Moondog Wily
Experienced
I am putting this in the Axe III wish list because this concept would, I think, be best done with the top of the line hardware/software that FAS can produce at any given time. I apologize if this has already been proposed by someone else, but I did not see much in the 5 minutes or so I spent searching for such "wishes". If you have a link to a previous proposal similar to this, please display. If you can not find one, but know such a wish/suggestion exists, then you know why I did not find it (the link below is the closest thing I did find) ;~)) I do understand that there are some limitations based on space/heat and other factors, but I would be fine with the unit increasing in size along whatever dimensions necessary to accommodate the FXIII boards/circuits/cooling/etc. This is more or less, a take off on the "Unboxing most powerful floor modeler in the UNIVERSE" idea, but from what I see, a more complete solution to the floor model offerings. For anyone who wants to throw this idea in the trash because they know better, here is Cliff's comment on the topic of an FXIII in a FM9/FC12 like enclosure "I think it's cool. I don't think there's any legal problems as long as they're buying the items and repackaging them. No different than buying a car and chopping it.".
The Footsie: An Axe FXIII (or equivalent in terms of processing power and other flagship features) in a FM9/FC12 like enclosure with EVERYTHING being editable with your feet.
Why: I have always liked the idea of the FM9, but if I have a foot controller, I want to control it with my feet, period. I hate the idea of having to bend over, often uncomfortably, to adjust parameters that could be adjusted by feet with a different layout/editing interface. Yes, I can connect it to the edit software, and then find a place to hold a laptop. Or connect it via Frac Pad, and find a place to hold a phone or tablet. I would also like those options to still be available, but I also would like hands free operation and adjustments to the overwhelming majority of the units parameters without having to rely on an additional piece of hardware. I believe the unit I display here could do just that.
What: As mentioned, this would be a FM9/FC12 style enclosure with 6 buttons along the bottom row (see image below). The top flat area would have two screens (NOT print screens, so drop those doubts right here). Each screen would have 4 buttons. With those 4 buttons, we get 8 function options considering we can have press and hold for each button. With the two screens, each one could be set to display whatever the unit has the ability to display and/or edit. So if you want one screen with your amp controls and the other screen with your Reverb controls, so be it. You could have one screen with the scene layout and the other screen with Wah block controls. Or one screen with Setup functions and and the other screen left blank. One screen could be the songs in your setlist and the other screen your channels for each block in the current scene. You get the picture (and if you do not, you should probably stop here as I am clearly failing in my explanation). The way stuff is organized would certainly need some setup to be able to quickly and easily access the functions needed, but I am 100% certain that it could be made to satisfy the overwhelming majority of users. The only real limitation I can think of is the text editing. If you are trying to rename presets, scenes, library block items, etc., this will be difficult. It could be programmed to use the same type of on screen character selection used on smart TV's and such, where you use the arrow keys to navigate a keyboard. It is a clunky way of doing things, but renaming stuff is not the intention of this type of interface. What we are after here is adjusting block parameters and such with our feet.
Mockup: Here is a mockup of what I see as the structure described above. This is obviously not a must do scenario, and I had half a dozen other ways that I thought about setting it up, but after quite a bit of consideration, this is what I think would be best.
I would sell my FXIII in a heartbeat if this product were introduced. It would solve a whole lot of logistic issues for me and I am already in heaven with my FXIII Turbo (so I guess this would put me in a cloud above heaven)!
Other features I would like in such a unit (and all of this is on others wish lists, just noting here as I would like to see these features as a part of a unit like this):
The Footsie: An Axe FXIII (or equivalent in terms of processing power and other flagship features) in a FM9/FC12 like enclosure with EVERYTHING being editable with your feet.
Why: I have always liked the idea of the FM9, but if I have a foot controller, I want to control it with my feet, period. I hate the idea of having to bend over, often uncomfortably, to adjust parameters that could be adjusted by feet with a different layout/editing interface. Yes, I can connect it to the edit software, and then find a place to hold a laptop. Or connect it via Frac Pad, and find a place to hold a phone or tablet. I would also like those options to still be available, but I also would like hands free operation and adjustments to the overwhelming majority of the units parameters without having to rely on an additional piece of hardware. I believe the unit I display here could do just that.
What: As mentioned, this would be a FM9/FC12 style enclosure with 6 buttons along the bottom row (see image below). The top flat area would have two screens (NOT print screens, so drop those doubts right here). Each screen would have 4 buttons. With those 4 buttons, we get 8 function options considering we can have press and hold for each button. With the two screens, each one could be set to display whatever the unit has the ability to display and/or edit. So if you want one screen with your amp controls and the other screen with your Reverb controls, so be it. You could have one screen with the scene layout and the other screen with Wah block controls. Or one screen with Setup functions and and the other screen left blank. One screen could be the songs in your setlist and the other screen your channels for each block in the current scene. You get the picture (and if you do not, you should probably stop here as I am clearly failing in my explanation). The way stuff is organized would certainly need some setup to be able to quickly and easily access the functions needed, but I am 100% certain that it could be made to satisfy the overwhelming majority of users. The only real limitation I can think of is the text editing. If you are trying to rename presets, scenes, library block items, etc., this will be difficult. It could be programmed to use the same type of on screen character selection used on smart TV's and such, where you use the arrow keys to navigate a keyboard. It is a clunky way of doing things, but renaming stuff is not the intention of this type of interface. What we are after here is adjusting block parameters and such with our feet.
Mockup: Here is a mockup of what I see as the structure described above. This is obviously not a must do scenario, and I had half a dozen other ways that I thought about setting it up, but after quite a bit of consideration, this is what I think would be best.
Other features I would like in such a unit (and all of this is on others wish lists, just noting here as I would like to see these features as a part of a unit like this):
- Bluetooth, WiFi or other wireless connectivity to allow Axe Edit/Frac Pad software to be used untethered. I am aware that solutions for this may exist using other hardware, but I would like to see such connectivity built into this unit (and all future FAS modelers)
- Complete routing grid for inputs/outputs. So any input/signal can be sent to any output, both physical outs and digital outs. I understand this is partially software, but there are physical connections that I believe would need to be modified to allow full control.
- Completely software based, but I would really like to have BPM included in Song/Setlist functionality.