Why doesn't Fractal Audio want to make AX8 Mark II model like FX8 Mark II anymore?

[The Edge]

Most audience members go to audio concerts for the visual element. If a higher quality amp modeling makes the player feel and look better, then it’s doing its job.

I’ve been using The AX8 3x a week for years. No complaints ever. But when I take the Axe3 out here and there with the same musicians, they definitely hear a difference. Good and gooder.

What I don't dispute at all is that any improvements in the sound will encourage and motivate guitarists. That's right. Otherwise, nothing new would have been bought for years. : -) But I continue to say that in an audience of 100 people, no more than one or two people can tell. If anyone except the guitarist himself and his teammates on the stage. I agree, though, that it still makes sense. : -)

 

[chris]

I didn't mean just the members of this forum. Almost all famous guitarists featured by the FAS on their website combine Fractal with their favorite valve amplifiers. You want proof? Check out youtube. Yes, it's true that on one tour Metallica really only tried to play Fractal but they're already playing valve amplifiers again and Fractal is combining with them because of the great Fractal effects.

Def Leppard is direct axe. Truth is we honestly don’t know exactly what many are using or what we’re actually hearing. Some have their endorsed amps on the stage but not really using them.

 

[The Edge]

I’d wager 95% or more of the guitar market is for hobbyist who ply at home, not professional gifging musicians. It’s just like camera gear, it’s all about the “pro” market but in reality working professionals make up less than 1% of the market.

make no mistake, there are a lot of gigging musicians using FAS gear, but there are way more older guys who are pretty much just home players these days and who have the disposable income to chase tone. Myself being one of them lol

Many guitarists have become only programmers and home-grown couriers with sound instead of composing and playing live in front of the audience. Many guitarists lose months and sometimes years of their lives in vain by searching for their own ideal sound, which they will never find in most cases, and as a result, those settings are almost useless at concerts. The more parameters there are in the settings, the more chance there is of spoiling the resulting sound. Few are born sound engineers. : -)

 

[The Edge]

Def Leppard is direct axe. Truth is we honestly don’t know exactly what many are using or what we’re actually hearing. Some have their endorsed amps on the stage but not really using them.

That's why I wrote that almost everyone instead of everybody. : -)

 

[AJ Vargas]

I didn't mean just the members of this forum. Almost all famous guitarists featured by the FAS on their website combine Fractal with their favorite valve amplifiers. You want proof? Check out youtube. Yes, it's true that on one tour Metallica really only tried to play Fractal but they're already playing valve amplifiers again and Fractal is combining with them because of the great Fractal effects.

May I ask what's your source?

AFAIK Metallica has been playing just the Axe FX III since the beginning of the year up until James' issue. Both Justin and Chad (Metallica's guitar techs) had been very open about it since they were using the II (and on occasion, the AX8). There's even an interview with 'Big Mick' (FOH Engineer since forever) praising the change to an all-Axe Fx rig.

If it's only rumor-based information, then I can tell you of a certain 'High Profile/God' guitar player that's now using the Axe Fx III instead of his signature valve amp...

 

[unix-guy]

In addition, the green color calms.

What does this have to do with the conversation? I'm not playing gigs in a hospital.

You can tell for yourself that red, blue or green paint on a black background is no longer so well recognisable. : -)

Actually, I can't tell for myself, which is why I posted what I did.

Have YOU used an Axe Fx III? If not then you can't be a judge because you have no first hand experience.

Anyway, I'm out... This thread is getting ludicrous.

 

[The Edge]

What does this have to do with the conversation? I'm not playing gigs in a hospital.

Actually, I can't tell for myself, which is why I posted what I did.

Have YOU used an Axe Fx III? If not then you can't be a judge because you have no first hand experience.

Anyway, I'm out... This thread is getting ludicrous.

Relax. It's an exchange of views. Nothing more. : -)

 

[chris]

Views with no experience of what’s being said.

 

[The Edge]

O.K. You got me. Deff Leppard and Metallica have been using Fractal live in recent years even without tube amplifiers. It's really easier for the technicians live, and the sound is very authentic. For other famous guitarists like Satriani, Vai, Lifeson, Petrucci, Edge, Zappa, Govan, Schon, I know for a fact that they only play live via tube amplifiers and use effects from Fractal that are of the highest quality in the world. : -)

 

[levipeto]

Not sure what is that you are trying to prove.

 

[chris]

For other famous guitarists like Satriani, Vai, Lifeson, Petrucci, Edge, Zappa, Govan, Schon, I know for a fact that they only play live via tube amplifiers and use effects from Fractal that are of the highest quality in the world. : -)

you may be surprised about some in that list.