Thank you! What do you think re quality of bass effects like octaver, wah/filters, ODs, bass comp in these units?
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I haven't used all of them but everything you mentioned except the octaver are great. I couldn't get it to work well on the low notes. Up higher it works great. I have a POG so I just added it to my pedal board since it works so good.
My experience with Helix and Fractal are similar. Even up high the tracking leaves a bit to be desired. A lot of people have been asking both companies to improve it, but neither has yet stepped forward on it. If you go down either road, I'd suggest keeping a good octaver pedal on your board for now. Everything else is pretty top notch.
Also, realize, there isn't any "Bass" compressors. They're just different flavor of compressors. They work very well on bass in my experience, though.
Just picked up the Helix LT to run in front of my live rig. I'm essentially replacing the following pedals:
Keeley Bassist
Way Huge Porkloin
Darkglass BK3
Cog Knightfall
MXR Phase 95
EHX Bass Clone
Korg 3D tuner
SA Manta Bass
LOVE it! Highly intuitive, sounds great.
Only complaints are:
Have to give up my Line 6 G70 because the Helix is too big to board mount it with the G70 unless I go to some monster sized board.
Don't prefer the exp pedal built into the unit.
Other than that, it replaces a bunch of pedals, has a ton of other advantages such as the recording options, the option to use modeling if I ever want to, etc....
Keeley Bassist
Way Huge Porkloin
Darkglass BK3
Cog Knightfall
MXR Phase 95
EHX Bass Clone
Korg 3D tuner
SA Manta Bass
LOVE it! Highly intuitive, sounds great.
Only complaints are:
Have to give up my Line 6 G70 because the Helix is too big to board mount it with the G70 unless I go to some monster sized board.
Don't prefer the exp pedal built into the unit.
Other than that, it replaces a bunch of pedals, has a ton of other advantages such as the recording options, the option to use modeling if I ever want to, etc....
Nice. It's pretty awesome once you step into the world of mid or high end modeling. The consistency every night is great, plus the options and all other benefits. I really can't see myself going back to a boring ol' amp and cab setup again.
Any chance for real world dimensions? That's a concern of mine.
I'm still torn between all of them. It was between the AX8 and the Helix, but I really want an XLII+, so I'm trying to figure out which way to go.
I may get one of the less expensive options first to see what I like and don't like.
I do play guitar so whatever I get will be used between both instruments.
Helix is 22" (wide) x 11.85" (deep) x 3.5" (tall), basically. The built-in expression pedal can be handy, but I saw it as something I never use, and as something that could break and be difficult to replace (vs. a standalone pedal with Axe-Fx II or AX8). I was hoping the Helix LT didn't have the pedal built-in, but it still does.
AX8 is 16.1” (wide) x 10.3”(deep) x 4.0” (tall), basically.
I don't know weights, but the Helix feels a good bit heavier than the AX8, but I wouldn't consider either to be a burden. If I get a chance, I'll toss both on a scale at some point to measure.
If you go with an Axe-Fx II, you can use pretty much any MIDI foot controller you'd like with it. There are a ton of options from small to huge.
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Agreed. I'm not a fan of the built in expression pedal.
Is that right? That's like the size of a Zoom B3...tiny.
Is that right? That's like the size of a Zoom B3...tiny.
Son of a ... I was reading the wrong thing when I typed that, was looking at some pedal board dimensions from an old setup I had xD
AX8 is: 16.1” (wide) x 10.3”(deep) x 4.0” (tall)
I'm waiting on my new Helix Rack, Controller, and 2 Mission expression pedals (one with the switch) to arrive... pretty stoked about it. 
Please forgive me if this has been explained already, but how big are the differences throughout the generations of Fractal units regarding sound quality and processing power? @Selta pointed out that regarding processing both sides of my NS/Stick the Axe-FX II+ might be the way to go, but the cost would escalate quickly 
I can tackle that one fairly easily, haha.Please forgive me if this has been explained already, but how big are the differences throughout the generations of Fractal units regarding sound quality and processing power? @Selta pointed out that regarding processing both sides of my NS/Stick the Axe-FX II+ might be the way to go, but the cost would escalate quickly
Axe-Fx Standard - oldest, weakest unit by far. No new firmware updates or anything. Avoid.
Axe-Fx Ultra - an update to the Standard, but still antiquated. Avoid as well.
Axe-Fx II "Mk1" - doesn't actually say Mark 1, but says "G2 Modeling Technology" below the screen. Still receives firmware updates.
Axe-Fx II Mk2 - says Mark 2 below the screen. Still receives firmware updates. Only change between it and Mark 1 is the use of EtherCON for connecting to MIDI pedals, versus just an RJ45 connector. EtherCON is far superior to RJ45 for live use.
Axe-Fx II XL - Again, a kind of tweak to the line. Some rear I/O changes - now a dedicated MIDI THRU, FASLINK (can use XLR cable for MIDI devices, instead of RJ45 -- note, there are converters available as well for RJ45/EtherCON -> FASLINK and vice versa), additional pedal input (useful for expression, momentary or latching pedals). Also has a slight bump to the flash storage, allowing slightly more cabs and presets. Slightly bigger boot ROM allowing larger firmware. The last thing is the inclusion of the backup ROM - with the Mk1 and Mk2, if you somehow bork your ROM, you need to buy a couple dollar backup ROM to fix (I bought one just in case, and haven't ever used it). The XL has it built in instead.
Axe-Fx II XL+ - Very slight revision, due to the LCD controller becoming EOL. Yup, Fractal released a new product because of that (they were *very* clear that this was the only change and there was no need to "upgrade" - did not put any marketing spin or anything on it).
So, that's that. Basically, if you're buying right now and looking used, the Mk 1 and Mk 2 are the minimum. The Mk 1 and Mk 2 will run out of room for future presets sooner than the XL and XL+. No one is certain when that will be (depends on what all changes and how much, which no one can guess at). I'm still using a Mk 2 and have been super happy with it.
All Axe-Fx II's sound identical when the same firmware + preset are used. They all have the same DSP, so same processing power as well. The AX8 should sound identical to the Axe-Fx II line as well, though, in some cases you won't be able to use the exact same preset.
The rack version I think would be nice if you want to apply different amps to the two sides. The AX8 can only have one amp per preset, where as Axe-Fx II can have two amps. So, say on one output of your NS, you want like a 5150, and on the other a Mesa/Boogie 400, you can only do that with the rack version. I worked around this one my AX8 by just using a Drive pedal in place of an Amp on the 2nd signal path, which worked rather well.
Thanks much for your detailed reply, that is very good to know!!
I just updated my Helix to 2.20. I haven't done much yet, but the b7k and battering ram models sound fantastic.
I don't have those pedals to a/b them, but they're in the ballpark and they sound great. That's good enough for me.
I don't have those pedals to a/b them, but they're in the ballpark and they sound great. That's good enough for me.
April 16th 2017and NO updates for bass on Fractal Audio products....
People should really looks for helix and kemper for bass.
Fractal Audio as time goes by assumes that they don't give a fu** for bass players.
They are only in business for the guitar players... that's a shame...
People should really looks for helix and kemper for bass.
Fractal Audio as time goes by assumes that they don't give a fu** for bass players.
They are only in business for the guitar players... that's a shame...
While true...April 16th 2017and NO updates for bass on Fractal Audio products....
People should really looks for helix and kemper for bass.
Fractal Audio as time goes by assumes that they don't give a fu** for bass players.
They are only in business for the guitar players... that's a shame...
a) it takes a long time to develope these things - a new firmware was just released and was in flight when they said they'll work on bass additions. We'll see if this comes true in the next couple of firmwares or not.
b) No reason to abandon Fractal gear for bass. It still works wonderfully well. I get better tone and consistency from my Fractal gear than I do my Healix gear (yes, I own both). I can't directly compare to a Kemper, as the brief time I owned one, I disliked just about every facet of it.
I understand you had a bad experience with Fractal. That sucks. I wish it hadn't happened, and that it had gone better for you. However, consistantly coming onto this thread to crap on Fractal Audio isn't tolerated. If you have something constructive to add, please, do. Tell us about the modeling you're using, post sound clips, share presets. If you don't, please see yourself out of this thread.
+1 ^^^^
I've been very critical of the way FAS has approached bassists with their products, and though I'd rather see it otherwise for bassists, Fractal gear still is simply top notch in every respect, and bassists can certainly get great bass tones and more from their gear, not to mention the other robust features they offer.
I personally offered my AxeFXII to my guitarist since he had an immediate need and would put it to much better use than I would, now that the types of bass sounds/effects/routings are much simplified and less demanding than they were for me a number of years ago when the AxeFX was the ONLY piece of gear that could tick all of the boxes for my DI bass needs.
If my needs ever returned to the point where I needed more specific and complex tone/fx creations, in a heartbeat I'd purchase an AX8/FX8 or whatever product FAS has available at the time. I'd have to honestly say that the Helix (or the newer LT version) might also be on that short list, but that's about it.
Fractal can right the ship pretty easily by adding a handful of key bass items, and then this conversation is moot. I hope they do as it's a shame to see their products not considered more regularly as an all-in-one bass solution for lack of more bass specific features. JMHO.
I'm loving my Helix LT for bass. In fact, I just set up an entire set of patches to run it straight into a power amp then to my cab. Depending upon the show I use it as effects before my Ashdown or I use it for effects and amp modeling into my Crown. REALLY versatile.
My guitarist uses the Kemper and although it's great, he can easily get lost in hours of tweaking patches.
My guitarist uses the Kemper and although it's great, he can easily get lost in hours of tweaking patches.
I've received my Helix (rack) today, and have had it on for just about 3 hours now... This thing is a breeze to use and patch! I put the H9 in fx send/returns 3&4 (in stereo) just by intuition, and it's amazingly easy to modify and adjust.
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