Blastoff!

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There's absolutely NOTHING wrong with wanting to have the best and most cutting edge technology and there is absolutely nothing wrong with being bummed that a unit you owned or recently purchased to try get on the cutting edge of technology has been surpassed. Sure it is inevitable but it is hardly unreasonable to have the emotional reaction of anger or frustration when it happens. I don't think it's UNFAIR, that's how technology works, but at the same time I do not feel bad at all about being pissed that I have only had an ultra for less than six months and I could have had an even better unit if I had only waited a little longer. I'm even more frustrated that there is no way I'll be able to justify upgrading again for another two or three years. Yes, it's my own fault but that hardly changes or invalidates my feelings. I'm not blaming ANYBODY but myself but I'm not apologizing for feeling unhappy either.

It's like how the Lakers probably felt after getting their ass beat by the Mavericks, they're angry, annoyed, maybe even embarrassed, but as long as they don't claim to have been cheated, they have a right to feel that way even if they brought it on themselves. And similarly, others have no right pass judgment: to tell someone what they should or should not want from their guitar gear or what should or should not make them happy or what emotional response they're allowed to have to some specific situation.

So, unless someone claims Cliff/Fractal has cheated them somehow, I say more power to the people who are p*ssed and frustrated and are expressing their concerns and fears regarding their favorite guitar device and its future or who are somewhat bummed that they no longer have best guitar toy ever made. Maybe someone else can help them with their perspective.

I know I could use a little therapy right now. I have enough to buy one of these but in terms of my life, music stuff fits in the toy category (I am not a pro, I make no money from music) and there is no way my family will tolerate me dropping another $2K on a music device after talking them into letting me carve $2K out of the savings account for an Ultra in December. So whether it's the most mature reaction or not, it's incredibly hard to not sit here and say "if I had just waited a bit longer", I was on the cutting edge for 5-6 months. Now, I will have to wait about three years to get back there, since I can't justify flipping this thing to my family after I have been selling it to them for a year or so.

Sorry man, but I cannot be the only person who's first thought was "F*CK F*CK F*CK F*CK!! This sucks!"

I hope they at least straighten out Axe-Edit. That USB port looks ominous from a future editor development standpoint. :([/QUOTE]

Why do you have to justify everything with your family so much? I'm quite glad that it is only me and the wife, and i wear the pants.
 
So what does FW 11 actually bring to the old units?

From the 11.0 Release Notes:

11.00
Updated power amp emulation. Uses some of the techniques from the Axe-Fx II. This produces tighter, more defined bass and also less flubiness [sic] when using high MV settings.
 
Oh man, don't get me started with the Duet 2. VERY excited about it, BUT I scheduled a vacation to last month record guitars for a full-length release (with AxeFX), after scheduling it, found out the duet 2 was coming out, so sold my duet 1 on eBay ASAP. Originally Apogee was saying 'Out in April', then it switched so I moved my vacation back a week...release date changed again, so moved vaca back another week. Almost a month later, I'm now home on vacation still with no Duet 2 to record with (not able to switch vacation again), and now going through the same thing with the Axe II! Heh. Interesting times indeed!


Ha, I feel for you man! I think I am cursed by the GAS gods too... I bought my Duet 1 two weeks before they announced the Duet 2. I bought my Ultra 2 months before their announced the Axe FX II... :D

C'est la vie... I am still learning them and nowhere near hitting their limits yet so they will do for me for a long while yet...
 
looks amazing, but i have to be honest and say that i have mixed feelings about it. there seem to be a lot of features that arose from wish list discussions on this forum and all credit to cliff for listening and including them in the new product, but for those of us who can't afford to upgrade (and maybe never be able to afford it) it feels as if we've put a lot of R&D in, but we won't see the benefits. i hope some of the features make their way down to the ultra (i know most won't be possible, but one can dream)

sim

A lot of the things the Axe II has that the Standard and Ultra don't are probably just impossible to get in those units. There isn't room for 50 user cabs, the improved amp modeling couldn't be done on the old units, he can't release downloadable update that will magically upgrade your hardware to include USB and RJ45 ports, etc. etc.

We should be happy that this new unit is so largely influenced by what the existing users have requested. There was only ever going to be so much they could do with the old hardware. A new model was inevitable. At least this new model incorporates so much of what people have been asking for, and we can be fairly certain Cliff will milk the absolute shit out of the new hardware over the next few years, as he did with the last gen Axe.


And I'm not going to be able to afford an Axe II either, at least not for some time (unless I sell some things... which I won't be doing). My Ultra is still a fantastic piece of gear though.
 
A lot of the things the Axe II has that the Standard and Ultra don't are probably just impossible to get in those units. There isn't room for 50 user cabs, the improved amp modeling couldn't be done on the old units, he can't release downloadable update that will magically upgrade your hardware to include USB and RJ45 ports, etc. etc.

I am not in the complainers camp.
What you said is all true except for the improved amp modeling.
He could do the new amp modeling on the Ultra but then dual amp setups would run the DSP over 100%.
... who cares!
Yeah I would love to have that... but I don't expect Cliff to re-write everything just so we can cling to our hardware.... and down the road when he adds more stuff we end up again in the same situation anyway.

Version 1 is a kick ass product and it will stay that way forever but I'm afraid all the major
improvements that will come..... will all go to version 2.
We might see some minor improvement to Version 1 but the future belongs to version 2.
It's just the way things go in our universe.

:cry
 
I am not in the complainers camp.
What you said is all true except for the improved amp modeling.
He could do the new amp modeling on the Ultra but then dual amp setups would run the DSP over 100%.
... who cares!
Yeah I would love to have that... but I don't expect Cliff to re-write everything just so we can cling to our hardware.... and down the road when he adds more stuff we end up again in the same situation anyway.

Ok, well he said one instance of the amp block uses 40% of the dedicated TigerSHARC in the Axe II. Add your hi res cab block (coz what's the point of using the new modeling with lo-res cabs to save on CPU) or two on top of that for a very basic chain. Personally I think that kind of CPU usage for just the amp part of things is somewhat crippling. And this is of course only the beginning of the Axe II; there are no doubt many improvements to come still.

Anyway, as you suggested, I think at some point we just have to let go and accept that the Axe-FX is now the previous gen hardware, and even if Cliff does continue to give us some firmware updates for a lil while, the focus will definitely be on moving forward.
 
Gotta say congratulation's to fractal, yea the axe fx2 has some more bells and whistles ,I've had my ultra for 2 months ,I haven't even begun to master the ultra.I have 20 presets I've made that blow me away,Most important I'm happy .Hard to believe ,but I guess possible there's something better than the ultra (axe 2). The tones I get are better than any tube amp or as good in the 35 yrs I been searching for tone. I have 11 guitars with different woods and pickups ,dimarzio ,reo grande,seymour,evh and they all sound great. Amazing product that just keeps evolving. Great tone = inspiration
 
Congratulations Cliff and everyone at Fractal on the release of the AFX II, and a big thanks for the newest firmware.

I played a couple of hours on firmware 11 tonight and really like what it brings a LOT, especially since I'm a low/med gain player generally (I use a lot of Master Volume/power amp color)...I'm jazzed on how much more 'alive' this release feels, big time. Big smiles here...I pursue feel as much as, if not more, than tone out of my Ultra, and the new improvements go a long way addressing that.

The AFX II is indeed an impressive and well thought out upgrade to the line...and thanks for listening and delivering the goods. I may have to get one just so I can use a Cat 5 cable to the controller ;-)
 
Why all the cries of shame'? Ferrari bring out a new model every year but nobody complains, because when you already have the best built piece of kit, having the latest is not always better, I still just need a floor model with a good selection of the best sounds and effects, simple but true so will not be going for a Mk.11. Interested to see how good it is though. Rock on guys
 
There are some interesting comments made here, by folks in almost every situation. I too am in the 'can't afford an Axe-Fx II but am stricken by a bad case of unexpected G.A.S' camp.
Ultimately I am trying to justify to myself that as a Standard owner for 2 years, I never once Gassed for an Ultra. The additional features of the Ultra did not appeal to me too much, and I knew from a sound quality standpoint, they were both the same anyway. Also they both would get the firmware updates etc.

The 'new' Axe-II G.A.S. with which so many of us are now burdened predominantly comes from the prospect of better overall sound quality, augmented by a few new & useful features. Additionally, the realisation that the Standard & Ultra are unlikely to get many more updates as they have become fully mature. No bad feelings toward FAS or anyone else, just a bit Gutted about the new G.A.S. like many others. Well, I am at least happy about Firmware V11, and also the news of the upcoming Axe-Edit revision, and MFC-101 development to come is eyewatering. Looking forward to that. In the meantime, I will start saving my cash, and one day I might be able to afford an 'Axe-Fx III' haha...
 
I admit that I was less than thrilled by the announcement of the Axe II. But only because I knew that ultimately, the resale value of my Ultra would dip. But other than that, you had to know that like any device, the Standard and Ultra have a shelf life. Guess what. So does the Axe II. And the III. And whatever follows those. Will I ever own an Axe II? I don't know. Maybe. I might just milk the Ultra and skip the II or buy a II off the used market. Don't we want this thing to progress in the end? I do.

Looking back though, I do think it's hilarious that there was this 10 day countdown, over-shadowed in the media only by the Royal Wedding and the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and when the count down got to zero, the pay off was... the announcement that the Axe II was coming, possibly in a week or 2. Priceless. You mean it's not ready? Then why did we count down? All I'm saying is that if these things don't ship in 2 weeks, people will bitch.

Dave
 
Why all the cries of shame'? Ferrari bring out a new model every year but nobody complains, because when you already have the best built piece of kit, having the latest is not always better, I still just need a floor model with a good selection of the best sounds and effects, simple but true so will not be going for a Mk.11. Interested to see how good it is though. Rock on guys

Ferrari? A vehicle that will only appreciate in value? Comparison fail.
 
I admit that I was less than thrilled by the announcement of the Axe II.
Only because I debated a yr to buy the ultra and 2 months later axe 2.The guys who have been axe uses for 2,3 or more yrs this is great for them.Me I,m still learning the ultra ,I don't need a axe2 right now,It going to take me a yr to pay for this.I,ve gone though a lot of equipment in 30 plus yrs of playing.Remember ada .Fractal got it right with there preamps and its great they have newer technology to make it even better.Thats the way it should be. Loving what you do and aways trying to make it better.Even if you have the biggest and best ,doesn't make you a better player,Gives you inspiration.If you suck ,You suck with the best equipment ,only with a good tone.(just go on you tube) I'll get on the axe 2 train later. I,m getting the best tones now, with one unit .
 
CudBucket said:
All I'm saying is that if these things don't ship in 2 weeks, people will bitch.

I could be wrong on this, but I think it's a very good possibility that there will be people who bitch, no matter what.
 
Congrats on the new Axe Cliff. I think it's looking quite stealthy and mean, as opposed to the gen 1 which I consider to be classy. 8) I like it à lot.

Since I was still on G66's waiting list for an Ultra I might be one of the lucky ones for their first batch delivery.
It's like they say: good things come to those who wait.

Only thing I (personally) would change is the name though.
Something like "double Axe" has à bit more ring to it for this new box, while it retains the dual processor/ 2nd gen idea.:idea:lol

Anyway, looking forward to getting my hands on it.
Thanks for all the hard work.
 
We are all so lucky, Fractal puts up the Forum for us, listens to what people/users say they want that is not in the current product, we dream aloud (More Cab slots! Headphone jack! USB for MIDI and audio! Ethernet cable to MFC!) and they actually build it based in large part on what users clamor for...

we are so lucky...
 
I remember reading through the forum and peoples requests for new stuff and the Axe II ticks just about every box. Can't wait for mine to arrive....
 
Well well. I've been away from the forum for a while and this is the first thread I see. Quite an unexpected news.

I have yet to read the detailed description but from what I read on this thread, the 50 user slots for cabs as well as the USB connection are great news. Especially the 50 user slots. The one I have some reservations about is the removal of the input knobs on the front but I guess we'll see how it turns out in reality.

One thing I haven't seen in this thread: What about the fan? One area of complaints on the original Standard/Ultra was the fan noise. What about it now?

Oh and congrats to Mike from Redwirez. I see after skimming through the product brief that some of his IR were included in the Axe-Fx II.
 
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