mountain2012 Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 How do the amp models of the Helix compare to those of the HD series? Are they a step up? Are the amp models taken from the HD and POD 2.0 or completely redone for the Helix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Brand spankin' new amp models, not based on any previous Line 6 modeling technology. They sound and feel great, imo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealZap Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 very responsive to your guitar volume in a way that previous modeling just never did for me... but yes, improved all the way around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjutsu Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 how do they compare to the Axe FX or Kemper? Is this something that is in the same league or is it a step down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartnettle1 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 This has a couple of early patches with minimal FX. Paul get get a lot of dynamics out of a guitar but that aside the quality of the amps are unmistakably there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 how do they compare to the Axe FX or Kemper? Is this something that is in the same league or is it a step down? How do you even measure what a "step down" is when you're talking this sort of stuff? Having played through the Helix, the amp models feel and react very much like a real amp to me. I'm sure there will always be differences of opinions on products, though. Personally, I've never heard a clip from the Axe FX or Kemper that blew me away as something magical, but that's just me. One quantitative difference between the Kemper and the Helix is that the Kemper is not a modeler. It's a profiler that takes a snapshot of an amp under a certain condition, miced a certain way. I know that profiles can be edited to a certain degree after the fact, but it's not the same thing as having a modeled tone stack and other parameters. So in that respect, the Kemper is a different category altogether. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarrellM5 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 how do they compare to the Axe FX or Kemper? Is this something that is in the same league or is it a step down? That's the $64,000 question and probably the biggest reason the TGP Helix thread is 344+ pages long. The Line 6 guys have said numerous times that their concern was more about how the new models compare to the actual amps and not to the competition. The demos I've heard are outstanding BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasvideo Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Since we are making comparisons... http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-discussion/103735-axe-fx-ii-quantum-rev-1-00-public-beta.html http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-recordings/103781-fw-19-vs-quantum-amp-shootout.html#post1241850 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdmayfield Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Since we are making comparisons... http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-discussion/103735-axe-fx-ii-quantum-rev-1-00-public-beta.html http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-recordings/103781-fw-19-vs-quantum-amp-shootout.html#post1241850 The main thing I notice in those Axe firmware comparisons is that the excerpt from the Quantum firmware is about a dB or so louder. The average person is not going to hear that as a volume difference, but will instead feel it subconsciously as an undefinable improvement in quality. Regardless of what else if anything changed on the specific amp models tested, loudness is an essential variable to control for, to avoid completely throwing off the comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbieb61 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 This has a couple of early patches with minimal FX. Paul get get a lot of dynamics out of a guitar but that aside the quality of the amps are unmistakably there Heck yeah. When he finally stops talking and starts playing...it's the first vid I've seen with just the amp sounds and not a ton of effects. That is what I wanted to hear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brue58ski Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Finally got to hear a chorus. They sure like their Univibe. It's in almost every video. I can"t help but wonder if they used that Strat for thei JYV Variax modelling. Probably not. But I can't help but wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dshow Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 They sure like their Univibe. It's in almost every video. I was thinking exactly the same. It seems that the Univibe is the only thing they are really satisfied with right now ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratchamp Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 I was thinking exactly the same. It seems that the Univibe is the only thing they are really satisfied with right now ;-) I think they're showing off how good it is because they know how bad it was in the hd500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dshow Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 I think they're showing off how good it is because they know how bad it was in the hd500. I don't think that the univibe in the HD500 is that bad. If you're able to dial it right it sounds pretty good. It may not be that reactive but it sounds decent. The guitarguitar video is the first one that convinced me soundwise. There are some pretty good example and the video shows that the helix sound good. I still find that there is not that much difference to the HD500 though. It may take longer to get a good sound out of it but it definatley can sound great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CipherHost Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 I don't think that the univibe in the HD500 is that bad. If you're able to dial it right it sounds pretty good. It may not be that reactive but it sounds decent. The guitarguitar video is the first one that convinced me soundwise. There are some pretty good example and the video shows that the helix sound good. I still find that there is not that much difference to the HD500 though. It may take longer to get a good sound out of it but it definatley can sound great. If you can get the 500X univibe to sound anywhere near the Helix univibe, please share your patch. I can get it to sound ok in combination with other effects, but nothing close to the Helix. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dshow Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 If you can get the 500X univibe to sound anywhere near the Helix univibe, please share your patch. I can get it to sound ok in combination with other effects, but nothing close to the Helix. Thanks Where do you find the statement that I can make it sound like in the video? ;) I said it sounds decent and you can get a good sound out of it. There are lots of patches on custom tone that sound good (of course with a few tweaks to fit your gear and ears). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CipherHost Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Where do you find the statement that I can make it sound like in the video? ;) I said it sounds decent and you can get a good sound out of it. There are lots of patches on custom tone that sound good (of course with a few tweaks to fit your gear and ears). I inferred it from the text of your post. You wrote: "I still find that there is not that much difference to the HD500 though." If you are going to change the subject of your conversation, it would be nice to give the reader an idea of what that new subject is within the context of your post. I did not say I can get a "good" sound out of the 500X univibe, just an ok sound with other effects involved. It's not even in the same ballpark as the Helix univibe. I thought the TC Electronics Viscous Vibe sounded better than the 500X from the NAMM videos, but the Helix sounds quite a bit better than both of them IMO. If others can get a better sound than I can (which is not unusual), I like to see what they did differently so I can learn from them. That's all I was asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eenymason Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 I inferred it from the text of your post. You wrote: "I still find that there is not that much difference to the HD500 though." If you are going to change the subject of your conversation, it would be nice to give the reader an idea of what that new subject is within the context of your post. I did not say I can get a "good" sound out of the 500X univibe, just an ok sound with other effects involved. It's not even in the same ballpark as the Helix univibe. I thought the TC Electronics Viscous Vibe sounded better than the 500X from the NAMM videos, but the Helix sounds quite a bit better than both of them IMO. If others can get a better sound than I can (which is not unusual), I like to see what they did differently so I can learn from them. That's all I was asking. Perception can be such a frustrating thing sometimes... I certainly didn't assume "I still find that there is not that much difference to the HD500 though." referred specifically to the Univibe simulation abilities of the units - rather to the "perceived quality" of the units generally. Expectations too.... How long is a piece of string? As long as you want it to be, pretty much...... My perception is that my first experience of owning and using regularly a "Univibe" effect (the HD's version of said effect) pleases me. Particularly since Hendrix's magical use of the Univibe on "Maching Gun" and other delicacies from the late sixties, (e.g Robin Trower etc), the effect was obviously mono, but still had a real "3D" organic feeling kind of thing going on - and I can hear from the sound samples, that the Helix really does do a stellar job of reproducing that organic 3D swirling thang. My perception tells me that's a pretty big improvement, and one of the boxes ticked for me on the list of reasons to (one day) flog off an HD500 and fork out the rest of the big bucks for the Helix. My expectation that the Helix supports the original variaxes though, it seems is setting me up for a huge disappointment - far more than any quality of any specific effect in the new flagship product, if I then have to go out and buy another couple of variaxes, then I may as well just give up now.... G.A.S. BEGONE! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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