The Helix VS Fractal FX8 Thread

guitarfishbay

Drew_TNBD said:

guitarfishbay said:

Would an AX8 be a better choice in context?

It has the grid, so you could do your parallel stuff.

I'm not sure how much more faff it is for 4CM than the FX8, or if it has different DSP capabilities used primarily for effects, but I know you mentioned not wanting rack gear which of course rules out the Axe FX

I'm not sure it would tbh. Some of the things I am doing with the Helix can only really be done on the Axe FX II. 

No I mean AX8 instead of the FX8

On account of it having the grid, which FX8 doesn't have. Opens up the routing options anyway 

guitarfishbay

Drew_TNBD

Ahhh I see. Hmmm... would be interested to try it out... at least compare the noise-floors...

guitarfishbay

Drew_TNBD said:

Ahhh I see. Hmmm... would be interested to try it out... at least compare the noise-floors...

I have no idea if the AX8 can fit as many FX per patch compared to the FX8.

I think @John_P might've owned both, if I've remembered the right John

John_P

guitarfishbay said:

Drew_TNBD said:

Ahhh I see. Hmmm... would be interested to try it out... at least compare the noise-floors...

I have no idea if the AX8 can fit as many FX per patch compared to the FX8.

I think @John_P might've owned both, if I've remembered the right John

Indeed I've gigged both.
I couldn't tell them apart in terms of noise - both excellent but I'm told the Fx8 is better - felt like marketing to me though.

The grid makes life a ton easier on the ax and is a lot much the flexible - I'm surprised fractal haven't changed that. I regularly use the ax8 for just fx with real amps, I can use the preamp of an amp block like a drive pedal giving a ton more options and known for direct adjustments. 4cm is fine just add a block where you want it.

The only drawback to the ax8 I can see is the lack of a remote switch for amp channels so your stuck with midi amps or a gizmo.

Drew_TNBD

John_P said:

guitarfishbay said:

Drew_TNBD said:

Ahhh I see. Hmmm... would be interested to try it out... at least compare the noise-floors...

I have no idea if the AX8 can fit as many FX per patch compared to the FX8.

I think @John_P might've owned both, if I've remembered the right John

Indeed I've gigged both.
I couldn't tell them apart in terms of noise - both excellent but I'm told the Fx8 is better - felt like marketing to me though.

The grid makes life a ton easier on the ax and is a lot much the flexible - I'm surprised fractal haven't changed that. I regularly use the ax8 for just fx with real amps, I can use the preamp of an amp block like a drive pedal giving a ton more options and known for direct adjustments. 4cm is fine just add a block where you want it.

The only drawback to the ax8 I can see is the lack of a remote switch for amp channels so your stuck with midi amps or a gizmo.

Hey John, out of interest on the AX8 can you run a TS808, Delay 1 (Mono BBD set to reverse), Delay 2 (Mono BBD), Reverb 1 (Large Hall), and the FX Loop block at the same time?

Teetonetal

Cabicular said:

I use a relay G70 which has a built in tuner which is much more accessible Than the Helixes and would allow ambience to continue while you tune
also has the added bonus of making you wireless 

@Cabicular Doesn't the G70 have mega issues with drop outs? I thought this product was something of a flop - of did L6 finally release a fw update to fix?

Cabicular

Teetonetal said:

Cabicular said:

I use a relay G70 which has a built in tuner which is much more accessible Than the Helixes and would allow ambience to continue while you tune
also has the added bonus of making you wireless 

@Cabicular Doesn't the G70 have mega issues with drop outs? I thought this product was something of a flop - of did L6 finally release a fw update to fix?

It has issues
far more than the G30
ive had 2 drops in a dozen gigs
I had no drops in the G30 in 5 plus years so maybe 300+  gigs
it also has half the range
It does a lot of stuff I like and as long as you don't wander too far it seems to cope

Its good enough but has some issues

Drew_TNBD

Okay, finally tried the FX8 with another amp - my 5150III 50-watter.

It's silent. So it's something to do with the combination of the D-Moll and the FX8. Kind of disappointing.

guitarfishbay

Same plug sockets as before?

Have you contacted support yet?

Drew_TNBD

guitarfishbay said:

Same plug sockets as before?

Have you contacted support yet?

Yes, exactly the same everything. Only thing that has changed is the amp.

Not yet. Not sure they can really help me tbh. Think there is nothing wrong with the FX8, just a bad match with the amp.

guitarfishbay

Yeah that's a bit disappointing 

simonk

Drew_TNBD said:

Okay, finally tried the FX8 with another amp - my 5150III 50-watter.

It's silent. So it's something to do with the combination of the D-Moll and the FX8. Kind of disappointing.

Humbusters or regular cables? Despite having some humbusters I've never had the need to use them. Perhaps they might make the difference with your Diezel.

Drew_TNBD

simonk said:

Drew_TNBD said:

Okay, finally tried the FX8 with another amp - my 5150III 50-watter.

It's silent. So it's something to do with the combination of the D-Moll and the FX8. Kind of disappointing.

Humbusters or regular cables? Despite having some humbusters I've never had the need to use them. Perhaps they might make the difference with your Diezel.

Doubt it. I've got orchid isolator boxes which basically do the same thing as humbusters.

John_P

Drew_TNBD said:

John_P said:

guitarfishbay said:

Drew_TNBD said:

Ahhh I see. Hmmm... would be interested to try it out... at least compare the noise-floors...

I have no idea if the AX8 can fit as many FX per patch compared to the FX8.

I think @John_P might've owned both, if I've remembered the right John

Indeed I've gigged both.
I couldn't tell them apart in terms of noise - both excellent but I'm told the Fx8 is better - felt like marketing to me though.

The grid makes life a ton easier on the ax and is a lot much the flexible - I'm surprised fractal haven't changed that. I regularly use the ax8 for just fx with real amps, I can use the preamp of an amp block like a drive pedal giving a ton more options and known for direct adjustments. 4cm is fine just add a block where you want it.

The only drawback to the ax8 I can see is the lack of a remote switch for amp channels so your stuck with midi amps or a gizmo.

Hey John, out of interest on the AX8 can you run a TS808, Delay 1 (Mono BBD set to reverse), Delay 2 (Mono BBD), Reverb 1 (Large Hall), and the FX Loop block at the same time?

A quick preset made direct on the ax8 seems to work fine.   I'll hook it up to the editor later on to double check but so far that seems ok. 

Clarky

Drew_TNBD said:

So I've got the FX8 changing channels on my Diezel, got it connected in 4-cable method, hooked up using midi.

I had to disable X/Y holding so the channel changes were instantaneous. 

FX8 reverbs are quite a bit 'smoother' than the Helix... rack verbs versus pedal verbs, basically.... 

I can get close to the tonality of the Adriatic delay on the FX8, but I can't get the exact same resonant characteristic... I think I need to play with the EQ tab a bit more.

Delays on the Helix are generally washier and decay away faster than the FX8. Which in most cases I prefer. The FX8 off the bat has more of a logarithmic decay shape, across all modes, which makes for very interesting rhythmic combinations, but it's a bit harder to get them go all crunchy and analog pedal-like.

on the tone page the delay should have a drive control so you can dirty it up
so.. place the delay in parallel, dirty it and cut the lo's and hi's and you'll start entering lo-fi bucket brigade territory
which is exactly what I do

Clarky

guitarfishbay said:

the AX8 has a Grid?

guitarfishbay

Is the drive on all the delay models or just some? IIRC it's on the tape, can't remember what else but I'm sure I didn't see it on some.

The Fractal Plex Shift Delay with input diffusion up is very nice, can do pitch shifting and reversing 

guitarfishbay

Clarky said:

guitarfishbay said:

the AX8 has a Grid?

Looks to have it. That is a pic of AX8 edit

I've not tried one but from what I can tell it does 

Clarky

guitarfishbay said:

Is the drive on all the delay models or just some? IIRC it's on the tape, can't remember what else but I'm sure I didn't see it on some.

The Fractal Plex Shift Delay with input diffusion up is very nice, can do pitch shifting and reversing 

it's just a part in the tone/duck page
so it's not model specific