Time to hand over the vest

Hello!

I'm a new member here at the forums and currently a full patch Helix-member but has ultimately decided to hand in the vest and get into the Axe-family. I've been a Line 6 user since 2011 when I first got the Pod HD (had the Boss GT-10 before that one) and five years later decided to level up to the Helix family of products. I enjoy the Helix a lot purely because of it's simplicity and sound (some amps loaded with OwnHammer IR:s indeed sounds really, really good, which was a huge step up from the Pod-series).

However, time and knowledge do something to you and I've learned so much when it comes to guitar sounds regarding what I want and not want. That way, I feel I can't reach further with the Helix. I'm pretty, pretty close, but not all the way there where I want the my tone to be at.

There's certain things in the Helix sound I simply can't get around. I just can't. Other than needing a heck of EQ:ing to get the sound sit well in the mix through my setup, there's a harshness in the high end I find really hard to tame without it affecting the overall sound too much. Also it's quite boxy sounding and I also find some high gain amps pretty undefined in the pick attack. I've tinkered enough throughout the years I've had the unit trying to get around it but I've had enough of it now.

I still love the Helix but I've also fallen out of love with it because I can't take the tone any further to my liking. Probably I've become a bit of a tone snob (may so be it) but I also enjoy the tinkering part (and play the damn thing of course!).

So after a few months of thinking and analyzing I've decided I want a new adventure. The Axe FX really attracts me due to it's sound and tweakabillity and after beeing on the waiting list for a while, It's now my turn and I've decided to go for the FXIII MKII. I've been dreaming about an AXE unit for many years so I'm really looking forward to the next week when it arrives.

Cheers from the north east of Sweden.
 
If the ability to tweak your sound is what you want then the Axe-Fx is the way to go. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
 
Welcome. Fellow former Helix guy here too. The first time I loaded an AC20 with a boost into the matching cab...boom, there was my sound I couldn't get out of Helix, without even trying hard. Took a little work to replace my Big Sky, but I did that, too.

If you can imagine it, it's in there.
 
Welcome. Fellow former Helix guy here too. The first time I loaded an AC20 with a boost into the matching cab...boom, there was my sound I couldn't get out of Helix, without even trying hard. Took a little work to replace my Big Sky, but I did that, too.

If you can imagine it, it's in there.
Thanks! :) Cool! Since I'm not having the III in my hands yet, I can only judge by YouTube so far. But what is it to you that sets the Axe FX apart from the Helix?
 
It's a bit like comparing a Bheringer reverb to a PCM, they are both reverb but that's where it ends . It is hard to describe the actual difference in a way that isn't just saying better. Bigger more 3 dimensional if you like, even comparing a small cab with a 4x12 will give you the idea.
 
Welcome aboard! I'm an ex-Line 6'er myself. Had the complete "dream rig" of the Variax, Pod HD, and DT50 amp. Numerous problems with the equipment. Two bricked Pods and two mainboard swaps in the Variax (USA made, no less!), but at least the amp worked well.

No comparison from where you're coming to where you'll be going with the Axe!
 
It's a bit like comparing a Bheringer reverb to a PCM, they are both reverb but that's where it ends . It is hard to describe the actual difference in a way that isn't just saying better. Bigger more 3 dimensional if you like, even comparing a small cab with a 4x12 will give you the idea.
Yeah, heard a lot regarding the 3 dimensional stuff. I'll be able to really A/B the Axe against the Helix since I need the Helix to reference some tones before letting it go, so it's going to be really interesting to hear the differences for my self.
 
Welcome aboard! I'm an ex-Line 6'er myself. Had the complete "dream rig" of the Variax, Pod HD, and DT50 amp. Numerous problems with the equipment. Two bricked Pods and two mainboard swaps in the Variax (USA made, no less!), but at least the amp worked well.

No comparison from where you're coming to where you'll be going with the Axe!
Sweet! Can imagine the step being even more radical coming from the Pod to the Axe!
 
Thanks! :) Cool! Since I'm not having the III in my hands yet, I can only judge by YouTube so far. But what is it to you that sets the Axe FX apart from the Helix?
I'm a former Line6 devotee as well going back to the POD 2.0. Went away from modeling after the X3 series and went back to amps and pedals, vowing never to go the modeling route again - it never felt or sounded quite right, got tired of 'it's good enough'. I eventually needed a compact fly rig so there was really no alternative other than another modeler. Researched the Helix and AX8 to death and chose the AX8. Not once have I felt I should have given the Helix a shot.

A couple of years later and on to the Axe III. The thing that I find impressive about it is not feeling like I'm playing through a modeler. There's an 'authenticity' to the tone and feel that Line6 just doesn't seem to have. I first noticed it with the AX8, the openness and clarity of the amps in comparison to the Helix. While there were definite tonal 'improvements' through the Firmware releases, when the Axe III hit Firmware 11 the whole thing just opened up for me, the speaker impedance enhancements gave it, IMO, a more '3D feel'.
 
Thanks! :) Cool! Since I'm not having the III in my hands yet, I can only judge by YouTube so far. But what is it to you that sets the Axe FX apart from the Helix?

More harmonically rich, the variation you get from playing dynamics is more realistic, and easier to vary. Just better all around. The reverbs are worlds better, to me.
 
For me it’s the lack of latency in the “feel”. It’s far more “connected”, more immediate — and nothing to get lost in-between my fingers and the sound. Playability.
 
@StevenPersson Welcome! AxeFx is an endless tone monster.
I had the HD500 for a week and sent it back because their user forum was a cult that treated me badly for pointing out that the Twin model clipped on the input. Later it was discovered to be a hardware bug. Bunch of clowns.
You won't get any of that nonsense here, just tone junkies having fun.
 
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