Current AxeFX soon obsolete?

JeffTD

JeffTD

New Member
Hey guys,

Looking into picking up an AxeFX Standard in the next month or two; had one back in January of 08 and wasn't incredibly impressed with it, but the updates since have made leaps and bounds in improvement.

Anyways, I can't help but think that with the age of the unit and the nature of processors/DSP chips that the current hardware is outdated and that there should be a new unit at least in the works, if not coming out soon?

Is there any word on this, or am I over thinking things? The AxeFx has been out for 5-6 years at this point, right? Seems like it'd be due for an update, but there isn't exactly a previous unit to establish an average product cycle from.

Cheers!
-Jeff
 
There is no word on a new hardware version of the Axe-fx

The Axe-fx standard but has been around that long, not the Ultra.
 
From what I understand the TigerSHARC DSP which is used is still the most powerful DSP on the planet and until there's an improvement of some kind on that front there's probably not going to be anything new coming anytime soon.

This isn't Line6 or Digitech where they're releasing new product lines every year and flooding store shelves with millions of units because they're competing with each other. And even if it was the business model the AxeFX is just now IMHO starting to take off and while there are some nice products out there it's considered by many to be the cream of the crop. Unless there was a glut of things out there that did what the AxeFX does better there isn't a real need to change for the sake of change when you start figuring in costs of design and having a factory retool somewhere.

All my personal opinion though; he could release something new tomorrow for all I know.
 
Ah ok, cheers guys.

Not sure at all why this was moved into the "lounge" - it most definitely is about the AxeFX?
 
Guess I'll just have to stack my obsolete Ultra on top of my obsolete '64 Fender amp and my obsolete '79 Mesa Boogie.

I'm saving up to buy an obsolete '59 Les Paul.
 
As good as the Axe sounds will it ever be obsolete? The only issue I see happening with the Axe is running out of room to add more stuff quite frankly between the standard and the Ultra there is more that enough fore most players.
 
I see what you guys are saying about it not being obsolete because of how good it sounds, but it being a computer at heart makes it fundamentally different than an analog amp.

I don't mean obsolete as in 'useless and doesn't sound good anymore,' but as in 'there's a new model to be released that has more dsp power and features."
 
If they do make a new version then the 'vintage' version will be worth more.

Mine was made by Cliff's hands.
Later versions have been made by Cliff Clones.

I mock the users of Cliff Cloned Axe-fxs. You are not worthy to look upon my axe-fx.
 
JeffTD said:
I see what you guys are saying about it not being obsolete because of how good it sounds, but it being a computer at heart makes it fundamentally different than an analog amp.

I don't mean obsolete as in 'useless and doesn't sound good anymore,' but as in 'there's a new model to be released that has more dsp power and features."
Click to expand...
I hear what you are saying, but unlike a computer that's going to be using applications from numerous vendors and technology advances on the software front where the hardware has to constantly improve to handle it, we're talking about a fixed system that does only one thing and does it well. The only advantage gained would be if Cliff were to rewrite his algorythms to utilize the advantages of a more powerful DSP. The last time I looked, the makers of the SHARC processors were adding more onboard options to their chips and changed the memory structure so that it actually is slower in practice, but cheaper because manufacturers didn't have to include as many components on their PCB's. I can't remember what all they included, but if you need say 10 additional chips to support the TigerSHARC, the new chip has those 10 chips on the dye itself. The price of the chip is about 1/10th the cost of the one the AxeFX uses and it will not run the algorythms because of bottlenecks in the memory controller...even though based on pure clock cycles it's supposed to be faster.

The way that I take this is that there isn't a huge market for DSP's that are a lot more powerful because at the end of the day we are still talking about audio which isn't that intensive and most manufacturers opt for cheaper components. If you've got a small market for the fastest chip out there right now there isn't a lot of reason to make a faster more expensive one.

And DSP's are quite different than standard CPU's. Cliff said that he has tried to run his code on regular CPU's and it didn't sound very promising from what I can recall.
 
JeffTD said:
I see what you guys are saying about it not being obsolete because of how good it sounds, but it being a computer at heart makes it fundamentally different than an analog amp.

I don't mean obsolete as in 'useless and doesn't sound good anymore,' but as in 'there's a new model to be released that has more dsp power and features."
Click to expand...

The question is, will this future new dsp enable Cliff to run better sims or will it still sound very similar. Cliff once said he already had coded more realistic algorithms that could not be run in realtime in current hardware but he simulated them and the difference was little. OTOH, the new processors might not be able to run new techniques such as dynamic convolution or full length IRs in realtime.

I don't think the axefx is lacking power. An audio/usb/midi interface, UI and big color screen, knobs and connectivity refresh would make a great new version though.
 
I would absolutely LOVE running like 4 amp models at the same time!
That would be AWESOME!!!!
It would be super rad for recording. No need to reamp hehe then we would start seeing some serious "Amp Recipes" here :-D
then again i wouldnt mind buying another axefx ultra to do exactly that :-D
 
If you're worried about it becoming obsolete, get the Axe Ultra IIC+. Then, it will never become obsolete. Instead, when the new Axe comes out, the Axe Ultra IIC+ will be surrounded by relentless and suffocating hype. Did I mention mine has the Imbuya case? :)
 
I started a similar 'soon obsolete?' thread right before I bought my Ultra. That was spring of '08. Almost 3 years and 2 forums ago. Long before the Atomic partnership, G66, major artist endorsements, magazine ads.

But the day will come. Lets face it. The day Fractal announces the all new "Super Ultra", the used market value of your old Axe-Fx will drop. Even if there is no change in actual sound quality, everyone will want the new one because it has USB, wi-fi, hundreds of name-able user cab slots, more CPU\RAM\ROM and a color touch display. All in a 1U rack. :)

Personally, I'd speculate we'll see a 'lite' version or an all in one floor model before we see a high-end replacement for the current models. These would compete better against the evil of Line 6.

The only thing I'm quite certain of is that this time we won't know anything until it's just about ready to ship. Cliff has learned that lesson.. pre-announcing his early ideas has come back to kick him in the ass repeatedly.
 
Well, considering I have absolutely 0 complaints about my current Axe FX, I can't imagine I would need anything else. Now if Fractal made Wireless units, THAT would be a product I'm interested in.
 
Sidivan said:
Well, considering I have absolutely 0 complaints about my current Axe FX, I can't imagine I would need anything else. Now if Fractal made Wireless units, THAT would be a product I'm interested in.
Click to expand...

If you aren't complaining than you aren't trying hard enough. :razz
 
It could probably be a good ideia to check out the analog devices page once in a while to see if they come out with a more powerfull dsp.
 
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