I initially misread your post just before sleeping, but rereading it I disagree with you here; here’s why: I never worried about realtime plugin integration with the Axe-FX III because the unit is so sublime for its core design. For my use case, I would record quick snippets and play a loop to create an IR, no big deal. To me, what Fractal has right from the start is believable models you can trust with the ability to mod to hell and back, and the ability to monitor every superlative quality model in the unit itself realtime with or without another computer. I consider this beta gravy, not essential to what the unit is.
To me, any software that exists will have room for enhancements in the future, but from my understanding and my particular experience as an audiophile guitarist, no one is like Fractal when it comes to improving their products. I’ve submitted and glommed onto a lot of wishlist requests, but that doesn’t mean I think the Axe-FX III is lacking or screwed something up from the get go; it means I think it’s the greatest thing out there, and, because this company actually cares about improvement, maybe some personal wish of mine would make its way in there someday to make it even cooler, not bring it from substandard to acceptable. I compare the Axe to a collection of great tube amps, many of which I’ll probably never come across, and that is the core of it, not realtime USB integration.
I’ve never seen the kind of fanatical attention to amp behavior that is underlined in each iteration of the firmware. I don’t think you’ll ever see software that does everything everyone wants the way they want it all the time. It’s human design trying to fill a desire, and it will always have room for enhancement, so you really have to weigh what matters to you most, and how well that software fulfills the stuff you need.
Anecdotally, I have not seen other engineers excitedly come to their own forum to talk about small hour revelations regarding voice coil behavior. It’s that kind of stuff that makes me never question the core of what this is, a superior replacement for a Bob Bradshaw system, the pinnacle of nerdy guitar desires. I mean it humbly, but earnestly: to me no company does it better.
