. Even more efficiency like we got a while back would be appreciated, but really just that one thing is missing that would make this absolutely flawless on the fly for my purposes.

The tones are killer, I feel like I can nail or get close enough to fool myself pretty much anything out there... even if we don't have "X" amp, we have "Y" with a "Z" tonestack and "A-W" parameters... there's really no "new" amp out there or new sound that couldn't be recreated in the box IMO.
Quoting myself to say note value INCREMENTS, not "in crimes"... stupid autocorrect.
 
...One other thing...

As a forum, it seems like we're in a refreshed state with a lot of new faces around here asking a bunch of old questions. Nothing wrong with that (yes, search bar and all that), but it might be wise for some of us old timers to maybe get together and create a sort of 'unofficial user manual' with what we've learned here over the years... just shooting fromthe hip here, but the kind of document that covers how to get that certain effect, like a tips & tricks for FAQs kind of thing? IDK, could be a dumb idea.
This would be a very worthwhile exercise imho, especially now since fractal products seem to be moving from early adopters to a more mainstream consumer that will typically be less technically savvy / adventurous. I work in IT and still found the AxeFX learning-curve quite steep at the beginning, I'm kinda there now (...18 months later!) but what I really needed at the time was a definitive 'AxeFX Essentials' / 'best practice quick-start' guide with a list of basics necessary to just get me out the door gigging. While the Wiki is excellent, it was too much at the start, I didn't even know what I needed to know - e.g. I had no idea that I needed to hi-cut / low-cut the cab before gigging (apart from tidying up the tone, I did more HF damage to my hearing with the 'Double Verb' patch on the 1st night than id done in the previous 25 previous years gigging. True story). Thankfully the current FW and presets are practically gig-worthy out of the box so there's less deep editing required now to get tones in the ball-park, which is good. Simple stuff like the output selection was confusing, I wanted to know the defacto best option for 1/4" mono straight to FOH to be certain that what I was doing was correct, I wanted to know how to totally wipe / reset the machine to 100% factory defaults (I needed this a lot at the start!), how to refresh stuff after a FW updates, that there was such a thing as de-phase that would smooth out dodgy IRs, that the null mic & proximity section was worth exploringfor in-ears ...all the basics really.
I could do with an essential guide for mapping the MFC-101 about now! I'm following Yek's video at the moment, discovering wildcards, A/B amp transitions, etc. Again, my biggest challenge is finding out what is possible... :) Be glad to contribute anything I can to your idea if you decide to run with it...
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom