PeterHamm

There are no 3rd party amp models, just IRs in Fractal (you still need them to make your amp model - no problem, there are tons...) and amp profiling (not the same as modeling) in the Kemper, though.

But there's been plenty of stories about Fractal firmware updates that changed the tone of the amp models enough that people had to adjust their patches. I don't want to take time for that. Totally agree. LOVED the almost-5-year-in updates that came out for the HD 500. The Vintage Model Pack was really worth the money and yes, in 5 years if they do something similar for Helix, they'll probably have my money.

Well, you still can't run your DAW and your editor at the same time I'll bet. And even if you CAN... I don't think I WOULD...

There are gobs of free ones to at least try, though. My experience has been that I LOVE what I get with dual cabs and I'm not bothering with IRs after trying a few and realizing I liked the control and flexibility of the built-in dual cabs way better. But... I DO use IRs to dress up my acoustic and faux-acoustic powerBridge sounds. Whoah nelly that is awesome!

But... I need to know that if I upgrade my firmware, I don't have to re-write patches to play at my church services that weekend because they've been tweaked under the hood. I want them to be right from the get go and mostly left alone (talking models, not factory patches, which I ignore anyway). Honestly, the sheer volume of firmware updates that Fractal does turns me off and would be a motivator for me to avoid those products. Not saying they don't sound great, but at some point I want ya to leave it be and let me play. (But give me NEW models, hellz yah!)

Yes, they have been eerily silent, leading me to believe that they will, indeed, get you this Editor really soon. But... It's not going to be really easier to edit with the editor (I predict), just easier on your back, which is important to all you non-rack guys...

The amps that are in the Helix now are really useful to me. If they "improve them" and it ends up changing the sound of them much, I might not be real happy. If they add more, obviously we all will be happy. So, it's a complicated dance I guess.

I rename the files of the one I use "001_xxxxxxx.xxx" so that I can easily put them back into the unit in order after a re-set.

Also, the editor is not out yet, but will be very very soon. so it's too early to evaluate how you will like the software. I can tell you that I'm reasonably confident that most functions are far easier to navigate on the actual unit than they will be in a computer program.

spikey... ...again... ...both of those products have a Minimum Advertised Price assigned by the manufacturer. It isn't collusion. Call them and maybe they'll do better, maybe they won't. It's not a conspiracy. Stop looking for one.

Well, for sure... when there's a new product that is out that is hard to get, that for sure is NOT the time to make killer deals on it... If I were the boss and you discounted one single dollar of Helix for a customer, you and I would be having a crucial conversation right away. I remember when HD 500 came out. I was thrilled to pre-order it, got one of the first shipment, was happy with it for years and still am happy with it... I have a GREAT relationship with my salesguy at one of the big companies. But like every other company, at that point, there were no deals. That's not collusion. The reason that there is an item from Maker A at 500 bucks and one at Maker B for 500 bucks has nothing to do with collusion or price fixing. They just have both learned that they can sell a ton of said unit at 499.00, and only half a ton at 501.00. Maker A sees Maker B selling something well at 500 bucks, and figures out how to make something similar at the same price... and they make it. Or they make one that is very similar that they can sell for 50 or a hundred bucks less. It's not collusion, though. It's competition. Maker C comes along and sells a similar unit for 650 bucks that does more, but not nearly as many people buy it. So... Maker A, Maker B, and even maker D, E and F look at that and say... "hmmm... better make one for 500, not 600 or 650. That's why in the 500-dollar category in the past five years there have been a bunch of items in the modeler category. Product research, common sense, gauging the market.

Unless you work for MF, you only know what the guy told you on the phone. The fact is, they might have told you what they wanted to say to close the deal. Yeah, sales guys do that...

No. I'm pretty sure that any manufacturer can, in fact, require a certain price to be charged. Apple does this the best, imho. Price fixing is when 2 or more competing companies collude to fix prices for a class of products that compete with each other.

I'm guessing you cross-posted with phil. Back when I used to work in the MI business, the big company that had an M.A.P. policy that they policed heavily was Yamaha. So... I could sell a Korg T3 (remember that?) and make the company (and me) a few bucks... or, for about the same price, perhaps sell whatever Yamaha had against it at the time (SY77, SY85), but because I couldn't advertise (even in telephone discussions - you had to come into the store to get the better price) the Yamaha for under the M.A.P. (still remember that the SY85 was M.A.P. $1,485.00 US). Illegal? Nope. But if I got caught advertising below M.A.P., the next shipment was going to be a longer time coming... if at all... never risked it... I was more likely to make a little better margins on the Yamaha. It made me happier, the owner happier, and made us like Yamaha more than Korg, who had no M.A.P. policy at the time (Yamaha was a trend-setter in this regard in the early 90s). Ultimately, I'm gonna sell you what you want, and what you need, and what fits your needs and desires more, of course (well not anymore, I am decades away from when I worked in sales), but I'm gonna like the company and the product that makes it easier to actually earn money doing it... that's life... And yes, this kind of thing helps small dealers out... a LOT...

They have a M.A.P. they have to follow. It's not price-fixing. I tried to explain the difference.

hmmm... let me see now... let's imagine a market where there are 2 or 3 or even more products from different companies in the same price class... there's a word for that... Oh, yeah... I remember it... "competition"! :D

I'm not saying that they shouldn't do something like "scenes". In fact, I think they should. That said, there ARE existing ways to get a dizzying array of tones out of one patch, something like "scenes' (although we know it won't be called that) is hopefully in our future (and will totally level the playing field in this regard), but... I doubt there will ever be true spillover between patches. It requires a different architecture that doesn't take full use of the processing, which people won't pay 1500 bucks for. That's all.

Uh, no. Manufacturers are allowed to specify a minimum advertised price. That's not price fixing, and is not illegal. When two companies get together and decide to price an equivalent product in such a way as not to undercut one another... that is... and is illegal in USAmerica.

#5. It's not a problem. It's the same limitation other high-end solutions have.

Thanks so much for stickin' up for me. Scott and I have corresponded privately. It's all good, and we're totally cool... So all's well as ends well.

you kind of have that option. Make one patch in path A, one patch in path B, and switch between them using a footswitch to switch a "first in the chain" volume pedal from 0 - 100 and vice versa. Zero latency, trails remain... simple... basic... That said, within one patch, there are different and I think far better ways to get multiple sounds, even out of just one amp block if need be. I know, you're asking for an option to only use half the processor on a global basis to make it so you can constantly switch between patches with no latency and trails and such... but I suspect that this would end up not being the best solution for people once they really learn how to use the unit. Something like Fractal's scenes makes more sense, so find that on ideascale and vote it up! yeah... that could happen... and then they could decide together on how to price those options... and all go to jail...

Or you could be a really simple b***ard like me and just use the same combination on everything. I know... I'm so simple...

you just changed my life. (I"m crying with joy.)

We should say "different", though... 'cause some will like one, some the other. But... Nothing says you can't split a path and use one 3rd party IR on the left and one on the right... just like dual cabs. Don't know what the difference in horsepower required is.