Fractal ICONS Plugin

[FuzzyAce]

@hippietim
I used your Trower preset last night, just jammed for about 45 minutes straight on it.
Didn't even adjust anything only periodically giving it a boost with my OD3 pedal.

 

[ian_dissonance]

Swear for some people collecting amp sims is like collecting Pokemon. I do think £300 is a bit expensive for someone who wants to buy absolutely everything, but the advantage is not having to do it all in one big hit, and being able to choose which packs you actually want. How many people actually need all the amps, all the time, in plugin format? I sure as hell don't need as many Fenders as the Fullerton Complete contains, but fuck it.

Some kind of discount to users who own other packs would be nice when more come along, as I imagine there'll end up being quite a lot of overlap with FX, features, cabs etc. And I think each user will always have certain amps that are insta-buy must haves, and a large proportion that are more "cool to have, barely going to use it". I dont care for Dumbles, so Im less likely to throw $300 at that pack, but maybe if its $50-75, I'd just do it.

They're different platforms with different goals. I don't really mind the plugins not being exactly like a 1:1 of an entire AxeFX in one plugin.

I agree that it’s nice to be able to pick and choose, and that’s why I’m hanging out for high gain originals or something more to my tastes, but if you do the math on a per-block basis the hardware is definitely a better value. I’m sure they spent a lot of time figuring out how much it should cost, I’m just not the target market for a “full” suite at that value and I think a lot of people are going to do the math the same way.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

if you do the math on a per-block basis the hardware is definitely a better value

I do agree, but it's really hard to equate 1:1 because the advantages of plugins allow you to do things that aren't possible with a single AxeFX. I can reamp a song with 30 guitar parts on the spot (all with unique settings saved to my DAW) which would take absolutely ages on a single bit of HW in realtime.

But yeah, I hope by the time more packs come along, the price gets a bit more favourable to those who have a lot. I'm also just happy to hold out for the stuff I'm not desperate with, although its unclear what kind of sales Fractal will have down the line (like, are they going to get involved in the race to $29 plugins if it means tens of thousands more sales?). It's all a bit unknown territory

 

[Whizzinby]

It’s all just workflow, which may or not be applicable to everyone.

I have like 100 presets stored in the Axe for stuff I recorded so I could get back to it if I wanted, but that gets tricky because even if I remember what the preset Donkey Teeth went to two years ago, you then have to reamp the changes and save another preset called Donkey Teeth 2.

Or you can just have the plug chilling on the track ready for instant recall…

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

Cliff's Law: All music forums eventually descend into Harmony Central.

As long as it doesn't descend into Rig-Talk...

 

[BROCKSTAR]

Perhaps I should stop making fractal posts over on TOP, because they turn into shit. Although I am just trying to spread the word.

 

[FractalAudio]

Perhaps I should stop making fractal posts over on TOP, because they turn into shit. Although I am just trying to spread the word.

Agreed. That place is a cesspool and getting cesspoolier by the day.

 

[Orvillain]

It all comes back to - can people have a laugh? If they can't... then your e-hotel is gonna suck.

 

[DrewJD82]

Perhaps I should stop making fractal posts over on TOP, because they turn into shit. Although I am just trying to spread the word.

I have a hard time believing that’s a bug and not a feature at this point. There’s no legit way to explain how the same several people are allowed to clog every Fractal thread for years with either loony conspiracy shit or crybaby hysterics while you see the responses to those dolts getting deleted. And very clearly the playbook was passed on during the ownership change.

 

[Chocol8]

And very clearly the playbook was passed on during the ownership change.

I don't think ownership is hands on with moderation over there. I think it's a different set of volunteers but picked from the same group of like minded asshats.

 

[ian_dissonance]

I do agree, but it's really hard to equate 1:1 because the advantages of plugins allow you to do things that aren't possible with a single AxeFX. I can reamp a song with 30 guitar parts on the spot (all with unique settings saved to my DAW) which would take absolutely ages on a single bit of HW in realtime.

But yeah, I hope by the time more packs come along, the price gets a bit more favourable to those who have a lot. I'm also just happy to hold out for the stuff I'm not desperate with, although its unclear what kind of sales Fractal will have down the line (like, are they going to get involved in the race to $29 plugins if it means tens of thousands more sales?). It's all a bit unknown territory

I heard Sam Pura cleaned house with $3.99 “Fuck Waves” bundle.

It’s all just workflow, which may or not be applicable to everyone.

I have like 100 presets stored in the Axe for stuff I recorded so I could get back to it if I wanted, but that gets tricky because even if I remember what the preset Donkey Teeth went to two years ago, you then have to reamp the changes and save another preset called Donkey Teeth 2.

Or you can just have the plug chilling on the track ready for instant recall…

Sure but if “Donkey Teeth” uses drives from one plug and amps from another and delays from another and reverb from another and cans from another then it’s a similar game later on minus the reamping.

 

[Whizzinby]

Sure but if “Donkey Teeth” uses drives from one plug and amps from another and delays from another and reverb from another and cans from another then it’s a similar game later on minus the reamping.

That chain would be saved in the session, so I wouldn’t have to reconfigure it.

(And I’m in the camp that doesn’t want FAS to piecemeal 137 different things, and takes a more comprehensive approach, or gives us that option)

 

[Orvillain]

if you do the math on a per-block basis the hardware is definitely a better value

Plus then you can SIMD and optimize for vectorization, and you get more booty for your buck.

<gets coat>

 

[ian_dissonance]

Plus then you can SIMD and optimize for vectorization, and you get more booty for your buck.

<gets coat>

I think I SIMD my pants reading that. (I don’t know what that means).

 

[OrganicZed]

Perhaps I should stop making fractal posts over on TOP, because they turn into shit. Although I am just trying to spread the word.

I read the first few pages of the ICONS plugin thread at TOP and the majority of posts were bickering and complaining.

 

[BROCKSTAR]

I read the first few pages of the ICONS plugin thread at TOP and the majority of posts were bickering and complaining.

It's gone now. I deleted it. I'll stick to here and fractal forum when it comes to fractal (and some facebook groups). Someone else over at TOP can make a post and handle it. I tried with ICONS and AM4 (i'll leave this one up for now, it's not as bad) over there. I was trying to spread the word to help get it out there and what not, but all anyone can do is be unhappy I guess.

 

[RiffDuck]

At first Fender wouldn’t have been my first choice for a Fractal suite of plugins, but as soon as I started using them it dawned on me that these sounds are EXACTLY the ones I like to dump to a plugin. Anything clean/crunch are the kind that I CBA to bust an amp out for. It’s also a massive gap in my amp and cab collection, and somewhere where the extra mic choices work well.

I've been thinking a lot about why they started with Fenders, and my hypothesis is that it's the safest bet for a test run. Don't flood the market with the most popular collections (Marshals, high gains), but instead start with a smaller group to gather community feedback, feel out the administrative side of hosting large-scale software sales, and then ensure a fully satisfactory product before releasing the big guns.

But additionally, kind of like you alluded to, I've found in my personal plugin experience that clean tones are far easier to nail in plugin form than crunch or high gain. I mean hell, I think NDSP captured damn near half of the plugin market partly due to them being able to actually handle high gain without that early 2010s amp sim fizz we were all stuck with for like 15 years. So they're overall a safe bet to start with while ironing out the kinks.

 

[Chocol8]

than crunch

Hmmmm. Have you looked at the amps included in the Fender pack. No modern high gain, but there is plenty of crunch.

 

[Mongillo19]

Hmmmm. Have you looked at the amps included in the Fender pack. No modern high gain, but there is plenty of crunch.

The bassman always surprises me how crunchy (even perhaps high gain with the right pedal?) it can get

 

[Chocol8]

The bassman always surprises me how crunchy (even perhaps high gain with the right pedal?) it can get

I used to play Twin Reverbs with moderate+ gain for a number of years. Had to wear serious hearing protection, but even the big BF amps will get dirty if you push them hard enough!

The tweeds and browns though are great crunch to medium gain amps, and probably used on many recordings that people assume are Marshall's or other non-Fender "dirty" amps.