Shrednoise321 Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Does anyone know if there is gonna be a boost in the amount of amps and effects in helix to rival Fractal? The amount of stuff that's in the axe-fx is kinda tempting me to switch. Please help me!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 They don't reveal future plans, as a publicly held company they are advised (correctly imho) by their lawyers in this fashion.If sheer number of amps and FX is your only metric, Fractal may be for you. But remember that at the same price points, you get one single pathway in AX8 and up to 4 in Helix (twice the processing power, really).So... it depends on what is important to you in these regards, because I've heard both and they both sound great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrednoise321 Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 I have a Helix. I just wouldn't want to loose my butt on trying to sell it. The only other thing keeping me away from fractal is the simplicity of the helix in the way of creating presets. I love the user friendly part of helix. I just wish I had more variety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanecgriffo Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 i'm sure there are more amps/effects coming but i cant imagine it will ever rival axe-fx in numbers alone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 How many amp models does one need in reality, that's always been my question. For sheer numbers of amps Kemper would be the choice. But then you have to weed through which ones are really good and which one's aren't. For me, if I have a handful of good, serviceable amps I have no problem getting the tone I need for anything I'm likely to play. And I cover a lot of ground from soul, funk, blues, r&b, rock, country, and jazz. So far I haven't run into anything that made me say, "Oh man...if I only had an amp sim of 'X' I could really do a great job on that song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klangmaler Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 ...again this endless discussion... Helix and Axe FX(II) (still) are different, will be different and I'm quite happy with that. No reason to rival because these are different approaches, concepts and tools... Choosing is the 'problem', I guess :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooey Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 For me, the #1 thing is that Helix is a pleasure to use and to play through. I don't feel like I'm anywhere near having exhausted its possibilities, so the fact that Axe devices have more models just isn't super relevant to me. Of course I'm interested in what (sims of) cool boutique amp A and obscure antique amp B sound like, but that's always going to be true, no matter what you have available, and doesn't detract in the slightest from the just plain Fun I'm having with Helix. As has been said many times, here and elsewhere, Fractal, Kemper and Helix all sound really good, and all deliver an unimaginable wealth of (somewhat different) features. But day to day usability is a huge thing, and IMO it's pretty clear that the Helix UI is in a league of its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klangmaler Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 [...] The amount of stuff [...] is kinda tempting me to switch. More is never enough :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrednoise321 Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 I owned a kemper. I sold it to get my helix. I love the user friendly platform. I just wish it had a little more or different choices. As far as effects go, I'm thinking of throwing an M9 or M13 in one of the loops and problem solved there. Now on the amp side, maybe a high gain Orange or a Diezel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joepeggio Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Seems like if you own a studio and want a large palette of amps etc, the fractal is the ticket. I, like most players, come from a single amp (2 or 3 channels) and maybe 10 pedals and got a good variety of tones. The Helix has so much variability even with one amp that it at times becomes too much. the three major units out there are great at what they do and each have their own strengths. Line 6 did a great job with the Helix finding a market the other 2 did not cover. it seems in most markets there is room for three major players . I think helix became the third. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 The grass is always greener...Yes, there are some guys that have to have 200+ amps. I can't figure why, since so many of us use a very small number.There are about half a dozen amps in Helix that I adore and only 2 or 3 that I actually use. No way would I want or need hundreds. I ain't got time to go through them.Now... if ease of use is an issue, that's ONLY on the actual unit. The AX8 seems hard to use on the unit, but the editing software from Fractal is AMAZING... so if you have a computer and are going to use that, the difference is less.To me, it's simple... ...if you must have a huge number of amps, Fractal is your game....if you must have an easy-to use unit and aren't going to use a computer, or if you need multiple chains, Helix is the ticket.If you can only get a great sound out of only one of them... you're doing something wrong, no offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTruelove Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Everyone always goes back to the "how many amps does one guy need?" The real answer is each player only needs the amp or amps that fit there niche, style or genre of musical focus. Yes, maybe you only need one clean amp and one high gain, but does a Hiwatt and a Mesa dies not cut it for all players. From the very beginning my question was: Will Line 6 offer packs of sounds for the user to load? Not, will Line 6 provide every amp ever made installed in the next upgrade. It would be nice to select the amps and pedals I want to take up memory in my Helix. Having Models available from the Line 6 download area for users to pick which they want to try or use for the current musical project. Having X number amps that be stored at a time along with Y number of pedals should allow any user to meet there needs without sifting through the 500 amps and 2000 pedals along with 2000 IR cabs, 90% of which will never be used more than once. There are definitely amps and FX that I would love to see in the Helix and some that are in mine that will not be used. I certainly do not fault anyone who requests more features for a product since ion the long run it only makes it better for everyone. Its the wait to see how Line 6 chooses to progress and the time it takes for feature upgrades and implementation that sometime tests the patients of us consumers. I was really happy that the Mesa IV was added, Always wanted one of those and love the way it fits with my work. I am sure others were bummed that the add on they were waiting for was not in the last update. The best suggestion is log into the Idea scale and keep making requests to show that this is a product worth the time to keep updating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frodebro Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Do keep in mind that many of the amps in the Fractal units are boutique amps that are largely based on a small core of the most popular amps (JTM45, JCM800, AC-30, Tweed Deluxe, etc.), most of which are already represented in the Helix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrednoise321 Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 It has nothing to do with getting a good tone. I love the tone I have with my helix. I would like the variety. It's the spice of life!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glideman Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 If you vary all the settings in all of the amp models, plus try all the cab/mic combos, plus try a ton of IR's, you will find that having hundreds of amp models is not really necessary. As the previous poster noted, most amps are based on a handfull of vintage amp circuits. Tons of these mods are in the preamp section. A lot of the tone variances lie in the cabinets themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frodebro Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 It has nothing to do with getting a good tone. I love the tone I have with my helix. I would like the variety. It's the spice of life!! Maybe the Kemper would scratch that itch, then. There are literally thousands of profiles available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glideman Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 I have a Kemper, too... it will definitely scratch the "I need multiple amps" itch... LoL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrednoise321 Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Had one. Didn't like it. Now if they made an all in one unit like the floor model helix it maybe the way to go again. They also took too long on releasing stuff. Like the remote which was released after selling my Kemper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 From the very beginning my question was: Will Line 6 offer packs of sounds for the user to load? Not, will Line 6 provide every amp ever made...You could ask either of those questions...or you could ask if we're alone in the universe, if Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, or whether or not decaf coffee is as tasty as the real thing. And the answer will always be the same: cavernous, thundering silence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 ...From the very beginning my question was: Will Line 6 offer packs of sounds for the user to load? Not, will Line 6 provide every amp ever made installed in the next upgrade. It would be nice to select the amps and pedals I want to take up memory in my Helix. Having Models available from the Line 6 download area for users to pick which they want to try or use for the current musical project. That hasn't been their M.O. You can buy model packs for an HD 500 or POD XT (the X3 has all the XT model packs) but they haven't been an a la carte thing. So far, they haven't had any amp models that you have to buy separately, but if the HD 500 is any indication, they may not do that for at least 3 or 4 years, simply including any new amps and FX models in firmware updates at no cost, but not a la carte. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lachdanan0121 Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 I don't think there will ever be as many amps/fx in the helix as there are with Fractals stuff. Maybe with Double Helix (Helix 2) that may change. But the thing is, is yes the Helix does need more amps/fx. Does it need a lot more? No, because at some point there will be a lot of redundancy, and overlap. The helix still has some bases it needs to cover still before it reaches redundancy. I honestly expect only a dozen more amp models at most. And maybe twice that for FX from now till the Helix is no longer supported. If there is anymore than that then I would be amazed, and surprised. I find this to be a reasonable expectation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NerdOfTheYear Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 I think I've voiced this elsewhere before, but for me the things I'm most excited about are L6 bringing use more things that we CAN'T get anywhere else.Like, one of my favourite amps for recording - ever - is the Big Bottom from the X3 days. In that sense, I haven't had a full time to hack into the Fatality, but I love that we're getting a few more of Line 6's take on different sounds. Sure there probably are boutique amps that we don't have yet, but I'm interested in seeing what L6 is able to make in the way of unique boutique sounds, especially given that they're modelling these amps at the component level.Exciting times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lachdanan0121 Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 I think I've voiced this elsewhere before, but for me the things I'm most excited about are L6 bringing use more things that we CAN'T get anywhere else. Like, one of my favourite amps for recording - ever - is the Big Bottom from the X3 days. In that sense, I haven't had a full time to hack into the Fatality, but I love that we're getting a few more of Line 6's take on different sounds. Sure there probably are boutique amps that we don't have yet, but I'm interested in seeing what L6 is able to make in the way of unique boutique sounds, especially given that they're modelling these amps at the component level. Exciting times. Agreed, I would like to see some Line 6 Original, or Unique models. A handful including some high gain amps, boutique amps, and some FX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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