boynigel

Driving to Fractal on Tuesday to pick it up. Once I get some time in w/it I can DM you if you're truly curious.

Another potential selling point of the fm9 is 4 cores versus 2 cores in the helix. more HP.

Well, at least you didn't flat out say, "WRX". LOL I drive a 2017 wrx...but I'm 54 and don't drive it like a douche. I wanted 4-doors, all wheel drive, and a car that could get out of it's own way...and priced under 30 grand as I only drive 8,000 miles a year and can't justify $45,000 for a vehicle. Not to hijack my own post, ha!

Life's hard for some people.

here's where it gets tuff- my invitation from fractal came yesterday at 2 p.m. i would imagine, based on their email, that if i don't reply w/in the next 2 hours i'll lose my reserved unit. time to do some coin flipping!

anything that would improve sonics (tone) that would narrow the gap in terms of how it compares to the tone of the Fractal stuff. I'm well aware that it's a narrow gap already...nearly indiscernible (if not totally) in the context of a mix...at least listening to compressed youtube vids. but as an OCD guitarist, i'm always looking for the best tone i can get. I think what it's going to come down to, for me, is just buying the FM9 and comparing it side by side w/my LT. If the FM9 sounds significantly better than the sounds i can dial in on my LT, i'll suck it up and learn the new (fractal) language. If the tonal differences are like splitting hairs, screw that, I'll sell the Fractal and recoup my money. I'd rather be playing, and i'm not going to commit to all the time of learning a new language for the sake of something that sounds maybe 3% better. With all that said, my guess is that any update wouldn't improve upon tonal realism of existing models, but rather, all the things we've come to expect from updates- bug fixes, glitches, etc as you mentioned. I just thought that maybe, given that Helix is getting on in age, that L6 would consider that type of improvement in an update as to hold us over until Helix 2 arrives someday...especially considering all the recent competition, to stop people from jumping ship to things like the FM9. I'm not holding my breath though. I'm not disappointed w/my LT's tone, but i'm honest enough to admit that if something sounds significantly better, and it's out there, i want it...as long as the learning curve to tonal rewards ratio isn't totally skewed in favor of operational headaches.

Cue eye roll. I play 3 hours a day. Not bad considering i've a full time job, go to the gym for an hour, walk my dog for a half-hour, and still manage to have family time. Oh, yeah - your chance to wait will be soon! Nope. people with the same waitlist signup day as me have been getting invites this week. Still very much on the fence at this point will be a tough decision when the email does arrive.

I'm always anxious for new features/improvements. Any rumors as to any big updates on the horizon? Fractal should be sending me a FM9 waitlist invitation any day now. As exciting as it is, it's also daunting as their "scenes" vs the helix snapshots is hard for me to wrap my head around, having to learn a new language, etc. the consensus seems to be that the FM9 does sound better, and it's allowed to given that the helix is now 7 years old, but will it be significant enough to get me to leave the Helix ecosystem? I know L6 has said, "don't hold your breath on a V2 of Helix anytime soon" but perhaps another big update could offer a glimpse of what's to come, and what to expect when V2 does arrive. I'd stick around for the ecosystem alone as long as the sound quality isn't night and day better on the FM9.

how many db is this "major" boost? thanks

Any of you out there with an Eventide H9? If so, can anyone tell me which Helix reverb will get me the closest to the Space Algorithm? In particular, the Hell's Gate preset.

Launching HX edit the other day I got a popup that said, "Legacy System Extension. Existing software on your system loaded a system extension signed by 'Line 6, Inc' which will be incompatible with a future version of macOS. Contact the developer for support." Clear as mud. Well, to me anyway. My computer is a brand new Mac Studio M1 Max, running 12.3.1

never mind. figured it out. Mode setting comes into play

My first attempt using snapshots. Preset in question has only 3 snapshots. I want to have the foot switches/screen laid out so I see my snapshots on the bottom row, and stomps on the top row. I followed the manual's instruction to do this, yet when I leave the global settings page after setting my preferences, all I see on the screen are snapshots 1-8, taking up both the upper and lower rows. It's as if I never went and changed anything in the global section. What's more is that I can't seem to assign an upper row foot switch to a given effects block like I normally can, via touch, in non-snapshot mode. More strangeness- at one point I lost the names that I'd assigned to my snapshots even though I'd saved multiple times since naming.

Of course. I was speaking in terms of if that weren't the case. Still don't get how firmware update can give my LT more HP, but i guess at this point i've hijacked my own post.

I get it in relation to the power of one's computer, but my LT is dual-DSP to the Fractal's quad-DSP. I don't get how a firmware update can get me more HP...unless it's via a technical achievement that allows it to run more efficiently, requiring less of the processors? quasi-HP? I seldom max out CPU creating a preset, so I'm certainly not hyper-focused on this, but it sure is nice knowing you have all the power you'd need in any situation. "you have the option to turn that off and really create a monster" Turn "what" off? sorry, lost me here. Nice!

Yeah but the firmware updates can't give you more horsepower...which can be a factor in making things sound better. That said, i've heard both units be made to sound terrible, and both sound fantastic. Everyone says Fractal has better tone, but my suspicion (based on youtube videos) is that fractal just spends more time dialing in their presets so it sounds better out of the box. When fractal pulls my number on the waiting list, i'll purchase it, but it will have to sound significantly better for me to keep it. I wouldn't look forward to learning a new operational language unless the tones are astoundingly better. Then i can just sell it for a profit. ;) Oh yeah- any whispers of when the next firmware update is coming? Probably wouldn't be as major as the last one if i had to guess.

Got it for $69, integrated pretty seamlessly. This purchase has me even more locked in to the Helix ecosystem now. Hmmm...now what'll I do when Fractal finally notifies me that it's my turn on the waitlist for the FM9? ;)

Thanks but I got it up and running via L6 support ticket. had to trash a bunch of folders and reinstall. Free trial version is up and running. Their sale is ending in a couple of days so I'll probably buy it for the sale price of 69.99 while I still can. do you know offhand if I'd need to uninstall the free version and then install the purchased version, or would the purchase just take over the free version?

yeah, we know you hate protools. LOL. ...as evidenced in your very first sentence no less(and last). well, I hate garage band because I just tried to see if I Native showed up in it and I couldn't even find a damned mix window to look for it in. gave up after 5 minutes. like I've been saying- the evil you know. I've had no issues opening and running other 3rd party plugins so this is unique to Native. Maybe I'll try Reaper, which was the DAW I was considering changing to before ultimately deciding to stick with...wait for it- the evil I already know...well, for the most part. I think protools has become the Gibson of the DAW world. Once great, but ultimately eclipsed by other companies while it rested on its laurels. Gibson's greatest competition is its ghost. perhaps the same can be said for PT? now let's see if I can navigate Reaper any better than GB... EDIT- okay, I just downloaded Reaper and I was able to open Native. Weird DAW, every time I opened a plugin, the Reaper windows would disappear, showing only the plugin selected. So we've established that Native works w/M1 computers. Now the question is, does/can it work in PT?

I inquired about a week ago as to whether Native runs on my computer and was told it did, but after installing last night, when I open pro tools (Artist V22.5.0.192), I get the message, "the following plugin (Native) failed to load because it is not a valid 64 bit AAX plugin". Okay, what did I do wrong here? Mac is running Monterey 12.3.1

It probably would have happened by now if it was ever going to, but does anyone know if there'll ever be a standalone option via an update?

I've always been leery of the speakers that Line 6 uses in their "budget" lines. If you switched to Catalyst, it's obviously working for you. Care to comment/elaborate, for the speaker snobs out there like me? I'm just curious.

One more point that may be something to think about for those considering going the route of Helix > power amp, or fx loop Return of amp > speaker cab- One would think that using the Helix routed in to the effects return of an amp, that you would bypass the power section of the modeled amp and only send the preamp modeling (obviously the speaker modeling is disabled), but in my experience i got the best result using the modeled amp's preamp AND power amp section. I've heard some say that it depends on the model, so experiment. It could be my amp, it could be the models I'm using, or a combination of the two. FWIW i primarily use the vox and marshall voiced models like, Ingrid, Divided by 13, Vox, Placater , etc. into my low wattage (15) Bad Cats that run on EL84's.

Agreed. My Derailed Ingrid into my 15W EL84 Bad Cats sound stunning. So much so that after finally getting the opportunity to audition a Dr. Z Z-Wreck, an amp I'd been lusting after for months, my g.a.s. for one was immediately squashed.

I go straight into the effects return of my Bad Cat amps. i get the best of both worlds- modeling flexibility coupled with a (tube) "amp in a room" sound you just can't get going the FRFR route (well, unless you wanna get into filter eq's to simulate that, but still not the same IMO). The nice thing about the Bad Cat is that it has a Cut knob that it post-preamp, which acts well as a master/global eq on the fly. It you're asking because you're considering a dedicated power amp > cab setup, but you already have an amp head, don't rule out simply using your existing head as the power amp (if it has an fx loop/power amp in connection that is). could save some serious cash in doing so.