Fractal ICONS Plugin

[mbenigni]

Is there such a thing as its being too great a time to be a guitarist?

ITGATTBAG

 

[nicolasrivera]

Uh, Fractal Audio Interface?

All hardware units are actual Fractal Audio Interfaces!

 

[Melodioso]

I must go back to school to learn how to count :

"COMPLETE: You get everything from all four Fullerton volumes—36 amps, etc."

Yes, but be aware that these counts as 3 amps:

• 5F8 Tweed Double Bright
• 5F8 Tweed Double Normal
• 5F8 Tweed Double Jumped

These counts as 4 amps:

• 59 Bassguy Bright
• 59 Bassguy Jumped
• 59 Bassguy Normal
• 59 Bassguy RI Jumped

I wonder how many amps do you own if you have a real Mesa Mark VII? Can you then sell it as multiple amps in real life? "Hey look, I'm selling here 5 amps! There you have a Mark II, and Mark IV, a Mark VII, a ..."

A more honest description would be 36 amps channels... We guitar players we dumb.

 

[DrewJD82]

As a hardware owner, I’m not dying for the other packs to come out immediately but I’m definitely interested to see what’ll come with them when they come out. For recording, I haven’t really used plugins for tones since I got my AxeFX and while I used to appreciate having multiple instances of a plugin open on different tracks, that also led to a LOT of fruitless rabbit hole exploring and I found printing tones immediately helped me get things done much more efficiently than knowing I had the option to tweak further.

But I’m thinking for when I travel, having the plugins on a laptop would go a long way. And if they add any plugin-specific features, like the Marshall mod factory I’m daydreaming about, that’lll be an insta-buy.

 

[MIJLOVER]

I must go back to school to learn how to count :

"COMPLETE: You get everything from all four Fullerton volumes—36 amps, etc."

Yes, but be aware that these counts as 3 amps:

• 5F8 Tweed Double Bright
• 5F8 Tweed Double Normal
• 5F8 Tweed Double Jumped

These counts as 4 amps:

• 59 Bassguy Bright
• 59 Bassguy Jumped
• 59 Bassguy Normal
• 59 Bassguy RI Jumped

I wonder how many amps do you own if you have a real Mesa Mark VII? Can you then sell it as multiple amps in real life? "Hey look, I'm selling here 5 amps! There you have a Mark II, and Mark IV, a Mark VII, a ..."

A more honest description would be 36 amps channels... We guitar players we dumb.

When I a YouTube video pop up, I thought it was the entire catalogue and that got me interested.

I’m sure these will sell like hotcakes, but I’ll wait to see what kind of all inclusive bundle, or at least one with more variety (mix or Fender, Marshall, Mesa etc), will end up being released and maybe swing for that. But if might cost above 1K tho

 

[Melodioso]

I’ll be getting some of the packs, and I’m still ordering the AM4 this week, since Cliff personally promised me they’d be in stock soon

Out of curiosity, why? Is it for convenience? Workflow speed when re-amping?

At this price point, if you wish to own everything from the AM4 in native format, it will probably cost thousands of dollars.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I’m probably about ready to sell my AxeFX. Can’t see any reason why I’d use it over plugins over here.

 

[Mongillo19]

I’m probably about ready to sell my AxeFX. Can’t see any reason why I’d use it over plugins over here.

Unless you just want to use the current plugin lineup, id wait to see what the rollout is like before getting rid of the III

 

[Dez]

Dez always taking it there

I can't be the only one that thinks semen when they hear fractal sauce.

 

[2dor]

It's awesome to see this happen! I could see the appeal of using FAS plugins alone: as the HW goes through its lifecycle, the SW can still be updated with the "latest math" & stay relevant.

What I dread is, once all the stuff's out, having to potentially juggle "container" / instances to get the amps & effects chained up a la NDSP. Oh you want this amp & that cab, well you have to chain 2 instances; I'm not a fan of that workflow but I've swallowed larger pills to get where I needed to go. Hopefully FAS does a "mothership" plugin where you can easily combine all plugin elements even from different "packs".

The price is the other thing that has me looking at this sideways. If I look at "amp / dollar" this is objectively better value than competitors who sell individual amps. Still, I can't help but wonder what all of them would add up to.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Out of curiosity, why? Is it for convenience? Workflow speed when re-amping?

At this price point, if you wish to own everything from the AM4 in native format, it will probably cost thousands of dollars.

Because a voodoo lab dingbat large doesn’t fit in my man-purse.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Unless you just want to use the current plugin lineup, id wait to see what the rollout is like before getting rid of the III

I mean, it’s sensible but I’m not sure I use my AxeFX THAT much to risk having to wait a bit. My only (tiny) doubt is if things don’t pan out well and they get abandoned.

This feels like a serious undertaking and looking towards the future so I’m pretty confident in this being totally safe. If anything I hope it lights a fire under the other Fractal plugins

 

[Melodioso]

It's awesome to see this happen! I could see the appeal of using FAS plugins alone: as the HW goes through its lifecycle, the SW can still be updated with the "latest math" & stay relevant.

What I dread is, once all the stuff's out, having to potentially juggle "container" / instances to get the amps & effects chained up a la NDSP. Oh you want this amp & that cab, well you have to chain 2 instances; I'm not a fan of that workflow but I've swallowed larger pills to get where I needed to go. Hopefully FAS does a "mothership" plugin where you can easily combine all plugin elements even from different "packs".

The price is the other thing that has me looking at this sideways. If I look at "amp / dollar" this is objectively better value than competitors who sell individual amps. Still, I can't help but wonder what all of them would add up to.

Indeed, compared to NDSP this is a steal. There are about 18 amps in the Complete bundle, so add all the FXs and the price point per block is great.

An "a la carte" approach where you can select exactly what you want to buy (ie. which block) and then use it within a matrix would be a game changer. There you go, I used the word, without getting paid for it !

 

[Whizzinby]

Alright, digging in a little more.

I wish it was the full delay/reverb blocks. Pretty small offering of those effects, fully noting that the average plugin generally only has one of each. Would still be cool to not to have to reach elsewhere for a delay/reverb, when you know FAS already has the goods in those domains.

If they are going to release these in bundles, then it would at least be cool to have a way to integrate the amps/effects into a single wrapper, versus having to stack multiple instances. Particularly if it’s just to grab say a Tape Delay from the Marshall plug, but to use with the Fullerton amps or vice versa. That’s a PITA.

It would also be cool to have some mechanic for people that have purchased one plug to get a price break on subsequent releases. I don’t mind paying a premium for any bundle, IT FINALLY HAPPENED, but it would be cool to not be in the “Spend 2k to get the Full FAS Native” camp. But now is not the time to be a cheapass.

 

[deathbyguitar]

Reposting my question from the Fractal forum for extra visibility

The manual for ICONS talks about new DynaCab HD tech. Is this something that can/will be ported to current gen hardware or will it be utilized in future hardware products going forward? What about CabLab and existing commercial DynaPacks?

 

[Elf]

USD $299 Sale price for 4 amps once they release all the amps how much would that be for all the amps?

 

[Cactusprick]

for now I will stick to my trustworthy AM4 - which is truly a great package to be in Fractal land (audio interface + hardware pedal + complete library of amps etc etc)

ICONS is indeed a great news that the plugin option has finally happened - I will stay tuned for further updates.

 

[Melodioso]

Because a voodoo lab dingbat large doesn’t fit in my man-purse.

and a PC with an audio interface does ? Don't get me wrong, FAS releasing plugins is fantastic, nothing less.

But if you already own a FAS hardware products, you already have all the amps/fxs/... so you're paying "again" to have that in plugin format.

Maybe I'm cheap, but I would rather re-amp than ending up paying several times the price of an AM4 to get the same sounds natively. I'm just surprised that there are no "incentives" for FAS hardware owners. Maybe it will come in the future, who knowns.

 

[dean701]

I’m probably about ready to sell my AxeFX. Can’t see any reason why I’d use it over plugins over here.

From a re-amping perspective I see the plug-ins as a favorable option.
However, it all depends on how they wish to carve up their 300+ model offerings.
I see the first batch are carved up at $99 each and even then they DON'T include all cabs in each package. This would be very expensive for someone seeking the whole collection. Probably more than an fm3 or even perhaps an fm9

 

[FractalAudio]

Reposting my question from the Fractal forum for extra visibility

The manual for ICONS talks about new DynaCab HD tech. Is this something that can/will be ported to current gen hardware or will it be utilized in future hardware products going forward? What about CabLab and existing commercial DynaPacks?

It can't be ported to the current hardware because they don't have enough memory. DynaCab HD has higher temporal and spatial resolution and uses a LOT more memory. There's also 11 mics vs. 4.