Hi,
just got my Helix after much pondering about getting a Fractal AX8. Guess what clinched it for me was the ease of use and connectivity, and the routing possibilities.
First impressions are of great sound compared to the VoiceLive 3, definitely a step (or 2) up.. Ease of use was fantastic, most things didn't require the manual and I was editing straight away. Build is fine (some knobs could be tighter), looks solid. Great screen, avoids having to use a computer all the time. Routing possibilities are endless, just what I wanted
However, I quickly noticed something baffling: there is no input level metering and no clip indicator unless I am mistaken. That is something I really don't understand on a device that costs and positions itself so highly. Also, the manual contains no technical information about the input and outputs levels (dBu, dbFs) like the manual of the Tascam DP32 does. Basically flying a bit blind here, and that's a shame for such a good product. As an example, matching 2 acoustic guitars with active pickups or an electric and an active acoustic on the main and aux inputs was a fiddly affair, and I still don't know if it's actually correctly done. Any suggestions on how to achieve this easily and get a correct SNR are appreciated. It would be much better if the Volume/Gain block would have a level indicator screen of the current input, and I upvoted this in the IdeaScale lists in this forum. VoiceLive has an automatic gain wizard for setting up inputs, that could be another avenue ...
Generally, I feel the Helix has great potential for acoustic guitars (it's already better than my VoiceLive 3), but it really needs some extra blocks to achieve greatness:
- some acoustic preamps or amps
- some acoustic cabinets
- more comprehensive EQ, with better display
- support for longer IR's (I believe the AX8 goes to 8192 samples on the same DSP chips)
Some effects could stand a little improvement too, I had some strange dropouts on delays/reverbs (maybe an overactive noise gate, still investigating)
If some of these features come through and the support and customer feedback is good (Fractal has a great reputation for that, Line6 less so) then I will definitely keep the Helix, it really does so many things very well ...
The metering is absolutely essential though (or some easy solution as too how to solve input level problems),and I would really have to consider sending my unit back without it ....
Gear:
- PRS 513 electric
- Avian Skylark fan fret acoustic
- Eastman 412 acoustic
- Tascam DP32 multitracker/mixer
- Mackie MR5 monitors
- Rivera R30-12
- TC electronic VoiceLive 3
- Behringer DEQ2496 for room compensation and output compression.