Two night ago, about $20K worth of gear stolen from trailer.

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there are plenty of buyers looking for used fractal gear, it'd sell quickly if you don't need it any more and for a very handsome resale value I might add, having gone from AX8 to FM3+FC6 and now I have FM9 all of my older hear sold fast at a fair price.
 
grumpops said:
Taken was my Ultra II MK XL...something not made anymore.
So, now I'm beginning to wonder..been lugging around an Axe since....2008?
They took the ATA case with my Axe but not the Stage V case that had the MFC and three pedals in it.
Somehow they got a QSC KW 181 out the door...but, it's a trailer with a door that opens like a drawbridge...the thing was two feet from the garage door.
SOMEHOW they lifted it over the door and out..but only took one.
The KW153s were too much for them so they left them...took two Mackie 450s we used to get the sound of V Drums onstage.

The III costs about the same as the II did.
But I'm seeing some pretty impressive sounds on all the FM9 videos I'm watching.... and...it's a single floor pedal not a six space rack with power conditioner, guitar Wireless and the Axe in it.
My needs are simple.
Not recording and not doing originals..I play casinos and weddings.
Of the almost 400 presets in the axe, I use, or edited and use...at most? 20....

I need a super clean, a slightly crunchy clean, chug, lead, metal....and efx..with a couple of odd off the wall sounds I intermittently use. I don't need 80% of what's in the presets on the Axe since I never use it. (TONE MATCH THOUGH..OMG...LOL)

IF IT WAS YOU...are you replacing the II with a III or replacing the II with an FM9 (though I'm now stuck with an MFC 101 I can't use for anything after an Ultra II (Thanks for that)
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I replaced my ii with an FM3 (cheaper than Helix ah ah 😉). Took me some time to get my sounds together but it largely fulfills the job. I loved the sound of my ii though and if you have 400 patches to do, I'd rather opt for a 2nd hand II and reinstall the backups....
 
DaveO said:
there are plenty of buyers looking for used fractal gear, it'd sell quickly if you don't need it any more and for a very handsome resale value I might add, having gone from AX8 to FM3+FC6 and now I have FM9 all of my older hear sold fast at a fair price.
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So true.
All of my previous FAS gear; Ultra, II, II XL+ and AX8 have all sold for more than I paid for them, except for my II XL which sold for $75 less than I paid for it. (After I used it for 3 years mind you.)
 
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grumpops said:
Well, I'm gonna piss some people off with this but...
it's been since 2009 with Axe Std..then Ultra I...then Ultra II MK XL
Plus the MFC 101 and three Pedals.
I'm into Cliff now for about $14,000 (which could very well be less than many of you have spent)
I have been doing some research and the inevitable outcome of any great discovery...others will eventually be making it to.

First off..I AM A LIVE PERFORMER and do little to no recording except when making new Demo materials. I literally have no need of 80% of what's in the Axe...

I took my entire rig to a guitar center (where I pretty much never spend money..I'm a mom and pop music store spender)
Plugged the entire rig into a Line 6 Helix and was astounded.
Every sound I need and I don't have to redo each preset because volume levels are insanely all over the place.
Plus I can use my MFC with it.

NOT TO MENTION $1,500 cheaper when all said and done.
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Well... the FM9 isn't $1,500 dollars more than the Helix, it's 99 dollars more. And if you like the sound of Helix amp modeling... well good for you!
 
I have not...I have dumped an enormous amount of money into Cliff's pocket since 2009....and for that... I'm treated to the never ending...
IMPROVED HARDWARE that they insure is not backward compatable with previous versions so you now have to spend another $1,000 to operate the damned thing....
I don't sit at a console all day creating the next new amazing sounds...I'm a casnino/wedding band guitarist...

I can no longer justify yet ANOTHER almost $3600 to replace what was stolen.

I played through the rack mounted Helix for two hours....
Two things immediately came to mind.
1. I don't have to tweak this preset.
2. the levels are consistent from preset to preset....NOT a feature that has EVER existed on an Axe.
AND I can use my MFC 101 that wasn't stolen, with the Helix.
 
grumpops said:
IF IT WAS YOU...are you replacing the II with a III or replacing the II with an FM9 (though I'm now stuck with an MFC 101 I can't use for anything after an Ultra II (Thanks for that)
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If it's important to you to use the MFC, then I'd go with the Axe-FX III and use the MFC with it as a generic midi controller. For your simple needs though, you might be better off saving your money and just go with the FM9 (or FM3). In that case you probably wouldn't even need the MFC.
 
Will give it a second look...there is a definite advantage to being able to actually TOUCH it and listen to it first.
 
Sorry about the theft. Theives, of any kind, are a vey low form of life in my humble opinion.
I would think the FM9 would serve you perfectly.

Also, if you didn't want to wait I think an FM3 (even used) would do you fine and you could always get on the waitlist for the FM9.
 
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Stratman68 said:
Sorry about the theft. Theives, of any kind, are a vey low form of life in my humble opinion.
I would think the FM9 would erve you perfectly.
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Guess for me..it was being able to sit down with the helix and literally hear it through my rig. My guitar, and my clean amp I use to attempt to reproduce EXACTLY what the Axe was doing....with no color added
Helix and III side by side
 
HereToday said:
No way. Never heard of anyone going from and AxeFx III to a Line 6 of their own free will. lol.
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Neither did I my friend...but....Berhinger is trash...EXCEPT...the X32 stuff which is in use in major venues doing national acts.
The MIDAS version is the same thing in a different box....may have Antares as part of the processing too....Same company...

Well, apparently someone at Line six played a fractal somewhere along the line and they came up with the helix....
I have a link above to a demonstration of the Helix and the same exact preset on the III....I personally, with my eyes covered couldn't tell where they were switching between the devices.
 
grumpops said:
Plugged the entire rig into a Line 6 Helix and was astounded.
Every sound I need and I don't have to redo each preset because volume levels are insanely all over the place.
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There's a world of difference in the quality of the sound between the Helix and FM9/FX3. I had two Helix Floor units plus a Helix Stomp, spent a lot of time tweaking and buying IRs and presets, and finally gave up and switched. You won't know the difference between the two systems if you don't try one of the current generation Fractals, because Cygnus only runs on them. Ares was good but Cygnus led to huge difference in the sound quality, and they've tweaked all the presets to make them shine with it.

I'd recommend ordering one of the current models and return it if you don't like it. At least you'll be able to make an educated decision between the Fractal and Helix.

Regarding the YouTube comparison, they've really cut the highs and lows of the guitar parts, to the point they can't be told apart, but, having run all three of the Fractal units many times, I know mine sound a lot more full than that recording. Said differently, that recording was a poor representation of the sound of a Fractal FX3 running Ares, not Cygnus, since Cygnus didn't release until April 2021.
 
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Well, bottom line is...I don't want the center piece of my rig to be a floor stomp pedal...so, it'd have to be the III....
Guess I'll just eat it and no longer have functionality of the MFC 101. I'll be able to control the box but won't have two way communication on it....
OR I can do what always happens..Cliff updates the hardware and insures the old hardware add ons won't work..and I'm screwed for more money to be able to use it...CHA CHING
I'm truly lost on how the FC 12 is as utile as the MFC...
 
grumpops said:
Well, bottom line is...I don't want the center piece of my rig to be a floor stomp pedal...so, it'd have to be the III....
Guess I'll just eat it and no longer have functionality of the MFC 101. I'll be able to control the box but won't have two way communication on it....
OR I can do what always happens..Cliff updates the hardware and insures the old hardware add ons won't work..and I'm screwed for more money to be able to use it...CHA CHING
I'm truly lost on how the FC 12 is as utile as the MFC...
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Helix is available in rack format.
 
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