Countdown 0.5...

I'm hoping for another whopper of an upgrade like v10 was. To me this would be better than a floor unit or AxePc that attemps to reproduce what the Ultra does anyway. What ever improves the variety and quality of amp tones and effects takes 1st priority in my book - the rest is mostly "support". A separate rack unit that would handle lot's of 3rd part IRs would be cool. I guess it would have to go in the loop of the Axe.

This is like buying a lottary ticket .... wouldn't it be great if I could buy ...

Hopefully whatever it is will live up to the countdown hype that's being generated
 
killo said:
I see your point, and yes, Axe-fx users are "fanatics", but if they can stock units just for 1 hour it means that they have a lot of new potential buyer that can be satisfied with a productivity increase = cash for Fractal Audio. If FA wants to increase their selling, they need first to increase productivity
Click to expand...

This further supports my theory of the switch to Chinese CM. Maybe the US CM is totally maxed out and can't assemble fast enough. Apparently they screwed up a batch of screen printing too (B-stock Ultras).

I'm not aware of any mass-produced electronic product built in the US. Only small quantities of boutique products. As Fractal grows and needs to scale up production, USA manufacturing might become essentially impossible, and not merely more expensive.
 
I suppose whatever product it is, it will be immediately available for purchase, with no waiting list. If I remember correctly, Cliff stated that he would not ever reveal a product he was developing before it was ready again, after the way he was antagonized for the release of the MFC101.
 
Yes
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SPECULATIONEN
(4 May) ... But now, with the continuation of this countdown, we are about to enter a new age, as for the first time in the history of the universe there will soon be an inflatable Axe-Fx with double air chambers... This, or something equally fantastic, is what you might start to expect if you have been reading the speculation on the countdown in the official Axe-Fx forum, which incidentally has logged over 60 000 hits over the last few days.

GROUP POLL
Some forum members even started up a spontaneous poll with the following options:
_smaller and more powerfull Axe-Fx
_pc-based Axe-Fx
_on-floor unit
_in partnership with another company or other

Whereby Cliff Chase responded almost immediately with the tip that the option 'None of the above' was missing..

FOOD FOR IDEAS
Here are a few more specimens from the Fractal forum's catalogue of ideas
_Modeling guitar
_Bass-Fx
_Partnership with Skynet
_Mother's Day
_Something with USB
_New firmware
_Extension module for the MFC-101
_Axe-App for the iPhone (see photo)
_'Groupie block' for that extra rockstar feeling
_Final version of Axe-Edit
_Axe-Fx built-in MFC-101 (see photo)
_Headphone jack
_Tube amp
_The One Ring
_Amp combo
_Fractal Audio T-shirts, underwear, rucksacks
_Axe-Fx top

IT'S OKAY TO FANTASIZE
Of course, there are other possibilities, too:

* Reusable display protection film
* 3D colour display in high definition with a pair of 3D glasses
* Accurate models of the world's most horrible transistor amps
* Remote control of the Axe-Fx via Playstation joystick
* Axe-Fx Limited Edition with pink front plate and light-green buttons
* Firmware update with talent booster for guitarists who are too lazy to practise
* 'Blame Shifter', so that mistakes are automatically transferred to the bass frequencies, making it the bass player's fault
* Or perhaps Cliff Chase has read all 900 threads in the wish list and realised every single one of the Axe-Fx users' wishes in a new firmware release?

But in reality, of course, it's...(To be continued)
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'Blame Shifter', so that mistakes are automatically transferred to the bass frequencies, making it the bass player's fault


:lol
 
From Sept 2010:

FractalAudio said:
There is a new SHARC processor family: the 214xx series. My bet is the new Pod stuff is using a 21469.

I have evaluated the 21469 extensively and while it is a good processor it is only about half as powerful as a TigerSHARC. We are actually working on a new product based on the 21469.

The problem with the SHARCs is several things:
- The core design is very old. They are still using the same basic core from almost 20 years ago.
- The internal bus bandwidth is mediocre. The TigerSHARC has four 128-bit internal data buses that run at full speed which means the core is never starved for data.
- Too few registers. You have to constantly push and pop with the SHARCs because the register file is so small. This increases function overhead so either your functions run slower or you have to increase your block size (and concomitant latency). The TigerSHARC has a huge register file and since there are so many scratch registers you rarely have to save any registers on the stack (this can also be a disadvantage since you have to save all those registers during a context switch so you have to code your interrupts carefully).
- The SIMD implementation is crude. It would take too long to explain the details.
- Small internal memory. The maximum available is 5 Mb IIRC.
- 48-bit instruction word. The long instruction word means instruction use 1.5 times the memory as data does. So that 5 Mb memory is equivalent to 3.3 Mb in practice.

The new SHARCs have on-board accelerators (FIR and IIR). In theory this should be great but unfortunately the accelerators only work at half the clock speed so they don't really buy you much.

One advantage of the new SHARCs is the on-board peripherals. They include SPI, I2S, UARTS, etc. This reduces system cost. The TigerSHARC has no on-board peripherals, it is designed for one thing: number-crunching.

The SHARC is the value line and for the money the new SHARCs are great but a TigerSHARC still easily outperforms them.
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And here is a post I stole from Line6 forum:
Info on POD HD v POD XT, X3, and Axe-FX DSP chips
Doing some research on this. A couple of owners have opened up their new POD HD 500s to see whats being used, and how the internal construction is. The processor is a major factor here.

This is the findings:

POD HD DSP: SHARC ADSP-21369 at 333 MHz (KSZ-2A), 2.4 GFLOPS

POD X3 DSP: SHARC ADSP-21369 at 266 MHz (KSZ-1A), 1.6 GFLOPS

POD XT DSP: at 60 MHz, 180 MFLOPS

Axe-FX (Standard) DSP: TigerSharc at 500MHz, 3.0GFLOPS

Axe-FX (Ultra) DSP: TigerSHARC at 600MHz 4.0GFLOPS

However - So looking at this chart, the 21369 rating of 400MHz is a maximum rating for the fastest in the family of processors?

And: No. The -2A is what determines the speed.

1A = 266, 2A = 333, 3A = 350, 4A = 400. The letters determine the package type. KSZ is just the markings for a KSWZ package (208 quad flat-pack).

So – actually the POD HDs use the 333MHz chip despite the 400 Mhz clain in some parts (hence Ive given the correct rating in this post).

The Axe-FX TigerSHARC is still leaps and bounds better than the L6 SHARC chip (the SHARC family is the "budget" processor, while the TigerSHARC family is the no price concern best you can make family).

Retail, the L6 chip is $30 against the Axe-FX $200.
Click to expand...



Lots of tech detail, but here's two snippets to consider in tandem:

FractalAudio said:
..while it is a good processor it is only about half as powerful as a TigerSHARC.
Click to expand...
Retail, the (SHARC) chip is $30 against the (TigerSHARC) $200.
Click to expand...

I don't know if the Line 6 guy's prices are accurate, but if so it would be way cheaper to build a product with 4 SHARCS than a single TigerSHARC. The question is.. is it possible? Did Cliff work his magic and build a new, even more monsterous monster?
 
He just want to select Navy Seals. Those who are able to pass this test and stay in good mental condition will be able to buy the product, the other are probably in this moment driving like Fast & Furious in their town. :mrgreen
 
Please let this countdown be for an Atomic Amp 4x12 Cabinet!!!!! That would be sooo awesome (for me atleast :)) even though I know that this is a fractal not AA countdown.
 
how about a full immersion experience via a pair of virtual reality glasses showing a stadium full of screaming fans or a small club full of gorgeous gals... and throw in one of those little air treatment things you plug into the wall which will emit the fragrance of spilled beer and pot smoke :lol
 
Robboman said:
I don't know if the Line 6 guy's prices are accurate, but if so it would be way cheaper to build a product with 4 SHARCS than a single TigerSHARC...
Click to expand...
A couple of things to consider: The ADSP-TS201S has 24Mb of onboard memory, the ADSP-21369 has 2Mb; there may be (significant) cost added to support three additional processors beyond the price of the processors themselves.

Assuming that the current Ultra architecture is pretty well maxed out in terms of function, even though there may be room for more amps (Little Walter) etc.; and that there is not a new and improved DSP processor out there... Makes me wonder what Cliff would do with a second processor to play with, freed from the current feature set.

Forget packaging (e.g. two parallel Ultra's in a box, or a separate box--rack mount or floor) for a moment. What ideas does Cliff have that won't fit in the current products? Improved versions of features that were added in firmware releases (e.g. User cabs, synth...)? New functions that are only possible in the digital domain instead of simulating analog devices? Kinetics?
 
As i said in TGP the big news is that Cliff and Tom get married. Steve Vai will be the witness. :mrgreen
 
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