I think Cliff was drunk when he designed the AX8 UI.

To be fair, the AX8 has some very nice performance features (Scenes, X/Y switching, Scene Controllers), but when it comes to editing on board, I hope a ground-up redesign is in the works for a future AX8II. I almost never felt the need to use Axe-Edit when I had an AxeFX, but I always use AX8-Edit with the AX8.
 
Yes the ax edit is so simple and nice to use that editing on the unit is like going from word on a computer to hammering braille on a stone tablet :D
 
I think setting up a patch from scratch is a real pain on the unit. This is one of the reasons, why I have adopted a strategy where I have made some preset templates. They are set up with two complimentary amps, four matching cabs, a drive, some FX, all the scene controllers and tweaks I normally use. Editing such a template is a breeze on the unit, and it allows me to quickly get to the sounds, I need.
 
I think too much is made of the AX8 UI. I mean, it's not slick, but give yourself about 5 minutes of time to pay attention to it, it makes sense. It's not that different than any other Axe product.
 
Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's that bad and can actually do what I need on the unit. I'm just playing into the hands of the people that hate it.
I'm used to small green screens, I started in the eighties. :D
 
Without opening the manual, how do you bypass an effect on the grid that has not been assigned to a footswitch? Or, how do you change the X/Y state of a block on the grid?

The problem is that the interface is not intuitive. There is no information on how to accomplish simple tasks such as these within the interface or the menu system. Once you learn the keystrokes, its no big deal, but there is lots of shuffling through the manual to find these simple and common tasks.

You guys are right, its not that bad. But it's clearly an area that is in need of significant improvement when compared to the competition.
 
The on-device Fractal UI is is pretty normal for a piece of rack gear or other modeler equipment. It seemed totally fine until the Helix came along and showed everyone how good a UI on such a limited piece of equipment can be.

Such is life. I'm not big on doing massive preset edits away from my PC equipped home studio, so I don't mind occasionally navigating the menus to adjust global EQ or a couple other parameters.

UI improvements would certainly be great, though. And thank goodness for competition in the marketplace for keeping everyone on their toes!
 
4-way with ok in the middle. Not new, still works... somewhere else.

I just edit at home and pray for the best when live.
 
I don't have a problem with the UI itself, it's more the buttons and knobs available to interact with the UI that don't feel intuitive, IMO.
 
^ This. I had gotten very good at editing on the AxeFx. All the controls / buttons made sense as to how to get around. So it's not the screen / layout that's the problem for me, and it's not a lack of familiarity - I felt very comfortable making edits at practice or even on stage. But on the 8, it's not at all intuitive or easy to figure out what to do to navigate.

And I've had my 8 from the time it was first released - before the Helix came out - so it's not a case of "I wish it had a UI like the Helix."

I just wish it had a UI like the AxeFX.
 
When I tweak, I use the EDIT button to cycle through all the blocks. Once I am in the right block, the navigation is OK. Except for those cases where you have to use the Shift+Nav buttons. Those are annoying.
 
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