FM9 Firmware Version 5.01

Random Hero said:
...it’s not even close to as frequent I guess is what I’m saying.
Click to expand...
You're right — it's not. It can't be.

If you expect the other teams to implement everything you've done on the flagship — at the same speed as the flagship — you'll be constantly stopping the development cycle on the other products to include today's epiphany.


"You're ready to go into beta on the next firmware for the FM9? Too bad. There's this new thing I've rolled out on the Axe-Fx. No beta for you until you include this latest thing."

A few days later...

"Okay, boss. We've included the latest thing, and we're ready to go into beta."

"Too bad. Now there's another new thing to include. No beta for you until you include it."


And the cycle continues. There's really no choice but to roll up a bunch of changes into fewer, less frequent firmware releases for the other products.
 
bdrepko said:
Here's a question. Whenever there is an update to the III, does that restart the whole process of porting to the FM3/FM9?
Click to expand...

Random Hero said:
I totally get that but… it’s not even close to as frequent I guess is what I’m saying.

It’s an observation rather than a criticism. It’s not like the current FW doesn’t sound amazing.
Click to expand...
It is as frequent. It isn’t as recent. The FM versions naturally occur afterwards.
 
Don’t flame me for this…

Coming to Fractal from Helix, I will say it was nice that their whole ecosystem got updated together with each new firmware.

I like Fractal more, obviously. I own 2 of the three modelers they offer. You can say it’s an apples to oranges comparison, and explain all the ways it’s not possible. But I still say it would be nice. Cliff leading one team working on new firmware that we all get simultaneously for all products. That would be amazing.
 
Rex said:
You're right — it's not. It can't be.

If you expect the other teams to implement everything you've done on the flagship — at the same speed as the flagship — you'll be constantly stopping the development cycle on the other products to include today's epiphany.


"You're ready to go into beta on the next firmware for the FM9? Too bad. There's this new thing I've rolled out on the Axe-Fx. No beta for you until you include this latest thing."

A few days later...

"Okay, boss. We've included the latest thing, and we're ready to go into beta."

"Too bad. Now there's another new thing to include. No beta for you until you include it."


And the cycle continues. There's really no choice but to roll up a bunch of changes into fewer, less frequent firmware releases for the other products.
Click to expand...
Why rather this than everything being rolled into one update for each unit? I don’t think anybody should be flamed for it but it does seem like it would make sense, no?

I guess the flip side is the III gets all of the “epiphanies” but surely it’s easier to just roll out one update as and when?
 
jetdriver1775 said:
Don’t flame me for this…

Coming to Fractal from Helix, I will say it was nice that their whole ecosystem got updated together with each new firmware.

I like Fractal more, obviously. I own 2 of the three modelers they offer. You can say it’s an apples to oranges comparison, and explain all the ways it’s not possible. But I still say it would be nice. Cliff leading one team working on new firmware that we all get simultaneously for all products. That would be amazing.
Click to expand...
Completely agree with this. I personally think it's a tough look.
 
Rex said:
You're right — it's not. It can't be.

If you expect the other teams to implement everything you've done on the flagship — at the same speed as the flagship — you'll be constantly stopping the development cycle on the other products to include today's epiphany.


"You're ready to go into beta on the next firmware for the FM9? Too bad. There's this new thing I've rolled out on the Axe-Fx. No beta for you until you include this latest thing."

A few days later...

"Okay, boss. We've included the latest thing, and we're ready to go into beta."

"Too bad. Now there's another new thing to include. No beta for you until you include it."


And the cycle continues. There's really no choice but to roll up a bunch of changes into fewer, less frequent firmware releases for the other products.
Click to expand...
“Bingo!”

Or the situation where new code was written based upon the master code, and then a bug was found and fixed, forcing the other teams to change and fix their code. There needs to be a gap between the systems.
 
jetdriver1775 said:
Don’t flame me for this…

Coming to Fractal from Helix, I will say it was nice that their whole ecosystem got updated together with each new firmware.

I like Fractal more, obviously. I own 2 of the three modelers they offer. You can say it’s an apples to oranges comparison, and explain all the ways it’s not possible. But I still say it would be nice. Cliff leading one team working on new firmware that we all get simultaneously for all products. That would be amazing.
Click to expand...
I think there's a lot of upsides to how Fractal operates. There's constant innovation and improvement and new features are also tested by a sizeable group of very enthusiastic users. Feedback is gathered and things are potentially improved. Bugs are found and fixed really quickly. Porting to FM takes a while, but we have an idea of what we may be getting in the future.

One downside is that while we get a sneak peek at features, there may be things that are not possible on the FM units. So we may be waiting for something that won't make it to the units. But then, they wouldn't make it to the other units even if the releases were simultaneous.
 
To play devil's advocate here, looking at the Axe FXII, a unit that came out in 2011, the fact that it got updates until 2019 (with a few fixes even until last year) means this is a company that believes in supporting its user base.

I imagine an alternate universe where Fractal units were on the same update sched. and architecture as an iPhone where if you have a product older than 4 years ago, you're SOL. Luckily, each new update to the FM9/FM3/FX brings something new to the table, so I'm happy with an update 2-3 times a year dropping a bevy of new features from the FX onto the FM models because it's consistently good each time.


TLDR: I like the fact that these updates make the units feel consistently like a new product, so the update frequency matters less to me once I realized I'm in it for the long haul with my FM9
 
Random Hero said:
Why rather this than everything being rolled into one update for each unit? I don’t think anybody should be flamed for it but it does seem like it would make sense, no?

I guess the flip side is the III gets all of the “epiphanies” but surely it’s easier to just roll out one update as and when?
Click to expand...
I didn’t flame you.

Let’s say you have a new firmware release ready for the Axe III. Do you release the new firmware, or do you make everyone wait until all platforms have been through development and beta testing? That would slow down firmware releases for everyone. Not a big deal for companies that only release one or two firmware updates a year. But Fractal releases many firmware updates in a year. The slowdown would be noticeable, and people would complain. All in the name of synchronizing updates. I don’t think that would be a good tradeoff.
 
Last edited:
Why assume a slow down in updates? If all the units were able to run the same firmware, then they’d all get the updates at the same time, at the speed that Cliff churns them out. That’s the dream lol.
 
jetdriver1775 said:
Why assume a slow down in updates? If all the units were able to run the same firmware, then they’d all get the updates at the same time, at the speed that Cliff churns them out. That’s the dream lol.
Click to expand...
It doesn’t work that way. Different DSPs and coprocessors in different systems configs means different code and tuning. It would take longer for the reasons described.

Before Fractal, I had Line 6 gear (Pod, Pod Pro, XT, Port, Vetta II). Updates and fixes were rare and upgrades for new amps cost money. Line 6 had to step up to compete.
 
jetdriver1775 said:
Why assume a slow down in updates? If all the units were able to run the same firmware, then they’d all get the updates at the same time, at the speed that Cliff churns them out. That’s the dream lol.
Click to expand...
Each unit has different limitations, so they can't all run the same firmware unless you detune the Axe III and FM9.
 
Rex said:
If all the units were able to run the same firmware, they’d all be the same device. You can make that happen today. Just buy two FM9s. Your firmware updates will be in lockstep with each other. :)
Click to expand...
You'd still get "AXE'd" though... :p;):D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rex
Rex said:
If all the units were able to run the same firmware, they’d all be the same device. You can make that happen today. Just buy two FM9s. Your firmware updates will be in lockstep with each other. :)
Click to expand...
IMO, IF each unit could use the same architecture (cpu, memory, etc), then it could be designed with one framework, with the differences being the connectivity, footswitches, etc, between the units. That might require different hardware cooling for the FMx units and more. The big difference is that the FM3 and FM9 costs go up and thus the price to the consumer. That might be a deterrent, but it would sure make life easier for the dev teams.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom