Fractal Talk

[Stratzrus]

An AXE FX with improved GUI I think is inevitable but I don’t see it soon

I just hope it doesn't have a touch screen. To me, that would not be an improvement.

 

[DrewJD82]

Wait, I actually thought you were being sarcastic here. Are you serious about the IV?

Yep. James got an AxeFX three weeks ago and Cliff decided it was time to finally tell someone about the IV so it might as well be him.

 

[ucnick]

Off topic... I LOVED that movie! Read the book too!

 

[ucnick]

I'm actually pretty happy with my modelers and amps. Both are more than satisfactory for my needs.

Be it my Fractal gear, vintage Fender combos, or Rivera, and Fryette channel switching amps I feel fortunate to have gear that sounds this good and meets my needs no matter what the situation is.

I'm lucky that I don't have FOMO or a need to have the latest and greatest. I could still do all of my Jazz gigs with my Super Reverb and Zendrive just like I did a decade ago. My Axe III and channel switching amps provide options I couldn't have dreamed of when I first started gigging. I don't have the need to constantly upgrade.

I welcome the advances but don't lust after them. To me it's important to have gear that's good enough, not stuff that's just a little bit better but costs more and will take time to master...time that I could be spending playing guitar.

I don't do jazz gigs, but I do play blues gigs. For those I'm back to a simple amp (single channel or switching) plus a small pedalboard with a few choice pedals, as my Fractals can be overkill when I only need 3 or 4 tones.

Plus... kinda breaks my heart sometimes when I see my amps sitting there, just begging to be taken out to play (among others, I have a Rivera Jake Studio combo that weighs about a ton, but has KILLER tones), so once in a while...

 

[Stratzrus]

I don't do jazz gigs, but I do play blues gigs. For those I'm back to a simple amp (single channel or switching) plus a small pedalboard with a few choice pedals, as my Fractals can be overkill when I only need 3 or 4 tones.

Plus... kinda breaks my heart sometimes when I see my amps sitting there, just begging to be taken out to play (among others, I have a Rivera Jake Studio combo that weighs about a ton, but has KILLER tones), so once in a while...

I'm going to do the same thing but with the FM9 instead of a pedalboard. It might be overkill but to me it's simpler with no interconnecting cables to worry about failing and pressing a single footswitch to change reverb, delay, and chorus simultaneously.

I ordered a Rivera Suprema Jazz 1x12 combo that I'm hoping to gig with and will use the FM9 mostly for time based effects and possibly if I use the 4CM for some drive pedals. I'm familiar enough with the FM9 that the rig will be easier for me to use than a channel switcher with a pedalboard.

Gotta love those Rivera amps!

 

[State of Epicicity]

Yep. James got an AxeFX three weeks ago and Cliff decided it was time to finally tell someone about the IV so it might as well be him.

Haha forget about how long James has owned one. James and Cliff speak the same language, James has already influenced the course of development more than most other non rockstar users. I doubt we'd have the badass 2203 without him. (Thanks James, by the way!) So I wouldn't be surprised if Cliff gave him some advanced knowledge, even if he's a brand new owner. I haven't seen Cliff offer speaker Impedance curve settings for anyone else's personal cab!

 

[Whistler]

Haha forget about how long James has owned one. James and Cliff speak the same language, James has already influenced the course of development more than most other non rockstar users. I doubt we'd have the badass 2203 without him. (Thanks James, by the way!) So I wouldn't be surprised if Cliff gave him some advanced knowledge, even if he's a brand new owner. I haven't seen Cliff offer speaker Impedance curve settings for anyone else's personal cab!

Genuine question, I’m a little embarrassed to ask because I feel I’m the only one who doesn’t know.
Can someone please explain to me who James Freeman is and how he seems to have so much influence on Helix and Fractal.

 

[State of Epicicity]

Genuine question, I’m a little embarrassed to ask because I feel I’m the only one who doesn’t know.
Can someone please explain to me who James Freeman is and how he seems to have so much influence on Helix and Fractal.

My impression is just that Cliff respects someone who understands the topology of amps to that degree, so suggestions from James, coming from a deeper understanding, carry more weight. I could be wrong, but that's just how it hits me.

 

[Tanax]

My impression is just that Cliff respects someone who understands the topology of amps to that degree, so suggestions from James, coming from a deeper understanding, carry more weight. I could be wrong, but that's just how it hits me.

I thought he was the owner of Freedman amps

 

[DrewJD82]

Genuine question, I’m a little embarrassed to ask because I feel I’m the only one who doesn’t know.
Can someone please explain to me who James Freeman is and how he seems to have so much influence on Helix and Fractal.

Someone as obsessed with accuracy as @James Freeman is can do nothing less than keep it real by default. That’s how fuckin’ cool James is.

 

[James Freeman]

"Influencer"

 

[texhex]

"Influencer"

Any relation? Has to be…

 

[deathbyguitar]

Any relation? Has to be…

Rise and shine, Mr. Freeman. Rise and...shine.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Any relation? Has to be…

Same guy! Yeah that’s his high school senior photo.

 

[James Freeman]

Genuine question, I’m a little embarrassed to ask because I feel I’m the only one who doesn’t know.
Can someone please explain to me who James Freeman is and how he seems to have so much influence on Helix and Fractal.

Here's the reality of it, I am a hobbyist, I like to tinker with analog electronics, especially guitar related electronics.
While tinkering I find interesting things, among them are plenty of "eh, nobody will ever notice" things that make me MAD, I report these things on the forum with the faith that it will get the attention it deserves.

Some things are really fucked up, like a modern modeler (run by a very capable team, mind you) without a proper JCM800, to me this was completely inconceivable so I've invested (a lot) of my time to alert the attention of the company.

For example, right now I'm tinkering with the JCM800 2203 Reissue FX Loop LTSpice simulation and checking what's the maximum input level to the loop that is also free of distortion after the recovery stage at the output.

Spoiler: LTSPICE

If I ever buy the real amp I will run the same test on the real amp and if I find something particularly fucked up I will report it on the forum, or at least how to fix it yourself, or what are the optimal settings.

To me this is just as fun as playing guitar... if not more.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Here's the reality of it, I am a hobbyist, I like to tinker with analog electronics, especially guitar related electronics.
While tinkering I find interesting things, among them are plenty of "eh, nobody will ever notice" things that make me MAD, I report these things on the forum with the faith that it will get the attention it deserves.

Some things are really fucked up, like a modern modeler (run by a very capable team, mind you) without a proper JCM800, to me this was completely inconceivable so I've invested (a lot) of my time to alert the attention of the company.

For example, right now I'm tinkering with the JCM800 2203 Reissue FX Loop LTSpice simulation and checking what's the maximum input level to the loop that is also free of distortion after the recovery stage at the output.

Spoiler: LTSPICE

View attachment 16320

If I ever buy the real amp I will run the same test on the real amp and if I find something particularly fucked up I will report it on the forum, or at least how to fix it yourself, or what are the optimal settings.

To me this is just as fun as playing guitar... if not more.

If you’re not an engineer in your day job, you’re missing your calling. Maybe Cliff should hire you. He’d never have to patch component value errors in his models again :)

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Genuine question, I’m a little embarrassed to ask because I feel I’m the only one who doesn’t know.
Can someone please explain to me who James Freeman is and how he seems to have so much influence on Helix and Fractal.

He’s a dude who got banned from TGP for making a poop joke about the Quad Cortex. And then got banned again for posting an image from a Disney movie.

This gave him all sorts of notorious forum gangsta cred and now people just stand back and obey when he wants something, lest they get Lion King’d. Don’t fux with the Freeman.

 

[timbuck3]

He’s a dude who got banned from TGP for making a poop joke about the Quad Cortex. And then got banned again for posting an image from a Disney movie.

This gave him all sorts of notorious forum gangsta cred and now people just stand back and obey when he wants something, lest they get Lion King’d. Don’t fux with the Freeman.

my kinda guy!

 

[fazer]

Here's the reality of it, I am a hobbyist, I like to tinker with analog electronics, especially guitar related electronics.
While tinkering I find interesting things, among them are plenty of "eh, nobody will ever notice" things that make me MAD, I report these things on the forum with the faith that it will get the attention it deserves.

So what have you uncovered about the Tone Master Pro? Or haven’t you looked at that one yet?

 

[ucnick]

Here's the reality of it, I am a hobbyist, I like to tinker with analog electronics, especially guitar related electronics.
While tinkering I find interesting things, among them are plenty of "eh, nobody will ever notice" things that make me MAD, I report these things on the forum with the faith that it will get the attention it deserves.

Some things are really fucked up, like a modern modeler (run by a very capable team, mind you) without a proper JCM800, to me this was completely inconceivable so I've invested (a lot) of my time to alert the attention of the company.

For example, right now I'm tinkering with the JCM800 2203 Reissue FX Loop LTSpice simulation and checking what's the maximum input level to the loop that is also free of distortion after the recovery stage at the output.

Spoiler: LTSPICE

View attachment 16320

If I ever buy the real amp I will run the same test on the real amp and if I find something particularly fucked up I will report it on the forum, or at least how to fix it yourself, or what are the optimal settings.

To me this is just as fun as playing guitar... if not more.

Yeah totally dig it. I'm a retired EE and have been building electronic stuff since I was a kid. I have used LTSpice a lot for my designs, both professionally and for my hobby, right now using it for simulating a new super-duper VT dirt pedal design for a client.

Don't know if you are aware of it, but Wurth Electronics published a super informative book on LTSpice XVII you might find useful, I ordered a copy and received it for free, hardbound, about 800 pages: https://www.we-online.com/en/support/knowledge/reference-guides/ltspice It is very user oriented, everything you always wanted to know... and more!!!

It's also available as an e-book in pdf: https://www.perlego.com/book/2790506/the-ltspice-xvii-simulator-commands-and-applications-pdf

Merry Christmas to one and all!