With the news of TigerSharcs stopping production, what does that mean for the Axe Fx?

[Sorry, message removed due to the trouble it causes our non-English-speaking dealers when someone makes a joke with 3d rendered "fantasy" fractal products]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Jason Scott said:
From what I've seen, the concern from at least some owners (and potential buyers) was that if the DSP is no longer available, the unit would ultimately be discontinued and development would cease.
Click to expand...
Guess what that happens to everything. That's life in the big city.
 
Solarfire said:
I seriously doubt that anything that comes after the AxeII will end up making the AxeII any less desirable. With worrying about what may come next, you’re just standing in your own way dude and you’re missing out big time…
Click to expand...

To be fair: people said this about the Ultra when I bought one. Within six months the II was out. I cannot overstate how frustrating this was. I had sat on the fence for a couple of years and just finally could not take it anymore, people here and elsewhere were saying how much life it had left, how they had sold their Bogner for one and never looked back, etc, etc.

After a long spousal sign off process, I got the agreement to use some bonus money (which was about 5x the cost of the unit) to get one. This was to be the end of tone quests...I had not even taken the plastic off the screen and BOOM the II came out and had so many new features/upgrades (headphone out, USB, 10x the number of slots, 2x CPU); for nearly the same money. Literally every single person here and elsewhere who said "go for it" bailed on the Gen1s as soon as their name on the waiting list came up. All the talk/tips threads on the Gen1s completely died within a year. Go look at the Ultra/Std forum here. It is a wasteland. I sat on the sidelines AGAIN for several more years until I could renegotiate purchase of a new unit in spite of having the money.

Lesson: People on the internet will happily spend your money all day long with gear forum recommendations.

Yes, the II IS AMAZING and IS worth it, right now, today. I know I should be immune to the psychology of it and my ears should be the judge and I should be able to, in good conscience, say: "Hey, OP, it doesn't matter if a new box comes out! This thing is amazing today, it'll be amazing tomorrow." or "That's just the nature of technology!". But I'm not, music gear is *not* like the computer or high tech market generally... If I thought a new box was due within a year to year and a half, I know that I'd wait it out.

I am honestly looking forward to the day where someone does a plugin that is Fractal quality. That's my hope. I want the AF3 to be software. I want to buy a macbook pro and literally just make it a preamp. I'm tired of new guitar boxes and the angst of keeping up and the inevitable "why do you need another one?" talk.

The weird thing is none of this matters. I could have stopped at the Ultra and I never would have been really limited by my hardware. The tools we have now are so far beyond anything anyone had available back when I started out but I have this terrible urge to "keep up". I know this is not Fractal's fault/problem, it is a personal attitude issue, the whole world is not gonna freeze for your benefit, but I understand the OP's perspective because I think the same dynamic is going on there.

Thankfully the II has been a joyous respite from that as it has been the bleeding edge for so long. The day it stops being made, I, for one, am gonna mourn.
 
Last edited:
USMC_Trev said:
Guess what that happens to everything. That's life in the big city.
Click to expand...

I agree, however it's not uncommon for newer versions of a product to have a much longer production run / development cycle than older versions that have been around awhile.
 
Stop and think about what our folks do that send up satellites in space where they can't really work on them or replace things like chips - they use very well time tested parts that are versions and versions "dated" that are known/proven to work with high reliability. You'd be amazed how dated some of this stuff is incl software! ... they never risk putting something up that is bleeding edge. Stuff needs to work, always.

Bottom line is for functionality, we will all be just fine on something that works and works well now.

Furthermore, FAS appears to be a a company than thinks ahead and plans for all kinds of changes that can happen to their customer base. We're in good hands. (sound like an allstate ad - huh? o_O;)) :)
 
∞Fractals said:
Stop and think about what our folks do that send up satellites in space where they can't really work on them or replace things like chips - they use very well time tested parts that are versions and versions "dated" that are known/proven to work with high reliability. You'd be amazed how dated some of this stuff is incl software! ... they never risk putting something up that is bleeding edge. Stuff needs to work, always.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, it's not really about the lifespan of the hardware. There are plenty of first generation Axe FX Ultra's that still work great and may continue to function for years to come. It's about investing in hardware that may be superseded by a newer version within a year. Of course we know that the Axe FX II likely won't be discontinued a year from now so this is really an exercise in pointless hypotheticals.
 
Lionheart said:
Alright, everyone. Cool your jets. Check the News forum. They just announced the new model. Now you guys on the fence don't have to worry about buying an obsolete piece of gear. Just wait for this bad boy:

Axe-FX-III2_zpsbe253605.jpg


Sample01_zps9ee084e5.png
Click to expand...

What a horrible abomination that would be! :D:eek:
-
Austin
 
Jason Scott said:
In my opinion, it's not really about the lifespan of the hardware. There are plenty of first generation Axe FX Ultra's that still work great and may continue to function for years to come. It's about investing in hardware that may be superseded by a newer version within a year. Of course we know that the Axe FX II likely won't be discontinued a year from now so this is really an exercise in pointless hypotheticals.
Click to expand...

I understand that too - I just bought my AXEFX II XL+ last Fall (see join date). Consumers face this kind of decision all the time without a lot of hesitation.

If you have a hardware mindset then it's a lot like automobiles; take the depreciation hit and the cost to get "new" to get the latest and greatest with all the new H/W features - I'd pay the price for selling the 2015 model and upgrading to the 2017 model. Doesn't mean the old car doesn't work just fine for what I do. ;)

But, this product is significantly different from an automobile because the core of it is software (S/W) which FAS is superb at updating and refreshing the entire box/product. I'm happy with the code updates. We have Axe Edit and the front panel which work fine. Can they be improved - sure. But at what cost benefit? Axe Edit gets attention all the time as does the AXE FX algorithm.

We are fortunate that so much is software based and easily updated and disseminated to the customer base. Guitar Amplifiers that cost about the same don't have this kind of flexibility. No where close, much less efx racks and boards stuffed with pedals.

There is just tons of headroom for improvements on the platform as is ... but if you want a new car, we can hope that FAS releases more cool stuff. It's all upside.
 
Funny how we can be worried about a new latest greatest model of something that replicates technology that's 60 years old. Not to mention probably more than 1/2 the amps modeled are older than the average forum member. :eek:;)
 
jzucker said:
this place is getting worse than TGP, out...
Click to expand...

Awww come on, no need for mud slinging. Just trying to toss in a little levity. In all reality this is kind of a pointless thread anyway. Whether to buy or not to buy electronics of any kind or price is a completely personal feeling on how you feel your money is best served. There's no one good answer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom