FX8 Mark II looks sweeeet!

If there isn't that much difference I just can't see the justification for a MKII designation, that's all it does is make us original FX8 owners feel that we now have an outdated model and the price drop - well that makes me feel a whole lot better, gee thanks...
Well they need to differentiate it from the original, what would you suggest they call it?
 
Yeah, that's the first thing I said when i saw it.. "this is going to irritate some people.." (me too if I still had an FX8).

BUT, continuous attention to their products is a great thing. It could be like other music gear companies.. Look at an M13 for example... that thing hasn't changed in YEARS.. even with the massive footswitch failure rate.. (I also have an M13 that I play weekly.. so I'm not bashing it.. just to be clear).
 
Well they need to differentiate it from the original, what would you suggest they call it?

Don't care what they call it, in my eyes they need to do MORE to the new model before even calling a MK2 - have no issue with the MK2 name, just the minimal amount of new features that you would "expect" in a new MK designation.

FX8 (Rev.B) could have been better, because thats all it is.....an original FX8 with a few revisions, not a whole new model - anyone not aware of this would think that the MK2 is drastically improved...its not.

I would expect a MK2 to have extra CPU, more switches/simultaneous effects, relays etc etc - not the same unit in a different colour with a few subtle operational tweaks..

Like I say, my opinion and thats it, not worth a damn...
 
Don't care what they call it, in my eyes they need to do MORE to the new model before even calling a MK2 - have no issue with the MK2 name, just the minimal amount of new features that you would "expect" in a new MK designation.

FX8 (Rev.B) could have been better, because thats all it is.....an original FX8 with a few revisions, not a whole new model - anyone not aware of this would think that the MK2 is drastically improved...its not.

I would expect a MK2 to have extra CPU, more switches/simultaneous effects, relays etc etc - not the same unit in a different colour with a few subtle operational tweaks..

Like I say, my opinion and thats it, not worth a damn...
The AxeFX has gone through three relatively minor hardware revisions (MK1, MK2, XL) with no DSP upgrades, so this is consistent with previous product releases. I guess the MK designation just carries different connotations for some companies/people. I wouldn't worry too much, the AxeFX MK II and XL didn't significantly devalue the MK I.
 
i suspect it's cheaper to produce with the all black, hence the price drop and decision to release a MkII

As long as the firmware updates keep happening for the MkI it's not an issue
 
Greetings all,

I'd like to explain why the Mark II was given this incremental designation instead of just changing the features of the "FX8".

The two units, FX8 and FX8 Mark II require different firmware. Two key differences explain why:

- The Extra input pad needs to be settable on one unit and not the other.
- The Footswitches are numbered differently based on customer feedback.

Therefore, it is extremely important that the decision about which firmware to install not be ambiguous. Customers not familiar with the product history should have an easy time of it.

Sure, we could have called it the FX8-B (or anything else) but the terminology "Mark II" is one we've used before for similar changes, so this is a consistent naming increment, and we wanted it to stand out on.

As you were,
 
Greetings all,

I'd like to explain why the Mark II was given this incremental designation instead of just changing the features of the "FX8".

The two units, FX8 and FX8 Mark II require different firmware. Two key differences explain why:

- The Extra input pad needs to be settable on one unit and not the other.
- The Footswitches are numbered differently based on customer feedback.

Therefore, it is extremely important that the decision about which firmware to install not be ambiguous. Customers not familiar with the product history should have an easy time of it.

Sure, we could have called it the FX8-B (or anything else) but the terminology "Mark II" is one we've used before for similar changes, so this is a consistent naming increment, and we wanted it to stand out on.

As you were,

Thanks for the response.

So, the million dollar question (which no doubt will give me something else to moan about) is...

Will the firmware updates for the FX8 Mark I finally fizzle out and only the 2 with the upgrades will get updates or do you plan to roll out to both in parallel?
 
Thanks for the response.

So, the million dollar question (which no doubt will give me something else to moan about) is...

Will the firmware updates for the FX8 Mark I finally fizzle out and only the 2 with the upgrades will get updates
This hasn't happened for the Axe-Fx II and its 4 versions, so I'm not sure why it would happen for the FX8.
 
as long as we are reassured that the FX8 MK 1 will still have firmware and be supported - I think there will be a better comfort level
 
as long as we are reassured that the FX8 MK 1 will still have firmware and be supported - I think there will be a better comfort level

Isn't this implied here:
Therefore, it is extremely important that the decision about which firmware to install not be ambiguous. Customers not familiar with the product history should have an easy time of it.
 
as long as we are reassured that the FX8 MK 1 will still have firmware and be supported - I think there will be a better comfort level

Fractal Audio would never scumbag MK 1 owners like that. I'm sure there will be more firmware updates than you can even keep up with.
 
Thanks for the response.

So, the million dollar question (which no doubt will give me something else to moan about) is...

Will the firmware updates for the FX8 Mark I finally fizzle out and only the 2 with the upgrades will get updates or do you plan to roll out to both in parallel?
Updates will be rolled out in parallel. Unless a particular update fixes a bug only found in one model.
 
Sadly, I'm in the "more than disappointed camp", and i'll tell you why...

I was a pedal snob; had everything i wanted, and on a whim one day, i bought a Helix. Regretted it straight away, but luckily, one guy offered me a straight swop on a FX8 (thanks Kev !).

It was life change. Im not a tweaker, but the initial sound, ease of use, two amp option blew my head off. I sold virtually every pedal I had (PTD, Moog, Cornish etc etc). The FX8 still remains my best purchase ever, and ive become a huge evangalist for it !

Stumbled on the update (mkii) on Sunday night. Man, so excited !!!

But visual upgrades, a colour change and making it quieter (can the FX8 actually get any quieter !!!???!!??) were a huge disappointment to me.

Ive gone on the list, hoping I underestimated the new model. I guess that might still be the case...
 
On a side note, has anyone actually ordered one? I'll check and it says "in stock".. then i'll check an hour later and it says "out of stock". I'm not in a position to buy one quite yet, (hopefully in a couple of weeks), but are they actually in stock for a short time span every day?
 
why are these a disappointment?

I agree. Look...I'm not a fanboy. I love the FX8 and the only person who's ass I need to occasionally kiss is my wife's.

Again, I'm assuming that the changes were mostly cosmetic to keep the AX8 and FX8 chassis designs essentially the same. Makes perfect sense from a manufacturing standpoint to lower production costs. Along with it, they threw in a couple minor upgrades. The whole system is still fairly new and the latest firmware with MAJOR improvements just came out. So I don't understand how people can expect any significant hardware changes at this point. The fact that Fractal has a Wish List section on the Forum and seem to actually pay attention to it is nothing shy of a miracle in today's world. I say enjoy the AX8 and FX8's you have and expect that, somewhere down the line, upgrades more worthy of a moniker change most likely will come.
 
I was fine with this... Until today... I am buying an AX8 for a new project and am therefore - sadly - selling my FX8 to fund the purchase... I just had a guy tell me I should knock a few hundred off my asking price because it's the "old one".

I'm not really hugely upset but this always seems to happen to me... I buy and then somehow what I buy gets devalued...

/whinge

The Mark II sure is pretty though.
 
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