Fractal ICONS Plugin

[RiffDuck]

I enjoyed the ICONS demo, they really did have the Fractal feel, and I easily got excellent tones out of it. I really liked their new DynaCab system with the new arrangement of mics too. But cleans aren't really my thing so I'll hold out for the high gain stuff before making any purchases.

On a less positive note, I was really turned off by reactions from the brand to the whole "it's been cracked!" situation and the way it was treated by as if nuclear launch codes were stolen.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

[...] On a less positive note, I was really turned off by reactions from the brand to the whole "it's been cracked!" situation and the way it was treated by as if nuclear launch codes were stolen.

What do you expect from them? Do you think they should be happy and celebrate that their product is being stolen?

 

[RiffDuck]

What do you expect from them? Do you think they should be happy and celebrate that their product is being stolen?

Of course not. Call me old fashioned, but it's business 101 to handle those issues internally and not publicly stoke panic or anxiety over a product you're in the middle of hyping the release of. And cracks are bad, nobody is suggesting otherwise, but digital distribution in 2026 absolutely factors them in as a known risk. And it wasn't some catastrophic widespread theft operation to begin with; it was one single random guy saying he heard from his brother's father's cousin's former roommate that it was cracked. Given all of that, the entire ordeal felt to me like some kind of compulsory mourning, where those without visible tears would be tried accordingly.

And I get that the FAS style is robust transparency and casual interaction with the community, and I think that's great, but in the primal consumer part of my brain it left a bad taste at the exact time I was deciding whether or not to purchase one of their products.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Thing is, when you release a plugin, you have to expect it to be cracked. No idea whether copy protection is better or worse (or whether crackers are better or worse) today, but it's basically like that since ages already.
IMO, your only way to still do strong is by either establishing a kinda standard (such as Waves) or by delivering excellent customer support (such as U-He) and establish a loyal user base that way.
In addition, you need to sell your stuff for an attractive price. Regarding that, I simply think the first ICONs package is too expensive. I'd never buy it for that price. But I won't run a cracked version, either, zero plans to have anything on my computer that isn't 100% legal. Others may think differently.

 

[volkan]

who will pay $299.00 for a specific type plugin
you could get neural dsp with reasonable price
fractal sad for you...

 

[JiveTurkey]

Caveman Haiku™

 

[synthpenguin]

who will pay $299.00 for a specific type plugin
you could get neural dsp with reasonable price
fractal sad for you...

Why compare the 300USD Fractal plugin pack that includes 36 amp channel models to the 100+USD NDSP plugins that only include 3-5 models?

I think it’s more fair to compare the 99USD individual Fractal plugins instead of the whole pack of them.

Buying the Fractal plugins as a pack does save you 100USD if you were planning on buying all of them, but most people probably don’t have to.

Pack 1 alone gives you all the most popular Fender sounds save the Bassman, and is 7 amps / 9 channels, plus 4 HD DynaCabs, and dozens of effects. I think that’s really fair for 99USD and very competitive with the NDSP plugins.

 

[RiffDuck]

Why compare the 300USD Fractal plugin pack that includes 36 amp channel models to the 100+USD NDSP plugins that only include 3-5 models?

I think it’s more fair to compare the 99USD individual Fractal plugins instead of the whole pack of them.

Buying the Fractal plugins as a pack does save you 100USD if you were planning on buying all of them, but most people probably don’t have to.

Pack 1 alone gives you all the most popular Fender sounds save the Bassman, and is 7 amps / 9 channels, plus 4 HD DynaCabs, and dozens of effects. I think that’s really fair for 99USD and very competitive with the NDSP plugins.

I think a lot of people are still unaware that the $299 one is a bundle, and that the individual packs were only $99, which is a far more competitive price for what they offer.

I don't see a lot of valid criticism when it comes to the pricing.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I think the plugins are reasonable value for what they are, but the overall experience has been nowhere near as slick as what the likes of NDSP or UA offer.

There’s been odd bugs, the GUI is nothing amazing, the fx are a bit bland.

The amp tones are totally there, and sound as stellar as you'f expect but I think it’s a tough sell to most guitarists who might already have a lot of options. The suite doesn’t feel like they’ve really paid too much attention to where the direction of plugins has been over the last 10 years, and it’s essentially a refinement of what Fractal have been doing for the last 10 years. I think the ONLY reason someone would be inclined to buy this plugin is if they are determined that only Fractal's modelling will do. Hard to say whether most guitarists would find other options lacking enough.

I think I’d be just as happy with the plugin if it was just drives, amps and cabs. The FX sound good but dedicated plugins sound at least as good and are more inspiring to use, and more flexible to route. My favourite thing about them has been being able to so easily combine Fractal amp models with my favourite fx plugins.

 

[Dom Mcsweeney]

The price is absolutely fair, no one should be complaining about the price - it's equivalent to a couple of compact boss pedals, or a couple of nights out + a crap takeaway pizza.

But, I do agree with Mirror about the GUI lacking somewhat, and that I'm far more likely to use other plugins that I'm already more than pleased with, both in terms of sound quality and ease of use and UX.

I'm not that bothered by eye candy, and skeuomorphic GUIs, but it'd be nice if it looked better than something most people would see as a first draft / work in progress user interface before someone decided it was time to hire the final UX/GUI designer to finalise everything.

 

[Sascha Franck]

The price is absolutely fair, no one should be complaining about the price

I don't complain but you get HX Native for less than half of the asking price during a sale.

 

[synthpenguin]

I don't complain but you get HX Native for less than half of the asking price during a sale.

True, but if you're purely talking bang for your buck, it's not really fair to compare any plugin to Helix Native (or any hardware to the HX Stomp) lol

 

[Sascha Franck]

True, but if you're purely talking bang for your buck, it's not really fair to compare any plugin to Helix Native (or any hardware to the HX Stomp) lol

You can as well take Amplitube. Or Tonex. Or both. And you get them for free as Max versions with a Tonex One pedal in case you wait for IKs group buys or any other sale.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I don't complain but you get HX Native for less than half of the asking price during a sale.

You know I love Native, and have used it extensively the last few years, but I do think these Fractal amps feel and respond better than the equivalent ones in Native. Plus they have quite a lot more amps in that vein to choose from. One exception is the Dripman in HX. It's a favorite tone I use for leads a lot so it's not going anywhere, and there are many great models. The ICONS plugin suite is worth it to me, even if the user interface is not as sexy as others. But it's straight forward to use and the tones are excellent.

 

[Sascha Franck]

You know I love Native, and have used it extensively the last few years, but I do think these Fractal amps feel and respond better than the equivalent ones in Native. Plus they have quite a lot more amps in that vein to choose from. One exception is the Dripman in HX. It's a favorite tone I use for leads a lot so it's not going anywhere, and there are many great models. The ICONS plugin suite is worth it to me, even if the user interface is not as sexy as others. But it's straight forward to use and the tones are excellent.

I don't even disagree (and I haven't even checked the ICONs demo yet, will do so once I have sufficient time). Still, I can find really, really great clean and hairy cleans in my arsenal for vastly less money. There's some absolutely sufficient (for me at least) stuff in HX Native and the Tonex Max library. And in case I feel like hunting, there's always Tone3000.
I absolutely understand the appeal of the ICONs plugin, but for me there's not much I couldn't get a lot cheaper elsewhere. Add to this that the FX are pretty limited IMO, so I possibly need to use other plugins along with it anyway. And at that point, I can as well start somewhere else.

 

[Someoldqueenorother]

The amp tones are totally there, and sound as stellar as you'f expect but I think it’s a tough sell to most guitarists who might already have a lot of options. The suite doesn’t feel like they’ve really paid too much attention to where the direction of plugins has been over the last 10 years, and it’s essentially a refinement of what Fractal have been doing for the last 10 years. I think the ONLY reason someone would be inclined to buy this plugin is if they are determined that only Fractal's modelling will do. Hard to say whether most guitarists would find other options lacking enough.

I think I’d be just as happy with the plugin if it was just drives, amps and cabs. The FX sound good but dedicated plugins sound at least as good and are more inspiring to use, and more flexible to route. My favourite thing about them has been being able to so easily combine Fractal amp models with my favourite fx plugins.

I have so many amp options in my plugin bin. Amplitube, Guitar Rig, NAM, Helix Native, Tonex. Bought and sold S-Gear years ago. Every single one has been an exercise in compromise. I've also owned AFX Ultra, AFXII, FX8, FM3, so I know Fractal tones.

Along comes Icons pack 3 and the Super reverb and BANG. I'm happier with that one plugin than I have ever been previously. I've combined it with a Morningstar MC6 Pro and I could legitimately go out and play that, a laptop, and an audio interface. I do think the delays and reverbs could use a couple more options but overall I am very happy.

Now I find myself stuck. Do I wait and hope for a future Fractal release that offers everything in plugin format or do I drop the money on an FM3?

 

[Someoldqueenorother]

Added on: I think what I really like is the immediacy. I'm sat here typing with a guitar on my lap and the pedalboard under the table. One click of Icons on my taskbar and I'm playing. If Icons was changed to allow for two drive options, I could get by without a single physical pedal. I've not found anything that has that same sense of instant fun within one platform.

Now to carry on with the chant invoking the release of Fractal Native this spring.

 

[Whizzinby]

The big thing with the plugins (assuming they haven’t decided to throw in the towel already) is that they listen to feedback from their hardcore plugin users. (Not the plug-curious crowd that worships at the alter of all things FAS)

The Fractal-Knows-Best approach will leave these short of their ultimate potential.

 

[BROCKSTAR]

ICONS Fullerton Version 1.0.2 Release

All: today, we're releasing ICONS Fullerton v1.0.2 for Complete and Vols. 1-4. As the files are posted to the store, you'll automatically receive an email notification with a link to the new installers. This release contains exciting new features, fixes, and more. RELEASE NOTES UPDATES...

forum.fractalaudio.com

 

[MirrorProfiles]

It's a really good update. The little things like additional graphics for all the FX really add up.

Having just tried out UAD Paradise, it really makes me appreciate the things that Fractal got right. It's much more enjoyable to use, albeit with room for improvement. Really grateful for the update and looking forward to seeing where this line evolves to