Fractal Audio Systems mystery product speculation

[texhex]

Standard: 2006.
Ultra: 2008.
II: 2011.
II XL: 2014.
III: 2018

The post on that forum is from 2007, but I think that the interview is from 2006.

Back then, the only available information about the Axe-FX was one user review at HugeRacksInc and that interview.

That review was so positive that I thought that it could have been made by a friend of the manufacturer. But I was still curious, so I created the first Axe-FX forum on the internet, to attract the attention of real users and get more opinions. Cliff soon joined the forum and was a very active member (I also gave him administrator & moderator powers).

A couple of weeks later I was already convinced. At that time I was living in Spain and they were not accepting international orders. G66 was not yet born, so I trusted a forum user to send him the money, purchase the Axe-FX, and send it to me from the USA. That was the first Axe-FX in Europe.

When FAS created the official forum I closed that one. Unfortunately, in 2015 the web provider disappeared without notice and all the good old memories were gone.

Most of the moderators that you can see today at the official forum are the ones that I trusted to be moderators at that original forum.

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Damn dude, mad props for putting all that together back in the early days. Sucks that everything was lost. Those have to be some great memories. Very cool!

 

[saarangnarayan]

A bit of a tin-foil-hat moment: For the first time ever, I've seen a few gear-tubers doing videos on the FM3 recently. Ola and Fluff have been long-time users (relatively), so maybe their more or less simultaneous videos on the FM3 didn't bat many eyelids, but HP42 getting all three units and producing videos on them is pretty novel, IMO. Maybe, just maybe, this means that the new product is more pedalboard-friendly since FAS/G66 seem to have opened up relationships with folks doing gear reviews/demos of things that fit that bill.

 

[holoholo]

Please be pedalboard friendly for those of us that actually go outside

 

[Aleksi]

Hmmmmm, maybe all the youtubers are doing videos right now to show that FAS sounds great, but aren't they a bit much for the average guitarist? But I want that toan..... BUT WAIT! WTF is this smaller, less powerful new product that just came out that gives you access to the same TOANz as Metallica and limited FX and routing, but is plenty for 95% of guitarists, and costs 499€?

Nah, that would be boring as shit. Bring out the FASynth virtual modular synthesizer and FX processor.

 

[0XI0]

the last time FAS did anything nonderivative was AX8/FX8 or X-Load. One thing they talked about a lot back in the day but we never saw was LB-1, the version with DSP in it. Like Boss Tube Amp Expander or UAD OX

 

[GuitarAddicted]

Cmon guys, it doesn’t matter what it is, because we will buy it anyway!

 

[Frodebro]

Cmon guys, it doesn’t matter what it is, because we will buy it anyway!

Exactly. For 30% of the people here it will fill a need that they actually have. The rest are going to buy it just because it's new, cool, and we want it. We'll suss out the details of justifying the purchase later.

 

[jellodog]

Marketing. Neural DSP has it mastered.

Then, why didn't it work on me?

I must be broken in some way.

 

[jellodog]

A bit of a tin-foil-hat moment: For the first time ever, I've seen a few gear-tubers doing videos on the FM3 recently. Ola and Fluff have been long-time users (relatively), so maybe their more or less simultaneous videos on the FM3 didn't bat many eyelids, but HP42 getting all three units ...

Hmm yeah, there might be something in the air. Hard to say.

Could it simply be that the modelling has gotten so good over the last year or so that it's reached that tipping point for those that weren't previously interested? And of course, there's no wait list anymore.

Ryan "Fluff" Bruce isn't new to this though; he talked about using the Axe-Fx III over a year ago in his Rig Rundown [timstamped link]:

 

[Hapless]

the last time FAS did anything nonderivative was AX8/FX8 or X-Load. One thing they talked about a lot back in the day but we never saw was LB-1, the version with DSP in it. Like Boss Tube Amp Expander or UAD OX

Every company can't be the gold standard of innovation like Nux is, thumperjack.

 

[saarangnarayan]

Ryan "Fluff" Bruce isn't new to this though; he talked about using the Axe-Fx III over a year ago in his Rig Rundown [timstamped link]:

Yup I’m aware of that. Ola, too, is a long time user. But the current blitz seems a bit more organised than previous videos. Henning’s involvement is especially interesting to me since he rarely makes a video without a relationship with a company or distributer.

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

You can start drawing full social security benefit* at 67.

*Full social security benefit is not anywhere close to enough to survive. If we stay on this topic, even the well-off Americans around here may start having existential crises.

Ahh…better avoid the topic then and stick to US elections

…..anyway.,,,,

Reason I asked…afaik..a lot of fractal business/devlopment pivots around Cliff…depending on his plans to go fishing…that might become a liability…or trigger to look for merging with another company…in the foreseeable future.

I could well imagine a merge beneficial at this stage. Fractal has top of the line products/expertise, maybe not the capacity to massproduce…and maybe a company like Marshall/Orange/Blackstar lack the expertise but offer the larger numbers…#speculation

 

[Piing]

 

[Whizzinby]

I predict this will be a plugin/software. It just makes sense.

 

[Achilles]

Yeah, it makes a lot of sense to make a firmware for a software

Firmware IS software - sort of. It's just not user accessible.

Helix Native is chock full of FW.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Please be pedalboard friendly for those of us that actually go outside

 

[Piing]

I still have not made my guess. Here it goes:

Considering the two things that we know: (1) It has firmware, (2) It is not a replacement for any of their current products.

-> Audio interface featuring a guitar input with the Axe-FX's Preamp Special Sauce, with plugins that can only work when that hardware is connected.
-> Professional effects processor rack (the Axe-FX III is already a pro FX unit, but with more octanes and some bells and whistles it could disband Eventide H9000 )
-> V-Guitar (guitar/pickup/synth modeling) without the need of hex pickup

I hope it is the third thing

Pedals or racks with amp modelers or with the amp profile/capture thing could be considered replacement of current products.

 

[Los-D]

Ahh…better avoid the topic then and stick to US elections

…..anyway.,,,,

Reason I asked…afaik..a lot of fractal business/devlopment pivots around Cliff…depending on his plans to go fishing…that might become a liability…or trigger to look for merging with another company…in the foreseeable future.

I could well imagine a merge beneficial at this stage. Fractal has top of the line products/expertise, maybe not the capacity to massproduce…and maybe a company like Marshall/Orange/Blackstar lack the expertise but offer the larger numbers…#speculation

Or (gulp) #playauthentic

 

[deadpool_25]

-> Audio interface featuring a guitar input with the Axe-FX's Preamp Special Sauce, with plugins that can only work when that hardware is connected.

Gimme

Edit: It would be kinda funny if this was the case and you could immediately transfer presets freely between the computer and whatever hardware unit you have.

 

[Joshual-L]

Gimme

I’ll take it too.