IMO - A-XL Extends life of the II

H3O2

H3O2

Experienced
As Cliff clarified recently, the II and the new XL co-exist. So, the II is not going to be usurped by a new model(ie III?) any time soon. It's a brilliant move and certainly reaffirms my investment in Fractal, and likely lots of II owners even if recent buyers.
 
I agree man, I was just thinking that when the news came out and how the code for the firmware except for the few new features of the XL are the same!!! I was like YES YES YES YES HAHAHA:)
 
H3O2 said:
As Cliff clarified recently, the II and the new XL co-exist. So, the II is not going to be usurped by a new model(ie III?) any time soon. It's a brilliant move and certainly reaffirms my investment in Fractal, and likely lots of II owners even if recent buyers.
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I agree, and it's a testament to the quality and versatility of the II that someone with persistent, inextinguishable GAS, like me, is unmoved by the XL. Got all the presets, blocks, user cabs, etc. I can handle.
 
Fine.... I DO want it. BUT, I'll wait. I'm more of a basic tweaker. I know what I like and can easily dial it up. I still use a couple of older Yek presets from 'back in the day' when I got my II in May 2012! You know, as humans we like to hunt and discover. And with Fractal never leaving us waiting very long, we get surprised often. It's a pretty good deal.
 
With the initial quality, and the continuing updates, I think it's a fantastic product. On Line6 stuff, I couldn't stop tweaking because I never found the right tone, now I'm tweaking because I keep finding great tones.

Plus the great feedback on this forum by the owner. I feel it's worth every cent, bravo.

Jan
 
H3O2 said:
As Cliff clarified recently, the II and the new XL co-exist. So, the II is not going to be usurped by a new model(ie III?) any time soon. It's a brilliant move and certainly reaffirms my investment in Fractal, and likely lots of II owners even if recent buyers.
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+1000. As someone who got an Ultra right before the II and only just recently got in on all the fun w/ the II, I think this is awesome. I was absolutely dreading the next hardware announcement from FAS, but this is really nice... Adds new stuff for people looking to buy in, yet, reaffirms the status of the base hardware platform for existing owners, best of both worlds.
 
Jan Geerts said:
With the initial quality, and the continuing updates, I think it's a fantastic product. On Line6 stuff, I couldn't stop tweaking because I never found the right tone, now I'm tweaking because I keep finding great tones.

Plus the great feedback on this forum by the owner. I feel it's worth every cent, bravo.

Jan
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I can't +1 this enough. Back when I owned L6 stuff, I'd spend an hour dialing around before getting frustrated and just shutting it off. With my AE2, I can get lost just mindlessly noodling on a single patch (even the stock ones!) for hours. It makes me feel like a kid again.
 
I don't think we will be seeing hoards of AFX users flooding the second hand market with IIs to replace theirs with an XL. At least nowhere near the scale at which it happened after the infamous 'countdown'.
 
craiguitar said:
I don't think we will be seeing hoards of AFX users flooding the second hand market with IIs to replace theirs with an XL. At least nowhere near the scale at which it happened after the infamous 'countdown'.
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I remember that "countdown" all too well! People selling their Ultras for 800 bucks! I just laughed at their stupidity!

But you know what? I predict the exact same THING will happen when the axe fx III comes out! Some people NEVER learn!
 
I agree before the Axe II came out it was quite clear that Cliff had run out of room and options with the Ultra but there is no sign of that with the II to this point. Also when I purchased my Axe II Cliff mentioned that he anticipated a life span of about ten years for that unit so I think we're good for at least a few more years.
 
I echo the OP, it is nice to know that the Axe II is not going away just yet. And for the power users they have access to a unit that will satisfy their needs. If FAS comes out with a 3rd generation Axe I'll bet it will mainly be a hardware platform change, Interface, processing and memory being the main differences. Code seems to be their and with respect to amp sims and effects with the release of V13 we will get to experience Hirez cab sims one would guess it's about perfect. Only Cliff knows if he has any more tricks up his sleeves.
 
My only thoughts about buying an additional or new AxeFx have been in the case of my current II dying an irretrievable death (not losing sleep over that currently) or if they create an AxeFx III that truly offers a significant sonic upgrade or some other substantial usability/interface change over what I currently have. I think the XL is a logical incremental update and it gives added incentive for those on the fence, but I'm still learning to harness the power of the II, and I don't anticipate feeling limited at any time in the foreseeable future. If and when they ever release a III or equivalent, I'll have to make the decision to have 2 units or to use the sale of my current II to help finance the III. I'm not expecting to make that decision for several more years if ever.
 
Sixstring said:
I echo the OP, it is nice to know that the Axe II is not going away just yet. And for the power users they have access to a unit that will satisfy their needs. If FAS comes out with a 3rd generation Axe I'll bet it will mainly be a hardware platform change, Interface, processing and memory being the main differences. Code seems to be their and with respect to amp sims and effects with the release of V13 we will get to experience Hirez cab sims one would guess it's about perfect. Only Cliff knows if he has any more tricks up his sleeves.
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I think the hardware user interface right now is the only bad thing about the Axe-Fx. The only reason for me to get an Axe III would be if it made the unit easier to use without a computer software. Even the current UI could be improved a lot by taking some ideas from game controllers etc. For example the navigation buttons are quite laughable when a proper D-pad would be much easier to use.
 
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