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Which means I still need to shift a guitar cab everywhere...and tbh having an amp as well, doesn't make all that much difference. Especially since to sound decent I'd probably need some valve-based power amp anyway. That's not so much a barrier as a lack of benefit to going with a modeller if you see what I mean.
But probably the main thing for me is having to have so much of your sound 'set in stone'. With amps and pedals, if things aren't sounding great I can fiddle and tweak between (or even during!) songs and hopefully sort things out. With a modelling unit, I'd just be worried I'd do something silly that would completely bork my tone...or that it would just take ages. Plus if you have several patches using the same amp tone, and you want to add more treble or something, you have to edit the amp sim in each patch, re-save it, and try again...and if it's not right then you have to do it again. Plus, I don't have a lot of time at home for tweaking...so can't be spending hours fiddling around, or spending sessions at the rehearsal space just trying out sounds at volume. It is, or at least feels like, a big investment of time.
That's probably more of an issue for me than the actual tones...even with the Pod HD I can live with most of the tones. Oddly, contrary to what people say about the Pod I found the clean and crunch tones pretty convincing but I just couldn't get the high gain sounding right. Anyway, I'm assuming that's not an issue with the next gen stuff.
That's dead easy with the Helix - have a look at some of the foot-editing videos fer instance. And between songs it'd take only moments longer than with pedals - the interface is very flat, so you just select the block you want and use the eight parameter knobs to change whatever you need to change. There's even a dedicated amp button to get you straight to editing amp settings.
heres a good demo showing the Helix through a range of amps and speakers
Am I right assuming that the Firehawk modelling must be the same technology but simply a unit with less options and refinement possibilty (aside from the editing process )
I like the fact that with the FX8, I am using a fecking awesome pedalboard. But I like to use a proper amp as well which is why I went for the FX8.
Can't you see I'm trying to talk myself out of this!
On that video above...shame he didn't try the helix into the FX return of the Engl. I thought the amp alone was clearly the best tone but it would have been good to hear the Helix being used as a pre-amp to see if that was down to the power amp.
Thing is, the Matrix isn't all that cheap either, is it? Can you even get them still? I'm not sure if the cheaper amps (Behringer, Rocktron) would hold up as well.
I need to go modelling now for the band though so selling mine and going Helix. If I could I'd keep both for different reasons.
What matters is if you like the sound or not, and can you use the gear in a way that suits you or not. At some point there's probably a compromise to be made, so I guess experience comes with knowing how to get 95% happy in the quickest amount of time, vs losing your entire life for the last few %.
Think about it... you're playing a gig, or you're recording a song. The end result is the tone used is final - there's no alternate version of that particular performance that you ask the listener to compare and make notes on.
I'm well familiar with A/Bitis and testing things and compare/contrast etc... but it's mostly for my own knowledge/enjoyment (apart from when it drives me mad). Ultimately you have to make a decision at some point and go with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5XiMGYcVcQ
Which do you think is best?
Although I'd probably only use 1 or 2 sounds so maybe that new Amplifirebox would be better for me.
Wisdom awarded!
The Richie Castellano video wasn't meant to listen to to decide which 'is best' there are too many variables, i.e. that all can't be the same distance from the mics. It was designed to show it can be used in many ways and they all sound great.
From personal experience I can say the Helix is the best thing I've ever bought, sounds better than any set-up I've used previously, is a doddle to use etc etc I only use a handful of sounds too, but IMO it's still the best solution for me. Listened too in isolation with a very critical ear there may be something out there that sounds 'better' but I don't really care
massive bass related firmware update is due any day. More bass amps, Darkglass and Pearce preamps etc.
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/
Yes, will be digging out the Musicman and trying them out. Cant wait