Countdown 0.5...

mark_melling said:
It has nothing to do with the Ax it's the psychological conditioning of wanting, "the latest" "most up to date" that we are force fed from a consumer world that would collapse without that conditioning..all the logic in the world goes out of the window!
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Really? Then explain to me why the last two guitars I've bought were made in the 1980's, rather than buying the stuff so many folks here have in their sig lines. it's not at all about "must have latest", I could care less about that. If they release a new AxeFx that was identical to the Ultra but had Petrucci's signature on it and was purple instead of black, the person you describe would need to buy it immediately. I couldn't care less. For me, it comes down to this:

I *just* bought the AxeFx Ultra two months ago. If there was a new one in the works with imminent release, they should've mentioned it earlier so people like me could have waited to see if the newer one was more up our alley. If the new one is $5K, I wouldn't buy it anyway, I would still go with the Ultra.

I'm not just some doofus who needs to have the latest and not use it. I've been running a two-amp rig for years now, and for a brief time, 3 amps. I love the complexity of tone, especially response to picking dynamics, that you can get from a multiple-amp setup that you simply cannot get from a one-amp rig. So being able to run two amps (with cabs and mics) in the Ultra is excellent, I'm building my rig around that. Problem is I'm always at the 95% processor range with what is, to me, a minimal setup. I'd love to be able to throw in a couple different delays, different choruses, or other effects, but don't have that option since I'm at the processor limit with a more minimal two-amp setup. If a new AxeFx is available that has more memory, more processor power, different algorithms, whatever it would take to let me add in some more blocks or even (gasp) a 3rd amp, I'd love it. I'd buy it, not because it's new and fancy and I *must* have it, but rather because it would let me do things with the Ultra that I'd love to do and currently can't. Don't get me wrong, the Ultra can do amazing stuff, but I'd be right there capitalizing on it if it could do more.

And then there's the potential addition of USB, if something like that happens which allows the AxeFx to be used as a plugin in a DAW, I would definitely want that. It would save me the trouble of having to set up my recording sessions for 48k sample rate when we would normally never use that since it doesn't allow burning of a cd without resampling everything. I'm dealing with that okay, but with USB instead of using SPDIF, it would save me that trouble. And again, if there's a USB model coming out in a few days, it woulda been kinda nice to know that two months ago when I bought my Ultra-- I would have happily waited two months to get that feature.

I'm sure there are people like you describe that just simply *must* have the newest and latest of everything, rich dudes with a big consumerist bent. But that's not all of us. I'm still selling amps to pay off the Ultra I already bought. I get that a new one doesn't make my ultra stop working. But a new version that's got extra features that I would put to good use, that makes me regret buying the Ultra when I did. Doesnt break my ultra. Just makes it a bummer that I happened to buy it at just barely the wrong time.
 
eoinlandy said:
16 Kathleen Turner (Overdrive ? - band name apparently)
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ah! maybe. this could mean that we are getting more OD pedals! a score for those of us who are using the axe fx for effects only! salvation is coming (possibly)!
 
The red musical button looks like one of those red "EASY" buttons so maybe it's easy to use.
The question mark: I see a dime, then the earth, then a galaxy and then a question mark. The next logical step up from the galaxy would be the universe I believe. Universal compatibility with MAC and PC maybe?
Roller coasters are EXCITING or maybe it has something to do with the LOOPer.
The eye is from the caricature of Cliff. Not sure about that one.
The ice cream could be STACKED or MANY FLAVOURS.
Santa .... many packages?
When I look at the fist I see POWERFUL.
The dice ... double sixes are also known as BOXCARS. Not sure if that is significant in the guitar realm. Possibly 12 IR slots?

That's all I got for now.
 
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Hmm a rebus, word puzzly thing or just plain nonsense ??

1 Heavenly
2 Music
3
4
5
6
7 Whopper
8 Switch
9
10
11 Clocks
12 Around
13 Eye
14 Axe
15
16 Kathleen Turner (Overdrive ? - band name apparently)
17
18 Presents
19
20
21 Hold
22
23 Sixes
24 Donkey
 
pic-14.jpg

So the guitar-embedded new Axe FX with Angry Birds included @ $9500 is true :love:
 
One thing I noticed is that if you look at the properties of each image, the numbers in the filenames aren't in order....
 
Reiep said:
pic-14.jpg

So the guitar-embedded new Axe FX with Angry Birds included @ $9500 is true :love:
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lol ... just noticed, it has the calculator as well. There was a post earlier from Cliff I believe with the mention of these things added to the Axe as a joke. There might be a clue in that post. Did he quote someone in that post? Maybe there's a clue in that other person's post.

EDIT: Man oh man, the guessing of these 'clues' on the G66 site alone could easily push this thread well over 100 pages.
 
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OK, as an early adopter, I've been mulling this over. More importantly, I've been thinking about what kind of dude Cliff is.

Sorry for long-winded conjecture, but here's some facts/opinions for everyone to consider:

1. Cliff specializes in coding for the axe-fx hardware modeler. It's his baby. As far as I know he didn't code for the MFC or Axe-edit, and IMHO those products reflected that.
2. He doesn't release lesser versions of his modeling/FX hardware. All he's done is release a bigger/better modeling/fx "bomb", not a smaller one.
3. I don't see him letting the genie out of the bottle with a software-only modeler, it'd be cracked and stolen forevermore.
4. Cliff quickly outgrows the hardware he codes for; he reached the limits of the standard and ultra not long after they were released. 2011, 3 years into the Ultra, that fact becomes very important.
5. He outgrows hardware because his thinking and math evolve faster than chips do. He even outgrows his OWN thinking as much & as often as possible.
6. Why? -- because he's relentlessly unsatisfied with his past achievements. Cliff's innovations in sonic math are enough to blow up the guitar world 10 times over. No one has a bigger/better "guitar amp/fx bomb" than Cliff. But his arms race of innovation continues nonetheless.

7. That only means one thing: Cliff is clearly competing with himself, which explains the drop in new firmware updates for current hardware.
8. And whatever he's been coding for, he's very excited about it. Cliff is pumping his fist and falling back in his chair laughing both at what he's achieved and at our collective misery in not knowing what the hell it is.
9. All of this adds up to a singular reality -- apparently, Cliff has outdone himself. But what does THAT mean?

SUMMARY #1:
10. If insights 1-9 are indeed true, then I conclude the Ultra is Cliff's nemesis. It then follows that he has out-done himself and defeated the Ultra through superior weapons power (better math & better hardware).

So that's Cliff -- the story makes no sense inside our current paradigm of product design, marketing and profit margins, but Cliff lives in an alternate reality. Thank god.

Because Cliff shuns typical corporate strategy, everything above points to the possibility that he has NOT created a lesser modeling hardware unit (foot unit, economy unit, hybrid tube combo unit, outboard plugin hardware unit) and has NOT written a software-only product (axe-edit, plugin, axe-fx PC, some new silver-bullet firmware).

That leaves us with few options and the stark possibility that Cliff has been bent on obliterating the Axe-FX Ultra since its release. The Ultra -- a product that sells so well it barely keeps up with demand. Cliff is indeed living an alternate reality.


So what does that mean for the current countdown?

1. Previous product releases were done without fanfare, with limited stock on hand and were often announced before the product even existed. Fractal was plagued with forum whining (self included) for release dates, and upon release, reputation-denting 1/2-year delays perhaps because money and production weren't there for a big inventory.
2. Cliff isn't making that mistake this time -- at least we hope so.
3. If #1 is all we've known, why do a countdown in the first place?
4. The countdown exists because, possibly for the first time, Fractal has sold enough product to invest in producing real inventory of new product. G66 countdown confirms a possible second inventory, already shipped and ready. And more importantly, ready to replace current Ultra orders.

5. We know the countdown is for a big product release -- but -- the countdown could also be a 10-day window, allowing axe-fx users to "prepare" (sell current hardware) and untie themselves from the Fractal railroad tracks before a new Fractal train crashes through them and their precious hardware.
6. Cliff wants to help his customers and this might be his implicit way of doing it: He's run down inventory like anyone would. BUT with demand still strong, Cliff has preserved resale value for us, his loyal following, right up to the last 10 days. AND he's given us a window of time to prepare.
7. I can only conclude the message of help is hiding in the countdown. And that would be a very Cliff-like thing to do.

SUMMARY #2
1. Cliff's personality, product releases, and overall behavior imply he's blown the roof off the Ultra with a bigger/better "bomb".
2. The countdown, unlike previous releases, implies investment in new, non-software inventory, in stock in sufficient numbers to warrant a countdown that creates the buzz required to move enough inventory to re-stock bank accounts depleted by the massive effort.
3. It's so titantic a product, not only has Cliff neglected current hardware to develop it, it warrants a global countdown...a countdown and inventory strategy that helps the current Fractal faithful untie themselves from the fractal railroad (their beloved axe-fx units).

CONCLUSION:
IMHO I say dudes, get off the tracks..............the train is coming!!!
 
maybe it's a statment not elements of the device. like the objects represent the broken words of the statement
 
This thread is like a video game. Does you no good in the long run, but you can't look away...

As a side note, I cannot imagine at this point there will not be some level of disappointment at the *whatever* announcement. There is so much hype that I'm sure Cliff did not imagine it would reach this fever pitch.

But still having fun watching wild speculation!

Ron
 
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