1500 bucks, you say, Line6?

I actually think it will cheaper, depending on cost per unit for fractal, what would you rather have a 1499.00 line 6 helix or a 1299.00 ax8? Not bashing line 6 as I have three variax's


I thought the AX8 was going to be priced at $2100. How could it be cheaper than the FX8?
 
Proud of Line6! They finally are coming out with an obviously top quality all in one modeler with literally everything folks have been requesting. I have little doubt that the amp tones will be very good, & IR loading will only make it sound better like it does for any modeler with this feature.

Line6 have always had the talent & ridiculous amounts of cash to do anything they want, but mostly settled for barely good enough just to satisfy their business model.

They have obviously seen the success that Fractal/Kemper have enjoyed at a higher price point, and are now going after a piece of that action. Great time to be a guitarist, and Line6 stepping up their game can only be a good thing for all of us!

I'm sure they have Cliff's attention.........game on!
 
everybody calm the fuck down, lets not get ahead of ourself here, willowdale yes we can see your woody from Australia

so what.. line6 has announced a new product, there are about 250 boxes it will need to tick to get anywhere near the axeFx, not to mention about 10 years mid gain and edge-of-break up RND

Now lets all take a step back from the computer, take our hands our willies, and go do something constructive like practice some scales
 
Proud of Line6! They finally are coming out with an obviously top quality all in one modeler with literally everything folks have been requesting. I have little doubt that the amp tones will be very good, & IR loading will only make it sound better like it does for any modeler with this feature.

Line6 have always had the talent & ridiculous amounts of cash to do anything they want, but mostly settled for barely good enough just to satisfy their business model.

They have obviously seen the success that Fractal/Kemper have enjoyed at a higher price point, and are now going after a piece of that action. Great time to be a guitarist, and Line6 stepping up their game can only be a good thing for all of us!

I'm sure they have Cliff's attention.........game on!

IMO .Cliff knew about this .he may not have known full details or confirmed pricing .but I am confident he knew .I think the AX8 was prematurely shown because this was coming .It's interesting that Helix is sated for release end of August and Cliff is trying to have AX8 ship October.I also think AX8 may be a bit more but won't be $2000 .It will be 1600-1700 zone, FAS makes great products I think they are confident .
 
everybody calm the fuck down, lets not get ahead of ourself here, willowdale yes we can see your woody from Australia

lol......I'm very calm. I love seeing new products that I could potentially be interested in, and at the same time might shake things up a bit & help keep everyone on their toes....
 
To be honest, I have NEVER been disapointed with a line 6 product.
They always offer a LOT for their price.
Of course, since I own an AXE FX II, I have sold my pod HD500 and looper JM4. It will make non sense to compare them again and again with the AXE FX II.
And I am very happy to know that my buyer is very happy with the pod.

Axe FX II doesn't compete in the same categorie, and is also 5X more expensive as the pod HD500, and about 2X more expensive as the Helix if we consider the need of the mfc-101. It is normal that it has something special to offer, both regarding sound quality and customer service.

This new product Helix has again a lot to offer.
The idea to have several loop is important for a floor board. The LCD is something nice with the current available technologies. Possibility to load IR has always been a claim from line 6 customers (Pod HD500 would have been a killer product with just the capacity of loading IR)
Integrated expression is a must to touch mass public.
.....

Even if not for me, just because I am impressed eveytime I switch on my axe FX II and don't even consider to purchase something else (even AXE III !), it seems to me that this Helix looks like an interesting product. And that even if the modeling capacity is just above the HD500. I can be used also together with real amps and pedals with the loops.
 
I am always thankful for new options. I was waiting years and years for a decent floor unit. If it's a repackaged pod sound wise it will be not for me. But I highly doubt it at this price point. And the user interface looks very good. I never used fractal gear so I am not biased at all except having very high hopes considering the FX8. I am on a waiting list for it since seven months but this thing might be earlier available than an FX8 in Europe. Who knows. I just know I need to compare both before I shell out such an amount of money. Any ways I will be a winner :)
The sheer marketing power of Yamaha will sell this easily no matter if it sounds worse than the AX8. In Europe Fractal gear is not so known. On the other hand: I like the idea of using a company's product not everyone has. A small company with an active forum and someone who constantly improves his products. That speaks for Fractal any time.
 
I think this could be a really cool thing. FAS fanboys can shit can it all they want but I'm dying to know more about it. On board mic pre is pretty cool. You'd be able to run a talkbox in the effects loop straight into it. And the screens for each switch is awesome!! Kick arse large colour display too. Hmmmm....

I was spun out the other day to see a video of someone editing and creating patches on an iPad with the Line6 Firehawk floor based system and I couldn't help but wish that the Fractal stuff was even remotely as intuitive.

At just after a minute he starts flipping through the editor.... Like I said I just wish FAS stuff was this intuitive. The FAS calculator screen should be done away with.


 
I thought the AX8 was going to be priced at $2100. How could it be cheaper than the FX8?

I'll just say a few things:

It is not an Axe-Fx. It won't be able to do two amps or two cabs. It won't have things like the Vocoder and other esoteric blocks. It's a stripped down floor version at an aggressive price.

It will have G3 modeling and user IR slots. It has two dual-core DSPs, one for amp modeling the other for effects. These DSPs are slower than the ones in the Axe-Fx so it won't be able to do two instance of amps.

There will be block compatibility between the Axe-Fx and the AX-8 meaning you can copy blocks from your Axe-Fx presets into the AX-8.

It has USB, XLR outs for FOH, 1/4 outputs for local monitoring and an FX loop. Four expression pedal inputs. AC powered, no wall-wart.

"Aggressive price"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
At just after a minute he starts flipping through the editor.... Like I said I just wish FAS stuff was this intuitive. The FAS calculator screen should be done with.

Honestly, I'd rather Cliff stay focused on tone. A huge color UI introduces a whole new set of variables, and bugs that could divert away from why many prefer the Fractal business model. The tone is number one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Some real nice user interface features. Very cool display. Knobs seem vulnerable to me.
 
Honestly, I'd rather Cliff stay focused on tone. A huge color UI introduces a whole new set of variables, and bugs that could divert away from why many prefer the Fractal business model. The tone is number one.

Bingo, people like the edge and the big names that use fractal gear (and myself for that matter), don't give 2 flying hoots whether something looks pretty and has a fancy screens, we worry about tone, amps and reliability, which is traditionally not line 6's mo

They primarily sell toys to kids (made in china) for market saturation and economic purposes

I paid a comparatively high price for a pod x3, the thing was buggy, was constantly in the shop, they dropped support for a subset of features, and never updated anything of any substance, oh not to mention trying to get a decent tone was like opening an umbrella up your arse sideways

All the above left an extremely bad taste for their products and business model
 
Struggling with dynamic and punchy cleans!!!! line 6 reply.... <silence>

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Even if its really good, easy to dial in a realistic tone, lots of amp models, can get sounds just like a Fractal Unit its still made by Line6. They have some of the worst customer service I've come across. Expect one or two updates 6-24 months after release that still won't fix half the issues.
 
Proud of Line6! They finally are coming out with an obviously top quality all in one modeler[...]
We don't know about the quality part yet.

All I see is a - admittedly - damn nice visual design with far too many LCDs for my taste.

I get why everyone is hyped for the crisp color display, LED encoder knobs and the LCD button tags, but remember that this also takes away from the production cost.


With the Axe, you know that of those 2300$ you pay, like, estimated 500-600$ go into the actual components. And those few components we have on the Axe are top-notch quality to make sure they last. The rest goes into the Algorithm design. Which is what brought us here.

With the Helix, I can already see how the algorithm engineering simply has to suffer in order to get all those visual fluff on board. Just look at all the LEDs, screens and additional components needed for those. Look at all the additional components that can now fail if someone drops his beer.


I know, most guitarists are a sucker for looks. But the barebones and functional chassis design of the Axe comes at a huge advantage: it doesn't take resources away from what really matters.


But you got to admit: Peeps at L6 definitely did their homework for aesthetically pleasing design...


EDIT:
But I dig the new Midi foot controller. I think this thing beats the MFC by far in terms of user friendliness.
 
I think all those screens and coloured lights are a pretty big risk. 14 screens ? We all Know all Products have failure rates. With 14 screens their tech has to be pretty bulletproof.

Power to em. The more choice for music and the better I reckon.
 
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