Fractal Talk

[jellodog]

But the love I am feeling with the III right now is OFF THE CHARTS. Highly recommended purchase if you can swing it \m/

 

[JiveTurkey]

View attachment 15077

 

[mikah912]

That may well be the case and I'm certain that I do not have sufficient understanding of how these changes are made to know one way or the other. What I do see is that the Axe-FX III can get these types of updates rolled out in a matter of minutes on some occasions.

My software development experience is in SaaS for Win/Mac as well as Android/iOS development (I'm a B2B marketer - not a developer - for these types of companies).

The way it works is that bug fixes are logged as they come and slotted where they have enough time to address, while features are on a roadmap. It'd be tremendously inefficient to have developers sitting around with the sort of bandwidth where they focus only on the impending firmware release and could implement small features on a whim. Cliff is the owner/operator, so he's the exception, and even then....he can only do it for the flagship. The other developing teams he oversees most likely have a roadmap of features stretching beyond the upcoming gapless switching/new verbs, mod and amps.

Every time Cliff adds a new element, some translation has to happen between the different processors, if it's even viable to run on the FM3 at all. It just makes logistical sense to keep the number of times you need to use those "translation resources" to a minimum.

 

[jellodog]

@mikah912 Yeah, I'm not really annoyed or anything. I understand that it needs to work this way for FM3 and FM9. I'm just joking around.

I do love me some Cliffmas presents though!

 

[OrganicZed]

@mikah912 What you are describing sounds entirely plausible. If that is the case then isn't it it is essentially consistent with what I concluded?

They made the choice to forego implementing smaller / more frequent updates in favor of more efficiently utilizing their resources towards accomplishing the challenging tasks. They then tack on those easy changes once they have something significant accomplished and release it all at once in a more substantial update at the sacrifice of update frequency.

I'm not saying that they should change how it is done. It probably is the best way of going about the matter. I'm just saying that it appears to be a (likely wise) choice and is not inherently necessary to do it that way.

 

[laxu]

It's generally also a pain in the ass in version control systems to cherry pick various changes one by one without having to then do more work to make it work in a branch of code that only has say new amp models (easier to port) but not gapless switching (difficult to port). Often it's not so simple that code A does not depend on code B at all.

It's often more convenient to try to port a bigger batch of code all at once with all the latest and greatest changes instead of bits and pieces. I assume at the moment the situation is that the gapless switching makes so big changes to the whole Axe-Fx 3 codebase that it's not easy to just pick say amps and bug fixes out of it and port those separately, without requiring major extra testing.

 

[mikah912]

@mikah912 What you are describing sounds entirely plausible. If that is the case then isn't it it is essentially consistent with what I concluded?

They made the choice to forego implementing smaller / more frequent updates in favor of more efficiently utilizing their resources towards accomplishing the challenging tasks. They then tack on those easy changes once they have something significant accomplished and release it all at once in a more substantial update at the sacrifice of update frequency.

I guess my point is that it's not much of a choice. The alternative would suck a lot more for just about everybody involved.

 

[mavrick102000]

What’s sad is that I remember back around 2008 or so, TOP was effectively the Fractal Forum on its own. Scott Peterson was even a very early Fractal owner, and he used to rave about it. Now it takes some effort to find a Fractal thread over there, it seems there was a mass exodus to greener pastures by the Fractal owners.

Very true. Although there were pockets of naysayers against any digital back then, although it was a bit more sane during that timeframe.

I used to enjoy the occasional EdD and Matt’s rants and flaming users back then.

HRI was a popular hang back then. And if you wanted to view a train wreck you could hop on over to Harm Central

 

[la szum]

It seems that FAS has decided to put the FM3 and FM9 on an update schedule more similar to what Line6 does. That means they only get 2-3 release firmware updates a year. These are large updates with the few bugs. If there are significant issues they'll release another firmware to address the issue, but that won't contain much if anything related to new features. If you want the constant stream of feature updates you'll need the Axe-FX. Otherwise, expect to wait 3-4 months for the latest features and expect that the newest firmware won't have everything that is currently ported to the Axe-FX even on the day that it is released.

 

[la szum]

I am stoked for whatever happens, whenever it happens. We all get rewarded, so
might as well enjoy the ride while waiting in line, versus not enjoying the wait.

 

[OrganicZed]

There have been eight official release firmware updates for the FM9 since it was introduced in August 2021. Of those eight firmware releases, three have only addressed bugs (2.02, 3.01, and 5.01). That means that the FM9 has averaged 2.5 substantive firmware updates per year since it was introduced.

 

[la szum]

I wasn't waking up looking for a one upping debate about it all today.


Might have missed the intent of the GIF! Appreciate the ground work though.

 

[OrganicZed]

@la szum I couldn't quite figure out what you were intending to say with the gif so I just figured I'd back up my claim and see how you responded.

My intention with these comments was to point out the reality of the situation for those who cross their fingers and hope for new features to be ported for the FM3 / FM9 only days after they were rolled out. The past firmware update history demonstrates that it is unrealistic to expect newly introduced features to get into the FM3 and FM9 in that time frame. Most of the features that are introduced for the Axe-FX do eventually end up being implemented for the FM9 and FM3 but it rarely happens right away.

The Axe-FX provides the high of getting regular hits of those sweet sweet new feature updates. The FM9 and FM3 users should reasonably expect to wait a bit, but they get their updates as a bolus.

 

[Stratzrus]

Speculation about development aside...

This firmware update is so juicy, particularly with the gapless switching, that I may finally update my III.

And it's making me wonder if I should gig with the III and my FC-12 instead of the FM9.

Since I have a III I'm not worried about when it will be ported to the FM9. Yes the III and FC-12 is a bit more of a PITA to haul around than the FM9, two cases instead of one, but it's really no big deal.

I'm working on a major project that has taken up all of my time but by Christmas break I should be able to settle down and really dig into this stuff.

Big thanks and kudos to Cliff for his development on the cutting edge of amp modeling and multieffects. There are many other great products out there but I'm reminded on a daily basis why I've chosen to use, and am sticking with, Fractal gear.

I've said it multiple times before but I couldn't be happier with the III and FM9. Puts an ear to ear grin on my face every time I plug in to either one.

 

[fretworn]

Speculation about development aside...

This firmware update is so juicy, particularly with the gapless switching, that I may finally update my III.

And its making me wonder if I should gig with the III and my FC-12 instead of the FM9.

Since I have a III I'm not worried about when it will be ported to the FM9. Yes the III and FC-12 is a bit more of a PITA to haul around than the FM9, two cases instead of one, but it's really no big deal.

I'm working on a major project that has taken up all of my time but by Christmas break I should be able to settle down and really dig into this stuff.

Big thanks and kudos to Cliff for his development on the cutting edge of amp modeling and multieffects. There are many other great products out there but I'm reminded on a daily basis why I've chosen to use Fractal gear.

I've said it multiple times before but I couldn't be happier with the III and FM9. Puts an ear to ear grin on my face every time I plug in to either one.

Do it…

The revamped reverbs alone are worth it

 

[KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!]

Gotta admit, my left eye has been twitching a bit seeing all the goodies adding up on the III.

But then I open the FM9 amp, reverb and drive list and I'm good. Even gapless switching isn't something I "need". I'm just jamming at home at this point.

Oops, there's another twitch.

 

[OrganicZed]

@KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!! You know what you need to do. The Axe-FX III Mark II turbo would make a mighty fine addition to your rig.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I bet Cliff never does another poll.

 

[Stone]

The Axe-FX provides the high of getting regular hits of those sweet sweet new feature updates

 

[KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!]

@KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!! You know what you need to do. The Axe-FX III Mark II turbo would make a mighty fine addition to your rig.

I don't really belong here. I'm a gear fraud. I bought an OG Axe-FX Std in 2008. Got a FM9T in February '23, and have absolutely no GAS whatsoever for anything else.
But I'm not dead yet. So yes, my eye twitches while waiting for updates.