FC-12 Text/Font looks terrible and is too small!

WillfullyDamned

New Member
I know a lot of you feel this way but it needs to be said again.

The text is too small, and is just generally not good looking especially in lowercase.

Can the firmware not be updated with a bolder looking text? Would this not be an extremely easy fix for Fractal to do?

There seems to be plenty of real estate on the screens for a bigger, better, and more functional text.
 
The difficulty is the initial design.

In terms of software integration and integration with the Axe FX III, the FC series is just perfect, totally unimpeachable.

I mean, okay, perhaps there could be a better font selection. But it'll be a trade-off: Thicker lettering, fewer letters.

But there's a limit to how much you can do, with any font, on screens of that size. I think they decided to go with a smaller footprint to fit more easily on to more people's pedalboards while saving a bit of real estate...and this set a maximum size on the scribble strips. The market for foot controllers with larger strips was thereby left to those who buy the RGM Mastermind GT series.

So, it's not that one can't get a footcontroller that's more-readable; one can. But, sad to say, it won't be the Fractal one.
 
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I am still not convinced why this wouldn't be an easy implementation to the unit that would be favorable by the majority of users. Sacrificing character count is fine if it looks better and is more readable, it also could merely be an option. I am also supportive of an invert function where it is white text on a black background. This is a great unit that shouldn't have to fall short to something so trivial!
 
@Dave Merrill:
Are the Mastermind displays actually larger? Bigger font? I've never seen one in person.

Definitely pricier.
Yes, to all of the above. Bigger font, bigger displays, bigger dent in your wallet; bigger overall.

According to the MM GT/16 page,
Dimensions: 19.4 (W) x 11.1 (D) x 3.25 (H) inches / 49.3 x 28.2 x 8.3 cm

...and from what I'm seeing in the graphics (and some quick math) that means:
Small Screens (Scribble-Strips): about 2.2 x 1.2 inches
Large Screen (Main Display): about 4.0 x 2.25 inches

I'm not sure of the exact dimensions of the screens on the FC-12 and FC-6, but I'd estimate that the main screen on the FC-12 is about 5 x 1 inches, and the small scribble strips are about 1.5 x 0.5 inches each. (Can anyone verify?)
 
Are the Mastermind displays actually larger? Bigger font? I've never seen one in person.

Definitely pricier.

Yep, I moved from the Liquidfoot 12+ to the Mastermind gt16 because of the strips being too small. Any time something is larger, especially screens on stuff the price goes up. On the 16 there are 16 screens plus the main screen so 17.
 
Anyway, if one is really bothered by the screen/font sizing, the RJM MasterMind GT/16 scores over the FC-12. It also allows simultaneous MIDI control of other devices.

But there is a downside: You don't get the same level/ease of integration with the Axe FX III. You have to bend over and program it from its front panel (or a separate editor) rather than going through the Axe FX III front panel (or its editor). And, of course, it costs more.

It's an imperfect world full of imperfect solutions! ...and 99% of adult life consists in making trade-offs of costs and benefits.

That said, people who're unbothered by the text-size issue, and who're happy to have a smaller-footprint solution, should certainly go the FC route.
 
@Dave Merrill:

Yes, to all of the above. Bigger font, bigger displays, bigger dent in your wallet; bigger overall.

According to the MM GT/16 page,
Dimensions: 19.4 (W) x 11.1 (D) x 3.25 (H) inches / 49.3 x 28.2 x 8.3 cm

...and from what I'm seeing in the graphics (and some quick math) that means:
Small Screens (Scribble-Strips): about 2.2 x 1.2 inches
Large Screen (Main Display): about 4.0 x 2.25 inches

I'm not sure of the exact dimensions of the screens on the FC-12 and FC-6, but I'd estimate that the main screen on the FC-12 is about 5 x 1 inches, and the small scribble strips are about 1.5 x 0.5 inches each. (Can anyone verify?)
The small displays are the ones I have trouble with. They seem to be a differernt type of LCD display than the big one. The big one's letters are dark, flat, and sharp-edged, but the little ones' letters are a little less dark and sharp no matter how I set the contrast, and even close up, have a "looking through a telescope" sort of weird optical non-flat, slightly out-of-focus quality to them, as if the movie special effect they used in the telescope scenes in the Costner "Robin Hood" movie and "Dances With Wolves" is built into them.
 
Keeping the text the same size but making it darker would solve my problem with this. No matter how I adjust contrast, the letters are too faint.
 
I just purchased the FC12 for my home studio. I want a seamless transition relatively between the FC12 and FM9 that I gig with. I think I am going to sell my Mastermind GT16.
 
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