JazzMetalBear

I have a different thing with headphones output. Even when the headphone volume knob is at 0 I can hear cracks or sometimes hum when switching amp models or cabs within a preset. Nothing big but I think it is worth to mention about.

Yeah, I had the same feelings. With Axe-FX2 you have sooooooooooo many amps that actually instead of playing the guitar you are trying to figure out which one sounds best for you and you tweak the tone for eternity...

Tried acoustic guitar through helix into powercab FRFR mode today. Pristine tones. Tried Variax JTV-69 with acoustic sounds. Again pristine tones. So... unless you can’t live without tube poweramp and true guitar cab I think you will not find anything near so versatile for Helix as powercab. Still I am talking about non plus version.

I would love to, but I did the gig with analog rig this time. ;)

So today I had an occasion to compare the sound and feel of both Helix and Axe2 head to head. The general rule was - the same IR for both. After minor tweaking there was literally no difference for me. Both for the recorded sound and how the thing felt when played. Of course the main goal was to make as similar sound as possible but similar feel was quite surprising. Here is a tip: sag and bias parameters DO A LOT.

I’m just gonna say that I’ve played this exact song on my last gig. Strange coincidence... Nevertheless, I used only distortion, delay and reverb for big, arena sound.

Very nice! I hear that OH IRs are doing their job serving you quite good... :)

It is all about our needs. :) I do not reject powercab. Also I haven’t said that someday I will not do the same and gig around with powercab and variax (Yamaha just needs to build Shuriken with floyd rose for me ;) ). It is more practical. But tubes are more fun. :) Not much, maybe a pinch, maybe one step. But still. :)

Sounds nearly identical or even better. Totally agree! But can you feel any difference while playing the real tube amp and the Helix? It is very subjective matter but, for example, I can’t achieve that tube feel without tube power amp.

Can you recommend any of their IEMs? Haven’t used them but I am curious.

Here is my short story related to FAS... Few years ago I bought Axe-Fx 2. I thought it was the best sounding piece of guitar equipment for that time. And I thought it was the best music related gear I have ever had. If you are doing studio work only - this thing is fantastic. But problems keep on rising as shrooms after rainy days. Problem no1 - there is no foot controller. I mean I know that you can buy it. Couldn’t afford it at that time. Quite a big case if you want to gig around. Problem no2 - this doesn’t feel like a tube amp. And this was a major thing which eventually led me to selling Axe-Fx 2 and buying good, ol’ tube amp, guitar cab and soldering some analog effects by myself. Back to the roots, gentlemen. And now comes the Helix part. It sounds very, very comparable with axe-fx 2. For the 2x less cost. It does have floor switches and wah pedal. For free. You can plug in microphone. For free. It has way more better user interface. For free. My major concern? Still does not feel like a real tube amp when amplifying it through solid state power amp (or maybe I just did not have any occasion to play the SS poweramp which is that good). I need tube power amp with guitar cab to make it work for me on rehearsals and small gigs. Bigger venues are ridiculous and plain stupid straight connection to mixer + in ear monitoring. As ex-soundguy all I can say - we do love line in solutions. ;)

@roscoe5 my humble guess that the „magical missing link” in this context would be the tube power amp... From my not so big experience: 1. Powercab is versatile, powerfull, portable but somehow having rather cold sound. 2. Tube power amp + guitar cab is all about thump, oomph, warm and slightly compressed punch and singing harmonics... Maybe it is just me but there is literally minimal to no difference in clean tones. But more gain you add to the game, the more tube magic you feel and hear... Though I believe digital algorhytms will overcome analog tubes sooner or later. ;)

Lots of cool stuff! Thanks!

Are there any photos of these custom Shurikens? :)