Why I don't need the Axe II (what I don't need, what I do really need, and ...

Fro said:
I have an Axe Fx Standard and a McBook Pro running Snow Leopard. I use SysEx Librarian from Snoize with a Midisport Uno, believe it or not, and have run all of my updates flawlessly. I would be happy to compare notes, if you would like. Very quick and hassle free. I've also used the Midisport 1x1 with this configuration with equal results. I also use the SysEx Librarian to back up my patches. It's just what I've always done, and seems to work well, at least for me.
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This works perfectly for me, too.
 
Prosvetlen said:
My personal attitude, however, goes like this: I don't need the Axe II:

3) I don't need the "twice more power"--I am primarily a recording musician and for my goals I print dry, which means that I don't have to use so much blocks/effects etc. in order to produce the sound I need. When practicing, I do use a lot of blocks/effects etc. but have never exceeded the CPU;

4) At this point I don't see what would be a crucial difference sound wise between my Ultra and the Axe II--are there new amps/cabs/more user cabs slots/different input and output options? No, from what I see on the various info resources.

What I do really need is this:

2) More amps/cabs and more regular firmware upgrades
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From what I gather, the "more power" thing isn't so much so you can run twice as much stuff, it's more to cope with the more complex algorithms, particularly in the amp modeling. From what I recall reading, the Axe II has two TigerSHARCs in it, one of which is dedicated to amp modeling.

The I/O looks much the same (somewhat disappointed there, as I'd hoped they would expand on things like the FX loop) aside from the talk of whatever clever gain trickery they came up with. There may or not be new amps, dunno if that info is out yet... the point is more that the amp modeling has been updated. So even if it's the exact same collection of amp models, it won't be the same. The factory cabs are different it seems, including third party cabs as standard, as well as now allowing for 50 user cabs. The cab block has also been upgraded.


What I'm interested in is your "more regular firmware upgrades" thing though. At what point did a constant flow of firmware updates become the expected norm? We had it for a while before, when Cliff kept finding ways to improve on things or keep adding new amps, exposing new parameters, etc. That doesn't mean we should get used to the idea that they'll always be pouring in. We're lucky to have that kind of product support from FAS in the first place, but it has never been a "guaranteed minimum 1 FW update every month" or anything. Cliff kept improving and adding where he could, but he could only get so far with the power of even the Ultra. Now he has a new, twice as powerful toy to play with. :)
 
Even though the amp modeling in the Axe (Ultra in my case) is stellar to my ears, I can't help but wonder what the new G2 code can do.
 
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