Axe-Fx IV release estimate?

ChainOfThought said:
You guys are not understanding each other. OP is talking about his company estimating life cycles behind the scenes so that they can plan appropriately for R&D and all that to get the next product out on time. Mayhem is taking his words to imply that OP’s company makes that info public.
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So, neither OP's company nor FAS will make that info public, thus, asking for forum members to have any inside info is pretty much useless? Gotcha. Based on release dates between products, we can speculate about timeframes for when a new product will be announced and it's nothing less than 3-5 years at average? Ditto.

The thing is OP wants to buy product unless there's a new unit coming in the next year or so, FAS' CEO chimes in and says he's positive a new unit will not be coming anytime soon and that said product OP wants is just a little over a year old since launch with plenty of life and development in the foreseeable future. If OP wanted any confirmation to make a safe bet in his investment, there he had it.

My sincere advice: Buy, enjoy!!! :)
 
Never understood the concept of 'holding out for the next one'. I guess I can afford to buy as they come along, but the concept of waiting for year(s) for a new model is in the realm of crazy.

Play the best now. The future has a way of taking care of itself without your help.

Oh, yes, moved this thread since these speculation (baiting) conversations are Lounge worthy...only.
 
Look Away......you can't un-see those things.

Great, now I have that song and video stuck in my head and I'm getting ready to head to bed.:oops:
 
Past performance not predict future results.

It’s like with firmware updates, they can come fast at the initial release of a product, but that doesn’t mean years down the road there is still going to be updates as often.

Just because FAS put out the Ultra, II, III etc at a given interval doesn’t mean a new unit will follow suit.

The market changes, technology changes etc....
I remember buying a new digital camera every year when that tech was brand new, going from 3 to 4 to 8 meg sensors was huge..... now days even my phone has 12 megs and I’ve got several 24-46 meg models so I hardly in the market for new offerings like I used to be. Brands also aren’t rolling out new stuff every 6 months anymore, as most folks are like be and not doing the constant upgrade.
 
chris said:
Phone and computer companies thrive on telling people what’s next because that tech is disposable at this day in age.
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They have too, because at the introduction of a new tech the product sells itself, as everyone wants in. Once everyone has a cell phone or a computer they have to come up with something else to make us buy the same thing, but only newer, all over again. I don't think my current PC or laptop is any faster then the one I had in the 90's, it's just that the software just keep on getting more bloated and demanding so any gains in processor speed and memory immediately gets nullified.

AJ Vargas said:
So, neither OP's company nor FAS will make that info public, thus, asking for forum members to have any inside info is pretty much useless? Gotcha. Based on release dates between products, we can speculate about timeframes for when a new product will be announced and it's nothing less than 3-5 years at average? Ditto.

The thing is OP wants to buy product unless there's a new unit coming in the next year or so, FAS' CEO chimes in and says he's positive a new unit will not be coming anytime soon and that said product OP wants is just a little over a year old since launch with plenty of life and development in the foreseeable future. If OP wanted any confirmation to make a safe bet in his investment, there he had it.

My sincere advice: Buy, enjoy!!! :)
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I do remember that just prior to the release of the III there was the giant Black Friday/X-Mas sale of the II. And that there were people asking on the forum if it made sense to get a cheap II now or wait a little because they suspected a III was coming out. And FAS just kept their mouth shut and we all said, sure, don't worry, the II is best thing since sliced bread. Get one! And some people did. And before they even got their new II's the III was suddenly announced. So you never really know. FAS might be telling things that aren't exactly true at times and the assembled wisdom of the forum can be very wrong at times.

That being said, is a IV about to come out? I don't think so. It's barely a year old, production of its processors is going on strong and most importantly, there is nothing on the market that can even rival, let alone surpass it. Is FAS working on a IV? I reckon they are. They probably have something in the works. But will they release it? Why? The III is still fairly new, its closest competitors, Helix and Kemper are still being outclassed by the new obsolete II. And if past history is a reference the III will be succeeded in production by upgraded versions of the III first. Like the Standard got succeeded by the Ultra, and the II by the Mk. II, XL and XL+ versions. In which case it might even be smarter to wait a little for an improved version of the III. That was always my campaign plan. Let the early adopters get the first version while I wait for the final uber version.
 
I would look at the processing power of the III .. when will more processor-hungry code come along that would make the hardware and processing power of the III obsolete due to requiring more horsepower to drive it.

Changing code structure to require greater processing power or different hardware architecture? .. They haven't released the FM3 yet. But the code is shared with the III. kinda tells us that they are unifying code around the flagship product not moving away from it.

My guess then, would be: "not for quite some time". :0)

No Tech company is going to estimate when the next greatest thing will arrive - they just don't tend to do that - they do that, potential customers put of purchases, cash-flow dries up, ...not good. So. Nobody with any real knowledge will likely tell you when the "next greatest" will show-up - not until it's almost ready to be released.
 
There have really only been three Axe-Fx products. The Ultra was a simply processor upgrade to the standard Axe-Fx. The XL and XL+ were minor redesigns on the Axe-Fx II due to component availability concerns. So in 12 years we've had three major releases of the Axe-Fx. That's six years between releases.
 
if you can get savvy on DSP development milestones/timelines, that would be your indication of the beginnings of future product development, DSP power is the only limiting factor to how much one model can do until it runs out of space. Look up the processors used in the ultra/AFX2/AFX3, look at the dates of when those processors became available, then look at the dates of when the applicable fractal unit came on the market...new DSP gets announced...coding elves start beating the keyboards for 6 months...new box comes out with more room for more code...sounds mind blowing...people complain it's got too many buttons...
 
FractalAudio said:
There have really only been three Axe-Fx products. The Ultra was a simply processor upgrade to the standard Axe-Fx. The XL and XL+ were minor redesigns on the Axe-Fx II due to component availability concerns. So in 12 years we've had three major releases of the Axe-Fx. That's six years between releases.
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There you have it, folks. Straight from the horse's mouth. 6 years between releases, so expect the IV in another 5 years. Or sooner, or later, depending on component availability and whatever the competition will throw at Fractal.
 
If the 4 could be a 3 in the footprint of a 2, I’m in. Otherwise the new 3-space footprint is too large.

I’ve always upgraded to latest rack unit (standard>ultra>II), but this is why I’ve opted out of upgrading to a 3. Believe it or not, my entire gig system and PA and transport of everything is based around a 2-space unit.
 
solo-act said:
If the 4 could be a 3 in the footprint of a 2, I’m in. Otherwise the new 3-space footprint is too large.

I’ve always upgraded to latest rack unit (standard>ultra>II), but this is why I’ve opted out of upgrading to a 3. Believe it or not, my entire gig system and PA and transport of everything is based around a 2-space unit.
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I can understand that. Sometimes portability is a quality of its own.
 
Muad'zin said:
They have too, because at the introduction of a new tech the product sells itself, as everyone wants in. Once everyone has a cell phone or a computer they have to come up with something else to make us buy the same thing, but only newer, all over again.
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Haha you just described the new Kemper :p
 
I bought the 2 when there were rumors that there was not going to be a 3. It was announced not long after I bought my 2 XL +. I have no regrets because this unit does everything I could ever want and I did not have to wait for a newer better model to come out. I got to enjoy the Axe FX glory right away. I live in the now and while it can make sense to be prepared for the future but with this type of technology everything eventually becomes outdated. I find it's better to be on the cutting edge rather than the bleeding edge. You really have to look at what your desires or needs are today.
 
unix-guy said:
I have an album of theirs somewhere... Came with a glossy black and white 8x10 promo pic... 5 guys who each appear to have a large cucumber stuffed into their undersized pants :D
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Just read this thread... what a kick to be reminded of bands I listened to as a teenager, my first few years as a guitarist. Had to drag out the Angel music and crank up “Under Suspicion“ for old times sake. Lol. Forums are great.
 
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