# Fractal Audio announces the FX-8 floor-based multi-effects unit



## Guest (Oct 3, 2014)

Finally the details are emerging, can talk about this! Fractal has had some pictures out for a while now, but now the pre-order list is open, there's a price and there's a onesheet with more information.

Premier Guitar short article: http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/21503-fractal-audio-announces-the-fx8

Here's the onesheet for those looking for information: http://www.fractalaudio.com/downloads/misc/FX8-Onesheet.pdf

Direct price is going to be USD$1349 -- I think that's a little more than people were hoping for but when you consider what it packs in to that floorboard, it's a good deal. Cliff was talking about the DACs in it, better than any he's used before, and the signal chain being absolutely pristine. It was a design goal from the start.

Here's a big picture of the front of the unit:










And here's a nice screen grab of the FX8EDIT software:


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I want one.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

When I consider what's on both of my boards,
a PT Pro, with 18 pedals and a PT-1 with 11, there's a wad of cash tied up there.

I'm interested in one of these though, it could simplify the rig, if that makes any sense.


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

No matter how good it sounds, I will always prefer real knobs to menus, sub-menus and virtual interfaces.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Do I have to get a degree to operate this???


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2014)

Robert1950 said:


> Do I have to get a degree to operate this???


A degree in Kick Ass Awesomeness? Yes. Yes, you do.

See also Cliff's cliff notes on his design philosophy for the FX-8 here: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showpost.php?p=18696603&postcount=47 -- it is meant to be simpler to operate than the Axe-Fx II. Though it shares the same effects and you can go as deep in to them if you like. Effect blocks from the units are interchangeable, which is nice because there's a huge community sharing blocks for the Axe-Fx II already.


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## Voxguy76 (Aug 23, 2006)

Would love to read about the specific effects included. I wonder if they differ at all wit the effects offered on the Axe-Fx 2


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2014)

Voxguy76 said:


> Would love to read about the specific effects included. I wonder if they differ at all wit the effects offered on the Axe-Fx 2


They are the exact same as the effects in the AFII. The block files are even interchangeable between units.


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## Voxguy76 (Aug 23, 2006)

Very interesting. I loved the layout and idea behind the Line 6 M13, this new unit seems to be an M13 killer. Are you by chance beta testing these new units?


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2014)

Voxguy76 said:


> Very interesting. I loved the layout and idea behind the Line 6 M13, this new unit seems to be an M13 killer. Are you by chance beta testing these new units?


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## Voxguy76 (Aug 23, 2006)

Lol just as I suspected


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

This would be an interesting product if it included amp and cab sims... at least a few staples. Solely as an fx simulator - meh.


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## JeremyP (Jan 10, 2012)

^^^^^ Agreed, for the almost two grand it would cost you by the time it arrives.


And at that price, why not just commit and get the real thing with a nice floorboard. Chances are if you can afford $1349 American and all the importing bullcrap, then you could probably just save a bit longer and get the real deal. I could see if it was six or seven hundred and you wanted to be frugal, but at this price point you might as well just fully commit to the real deal.

EDIT: Not to mention , all the time now I see used axe fx on kijiji for about the same price as this floorboard. IMO You would be better off buying a used axe fx 1 for the same price....


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I have easily, two grand into my PT-1, that's what I eluded to in my earlier post.
There's far more going on with this unit than just the eleven pedals I have on there too.

I think that they're appealing to the guy that still wants to use an amp, the luddites like me. 8)
Besides, don't you think that they'd be cutting into their other sales if they went that route?

Amp sims come with the full unit.


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

sulphur said:


> I have easily, two grand into my PT-1, that's what I eluded to in my earlier post.
> There's far more going on with this unit than just the eleven pedals I have on there too.
> 
> I think that they're appealing to the guy that still wants to use an amp, the luddites like me. 8)
> ...


Understood, but I'm a predominantly a "straight-into-the-amp" guy with little use for fx, so my feeling is still - meh. I'm also interested in only a few staple amps (twin, jtm45, tweed deluxe, ac30, jcm800). I'm not interested in a full on Axe FX since it is too pricey for the limited features I'd use, and this new model is priced better yet with no sims. Had it offered your choice of say three amp sims and eight fx configured at any time then I could see that really being a winner. IMHO anyways.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

dradlin said:


> Understood, but I'm a predominantly a "straight-into-the-amp" guy with little use for fx, so my feeling is still - meh. I'm also interested in only a few staple amps (twin, jtm45, tweed deluxe, ac30, jcm800). I'm not interested in a full on Axe FX since it is too pricey for the limited features I'd use, and this new model is priced better yet with no sims. Had it offered your choice of say three amp sims and eight fx configured at any time then I could see that really being a winner. IMHO anyways.


I see what you're saying and agree.
That would be a good option even using an amp as back-up, if it were to go south.


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## Voxguy76 (Aug 23, 2006)

JeremyP said:


> ^^^^^ Agreed, for the almost two grand it would cost you by the time it arrives.
> 
> 
> And at that price, why not just commit and get the real thing with a nice floorboard. Chances are if you can afford $1349 American and all the importing bullcrap, then you could probably just save a bit longer and get the real deal. I could see if it was six or seven hundred and you wanted to be frugal, but at this price point you might as well just fully commit to the real deal.
> ...


Yeah I tend to agree. After shipping and taxes your looking at about $1800 CAD. I think if your willing to drop that much coin then why not get an AxeFx with amp modeling? Or stick with an analog pedalboard? Despite how great the effects will be, I guarantee there will be those that complain of the overdrive/distortion effects digital artifacts.
As great as the product seems, ultimately it's geared towards the professional musician and not a budget/affordable floorboard version of the Axefx that most had hoped it would be. I still think it's a great concept building on what Line 6 did with the M series of floorboard modelling.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Remember when new computers were $3000 dollars or more. If you can wait awhile, all of these Fractal Audio Systems things will drop in price also. Don't get me wrong though, they do look and sound pretty impressive.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

An average cost pedal is 200 bucks these days if you're at all into the boutique side of life. 8 boutique quality effects plus all the routing options and the other features (I have high hopes for the looper), I think this is a no brainer for anyone who hasn't yet bought their whole pedal board. I signed up.


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

Single pedals have the benefit of being very reliable. Sure they fail, but not at the rate of computer like electronic components. Also, if one pedal fails your whole rig isn't down, and replacements readily available. Not to say Fractal stuff isn't reliable, perhaps it's more industrial grade electronics.

The noise reduction with the floorboard could be a big bonus for some perhaps...


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2014)

dradlin said:


> This would be an interesting product if it included amp and cab sims... at least a few staples. Solely as an fx simulator - meh.


Not gonna happen in the near future. This is running only one DSP, the Axe-Fx II has two -- one solely for the AMP modelling.

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Guitar101 said:


> Remember when new computers were $3000 dollars or more. If you can wait awhile, all of these Fractal Audio Systems things will drop in price also. Don't get me wrong though, they do look and sound pretty impressive.


Seven years of listening to people say this and...so much for that prophesy. Specific-purpose computing devices don't suffer the same steep decline in used value as general purpose computing devices. Case in point: Eventide gear has been digital for decades and holds its value very well. This is not any different.

But please, keep predicting...I find it amusing.

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sulphur said:


> I have easily, two grand into my PT-1, that's what I eluded to in my earlier post.
> There's far more going on with this unit than just the eleven pedals I have on there too.
> 
> I think that they're appealing to the guy that still wants to use an amp, the luddites like me. 8)
> ...


You nailed it.

This is for people who want top-notch effects, routing and portability to _along side their amps_. This is not for modelling amps and cabs. They already have a world-class product that does that.

For the people saying you might as well get an AFII because it's so close in price. An AFII + an MFC-101 is more like $3k. So they're very far apart in price.

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dradlin said:


> Understood, but I'm a predominantly a "straight-into-the-amp" guy with little use for fx, so my feeling is still - meh. I'm also interested in only a few staple amps (twin, jtm45, tweed deluxe, ac30, jcm800). I'm not interested in a full on Axe FX since it is too pricey for the limited features I'd use, and this new model is priced better yet with no sims. Had it offered your choice of say three amp sims and eight fx configured at any time then I could see that really being a winner. IMHO anyways.


This wouldn't be possible without it being priced the same as an AFII. It's not cheaper because there's less simulations included, it's cheaper because there's less DSP power to run simulations.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

A quick look and I find an Axe-FX Ultra for $855 with a floorboard. That's about a $800 less than this unit. I assume the Ultra will do everything with one processor that this unit will do, as well as amp sims.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fractal-Aud...252?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4d2532c9d4


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

iaresee said:


> Seven years of listening to people say this and...so much for that prophesy. Specific-purpose computing devices don't suffer the same steep decline in used value as general purpose computing devices. Case in point: Eventide gear has been digital for decades and holds its value very well. This is not any different.
> 
> But please, keep predicting...I find it amusing.


Geez, I didn't think you've been pushing these products for that long. Time does fly, doesn't it?


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2014)

High/Deaf said:


> A quick look and I find an Axe-FX Ultra for $855 with a floorboard. That's about a $800 less than this unit. I assume the Ultra will do everything with one processor that this unit will do, as well as amp sims.
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fractal-Aud...252?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4d2532c9d4


Great deal for a classic unit! No MIDI floorboard included with that though -- that's a MIDI interface to your computer. The first gen units didn't have USB, you had to hook them up to your computer via regular MIDI. Kind of slow and clunky, but it got the job done.

As for effects: time has marched on and these older units, while they're still quite good, don't have the latest and greatest and aren't getting updated any more. The FX8 (along with the AFII and AFIIXL) are all getting regular firmware updates from FAS with improvements. I'm hoping the release of the FX8 will actually spur some big changes in the effects blocks. They haven't gotten nearly as much attention as CAB and AMP stuff thus far.

If you want to dabble your toes, that's a great deal and a nice place to start with modelling though. Won't go wrong with that. You'll still need a floorboard to control it but you can snag an FCB-1010, which even has continuous controllers built in, and an Uno chip for <$200.

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Guitar101 said:


> Geez, I didn't think you've been pushing these products for that long. Time does fly, doesn't it?


Time flies when yer a whore.


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