What will be Fractal's next product?

audemia said:
axe fx 2: 1 dsp for amps/cabs, 1 dsp for effects

axe fx mini: 1 dsp, selectable amp/cab OR effects option
cannot combine effects with amps etc.

the way i see it, having less amps in the axe fx mini's memorybank will not decrease manufacturing cost, however decreasing processing power will.

one thing that im not sure about, if its an effects only unit, does "effects" include all the various EQ and filter blocks? i hope so!
Click to expand...

The 1st gen Axe units have a single processor and combining effects with amps and cabs in not really an issue. The cost of a processor has already been mentioned before and it wasn't really that much $2-300 if I recall.

I also stumbled onto this old post from Cliff back in Sep 2010 talking about the Shark family processor with a mention of a "NEW" Product. I know this doesn't mean much based on what he posted about that particular chip but it does confirm that they have been working on something for quite a wile.

Thread link

FractalAudio said:
There is a new SHARC processor family: the 214xx series. My bet is the new Pod stuff is using a 21469.

I have evaluated the 21469 extensively and while it is a good processor it is only about half as powerful as a TigerSHARC. We are actually working on a new product based on the 21469.

The problem with the SHARCs is several things:
- The core design is very old. They are still using the same basic core from almost 20 years ago.
- The internal bus bandwidth is mediocre. The TigerSHARC has four 128-bit internal data buses that run at full speed which means the core is never starved for data.
- Too few registers. You have to constantly push and pop with the SHARCs because the register file is so small. This increases function overhead so either your functions run slower or you have to increase your block size (and concomitant latency). The TigerSHARC has a huge register file and since there are so many scratch registers you rarely have to save any registers on the stack (this can also be a disadvantage since you have to save all those registers during a context switch so you have to code your interrupts carefully).
- The SIMD implementation is crude. It would take too long to explain the details.
- Small internal memory. The maximum available is 5 Mb IIRC.
- 48-bit instruction word. The long instruction word means instruction use 1.5 times the memory as data does. So that 5 Mb memory is equivalent to 3.3 Mb in practice.

The new SHARCs have on-board accelerators (FIR and IIR). In theory this should be great but unfortunately the accelerators only work at half the clock speed so they don't really buy you much.

One advantage of the new SHARCs is the on-board peripherals. They include SPI, I2S, UARTS, etc. This reduces system cost. The TigerSHARC has no on-board peripherals, it is designed for one thing: number-crunching.

The SHARC is the value line and for the money the new SHARCs are great but a TigerSHARC still easily outperforms them.
Click to expand...
 
trancegodz said:
Eventide has a new pedal called the H9 that is interesting, and shows some possibilities for the future.
Eventide H9 Pedal Quick Demo and Walkthrough - YouTube
Click to expand...

That's a great device! Looks promising. There are so much new things happening right now in the Fx business. I think Fractal has to go with that flow otherwise it will run behind on other companies when it comes to fx and software possibilities. I am not talking about modeling here (that gets enough attention in updates IMHO), but purely effects and all it's applications.
 
Randalljax said:
...that allows EFFECTS ONLY so all the processing power goes there and allows more elaborate fx chains ,with the amp and cab out of the equation
multiple setting like that would appeal to all

you want to use a tube preamp ,turn off the amp but you can still use fx and cab IRs
you want to use your Diezel stack ,turn off the amp and cab models use effects only
Click to expand...

My problem with this setup is I currently run Axe-FX direct to FOH. If I don't have effects AND amp/cab, it won't work for me as a replacement/backup unit (and in effect won't work for me at all). The Axe is so flexible, is probably why creating a lower price point unit is so difficult - what do you give up to do it, and how does what you give up affect everyone: new users, current users, etc.
 
didn't read whole thread, but imo it seems obvious what they have in the pipeline.
no newsflash, just speculation : -
a cut-price version of the axe-fx. not a clue exactly what it'll be like, but something that'll cost less (as Mr Chase talked about price point in the interview)
(also saw FA talk about possible cut price version before in older posts).
 
A pod sized or floor unit would be wonderful. I am looking at a Line 6 for when I'm on the road for work and can't bring my ultra. I've been delaying buying anything cuz I swore I would never give them another penny.

Please save me Cliff Chase, you're my only hope!
 
Last edited:
favance said:
I'm gonna throw my 2 cents in. If I were going to target a guitar market segment w/a killer product, I would probably build an inexpensive, self-contained unit (modeling, power amp, speaker) that would target the entry-level to mid-level player...minimal physical interface/knobs so as not to confuse the type of player that would snap this up in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

This.

I know several people who are great guitar players but are somewhat technically challenged, or perhaps unwilling to climb the learning curve that many modern devices present, or simply unwilling to deal with menu-driven pushbutton interfaces. If Fractal came out with a relatively simple amp as described above, with limited memory/processing capability/programmability but all the tonal quality of the Axe Fx II, I gotta think it would sell like hotcakes. There are a lotta people out there who'd love to have an old JCM 800 (for example), but won't pony up for one and all the support it requires, not to mention the maintenance and unreliability a tube amp brings to the party. Give 'em something that sounds just like one that will behave itself night after night, and they'd be happy. And it could be any combination of some small number of amps, say 10. Sell little amp software plug-ins (or make them downloadable), and I suspect most guys would be able to have all the amps they've ever actually wanted, rather than all the amps that ever existed. Give 'em the knobs to control them rather than make them get a degree in computer science, and they're in fat city.
 
well, thats basically what the K word is. A more simple, straight forward modeller to get the tone of all their favorite amps exactly as they are.
 
AAEN said:
I could se a floor based unit with 1 or 2 expression pedals.

A unit that can contain in example 10 amps of your own choice 2 cabs pr amp, of your own choice. Loadable via Axe edit or F-bot.

A unit like this would be on my GAS list.

AAEN
Click to expand...
I don't think this will ever happen, as it would hurt sales on the Axe II. Most people never need more than 10 amps at the same time. Why would you still need an Axe II then?
If the sound quality would be the same, I would instantly sell my Axe II and MFC and get this instead, simply because having all-in-one is much more convenient and I never needed the sheer mass of amp models the Axe offers. If it's amp only, then I'd just get a chorus pedal and a delay pedal and all my needs are still perfectly satisfied. I don't think that Fractal would aim at a product that makes people not want the Axe anymore.

One idea I found incredibly interesting was the "virtual stomp box" idea.
Basicly a stereo stomp box that allows you to buy or load a stompbox model into it. It could be a single AMP or a chorus effect. Or a delay, etc..

The stompbox has like 3-4 potis an an "alternate function" button that switches the poti controls for a different set.

So don't want to give up your rig, but also don't want to carry an additional amp around just to have a nice fender-rish clean sound between your metal riffs? Buy a fractal stomp and load it up with the vibrolux model. :)
And as it's aimed for the analog guys using stomp boxes instead of midi controlled gear, it doesn't share the same market as the Axe.

The beauty about this thing is, that the manufacturing cost can be reduced a lot, since the only thing that is changed for every model is the software. Hardware remains the same. Only problem I see with this that is requires at least one of the DSPs per stompbox, which are at a price of 300$ on their own. Which would probably mean the price tag on those things would be like 600$ at least. Still a lot cheaper than one single vintage amp, though...

A different approach on that would be for fractal to release their own set of one-amp-modelling stompboxes kind of like BOSS does, but on a much higher quality.
 
Last edited:
Areduced versiuon of the AXE2 not in floor is not it. It is already here. It is called AXE Ultra :)

I see the HEX pick-up thing as a good candidate. It would satisfy both AXE and other users.....

STILL EXITING THOUGH..... Maybe it is time for a count down...??

AAEN

AAEN
 
How about:

All in one package...Atomic or Matrix powered speaker with basic amp...just like a Mesa Boogie Mark V...maybe three channels: Clean, crunch and super gain!. Except all three channels will have choices of amps that are not fixed to a particular model but downloadable "amp models". 4 effects...again downloadable as effect units.

1K total price.

That would be a Mark V on steroids.
 
If Fractal Audio can come up with a universal pickup simulator I'll raise a temple to them.
Not talking about Variax like stuff, but a pickup that I could switch from an EMG81 to a super distorsion to whatever in the same guitar.
 
There seems to be a lot of pushback on the idea of another product eating into the AxeFx II's market. I can't see that happening. No matter how little or how much of the Axe's capabilities are built into whatever form factor, it's going to be a successful product because you can trust its claims. Everybody knows the Axe is the whip, which implies quite strongly that Fractal wields it, being the designers and sole supplier of that product. So what if they put it in a floorboard. Does that take business away from them? Of course not. quite the opposite is more likely. And from a business standpoint, 50% (or whatever) markup is 50% markup. Doesn't matter if you're selling refined uranium or Jolly Rancher candies. The object of the exercise is to make money.

And what's with all the talk about having to dump the AxeFx II because they came out with a new product? Unless it's better, why would you? And if it is, why not switch? Whose feelings are you going to hurt?
 
Andromalius said:
If Fractal Audio can come up with a universal pickup simulator I'll raise a temple to them.
Not talking about Variax like stuff, but a pickup that I could switch from an EMG81 to a super distorsion to whatever in the same guitar.
Click to expand...

Make this a bridge/neck humbucker combo that can emulate other pickups, then allow the Axe-Fx to control that emulation/pickup selection on a per scene basis and I'll help you build that temple.
 
Cagey said:
....Doesn't matter if you're selling refined uranium or Jolly Rancher candies. The object of the exercise is to make money.

.....
Click to expand...

From my experience here, this is not the primary motivation of Fractal. That it DOES make alot of money is gravy, but the meat and potatoes (IMO) for Fractal has always been about the product itself. Cliff started this almost on a whim, and I expect that it exceeded even his wildest expectations. Furthermore, even a more 'accessible' product will still bear the mark of quality and attention to detail we have come to expect (and demand in weaker moments...)

And I'll repeat what I feel about wobbly kneed types who wonder if they should buy and suddenly be 'obsoleted': even the original 'Standard' is an excellent product that still commands quite a decent price. I cannot imagine needing 'more' than the Axe II as it is, and expect many more years of enjoyment EVEN IF DEVELOPMENT STOPPED AT THIS FIRMWARE LEVEL. If you spend your life based off of 'next best thing' and internet rumors, then you're paying attention to the wrong thing.

IMO.

And I wait (like others) eagerly to see what they will do next.
 
Something to rival the Variax,maybe a FractAxe..As long as it does not have that god awful palm muting issue with high gain distortion.FractalAxe sorta like a Battle Axe,Not to be confused with Ex-Lax...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom