Helix Native

Yes agree with a lot of you in this thread. It's only a good thing at this point. Lots of people are happy with the helix, if this truly sounds just like the hardware then it's a big win. It is competition to fractal and surely eventually they will respond. I think it's especially neat how the presets can be tranferred and stuff. Leave the hardware at a rehearsal space and create/ tweak at home and then load up at practice. I have not had a chance to try the helix on my own yet.
 
shizzaq said:
I would be happy with an AX8 plugin that required my AX8 to be plugged in to work.
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I do not!
Im confussed why would anyone want that? If I have my ax8 with me I dont need the plugin version.
Is just the opposite of what I want: to have the freedom to use the magnificent sounds of my Axe, but without my Axe!
 
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lovejazz said:
I do not!
Im confussed why would anyone want that? If I have my ax8 with me I dont need the plugin version.
Is just the opposite of what I want: to have the freedom to use the magnificent sounds of my Axe, but without my Axe!
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What I think he means is that is that he'd be content if a potential axe-fx VST might require using the hardware unit as a dongle. I would too, if it would give me the sounds conveniently tweakable from a vst, as opposed to not having them. But of course, anything standalone would be great as well :)
 
Gonwild said:
What I think he means is that is that he'd be content if a potential axe-fx VST might require using the hardware unit as a dongle. I would too, if it would give me the sounds conveniently tweakable from a vst
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That would be great. I'd go for something like that.
 
Gonwild said:
What I think he means is that is that he'd be content if a potential axe-fx VST might require using the hardware unit as a dongle. I would too, if it would give me the sounds conveniently tweakable from a vst, as opposed to not having them. But of course, anything standalone would be great as well :)
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Im sorry but I would not purchase it if it needs a 1600 € or 2600 € dongle.
I have my Fractal units and I would use them instead.
What I dont understand is why people keeps saying they would want and ax8/afx2 dongle, when it can have a simple 25€ one? the processing is done in the pc cpu so there is no need for the Fractal unit.
And that without talking about people who do not have any Fractal products.
 
lovejazz said:
Im sorry but I would not purchase it if it needs a 1600 € or 2600 € dongle.
I have my Fractal units and I would use them instead.
What I dont understand is why people keeps saying they would want and ax8/afx2 dongle, when it can have a simple 25€ one? the processing is done in the pc cpu so there is no need for the Fractal unit.
And that without talking about people who do not have any Fractal products.
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The advantage would be when reamping; instead of feeding out to the Axe from your DAW and back in, you could simply tweak tones "in the box" in real time, greatly simplifying work flow for those who use reamping.

I like the Helix idea; the plugin is cheaper if you already own the hardware. Food for thought.
 
Do Eventide and Lexicon provide 25€ plug-ins to replace their hardware? I only know of Lexicon providing a plug-in to tie in the hardware unit via its digital interface.
 
lovejazz said:
Im sorry but I would not purchase it if it needs a 1600 € or 2600 € dongle.
I have my Fractal units and I would use them instead..
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this is a thought scenario IN CASE such a VST from fractal is released. Everybody wants to avoid the hassle of any dongle of course, but to avoid hacking, they might require using the hardware as a dongle - much like Line6 did with their PodFarm for years. (And I believe that was never hacked in such a combination). IF this vst/hardware dongle is a future scenario from fractal, I do believe many would jump on it even though they already have the sounds of the hardware. A vst offers tweaking of sounds on multiple tracks in real time, which is extremely valuable and handy in mixing/recording. It basically eliminates the need of reamping something...ever. This is something the hardware doesn't offer, and I would certainly be interested in this even if I have the ax hardware. For those who don't need it...well...don't buy it.
 
Gonwild said:
Everybody wants to avoid the hassle of any dongle of course, but to avoid hacking, they might require using the hardware as a dongle - much like Line6 did with their PodFarm for years. .
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Thats the question, one small and cheap dongle is very understandable while a big and ultra expensive one is a very different history and in addition it would exclude everyone who does not own a Fractal unit, I hope Fractal want to "fractalize" all that people.
So to resume I do not think a big dongle is necessary. 8)
 
It would be great if Fractal comes up with a plug-in.

Considering now an extra AX8 to have at home.
Tweak my sounds at home and bring them over to rehearsal room.

I'm done with carrying my pedalboard to home everytime.

But if no plug in around the corner, they'll still sell an extra AX8 to me :)
 
Once Helix Native releases, the pressure to release an axe fx plugin will be huge. I dont think most people comprehend how much not releasing an axe fx plug in will damage future sales of the axe fx in 2017/2018 and beyond. Axe users obviously will say "no sweat, my axe fx is great, I dont need a plug in"......and that is fine, but in a stricly business perspective, Line 6 will directly cut into Fractals market share, and reduce their potential client base by a significant amount.

If you do not conform with demand, the demand will move on.

Just look at cassette tapes, VHS, HD dvd's, and CD's.

Whether people like it or not, speed and ease of use is in high demand for guitarists/producers. Line 6 said that this move was the "right thing to do" as they are moving in a customer centric direction. More and more poeple will notice this, and gravitate toward that. Kemper is not free from the potential damage either, they need to rethink their strategy for new customers as well.

I hope Fractal releases an axe fx vst, even if its not cheap, who gives a shit, just give people what they want
 
vertibration said:
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Line 6 will directly cut into Fractals market share, and reduce their potential client base by a significant amount.
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Why ? Did the Helix cut significantly into the FAS market share ? I don't know and if it did then I'm sure FAS is working on something new. As long as the modelling quality of whatever L6 is putting out is not on par with FAS (matter of taste, I understand) I don't believe it's going to change the game. The VST plugin is more likely going to cannibalize the Helix floorboard. I can imagine that studio folks would love to have a FAS AxeFX plugin but if push comes to shove I doubt they're going to sacrifice their sound preferences in favor of an easier workflow.
 
ChristThePhone said:
Why ? Did the Helix cut significantly into the FAS market share ? I don't know and if it did then I'm sure FAS is working on something new. As long as the modelling quality of whatever L6 is putting out is not on par with FAS (matter of taste, I understand) I don't believe it's going to change the game. The VST plugin is more likely going to cannibalize the Helix floorboard. I can imagine that studio folks would love to have a FAS AxeFX plugin but if push comes to shove I doubt they're going to sacrifice their sound preferences in favor of an easier workflow.
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New potential customers should be considered market share. Im specific to new potential customers. Not current Axe users.
 
The market is already crowded in this domain; Helix native will be competing with Guitar Rig, Bias, Amplitude and The UAD plugins which are well established and competitively priced.

The big upside I can see is it's $99 for existing Helix owners; I wouldn't think twice about dropping that on an Axe-Fx native given I already own an AX8.
 
shizzaq said:
I would be happy with an AX8 plugin that required my AX8 to be plugged in to work.
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I am kind of surprised Axe-Edit hasn't become VST plugin compatible yet. I thought maybe this would happen over the last few years. I don't think of it like a "dongle" as mentioned in this thread, but a more convenient way to get the audio through USB into tracks in a way that can be easily tweaked in real-time and settings saved with the project.
 
My crystal ball says Fractal never makes an Axe-FX plug because being constrained to designing and coding to lowest common denominator computers wouldn't work. It's just not worth the compromises. Not having to share processor inconsistently with other processes is the reason for the DSP chips to begin with. Line6 doesn't have that problem since their stuff doesn't sound very good anyway, so what do they care. They are on the product life-cycle merry-go-round and people buy it anyway. Cab-Lab and the verb plug are about as far as it's going to go until something major happens in personal computing. When processors get to the <10 nm range, then maybe, but it's gonna be a spell.
 
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