Fractal Audio FX8 - Introduction; Quick Overview

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1 : INTRODUCTION
The FX8 is an advanced multi-eects pedalboard processor, perfect for guitar, bass, and other instruments.
It is built “like a tank” with a steel chassis and aircraft aluminum end panels. The unit features eleven quiet,
durable, solid-state footswitches with no mechanical contacts to fail, plus 27 LEDs in three colors. The easy-
to-use interface includes a bright display, six buttons, and ve knobs.
The FX8 was designed rst and foremost for the best possible sound quality, with converters that deliver
pristine audio, ultra-low noise levels, and no “tone suck.” It uses a powerful processor to run the same high-
quality eect algorithms that have made our Axe-Fx processor so successful. Its Humbuster™ outputs help
defeat ground hum (when used with Humbuster™ Cables). It also features upgradeable rmware so we can
deliver updates with exciting new features.
We hope you nd the FX8 easy to use and this manual easy to read. The most important sections are those
which introduce the concepts behind how the unit works. If nothing else, be sure to review this section, plus
Section 2 : Hardware Overview, Section 3 : Setup Guide, Section 4 : The Relays and Section
5 : Creating Presets
 The FX8 contains 128 dierent presets
arranged in 16 lettered banks.
 Each preset is like a whole new pedalboard,
with up to eight eect blocks (Wah,
Drive, or Phaser, for instance).
 Most blocks oer X/Y switching for twice as
many sounds from the same eight blocks.
 Each preset also contains eight scenes.
Think of a scene as a preset within a
preset. Scenes eliminate “tap dancing”
by turning multiple eects on or o
at a single tap. . . and much more!
 Two TRS relays can switch your amplier
and can be controlled by the onboard
footswitches or programmed per-scene.
 The FX8 features buered truebypass
with analog relays to switch all processing
completely out of the signal path.
 Setting levels is easy, with soft switches to
increase headroom and automatic unity gain.
 Onboard jacks for two external
footswitches or expression pedals make
it easy to control sound functions.
 The FX8 has built in looper, a tuner, and
a dedicated tap tempo footswitch.
 MIDI and USB also provide powerful
options for control, editing, and more.
 FX8-EDIT, a free software editor, makes
it possible to edit presets, eects, and
more when connected to a Mac or PC.
 And much more! Please take the time to
familiarize yourself with this manual.
 Should you need any assistance with the FX8,
please visit http://www.fractalaudio.com
QUICK OVERVIEW
1 : INTRODUCTION