Do I take the blue pill... or the red pill....

[1poorplayer]

FAS cures GAS.

Lol. T-shirts
Better get on it boys...

 

[Spawn2031]

You all make extremely valid points here. Helix has alot more flash to the unit itself but ultimately it all about the functionality. Oh and the constant improvements are certainly a huge thing. I think it might just be time to step up and join the fractal team. I am going to go ahead and demo the helix but will probably return it until after I do so I can check out the Ax8 too.

 

[Spawn2031]

Change of plans here... I just cancelled my Helix pre-order. Hello Team Fractal!! Now I get to hurry up and wait with the rest of ya on the W8 list.

Just as a quick check, currently I am running my POD into a dual channel 32 band Alesis EQ and then into a Mackie ProFX12 which goes out into a pair of Alto TS110a. This will be sufficient for the AX8 right? Or is there something else that I will need to make it sound awesome?

 

[joesatch]

i was going to get a Helix but then people started getting black screens on boot up. They sure look pretty but i don't need that aggravation, Fractal's are rock solid stable.

 

[chrisjnyc]

I dont think you will get much Helix love around here... The one thing you didn't mention was FX... Do you use a lot of FX, and do you need pitch shifting\synth style effects? Also, the AX8 is not out, and has a lot of question marks on exactly what is under the hood (how many FX from the Axe, do you get all the Axe modes\options, etc) Not to mention you could have a long wait for the AX8. Its easy to go with the grass is always green option, but the Helix may be a good fit too.

 

[Spawn2031]

No, I'm not massively effect heavy. Most of my POD patches are just OD/Distortion Pedal > Amp > Chorus (maybe) > Reverb > Delay and that's it. Pretty basic. Since tone is the only thing I really care about and this AX8 is supposed to sound just like the AXE FXII, I think it's pretty much a no brainer now that I've had some time to really think about it. Not to mention what Joesatch said is of a major concern to me as well. Now that I have cancelled that Helix pre-order and know that I am getting a piece of fractal hardware... I am really excited!

 

[jageya]

i had the helix..and sent it back...the whole display and lights and form factor was cool and very nice but what if a scribble strip burns out...or if a few do..its a weak point as is the screen..in terms of things that could go wrong.I do like the look and the colors but the amp/cab tones for me were fizzy and sterile. I like some of line6 gear- still have the spidervalve mk2 combo and i like it....had the hd500x for a while and didnt care for it too much..though the helix would be a whole new ballgame but its not.. to mee its a hd600 next gen and its amp/cabs were just nothing new for me. they still have their silly own doom amp and some other line6 amp that takes up space that could have had some other better amps modeled....its so similar to the hd500x amp wise that i feel it did them a dis service. I would have rather seen ALL new types of amps modeled. I was bummed and may also be bummed with the ax8..who knows but the ax8 is building on its all ready winning quantum and past solid firmware advances.Helix is kind of according to them starting fresh in a way so they have a ways to go...maybe the helix mrk2x will be better to my ears.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

My main concern overall is tone.

AX8 - Pros (from my limited knowledge)

- TONE

Congratz! You just answered your own question in your initial post.

Besides, scribble strips are not as much of a big deal as people make it out to be.
Get some magnetic button labels for your IA switches and have them labelled (semi-)permanently. What's the point of having different functions assigned to button on every preset anyway? Do you want to play guitar or tap-dance?

I bought 17 buttons with the MFC. In practice, I ended up only using the lowest row for scenes and never touched a single IA button. And I don't need scribble strips for that either, as all my presets are structured in the same way for neat muscle memory synergy:
Clean, Crunch, Lead, Fancy, Solo.

 

[Spawn2031]

Congratz! You just answered your own question in your initial post.

Besides, scribble strips are not as much of a big deal as people make it out to be.
Get some magnetic button labels for your IA switches and have them labelled (semi-)permanently. What's the point of having different functions assigned to button on every preset anyway? Do you want to play guitar or tap-dance?

I bought 17 buttons with the MFC. In practice, I ended up only using the lowest row for scenes and never touched a single IA button. And I don't need scribble strips for that either, as all my presets are structured in the same way for neat muscle memory synergy:
Clean, Crunch, Lead, Fancy, Solo.

Yeah, so true. I guess I was just wanting to root for the underdog and not jump sides but where's that going to get me in the end? Paying a large amount of money for something that may or may not do what I need it to when I need it to. I really feel so (as Gearzilla said) relieved that I decided to get the AX8 instead. I feel confident that I am going to be getting a quality product now.... Is it out yet? lol

 

[jiagap]

I actually sold my Axe Fx II in order to get a Helix or Ax8 (yea regretting that decision right now lol)

So I got a Helix.....the tones out of the box are meh (best way to describe them) you will not be wow'd. You will love the scribble strips, the pedal functionality is great as well. It is super easy to edit from the actual pedal. It looks fantastic......though, (at least when I owned it) they have no computer editor. So it takes forever to set up tones because you have to do it from the screen (good thing it looks nice).

Anyway, it was buggy, to say the least. It wasn't saving things correctly, any IR's I loaded seemed to have weird issues, so on so forth.
Needless to say not long after buying The Helix had the black screen of death. It would make sound but you could not edit it, switch presets, or do anything. I returned it very quickly.

Now the Ax8 is really what I am wanting. I never used even half the functions of the Axe Fx II and I hated having to lug around a foot controller, a powered speaker, and a rack. Also at the price point (with everything included way over 3000 dollars in gear), so that is why I decided helix or Ax8 (I am far less worried about losing 1400-1500 dollars).

I can tell you from experience though, the Axe Fx tones just kill anything Line 6 has ever done.

I can relate, I sold by Ultra a couple years ago, too much to pack up with floor controller and a pair of powered monitors. I wanted an all in one floor pedal. I bought a HD500x - played with is for two days and was GREATLY underwhelmed (I am assuming the Helix would be better, but hard to imagine as good as Fractal gear - and the scribble strips are a strong pull for me, an old guy with memory issues).

Regretted selling the Ultra for its tones - and this was tones before quantum. I ended up with a TC Electronics Nova System and a new little Fender Princeton 65 reissue. I can get some very nice tones with these. But I still miss the numerous amp models of Fractal. I am on the waiting list for the AX8 and looking forward to it. I will dump the Nova, but keep the Princeton cuz it is so cute and awesome for what it does.