Rack is back

hellzington said:
Seriously. I'm so over the "limited runs" of everything which is just a tactic designed to build hype and sell out the product before release.

The preamp does sound cool but man...rack systems. Phew. Heavy, cumbersome, complicated. For the studio, sure, but no way I want to haul a rack system around for gigging. I had a Bogner Fish with a VHT 2150 and a Fuhrman power conditioner in a little 8 space rack and it weighed almost 100lbs. o_O

Also, unrelated, this is something like the fifth product release this week where every professional YouTuber is releasing their video on a piece of gear on the same day, at the same time. So over that marketing tactic. "No way! Every YouTuber just happened to get the same piece of gear and release their review video on the same day! But it's totally not a sponsored video!!" And no video is critical in any way. :doh:
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The world becomes a different place one you realize everything around us is a marketing ploy to extract as much money out of everyone as possible.
 
rsm said:
I like rack, and some of my prime playing years were rack years so I'm nostalgic...but agree it's a lot if you're gigging - I'm not. Still, my E850/100 rack power amp isn't light, and if I was gigging not many places where I'd be able to use it at even a fraction of it's capability.

I'm more tempted by a few amps: Bogner Snorkler, Splawn Quickrod, 2555x, 5150III EL34,... that I really don't need or have room for.

The thought of having software to get the most out of this preamp is also a red flag for me as it adds complexity to get the most out of it; hopefully it will be available in decades to come.

For me to get back into rack, there would really need to be an industry wide resurgence...not many new rack preamps around, and I've owned many of the vintage ones (TriAxis, ADA, JMP-1/JFX-1,...) and have Marshall and Mesa amps that cover all that.

The new rack SLO-100 amp is big and pricey too...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SLO100R--soldano-slo-100r-100-watt-rackmount-guitar-tube-amp

soldano slo-100r 100-watt rackmount guitar tube amp 3
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I love the Synergy system. That is main newer rack stuff I have, mixed in with older stuff.
 
For those who want this to be 100% analog, BAD said this:

"Up to the SEND it's like the old X88R, with the tube buffered out. Main Outputs are Fully Analog, only XLRs go trough AD/DA for the poweramp sim and IR"
 
Shask said:
The world becomes a different place one you realize everything around us is a marketing ploy to extract as much money out of everyone as possible.
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The SLO but with gig friendly features is still a SLO that’s been around since the beginning. I don’t see the hype personally. Then again when I played a SLO I thought it sounded close enough to a 5150 that I’ve lost any real interest in owning one so maybe ignore my opinion all together.
 
glpg80 said:
The SLO but with gig friendly features is still a SLO that’s been around since the beginning. I don’t see the hype personally. Then again when I played a SLO I thought it sounded close enough to a 5150 that I’ve lost any real interest in owning one so maybe ignore my opinion all together.
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I was mostly talking about the YouTubers basically being marketers. Pretty much everything in the world just wants our money.

I have a Jet City JCA100HDM I SLO modded, so that is close enough for me :) I might get the SLO II Synergy module though.
 
hellzington said:
Ok I'm gonna stir the pot here a little. I was just thinking about this... What is the point of this preamp in 2024? Hear me out.

This unit is $2499. The same exact price as the Fractal Axe FX III. Now before we lose our minds about modelers versus real amps, let's think about this rationally. The XR-88IR is not a real amp in a conventional sense. It's a preamp with some IRs loaded into it for a complete recording solution, just like the AxeFX. You can plug it into a power amp and use it through speakers, just like an AxeFX. It has multiple channels, just like an AxeFX ("scenes"), it has bright switches just like the AxeFX, it has multiple IRs just like an AxeFX.

Except with the AxeFX you also have a ton of notable improvements over this unit. You can:
  • Get access to other amp models (290+)
  • Get access to far more IRs (2000+)
  • Get access to DynaCabs
    • Multiple microphones
    • Completely moveable around the speaker
  • Change the amp's parameters:
    • NFB
    • Depth
    • Bright cap values
    • Power Tubes
    • Preamp Tubes
    • Bias
    • Output compression
    • Speaker attributes (thump, drive, compression, etc)
    • Studio quality effects (1000+)
    • Multiple routing options
    • Far more footswitchable
    • Over 1000+ presets
    • Endless EQ options
    • Tons of other stuff I'm not gonna list here
You can't do any of that with the XR-88IR. So it basically has "authenticity" because it's a tube preamp made by Soldano, but that's really about it. The AxeFX III is superior in every other way. Sure, we can argue over the authenticity of Cliff's SLO or XR-88 models but I'll take a 95% match with all those other features over a dated rack preamp that is authentic but doesn't do 5% of what the AxeFX can do.

...and you guys know I'm a tube amp guy, but this product is just kinda strange in 2024 if you really think about it.
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Tube guy here too. Have had every iteration of Fractal Audio's AxeFx and own quite a few higher-end amps.

Was playing Fractal's for quite a few years, but then switched back to tube because I missed the "in the room" experience.

They hit on an interesting niche for home players by adding the IR into the unit. It probably sounds great latenight through cans.

Anyone think Bogner follows suit and reissues the Fish with an onboard IR loader?
 
hellzington said:
Ok I'm gonna stir the pot here a little. I was just thinking about this... What is the point of this preamp in 2024? Hear me out.

This unit is $2499. The same exact price as the Fractal Axe FX III. Now before we lose our minds about modelers versus real amps, let's think about this rationally. The XR-88IR is not a real amp in a conventional sense. It's a preamp with some IRs loaded into it for a complete recording solution, just like the AxeFX. You can plug it into a power amp and use it through speakers, just like an AxeFX. It has multiple channels, just like an AxeFX ("scenes"), it has bright switches just like the AxeFX, it has multiple IRs just like an AxeFX.

Except with the AxeFX you also have a ton of notable improvements over this unit. You can:
  • Get access to other amp models (290+)
  • Get access to far more IRs (2000+)
  • Get access to DynaCabs
    • Multiple microphones
    • Completely moveable around the speaker
  • Change the amp's parameters:
    • NFB
    • Depth
    • Bright cap values
    • Power Tubes
    • Preamp Tubes
    • Bias
    • Output compression
    • Speaker attributes (thump, drive, compression, etc)
    • Studio quality effects (1000+)
    • Multiple routing options
    • Far more footswitchable
    • Over 1000+ presets
    • Endless EQ options
    • Tons of other stuff I'm not gonna list here
You can't do any of that with the XR-88IR. So it basically has "authenticity" because it's a tube preamp made by Soldano, but that's really about it. The AxeFX III is superior in every other way. Sure, we can argue over the authenticity of Cliff's SLO or XR-88 models but I'll take a 95% match with all those other features over a dated rack preamp that is authentic but doesn't do 5% of what the AxeFX can do.

...and you guys know I'm a tube amp guy, but this product is just kinda strange in 2024 if you really think about it.
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Based on my own testing with the AxeFx 3 and a Fryette LXII (great tube power amp) into a real cab, I think the X88IR would handily win in a shootout vs the AxeFx 3 using the same power amp. It would be night/day (in my experience). Someone should do a video on this.
 
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