1500 bucks, you say, Line6?

To me the user interface looks very good, but the sound samples are not promising. I cannot imagine it somewhere close to Fractal soundwise. So paying 1500 just for UI is not for me. I better choose Axe FX and Liquid Foot x16 when its out and have a perfect sounding rig with perfect controller.

I wish Fractal would have this interface though.
 
Hmm....

Counterpoint here. I am an FXII user - use it for all my live gigs (but I still prefer my Tube amps at home). I was going to purchase an AXE AX8 - as this would have been a great unit for those quick turnaround shows - where you have a 1 hour max set - with a few other bands. I use a Line6 G90 - never had any issues - in fact Ive personally never "got" the Line 6 snobbery that occurs with certain sound engineers - who frown at my wireless set up - especially as it's never let me down.

A friend of mine is a Line 6 employee - and does development stuff/patches/tones etc etc - I lent him my Axe FXII rig over the winter as we were on a hiatus and I didn't need it - clearly he was using it as a benchmark for the tones to compare the Helix to. Anyway - he says the tones in the Helix are awesome - and I don't need to doubt him.

I will still use my AXE II for all our longer/headline gigs....but I might be tempted to add the Helix instead of the AXE8 for the short sets - why not - might as well try it and see how it performs. Hopefully I will get to try one soon.
 
Chris@AxeFxTutorials said:
That's probably what it takes to run all that color and resolution.

If that's true, perhaps it's a great example of why FAS sticks with the simple screen. I just love when people say "just add a hi res color touch screen and iPad capabilities and this and that - it's so easy" without ever thinking of the development and hardware necessities and costs.
Click to expand...

Nah. Two DSP for pricessing. Two MCU for UI and audio routing.. For audio routing, this thing looks extremely flexible.


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swass said:
Now we know what happened to the parts from the semi-gutted AFX that Fractal had in for repair...

Seriously though, after listening to the Sweetwater vid, far from convincing. I'm sure Line 6 did an excellent job with this new product and it'll sound better than anything that they've done. In no way do I believe for one second that the sonic's, feel and dynamics are on par with any of Fractal's or Kemper's product(s). Line 6 being on par with anything really high end? Not their style. Never has been.

If I'm wrong... well then ain't I just the asshole... but I doubt that I am wrong. If it were on some sort of par with Fractal or Kemper, with all them new bells and whistles, the price point would much different. In the video overviews, I found they emphasized more on the UI/editing more-so than any other aspect of the unit... which is pretty sweet, btw. Certainly not emphatic about the tones and, or effects in comparison, (IMO).
Click to expand...


First. Many people say that once you overcome the weak link in POD HD, the cab sims, you get more in the ballpark of FAS. This new box can use same IRs as AxeFx for most part.

Second you have more headroom. It was pretty easy to get digital clipping in HD. That lead to some less than great tone.

Third significantly more DSP power. That means higher quality sims.

Fourth, all new algorythms.


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Rotti said:
Have any of them been FROM Fractal? No, they use some guy named Mark, and it sounds bitchin'.

If I'm L6, I'm thinking to myself right now that I just hurled a Hail Mary 80 yards downfield with my eyes closed on 4th & long.
If it scores, they finally get some street cred and play with the big boys.
If not, they go back to being the "at our price point" option.
Click to expand...

The at our pricepoint company that did 70 million in sales? Poor guys.


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I haven't read through this whole thread but one thing that's always worried me about Fractal is what would happen if after all the crazy hours and stress that Cliff deals with causes a heart attack or stroke and he can't work anymore or passes away unexpectedly, will Fractal be done? Will there be no more updates or bug fixes?

This is the only reason I look at other modelers, just in case we have no other choice some day.
 
GotMetalBoy said:
I haven't read through this whole thread but one thing that's always worried me about Fractal is what would happen if after all the crazy hours and stress that Cliff deals with causes a heart attack or stroke and he can't work anymore or passes away unexpectedly, will Fractal be done? Will there be no more updates or bug fixes?

This is the only reason I look at other modelers, just in case we have no other choice some day.
Click to expand...

Wow.
 
Bojangles said:
I guess line 6 done something right, doesn't matter what it sounds like, it looks flashy, people on here are interested

I guess all the people at the gig will say, too bad about the sound, but wow look at their pedal board, their cool
Click to expand...

Yes, by now I think you've cemented you position as a fanboy. You clearly have little else to contribute to this discussion.

The more sensible among us are willing to reserve our judgement until we are in a position to make informed judgements.
 
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Bojangles said:
I guess all the people at the gig will say, too bad about the sound
Click to expand...

I'm willing to bet that no one (outside of a guitarist - who will be stood at the back with arms folded anyway) has ever stopped their best dance move in the middle of Mustang Sally to comment on the guitar tone... similarly, I bet those same people have never found that their best moves are suddenly even better as a result of said tone being even more awesome...
wink.gif


Of course, this is all assuming that they can hear any perceivable quality in the guitar tone amidst the crashing of drums and volume wars taking place on stage
laughing.gif
 
Bojangles said:
I guess line 6 done something right, doesn't matter what it sounds like, it looks flashy, people on here are interested

I guess all the people at the gig will say, too bad about the sound, but wow look at their pedal board, their cool
Click to expand...

Hmm Bojangles? A fan boy? Noooooo never.... He has such a open mind....
 
Rex said:
I agree, and I'll add one more: workflow. They've tried to make it so the user can do as much as possible with a minimum of phisical motion. That's an advantage and, if done right, it will hook users.

Capacitive footswitches? We'll see. It's a good idea in theory, but if you're used to hovering over a switch waiting for "the moment," you could get yourself into undesired territory of you brush your foot against the switch.

Editing with your feet is a handy idea. Roland had that 20 years ago with the GP-100. It was clunky, and I only used it as a curiosity, but maybe there's a better way to implement it.
Click to expand...

Looks like there's no support for scenes and XY.
I also don't understand the prominent position of the headphones knob.
 
Char2000 said:
Honestly it's a reasonable thought, if not a little dramatic. Cliff IS FAS. He wears so many hats it's hard to think of the company being the same without him.
Click to expand...

My fear started when Lynn Oliver (User Name LMO) from OwnHammer unexpectedly passed away and his MFC-101 Editor called Dumpster could no longer be updated. I had purchased the program right before his passing and it took a long time before another Editor was created by another forum member. I know I may be a little dramatic and paranoid but hopefully Cliff has many more years ahead of him and has something setup like Google's Inactive Account Manager.

OwnHammer.com - Dumpster

http://forum.fractalaudio.com/lounge/61251-loving-memory-lynn-m-oliver-1954-2012-a.html

http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-f...xe-o-matic-dsp-pulled-oh-site.html#post833771
 
I suppose we really don't know what kind of succession planning Cliff has in place. For all we know, he may not even take the lead on firmware development anymore.
 
Does Cliff have any sons or brothers that might be able to take over if something happened? Also, has anyone given much thought that say within the next 5 years, what if Cliff sells his business out to Line 6 or some larger corporation? I bet Line 6 would offer him a very tempting deal $$$$$$$.
 
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