Ventura
Well-known member
Yo Cats...
Alright, been a LOT of threads about the Axe-II and the whole roll out and what the hell this, and what the f*ck that, and why this and who that... I'm certainly one who was party to the pressure - the eve of the launch I posted over at the Fractal site that if indeed this WAS new hardware that WAS going to basically - more or less - start the obselescence train for the Standards and the Ultras, that the powers-that-be may wish to reconsider how they were going about their business. I mentioned the fact that orders were still being placed; several members there were 'assured' that nothing new was going to come out [within a period of time that seemingly was reasonable enough for them to base their BUY button hit on]; yada yada yada.
Now, my rub with all of this was that the VALUE of the products that people HAD in their possession was, in many ways, being potentially jeopardized by not really knowing what the hell was going on. And that's fine, new shit comes out all the time, and that's the nature of business. But my rub with it was that there was a lengthy, long, drawn out 'tease' to the consumers. And I looked at it from the fact that some of these cats, many of these cats, may have been aware of the fact that if they didn't get on with their unit, they could easily sell it and recoup their costs - young musicians, guys without big rig budgets, bedroom rockstars, all the way up to people with money who at least felt confident that, well, if I don't like it, I can sell it. So all along, there's this tease - is it firmware, is it a foot controller, is it an FX only module, and the odd peep from the moderators would refuel all the speculation all over again... It was, basically, a tease and, IMHO, unethical because the very thing they were touting as "the best" in which people felt secure about, was, during the countdown and right up to its apex, being questioned (don't forget about the Duets and Sapphires and ProFires all being bought too, as there was no MIDI/USB evolution ever mentioned, more money out of pocket!!). Now, transparency in business rocks - it's how I do my business and it's gotten me quite far. Fractal's not my business. Obviously. But hey, if I were in Fractals shoes, and I knew something else was being developed, I would have leaked it out a couple months back, hinted to the fact it'd be more expensive and offering a few upgrades, but the remaining lineage would still be available, as would its respective upgrades and support, and therefore, a triumvirate of products to meet all price levels for all people - more or less. That's it that's all.
But no. A unit comes out, word follows shortly thereafter that the Standard and the Ultra are ixnayed, and from here on in, it's Axe-II baby, all the way. And oh, none are for sale yet. THAT is what I call BLINDSIDING. And the buggers had the audacity to string countless members, lurkers, consumers, and forumites along throughout the whole thing, and when the cork popped - as per my initial warning - it was less celebration than it was a huge hate on for the way things were handled. Of course, the moderators and those close to the moderators defended this practice vehemently - but NO ONE seemingly was accountable for the FACT that it was indeed a BLINDSIDING; when looking at it from a purely ethical, transparent level of business practice.
So this started me in on a bit of a bandwagon. I was pissed - not at the fact I just bought an Ultra not 2 months ago (I did indeed sell it to a different time zone for full pop about 2 minutes after the Axe-II was announced, so it wasn't that that bugged me) - but because I thought it was piss poor to "treat" high paying clientele like that. Cloak and dagger. And for everyone who voiced their upset, the mods kicked into Gestapo mode and either deleted their posts, shut down the thread, or banned them. The PMs I received were crazy - and again, I'm not some self righteous self proclaimed self entitled big mouth, I was seriously pissed at the way things were handled - and then insult to injury - the way they were being re-handled AFTER the fact (as per the above mention of mods, etc.).
Enter Clifford Chase and Tom King. I've had the pleasure of speaking with Tom, 100% stand up guy. I like him. I've also had the pleasure of corresponding with Cliff - primarily due to the fact it would have appeared that my posts were well enough defensible and articulate to have a lot of those who were pissed off, feel vindicated in their position. And I didn't give a rats ass about mod warnings, being banned or the like. I spoke professionally and with conviction (and yes, sometimes a little gruffly, ahem). So Cliff and I had some words. This has gone on now since the launch, and it was finally discussed today, betwixt Cliff and I, why it was things were seemingly the way they were. "Seemingly" being the key word.
Alright, business is business - the marketing plot was just that, to create hype, and it worked incredibly well. Due to the fact the Axe-II is going to be product No.1 now, restocking of the Standards and the Ultras are going to be back-burnered, not to mention, hey, there's a lot for resale right now on eBay and CL, a natural market's just opened up. Hats off to Cliff for pricing the Axe-II almost TOO well!! Great price, seriously, and some people were pissed because the "had they known it was only going to be a months wait and a couple hun more, I woulda waited" mentality prevailed. Not Cliff's problem - he priced it "nicely", and ya, it's loaded with some exceptional features. Another thing Cliff mentioned was that he had requested his mods to ease up a bit, be a little less heavy handed, maybe be a little more empathetic to those caught in the "just bought" post purchase dissonance mindset. Fair enough. And last but not least, he stated he's a small company guy, he's put out a product that's hit the streets like none other, he's spinning, he's just trying to better the product line, he had to make decisions about the previous models, where to focus his and his poduction teams efforts, and here we are now - Axe-II is going to get launched. He's a small time company owner, doesn't have gobs of staff to continue all product lines, and is now being inundated with threatening lawsuits, credit card charge backs, and a lot of threats. Maybe I didn't help in this, but I'm seeing it through his eyes now, it wasn't "his" doing. A lot of the stress and dissonance on the forums has been caused by lack of accurate information, rumour, and heavy handed mods taking the "know it all power" route and pissing off already pissed off people.
So - amends. I never once personally attacked Clifford, or Tom. I did attack some of the seemingly brainwashed zealots and most certainly a number of mods. I am still officially banned over there, and that's fine, it'll do me some good to avoid that place, but I did promise Cliff I'd come clean on this end, and also share with everyone the fact he personally is not at all pleased with the way this has gone down. He just wanted to do good. He's not a large enough company to keep all products alive. And he wanted to price it right to be good for the next gen of buyers. For all these things I applaud him. And ya, I feel pretty bad for the guy to be taking a beating like he is. I don't think he deserves it, the mods on the other hand?? Well, whatever. Was this a failed marketing ploy? No, it definitely succeeded, but perhaps next time - if there is a next time - they'll have learned a bit about market reaction and do things just slightly differently. Furthermore, I am certain if Cliff COULD be on the forums as much as his mods, the tone/attitude there would be vastly different from the robotic prose of the mods simply stamping out the knee jerk, oft at times "top down" replies. But hey, Cliff's busy building our favourite toy. I can't blame him for that. And in fact, I don't blame him for ANYTHING. I applaud his product, I applaud his engineering, I applaud the advancements made, and I applaud how well I've adapted to playing through their product!!
I am buying an Axe-II, I have faith in Cliff and his products 100%, and most of all, I have faith that this mess will get resolved, and hopefully, the mods will get reigned in a bit, people will feel a little more at ease about expressing their upset and discontent if for nothing more than to get it off their chests; and the fractal movement will move forward - as it was and is meant to do. And maybe, just maybe, the Fractal Forum will allow a little more latitude to those who ask real questions and voice real concerns. Fractal is what Fractal is because Fractal clients paid money. And this deserves some respect.
Clifford - I know you'll read this, I hope you see this as an amend for the shitstorm I assisted in making grow worse (I'm not going to say I started it, that would be rather egotistical). Tom, you're all good. Mods?? You ain't gods, be happy you'll have a membership base left once this all distills down in the next week or so...be kind, we're all in it for the music. Lest we forget. Lift my ban and I'll happily say my peace over there too, as I promised Cliff.
Peace & ZoSo,
Mojo
Alright, been a LOT of threads about the Axe-II and the whole roll out and what the hell this, and what the f*ck that, and why this and who that... I'm certainly one who was party to the pressure - the eve of the launch I posted over at the Fractal site that if indeed this WAS new hardware that WAS going to basically - more or less - start the obselescence train for the Standards and the Ultras, that the powers-that-be may wish to reconsider how they were going about their business. I mentioned the fact that orders were still being placed; several members there were 'assured' that nothing new was going to come out [within a period of time that seemingly was reasonable enough for them to base their BUY button hit on]; yada yada yada.
Now, my rub with all of this was that the VALUE of the products that people HAD in their possession was, in many ways, being potentially jeopardized by not really knowing what the hell was going on. And that's fine, new shit comes out all the time, and that's the nature of business. But my rub with it was that there was a lengthy, long, drawn out 'tease' to the consumers. And I looked at it from the fact that some of these cats, many of these cats, may have been aware of the fact that if they didn't get on with their unit, they could easily sell it and recoup their costs - young musicians, guys without big rig budgets, bedroom rockstars, all the way up to people with money who at least felt confident that, well, if I don't like it, I can sell it. So all along, there's this tease - is it firmware, is it a foot controller, is it an FX only module, and the odd peep from the moderators would refuel all the speculation all over again... It was, basically, a tease and, IMHO, unethical because the very thing they were touting as "the best" in which people felt secure about, was, during the countdown and right up to its apex, being questioned (don't forget about the Duets and Sapphires and ProFires all being bought too, as there was no MIDI/USB evolution ever mentioned, more money out of pocket!!). Now, transparency in business rocks - it's how I do my business and it's gotten me quite far. Fractal's not my business. Obviously. But hey, if I were in Fractals shoes, and I knew something else was being developed, I would have leaked it out a couple months back, hinted to the fact it'd be more expensive and offering a few upgrades, but the remaining lineage would still be available, as would its respective upgrades and support, and therefore, a triumvirate of products to meet all price levels for all people - more or less. That's it that's all.
But no. A unit comes out, word follows shortly thereafter that the Standard and the Ultra are ixnayed, and from here on in, it's Axe-II baby, all the way. And oh, none are for sale yet. THAT is what I call BLINDSIDING. And the buggers had the audacity to string countless members, lurkers, consumers, and forumites along throughout the whole thing, and when the cork popped - as per my initial warning - it was less celebration than it was a huge hate on for the way things were handled. Of course, the moderators and those close to the moderators defended this practice vehemently - but NO ONE seemingly was accountable for the FACT that it was indeed a BLINDSIDING; when looking at it from a purely ethical, transparent level of business practice.
So this started me in on a bit of a bandwagon. I was pissed - not at the fact I just bought an Ultra not 2 months ago (I did indeed sell it to a different time zone for full pop about 2 minutes after the Axe-II was announced, so it wasn't that that bugged me) - but because I thought it was piss poor to "treat" high paying clientele like that. Cloak and dagger. And for everyone who voiced their upset, the mods kicked into Gestapo mode and either deleted their posts, shut down the thread, or banned them. The PMs I received were crazy - and again, I'm not some self righteous self proclaimed self entitled big mouth, I was seriously pissed at the way things were handled - and then insult to injury - the way they were being re-handled AFTER the fact (as per the above mention of mods, etc.).
Enter Clifford Chase and Tom King. I've had the pleasure of speaking with Tom, 100% stand up guy. I like him. I've also had the pleasure of corresponding with Cliff - primarily due to the fact it would have appeared that my posts were well enough defensible and articulate to have a lot of those who were pissed off, feel vindicated in their position. And I didn't give a rats ass about mod warnings, being banned or the like. I spoke professionally and with conviction (and yes, sometimes a little gruffly, ahem). So Cliff and I had some words. This has gone on now since the launch, and it was finally discussed today, betwixt Cliff and I, why it was things were seemingly the way they were. "Seemingly" being the key word.
Alright, business is business - the marketing plot was just that, to create hype, and it worked incredibly well. Due to the fact the Axe-II is going to be product No.1 now, restocking of the Standards and the Ultras are going to be back-burnered, not to mention, hey, there's a lot for resale right now on eBay and CL, a natural market's just opened up. Hats off to Cliff for pricing the Axe-II almost TOO well!! Great price, seriously, and some people were pissed because the "had they known it was only going to be a months wait and a couple hun more, I woulda waited" mentality prevailed. Not Cliff's problem - he priced it "nicely", and ya, it's loaded with some exceptional features. Another thing Cliff mentioned was that he had requested his mods to ease up a bit, be a little less heavy handed, maybe be a little more empathetic to those caught in the "just bought" post purchase dissonance mindset. Fair enough. And last but not least, he stated he's a small company guy, he's put out a product that's hit the streets like none other, he's spinning, he's just trying to better the product line, he had to make decisions about the previous models, where to focus his and his poduction teams efforts, and here we are now - Axe-II is going to get launched. He's a small time company owner, doesn't have gobs of staff to continue all product lines, and is now being inundated with threatening lawsuits, credit card charge backs, and a lot of threats. Maybe I didn't help in this, but I'm seeing it through his eyes now, it wasn't "his" doing. A lot of the stress and dissonance on the forums has been caused by lack of accurate information, rumour, and heavy handed mods taking the "know it all power" route and pissing off already pissed off people.
So - amends. I never once personally attacked Clifford, or Tom. I did attack some of the seemingly brainwashed zealots and most certainly a number of mods. I am still officially banned over there, and that's fine, it'll do me some good to avoid that place, but I did promise Cliff I'd come clean on this end, and also share with everyone the fact he personally is not at all pleased with the way this has gone down. He just wanted to do good. He's not a large enough company to keep all products alive. And he wanted to price it right to be good for the next gen of buyers. For all these things I applaud him. And ya, I feel pretty bad for the guy to be taking a beating like he is. I don't think he deserves it, the mods on the other hand?? Well, whatever. Was this a failed marketing ploy? No, it definitely succeeded, but perhaps next time - if there is a next time - they'll have learned a bit about market reaction and do things just slightly differently. Furthermore, I am certain if Cliff COULD be on the forums as much as his mods, the tone/attitude there would be vastly different from the robotic prose of the mods simply stamping out the knee jerk, oft at times "top down" replies. But hey, Cliff's busy building our favourite toy. I can't blame him for that. And in fact, I don't blame him for ANYTHING. I applaud his product, I applaud his engineering, I applaud the advancements made, and I applaud how well I've adapted to playing through their product!!
I am buying an Axe-II, I have faith in Cliff and his products 100%, and most of all, I have faith that this mess will get resolved, and hopefully, the mods will get reigned in a bit, people will feel a little more at ease about expressing their upset and discontent if for nothing more than to get it off their chests; and the fractal movement will move forward - as it was and is meant to do. And maybe, just maybe, the Fractal Forum will allow a little more latitude to those who ask real questions and voice real concerns. Fractal is what Fractal is because Fractal clients paid money. And this deserves some respect.
Clifford - I know you'll read this, I hope you see this as an amend for the shitstorm I assisted in making grow worse (I'm not going to say I started it, that would be rather egotistical). Tom, you're all good. Mods?? You ain't gods, be happy you'll have a membership base left once this all distills down in the next week or so...be kind, we're all in it for the music. Lest we forget. Lift my ban and I'll happily say my peace over there too, as I promised Cliff.
Peace & ZoSo,
Mojo
It doesn't sound as good as a real amp when it is FRFR and I won't lie about it for him. And at the point you are going to use a real amp and cab then it's just a digital preamp and I'll take my Fish or X88 first any day. 
