New Fractal multifx thingybob

stickyfiddle

Not cheap, but you have to assume this will be an excellent bit of kit.

http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/21503-fractal-audio-announces-the-fx8

http://www.premierguitar.com/ext/resources/images/content/2014-10/LNU/Oct14_LNU_Fractal_FX8_WEB.jpg

viz

That could be a serious contender to replace everything else I own

viz

Maybe apart from the guitars.

Heartfeltdawn

Direct price in the USA of the Axe FX II XL = $2500

Price G66 sells it for = 2600 Euros

Direct price in the USA of the Axe FX8 = $1350

So around £1400 to £1500 from G66 one would imagine.  

EricTheWeary

viz said:

Maybe apart from the guitars.

or your amps! It says FX only.

Moltisanti

or you could buy a used Ultra and a Ground Control Pro for £1100 and have the amps...

monquixote

Very interested about this. 

I've always liked the idea of a multi, but never found one I could live with.

The big test will be if the dist/od modelling is up to scratch as that's where everything else I've tried falls down.

JohnPerry

EricTheWeary said:

viz said:

Maybe apart from the guitars.

or your amps! It says FX only.

not sure it's much of a pick either

Drew_TNBD

So I was hugely interested in this. But not for £1200-1500. That's just way too expensive. Because having the Axe FXII and knowing what the effects sound like, it will *not* replace everything you own.

dindude

I agree that it's way too pricey. £800 maybe, but £1200 - £1400 gets you some serious pedals on a board.

EricTheWeary

JohnPerry;369262" said:

EricTheWeary said:
y


viz said:

Maybe apart from the guitars.







or your amps! It says FX only.







not sure it's much of a pick either

but apparently it does a mean espresso.

~O)

guitarfishbay

Heartfeltdawn;369208" said:

Direct price in the USA of the Axe FX II XL = $2500

Price G66 sells it for = 2600 Euros

Direct price in the USA of the Axe FX8 = $1350

So around £1400 to £1500 from G66 one would imagine.  

How does that make sense? If the Axe at $2500 but €2600 at G66 which is about £2040, why would the $1350 FX8 be £1400 which is closer to €1800.

Surely you'd expect €1400 which is more like £1100. Or €1500 which is closer to £1200.

At £1100 to £1200 vs £2k for the Axe I say that is about as expected. considering you still need a footswitch for the Axe and the MFC isn't cheap.

If it was a typo no worries.

Bungle1

If bands like Coheed and Cambria or Deftones can get what they need from the Fractal FX this might be worth a look, looking forward to seeing some reviews / demos

Drew_TNBD

Bungle1 said:

If bands like Coheed and Cambria or Deftones can get what they need from the Fractal FX this might be worth a look, looking forward to seeing some reviews / demos

Don't get me wrong, the effects are really good and so is the amp modelling. But if you've got some analog delay that has mojo, it probably wont be easy to separate you from it.

Also, I don't see anything here about "simplicity" - the effects in the Axe do not have quick presets, like if you want a small stone sounding thing... you have to have some amount of knowledge of what makes a small stone sound the way it does, and then program the Axe accordingly.

guitarfishbay

I think the Axe delays are better than the ones in my DD20, but I 100% agree that some knowledge is required to get the best from it. I love the EQ page especially, it gives much greater control than the DD20 tone knob.

I haven't really explored the modulation pedals yet.

Drew_TNBD

GUI of the editor:

http://www.digitalscream.org.uk/photos/cddgcace.jpg

digitalscream

Drew_fx said:

GUI of the editor:

http://www.digitalscream.org.uk/photos/cddgcace.jpg

Yeah...that looks way more irritating than I'd like it to be. I can understand why people equate "expensive" with "feature-rich", but for me I want something that'll take care of most of the details for me if I'm paying more for it. I don't expect "more expensive" to mean "more time sat twiddling with it to make it do what I want", especially when there are much cheaper things (ie pedals) which already do.

Oh, and I fixed your image - pics from the Fractal forums only work if you're logged in to Fractal.

monquixote

I think that's the issue with things like the AxeFX for me. 

I really love the idea of all digital one box solution that is consistent every night and can do everything, but I'm much more someone who wants to say give me a vintage phaser and the only thing I'm interested in is maybe a rate and a depth knob. (By all means have the depth accessible in a menu but don't put it in my face)

Ultimately I'd buy something if it had the sound quality, but I didn't have to be bothered by the details to get an excellent sound. 

I don't even play with the EQ on my amp.

guitarfishbay

digitalscream said:

Drew_fx said:

GUI of the editor:

http://www.digitalscream.org.uk/photos/cddgcace.jpg

Yeah...that looks way more irritating than I'd like it to be. I can understand why people equate "expensive" with "feature-rich", but for me I want something that'll take care of most of the details for me if I'm paying more for it. I don't expect "more expensive" to mean "more time sat twiddling with it to make it do what I want", especially when there are much cheaper things (ie pedals) which already do.

Oh, and I fixed your image - pics from the Fractal forums only work if you're logged in to Fractal.

It looks easy to dial in, IMO.

Left side tone and drive, right side level. You'd only touch the rest if you wanted to. But it is there if you want it. Whether or not you can leave it alone is another matter!

The main trade off is direct control over parameters. There is no way to have something like this without having to operate some kind of menu system when you tweak on the unit itself. When I tried to use a GT8 instead of my board I gave up because it was too slow to use when writing, and I went back to a normal board where I had direct control over each dial. But once you know what you're after you can lock it in on a digital unit and save presets. It didn't take me long to dial in the delays and drives I need on the Axe, but I definitely don't consider myself much of an FX user and I did know what I was looking for.

If you're familiar with FX plugins in a DAW the FAS gear gives a similar level of control and potential complexity. But it is laid out in such a way that it is in layers of ascending complexity. On the editor you see it all at once, but on the unit you'll probably see the left and right side on page one, and the advanced parameters on further pages if you choose to go deeper, judging from using the Axe FX front panel.

I still don't think this gear is for everyone, but I don't think it is as difficult to use as people think it is.

Heartfeltdawn

guitarfishbay said:

Heartfeltdawn;369208" said:

Direct price in the USA of the Axe FX II XL = $2500

Price G66 sells it for = 2600 Euros

Direct price in the USA of the Axe FX8 = $1350

So around £1400 to £1500 from G66 one would imagine.  

How does that make sense? If the Axe at $2500 but €2600 at G66 which is about £2040, why would the $1350 FX8 be £1400 which is closer to €1800.

Surely you'd expect €1400 which is more like £1100. Or €1500 which is closer to £1200.

At £1100 to £1200 vs £2k for the Axe I say that is about as expected. considering you still need a footswitch for the Axe and the MFC isn't cheap.

If it was a typo no worries.

Yes it's a typo. One forgot the Euro symbol. Call it an Anglocentric force of habit. 

guitarfishbay

No worries @hartfeltdawn ;

Either way I'm not arguing that it isn't expensive, all FAS gear is.  But within the context of their own product lineup it makes sense.  Given that an MFC is €799 already about €1500 Euros is slightly less than I'd expect, I was going to guess double the price of the MFC, even though it has less switches.

What is bugging me is it looks like they might have spaced the switches on the FX8 wider than they are on the MFC.

The functionality of the MFC looks awesome.  I don't need one to do what I currently do, but if I wanted to write music that took more advantage of what the Axe can do with effects I would be tempted.  However the buttons look too close together and that is an instant fail for myself.  Or I am an instant fail with my clumsy feet.  Basically I don't think that I'd enjoy using one as I'd have to stand really still and concentrate for every change or else I'll end up on the wrong patch/scene.

I'm using a POD HD500x as a footswitch because there is enough space for my feet - the only bummer is I'm limited to 4 scenes when the Axe can actually do 8.  I've got around this creatively by using my volume pedal and assigning different statuses of blocks controlled by it, so that in some scenes using my volume pedal gives a pseudo extra scene without affecting things the same way as it would in another scene.  

For example I have two delays, one is linked to the volume pedal so it is off when the volume pedal is full on, but fades in as I reduce volume, so that my mid gain tone has some ambience.  For another section, I need to retain the delay as I turn my volume up, so I have a different delay on (and the first one switched off) and this one is not linked to my volume pedal so stays constantly at the same level as I increase the volume and bring the tone into high gain territory.  Sounds complex, but if it can be done and you go about it logically it isn't really.   You could expand this to additional foot controllers as necessary, so you can go between different settings without engaging a different scene.

If you need more than the number of scenes that you can logically design and use then you're probably best off going back to separate pedals and dealing with the tap dance.