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Just got my AX-8 invitation...


njglover
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...and I will be ignoring it. Put in the wait list request before I decided to give the Helix a go, but I've been so happy with the Helix I have no reason to pick up the AX-8 now. The more I use this thing, the more I like it. I'm not sure I could go back to analog amps if I wanted to now. The flexibility of the Helix is incredible, so easy to do so many things with just one button. The amount of effects and tap dancing (or ridiculous MIDI controlling) I would have to do to make some of my patches happen would make live performance nearly impossible. And I've finally gotten my tones dialed in such that I honestly don't even miss my real tube amps anymore. And, uh, I have really nice tube amps, so that's saying something :)

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With ya, bud!  Tubers have been collecting a LOT of extra dust here lately.

 

Haven't really missed my Axe FX II XL+ or my Kemper Rack, either.  Great pieces of equipment, though!

Mostly don't miss that extra pedal to lug around plus a rack.  hehe

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The whole "invitation" to purchase the thing is rather off-putting, imho. They have a product, I have money...The End. The idea of having to wait to be invited into their little club nauseates me. I have no need to feel "special" for owning this or that brand of musical equipment...or anything else for that matter.

 

What's next? A supervised home visit from a sales rep who'll decide if it's a suitable environment for their fancy box?

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Same here, really wanted the AX-8 but the wait was incredibly long.  A good friend got a Helix so I went over to his place to check it out and after seeing it and playing with it I had no desire for the AX-8.  Found a great deal on a used Helix and bought it and haven't regretted it at all.  Then about three weeks ago I got my "Invitation to purchase" from Fractal.   I had no problems replying to them, thanks but no thanks... I bought a Helix and love it.    I got no response from them...  lol

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The whole "invitation" to purchase the thing is rather off-putting, imho. They have a product, I have money...The End. The idea of having to wait to be invited into their little club nauseates me. I have no need to feel "special" for owning this or that brand of musical equipment...or anything else for that matter.

 

What's next? A supervised home visit from a sales rep who'll decide if it's a suitable environment for their fancy box?

Dude, relax. They're not screening their calls. They're not trying to make sure you deserve to use their product. They're not auditioning you. They don't reject people who aren't up to their standards. The demand is higher than the supply. They handle it in an entirely reasonable way...a wait list. It's that simple. They have a product, but they don't have inventory.

 

It's actually quite a bit nicer than many companies would do it. The wait list means you don't pay up front. You don't have to put down a massive deposit to secure your place in line. (I don't think there's even a deposit at all until your spot comes up, but I could be wrong.)

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With ya, bud! Tubers have been collecting a LOT of extra dust here lately.

 

Haven't really missed my Axe FX II XL+ or my Kemper Rack, either. Great pieces of equipment, though!

Mostly don't miss that extra pedal to lug around plus a rack. hehe

I still have my KPA Rack and KR, as those tones are pretty thought to beat, and I haven't got there with my Helix yet. I hope I can get close, because like you said basically, less stuff to haul! Btw, I have 3 booteeks that have been dust collectors for 2 years si cel I got my KPA.
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I still have my KPA Rack and KR, as those tones are pretty thought to beat, and I haven't got there with my Helix yet. I hope I can get close, because like you said basically, less stuff to haul! Btw, I have 3 booteeks that have been dust collectors for 2 years si cel I got my KPA.

"those tones are pretty thought to beat, and I haven't got there with my Helix yet"

 

Are you reffering to the built in profiles or third party profiles?

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I had about every commercial Profile known to mankind...  I found myself trying to tweak 100's of profiles the whole time I had my Kemper Rack.

It was almost TOO much to choose from...  I may grab another one again for the studio, though.  Just hated having a pedal plus a rack.

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Fractal is a small company...very small...I have been there personally. They seem conservative as well...in a good way. The wait list is a pain but it allows you to get in line for the product and as mentioned doesn't require an outlay of cash.

 

Of course people on the line 6 Helix forum prefer the Helix...on the Fractal forum they prefer the AX-8...imagine...how crazy.

 

Line 6 has been very good to me, providing me with excellent tools. I did go with an AX8 and I love it -- but I still use a Variax and gig at times with an HD500. I like having all the choices...it makes the companies work harder for our dollars and our personal preferences get a variety to chose from. Basically, if you can't make a Helix, AX8, Profile etc sound good...it probably isn't the modelers fault.

 

Anyway I am glad you like the Helix! It seems like a real bad @ss piece of gear.

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Fractal is a small company...very small...I have been there personally. They seem conservative as well...in a good way. The wait list is a pain but it allows you to get in line for the product and as mentioned doesn't require an outlay of cash.

 

Of course people on the line 6 Helix forum prefer the Helix...on the Fractal forum they prefer the AX-8...imagine...how crazy.

 

Line 6 has been very good to me, providing me with excellent tools. I did go with an AX8 and I love it -- but I still use a Variax and gig at times with an HD500. I like having all the choices...it makes the companies work harder for our dollars and our personal preferences get a variety to chose from. Basically, if you can't make a Helix, AX8, Profile etc sound good...it probably isn't the modelers fault.

 

Anyway I am glad you like the Helix! It seems like a real bad @ss piece of gear.

 

I feel the same way. It would be hard for me to ever be a full endorser of any brand... My rig is PRS, Helix, Malekko fuzz (fuzzes are a weak point of the Helix IMO), QSC speaker... When I played a real amp it was Boogie head into an Orange cab. I play what sounds good and has the features I need.

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Same here, really wanted the AX-8 but the wait was incredibly long.  A good friend got a Helix so I went over to his place to check it out and after seeing it and playing with it I had no desire for the AX-8.  Found a great deal on a used Helix and bought it and haven't regretted it at all.  Then about three weeks ago I got my "Invitation to purchase" from Fractal.   I had no problems replying to them, thanks but no thanks... I bought a Helix and love it.    I got no response from them...  lol

 

I understand why they have the wait list, but I think they're gonna have to ramp up production or lose out on at least some customers to Line 6. There are a lot of people like us who went on the wait list but were on the fence. If, like me, you went to a forum asking what to do, most people will tell you to pick up the Helix while you wait and return it and get the AX-8 if you don't like it. Well, I liked the Helix, you liked the Helix. It would be very easy for Fractal to look at the metrics of people who got on the AX-8 wait list and didn't follow through. After all, Helix is readily available everywhere, might as well try it. And a lot of us found out that actually it's pretty great. Easy to measure that loss of business. I wonder how many others are like us...

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"those tones are pretty thought to beat, and I haven't got there with my Helix yet"

 

Are you reffering to the built in profiles or third party profiles?

Some of the factory profiles are pretty good. I used a tweeked Deluxe Reverb patch for a year, before I bought the Michael Britt profiles. The MBritt is what makes the sounds of the KPA "tough" to beat, AFAIC.

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