Cliff Chase Guitar Messenger Interview

After reading about the modeling improvements in the AxeFX-II, specifically the improvements due to the triode modeling, I'm even more excited about the pentode modeling. And as an electrical engineer, it's fun to read the nerdy stuff too.
 
Great interview. Thanks, Ivan. That was the best insight yet into what really goes on inside, in more ways than one.
 
Great Interview!
I had BeOS on my old G3 Mac, got the prerelease CDs at a Be show by non other than Jean Louis Gassée at Vienna Tech University.
This was great stuff at a time when Mac OS 8 was aging and nothing new was on the horizon.
 
Thanks for sharing! That was a great interview. I can hardly wait to get mine. Late August they said.. Maybe i get one before Christmas :)
 
Great job on the interview, Ivan. You asked good questions and Cliff gave you some really interesting, informative answers (piecewise polynomials, tonestack refinements, etc). The "too expensive to buy cheap" exchange stood out - I'm the same way, which is how I ended up with a Fractal. Fascinating stuff!
 
dunno why he was embarassed to say he played Sax; if anything that puts him up there in my books.. Saxophone and clarinet are such dynamic instruments, really really touchy and can sound like shit easily by an inexperienced player. No wonder hes so good at figuring out such minute differences from one amp to the next, Getting a good Sax tone is a pain in the ass full of minute adjustments to your embrochure and technique (I've attempted to learn and failed, so back to guitar with a roland GR pedal for sax lol)
 
Great interview, Ivan. Really cool to hear about that new product in development!

It was interesting to read Cliff's thoughts about a software version of the Axe. I think PC's are going to be a thing of the past soon anyway. I think getting Axe-Edit onto tablets and smartphones would bring more value than a plugin version that'll wind up cracked and pirated in a week.
 
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From the interview:

IC: Have you considered an effects only version of the Axe-Fx?

CC: Yeah, actually we have one in development right now. I hope to have that available fairly soon.

[...]

CC: It’s a floor-based product...

[...]

CC: If anything [any potential new product line] would probably be a stripped down version at a lower price point.

[...]

CC: ...we are working on some products that are at a more aggressive price point that may work their way into the brick and mortar retail chain.
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If Fractal comes out with an FX-only floor unit, given their focus on quality, I am guessing that the quality of the effects will be the same as in the full unit, but that you will get less of them (or at least less simultaneously) and possibly less parameters. If that assumption is correct, and Fractal is able to ramp production up to a high enough level to support large-scale retail distribution, I am very curious as to how competitors will react. It has been my impression that most of the competition between them of late has been on the amp modeling front, and that none of them are putting any real effort into maximizing the quality and flexibility of their effects. If Fractal comes out with a unit like what I am imagining, it will be the first real competition that they have had from above in a long time. (I don't really consider the Axe-FX II to be direct competition with the floor multi-FX out there right now, the price range is too different.) Will they put the resources into trying to compete? Or will they simply concede the high-end to Fractal and continue to focus on the (almost certainly) lower <= $500 price points that they have been up until now?

I am thinking that for most companies, at least, it will be the latter. The number of potential customers just decreases so quickly as you go to progressively higher price points that the infamous accountants mentioned in the interview would not see it as worth the risk relative to the potential return on the investment.
 
Got a bit emotional when reading Cliff was "blown away" by the Boston sound. I was about 12 years when the first Boston album got to my "green" ears. As a young innocent boy kept prison by children's music and bilboard disco, this new genre, guitar sound, vocal performances (RIP Bradley!), amazing compositions and recordings brougth me on my little knees ... found my heroes! My guitar playing changed drastically leaving "The Shadows" as my first virtual teachers far behind.
Hope one day Cliff & Tom (Scholz) meet in a bar ... get drunk ... and make wild plans to introduce the "Boston"-amp into the Axe. Hm ... maybe not particulary in that order ... :)
 
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orpeus said:
If Fractal comes out with an FX-only floor unit, given their focus on quality, I am guessing that the quality of the effects will be the same as in the full unit, but that you will get less of them (or at least less simultaneously) and possibly less parameters. If that assumption is correct, and Fractal is able to ramp production up to a high enough level to support large-scale retail distribution, I am very curious as to how competitors will react. It has been my impression that most of the competition between them of late has been on the amp modeling front, and that none of them are putting any real effort into maximizing the quality and flexibility of their effects. If Fractal comes out with a unit like what I am imagining, it will be the first real competition that they have had from above in a long time. (I don't really consider the Axe-FX II to be direct competition with the floor multi-FX out there right now, the price range is too different.) Will they put the resources into trying to compete? Or will they simply concede the high-end to Fractal and continue to focus on the (almost certainly) lower <= $500 price points that they have been up until now?

I am thinking that for most companies, at least, it will be the latter. The number of potential customers just decreases so quickly as you go to progressively higher price points that the infamous accountants mentioned in the interview would not see it as worth the risk relative to the potential return on the investment.
Click to expand...

Well, based on Fractal's history and Cliff's stated goals for the company, I wouldn't expect to see large-scale retail distribution any time soon. Cliff is looking to make the best product, which means not using cheap, poorly made parts. Nor is he looking to make the company blow up by hiring on a ton of people to try and meet demand. Granted, I'm sure they're doing what they can to meet demand for their products, but since there's little competition for the same quality as the Axe II that demand is somewhat captive so why let the company get out of control when you can use it to fuel stable growth?

How will competitors react? I think that Fractal doesn't have many competitors. If Line 6 or Digitech decides they need to put out a new product to defend their place in the market against a Fractal floorboard, they'll use their larger resources to beat Fractal on distribution and probably on price as well. I doubt that any will succeed in making a better product in terms of hardware/sound quality because they're moving to gain market and not because they're trying to make a great product. When I was learning about the Axe-FX, it was the same sense of awe that I felt when I realized what an SSL mix desk can really do. The amount of careful, quality control and attention to functionality at every level is astounding. Fractal users want that uncompromising quality and won't have their business lured away by a more user-friendly interface and a lower price point.

Competitors will either have to beat Fractal at their own game with a more intuitive UI or come up with a new approach to a guitar FX solution that is totally outside the box (and who knows how outside-the-box Cliff's new baby will be?).

I'll be interested to see the end product and where it comes in price-wise. For me, learning this was coming down the line made my year. The Axe-II is outside my price range and I love my amp, so this should be a real blessing for me. I was going to get a Nova system and some other pedals but I'm gonna hold off until this thing drops.
 
Philip said:
I hope not. I would want it to fit easily into a padded case or rack drawer.
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This is the one thing that could tempt me into selling my current set up, getting a Mk V (only really use a couple of amps on the II) & the effects unit..but i guess it will be a LONG while before we see it!
 
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