New owner's experiences

[chris]

If you know how to download a file, install a program and open a program on Windows, my fractal bot video will show you what to do, even though I'm using a Mac.

 

[maxdown]

Most of those older people are *more than happy to help any new owner*....

Thats it ... no more advice from me ever ..... it prematurely ages me

s0c9 - you must be about 103 by now? I think Yek's probably giving Methuselah a run for his money ....

 

[cobbler]

P.S. Thanks, Cobbler. I apologize - from the <3.

Choke on it! Oh wait, you’re being nice and apologizing! :lol

All kidding aside, I appreciate the gesture and never really meant for our disagreements to get so heated. It's probably why politics and religion are not the best topics for such boards even though the Lounge is for off topics. We never change the others minds anyways. So I sincerely apologize for some of my abusive comments as well.

When I first bought the Ultra in early 08 I was not only a newbie to modelers but also amps and electric guitar playing in general. I had an acoustic that I dabbled on (same 3 chords) for a few years prior but basically I was jumping in the deep end head first. It's been a lifelong dream and I finally found the time to pursue it, Guys like Scott, s0c9, Java, Yek, and Matt listened to every newbie dumbass question I had and were more than patient dealing with me. I will forever be grateful they took me under thing wings. I literally had all the equipment (Ultra, Fireface 800, MIDI adaptor, Monitors, cables) piled on the table and had no clue what I was getting into. I'm a techie guy with a long IT background so with their help I was able to hook it all up and learn fairly quickly how to use the magical box. Now if I can just get better at playing the damn instrument!!!

The only reason I mention all this is to acknowledge that I understand how intimidating this all can be for a newbie. It was much more difficult in 08 than it is now with the II as we all know. The II and support apps actually make many things SO MUCH EASIER today! But these guys never wavered in their support along the way. Never! Trying to give back in the same vein as those who gave to me I try to help here as much as possible. That's how the whole AxeFest came about too. A couple of us local guys thought about getting together and sharing tips and before we knew it we had users wanting to join in from all over the country and offering support in the process. FAS jumped on board and even in a rushed 4 to 5 weeks’ time we pulled off a decent event. It truly is a testament to this "community" and FAS's support.

With that said, and sorry for the rambling, I have also seen some very brilliant persons who were regular posters shy away these days and I don't blame them. I still see so many help the newer users just the way I was helped. It’s refreshing to say the least. But I also acknowledge that sometimes it gets annoying when it is painfully obvious that the newbie has done no homework at all. But still, they get their questions answered respectfully. How disappointing it must be for Yek for example to see so many questions asked that are a simple search away in the Wiki after the thousands of hours he has put into to its creation. It's an absolute treasure trove of information that often gets overlooked. Same on us! So the veterans ask the newer user to just do a little homework first and if you are still stumped ask away.

In my humble opinion the persons that feel the “wrath” of the veteran users are the ones that not only ask questions that could have obviously been answered with minimal research but do so with a DEMANDING or SELF ENTITLED attitude. Especially so if the very question they are ranting about was answered several posts below theirs in the very same thread! That’s my 22 cents anyway and I am glad s0C9 brought it up. This is the best product based forum on the net bar none. Let’s keep it that way!

 

[Jul]

+1 here - here Cobbler.... well said and well done - admitting the possibility of being less than amicable. Since you mentioned how wonderful Axe Fest was, A a new user, I would definitely support and would appreciate a future axe fest ( East hopefully). Unfortunately I can't make it to the upcoming Dweezil week event in New York which has been mentioned to feature Axe FX technology get togethers for attendees.
Here's for an Axe Fest East in the not - too - distant future.

 

[javier]

Here you find really fantastic people, mainly the full forum, some fanatics also, very emotional...and occasionally rude, WTF, me the first, or politically incorrect with the toaster Machine, but 99.99% is worth, very patient, polite, .. but some lazy newbies, like me, and sometimes some chucklehead get around and instead of giving value to the forum, claim and claim to solve things that with a little work we can solve ourselves... or say that this a that doesn't sound OK because of the AXE, when most of the times is our fault.................

Well I stop sucking your balls, you all are a buch of AXE fanatics, Santas Pelotas de Caca!

 

[boardwlk17]

Im old i ask alot of Questions i have CRS and i thank ALL the guys that help me . I have learned alot. Im old and i ask alot of Questions but i learn from all of them. and i have answered some question when someone NEW asks the same question i did. thats why this is a great site Fractal Audio is one big Family. what was the Question Again? A MAGICAL BLACK BOX

 

[s0c9]

Thats it ... no more advice from me ever ..... it prematurely ages me

s0c9 - you must be about 103 by now? I think Yek's probably giving Methuselah a run for his money ....

Just celebrated the 32nd anniversary of my 29th Birthday.. last year.

Perhaps when stating "those older people" I should have qualified it more accurately, by stating long-time forum members...

 

[mrstrat]

I'm into week two as a new owner, these are just my observations as a newbie. First the unit's sounds are obviously great. I can just use one or two setups and be happy, $2,200 is expensive, but I can afford it and don't have to worry if there's something better. I only use it through headphones and my computer and that functions very well.
The whole upgrading, firmware, downloading USB drivers, upgrading the computer so the driver works, Axe Edit won't work with my operating system, beta versions is all a bunch of crap as a consumer.
Mac OS 10.6.8 does work with the USB driver, even though the online manual says 10.7.4. I upgraded my computer to get that to work. I downloaded and upgraded to Version 10.02. The download takes a few seconds, however the upgrading process and loading all three banks takes over an hour on my computer using the SysEx Librarian (this is on a week old unit). I won't be able to use Axe Edit beta as it apparently needs 10.7.4. Apparently the real version wouldn't be available until the end of year anyway. We've been over this whole operating system upgrading thing before on a previous post, I don't need or want all the IPhone and IPad crap in 10.7 and 10.8 so it's my fault, I'm stuck.
The paper manual is very good, the Wiki site is very good, the YouTube videos by Pete Thorn, Bernd Kiltz, Scott Peterson and Katsukurimedia are excellent. This Forum can have good information but it seems like the guys that have been around a while are very hostile to anyone that has a complaint. There a bunch of guys that are sympathetic and offer helpful advice though, thank you to them.

That's it!

Jim

Jim, thanks for sharing your thoughts! As a fairly new member/owner I can relate to your feelings of being a little overwhelmed. I honestly had no idea how complex and powerful the Axe was when I purchased back in October. Between all the amps, IRs, amp settings, there is an almost limitless combinations to try. This unit is NOT for the faint of heart. If you are looking for "plug-and-play" you should probably look elsewhere. I do have to say, that since V10, my success rate at getting amazing tones with minor tweaks to the stock settings has really improved! V10 Rocks! I can tell you that the time you spend digging in to the unit will pay big dividends. I've spent many, many hours, and am just starting to scratch the surface.

Ignore the jaded grouches. I share your observation that there are a handful of kool-aid drinking fan-boys here that will attack anything that remotely looks like a complaint. Ignore them too. (Flame suit zipped up) There are plenty of people on this site that will help you, regardless of how stupid your questions are...trust me, I've asked more than my fair share. Where else can you find the creator of the product on a daily basis answering people's questions?? Amazing!

So hang in there. I have faith that FAS will come through on a workable version of Axe-Edit, and that everything will stabilize soon! I can tell you that at one point I was seriously thinking about selling my Axe, just because of all the things you talk about in your original post. But V10 was a game changer for me, the tones I'm getting now are so great, I'm actually thinking about starting to sell of my stable of amps. Maybe...