Fractal Announces AxeFx AX8 Floorboard With Amps & Effects - $1399

[MF_Kitten]

I wonder if it can have as many things active at once as a pod HD500x. Also, what's included in it... If this is functionally and practically a rival for the HD500X, then that's amazing. Getting the complex modelling is only worth it to me if I don't have to downscale what I'm doing in my patches

 

[Given To Fly]

My guess is this: ISP Technologies Theta Pro DSP Preamp and Multi-effects Pedal | Sweetwater.com is the AX8's competition. I realize the ThetaPro is a step forward for the company where as the AX8 will be a simplification of an existing product, but I think the end result is the same: a $1000 - $1300 floorboard preamp/FX processor.

The FX8 is a "no compromise" FX processor which I interpret as "whatever FX the AxeFX II XL can do, the FX8 can do," and costs $1349.95. The AX8 uses the same hardware layout as the FX8, compromises on some features by being a "stripped down" version of the AxeFX II, and ultimately does not add any new features. To make it worthwhile for the consumer and the company, I would guess the AX8 would cost $1149.95. I think there is a niche market at that price point for this sort of product. We will see...

 

[Sean Richardson]

I wonder what agressively priced is to Fractal Audio.

...key question and VERY subjective.

I would argue that "aggressively priced" means a price point that either:

1) offers better value and features as the competition at the same price, or:

2) offers a better price with similar features than the competition.

Now lets assume (ASSUME PEOPLE) that the "established competition" here as defined by Fractal are:

Line 6 POD HD500X @ $499.00 USD

Studio Devil Amplifire @ $599.00 USD.
(although as a product that is not yet released - only much anticipated, the word established is based on a perceived market demand)

The ISP Theta Pro DSP @ $1298.00
(maybe...maybe... this one has gone under the radar somewhat in terms of market interest and is double the price of the Amplifire - me thinks maybe an outsider. Also again yet to be released so questionably established competition)

...aggressive would mean $499 to $599.00

something tells me Fractal's going to define the competition as its own products (AXFX2 + MFC), but I will hope that its an Amplifire fighter

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Does seem to be subjective here , because I see an EXTREMELY slim chance that this is going to be the same price as a POD HD or Ampifire.

 

[SnowfaLL]

You'll be sadly disappointed if you think its anywhere under $1350 (FX8 price) - They just threw out the words "Aggressively priced" to try and steal some market from the Amplifire, the day before it started shipping.

For all we know, it could be "Aggressively priced" against the AxeFX II and MFC-101, which comes to $3300ish together. So yes, $1800 is "aggressively priced" against that!

 

[Sean Richardson]

something tells me Fractal's going to define the competition as its own products (AXFX2 + MFC), but I will hope that its an Amplifire fighter

indeed... that's why I qualified.

BUT saying that... if this was done by FAS to grab some attention from Studio Devil/Atomic (in much the same way that I believe Line 6 announced the firmware 2.6 update to POD HD at NAMM), then the market in the middle area of performance and price is about to hot up.

consumer pressure (desire to purchase at a price point) will lead to market pressure (suppliers delivering at a price point). I would not rule out a $999.00 launch price (speculation only) and could imagine a $699.00 one.

 

[jbealsmusic]

I would argue that "aggressively priced" means a price point that either:
1) offers better value and features as the competition at the same price, or:
2) offers a better price with similar features than the competition.

The only problem is that there is no competition in the high end floor modeler market. The market is essentially vacant once you go past $600. The Theta Pro isn't out yet and they aren't saying much about it, so there's no clue what it will be like.

something tells me Fractal's going to define the competition as its own products (AXFX2 + MFC)

Something tells me you're probably right... But we can hope otherwise.

 

[Syrinx]

I think one HUGE assumption people are making is that the AX8 will have the exact same amps/cabs and effects as the Axe-FX II, only less of them.

I am skeptical that the amps/cabs/effects will be to the same level. I dunno. Number of amps/effects is not really a function of the processor, but the level of detail it can process is. I am wondering if it will leave off the ultrares cabs, or the high resolution settings for the amp models and reverbs, or other things beyond the "Wacky effects". People are also speculating it will not have the grid editing or movable effects, but people can only speculate now.

I will be interested to see the full details when it is ready to start shipping. Until then it is hard to say much of anything.

It's not a huge assumption. Cliff has already stated it will be using the new G3 algorithms for amps. The number of amps and effects is absolutely a function of the processor.

 

[Andromalia]

Well, 1 amp, 1 cab and delay/reverb/chorus is enough for 99% of live applications where you actually want a floor unit. I rarely use more on my axeII. One possibility is maybe that unit won't get the crazy CPU cloggers like the multidelay so no DTP patch for you.

 

[mnemonic]

But what does that mean? For example, the Axe-FX II runs the amps in a "high resolution" mode when using one amp, and a "normal resolution" mode when using 2 amps. Will the AX8 only have normal mode? He also did not mention cabs. The cabs have 4 modes on the Axe-FX II. Will the AX8 include UltraRes? What about stereo?

I am just curious overall. I am not saying one way or the other, but I dont know if everyone has realistic expectations.

Interesting, as an Axe FX II owner I never knew high/normal res amps were a thing. I don't do dual amp patches, but I have had patches that had a second amp muted (that I couldn't figure out how to delete from the front panel) and I never noticed any quality differences.

The cab one is more vague, I would guess he means one cab block, but you never know. UltraRes does take a lot of extra processing power over high res, so two UltraRes impulses may be too much, but at this point its too early to tell as we don't know what the processors are.



I can't see him making any silly limitations like mono-only, or no built-in USB interface, since that would make it less functional than a POD. I think processing power will be the main limitation compared to the Axe FX II. Plenty of people I think would pay the premium for the extra horsepower or just for it being a rack unit vs floorboard. After all the POD pros go for a lot more than the bean/floorboard for no good reason.

 

[Shask]

It's not a huge assumption. Cliff has already stated it will be using the new G3 algorithms for amps. The number of amps and effects is absolutely a function of the processor.

He also said "This is not an Axe-FX" which makes me think there is going to be a bigger difference unless the price is close to the price of the Axe-FX II.

The number of amps and effects has nothing to do with the processor. You can have a million amp models, but only use 1 at a time. The number of amps and effects you can use at one time is a function of the processor.

 

[Shask]

Interesting, as an Axe FX II owner I never knew high/normal res amps were a thing. I don't do dual amp patches, but I have had patches that had a second amp muted (that I couldn't figure out how to delete from the front panel) and I never noticed any quality differences.

The cab one is more vague, I would guess he means one cab block, but you never know. UltraRes does take a lot of extra processing power over high res, so two UltraRes impulses may be too much, but at this point its too early to tell as we don't know what the processors are.



I can't see him making any silly limitations like mono-only, or no built-in USB interface, since that would make it less functional than a POD. I think processing power will be the main limitation compared to the Axe FX II. Plenty of people I think would pay the premium for the extra horsepower or just for it being a rack unit vs floorboard. After all the POD pros go for a lot more than the bean/floorboard for no good reason.

I doubt there will be silly limitations like that either, but I also dont think it will be an Axe-FX II with 1 amp model and no formant filter. I think there will be bigger differences. Also notice there is no + navigation buttons. That leads me to believe there will be no matrix editing.

I agree with the rack comment. I would prefer the Axe II just because it is a rack. I had a HD500 and it drove me crazy. I thought I would like it, but it was more annoying because I always had to mess with it on the floor, and it took up too much space to stay on the desk.

 

[Syrinx]

He also said "This is not an Axe-FX" which makes me think there is going to be a bigger difference unless the price is close to the price of the Axe-FX II.

Correct. It's not going to be using less powerful processors which results in the limit of single amp/cab. Also why some of the effects will not be included. That alone makes it "not an Axe-FX".

The number of amps and effects has nothing to do with the processor. You can have a million amp models, but only use 1 at a time. The number of amps and effects you can use at one time is a function of the processor.

Yes. See previous comment.

 

[mnemonic]

I doubt there will be silly limitations like that either, but I also dont think it will be an Axe-FX II with 1 amp model and no formant filter. I think there will be bigger differences. Also notice there is no + navigation buttons. That leads me to believe there will be no matrix editing.

I agree with the rack comment. I would prefer the Axe II just because it is a rack. I had a HD500 and it drove me crazy. I thought I would like it, but it was more annoying because I always had to mess with it on the floor, and it took up too much space to stay on the desk.

Actually the knob on the far left is labeled 'NAV' so maybe the navigation thing is done differently here. 'Page' is also a single button rather than Page left/right.

 

[Elric]

Interesting, as an Axe FX II owner I never knew high/normal res amps were a thing.

Res, in this context refers to the oversampling rate. Like almost everything else in the AFX it is all basically 'miltary grade' even in the "normal" mode. The default/dual res (8x oversampling) is so good, it is not likely to be audible to all but the golden eared (16x oversampling), if Cliff can't hear aliasing error (as a designer with years of experience who knows what to listen for) most users probably can't either:

From the Wiki:

When using a single Amp block, the Amp block always runs at double the internal sampling frequency. This happens automatically; there's is no equivalent parameter. Main benefit of this is less aliasing in high gain models. Firmware release notes: "In high-res mode the internal sampling rate is doubled so as to provide greater fidelity and resistance to aliasing. This mode is automatic and is selected whenever there is only one amp block in the layout grid. Adding a second amp block will revert to normal resolution. Note that switching between presets with differing number of amp blocks may introduce an additional delay as a “soft reset” of the amp blocks must be done whenever changing the resolution." Also: "The oversampling rate is cut in half when running two amps. It's probably not noticeable. Even when running at half, it's as fast or faster than every other product available." Source And: *I don't hear a difference either but some claim they can. A single amp block runs the amp simulation at 16x oversampling. Two amp blocks run each simulation at 8x."

 

[slapnutz]

**Compared to an Axe Fx II**

Its like Axe Fx II but slower .... logic.... price goes down
It comes with a built in floor peadal ... logic .... price goes up

Result: Price goes down + Price goes up = Same price as Axe Fx 2?

(yeah my math algorithms are as complex as the axe fx)

 

[sevenstringj]

Aight, let's go. You know how it works.

$1199.95

 

[matthew11490]

Looking forward to this, if price is reasonable I might just sell my axe fx II and get this instead.

 

[mcleanab]

The only problem is that there is no competition in the high end floor modeler market. The market is essentially vacant once you go past $600. The Theta Pro isn't out yet and they aren't saying much about it, so there's no clue what it will be like.

Something tells me you're probably right... But we can hope otherwise.

The Theta Pro DSP got killer results at NAMM. It was a prototype, and Buck is updating as we speak. I played the thing for 8 hours a day all weekend and was blown away. I'm biased, of course, because I found the basic tones I've been searching for with the Theta Preamp when I got it a few years ago (and still finding different tones everyday). But, the effects, preamp and vintage preamp and cab sims are incredible... huge screen, easy editing, lovely to look at... to each their own, of course.

Just offering my subjective opinion on what I perceive to be an excellent piece of gear. My hope is that it surprises the snot out of folks... it certainly did me.

To quality gear!

 

[slapnutz]

The Theta Pro DSP got killer results at NAMM. It was a prototype, and Buck is updating as we speak. I played the thing for 8 hours a day all weekend and was blown away. I'm biased, of course, because I found the basic tones I've been searching for with the Theta Preamp when I got it a few years ago (and still finding different tones everyday). But, the effects, preamp and vintage preamp and cab sims are incredible... huge screen, easy editing, lovely to look at... to each their own, of course.

Just offering my subjective opinion on what I perceive to be an excellent piece of gear. My hope is that it surprises the snot out of folks... it certainly did me.

To quality gear!

Isn't the main difference that the Theta Pro DSP "preamp" section is actual from its solidstate/mosfet/call it what you will circuitry? I.e a Solid State preampe module with a DSP only for effects and not for amp modeling?

Whereas the Axe deos not have a solid state preamp as such, its all "modeled".