I'm Just Going to Leave This Here

I just re-read the full details of the FX8. All along I was thinking FX8 was basically 1/2 of an Axe-Fx (the FX half) with the same DSP (one). But that can't be right, otherwise FX8 would allow more than 8 blocks and more instances of FX, more inline with the Axe-Fx capabilities.

If Cliff has basically ported all his code to run on lower-cost DSPs, it would make sense to build it into different form-factors. Start with floorboards, since that's new for Fractal and they're popular. Design the floorboard chassis and then make two products that fit into it:

FX8 with 1 DSP (FX only) $1349
AX8 with 2 DSPs (Amps\Cabs + FX). $???? (more than FX8 )

Another sensible form factor is rackmount, which would be cheaper since they don't have foot controller built in. We've already got the Axe-Fx for the rack market, but it would be cool to see FX8R and AX8R for, say, $999 and $1199 respectively. Even cooler if they were 1U units.

Of course it's also possible I'm totally full of shit :)
 
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The Eventide H9 business model may also work great with a new Axe FX Rack. Maybe release a fully upgradable "light" model. It comes with lets say 10 amp models and the basic effects and you pay to "unlock" or download additional amp or FX packs or as a one at a time type of thing. Eventide charges $19.95 per additional algorithm. Could let people choose what they want to have but also could be a real money maker for Fractal and would keep the initial cost down.
 
keithguitarfan said:
The Eventide H9 business model may also work great with a new Axe FX Rack. Maybe release a fully upgradable "light" model. It comes with lets say 10 amp models and the basic effects and you pay to "unlock" or download additional amp or FX packs or as a one at a time type of thing. Eventide charges $19.95 per additional algorithm. Could let people choose what they want to have but also could be a real money maker for Fractal and would keep the initial cost down.
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I think this is a great idea ,I wish it would happen the player gets to pick the mods and IRs he wants .for the guys that want 10 amps boom done . want all $200 you can do that .If your a metal guy and only want Deizels ,Rectos ,Ubers that covers you as well .
it's a very modern approach and a cool solution .i had a digistomp .it was cool .
 
Robboman said:
I just re-read the full details of the FX8. All along I was thinking FX8 was basically 1/2 of an Axe-Fx (the FX half) with the same DSP (one). But that can't be right, otherwise FX8 would allow more than 8 blocks and more instances of FX, more inline with the Axe-Fx capabilities.

If Cliff has basically ported all his code to run on lower-cost DSPs, it would make sense to build it into different form-factors. Start with floorboards, since that's new for Fractal and they're popular. Design the floorboard chassis and then make two products that fit into it:

FX8 with 1 DSP (FX only) $1349
AX8 with 2 DSPs (Amps\Cabs + FX). $???? (more than FX8 )

Another sensible form factor is rackmount, which would be cheaper since they don't have foot controller built in. We've already got the Axe-Fx for the rack market, but it would be cool to see FX8R and AX8R for, say, $999 and $1199 respectively. Even cooler if they were 1U units.

Of course it's also possible I'm totally full of shit :)
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Would love to see a 1u with the screen and those LEDs round the encoders .Gladly pay 1400-1500 for that
 
I really hope the footswitches are freely assignable and not tied to 8 effects blocks on the grid.
Just imagine amp , cab and reverb- three effects that i would never want to turn off, and they would take 3 footswitches. I think there are better uses for those footswitches.
 
keithguitarfan said:
The Eventide H9 business model may also work great with a new Axe FX Rack. Maybe release a fully upgradable "light" model. It comes with lets say 10 amp models and the basic effects and you pay to "unlock" or download additional amp or FX packs or as a one at a time type of thing. Eventide charges $19.95 per additional algorithm. Could let people choose what they want to have but also could be a real money maker for Fractal and would keep the initial cost down.
Click to expand...

We've been contemplating that. This would lower the initial cost. Then sell amp models at $10 each or something.
 
pauliusmm said:
I really hope the footswitches are freely assignable and not tied to 8 effects blocks on the grid.
Just imagine amp , cab and reverb- three effects that i would never want to turn off, and they would take 3 footswitches. I think there are better uses for those footswitches.
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They are freely assignable. There is a footswitch assign menu.
 
FractalAudio said:
We've been contemplating that. This would lower the initial cost. Then sell amp models at $10 each or something.
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Makes business sense. However, I don't see how it could "actually" lower the cost as you already have produced the amp models and the effect algos. I suppose that the same applies to the H9, but it is really a nut and shell game at this point. I feel that you keep your brand prestige if you just keep selling the best - period - loaded. The cost to produce is the same in either case. Keep being the best and let Eventide play the game with their customers. IMHO
 
kerrlehr said:
Makes business sense. However, I don't see how it could "actually" lower the cost as you already have produced the amp models and the effect algos. I suppose that the same applies to the H9, but it is really a nut and shell game at this point. I feel that you keep your brand prestige if you just keep selling the best - period - loaded. The cost to produce is the same in either case. Keep being the best and let Eventide play the game with their customers. IMHO
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It lowers the sell cost because there is a certain guaranteed secondary income stream. It's a common business model nowadays: sell the product for less than you normally would and make up the difference in software downloads or monthly fees. The lower the entry cost the more people will buy one. The ultimate example of this is printers. They practically give them away. They make the money back on the ink or toner cartridges.
 
kerrlehr said:
...I don't see how it could "actually" lower the cost as you already have produced the amp models and the effect algos...The cost to produce is the same in either case. Keep being the best and let Eventide play the game with their customers. IMHO
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It's the initial cost to the end user that would be lowered. More people would be able to afford to get killer Axe-Fx tones and effects. And they wouldn't be paying for models they don't use.
 
FractalAudio said:
The ultimate example of this is printers. They practically give them away. They make the money back on the ink or toner cartridges.
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So true. I haven't purchased ink in over 4 years. I have though owned 6 printers over that time period. When the ink dries up on the latest I look for the next rebated promotion/deal. My latest Cannon (xxxxx) ended up costing $9.99.
 
It would not bother me to buy amps for the AX8 as long as they were offered individually, or in logical bundles (i.e. Vintage Fender collection, or Mesa collection, etc.). I would not want to see the AxeII go to this type of business model.

Most users could easily get by with 5-10 amp models, the problem is that no two users will agree on which 5-10 are needed; hence the 200ish models in the AxeII.

$10 per amp model seems a bit high to me.
 
i think the ultimate example is the mobile game that is free - completely free - but offer in-app purchases that can make you advance faster in the game. genius.

clash of clans is probably the best current example. you can get the game free and play it freely forever. and you probably strive to never ever pay for the gems. at first things take 15 seconds to upgrade, then 1 minute, then 1 hour, then 10 hours... then 1 day... then 10 days.... OMG HURRY UP AND FINISH BUILDING ALREADY SO I CAN RAID THAT GUY'S VILLAGE

*spends $49.99 for gems to upgrade things*

clash of clans bought a freaking Superbowl commercial spot. amazing times we live in.

--

that said, how much is it gonna cost to create a protected amp/pack file so people don't share it? :) i vote just offer it all at the higher price. but my vote really doesn't matter for this sort of thing, so i'll just shut up :)
 
Not like my opinion matters much in the grand scheme of things but I despise "in app purchases."

It's a concept that does one thing and that is "rip people off for mass profit."
 
Severed said:
Not like my opinion matters much in the grand scheme of things but I despise "in app purchases."

It's a concept that does one thing and that is "rip people off for mass profit."
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I understand the idea of it and can see the "pro's" of aspects of it but yeah I personally don't like stuff like that much as well.

I'm pretty much sold on the AX8, just hope a lot of the modifiers and deep editing/customisable aspects of the II/XL are retained (since the blocks are transferable between the rack and the AX8 gives me confidence).
Definitely curious on how many User IR's can be loaded into the thing.
 
Severed said:
It's a concept that does one thing and that is "rip people off for mass profit."
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Not necessarily. Let's say FAS puts 8 amps in the unit for a $999 street price. They have 200 additional amps available all $10 each. That's a potential of $2000 more per customer.

But let's say that every customer doesn't buy any additional amps. Compared to a guessed "all amps included" price of $1699, every AX8 customer actually saved $700. So no one got ripped off, except maybe FAS as the work put into those additional amps never earns any income.

So the question then becomes "at what point should a creator of a digital product stop getting paid for their previous work?" I have a video I'm selling for $15. All gear and time out into making that video is a real cost of at least $10,000 just on the gear alone, and if I could pay myself $35 an hour - way low for your typical writer, producer, actor, editor - I would get $700 for the 20 or so hours spent. So should my price ever become $0 at some point? When I reach 700 in sales? But what about paying for all the gear. Ok do I stop charging when I make $10,700 on that video (as if it'd ever sell that much!)? Everything was paid for so why keep charging? No. You keep charging even after that point because you have now only just broke even on that one video. Anything done in the future will have new costs (maybe not on the gear you just paid for, but additional gear and time) and those should be paid for. If they can be paid for ahead of time then that allows the creator to possibly do spectacular things as their time is now free to create and not worry about their day to day living costs. A bit of a tangent but very relevant I think.

Just because someone makes money on a product doesn't mean someone else is getting ripped off. That's how business works. Buy it for $1 sell it for 2... Or 3... Or 8 if the value is there for the customer. Honest companies price their goods based on the real material costs plus the value of time put into producing the product. But the free market can force pricing due to competition, causing a company to charge higher than they may want to, only because they have to make X amount of $$ to stay in the game and not go out of business.

If every company bought for $1 and sold for $1, the world would NOT be a better place. It'd be messed up because no one would "make" any additional money to pay employees, just one major example. it is called "making money" for a reason :)
 
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The AX-8 is probably not primarily targeted at those of us such as myself who already own the Axe-FX II. Having said that, I'd rather pay a few hundred dollars more to have all of the amp models rather than having a super stripped down floorboard with amps available for purchase. I love having the power to try new amps whenever I want and prefer investing in the full package up front.

Having said that, maybe other types of potential customers would prefer a cheaper entry price and some kind of pay as you go model. For me though there is something very satisfying in knowing that I own the best f***ing amp modeler and all of the amps are right in there for me to mess with. It truly is a thrilling feeling that I would personally pay extra for even though I already own the Axe II.
 
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