Howbout the front panel would only have these buttons/knobs:
Preset select (10 presets, assigned in software)
Amp1/2 switch (sets which amp you are editing)
Gain
Gain 2
Bass Middle Treble Depth Pressence,
Master, level, Output1,2,3,4.
A few user assignable knobs (You could use those for hi/low cuts or gate). Or hey, all knobs could be completely user assignable. That would work for anything.
Tuner.
Maybe a "save" button.
All of this can possibly fit onto 2U, maybe even 1U.
Boom. You are set. This stuff is enough to get you through a show or a rehearsal and is far more comfortable and natural than navigating menus. Everything else, like routing and settings and stuff, should be prepared before the show, using axe edit. Or, if you really want to do it during a show, use a phone.
I appreciate the concept, but I think this would lead to way more complaints than having everything available via the current interface. I can’t imagine being at a gig and need to adjust a delay, or add a block for a song real quick, and having to fumble to get my phone out, connected, and then stare at it on stage.
I would guess that maybe only 50% of Axe users don’t change a thing (other than what you mentioned) at the gig. Maybe that’s way off, but I think it’s natural to want to adapt things per gig. I think “boom you are set” wouldn’t describe many people.
And sure, maybe you can always just have your phone out for that purpose assuming wireless was possible. But I don’t know... having it that easy might make me focus too much on changing things all gig long, staring at my phone. Personally I already have lyrics or set lists on my phone and sometimes my wireless mixer iPad going, so I can just imagine the guy with 3 iPads on his mic stand because “he needs it” to get through a gig. Not judging, but come on
Think of it from a support stand point too, which is a huge consideration for any company. With a variable front panel interface, you are going to naturally get so many questions. Heck, with the AX8 we constantly have people asking how to get a Scene switch setup, or why a delay block isn’t on the Footswitch screen etc. While it is a pretty straight forward concept to add it there, it is probably in the top 3 questions, along side “out 1 is 100% why am I clipping”
Someone I know has a X32 core. It’s a 1u digital mixer with basically zero physical control, everything needs to be done via wireless. As a concept it works. It’s light and small and great. But at a gig one day, his router died and he had zero control. Thank goodness it was at sound check and I was able to use my X32 rack - which is a 3u device with full control from the front panel - to get us through the gig. Are the dials and menu/screen hopping a bit slower than an iPad interface? Yup. But we had complete control over everything and made it sound good. What should he have done, bring an extra router? Extra iPads? I can’t imagine packing those extra things just for my Axe even just as a guitarist for a gig. There’s enough WiFi going on already on stages these days. Imagine every band member bringing their own router for their own setup... it really is a problem. Oh and they use Line 6 or Shure digital wireless too... yikes!
This is definitely an interesting discussion. If we use WiFi, we crowd the airwaves. If we use Bluetooth, the guy who wants to stand 100 feet away and adjust his guitar sound can’t do it. This is definitely much more difficult than “just put wireless in.” There are so many things to consider and it would take a wealth of resources to implement, and need lots of support from the development, hardware, and customer support side.
Would it be nice though? Sure. I think people hold FAS in high regard, and I think it deserves it for sure. But I think sometimes the desires/demands are unfair or out of place a bit. “Why don’t you straight-up copy this unique feature from that product,” “this cheaper thing has it, therefore the Axe should too,” “it does 90% of what I want, but I won’t buy it because this small feature isn’t in it,” “the Axe III should have everything ever in it.” A consumer can wish for anything they want of course, but in the big picture gear is gear and has its limits. And the development has to be something that the company can actually support. Maybe we’ll see this one day, but it certainly isn’t as easy as “just put in wireless.”
