The Fractal Thread

Jonathanthomas83

mrleon83 said:

In case you guys haven’t seen this/aren’t on the fractal forum (you should be) , Cliff uploaded a super awesome IR, I think they’re looking at a change to the cab block in the future, it’s here but you’ll need to login … https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/conference-championships-gift-of-tone.191228/

[speculation]

Nothing explicitly mentions it (except a speculative comment), but I think it's inevitable we'll see the components that make up an IR/cab block will get decloupled and we'll have granular control over speakers, cabinets and microphones to catch up with competition. A welcome change, in my book. Can't wait!

[/speculation]

Gadget

Jonathanthomas83 said:

mrleon83 said:

In case you guys haven’t seen this/aren’t on the fractal forum (you should be) , Cliff uploaded a super awesome IR, I think they’re looking at a change to the cab block in the future, it’s here but you’ll need to login … https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/conference-championships-gift-of-tone.191228/

[speculation]

Nothing explicitly mentions it (except a speculative comment), but I think it's inevitable we'll see the components that make up an IR/cab block will get decloupled and we'll have granular control over speakers, cabinets and microphones to catch up with competition. A welcome change, in my book. Can't wait!

[/speculation]

The only concern will be who it is available to. Reading the threads, it seems all but the latest model won't have the memory space for such new features, and some even speculate a whole new piece of hardware might be needed.

Jonathanthomas83

Gadget said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

mrleon83 said:

In case you guys haven’t seen this/aren’t on the fractal forum (you should be) , Cliff uploaded a super awesome IR, I think they’re looking at a change to the cab block in the future, it’s here but you’ll need to login … https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/conference-championships-gift-of-tone.191228/

[speculation]

Nothing explicitly mentions it (except a speculative comment), but I think it's inevitable we'll see the components that make up an IR/cab block will get decloupled and we'll have granular control over speakers, cabinets and microphones to catch up with competition. A welcome change, in my book. Can't wait!

[/speculation]

The only concern will be who it is available to. Reading the threads, it seems all but the latest model won't have the memory space for such new features, and some even speculate a whole new piece of hardware might be needed.

Oh, well that's a bit crap! That rules me out then! Good for the Turbo guys. I wonder if you have a link to those threads, please, @Gadget?

Let's be honest, they've needed an excuse to upgrade the hardware because without this improvement, I've got 20%-40% free on almost all of my presets and I expect most average users would be the same. My point being is that with so much headroom in CPU power, there's very little need for me to upgrade. Until such points as when they actively limit a particular new feature to new hardware. The day was always going to come, I suppose! :-)

Does seem odd that this should take more processing power though given that the Helix, for example, uses less CPU power for that particular new feature, to my understanding.

Gadget

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Oh, well that's a bit crap! That rules me out then! Good for the Turbo guys. I wonder if you have a link to those threads, please, @Gadget?

Let's be honest, they've needed an excuse to upgrade the hardware because without this improvement, I've got 20%-40% free on almost all of my presets and I expect most average users would be the same. My point being is that with so much headroom in CPU power, there's very little need for me to upgrade. Until such points as when they actively limit a particular new feature to new hardware. The day was always going to come, I suppose! :-)

Does seem odd that this should take more processing power though given that the Helix, for example, uses less CPU power for that particular new feature, to my understanding.

I think it's the extra memory storage space for the functionality that might be needed, not an issue with per-preset CPU headroom. In fact, there's speculation that these new cabs might use less CPU.
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/conference-championships-gift-of-tone.191228/post-2376579

Jonathanthomas83

Gadget said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Oh, well that's a bit crap! That rules me out then! Good for the Turbo guys. I wonder if you have a link to those threads, please, @Gadget?

Let's be honest, they've needed an excuse to upgrade the hardware because without this improvement, I've got 20%-40% free on almost all of my presets and I expect most average users would be the same. My point being is that with so much headroom in CPU power, there's very little need for me to upgrade. Until such points as when they actively limit a particular new feature to new hardware. The day was always going to come, I suppose! :-)

Does seem odd that this should take more processing power though given that the Helix, for example, uses less CPU power for that particular new feature, to my understanding.

I think it's the extra memory storage space for the functionality that might be needed, not an issue with per-preset CPU headroom. In fact, there's speculation that these new cabs might use less CPU.
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/conference-championships-gift-of-tone.191228/post-2376579

Ah, that makes sense. Thank you for the link, mate, I'll check it out! :-)

DavusPG

Always nice to have new toys, but this will be marginal gains at best I expect.

Let's face it, we could all never upgrade firm/hardware again and it's still going to sound the dog's danglys 

Having spurned them ever since having an AX8 I gave a couple of the factory presets a whirl at gig levels at rehearsal the other night. Seriously impressive, so much so I'm going to use a modded version of the Corncob preset at our next gig

Gadget

DavusPG said:

... Having spurned them ever since having an AX8 I gave a couple of the factory presets a whirl at gig levels at rehearsal the other night. Seriously impressive, so much so I'm going to use a modded version of the Corncob preset at our next gig

I had a MkII vII XL and was surprised just how mich better I've found the Axe Fx III.

Jonathanthomas83

DavusPG said:

Always nice to have new toys, but this will be marginal gains at best I expect.

Let's face it, we could all never upgrade firm/hardware again and it's still going to sound the dog's danglys 

Having spurned them ever since having an AX8 I gave a couple of the factory presets a whirl at gig levels at rehearsal the other night. Seriously impressive, so much so I'm going to use a modded version of the Corncob preset at our next gig

I think the Helix crew really would disagree with it being a marginal improvement. Apparently it sounds better than ever and by all accounts, it seems that Fractal's implementation, assuming it includes a similar feature set, is going to sound good too.

Gadget said:

DavusPG said:

... Having spurned them ever since having an AX8 I gave a couple of the factory presets a whirl at gig levels at rehearsal the other night. Seriously impressive, so much so I'm going to use a modded version of the Corncob preset at our next gig

I had a MkII vII XL and was surprised just how mich better I've found the Axe Fx III.

100% agree with this.

DavusPG

Jonathanthomas83 said:

I think the Helix crew really would disagree with it being a marginal improvement. Apparently it sounds better than ever and by all accounts, it seems that Fractal's implementation, assuming it includes a similar feature set, is going to sound good too.

I've never played one, but maybe the Helix crowd are a fair bit behind the Fractal crowd? Not saying it won't be better, but by your own admission, honestly how much better can the Fractal get:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

They'll have to do some pretty groundbreaking stuff to warrant forking out for an Axe FX IV, I mean there's absolutely nothing left to desire with this unit as far as I'm concerned.

I wholeheartedly agree with your comment above. Was just saying that I can't see this being enough to warrant forking out on new hardware.

Jonathanthomas83

DavusPG said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

I think the Helix crew really would disagree with it being a marginal improvement. Apparently it sounds better than ever and by all accounts, it seems that Fractal's implementation, assuming it includes a similar feature set, is going to sound good too.

I've never played one, but maybe the Helix crowd are a fair bit behind the Fractal crowd? Not saying it won't be better, but by your own admission, honestly how much better can the Fractal get:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

They'll have to do some pretty groundbreaking stuff to warrant forking out for an Axe FX IV, I mean there's absolutely nothing left to desire with this unit as far as I'm concerned.

I wholeheartedly agree with your comment above. Was just saying that I can't see this being enough to warrant forking out on new hardware.

Touche! :-) I completely agree (with myself?!) But as we're used to seeing, they seem to be raving over it on the Fractal forum. Perhaps things could get better, who knows. But I will definitely admit that I've got very little appetite to spend more on a new unit.

FarleyUK

Jonathanthomas83 said:

DavusPG said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

I think the Helix crew really would disagree with it being a marginal improvement. Apparently it sounds better than ever and by all accounts, it seems that Fractal's implementation, assuming it includes a similar feature set, is going to sound good too.

I've never played one, but maybe the Helix crowd are a fair bit behind the Fractal crowd? Not saying it won't be better, but by your own admission, honestly how much better can the Fractal get:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

They'll have to do some pretty groundbreaking stuff to warrant forking out for an Axe FX IV, I mean there's absolutely nothing left to desire with this unit as far as I'm concerned.

I wholeheartedly agree with your comment above. Was just saying that I can't see this being enough to warrant forking out on new hardware.

Touche! :-) I completely agree (with myself?!) But as we're used to seeing, they seem to be raving over it on the Fractal forum. Perhaps things could get better, who knows. But I will definitely admit that I've got very little appetite to spend more on a new unit.

But don't forget, they're all fully vested members of the Cult of Cliff on the Fractal forum....

firepaulmusic

Any recommendations for a carry case for the FM9?

Jonathanthomas83

I could really do with rationalising a thorough plan of action by way of a step by step routine for resetting blocks after firmware updates, when necessary.

Has anyone got any go to rituals that they follow?

This thread helps, but it's a bit all over the place regarding advice details.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/everything-youve-always-wanted-to-know-about-resetting-an-amp.173317/

On a separate note, firmware update today:

Axe-Fx III Firmware Release Notes

21.04

Fixed Tuner not working if Offsets are on.

21.03

Improved dynamic speaker modeling in Amp block.

Reverted bypass speed of Drive block to fast.

Fixed channel changes on blocks with “Slow Bypass” are not smooth.

Fixed IR(s) not loading in Cabinet block when switching channels if previous channel had a slot Soloed.

Fixed presets with lots of modifiers (>20) and moderately high CPU usage can cause starvation of graphics thread.

Improved Tuner.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axe-fx-firmware-version-21-04.191876/

DavusPG

New firmware beta just released for all you fellow FM9 users. Some nice additions:

Version 4.01 - Feb. 23, 2023​

Added new Amp type: “59 Bassguy Reissue Jumped”.

Added new Drive types: “Bosom Boost”, “Boss OD-One” Overdrive.

Added “Paragon” type to Wah block based on the Tycobrahe Parapedal wah.

Added “Oxbow Loadbox” and “Double Notes Loadbox” speaker impedance curves based on a Universal Audio Ox and Two Notes Torpedo, respectively. (Note that these are amp block impedance curve options and not new IRs in the Cab block.)

Added “JP IIC+ Shred” Input Boost type to Amp block. This replicates the “Shred” switch on the Mesa/Boogie JP2C.

Added Amp block new parameter “Input Dynamics” (as found on Axe-Fx III). When set below zero, the amp input is compressed, resulting in a smoother, less dynamic sound. When set greater than zero, the amp input is expanded, resulting in a punchier, crunchier and more dynamic sound. Note that extreme values can have undesirable side effects such as pumping or clipping.

Added new “Startup Preset” option under SETUP: Global Settings. This determines which preset is loaded at startup.

Changed bypass/engage speed for the following blocks: Filter, Graphic EQ, Parametric EQ, Tremolo and Wah. These blocks now bypass/engage with a gentle fade as rapid bypass/engage with these types of blocks can sound abrupt.

New large fonts display mode for the main Presets/Scenes view (Home page of the Home menu). Turn Knob B (“Zoom”) to switch between small fonts and large fonts. In Large mode:

Turn the Value knob and then press ENTER to change the preset. (Presets are shown in “preview” as dim text until you press Enter.) When previewing presets, NAV left/right = -1/+1 preset and NAV down/up = -10/+10 presets.

Once any preset is loaded,use NAV keys to change scenes.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/fm9-firmware-version-4-01-public-beta-2.192053/

Nerine

One thing is for sure. 

You absolutely cannot knock the frequency and quality of updates the Fractal ecosystem receives. 

jmf1928

Only major purchase on my list this year is an FM9 turbo. Really enjoy reading about how much gets added to these things. 

Nerine

jmf1928 said:

Only major purchase on my list this year is an FM9 turbo. Really enjoy reading about how much gets added to these things. 

For what it's worth, my FM9T has changed my opinion of modelling and how viable it is for me to use it live. Very rarely I gig with my amps since getting the FM9T. 

It's awesome. 

Nature_1

What's the view on the fm9t Vs a quad cortex?

I love my cortex but the (lack of) midi control across parameters is doing my head in

mrkb

New cab mixing method coming soon..

Jonathanthomas83

This looks great. I have every hope that it'll sound good too. From experience, playing with can/mic positioning in software such as Two Notes and Amplitube is so much easier and gives me more satisfactory results than I've ever got with IRs. Fingers crossed it's superb!