What hypothetical/non-existent FAS product would you actually buy?

Which non-existent FAS product would you actually buy?

  • FM0 (no footswitches)

  • FM6

  • FM9

  • FM12

  • FM16

  • FM3 (actual product, soon to be released)

  • Guitar modeler (eg pickups, scale length, impedance, magnetic field, caps etc)

  • Modeler with Hexaphonic pickup support (eg VG-99, gr55

  • Axe FX 4 with 3 amps, more synth options etc

  • FX only unit (eg FX8ii)


Results are only viewable after voting.
The one I daydream about most would be FAS pickups/electronics. Take the Fishman Fluence multiple pickup voicing thing to a whole new level with polyphonic support and pickup types and tunings that could be changed via hardware or software. If I could drop in those futuristic electronics into an existing instrument and still retain the look of a normal guitar (no ugly black MIDI boxes and cables sticking out for example) and no extra routing, then that'd be ideal.
 
The one I daydream about most would be FAS pickups/electronics. Take the Fishman Fluence multiple pickup voicing thing to a whole new level...

I'll see your FAS pickups/electronics, and raise you an FAS "Virtual Whammy Bar" tremolo system....

My daydream is that the guitar is actually hardtail: When you move the whammy bar, you get no change in the tension on the strings. The whammy-bar is connected to real physical springs, but the bridge saddles aren't.

The whammy bar works in conjunction with the FAS stereo-output modeling pickups, applying a pitch-shift effect to each string individually, which tracks the position of the whammy bar.

I expect the system would be powered by a USB-rechargeable power pack, like the Fluence pickups you mentioned.

But it would also have a built-in Bluetooth transceiver which allowed it to "talk" with a stompbox-like base-station.

Using this base-station, you could:
  • customize which pickup sound was modeled for each position of your 5-position switch;
  • customize the pitch-shift range (upwards and downwards) for your whammy bar;
  • automatically change pickup model in response to MIDI program change messages sent from your Axe FX III or MIDI footcontroller
  • connect to a computer to download new pickup models and whammy settings from the large community
...and all without defacing the front of your guitar with a bewildering array of knobs and switches.

Still, all the actual modeling would be inside the guitar, not on the floor. The base-station only sends commands to the guitar via Bluetooth.

That way, if the base station breaks down, you can still switch sounds normally using a 5-position "soft" switch. (At least, until the battery pack runs out.)

All of this is way beyond what the VG-88 could do.

In particular, the pitch-shift ability for the "Virtual Whammy Bar" would need to be very fast-tracking and realistic to pass muster with most guitarists. Same with pickup models.

But, think of the advantages, compared against a normal magnetic pickup and Floyd Rose...
1. If you break a string, the guitar remains in tune;
2. The spring tension on the arm can be set however you like, allowing uptrem, yet double-bends still remain in tune;
3. All strings rise/fall in pitch while remaining in tune with one another, like a Steinberger Trans-Trem;
4. You can have virtual alternate tunings, just like a Variax;
5. Every pickup sound you want, every guitar sound you want;
6. Oh, don't forget: It's stereo output, so that you can have a layered piezo sound;
7. You could program certain sounds in your Axe III to use certain pickup sounds on the guitar, and let it do the switching for you;
8. It could also change the whammy bar sensitivity/range for different sounds/programs, or even disable it for an acoustic guitar sound.

That, I think, would be the ultimate combination, if the quality were up-to-snuff.
 
I just need to add this...

An official iOS or Android Axe-Edit application with an intuitive user interface. No offense to the third-party developers currently doing this, but their UI needs some serious work in my opinion.

With the amount of options and settings the FAS units contain and on such a smaller screen on the iPad or iPhone, for example, the UI really needs to be reworked to be more intuitive. The UI really needs to be simplified and dumbed down. For example, sliders instead of knobs or using Apple’s suggested templates for lists or on/off settings.

Personally, I think Boss, Fender and Yamaha have pretty much nailed the ideal UI for controlling their hardware counterparts.

Again, this is only my opinion and given the lack of Bluetooth on FAS‘s product line, it’s obviously not a priority for them. However, if or when down the road Bluetooth support is integrated, this would be a welcome product.
 
Um... the FM3 is more powerful than the Helix rack. The cooling requirements of the Axe FX III mean it needs to be large in order to work. A floor Axe FX iii would be huge using currently available tech.

We are talking hypothetically here. And while the FM3 is more powerful then the Helix, it's still barely above the AX-8 it replaces, which itself was but a shadow in DSP compared to the Axe II. I've had the AX-8, I found it highly disappointing for my needs, why would I want the FM3 if that still can't do in DSP what my Axe II can?

Axe III in a floorboard, that is my prefered hypothetical dream product.

An Axe FX with integrated wireless. All you'd need is a guitar.
Nah, for I might already have a wireless, so it would be wasted, or I might want something with more range, in which case again wasted. Now, an Axe FX with bluetooth however so I can run Axe-Edit from my smartphone....... :hearteyes::hearteyes::hearteyes:

I just need to add this...

An official iOS or Android Axe-Edit application with an intuitive user interface. No offense to the third-party developers currently doing this, but their UI needs some serious work in my opinion.

With the amount of options and settings the FAS units contain and on such a smaller screen on the iPad or iPhone, for example, the UI really needs to be reworked to be more intuitive. The UI really needs to be simplified and dumbed down. For example, sliders instead of knobs or using Apple’s suggested templates for lists or on/off settings.

Personally, I think Boss, Fender and Yamaha have pretty much nailed the ideal UI for controlling their hardware counterparts.

Again, this is only my opinion and given the lack of Bluetooth on FAS‘s product line, it’s obviously not a priority for them. However, if or when down the road Bluetooth support is integrated, this would be a welcome product.

I agree, this is a serious massive oversight in this day and age.
 
We are talking hypothetically here. And while the FM3 is more powerful then the Helix, it's still barely above the AX-8 it replaces, which itself was but a shadow in DSP compared to the Axe II. I've had the AX-8, I found it highly disappointing for my needs, why would I want the FM3 if that still can't do in DSP what my Axe II can?

Axe III in a floorboard, that is my prefered hypothetical dream product.


Nah, for I might already have a wireless, so it would be wasted, or I might want something with more range, in which case again wasted. Now, an Axe FX with bluetooth however so I can run Axe-Edit from my smartphone....... :hearteyes::hearteyes::hearteyes:



I agree, this is a serious massive oversight in this day and age.
My only issue with your hypothetical situation is that you compared the situation to the Line 6 helix rack which is extremely low power for a rack unit. It’s not that Line 6 gave us a super powerful floor board that matched their rack unit. The reality is that the are producing a rack unit that is dummed down to the floor boards level of CPU power.
 
I'll see your FAS pickups/electronics, and raise you an FAS "Virtual Whammy Bar" tremolo system....

My daydream is that the guitar is actually hardtail: When you move the whammy bar, you get no change in the tension on the strings. The whammy-bar is connected to real physical springs, but the bridge saddles aren't.

The whammy bar works in conjunction with the FAS stereo-output modeling pickups, applying a pitch-shift effect to each string individually, which tracks the position of the whammy bar.

Nice idea! There's a market for that!

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My only issue with your hypothetical situation is that you compared the situation to the Line 6 helix rack which is extremely low power for a rack unit. It’s not that Line 6 gave us a super powerful floor board that matched their rack unit. The reality is that the are producing a rack unit that is dummed down to the floor boards level of CPU power.

There is no difference between the Helix floorboard and rack unit, it's the same thing, the rack just has extra routing options. The design differences between Fractal and Line 6 is that Fractal designed the best rack unit they could, and then designed something else for a floorboard. Which looks incredibly inferior compared to the rack unit, but it seems to be perfectly fine to many, so YMMV. Whereas Line 6 designed the best floorboard they could, and for them rack was an afterthought that required no designing something new, just a rehousing. Now you can argue which philosophy is better, personally I think the Line 6 approach works very well, as Helix sells very well and gets received very well. In contrast I can understand that quite some people thought that they would get an Axe II in a floorboard with the AX-8, only to learn the unit is less powerful to the far more expensive rack unit. Which requires a very expensive controller to use live. Fractal has chosen this approach, and if they think this works for them, then it works for them. Each approach has its strengths and flaws. And while Helix eats Fractal's dust as both the Axe III and even the older Axe II outperform it, Helix outsells them. And I've noticed that when youtubers and others talk about modelers its Helix and Kemper that are on their lips most of the time. I was at a guitar sound shaping workshop this weekend and the guy doing the demonstrating must have mentioned Kemper a hundred times and Fractal not once. Even Helix got more mentioning.

As usual I digress and get too long winded. tl:dr, I think there is much more demand for floorboards then for racks, so a Fractal floorboard that has the performance of the Axe III would be my wet dream.
 
+1 on the floor AxeFx III w/ 2 expression pedals and an FC-16 built in.

Dream on, dream until your dreams come true...
 
Rackmount fx processor

every time a thread like this has come up, that's been my wish. a 2u fx only unit. an eventide eclipse killer, with it's own version of axe edit. but it would have to go much further with the fx and include more than just the bread and butter stuff. i'm thinking granular fx, freely routable 8 band delays (like the ud stomp), tons of modifiers, two sequencers, four adsr's etc etc etc. like a cross between the eclipse, the tc g-force and a H8000 maybe with the ability to design your own algorithms
 
There is no difference between the Helix floorboard and rack unit, it's the same thing, the rack just has extra routing options. The design differences between Fractal and Line 6 is that Fractal designed the best rack unit they could, and then designed something else for a floorboard. Which looks incredibly inferior compared to the rack unit, but it seems to be perfectly fine to many, so YMMV. Whereas Line 6 designed the best floorboard they could, and for them rack was an afterthought that required no designing something new, just a rehousing. Now you can argue which philosophy is better, personally I think the Line 6 approach works very well, as Helix sells very well and gets received very well. In contrast I can understand that quite some people thought that they would get an Axe II in a floorboard with the AX-8, only to learn the unit is less powerful to the far more expensive rack unit. Which requires a very expensive controller to use live. Fractal has chosen this approach, and if they think this works for them, then it works for them. Each approach has its strengths and flaws. And while Helix eats Fractal's dust as both the Axe III and even the older Axe II outperform it, Helix outsells them. And I've noticed that when youtubers and others talk about modelers its Helix and Kemper that are on their lips most of the time. I was at a guitar sound shaping workshop this weekend and the guy doing the demonstrating must have mentioned Kemper a hundred times and Fractal not once. Even Helix got more mentioning.

As usual I digress and get too long winded. tl:dr, I think there is much more demand for floorboards then for racks, so a Fractal floorboard that has the performance of the Axe III would be my wet dream.
A floor based system cant be as powerful as a rack unit with current tech due to heat dissipation. Line 6 chose to copy a low power floor system and put it in a rack, Fractal chose to design a separate system that uses the best tech for both platforms. Its not like you can just put the Axe FX III in a floor board because it would either over heat of be huge!
If Fractal used the same design process as Line 6 we would have an FM3 in a rack not an Axe FX iii on the floor.
 
There is no difference between the Helix floorboard and rack unit, it's the same thing, the rack just has extra routing options. The design differences between Fractal and Line 6 is that Fractal designed the best rack unit they could, and then designed something else for a floorboard. Which looks incredibly inferior compared to the rack unit, but it seems to be perfectly fine to many, so YMMV. Whereas Line 6 designed the best floorboard they could, and for them rack was an afterthought that required no designing something new, just a rehousing. Now you can argue which philosophy is better, personally I think the Line 6 approach works very well, as Helix sells very well and gets received very well. In contrast I can understand that quite some people thought that they would get an Axe II in a floorboard with the AX-8, only to learn the unit is less powerful to the far more expensive rack unit. Which requires a very expensive controller to use live. Fractal has chosen this approach, and if they think this works for them, then it works for them. Each approach has its strengths and flaws. And while Helix eats Fractal's dust as both the Axe III and even the older Axe II outperform it, Helix outsells them. And I've noticed that when youtubers and others talk about modelers its Helix and Kemper that are on their lips most of the time. I was at a guitar sound shaping workshop this weekend and the guy doing the demonstrating must have mentioned Kemper a hundred times and Fractal not once. Even Helix got more mentioning.

As usual I digress and get too long winded. tl:dr, I think there is much more demand for floorboards then for racks, so a Fractal floorboard that has the performance of the Axe III would be my wet dream.

Yeah Fractal has mysteriously been flying under the popular radar.....I think it has to do with the price.....cheaper is ALWAYS going to sell more, even if it's inferior.

I think with the pricing of the FM3, FAS is set to conquer the guitar market by STORM! Musicians will quicker part with 1000 than 2000 - who won't? LOLL so even though it's not as powerful as the iii, it WILL sell a lot more.....a LOT more!

A floor based system cant be as powerful as a rack unit with current tech due to heat dissipation. Line 6 chose to copy a low power floor system and put it in a rack, Fractal chose to design a separate system that uses the best tech for both platforms. Its not like you can just put the Axe FX III in a floor board because it would either over heat of be huge!
If Fractal used the same design process as Line 6 we would have an FM3 in a rack not an Axe FX iii on the floor.

This!
 
I said this in another post but i think it would be cool if you tone match effect pedals like amps. That way you could have all the effects you could ever want just the amp and cab stuff.
 
An Axe FX with integrated wireless. All you'd need is a guitar.
While it would be really cool to have it built in, I’m afraid this would end up making the product obsolete as soon as the FCC sells off another chunk of the entertainment industry’s frequency bands to phone and TV companies.
 
While it would be really cool to have it built in, I’m afraid this would end up making the product obsolete as soon as the FCC sells off another chunk of the entertainment industry’s frequency bands to phone and TV companies.
Yeah....as much as I think that's super convenient I don't see it working out in the long run :(
 
Yeah Fractal has mysteriously been flying under the popular radar.....I think it has to do with the price.....cheaper is ALWAYS going to sell more, even if it's inferior.

I think with the pricing of the FM3, FAS is set to conquer the guitar market by STORM! Musicians will quicker part with 1000 than 2000 - who won't? LOLL so even though it's not as powerful as the iii, it WILL sell a lot more.....a LOT more!



This!


I personally think it has more to do with availability. Anyone can walk into a Guitar Center and try out a Helix and walk out with it. Same with a Boss, Headrush, even a Kemper. There is a way bigger commitment to placing an order for something you can't try, and know you're on the hook for shipping it back than there is for something you can walk out of a store with/return. I don't blame FA for their business model, and it works for me, but I know personally people that won't buy it, and/or have bought other gear because of it.
 
A small floor unit akin to the AFB or HX Stomp. Designed for the backup or pedalboard user who doesn't use modellers

FAS goodness in a simple pocketsize format would be my wish. Doesn't have to have all the bells and whistles.

I know the FM3 will be smaller than the other products, but I've found my AFB and AA6 so handy
 
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