Background: Bedroom hack with a tone chasing addiction. Currently using a Mesa LoneStar with conventional pedal board(s), Strymon Iridium, UAFX Dream 65 & Woodrow, Friedman IR-X, all in loops on a Helix floor and a PowerCab. Got a FM9 on a whim and found it was a solution I didn’t know I needed.
I have nothing bad to say about the Helix as Line 6/Yamaha have been great to keep updating and adding new features to an existing product without requiring a hardware update. It’s a well built unit with a good user interface and an outstanding software editor. I have history with Line 6 that dates back to the HD500 and they have been lightyears better than the Boss units I’ve owned dating back to the GT5.
Also the Dream 65 sounds (to my ears) and feels pretty much like the real deal, but it’s only one amp and lacks MIDI support. The Iridium sounds great on the Fender setting also. In many ways it’s a better Fender than original model it seeks to emulate as the mid control adds some “tweed” like personality. I never use the Vox model and I’m honestly not all that juiced about the Marshall model either. The IR-X’s drive tones are great but I don’t like the clean and it doesn’t have bypass ability so it has limited use on a pedal board.
Now that I have the FM9 I am content to use it alone. I am running it into a Line 6 PowerCab and it sounds great, even at bedroom levels, though I’ve read others say they didn’t care for the combination. The amp models are the best I’ve ever used and I don’t recall better effects on any multi effects unit. The editor is very good and once I wrapped my head around doing things the “Fractal” way I am tweaking to my ears content. While the future is uncertain for the rest of my gear, the FM9 is here to stay. Sign me up as a new convert.
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bstaggs
I have nothing bad to say about the Helix as Line 6/Yamaha have been great to keep updating and adding new features to an existing product without requiring a hardware update. It’s a well built unit with a good user interface and an outstanding software editor. I have history with Line 6 that dates back to the HD500 and they have been lightyears better than the Boss units I’ve owned dating back to the GT5.
Also the Dream 65 sounds (to my ears) and feels pretty much like the real deal, but it’s only one amp and lacks MIDI support. The Iridium sounds great on the Fender setting also. In many ways it’s a better Fender than original model it seeks to emulate as the mid control adds some “tweed” like personality. I never use the Vox model and I’m honestly not all that juiced about the Marshall model either. The IR-X’s drive tones are great but I don’t like the clean and it doesn’t have bypass ability so it has limited use on a pedal board.
Now that I have the FM9 I am content to use it alone. I am running it into a Line 6 PowerCab and it sounds great, even at bedroom levels, though I’ve read others say they didn’t care for the combination. The amp models are the best I’ve ever used and I don’t recall better effects on any multi effects unit. The editor is very good and once I wrapped my head around doing things the “Fractal” way I am tweaking to my ears content. While the future is uncertain for the rest of my gear, the FM9 is here to stay. Sign me up as a new convert.
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bstaggs
