Axe-Fx III vs Helix

I owned helix befor ax8 and axe3. It’s my opinion that gas modeler are a big step forward in tone fidelity in tube amp simulation. Fas simulated amp just sound good before you start to tweek... I’ll be back to other for now. Axe 3 is a big tone maker for guitarist that wasn’t tube filing and dynamic using all kind of amp in a box...
 
I had a Helix a little while. I never bonded with it. It was like a fancy version of a POD. I sold it and bought my III once my place on the waitlist came up.
 
Paulg2uk said:
My honest opinion is the Axe sounds a lot better than the Helix to my ears anyway. I bought a Helix a couple of months back for a slightly smaller rig. It's ok but it's just not for me. It's up for sale now and have decided to put the cash towards the FM3. There's nothing wrong with the Helix but it's just I find the Axe easier to work with and knowing it can do pretty much anything I need it to. I did a little test recently didn't use my Axe for a few days on purpose and just used the Helix. I was struggling and went back to the Axe the next day and said "There's the sound I was missing" Like Jarick said I too was frustrated and limited with the helix.

CPU was an issue on the Helix and I couldn't add certain blocks to my " kitchen sink preset". I was disappointed about that. The Axe can handle it all no problem.

A big thing for me was the ability to have different channels on the same block. I use 3 amps in my main preset and switching between them within scenes is just really easy. The Helix couldn't do that with everything in the preset I could only add my clean amp and my dirty amp and use snapshots to change between them.

The Pitch block is another thing I don't like about the Helix, it can't do the virtual capo thing not yet anyway. Plus I just don't think it sounds very good. Also no decent auto wah in the Helix. In the Axe you can use the same wah model and just use an LFO to make it auto. Can't do that in the Helix. I'm sure there's more I could say, but at the end of the day you know what sounds good to your own ears and what you like to use.
Click to expand...
 
Sorry about the previous one...
i initially bought a Helix to save some money and because it was my first serious dive into modelers and away from analog gear. I am just a home studio/bedroom player and even after years of trying to play with low wattage amps, attenuators, etc. I needed something more convenient but I still wanted inspiring sounds.
I have a couple friends who have Helix and had nothing but good things to say about it, tried to steer me away from Fractal and I myself was intimidated by all the options.

Low and behold I bought a Helix and while I thought it sounded good I still had the itch to try the Fractal. Sold the Helix, got the Axe FX 3 and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.

I surprisingly find the Axe FX 3 easier to dial in than the Helix because the controls are so so similar to the way the real amps behave. Sure you can dive deeper, which I often do, but you really can dial in a a usable, pleasing tone quickly and with minimal effort.

The effects like delay, reverbs, drives, and especially pitch block sound so incredible. I was Strymon guy for delays and verbs, had an H9. I sold them within a week of having the Axe FX 3. To me the FX of the Helix don’t compare even with a lot of tweaking. With fractal you can easily go down the rabbit hole but there are so many sounds straight out of the box with minimal tweaking that you can get started.

I also found the Helix cabs to sound awful and thin without character, unless you know a lot about how to actually mic a guitar can and have experience with it I found it impossible to use them.

I also can’t speak for Helix but the support from Fractal and on this forum is priceless. I’ve learned so much from people on this forum that I feel like an expert at something that I was so intimidated by... (special shout out to Leon Todd and Yek for so much info and constant contributions to the forum/YouTube and Burgs for so many great sounding presets.

Sorry for the lengthy response but I feel obliged to share. With Helix I still had that itch and desire for more. I was still looking at pedals, amps and modelers with curiosity. With Fractal I’m playing guitar more than I ever did before with analog gear and the only GAS I have now is for more guitars and better studio monitors to do justice to the Fractal.

Yes, there are a lot of options on the Axe Fx 3... and if you enjoy tweaking you’ll never be bored and can always find ways to fine tune. But you don’t need those options to find an inspiring sound.
 
I've owned pretty much every modeller at one point and the Helix isn't even close to the Axe-FX III (or AF II) as far as amp modelling goes...in my experience. My Gigboard sounded better than than the Helix...to me.
 
I own both. Axe smokes Helix. That being said I love Helix, but if I want to grin ear to ear when I’m playing I need my Axe. Feel, tone, and effects are just better in the Axe. Axe is so easy to sound good on default setting while Helix takes tweaking. I do love the form factor and build of helix, but if I could only have one it’s Fractal all day.
 
Well, I beg to differ with all those who say it's night and day, the Axe smokes the Helix, and all other versions of the same hype.
I have a Helix Rack with Floor Control
I also have a Helix Stomp
I also have an Axe Fx3 and FC-12
I run both the Helix and the Axe into a pair of PowerCab Plus 1x12s, about 2 metres apart for great stereo. The Helix connects via the Line 6 Link (automatic split into stereo) and the Axe Fx3 plugs stereo into the audio inputs of the PowerCabs. The point being that both the Helix Rack and the Axe Fx3 are running into the same power amp and speaker setup.

In terms of sounds, and I know my ears have lost their youthful acuity, it is level pegging. I can get great sounds out of both, and I can get awful sounds out of both. The UI for tweaking things in Hx Edit and on the unit itself is WAY better on the Helix, especially with Hx Edit expanded to full screen on my 27" iMac (something Axe-Edit still won't do).

In terms of feel, I notice more differences in feel between different guitars than I do between the Helix and the Axe Fx3. I also own several real amps, mostly tube, going back to my original 1980s MusicMan HD 212 - and I really can't pick the difference in feel to any degree of significance between the Helix, the Axe Fx3, and most of the amps.

I also accept that an audience won't hear or feel any difference between any of those units - and they don't care. And differences between IRs are so subtle to an audience in a venue with the room acoustics overlaying everything that it's a waste of time even playing with them. In a studio setting, however (which is my main playing realm) they do make a difference. But once again, I find that the Helix and the Axe are equally good, even when soloing the tracks. But it's horses for courses - there are some sounds that just have the edge on one or the other unit, and that's the one that gets used for that track. But it's by no means anywhere near the black/white difference that so many on here suggest.

If you read the Helix forums, they say the same things about the Axe Fx3 as so many on here say about the Helix. My takeaway from that is that there is so little, if any, REAL difference between them that I'm happy having both or either. When all said and done, it's about the music far more than subtle differences in tone.

Does this make me a heretic? ;)
 
I have seen lots of users on the line 6 forum say the axe sucks. I have also read where they have not used one in person and are judging based on YouTube videos.

Truth be told, 90% of internet hype is really just people justifying their purchases and saying that it's the best cuz it works for them, and everything by extension must therefore suck.

Axe users swear there is nothing better, as do line 6 and Kemper users.

However, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and there is little palatable about the other modelers, that's pretty clear. The axe on the other hand is a full course meal with desserts.

I also haven't seen the likes of vai, petrucci, govan, satch, schon, Metallica, def leopard, ghost, Mayer, urban and scores more of pro users praising the likes of the pod, or even using one.

There are HEAPS of accolades for the axe however from TONS of pro players studios and the like.

So maybe the line 6 works for some, but there is definitely no contest in my eyes.

My ears either.
 
I have both. I actually had a performance last night. It would have been a lot easier to use the Helix, I already had the patches ready to go, but the axe-fx just sounded do much better so I loaded my axe-fx III rig. The Helix has got a lot better, but the tone I get from the axe-fx just has that certain something I don't get with the Helix. YMMV.
 
trancegodz said:
King Crimson were using a Kemper for Tony Levin's bass, an Axe FXII for Robert Fripp, and a Helix for the other guitarist. All of them sounded real good. I prefer the Axe FXIII myself.
Click to expand...
And basically that's what it comes down to - personal preference. Should be able to make good music with either of them.
 
chris said:
some people can hear differences that are there, and some can't. it comes down to that.
Click to expand...
I agree Chris but it’s out of any doubt that amp on axefx 3 have a “real dinamic”, this is, for me, the real advance of axe. When I play it’s like to have real tube amp response, using helix I never fell this...
 
I've gone back and forth so many times between an Axe FX II (before the III was out), Helix, and various native plug ins. At the end of the day I have an Axe FX III. I love having the convenience of Helix Native with the pedal but it doesn't sound or play as well as the Axe. The Axe isn't really convenient for me but the sound and play-ability ways out. I'm locked to recording at 48Khz if I want to record via USB for direct tracks. Re-amping works but is a chore compared to the Helix. But again, at the end of the day, when I'm actually playing and recording, the Axe just wins. Plus I can make ridiculous patches that make me smile.

If you are a high gain player, try running the Helix amps without a boost pedal in front on the patch. It always sounds flubby no matter which amp model for the most part. It's like the Amps that I expect to be tight without a boost pedal just are not in the Helix. They are in the Axe though and do not require a boost.
 
A scientific method to examine the data:

  • Fractal fans say the axe sounds better than the helix
  • Line6 fans say helix is on par with the axe
  • Pretty much no-one says helix sounds better than the axe

Make an average and you'll see where the truth lies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom