Is it just me ... or is anyone else starting to think we -wont- see the AX8 until Q1 2016 ?

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I feel like it's a lot easier for guys who have an axe fx already to say that the ax8 will be ready when it's ready. Guys like me who are barely getting by with a lowly zoom G3 are really itching to get an ax8.

That said, I don't really don't mind waiting a little while longer, as long as they get it right the first time. It's just kinda strange when they say "any day now" and "soon," and a month goes by and then still nothing.

I'll just keeping playing guitar in the meantime. :cool:
 
Yep. I'm itching and I do have an Axe-FX II. In the end, I have no doubt they are working hard to get the whole package out the door. There's a lot of moving parts to release a product like the AX8.
 
sam said:
Yep. I'm itching and I do have an Axe-FX II. In the end, I have no doubt they are working hard to get the whole package out the door. There's a lot of moving parts to release a product like the AX8.
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Plus they have a lot to loose if it comes out of the gate with issues. A lot. They are about to break into a market with a pricepoint that opens them up to line 6 type buyers. failure here could doom them in that market, but i suspect it will be a glorious success. I like a company that delays a product to get it right, and spends the right time on QA and beta testing. To me that has more value that getting it out fast. Ya'll have been playing guitar without the AX8, you will make it til it comes out...

Also note, even when it comes out, you likely are still waiting even longer. Just chill out and rock out with what you have.
 
brads4 said:
Plus they have a lot to loose if it comes out of the gate with issues. A lot. They are about to break into a market with a pricepoint that opens them up to line 6 type buyers. failure here could doom them in that market, but i suspect it will be a glorious success. I like a company that delays a product to get it right, and spends the right time on QA and beta testing. To me that has more value that getting it out fast. Ya'll have been playing guitar without the AX8, you will make it til it comes out...

Also note, even when it comes out, you likely are still waiting even longer. Just chill out and rock out with what you have.
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I don't know why people keep claiming this... if anything L6 had (has?) a heck of a lot more to lose rising UP into the over $1K modeling market. FAS has been in this end of the market for what, 6+ years? The AxeFX Standard (remember that one?) was $1500 6 years ago!
Helix apparently has survived at least some issues with the initial release both being delayed to retail stores AND some problems with a "black screen of death" that renders your unit unusable... so frankly I'd say FAS has absolutely NOTHING to worry about with this release.
 
I disagree. They are about to take L6 head on. They are offering a product at the same price point, but most people know line 6, only pros know fractal mostly. They need to be strong and great to show their dominance. Trust me, if they flub this, they risk loosing the more casual audience folks they are trying to grab.


I agree L6 has a lot to lose, but they have a WAY bigger user base. Way bigger reach in terms of products and brand recognition. They could handle a flubbed release better than a boutique manufacturer like Fractal.

Just my opinion.
 
brads4 said:
They are about to break into a market with a pricepoint that opens them up to line 6 type buyers. .
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Let's further define the $1,500 modeler dollar target market, since I'm not exactly sure who a Line 6 buyer is?. Perhaps professionals wanting/needing a smaller footprint and male guitarists who aren't worried about their wives divorcing them. I'm not exactly sure how the statistics break out on that demographic.
 
My thoughts are that no matter if the delay has been for unforseen circumstances or not...if it's not hardware related, the longer it takes to get the AX8 ready the further down the waitlist the initial batch can go.
My guess is Cliff and Co are still taking in units that would just need firmware updates if that was the case....but we will see
 
Reggae Greggae said:
Let's further define the $1,500 modeler dollar target market, since I'm not exactly sure who a Line 6 buyer is?. Perhaps professionals wanting/needing a smaller footprint and male guitarists who aren't worried about their wives divorcing them. I'm not exactly sure how the statistics break out on that demographic.
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This is an impossible question to answer. How do you define a pro? Someone who is signed? Someone who gigs once a week? Someone who has played Madison Square Garden?

I still believe Line 6 added about $500-$900 to the price tag to the Helix to give the perception that it was a top line modeler. To be fair I have not seen one on the flesh, but I am not seeing enough justification to price it $1000 more than the HD POD 500X.
 
chrisjnyc said:
This is an impossible question to answer. How do you define a pro? Someone who is signed? Someone who gigs once a week? Someone who has played Madison Square Garden?

I still believe Line 6 added about $500-$900 to the price tag to the Helix to give the perception that it was a top line modeler. To be fair I have not seen one on the flesh, but I am not seeing enough justification to price it $1000 more than the HD POD 500X.
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I had an HD500X for about a week(all I could handle) and now I am demoing the Helix(need something to do while I wait for the AX8). If you had them both side by side, played them both side by side and listened to them both side by side you would recant that statement, I'm almost certain. It's a different animal in a very good way.
 
Reggae Greggae said:
Let's further define the $1,500 modeler dollar target market, since I'm not exactly sure who a Line 6 buyer is?. Perhaps professionals wanting/needing a smaller footprint and male guitarists who aren't worried about their wives divorcing them. I'm not exactly sure how the statistics break out on that demographic.
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That's a price point that's been sorely underserved until now. If you need a full pedal solution, you have L6 with various solutions on the low end (most well under $1000) with Kemper ($2k) and AxeFX ($3k) on the high end. That $1500 price point is a price point L6 is pushing their customers INTO. Many L6 customers in the $1500 market are previous L6 users looking to graduate into the next great L6 device. Many others are folks who couldn't stomach (cash limited or just on principle) the $3k price tag of a full AxeFX solution.
 
pat6969 said:
I had an HD500X for about a week(all I could handle) and now I am demoing the Helix(need something to do while I wait for the AX8). If you had them both side by side, played them both side by side and listened to them both side by side you would recant that statement, I'm almost certain. It's a different animal in a very good way.
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Possibly... but are you saying the Helix is $1000 better than the POD with the Line 6 amp pack that came out in March (ver 2.6.2)? If you added IR's (Epsi Logidy - $200) to the HD 500, how close would you be to the Helix? Again, I am speculating, but they tippled the price tag, and it seems a little fishy to me.
 
You realize that you are making the same argument against Helix that Line6 users have been making against the AxeFX for years. "Dude, you are saying to me that the AxeFX is $2000 better than the HD500"

Unless you have played one for yourself, I think you might want to hold off making statements about any device. I played a friends Helix briefly thought it was a definite step up from the HD500 in terms of tone and interface. Whether it's a $1000 improvement is subjective as is whether the AxeII is a $2000 improvement. I didn't like it enough to buy one instead of waiting for he AX8, but if there were no AX8 on the horizon I probably would have.
 
There's obviously some level of wiggle room on the price though. Many preordered for $1200.

Plus, the scribble screens and those footswitches add rather substantially to the cost.
 
ethomas1013 said:
You realize that you are making the same argument against Helix that Line6 users have been making against the AxeFX for years. "Dude, you are saying to me that the AxeFX is $2000 better than the HD500"

Unless you have played one for yourself, I think you might want to hold off making statements about any device. I played a friends Helix briefly thought it was a definite step up from the HD500 in terms of tone and interface. Whether it's a $1000 improvement is subjective as is whether the AxeII is a $2000 improvement.
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Yea, thats another ball of wax. Fractal hardware and Line 6 Hardware are not equal, plus a number of options in the Axe.

The difference here is that the Axe Ultra was sold for about the same price as the Axe Fx II, so the newer model was not priced significantly higher just because its the latest and greatest. To use another analogy, if you bought a 2015 Honda Civic for $16,000, you would not expect to pay $50,00 for a 2016 Honda.
 
chrisjnyc said:
Possibly... but are you saying the Helix is $1000 better than the POD with the Line 6 amp pack that came out in March (ver 2.6.2)? If you added IR's (Epsi Logidy - $200) to the HD 500, how close would you be to the Helix? Again, I am speculating, but they tippled the price tag, and it seems a little fishy to me.
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I can't say, I didn't try the 500X with the Epsi. What I can say is it sounds significantly better, is built significantly better and has significantly more options, what that adds to the build cost, I can't say. What I do know is I love the Friedman amps in the Axe and I badly want the AX8!!
 
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