Fractal FX8 - used bargain of the century!

edbolivar

I suspect I set a low bar recently when I sold mine for £685 which included postage.
I initially thought the unit was great and sounded better (to me) than the helix which I had at the same time. 
But in the end sold them both,  just hated the screens, menus and learning curve etc.
In hindsight I would have been happy to pay someone to come and programme the thing and set it up for me, had I known someone that could provide that service...
In fact would get another one, if that was possible.
Just get massively turned off by manuals and scrolling.
I have so little free time, that my patience levels are at an all time low.

DavusPG

I totally agree that the FX8 has to be one of the biggest bargains on the used market.

As someone who spent a small fortune putting together a board with pedals from the likes of Strymon, Eventide, Suhr, Wampler etc, the FX8 was one of those rare bits of kit that left me wanting for nothing.

I'd always been curious about the Fractal stuff, but had never taken the plunge as I was put off by things I'd read about an un-userfriendly UI and the endless tweaking required to get good sound out of it.

It was a Brett Kingman Youtube video and the 30 day trial period that prompted me to take the plunge and I'm so glad I did.

The ability to use so many variants of pedals I'd otherwise never have bought and to route them in different orders from preset to preset was just so convenient. Plus with the updates, every now and then you get a new effect added. That said l tend to stick to my favorites, but nice to know that if i fancy a whammy pedal on the board, then it's there in the box.

As mentioned sound quality is top drawer and l agree they dropped the ball releasing the Mk2 so soon.

I ended up selling my FX8 on here and buying @Wazmeisters AX8 - and it's also been brilliant. Never missed the additional reverb or megatap blocks, but have certainly enjoyed playing models of Marshalls, Friedmans, Mesas etc etc that I'd otherwise probably never have owned.

Plus it leaves more money to spend on guitars!

BintyTwanger77

edbolivar said:

I suspect I set a low bar recently when I sold mine for £685 which included postage.
I initially thought the unit was great and sounded better (to me) than the helix which I had at the same time. 
But in the end sold them both,  just hated the screens, menus and learning curve etc.
In hindsight I would have been happy to pay someone to come and programme the thing and set it up for me, had I known someone that could provide that service...
In fact would get another one, if that was possible.
Just get massively turned off by manuals and scrolling.
I have so little free time, that my patience levels are at an all time low.

And this is pretty much what led me to abandon the FX8. What keeps me coming back to it (in my mind, I've only had one once for a month or so) was the fact that it was all so beautifully contained, all fantastic effects including great OD sounds, the ability to have several pedalboards... but the programming and the menus put me off and back on pedals. It's always at the back of my mind for the one-unit convenience, but the UI does temper any desire to try one again.

merlin

edbolivar said:

I suspect I set a low bar recently when I sold mine for £685 which included postage.

And I was the buyer. I have to say that I've tried a few multi-effects units before and have not got on with them. However the FX8 does everything I need. I've used the FX8-edit on my computer for most of the set up and it its really straight forward. 

I can't see myself going back to pedals at this point. The size, versatility, sounds and tweak-ability make it a dream come true. 

Kebabkid

BintyTwanger77 said:

edbolivar said:

I suspect I set a low bar recently when I sold mine for £685 which included postage.
I initially thought the unit was great and sounded better (to me) than the helix which I had at the same time. 
But in the end sold them both,  just hated the screens, menus and learning curve etc.
In hindsight I would have been happy to pay someone to come and programme the thing and set it up for me, had I known someone that could provide that service...
In fact would get another one, if that was possible.
Just get massively turned off by manuals and scrolling.
I have so little free time, that my patience levels are at an all time low.

And this is pretty much what led me to abandon the FX8. What keeps me coming back to it (in my mind, I've only had one once for a month or so) was the fact that it was all so beautifully contained, all fantastic effects including great OD sounds, the ability to have several pedalboards... but the programming and the menus put me off and back on pedals. It's always at the back of my mind for the one-unit convenience, but the UI does temper any desire to try one again.

Well, that's 3 of us and all based in London. Perhaps if we all ever revisit in the future, we should set up a tutorial and programming session with competent user from here

Any chance of a modeller Gearfest in the future for Axe FX & Helix?
EDIT: There was one an Axe FX one a few years

Jonathanthomas83

Kebabkid said:

BintyTwanger77 said:

edbolivar said:

I suspect I set a low bar recently when I sold mine for £685 which included postage.
I initially thought the unit was great and sounded better (to me) than the helix which I had at the same time. 
But in the end sold them both,  just hated the screens, menus and learning curve etc.
In hindsight I would have been happy to pay someone to come and programme the thing and set it up for me, had I known someone that could provide that service...
In fact would get another one, if that was possible.
Just get massively turned off by manuals and scrolling.
I have so little free time, that my patience levels are at an all time low.

And this is pretty much what led me to abandon the FX8. What keeps me coming back to it (in my mind, I've only had one once for a month or so) was the fact that it was all so beautifully contained, all fantastic effects including great OD sounds, the ability to have several pedalboards... but the programming and the menus put me off and back on pedals. It's always at the back of my mind for the one-unit convenience, but the UI does temper any desire to try one again.

Well, that's 3 of us and all based in London. Perhaps if we all ever revisit in the future, we should set up a tutorial and programming session with competent user from here

Any chance of a modeller Gearfest in the future for Axe FX & Helix?

That'd be cool.

Roland

Kebabkid said:

Any chance of a modeller Gearfest in the future for Axe FX & Helix?
EDIT: There was one an Axe FX one a few years

Earlier this year I asked if anyone was interested, and there was a deafening silence. Shall we try again?
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/102806/modeller-meet-up#latest

Kebabkid

@Roland - depending on where it is, I would be and there seem to be more users now, especially on the Helix side but this should go to a separate or *original thread so's not to derail this
* http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/102806/modeller-meet-up#latest

edbolivar

If I decided to get another one then I would be happy to host a small event at my place.

vasselmeyer

Looks to me as if the FX8 is what the Line 6 M13 should have evolved into . I loved my M13 but  the dirts weren't quite there and the re was no relay switching.

cbellanga

I have an AX8 and also in London. Would be gladly meet and help with programming

peteri

AX8 in London - would certainly try to come

BintyTwanger77

If I have time, sounds like a good idea. Is this still happening, any dates set? Might have some time this weekend.

handsomerik

just a reminder that my FX8 is still for sale in the classifieds at the bargain of the century price of £695 collected or £715 delivered with special delivery. :-)

BintyTwanger77

handsomerik said:

just a reminder that my FX8 is still for sale in the classifieds at the bargain of the century price of £695 collected or £715 delivered with special delivery. :-)

Yes, I am all too aware...

Freebird

FX8-EDIT is all you need to make programming the FX8 a breeze, you simply connect it to a computer via USB. It's a great bit of software, and you can actually control the unit from a desktop, which is very handy for the studio.

I even went as far as getting myself a reamping box to speed up the sound design process, i.e. sending various looped sections of dry guitar signal out from the DAW, so that you can focus entirely on the knob twiddling 

Overall the FX8 is a fantastic piece of gear.

http://www.fractalaudio.com/img/products/fx-8-edit/01.png

imalrightjack

@Freebird can you tell me more about the re-amping box?