How many years is the AX8 designed to last for practical daily use?

dsouza

dsouza

Experienced
Just curious what the life expectancy on these units are?

10 years?

20 years?

30 years?

Provided you don't run over it in reverse with your car or drop it down a flight of stairs, how long can it serve you?

Does FAS provide any timeframes as to its lifespan?
 
dsouza said:
Just curious what the life expectancy on these units are?

10 years?

20 years?

30 years?

Provided you don't run over it in reverse with your car or drop it down a flight of stairs, how long can it serve you?

Does FAS provide any timeframes as to its lifespan?
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FAS does not provide a lifespan, as the range of possibilities in use are infinite. There was, if I recall, a CR2032 battery maintaining the volatile memory, which lasts about 10 years. Its replaceable, and is just to memorize settings, so the unit would still power on. If nothing got fried by bad power or something, your next failure would likely be a footswitch, which is also replaceable.

Best I can offer is “a long, long time.”
 
10 year battery life is not that long. Too bad it needed batteries at all. Something like a Boss Pedal would give 30 years of continued service. I expected a machine as advanced as an AX8 to have a lifespan of 30 years provided it was dropped, damaged, or destroyed by weather conditions etc. For use in the home studio at room temperature it's a shame the battery needs changing. For those of us who don't like to open up the unit ourselves we would have to ship back to FAS which could take up to a month to get back. Gotta save up for an FM9 before the 10 year mark ;)
 
As it seems to be constructed on Milstd basis, I suppose it will handle 30 years fingers in the nose, except for the parts that can be subject to mechanical wear depending on their use : connectors, switches, encoder wheel.
If you plan to keep it that long it seems wishful thinking to find some spares for these parts.
 
chris said:
how long does a boss battery last?
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Boss batteries are not required as pedals can work w/o them, the ax8 battery is required for the unit to funciton properly! Having to change it in only 10 years is very bad. Ideally, even an M13 can last 30 years I would think w/o any battery changes.
 
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WOW! I had not even thought about the battery situation. My USB is "broken" so I can't transfer any of my presets to my PC for safekeeping or backup. If my battery were to go, I would be stuffed for want of a better word.
I would have to start from scratch again. And my unit (when I bought it came with) is full of Austin Buddy and more things, so it would be a bad day in my household if things did go wrong.
 
dsouza said:
Just curious what the life expectancy on these units are?

10 years?

20 years?

30 years?

Provided you don't run over it in reverse with your car or drop it down a flight of stairs, how long can it serve you?

Does FAS provide any timeframes as to its lifespan?
Click to expand...
I should I ask this Samsung as well about my appliances.

I used to have Frigidaire for 15 years - no problems.

Now after I moved to this new place (6 years now) the dryer broke twice, the range display flickers like a disco joint, the fridge door spring broke and I replaced it and the shelves on the doors became brittle and cracked.

What would Samsung provide as timeframe for for their lifespan?

Just saying
 
Dixiethedog said:
WOW! I had not even thought about the battery situation. My USB is "broken" so I can't transfer any of my presets to my PC for safekeeping or backup. If my battery were to go, I would be stuffed for want of a better word.
I would have to start from scratch again. And my unit (when I bought it came with) is full of Austin Buddy and more things, so it would be a bad day in my household if things did go wrong.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't a device like an Roland UM-ONE or M-Audio Midisport Uno work through the midi ports?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/UMOneMk2--roland-um-one-mk2-usb-midi-interface

Amazon product ASIN B00007JRBM
I have used both of them for my Ultra so I am thinking it would work for the AX8.

The USB option just made it easier for us after the Ultra.
 
Thank you @playingitloud for the suggestion.

I have to be honest, I have never seen a M-Audio midisport Uno before. I am not anywhere near my AX8 at the moment so I can't check out the midi outputs.

With your unit were you able to send presets to a PC with an M-Audio or Roland midi type of lead? I am wondering if I could do backups or even move presets around to maybe free up space and get my unit a bit more organized.

If a midi lead would work it could be one of the best buys that I will make this year.

Thank you for the suggestion.

Brett
 
I am going to do some shopping today for a MIDI to USB interface thanks to @playingitloud for his original suggestion and to @Piing for his confirmation comment.

I was doing a little bit of searching on YT and found this video (somewhere below). I don't understand a word of what he is saying but it does indeed look like a MIDI to USB is the answer for all of us with broken USB outputs.

I love Fractal Audio as much as the next man (or woman), but is it time that they updated their manuals to include something along the lines of, "When your USB output ****s up simply use a more reliable MIDI to USB connection setup"?

I watched another broken USB video where there were numerous comments basically all saying the same thing, "The video is great and will help me fix mine...." So the USB is a problem that Fractal should be looking to address. Not just on the AX8 but on the FM units as well.

As a thought from a previous comment on here, maybe Samsung makes the USB connectors but Frigidaire makes the AX8. Or Ford makes the USB and Rolls Royce makes the AX8. It is like having a Ferrari with a fuel pump from a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. You just know that one day you will be parked up at the side of the road wondering what just happened.

But I am still a massive Fractal fan.

Video time.

 
I am desperately waiting for the postman to bring my Midi cable things today (I hope) so that I can get myself back into axe edit and save the presets that I love to a safe place on my PC.
And then my AX8 should be good for many years to come. Even if and when the battery fails.
 
Rick said:
FAS does not provide a lifespan, as the range of possibilities in use are infinite. There was, if I recall, a CR2032 battery maintaining the volatile memory, which lasts about 10 years. Its replaceable, and is just to memorize settings, so the unit would still power on. If nothing got fried by bad power or something, your next failure would likely be a footswitch, which is also replaceable.

Best I can offer is “a long, long time.”
Click to expand...
Would you be able to use the system and all presets (and backup using FractalBot) w/o the battery?
 
Dixiethedog said:
I am going to do some shopping today for a MIDI to USB interface thanks to @playingitloud for his original suggestion and to @Piing for his confirmation comment.

I was doing a little bit of searching on YT and found this video (somewhere below). I don't understand a word of what he is saying but it does indeed look like a MIDI to USB is the answer for all of us with broken USB outputs.

I love Fractal Audio as much as the next man (or woman), but is it time that they updated their manuals to include something along the lines of, "When your USB output ****s up simply use a more reliable MIDI to USB connection setup"?

I watched another broken USB video where there were numerous comments basically all saying the same thing, "The video is great and will help me fix mine...." So the USB is a problem that Fractal should be looking to address. Not just on the AX8 but on the FM units as well.

As a thought from a previous comment on here, maybe Samsung makes the USB connectors but Frigidaire makes the AX8. Or Ford makes the USB and Rolls Royce makes the AX8. It is like having a Ferrari with a fuel pump from a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. You just know that one day you will be parked up at the side of the road wondering what just happened.

But I am still a massive Fractal fan.

Video time.

Click to expand...

Honestly for your needs you might just want to look into getting a good quality valve amp and using it with your guitars.
 
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