1500 bucks, you say, Line6?

I think competition is cool. I also think Cliff is a very competitive mofo. AxeFX fans should actually rejoice in this. I've owned various Line 6 products over the years and recorded some decent stuff with a POD before. I have not been a fan of theirs over the past 3 or so years, but damn if that isn't the best aesthetic design I've seen in a product of this type...ever. In many ways, though, that matters very little for a floor board. I think the aesthetic of an amp/cab on stage makes a lot of sense and designs there come through and are a part of the stage, but you're the only one who will ever see your Helix when you're performing live.
 
Why all the coolest effect such of tremolo. Phaser, vibrato , rotary is under only one category?? Afraid of exceed the DSP ? Please tell me this, can the helix paralel tremolo1-tremolo2-phaser1-phaser2 on parrarel ?


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Active development on Helix started long before anyone had heard of AX8, FX8, the KPA, or even HD500X. Initial conversations began in October of 2008, although things didn't really start ramping up until 2011.

So it's not Line 6's answer to Cliff's (fantastic) boxes, although if we're being honest, Yamaha may not have let us continue developing something so ambitious had AxeFx not been successful. So major props to you all. :)

There's plenty of music to be made by everyone, and we have at least two employees who plan on using Helix and AxeFX together.

Can you shed any light on what amps/cabs/fx are offered for bassists?
 
One of the things about tone (and feel)... is there's a point of diminishing returns. As we move to higher-resolution audio/video/whatever, at some point our ears and eyes can't tell anymore. For example, at some point our TVs and displays will exceed our ability to see the difference.

My point being...? At some point, the technology for amp modeling will be able to exceed what our senses can deliver to us. As somebody said, a real SuperVerb or Plexi is already "perfect" and is what we're going for. So once we get to that point (and FAS has already gotten very close), the differentiating factors will cease to be how realistic something sounds or feels... and will become about ease of use, aesthetics, durability, cost, etc.

I love my AFXII. I'd happily play it for the rest of my life, without ever having another FW update (well, maybe the official FW19 ;-) . But the one thing I have found myself wanting is an all-in-one floor unit, just for the convenience. So obviously the AX8 is at the top of my Xmas wish list, and I'd rather stick with FAS for myriads of reasons, including sound and feel, reliability, customer service, ability to transfer presets, this forum, and more. But if the Helix really delivers, it will be on my watch list. And maybe Yamaha will "fix" some of the customer-facing issues that have plagued L6.

Meanwhile, if so, it'll raise the bar, and that can only be a good thing for those of use who play Fractal gear.
 
Okay, let's play the game. Line 6 obviously borrows some Fractal Audio features. I see a couple of things I'd like to see "borrowed back" from that Helix thing.

- The multiple Send/Returns loops seem handy.
- The hires display. As a matter of fact I'd love TWO displays side by side: one dedicated to the grid, and one for editing.
- The Mic Pre/Input.
- And ... no, that's about it.
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.
 
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I didn't like the demo video. (The 1st one). IMO it sounded like crap. But just like guys demoing fractals it's all on the user, more than the gear limits.

The feature set looks good though and while many like how it physically looks, I don't.

At least you will see these in music stores and can prob try it out unlike FAS gear.
 
OH MAN I CAN'T WAIT!!!

...to replace my AxeFx's MIDI controller (currently an HD500) with this thing when they start popping up used for 25% of the original price. :roll
 
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.
That's a good point, I do that a lot. Hopefully, even if you were in that "touch" mode, you could still just click and activate/deactivate the switch.

I wonder if you can set up something analogous to scenes where you can have multiple things change w/ one foot press. I could do that even back on my Boss GT3 -- turn 2 fx on, turn another off, and change the levels of something else all w/ one press -- so I'd *hope* you can do it here.

I also wonder if the external EXP ports will support switches, or only pedals. Might be nice to have that option as well.
 
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.
Works pretty freakin' well on the MFC MkIII :D
 
Wondering if ?
forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-preset-exchange/47304-smilefan-says-goodbye.html
That would be Yamaha of course, as Line 6 is obviously in the game since the first POD

I wondered the same thing. In the video a Line6 employee on the Helix dev team mentioned that he had to wait 4 years before he could say anything. Could that be SmileFan?
 
Now that line 6 has noticed there might be a market for a higher end product, how long do you think it will be before Boss/Roland comes out with something along the same lines.
 
From the L^ forum: Helix is running two of the fastest non-TigerSHARC SHARCs you can buy—the 450 MHz ADSP-21469s—with dual MCUs (one for audio duties and another dedicated to nothing but UI).

Did they really just devote one processor just for the UI (as opposed to amps or effects), am I reading this wrong?

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.
 
Now that line 6 has noticed there might be a market for a higher end product, how long do you think it will be before Boss/Roland comes out with something along the same lines.
I don't know.. Their looper products are very popular, but they have not improved the sound quality to measure up to the competition, as of yet (Infinity Looper for ex.) And that market is very profitable for them. Who knows .
 
Where’s the Looper switch?
The Looper block is treated like any other effect—It can be placed anywhere on any of the four paths, or even routed to its own output. You can assign it to a footswitch or ignore it completely.
Any word on looper times/multiple loops/saving and storing loops on board/48 K quality??
 
I thought that univibe sound in the line6 video sounded bitchin' ... every bit as good as what I've heard from fractal or kemper.
Also nice to hear some more dynamic playing/organic tones, not just the usualmetal chugging or shimmer reverbs...
Im VERY interested to see how this will work in a 4 cable setup!
I read that they didnt put on a metal handle to protect the knobs, since it just wasnt necessary - all metal knobs/construction.
 
Interesting. I've owned a lot of variations of the PODs, and they're all gone now.

For me it comes down to feel, tone and customer support, which for me Line6 has never had any of....

Far as feel goes, the Axe has been the most realistic modeler I've used, and that's a long list. Is it perfect? No. Is it the closest I've seen? Yup....Rectos can be spongy, 5150s can be harder, Fender Twins are clean and sparkly...there's just no end to it so far...I use something new every day and dig em all.

Tones are there....everything from Plexis for my strats for my clean/mid-gain janglies to Rectos for my baritones for the brootz....between dialing it myself or hitting the AxeChange I can pretty much find anything I want to play.

For support, I've owned the AxeII for just over 2 months and seen numerous updates, including the guy that invented it come onto a public forum and state that he was embarrassed to say it but that the URs were broken and that he fixed them. I've owned PODs for literally years and never seen an update.....I know that the HD500 just got an update not too long ago.....and that if customers wanted it, they had to pay for it. Fractal's updates have always been free.

For the record, I dig the Helix's looks....I think a lot of time went into design and it shows; it's a very aesthetically pleasing device for sure. The demos leave something to be desired as far as tones go, and the feel, if it's there at all, is something I'll have to judge for myself.

What really cracks me up is the guys across various forums who scoff at the idea of paying $1700!!! for a used AxeII but go all gooey at this thing for $1500.

Not for nothing but it's been my experience that Line6 = over hyped crap that delivers less than it says it will, always. This isn't hate or Fractal fanboyism...it's based on my being a consumer and trying a lot of different things and being less than impressed by Line6, always. Are their products usually worth the money? Yup.....if you buy used. I grabbed an HD500 for $250 used and it served me well for a while.

One more thing that always reminds me what a great choice I made......my recordings. I'm a hobbyist guitar player; always have been, always will be. Doing drumjams or clips or whatever using the Axe is super easy and all the EQing I need to do is a high pass and low pass and a notch at 500kz....which is set up as a template in my DAW and I switch it on or off as need be. The Axe is the only modeler that I haven't had to take an engineering course in EQing to get great recorded tones....which I shouldn't have to do with ANY product at this price level as a hobbyist. If the Helix can't do that, it has no place in my rack.

I will wait for future vids; I know people that won't spend the $ on a used Axe that will grab this....and if/when it fails them, I'll console them with 25% of their purchase price to try it out.:mrgreen
 
I dont know, the rack version is downright sexy. Also, the sweetwater video really showcases a few really nice tones. Ill probably buy one at release to have side by side with my axe fx
 
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