Should I buy an HX Effects?

Lebarque

allen said:

I got it yesterday. 20 minutes with it yesterday and another 20 minutes this morning.

I'm sorry, but I'm generally underwhelmed.

To contrast: I sat down with a Duellist pedal for 3 minutes at the guitar show a couple of weeks ago and was bowled over by the superb sound. It made me sound like a 10 times better player.

I can't seem to get a non-generic overdrive sound out of the hx effects. and actually the reverbs and delays are more novelty than musical.

I honestly think I might be misunderstanding it - although I'm fairly tech friendly.

I'm used to the effects on the kemper which are amazing in comparison.

 

I've said it before, but IMHO Helix is not in the same league tone-wise as the best analogue pedals and valve amps (such as the Duellist I'm sure), which inspire me to play. If you're an unbearable tone snob like me, you might not be satisfied with it. But for most normal people, it's an amazing, convenient package.

Sporky

It depends on what you want to achieve. The Helixes can do things that simply cannot be accomplished with a conventional pedal setup. On the other hand, there are inevitably pedals it can't recreate.

The power is in combining blocks - 40 minutes doesn't scratch the surface of what's possible, but if you're underwhelmed it may just not be the platform for you. 

Roland

Our friend Drew used to say of the Axe FX that it’s biggest advantage was the workflow. The ability to tap one pedal and change multiple settings.