Axe-FX (A Love Story?) Rd.1

[Whizzinby]

The on-device UI sucks @la szum regardless of whether you eventually brute force memorize a string of nonsensical commands or not.

But it’s a beast tonally, has an absurd amount of content, and has a great editor. So it’s worth the effort. IMO

 

[SwirlyMaple]

I think the notion of "intuitive" is overrated and overstated. I can't think of a single thing
we ever learn in life "intuitively." Walking? Nope. Have to do it and flail and fall.

If walking is not "intuitive" and "natural," then what in life is? Breathing?

My experience is that becoming proficient at anything requires repetition and that we
learn by doing.... not by something "coming natural" for us. Fractal UI is no different
than moving to a new town and learning the lay of the land. A few wrong turns and a
couple of dead ends later and you suddenly are not getting lost anymore.

Mental mapping for the win!

I definitely agree that some things must just be learned. We encounter that a lot in life. Hell, even a lot of music theory is that way.

But there’s also a lot of value in making things with logical consistency as a design intent. If the onboard UI of Fractal was an automobile, we’d have a separate lever just for second gear behind the passenger seat, and the turn signal would indicate right when pressed upward and change the radio station when pulled downward.

This round’s on me!

 

[la szum]

Some cities have a really shitty layouts of their streets---maybe because they were designed for horse and buggy and
not a Tesla.


:lol


I could also opine about what is wrong or lacking in the Fractal UI incessantly, as some have, and still do, but what
does it solve for me in the moment? Not a fucking thing. At some point we all have to get on with it and learn how to
get around in the places where we live, and with what we use.... and do so whether or not other people will or won't.

Learning is hard. We can't make everything easy for everyone all the time. In fact, that is what we have been doing
with a lot of "tech" and how is that working out for us?

 

[fretworn]

I’ve come to believe that the biggest contributor to success in one’s life is the quality of persistence.

 

[la szum]

I definitely agree that some things must just be learned. We encounter that a lot in life. Hell, even a lot of music theory is that way.

But there’s also a lot of value in making things with logical consistency as a design intent. If the onboard UI of Fractal was an automobile, we’d have a separate lever just for second gear behind the passenger seat, and the turn signal would indicate right when pressed upward and change the radio station when pulled downward.

This round’s on me!

Hey, now I want the stereo to automatically get louder as I press the accelerator harder. Great idea, SM!!!

 

[la szum]

I’ve come to believe that the biggest contributor to success in one’s life is the quality of persistence.

I'm not insinuating anything about anyone here .... but being allergic to effort is certainly a path to failure. Generally speaking.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I feel like Fractal is like a house that's been added onto a few times, and among other things, there's one bathroom located past a bedroom, that you have to go through to enter.

And I bet it's probably very similar, in that they've added so many things, that really the only way to fix it, is just tear it all down and start fresh.

 

[fretworn]

I'm not insinuating anything about anyone here .... but being allergic to effort is certainly a path to failure. Generally speaking.

There’s a dude on forums.fractal.com … can’t read a manual. Allergies lmao

 

[paisleywookiee]

is the on-device UI of the Fractal difficult to use, given the breadth of options presented, or is it just not intuitive? There’s a difference between “intuitive” and “difficult”. I think it’s just not intuitive. Not like the HX Stomp, which is really easy to use without even looking at a manual.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Hey, now I want the stereo to automatically get louder as I press the accelerator harder. Great idea, SM!!!

I wanna say I had a vehicle that did that. It wasn't linked to the gas pedal, but it did raise the volume. But I can't recall how. Maybe it detected wind noise, like if you had your windows down it would make the stereo louder as the wind noise increased.
It was something like that.

 

[GTR37]

I feel like Fractal is like a house that's been added onto a few times, and among other things, there's one bathroom located past a bedroom, that you have to go through to enter.

And I bet it's probably very similar, in that they've added so many things, that really the only way to fix it, is just tear it all down and start fresh.

I fully suspect the next generation will be much more user friendly and a much stronger GUI, but your right you cannot update or refresh a hardware mid cycle

 

[TubeStack]

Either way, you bastards now have me scouring local ads for an FM3 or 9…

 

[TSJMajesty]

I fully suspect the next generation will be much more user friendly and a much stronger GUI, but your right you cannot update or refresh a hardware mid cycle

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the main focus of the next-gen units being on a better user-experience. But as long as Cliff & Co. keep finding things to improve on the III/3/9, who knows when that may be.

"It cannot get any better..., oh wait. "

 

[SwirlyMaple]

is the on-device UI of the Fractal difficult to use, given the breadth of options presented, or is it just not intuitive? There’s a difference between “intuitive” and “difficult”. I think it’s just not intuitive. Not like the HX Stomp, which is really easy to use without even looking at a manual.

With the inconsistencies in how the buttons work, especially relative to their named functions, combined with general layout of the UI, I think it approaches “difficult.” Once you use it enough to memorize the quirks, I’m sure it’s fine, though probably still less efficient than it could be.

It really just goes to show that UI design is a complete discipline in itself, where the best ones had just as much thought into the UI planning as went into the technical side of the product. The Helix shines here because they have a UI designer who takes the role seriously. (Edit: to clarify, I didn’t mean Cliff doesn’t take UI seriously. It’s very hard to cover so many bases when you’re a one-man-show so it’s understandable.)

 

[Stone]

I dont Know about the UI on the hardware ive never touched it, except for the odd setting done only the unit itself but I can say this FM9 Edit is really easy and pleasure to work with

 

[Bruce]

Personally I feel if you’re ever pushing buttons on the front of this thing you’re doing it wrong, at least outside of the performance tabs knobs. I also never want to play live again to an unprogrammed show. I don’t want to step on buttons. I want my sounds to change magically when they’re supposed to. Widi and a click track makes this happen for me. It’s SO freeing in a show setting. No more pics of me looking down at my feet all the time. Plus the changes I can program far outgun the ones I can step thru.
Now, if we can just have an FMx that accepts Bluetooth and midi over Bluetooth, THAT would be a godsend. Someone please make this a reality. The widi jacks work but they take some balancing.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

I dont Know about the UI on the hardware ive never touched it, except for the odd setting done only the unit itself but I can say this FM9 Edit is really easy and pleasure to work with

I still need to fire that up. I’m sure it’s great from everything I’ve read. I just wanted to go in cold-turkey and see how the onboard UI looks to a caveman, because once you familiarize yourself with the product and its architecture you can no longer get a truly unbiased insight into how logical and/or intuitive it is. This is also why it can be really hard for product designers to see the holes in their own UI, because you quickly become blind to the quirks once your brain already knows how everything works.

 

[TSJMajesty]

This is also why it can be really hard for product designers to see the holes in their own UI, because you quickly become blind to the quirks once your brain already knows how everything works.

That is such a good point, and one I've noticed many times over at FAS forum. They simply don't see it the same way a newbie would.

Which means, seriously, they'd do well, (imo) to hire a newb, like that, to help them redesign the UI.

 

[DrewJD82]

I think the notion of "intuitive" is overrated and overstated. I can't think of a single thing
we ever learn in life "intuitively." Walking? Nope. Have to do it and flail and fall.

If walking is not "intuitive" and "natural," then what in life is? Breathing?

My experience is that becoming proficient at anything requires repetition and that we
learn by doing.... not by something "coming natural" for us. Fractal UI is no different
than moving to a new town and learning the lay of the land. A few wrong turns and a
couple of dead ends later and you suddenly are not getting lost anymore.

Mental mapping for the win!

Seriously. It took me like 2 years to learn how to shit in a toilet.

 

[mavrick102000]

is the on-device UI of the Fractal difficult to use, given the breadth of options presented, or is it just not intuitive? There’s a difference between “intuitive” and “difficult”. I think it’s just not intuitive. Not like the HX Stomp, which is really easy to use without even looking at a manual.

ETA: I just realized I was talking about the editor not the on-device UI. Carry on.

I really think it comes down to many newer users thinking they have to go deep to tweak things.

1. Load up the default blocks in your signal path, ensure there are shunts from the input, then between each block to the output.
2. Use serial or parallel routing for some swirly effects
3. Mostly stick to the first two tabs in the lower menu for default/ideal settings, Dyna Cabs, etc and go play.
4. (Optional) Experiment in small increments from there if you must, But take small, incremental steps added to an already good sounding patch.