Helix Native Fail

steadystate

Fractal Fanatic
I recently spent some time with Helix Native to see for myself how it stacks up. I tried it before, but tried it again to make sure I gave it a fair assessment.

IMO, the raw amp tones are not even close to being in the same league as the II or the III. I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how it gets such good reviews. The attack especially is one-dimensional, mushy, and cartoonish. The controls don't act as I would expect from an amp. The distortion characteristics are unrealistic. This thing sounds like my ancient Boss GX-700. Seriously, I'm surprised at how shitty this plugin sounds. It's no better than Guitar Rig, and not as good as other plugins. I had high hopes, as having a reasonably priced and realistic plugin would benefit me greatly. But this falls miserably short of the hype I've read.

Anyone disagree? I'm open to suggestions on how to get a truly superb tone from this. When I plug in to my Axe, I am convinced that Helix cannot possibly measure up.
 
DAW plugins are such fiddly persnickety things. Getting the levels right and dialing in tones into something useable is a constant battle. Throw in fighting with driver issues, imho, it's just not worth it.

The whole battle was what pushed me back to FAS. More time playing, less fiddling just to get useable tones. Granted, FAS does offer you miles of rope to hang yourself with, it's not a required hurdle to get playing.
 
I never liked any of the sound demos I heard of the Helix. I always said that I'd bet my Ultra sounds better than the Helix. I still do. I seem to like to start sentences with I. I apologize. I'm done. I'm out.
 
What kind of DI are you using in order to get into the plug-in?
I'm using the Axe-FX III.

This isn't a DI issue. This is an algorithm issue. It's usable for scratchpad work in a DAW. But considering the press I've read, it is extremely underwhelming.
 
I too would like an in-the-laptop solution that doesn't suck since I'm starting med school in a few weeks and will be traveling and moving extensively for different clinical sites, residency fellowships, etc. It's going to be a long time before I see the majority of my guitars, my Axe-FX II and CLRs again. Since the only thing that doesn't suck & sounds good is a Fractal, I'm hoping that there's someday an Ax-FX III architecture powered small portable gig bag sized something in my future.

Would the Helix be 'Good Enough'? BY that I mean good enough to eff off for an hour or two after 10-12 hours of studying a day?
 
I too would like an in-the-laptop solution that doesn't suck since I'm starting med school in a few weeks and will be traveling and moving extensively for different clinical sites, residency fellowships, etc. It's going to be a long time before I see the majority of my guitars, my Axe-FX II and CLRs again. Since the only thing that doesn't suck & sounds good is a Fractal, I'm hoping that there's someday an Ax-FX III architecture powered small portable gig bag sized something in my future.

Would the Helix be 'Good Enough'? BY that I mean good enough to eff off for an hour or two after 10-12 hours of studying a day?
Try the demo and judge for yourself. For noodling around, it's ok. But the "crack", "karang", "swirl", "bounce", "bloom", note separation, definition, and all the things that make playing a single chord on the II and III a joy are not there for me. The tone is one-dimensional and uninspiring, and the feel is mushy and flat.
 
The only plugins that I've found that really sound GREAT are the UAD-2 plugs from Universal Audio. They are outstanding, and put the Helix to shame.
agreed, but UAD plugins are of course, like FAS, linked and powered by the Hardware...the PRS models mentioned above are true plugins/standalone app, and I agree that they are excellent...as is the Reaxis (triaxis sim).Helix..Native has proved unstable and unreliable for my use
 
It's going to be a long time before I see the majority of my guitars, my Axe-FX II and CLRs again. Since the only thing that doesn't suck & sounds good is a Fractal, I'm hoping that there's someday an Ax-FX III architecture powered small portable gig bag sized something in my future.

Would the Helix be 'Good Enough'? BY that I mean good enough to eff off for an hour or two after 10-12 hours of studying a day?
A + B = AX8. ;)
 
A + B = AX8. ;)
Buying an AX-8 doesn't make sense if I already have an Axe-FX II and I don't need it right now. I'm not gigging. This is just for the occasional spartan practice sesh in short term apartments and extended stay hotel rooms. And I wouldn't want to spend that much on what is essentially obsolete with the Axe-FX III already in existence, so I baseline that as the state of the art.

If I were to buy a floor unit it would be the next gen of the AX-8 based on Axe-FX III architecture.
 
Buying an AX-8 doesn't make sense if I already have an Axe-FX II and I don't need it right now.
A = "I'm starting med school in a few weeks and will be traveling and moving extensively for different clinical sites, residency fellowships, etc. It's going to be a long time before I see the majority of my guitars, my Axe-FX II and CLRs again."

B = "...the only thing that doesn't suck & sounds good is a Fractal..."

A + B = AX8. :)


I wouldn't want to spend that much on what is essentially obsolete with the Axe-FX III already in existence, so I baseline that as the state of the art.

If I were to buy a floor unit it would be the next gen of the AX-8 based on Axe-FX III architecture.
Then you'll be a long time without something that doesn't suck and sounds good. ;)

As for the AX8 being "obsolete," there will be people proudly playing the AX8 years from now, just as there are people proudly playing the Ultra today.
 
Then you'll be a long time without something that doesn't suck and sounds good. ;)

As for the AX8 being "obsolete," there will be people proudly playing the AX8 years from now, just as there are people proudly playing the Ultra today.
I am aware of all of this.
 
I'm using the Axe-FX III.

This isn't a DI issue. This is an algorithm issue. It's usable for scratchpad work in a DAW. But considering the press I've read, it is extremely underwhelming.

Hmmm, well then we know that we’re comparing apples to apples in terms of the load presented to the guitar and the path into digital world.
As someone mentioned earlier, Scuffam S-Gear suite is worth a listen.
 
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