Wish Firmware update

Atmospheric

Inspired
I know FX8 users are sort of second class citizens in the Fractal ecosystem. Truthfully, if there were a better alternative, I'd already be using it.

But we're coming up on 10 months since the last firmware update, and that one was buggy enough that many folks had to revert to 5.0.3. I'm not one of them. 5.0.4 works just fine for me.

After 18 months with my FX8, which I like a lot and could potentially love a great deal with a few nips and tucks (multiband compression, please), I find myself increasingly wondering if I need to plot a migration strategy off of Fractal. At this point I am never going to want amp modeling. I understand it's great, I just don't want it.

I'm not trying to tick anyone off here. I understand that Fractal is a relatively small company with limited resources. But some honest forthright information about where we FX8 users stand would be very helpful at this point. I realize that doing that would probably negatively impact revenue so I'm not holding my breath.

When might we expect a firmware update? A projected quarter would be fine.
 
I kind of guess that the FX8 gets far less updates, because in general the effects get far less updates on the II and the AX8 aswell. Cliff's focus has always been mainly the amp simulation.

If there are real bugs, which make the device unusable, then those need to be adressed as soon as possible, but featurewise, there doesn't seem to be much to update unfortunately.
 
I know FX8 users are sort of second class citizens in the Fractal ecosystem. Truthfully, if there were a better alternative, I'd already be using it.

But we're coming up on 10 months since the last firmware update, and that one was buggy enough that many folks had to revert to 5.0.3. I'm not one of them. 5.0.4 works just fine for me.

After 18 months with my FX8, which I like a lot and could potentially love a great deal with a few nips and tucks (multiband compression, please), I find myself increasingly wondering if I need to plot a migration strategy off of Fractal. At this point I am never going to want amp modeling. I understand it's great, I just don't want it.

I'm not trying to tick anyone off here. I understand that Fractal is a relatively small company with limited resources. But some honest forthright information about where we FX8 users stand would be very helpful at this point. I realize that doing that would probably negatively impact revenue so I'm not holding my breath.

When might we expect a firmware update? A projected quarter would be fine.

This is sort of the same issue I alluded to with the Ultra in the other post of mine on the FX8. Here's a link to that below. This is why I'm reluctant, while being completely understanding of limited resources etc.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...e-edit-for-standard-ultra.91094/#post-1096915
 
I wish they’d hire someone who was obsessed with fuzz pedals as me. Maybe the amp modeling crowd really needs another amp but not as much as I would love another fuzz pedal model!
 
From what I’ve heard they lost a number of key people to [a competitor]. So my guess is that [that competitor] will be making a run at Fractal.

I agree I don’t want/need amp modeling...but I wish they’d make some updates to the FX8 as well. Adding effects or even some way to “tone match” pedals so they could be shared thru the forum.

I dig the FX8 and I’ve been incredibly happy with it...but it sucks to see all the updates to the Axe Fx...and the release of the Axe FxIII

[EDITED BY ADMIN M@ TO PREVENT AN UNTRUE RUMOR FROM BEING PICKED UP OUT OF CONTEXT.]
 
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I'm reluctant to really speak freely on this forum. Already a zealot member (but not a mod) has criticized me over on The Gear Page. There's a lot of Kool-aid being passed around.

I had hoped for five years useful life out of my FX8. I'm about 1/3 of the way there. It does sound good. Really good at times. I do keep finding ways to make it sound even better. I'm also not anxious to learn a whole other device, and program it to do what I need it to do. So for now, I will continue to use it, and workaround the limitations.

I understand that Fractal needs to do what's in its best interest. I understand that entails allocating resources to the products that generate the most revenue. However, they will also need to understand that orphaned users also need to do what's in their best interests. Many an enterprise has found out the hard way that customers they didn't think they really needed, are more essential then they realized.
 
From what I’ve heard they lost a number of key people to [competitor].

This is absolute fiction likely invented by someone with ill intent. We've never ever had a Fractal Audio employee leave to go work for any other company in the music industry. If anything, we've turned away a significant number of people who wanted to leave a competitor to come work for Fractal Audio.

To bring this back to the point of the topic, the FX8 is not an orphan, it's just not at the front of the line yet.
 
As long as it's still in the line! :)
I get why Fractal doesn't divulge project time lines. Schedule slippages are the norm in software development. As a tech writer, I never missed a deadline in 32 years, but I certainly benefitted from other teams slipping their deadlines.

So if (for example) Fractal were to say, FX8 firmware update due in Q4. If something comes up and they miss that date, folks feel that they were lied to. I get it. But it would be nice to know +/- one year whether or not an update is forthcoming.
 
Atmospheric, as always, has summed up beautifully here. We all have ‘wishes’ for the dev of this product; it’s software, we’re guitar players and we by nature will always want one more tweak, just ONE more pedal, one more ‘feature’.

Thing is, Admin - some of these things are quite basic. 5.04 backup is one of them. Maybe instead of thinking in terms of the trad ‘host of new features’ style release, it could be incremental? For heavens sakes, the ability to batch backup/recall is basic? It should maybe go to the front of that queue?

Meanwhile...they can work on Atmos’ MB compression and my ‘Transmit Midi Clock’ request. Maybe even some kind of ‘were working on these things’ message?

Fractal: we’re feeling a little overlooked down here!
 
This is absolute fiction likely invented by someone with ill intent. We've never ever had a Fractal Audio employee leave to go work for any other company in the music industry. If anything, we've turned away a significant number of people who wanted to leave a competitor to come work for Fractal Audio.

To bring this back to the point of the topic, the FX8 is not an orphan, it's just not at the front of the line yet.

Hmmm...So what about some of the “original” guys involved with the Axe Fx that “have since left the company” or “no longer are involved with Fractal” as indicated by numerous musicians who have used Fractal gear for many years? There is no shame is losing an employee, especially to a competitor...but to abandon customers and support for their products is unacceptable. Fractal makes AWESOME gear...nobody is claiming otherwise. We simply want some attention paid to our gear, some updates! Or if there clearly is no intention to make an update, then say so...rather then appear to dangle the proverbial “carrot” of updates to come in an attempt to sell overstocked inventory.
 
I know FX8 users are sort of second class citizens in the Fractal ecosystem. Truthfully, if there were a better alternative, I'd already be using it.

But we're coming up on 10 months since the last firmware update, and that one was buggy enough that many folks had to revert to 5.0.3. I'm not one of them. 5.0.4 works just fine for me.

After 18 months with my FX8, which I like a lot and could potentially love a great deal with a few nips and tucks (multiband compression, please), I find myself increasingly wondering if I need to plot a migration strategy off of Fractal. At this point I am never going to want amp modeling. I understand it's great, I just don't want it.

I'm not trying to tick anyone off here. I understand that Fractal is a relatively small company with limited resources. But some honest forthright information about where we FX8 users stand would be very helpful at this point. I realize that doing that would probably negatively impact revenue so I'm not holding my breath.

When might we expect a firmware update? A projected quarter would be fine.
I think it is absolutely disgraceful that they haven’t fixed the bugs in version 5.04. How are we supposed to have any confidence in new products if they are unable to allocate any time to fix bugs that they have created? Come on guys your better than this, fix the lack of back up in 5.04 please.
 
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