Buttons on the Axe-Fx III

wcfieldskx

Power User
Not sure it it's my unit or they are all like this but I've noticed that the square buttons on the front (home, edit, store etc...) are all a bit loose and wiggley. They work fine but the buttons on my II were not like this. Is this normal or just my unit?
 
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Interesting, not sure why this would be by design. They honestly don't seem very strong. A few of them almost feel like they are coming to come loose.
 
Why do they need to feel strong?

If someone said “they won’t fall off” would that take care of the issue?

Personally I prefer them. On a darker stage, I can “wiggle” a bit to know I’m square on the button, or center my finger if I’m not.
 
Not sure if it's your intended tone but you seem argumentative (just my interpretation when I read your post). Regardless, what's wrong with the guy wishing the buttons felt more solid when pressing? It can instill confidence that it's a quality product. And yes we all know it is.
 
No problems so far on mine after lots of gigging. No idea on the design question, but they do hold up under normal use. FAS would have to answer on the exact part, which may be in those posts Chris shared.
 
As someone who is involved in hardware design I'll just add that in general whether a button or knob feels bit "wiggly" or not doesn't have much to do with its durability. You can have wiggly controls that are very durable, and stiff controls that are not, and vice versa. Ultimately it comes down to the quality of the component design and materials.
 
In spite of all of the benefits of the Axe III, I preferred the vintage feel and tone of the Axe II buttons. It was more of a "TICK-tock" sound, vs the more even "click-click" sound of the III. Maybe it could be addressed in the next firmware update?
 
It seems to me the buttons on the Axe-Fx III are less likely to bind up because they are a bit looser. In fact, I'd say they feel a bit more responsive.
 
Not sure it it's my unit or they are all like this but I've noticed that the square buttons on the front (home, edit, store etc...) are all a bit loose and wiggley. They work fine but the buttons on my II were not like this. Is this normal or just my unit?
The buttons feel loose because they're pretty much floating between the front panel and the actual switches, which means less off-axis stress on the switches, which encourages long life.


A couple of items of note:

- I've had my Axe-Fx III for almost a year and a half. In that time, I've never had a button misfire.

- I've never seen a forum post reporting a switch failure.

Both of these things are very good signs. :)
 
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Perhaps it’s like a firearm?

Super tight lock-up means accuracy but at the price of reliability and finicky with ammo. (Aka competition 1911s or AR15s)

Alternatively, more reliable firearms are often so damn loose that it will run in the mud and in the sand, not picky on ammo, but at the cost of accuracy. (E.g, AK47)
 
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