FM3, FM9, or FC-12?

[Orvillain]

I have an Axe FX 3 Turbo. I love it.
I have a Helix Floor. I love it.

I kyyyyynnnddddaaaaa wanna have a dual Helix+Axe rig, but is that just bonkers?

Should I get an FM3 to add some Fractal joy to the Helix cream panty pile that I've developed for myself? Or should I have an FM9 along side it? Or should I get an FC12 to control my Axe FX 3, and perhaps a Helix Rack, and slap the Axe 3 into a rack case with it... and use the FC12 to do the switching on both units?

I'm thinking that I should sell all of my pedals except my Lehle volume and bb535 wah.... and go all in on Helix + Fractal.

This is for gigs, home recording, studio use, rehearsals, etc.

Am I douche? Feel free to answer this in the negative for extra cool-boi points. Otherwise go love yourself.

 

[Stratzrus]

Is the Helix Floor similar to the FC-12? If so, do you also have some Helix gear that it controls?

If you don't mind hauling all of that stuff around, the Helix Rack and Axe III controlled by the FC-12 would be a hell of a rig.

I personally don't need more than a FM9 and tube combo but if the Helix has things that Fractal doesn't offer and you really don't want to give them up there's no reason not to use both.

 

[Mongillo19]

I have an Axe FX 3 Turbo. I love it.
I have a Helix Floor. I love it.

I kyyyyynnnddddaaaaa wanna have a dual Helix+Axe rig, but is that just bonkers?

Should I get an FM3 to add some Fractal joy to the Helix cream panty pile that I've developed for myself? Or should I have an FM9 along side it? Or should I get an FC12 to control my Axe FX 3, and perhaps a Helix Rack, and slap the Axe 3 into a rack case with it... and use the FC12 to do the switching on both units?

I'm thinking that I should sell all of my pedals except my Lehle volume and bb535 wah.... and go all in on Helix + Fractal.

This is for gigs, home recording, studio use, rehearsals, etc.

Am I douche? Feel free to answer this in the negative for extra cool-boi points. Otherwise go love yourself.

For the FC12/6....with it being studio does it really add much to your workflow? I know it would obviously make things easier but I view the FC line to be most useful in live settings.

That being said I have a FC12 in the studio lol although it truly doesn't add much that a traditional midi controller could add in my instance

 

[Stone]

but is that just bonkers?

Certainly not
My dream setup would be Helix Rack and FC and AXE FXIII and FC, with swappable Expression pedals
and im just a bedroom player

 

[JiveTurkey]

Get it all.

I have no real answer. I use the HX because it's easy AF to get to work/do gigs with at this stage. I use the FAS because the array of amps on tap and the beauty of the effects.

I like real dirt pedals. I like guitar amps. Mix and match; PB&J baby

 

[laxu]

Try controlling the Fractal with the Helix Floor MIDI features!

I have the Axe-Fx 3 Mk2 + FC12. I find the FC controllers really hard to recommend because they are so expensive. Like sure, they are robust and work best with the Fractal stuff, but that means they are also heavy. I much prefer the simpler programming of the Helix Floor.

 

[TubeStack]

Try controlling the Fractal with the Helix Floor MIDI features!

That was my first thought.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Bonkers. Pick a lane.

 

[DrewJD82]

You have to make a surround sound rig with this. If you're gonna do it, than f*ckin' do it, get an FM9. And for a logical reasoning, you can effectively recreate your amp/III rig with just the FM9 better than you could on the FM3.

 

[Elric]

I have an Axe FX 3 Turbo. I love it.
I have a Helix Floor. I love it.

I kyyyyynnnddddaaaaa wanna have a dual Helix+Axe rig, but is that just bonkers?

Should I get an FM3 to add some Fractal joy to the Helix cream panty pile that I've developed for myself? Or should I have an FM9 along side it? Or should I get an FC12 to control my Axe FX 3, and perhaps a Helix Rack, and slap the Axe 3 into a rack case with it... and use the FC12 to do the switching on both units?

I'm thinking that I should sell all of my pedals except my Lehle volume and bb535 wah.... and go all in on Helix + Fractal.

This is for gigs, home recording, studio use, rehearsals, etc.

Am I douche? Feel free to answer this in the negative for extra cool-boi points. Otherwise go love yourself.

If I had a Fractal Helix rig, the Helix would not even need to be powered up.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Bonkers. Pick a lane.

Edit: You create some of the most awesome melodic "moods" in music I've ever heard, I think your time would be better spent creating music like that, than mucking about with complex gear combinations, that I just don't see the ROI being worthwhile.

 

[Stratzrus]

Edit: You create some of the most awesome melodic "moods" in music I've ever heard, I think your time would be better spent creating music like that, than mucking about with complex gear combinations, that I just don't see the ROI being worthwhile.

Mucking about with gear can be enjoyable in and of itself. If that's the case then it's worthwhile.

Car enthusiasts like driving a sporty car but some also like working on them. I wouldn't suggest that they spend all of their time driving and leave the wrenches in their toolbox.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Mucking about with gear can be enjoyable in and of itself. If that's the case then it's worthwhile.

Car enthusiasts like driving a sporty car but some also like working on them. I wouldn't suggest that they spend all of their time driving and leave the wrenches in their toolbox.

Absolutely. I didn't suggest that. But you wouldn't buy a whole set of Snap On tools, and a set of Matco, just so you can work on your car.
Plus, I didn't mean pick one (writing and recording songs) over the other (fooling with the gear.) It's just an extreme that doesn't seem to me to be worthwhile.

 

[Piing]

I spent a long time playing live with the Roland VG-8 on the floor, used both for its sounds and as a MIDI floor controller for the rack gear. I even built a hard-case for it (pic below). I would just use the Helix Floor as MIDI controller for the Axe-FX. Otherwise you will over-complicate it, and make it more difficult for transportation and setup.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I currently have a Helix Rack/FM3 rig. I sold my FC6 recently and will use the Helix to control anything in the Fractal that I need to control beyond what can be done from the FM3 itself.

I've also got a Strymon Volante and Chase Bliss Mood being controlled via Helix.

Helix is just a much better/faster all around MIDI brain station/controller.

Helix is also a much better audio interface for me for several reasons I won't go into. For tracking, I much much prefer "capturing processed and DI guitar tracks where the DI is just an insurance policy that stays hidden unless I absolutely have to dig it out". I got really tired of the "capture a good DI and worry about perfecting tone in the plugin later" approach and really try to make sure I'm capturing a final sound I want, even if it means keeping delay/verb out and adding later via sends.

There are some amps I can only do in Fractal, a couple in Helix that don't have an equivalent for me in Fractal, and a bunch that I'm kinda 6-1-half-dozen-the-other on.

Fractal verbs do it for me. Hlx delays do it for me. Fractal tremolo, rotary, and note-tracking ring modulator do it for me. I much prefer Fractal's IR block.

I also mostly prefer Fractal when just pretending like I'm playing a guitar amp, but you've got ball-swelling amp collection for that purpose.

I had a III for a while and for my purposes it was (1) waaaaaay overkill and (2) not really awesome as an audio interface.

 

[Stratzrus]

I spent a long time playing live with the Roland VG-8 on the floor, used both for its sounds and as a MIDI floor controller for the rack gear. I even built a hard-case for it (pic below). I would just use the Helix Floor as MIDI controller for the Axe-FX. Otherwise you will over-complicate it, and make it more difficult for transportation and setup.

View attachment 3891

It looks like a wild animal got into your house and is walking all over your gear.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Edit: You create some of the most awesome melodic "moods" in music I've ever heard, I think your time would be better spent creating music like that, than mucking about with complex gear combinations, that I just don't see the ROI being worthwhile.

(Part of how he gets those is because he has spent a lot of time mucking about with complex gear).

 

[TSJMajesty]

(Part of how he gets those is because he has spent a lot of time mucking about with complex gear).

I realize that. I just think putting 2 of them together is overkill, that's all.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I realize that. I just think putting 2 of them together is overkill, that's all.

I mean, 250+ amp models and 2000+ cabs is overkill. Adding. 1.4x factor in front of that doesn't really make it that much more overkill.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I mean, 250+ amp models and 2000+ cabs is overkill. Adding. 1.4x factor in front of that doesn't really make it that much more overkill.

I like the options, especially if I were to get into recording. But I'd have to find something the Axe couldn't do itself, before I'd add another similar piece of gear. Again, to me, it seems pointless, and quickly approaching diminishing returns.

And maybe if you only consider the amps & cabs, you may think it's overkill. But to have one unit that can cover so much ground as far as effects go, as soon as you buy a few drives, and some time-based effects that can only do one or two things at a time, you could've just bought a modeler, for the effects alone, and still had far more options for less money.

I don't think of it as overkill, but instead a great value, in a unit that can be all things for a very large amount of users.