Gideon7913 Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Hoping for some guidance here. I'm a Fractal FX8 owner who picked up an FM3 after the FX8 was discontinued. Unfortunately, used as an effects unit in front of an amp it's a little noisier and (might be my imagination) but doesn't seem to feel as immediate as the FX8. I'm considering picking up a HX Effects as an alternative. The FX8's last firmware update five years ago, whereas the HX Effects is still supported and updated by Line 6. From what I've gathered these updates have been pretty regular. How far have the effects come in that time period? Has anyone switched from an FX8 to a HX Effects? I'm primarily interested in comp, pitch, modulation, delay, and reverb. Or if anyone has any other suggestions I'm all ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsdenj Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 The poly pitch effects in the Helix family are quite good. There's also some inventive new effects to compliment excellent implementations of the classics. I have an HX Effects (and Helix and HX Stomp). I use to run HX Effects with Helix to give more footswitches and cover some of the front of the amp effects I use occasionally. But I simplified a little and don't do that anymore. If I were going to pair a Helix family product with another modeler, I'd probably go with the HX Stomp to get the amp models too. It only has one less block, but is missing the extra 3 footswitches. But paired with an MC8 or something similar, HX Stomp might give more flexible options. FM3 could benefit from an MC8 too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datacommando Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 On 1/30/2023 at 7:38 AM, Gideon7913 said: Or if anyone has any other suggestions I'm all ears. Hi, You could ask many users for their guidance, but ultimately only you can decide if this change of platform is a good idea. I would therefore suggest that in order to judge the quality of the current effects available in the HX Effects box, you grab a download of Helix Native which is fully functional for 15 days - FREE. Helix Native can work as a plug-in for your DAW (there are free versions of many if you don’t already have one), and if you set the “hardware compatibility” option to HX Effects, you should be able to assess the overall results. If as you state:- “I’m all ears” - give it a whirl. Have fun! Hope this helps/makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joanesinu Posted February 13, 2023 Share Posted February 13, 2023 The Helix has an option I didn't find in any other device, neither in the expensive ones. It has relay switchers for amp channel switching. This feature alone sold me the device. I can select a channel of my AMP and I have different effects activated for each channel automatically. So convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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