Fractal Audio Systems mystery product speculation

[TubeStack]

I think you miss the point.
It's not that it's difficult to learn. It just requires too many interactions to do very simple things.

An example is adding a simple block to your grid. With a touch screen you'd press where you want to add it. Done.
With current UX, you'd have to press arrow buttons X numbers of times to get to where you want to add it. Press enter. Done.

This is a simple example and some may say that saving 5 seconds and 7 button presses (or however many it required) is a small thing, but when you do it so often, those things add up. Not to mention it feels incredibly inefficient.

The whole industry of tech products strive towards making things faster for people to use by making the interface easy and fast, while still empowering them to do everything they want. It is certainly possible to have as much tweakability and settings as the Fractal stuff, while still making it easy to use. I honestly don't understand why people are so reluctant towards progress.

If it's easier to use, more people will buy their products, allowing them to spend more money on further development of everything Fractal.
Right now it's like you people (and I'm not pointing fingers at you specifically, more an observation based on comments earlier in this thread and other threads) are fine with "Fractals are only for professionals", implying you don't want them to succeed with other people, which is a very weird position IMO, but what do I know. I'm not a professional :)

And again, just to be clear, I'm not saying it has to have a touch screen - but it's a good example of a better UX than what is currently today.

@laxu, you don’t have to make alt accounts here.

 

[TubeStack]

So, you guys were right, my trip to New England wasn't about a vacation. I was picking up a USB stick with the new firmware for the FAS-DOG, it's so secret Cliff won't even put it on the internet, but I'm letting the dog out of the bag.

I won't give away all the details, but basically you let the dog chew your USB cable when it's plugged into your Fractal unit, then he'll know when to operate your FC's or any associated pedals plugged into the Fractal unit. It's pretty badass, IMO. He's actually operating the Whammy right now with head tilts.

View attachment 27137

Sorry, @FractalAudio. I couldn't keep it in any longer. But don't worry, no one has noticed the other thing in any of my pics/vids.

Man, that is a beautiful dog, wow.

 

[DrewJD82]

in true TB3 fashion

Is that a Timber Wolf?


*** beautiful dog BTW

Well, he certainly opens his mouth and whines a lot!

 

[DrewJD82]

@laxu, you don’t have to make alt accounts here.

 

[laxu]

@laxu, you don’t have to make alt accounts here.

Dude, I'm nursing a hangover after drinking too much last night in an all-you-can-drink bar in Tokyo.

 

[norminal]

This is a simple example and some may say that saving 5 seconds and 7 button presses (or however many it required) is a small thing, but when you do it so often, those things add up.

 

[timbuck3]

Dude, I'm nursing a hangover after drinking too much last night in an all-you-can-drink bar in Tokyo.

For a non drinker like me Tokyo would not be much fun then

 

[unix-guy]

Sidebar Fractal question:

Why do all the OEM guards I see have cutouts for the array(s) of level LEDs? Are they an interface in any way???

KILLER looking unit imo.

View attachment 27139

The are raised above the top of the unit... The covers sit on the top, so it needs to allow space.

 

[laxu]

For a non drinker like me Tokyo would not be much fun then

I mean, it's not like there isn't a million other things to do...like all the guitar stores where you could go try out a Fractal!

 

[mbenigni]

Couldn’t agree more.

Sincerely,

Obnoxious Plugin Guy

Be careful - the You’re Repeating Yourself Police are out in full force today.

 

[mbenigni]

Who can come up with a chattpg prompt to create a vid like this regarding ability to deal with UI:



I dealt with zoom 9000, digitech 2101…how hard can it be?

The point everyone keeps neglecting is that all of these older devices with comparable UIs had much, much simpler underlying systems. The more those systems grow (in number and complexity) the more important it is to optimize presentation and controls.

I get that “it is what it is”, and that - with a bit of effort - it works as is. But I also maintain that improvements are improvements, by definition.

 

[mbenigni]

Everybody at TOP and the Fractal forums keep trying to will the Fractal ecosystem into being an iPad instead of what it is: a box that makes guitar noises. I'm typing this from a MacBook but I swear Apple has ruined peoples' expectations of what consumer products are supposed to be.

Strange way of looking at things. Henry Ford ruined my expectation of how to start my car in the morning (look ma, no crank!) but I eventually forgave him for it.

(Editor’s note: not necessarily historically accurate.)

 

[GTR37]

I mean, it's not like there isn't a million other things to do...like all the guitar stores where you could go try out a Fractal!

Oh yes that would go well
“ why do you come here for 3 days and you do not buy anything
Get out

 

[Josetxu]

I think there're several UI flaws could be corrected. I'll never understand why the big wheel doesn't act (or can be configured to do so) like an enter button, or why to enter a block you must use the edit button and if you press the enter button you enter the connect/disconnect mode. Or why to finish storing a preset you must go from the store button to the enter one, which are in opposite sides of the wheel.

They're simple changes that would made It a lot more intuitive and don't need a new gen hardware or a touch screen.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Sidebar Fractal question:

Why do all the OEM guards I see have cutouts for the array(s) of level LEDs? Are they an interface in any way???

KILLER looking unit imo.

View attachment 27139

LEDs aren’t flush the panel, I don’t think (I’ll have to go look). So he’d have to make cutouts.

 

[KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!]

I think there're several UI flaws could be corrected. I'll never understand why the big wheel doesn't act (or can be configured to do so) like an enter button, or why to enter a block you must use the edit button and if you press the enter button you enter the connect/disconnect mode. Or why to finish storing a preset you must go from the store button to the enter one, which are in opposite sides of the wheel.

They're simple changes that would made It a lot more intuitive and don't need a new gen hardware or a touch screen.

I'm tired of the constant whining by people who are unable to understand that the Fractal is very deep and will never have as simple an interface as something like the TMP.

But you're making good points that get lost in the cacophony of people constantly bitching because they're too lazy learn basic work flow.

 

[Achilles]

I'm tired of the constant whining by people who are unable to understand that the Fractal is very deep and will never have as simple an interface as something like the TMP.

With all due respect, how pretentious of you!

It's marketed as a modeler and should be judged against its peers accordingly.
They all sound mostly great so what other areas differentiate them?

Maybe the Axe products should be moved to the Erector Set section of the store....

 

[timbuck3]

The point everyone keeps neglecting is that all of these older devices with comparable UIs had much, much simpler underlying systems. The more those systems grow (in number and complexity) the more important it is to optimize presentation and controls.

I get that “it is what it is”, and that - with a bit of effort - it works as is. But I also maintain that improvements are improvements, by definition.

I bet a lot of things that stop certain companies are the fact they don’t have the resources to pay people to. Let’s say figure out a better gui?
For instance fender just came out with a TMP this year which obviously they’ve been working on for while but they obviously have a group dedicated to the interface of the unit so they put amount of resources towards that so I think a smaller company like Cliff has to focus his resources maybe in certain direction he can’t spread out and divide up His number one number one on the list is the sound the tone and it shows probably interfaces more or less a slower evolution and not as important? Or doesn’t get as much of the resources involved in bringing a fracture unit to fruition.

 

[timbuck3]

I also think that if fractal was available in Guitar centres the way they are now people probably wouldn’t buy them not because they’re bad but just because they are not user-friendly like the three other ones that are probably all around it at Guitar Centre such as head rush and Line 6 or the fender TMP I mean think about it if you walked in the Guitar centre or I should say if the average person walked in the Guitar centre and went over to the modellers and saw the line 6 sitting next to the TMP next to the pod go Next to the head rush the first thing they’re gonna wanna do is touch it push buttons play with it even before the sound comes out. Don’t want to get a feel for how easy it is operate and for the average person I think the fractal fails in this respect .
Take the GX 100 thing versus the GT 1000 on the floor next to each other at Guitar Centre I think that the new GTX 100 or whatever it’s called will probably sell better than the GX or GT 1000 just because it has a little screen you can play withlooks a little bit more updated and the price may be a little bit less.

So anyways my point is is that the people on this forum and the other forum aren’t your average players which is a good or bad thing. It’s just a reality.

 

[paisleywookiee]

With all due respect, how pretentious of you!

It's marketed as a modeler and should be judged against its peers accordingly.
They all sound mostly great so what other areas differentiate them?

Maybe the Axe products should be moved to the Erector Set section of the store....

Not to add more pretentiousness to it, but the TMP isn’t remotely comparable to the FM9, in terms of functionality. No scenes, no snapshots, no channels, subpar amp modeling, limited effects, no fine adjustment in each block.