Do we really want an Axe FX VST?

FAS Reverb plugin costs 79.99 USD

How many blocks does Axe FX II have? There is your price for the AFXII plugin. LOL

On the side note :
Are some of you guys getting payed from FAS? As a consumer it is not my personal interest to know how much sale and profit does Company X get. Even less so to wish that the Companys next product would be expensive.
Whaaat? :eek: That was a joke right? The cheaper I could get a product the better.

I do wish, that FAS releases a Plugin version of the Axe FX II someday. Hopefully sooner, than later.

I have tested the Helix Native Free trial and it is suberb! If someone says, that these plugins are for amateurs only, they are very much off the track from reality.
 
I have tested the Helix Native Free trial and it is suberb! If someone says, that these plugins are for amateurs only, they are very much off the track from reality.

I don't think Native is for amateurs, however after putting it through its paces the last couple of days, I think the Axe FX II has a superior editor, amp modeling and effects.
 
I don't think Native is for amateurs, however after putting it through its paces the last couple of days, I think the Axe FX II has a superior editor, amp modeling and effects.
+1. The editor is actually quite bad the mouse behavior is maddening with Logic and the Apple Magic Mouse... which is ironic given how heavily touted the UI has been on the unit when people compare versus the AX8. The icons are minuscule on my monitor, the sliders are unintuitive, the routing display may work on the units screen but it has nowhere near the clarity of the grid on Axe-Edit, Bias, or TH3.

For amp modeling I would rank it as either my third or fourth favorite among my plugins (I am a plugin fiend have almost everything but the UA stuff) and dead last compared to my hardware units. It is not living up to the hype for me even with more time to evaluate...

I would rank it a little higher in the FX realm in the plugins, maybe second, and it ranks above my Amplifire in FX so it is not dead last in hardware there.

But I'm all about amp tones. So Helix == Good considering it is a Line 6 product but off that curved scale it is a disappointment. I can't believe some people put this in the same class as FAS and Kemper; or even Atomic for that matter. I expected so much more, an elite product, with the ridiculous buzz that has surrounded it.
 
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+1. The editor is actually quite bad the mouse behavior is maddening with Logic and the Apple Magic Mouse... which is ironic given how heavily touted the UI has been on the unit when people compare versus the AX8. The icons are minuscule on my monitor, the sliders are unintuitive, the routing display may work on the units screen but it has nowhere near the clarity of the grid on Axe-Edit, Bias, or TH3.

For amp modeling I would rank it as either my third or fourth favorite among my plugins (I am a plugin fiend have almost everything but the UA stuff) and dead last compared to my hardware units. It is not living up to the hype for me even with more time to evaluate...

I would rank it a little higher in the FX realm in the plugins, maybe second, and it ranks above my Amplifire in FX so it is not dead last in hardware there.

But I'm all about amp tones. So Helix == Good considering it is a Line 6 product but off that curved scale it is a disappointment. I can't believe some people put this in the same class as FAS and Kemper; or even Atomic for that matter. I expected so much more, an elite product, with the ridiculous buzz that has surrounded it.
Well, with the same IR it sounds very close the Axe FX.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?posts/24708042/
 
Well, with the same IR it sounds very close the Axe FX.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?posts/24708042/

Close but not on par. For example, listen to the Soldano and Peavey samples, which showcase how noisy Native is, and that's through cheap speakers. If you listen critically, the subtleties in clarity and fullness become readily apparent. Some people won't notice, sure. But those with a critical ear will. Notice how most of the people who've been raving about how superior the Helix is on TGP haven't chimed in to submit a guess in that thread. In my opinion, it's because they're afraid they might pick the Axe FX and have egg on their face.
 
Again, I refer you to the modern studio's love of classic outboard gear -- they have all the same time and use constraints using those and yet PulTec does a very fine business.

Fractal has never built for the amateur in any market they've gone after. I would expect the same approach if they were to go plug-in. I'd expect professional pricing if they do ever produce a plug-in.

Speculating is fun.

* They'd cut corners obviously, but they wouldn't have to if they didn't want to.

Honestly, major name mixers and big commercial releases are increasingly 100% ITB for mixing. If you don't believe me look up guys like Andrew Scheps, Leslie Brathwaite, Tchad Blake, Billy Decker etc. These guys are mixing with plugins and they're doing the stuff you hear on major radio stations. They could afford to use whatever gear they want.

Speed and instant recall are a big deal. People still use hardware but only when it's practical and only when it does something software doesn't. If an Axe FX plugin sounded identical to the hardware then the software would be preferable in a mix situation.

Thunderbolt interfaces and high speed CPUs are getting super low latencies these days too. The hardware wouldn't be necessary for many people who only play at home or record/mix if a plugin exists - and this is the only reason I could see as a potential negative to Fractal, they need to weigh sales gained via software vs sales lost on hardware. I don't have any data to predict that, I don't know who does so we are just guessing on that point.
 
Close but not on par. For example, listen to the Soldano and Peavey samples, which showcase how noisy Native is, and that's through cheap speakers. If you listen critically, the subtleties in clarity and fullness become readily apparent. Some people won't notice, sure. But those with a critical ear will. Notice how most of the people who've been raving about how superior the Helix is on TGP haven't chimed in to submit a guess in that thread. In my opinion, it's because they're afraid they might pick the Axe FX and have egg on their face.
Have the results been revealed yet?
 
Well, with the same IR it sounds very close the Axe FX.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?posts/24708042/
Play it and make up your own mind. The demo is free. I couldn't care less about some other dude's sample clip when I can A/B things myself with my own gear. Helix is a usable tool but a tier below my personal favorites in both plugins and hardware when demoed in person and it is simply not the elite thing it is being made out to be. IMHO, YMMV.
 
Play it and make up your own mind. The demo is free. I couldn't care less about some other dude's sample clip when I can A/B things myself with my own gear. Helix is a usable tool but a tier below my personal favorites in both plugins and hardware when demoed in person and it is simply not the elite thing it is being made out to be. IMHO, YMMV.

I've been reading rave reviews for the Helix for well over a year and having had a chance to finally sit down with the plugin for a couple of days, I've come to see those reviews as mostly pure hyperbole. The editor has been hyped as making the modeler 'fun' to play, however my experience has been the exact opposite. In my opinion, it's anything but. Personally, I found it cumbersome and cramped.
 
The tails. Listen to the long tails on held chords. That's where the pros and the amateurs diverge.
 
So close, that we are splitting hairs. I can't say 100% sure which is which.

@Jason Scott
If 3A and 4A happens to be Axe FX, will you buy Helix after that? ;)

I've been using and recording with Native for the last couple of days. Aside from the amp modeling, two big reasons I can't bring myself to buy Native is the state of the editor and lack of versatility. There are several reasons, but those are some of the big ones.
 
to wish that the Companys next product would be expensive.
Whaaat? :eek: That was a joke right?

No, it's not about wishing it to be expensive. It's about expecting it to be good enough to deliver the goods, which will come at a high price.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.

If it's too cheap it wont be much better than the amp VSTs we already have and we're right back to square one.
 
Rack PC have gone through very effective developments over the years and will soon provide a stable and fast enough audio platform. Add a good audio & Ada conversion cart to it and rock and roll.
 
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