norminal
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Fractal Audio Systems mystery product speculation
- Thread starter jellodog
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Sascha Franck
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I can promise you wouldn't even notice in 90% of all cases (unless it's meant to be a part of the performance - which would be another "pro" touchscreen point).
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That last cover band I joined when I learned and programmed 40 songs worth of tones into the FM9 and all the ridiculous tunings/Virtual Capo crap going on, dialed it all in at home at living room volume and didn’t have to tweak a single thing during the next practice at gig volume.
Outside of people who improvise with effects live, I’m never going to wrap my head around “tweak at a gig” when it comes to anything more than an amp/model’s B/M/T.
Outside of people who improvise with effects live, I’m never going to wrap my head around “tweak at a gig” when it comes to anything more than an amp/model’s B/M/T.
paisleywookiee
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Valid point. Though there would be times I'd want to tweak beyond that at practice, and I don't really want to half to bring my Mac with me everywhere. I suppose an iPad in that case would be more acceptable though.
![[Nathan]](/data/avatars/m/0/613.jpg?1726885163){kind=avatar}
[Nathan]
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How often have you put your foot through a helix or fractal screen on the ground? You can recess a screen to avoid these things.
Guitarists bend down to mess with pedals all the time, it just makes using the device more efficient, speed is key. And obviously desktop folk would benefit from a touch screen and encoders.
Ideally when playing a gig you’d have all your presets/scenes ready to go and crouching down to mess with settings on the fly is either a creative thing or a quick corrective thing. Both of those scenarios I’d rather use a TMP or QC with a touch screen/encoders over Fractals current setup on an FM3
Companion app requires another device to have on you (and charged), potential connection issues and somewhere to place it. I can see some scenarios where this could work well but super not ideal for punk/metal gigs. I don’t hate the thought of a companion app but it should be a mirror of what the device can already do, a bonus option like what the TMP has. When you’ve got settings hidden via the companion app only like the kemper profile player or the uafx pedals it kind of sucks
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This is less an argument against touchscreens on the floor and more an argument against any controls of any kind whatsoever on the floor.
I like the idea of keeping controls on a separate (or detachable) surface, though. It's just hard to pull off effectively, which is why I've gone the desktop processor plus footcontroller route. (QC, AxeFX III, Helix Rack - even Kemper Toaster - would all fit the bill in varying degrees.)
Ed DeGenaro
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For the extra functions yes. Dunno about android
Only non iOS or osx I have is windows on bootcamp when I need sequoia
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Half of the reason I'm looking at an FM9 MKII Turbo is that I prefer to bend down to setup my patches and tweak parameters, rather than be expected to deal with a rack on stage.
In many many many ways, Helix has trained my expectations and workflows - I've been using it live since 2016 !!
In many many many ways, Helix has trained my expectations and workflows - I've been using it live since 2016 !!
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ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY!!!
I'd give up every single dyna-cab slot and all but 1 IR slot to have that. I'd give up 200 of the in built amps too, and I'd throw the resonator, rotary effects, and most of the modulation effects in the bin too!!
Genuinely blows my mind that you can't save block presets on the hardware. I don't understand why. It is such a common thing.
Achilles
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Quick follow-up on this.
Listen, been here over a year and have had plenty of time to observe the posting habits of the active members.
When I gave @Orvillain some crap yesterday I 100% knew what sort of reply to expect back from him.
I mean, just last week I was asking the guy for VH4 pedal advice cause I know for a fact he's the Diezel guy.
Just like I know if I cause him grief it's going to result in a firm suggestion directed back at me having to do
with inserting something into myself where it's not normally expected to go.
Keep your eyes and ears open and know when and where (and with whom) you can take your occasional shots.
It's all good. The place can't be unicorns and rainbows all the time!
Ed DeGenaro
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Point taken. However lion has presence as alt function on pedal and Anti has it as regular knob
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Buy a proper VH4. You slag.Quick follow-up on this.
Listen, been here over a year and have had plenty of time to observe the posting habits of the active members.
When I gave @Orvillain some crap yesterday I 100% knew what sort of reply to expect back from him.
I mean, just last week I was asking the guy for VH4 pedal advice cause I know for a fact he's the Diezel guy.
Just like I know that if I cause him grief it's going to result in a firm suggestion directed back at me having to do
most likely with inserting something into myself where it's not normally expected to go.
Keep your eyes and ears open and know when and where (and with whom) you can take your occasional shots.
It's all good. The place can't be unicorns and rainbows all the time!
norminal
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Even the HX Stomp has the ability!
I’m not a coder, but how hard would this be to implement? The library is just ascii right? @FractalAudio ?
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Edit has already proven that you can take all of the depth and complexity of the platform and boil it down into an easy to use interface. Edit literally shows you how it could work on a touchscreen. When you open the amp block in Edit it goes to the basic tab which is where 90% of editing occurs. Then Fractal has the advanced tabs grouped directly underneath it. (Ideal, Poweramp, Preamp etc) These already existing tabs would be pages in the block on a touchscreen. The QC has pages on their blocks. It’s literally a single tap to get to a 2nd or 3rd page of controls. Fractal could have the main basic tab open and then pages at the top for the advanced options. The Edit software and the QC literally show how this could be achieved without sacrificing any of the depth of controls or tweakability.
If people don’t want a TS that’s one thing, but to say that FAS is too complex for a TS at all is absurd.
Sascha Franck
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For me, it really depends on the kind of gig. For regular ones, I could possibly cover all controls with goop.
But I'm also doing plenty of telephone-band gigs, like getting a call the day before or even just some hours before. And with those gigs, I never know what's supposed to happen, no way to prepare any sounds at all. So, while I have a set of allround sounds prepared all the time, there's almost always some tweaking involved, including some fine tuning between songs. And as the last thing I want to do is crawling on the floor, I'd rather just have a tablet on a stand (which I use for those kinda gigs anyway).
Besides, sometimes I just like some change, so I play the same kinda gigs with different sounds (something I'm usually allowed to as long as things work).
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RE: Tweaking live.
I've done it a lot in the past. When I was using single pedals. It is a particular part of my approach, because I like to run my delays and reverbs up front before the preamp; even in high-gain situations. So getting the mix and feedback/decay of delays and reverbs can be tricky in such a situation. I've even tweaked the Boss level knobs with my shoe, part way through playing a song live.
With modellers, that isn't really too much of a thing. Although a little bit - like putting together a patch at home, and then getting into the rehearsal room, and needing to change things because all of a sudden the patch I made isn't cutting through or is OTT when I'm alongside another guitarist and a bassist and drummer.
But it mostly comes down to "in an emergency, do I have a super fast way to get back to basics?" - and I do think that is kind of important to know. Plan ahead, measure twice and cut once, etc etc etc.
I've done it a lot in the past. When I was using single pedals. It is a particular part of my approach, because I like to run my delays and reverbs up front before the preamp; even in high-gain situations. So getting the mix and feedback/decay of delays and reverbs can be tricky in such a situation. I've even tweaked the Boss level knobs with my shoe, part way through playing a song live.
With modellers, that isn't really too much of a thing. Although a little bit - like putting together a patch at home, and then getting into the rehearsal room, and needing to change things because all of a sudden the patch I made isn't cutting through or is OTT when I'm alongside another guitarist and a bassist and drummer.
But it mostly comes down to "in an emergency, do I have a super fast way to get back to basics?" - and I do think that is kind of important to know. Plan ahead, measure twice and cut once, etc etc etc.
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I'd imagine that a block preset is some kind of XML or JSON data structure under the hood, and that enabling storage/browsing of them on the HW is a case of building a browser and parsing the files solely on the unit. I wouldn't imagine it is too difficult an engineering challenge, but probably it is lower priority based on the amount of requests coming in.
Sascha Franck
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Well, the "favourite" functionality is pretty weak IMO, simply because it's one global list, so you only see the type of block but not exactly what model you're using.
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Yeah definitely agreed. It should be sub-listed, or allow you to make custom categories or something. Scrolling through a bunch of delays and then accidentally putting an amp block in front of another amp is REALLY annoying!
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