Meiannatee Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Since I gave away my HD500x (yes it came as a surprise even for me), I've been looking at getting a Helix. Then the Amplifire 12 came up. Before that, I've never had heard of Atomic Amps, but after a dozen videos, I'm intrigued. The form factor neatly fits into a regular backpack, and it's almost half the price of the Helix. The routing is simpler, the on-board editing seems complicated, there's no audio interface. But anyways, I won't be doing any crazy routing, prefer editing on the computer, and already have an audio interface. So while I REALLY want the Helix ('till it hurts a little), I'm having a hard time justifying the price after comparison. Another problem is that there is hardly any info on the official website, and I'm not too familiar with the company. What do you guys think about the Helix vs. Amplifire 12, as an all-in-one direct to FoH solution, primarily for a church setting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvroberts Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Well no one seems to have any actual experience of it! But as an Amplifire with a better pedal board (seems it is the same technology exactly - patches are totally compatible), it would be the perfect tool for someone who wants a modeling system that is a bit more simple than the Helix. It's not as full featured, but it is a lot cheaper. Expect to need an Expression pedal - so the gap will shrink a bit. Only you can say if it does what you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Since I gave away my HD500x (yes it came as a surprise even for me), I've been looking at getting a Helix. Then the Amplifire 12 came up. Before that, I've never had heard of Atomic Amps, but after a dozen videos, I'm intrigued. The form factor neatly fits into a regular backpack, and it's almost half the price of the Helix. The routing is simpler, the on-board editing seems complicated, there's no audio interface. But anyways, I won't be doing any crazy routing, prefer editing on the computer, and already have an audio interface. So while I REALLY want the Helix ('till it hurts a little), I'm having a hard time justifying the price after comparison. Another problem is that there is hardly any info on the official website, and I'm not too familiar with the company. What do you guys think about the Helix vs. Amplifire 12, as an all-in-one direct to FoH solution, primarily for a church setting? Well, church settings can differ quite a bit actually. I play in a church setting as well, but I know I couldn't do some of the stuff I need to do with the Amplifire due to it's limitations on signal path construction in comparison to the Helix. But I'm pretty sure I'm at the far end of what people do in a church setting. For most of the typical contemporary praise songs, I'd suspect the Amplifire might work pretty well. But if you get fairly diverse you might feel a bit limited. Bottom line, it's never a problem to use fewer features than what's provided. But it's pretty hard if you need more features than what's provided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Give me scribble strips or give me death! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markus506 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Give me scribble strips or give me death! You know, I knew I would like them, and they were one of the reasons I got the Helix, but I don't think I will ever use another multi-effect unit without them! They are so useful in a live setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicLaw Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Another intriguing HELIX feature is Foot Edit mode. It doesn't get much discussion. Nonetheless it does seem to offer terrific hands-free HELIX control and editing without a computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meiannatee Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 Hmm you guys are starting to blur the line between "essential" and "icing on the cake" It also got me in the "future-proofing" trap. Like what if I didn't like the overdrives or reverbs, and end up upgrading them with pedals in the future, which would total as much as a Helix,and defeat the purpose of an all-in-one unit? I quite enjoyed the Helix that I tried at a store. Especially the OD blocks which are much better than the Pod's, which had a "make-every-guitar-sound-a-certain-way" thing that I didn't like. But I also like the concept of the effects in Amplifire, where you have a few effects types but a whole bunch of parameters to get the sound you want. Sort of like how I work with VST plugins. Like why have 100 compressors when you can have 3-4 that can do all that those 100 can, given adjustable treshold, ratio, attack, hold, release & knee? The justification by saying it's because the original pedals didn't have them gets old. It's a modern processor; sure you can model the good qualities of popular pedals, but it makes no sense to copy its limitations or unpleasant bits. Ideally I would get them both, but the first word of this sentence doesn't agree with my situation . Anybody else having the same dilemma? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaminjimlp Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 if you get it get this guys preset pack !!! he did wonders with the Eleven Rack... listen to what he did with the older model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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