Fractal Talk

[KingsXJJ]

I'm really not trying to turn this into a huge debate lol

Everything can be improved, you said as much yourself. But UI is the low hanging fruit that comes to mind for many.

Anyway, glad you are enjoying your fractal device!

And if I'm tracking correctly you've had a fractal unit for 4 days and already feel the need to tell people what they should and should not want

I had a Fractal device for a year about four years ago. I’m not trying to tell people what they should or should not want. I’m simply saying that I welcome any improvement and don’t quite get why some might criticize that.

If improving the UI is a priority for others, by all means voice that opinion. If I missed that in the critical post, I apologize.

I’m not looking for a huge debate either. But I will voice my disagreement with those who don’t appreciate the sort of updates that I do. Fair enough? It seems we have three camps… one that criticizes a lack of firmware updates and another that criticizes the frequency of them and another that is critical because they aren’t focused on what a particular user thinks should be the priority addressed within them. Sounds like a breeding ground for disagreement to me. Without discussion anyway.

 

[LP59]

And if I'm tracking correctly you've had a fractal unit for 4 days and already feel the need to tell people what they should and should not want

I know that was in jest, but you do see that on the Fractal forum. People are excited about the AxeFX and have ideas to improve it, but get told they should shut up and be happy with what they have. Over time that must have a chilling effect on people trying to help make it better. The idea that "Disagreement is bitching just to bitch" seems counter-productive.

 

[dk_ace]

That's a good point. Cliff will always tinker with the amp modeling and in the early days that meant the AxeFX got better in ways that were important to all of us. Lately though, the amp modeling tinkering seems be more because it's fun for him, and not because it's useful for users. He's earned the right to do whatever he wants with it, but this doesn't seem to be going in a direction that interests me.

I think this is BS. People were saying the amp modeling was 100% there and he should focus on Ui and other things in the axe fx ultra days. Look how far he’s brought the amp modeling since then, with one small step after another.

If someone cares primarily about UI, there are other devices that do that excellently.

Fractals brand is known for superior sonics, and I think he should keep his foot on the gas on that. The sonics and his recent breakthroughs with gapless switching converted me off of a unit with a better UX, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

The power amp distortion wasn’t quite perfect before, it was missing some of the ugly stuff. This adds in the ugly supposedly. Personally, I wasn’t sure if I liked it better with or without the ugly. I’ve spent most of the last few years playing various helix plexi models that do a good job IMO of capturing that stuff. I missed it a little with the FM9, and then the next day I would appreciate that it wasn’t there. I hadn’t found how to dial it in with the fm9 (honestly didn’t try that hard yet either). I’m glad he’s still finding ways to learn new things and improve.

D

 

[Mongillo19]

Disagreement seems like b*tching just to b*tch

But I will voice my disagreement with those who don’t appreciate the sort of updates that I do.

See the irony?

It seems we have three camps… one that criticizes a lack of firmware updates and another that criticizes the frequency of them and another that is critical because they aren’t focused on what a particular user thinks should be the priority addressed within them.

I will agree anyone who says fractal are slow or don't update enough are indeed b*itching just to b*tch lol although I don't think I've ever heard anyone say those sentences

 

[KingsXJJ]

See the irony?

Sure. Poor choice of words. Disagreement with improvement versus disagreement about priorities are two different things though. Context is important in conversation and disagreement.

 

[la szum]

Hahahahah laying claim to an SD-1 boosted 800 is like laying claim to an 808 boosted Dual Rec or 5150, that's public domain, man.

And not that crazy at all, it's almost as if..........almost..........alllllllmooooooosttt.....

Haha! Exactly! Which is why I said that. In jest.

I do see we dial in an 800 in radically different ways.

Always options for radical differences in the pit of sameness.

Including the guitar, the level of hotness (or lack of) related to the pickups, and
those phalanges you seem to be insinuating also play a role.

Not to mention my platform being a totally inferior Fractal.




(I am baked so I am using all the emojis for some reason.)

 

[Whizzinby]

I love that Cliff lives on the bleeding edge of accuracy, even when seemingly taken to levels of absurdity.

Every five years I buy a new TV and each time I fail to imagine how the picture could get any better. Yet five years later I’m still relatively impressed by how much the new generation of tech has progressed.

As accurate as modeling is these days, the idea that it’s settled science and will not improve is kind of silly. Will my dumb ears pick up on all the subtle nuances, probably not, but the buy-in with Fractal is accuracy, and they’ll continue to lead the pack as long as Cliff is obsessing over this shit.

He just needs to cut a check to someone else to get the tablet editor developed.
And rename the amps by maker
And store block libraries on-device
And release the Fractal Plug-in Player box

 

[TSJMajesty]

Haha! Exactly! Which is why I said that. In jest.

I do see we dial in an 800 in radically different ways.

Always options for radical differences in the pit of sameness.

Hell yeah!

Just look at how many guys use that same platform, yet have recognizable tones of their own.

 

[Joshual-L]

(I Hope my fm3 will eventually one day gonna get those updates)

 

[LP59]

People were saying the amp modeling was 100% there and he should focus on Ui and other things in the axe fx ultra days.

Really? Not me. I've appreciated the modeling improvements over the years. I'm just sharing the humble opinion that lately the improvements are getting so tiny that I don't find them interesting.

 

[KingsXJJ]

That's a good point. Cliff will always tinker with the amp modeling and in the early days that meant the AxeFX got better in ways that were important to all of us. Lately though, the amp modeling tinkering seems be more because it's fun for him, and not because it's useful for users. He's earned the right to do whatever he wants with it, but this doesn't seem to be going in a direction that interests me.

It seems like the prudent thing would be to follow Ciff until he jumps off of one.

I don’t see that happening soon.

 

[la szum]

Hell yeah!

Just look at how many guys use that same platform, yet have recognizable tones of their own.

Exactly!!

I think it's fun to see someone else's presets. Especially someone I respect as much as @DrewJD82 .

 

[laxu]

I too bought an AxeFX because it sounds so good. But does making it 0.00001% more accurate make a difference to the distance between it and the competition that anyone will notice? The top modelers all sound great now. It's all the other things, like UI, that make a difference now.

The way I see it, let the developers worry about accuracy and us users would be better off just being concerned with "Do I like how it sounds/feels? Does it work for my usecases?" type stuff.

If the modeling gets more accurate over time, cool, but it's never been a problem to get good sounds out of these things.

My first modeler was a Yamaha DG80 1x12 combo, released in 1998. I bought it because I heard someone play Dream Theater stuff really well on it in a store and it sounded just great to me. "If that guy gets so good tones out of it, so can I!" Everyone who played it liked how it sounded. It wasn't accurate, it tended to make all guitars sound a bit too similar, but it sounded good.

Then I got into tube amps and was on that route until the Axe-Fx Standard/Ultra started getting word of mouth recommendations online. I had a Diezel Einstein 1x12 combo and an Egnater Tourmaster head + 2x12 with V30+G12H-100 at the time. Bought the Axe-Fx, hooked it up to the poweramps of the tube amps. Thought it sounded just as good, and I got all these other amps now at my disposal! Sold the tube amps, bought an Atomic FR 1x12 (50W tube poweramp + woofer + tweeter) to make proper use of the cab sims.

Then I upgraded to the Axe-Fx 2 Mk1. Used the Axe-Fx 2 + Atomic rig for like 6 years. Happy as a clam about how it sounded through all those named major firmware updates. "Eh, I guess it sounds better now, that's nice!" But I was increasingly frustrated with how it operated without Axe-Edit.

Then the Axe-Fx 3 released and I saw the front panel, and I was just hugely disappointed. The one thing I wanted it to do truly better wasn't there on the new thing. That crap front panel layout was still there, it had lost some of the actually useful setup buttons but at least some of the knobs were now under the screen. Sold my Axe-Fx 2 rig and went back to tube amps for a few years.

Now the snake has eaten its own tail and I'm back with an Axe-Fx 3 Mk2 sitting on my desk. I still avoid the front panel as much as I can. It's a great box when you work with it exclusively using Axe-Edit.

I find myself using my BluGuitar + pedals + real cabs rig way more these days and it's basically a curated "only the things I like" setup. Marshall tones, tape delays, plate reverbs, a bit of compression, modulation and fuzz here and there.

But honestly I can throw a Strymon Iridium into this rig and get most of the things I'd do on the Axe-Fx so I'll probably sell the Fractal at some point and buy another one depending on what the next gen looks like.

I do wish Fractal would make a small effects pedal with their delays and reverbs. I'd buy that immediately.

 

[Stone]

@2112

 

[Stone]

Hahahahah laying claim to an SD-1 boosted 800 is like laying claim to an 808 boosted Dual Rec or 5150, that's public domain, man.

And not that crazy at all, it's almost as if..........almost..........alllllllmooooooosttt.....

It's the Orville w/ the Aldrich.

View attachment 20158
View attachment 20159
View attachment 20160

Hmm Ok i think your onto something here

 

[texhex]

Hahahahah laying claim to an SD-1 boosted 800 is like laying claim to an 808 boosted Dual Rec or 5150, that's public domain, man.

And not that crazy at all, it's almost as if..........almost..........alllllllmooooooosttt.....

It's the Orville w/ the Aldrich.

View attachment 20158
View attachment 20159
View attachment 20160

How are you using these two Pitch blocks?

 

[dk_ace]

Really? Not me. I've appreciated the modeling improvements over the years. I'm just sharing the humble opinion that lately the improvements are getting so tiny that I don't find them interesting.

I’m just pointing out that people were saying that exact thing in 2010, yet all those “tiny improvements” added up to significant change.

D

 

[GTR37]

I’m just pointing out that people were saying that exact thing in 2010, yet all those “tiny improvements” added up to significant change.

D

100% there have been some big improvements one of the biggest game changers to me was the Speaker Impedance curves , that can drastically alter the feel and how the low end behaves , so that one and a bunch of subsequent update dealing with non linear behaviour kind of made an impact and the models breathe for lack of a better word

 

[Achilles]

Standard: 2006
Ultra: 2008
II: 2011
II: XL: 2014
III: 2018
III: Turbo: 2021

Average span between major releases is 3 years.

2024 - 2021 = 3

Just sayin.........

 

[dk_ace]

Standard: 2006
Ultra: 2008
II: 2011
II: XL: 2014
III: 2018
III: Turbo: 2021

Average span between major releases is 3 years.

2024 - 2021 = 3

Just sayin.........

They just released the fm9 mk2 a few weeks ago, so I seriously doubt a hardware refresh is coming anytime soon.

D