Fractal Audio Systems mystery product speculation

[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.

 

[unix-guy]

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....

You literally highlighted the bit about Fractal being deep!

That would be in comparison to the competitors.

There was no mention of the sound in that post because it was about the interface to a complex device.

 

[timbuck3]

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.

I think this is a very valid statement to a section of people but to the average Joe walking into Guitar centre it may not be that accurate of a statement as many people are visual. Stimulated people sell. They’ll see that nice big screen and touchscreen and all those little knobs you turn on the switches And psychologically, it’ll make them feel like the sound is just as good

 

[Orvillain]

A lot of you guys have never used high-end rack gear, and it shows.

 

[Achilles]

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.

You and I and most everyone here knows that. Speaking from a mass market standpoint, we're all outliers.

 

[Achilles]

A lot of you guys have never used high-end rack gear, and it shows.

Amen.
Let's see you bitches fully program out a set list using a Digitech 2112!

 

[GTR37]

Amen.
Let's see you bitches fully program out a set list using a Digitech 2112!

Or the original Eventide H3000 that is a miserable experience

 

[Orvillain]

This is quite cool.

Midi clip playing back... being sent to my Novation Summit... audio comes back into Bitwig from that... then gets sent out again through the Axe3 … then it comes back in.. then goes through a software compressor.

 

[paisleywookiee]

You and I and most everyone here knows that. Speaking from a mass market standpoint, we're all outliers.

I disagree, having programmed a lot of these devices and teaching them how to use it. People DO care about snapshots and scenes, and they ask about features more in-depth than what some of these basic modelers offer.

 

[mbenigni]

Nice straw man - I said nothing of the sort. I've bought three successive generations of Fractal gear and have enjoyed the improvements. I was more talking about people constantly comparing a rackmount piece of music gear to consumer electronics and asking for things like a tablet-bound FM0, an app store for loading third-party plugins into the Fractal, etc. I guess I should have been more specific with my criticism, so mea culpa on that, but to say I'm a luddite for making fun of some forumites is a stretch.

I didn’t call you a Luddite. I poked some fun at your saying that Apple “ruined our expectations” of UIs by advancing UIs in ways that have been massively successful. Because you did say that.

 

[mbenigni]

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.

Of course. And Cliff himself has said as much.

 

[Achilles]

People DO care....

But the majority?

 

[luckymethod]

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?

A design consultant would take a few weeks tops to take all the functionality on the current axe 3 and re-lay out the thing to be easier to use, and do a few rounds of revisions and testing. I know I could do it pretty quickly, and it wouldn't be a huge expense. If they don't do it it's because it's not a cultural thing for Fractal, it's not because it's a prohibitive cost. Hell hire a kid out of design school and get them to work, they might make some mistakes here and there but just someone focusing on the task will generate usable ideas to improve things a bit.

 

[Achilles]

Hell hire a kid out of design school and get them to work,

This stuff if so far from being a uniquely specialized skill at this point it's ridiculous.

 

[norminal]

I’ve been saying this for over a decade, but I think a simple toggle to hide ALL deep parameters from the front panel would appease to those who wish to interact with a model as if it were the real thing.

 

[timbuck3]

A design consultant would take a few weeks tops to take all the functionality on the current axe 3 and re-lay out the thing to be easier to use, and do a few rounds of revisions and testing. I know I could do it pretty quickly, and it wouldn't be a huge expense. If they don't do it it's because it's not a cultural thing for Fractal, it's not because it's a prohibitive cost. Hell hire a kid out of design school and get them to work, they might make some mistakes here and there but just someone focusing on the task will generate usable ideas to improve things a bit.

Oh I thought it may be some laborious task that would take months with team of guys costing a lot. If it’s so easy why doesn’t cliff do it? Cultural? What does that mean? Like the guy who still uses a flip phone from 2000 refusing to get any new touch devices? That culture!?