So.....

[the-trooper]

I dig it. Make it even a little bit wider to add 2 more buttons and it’s perfect.

Me too, just make it even a little bit wider for 2 more buttons and an expression pedal, and then it would be perfect!

 

[JiveTurkey]

My man, I’ve been lucky enough to have 2 other places like this, and I’m glad @JiveTurkey brought me over.

Good dudes here, and no snark; if you can play, right on. If you can’t play and you’re still learning, RIGHT ON.

These dudes are chill AF and I appreciate the fact that you don’t have to prove anything to exist here and have an opinion.

Thanks for coming over Stein! We appreciate you being here

 

[DrewJD82]

Saw these 2 comms and wanted to respond.

My boy @JiveTurkey hipped me to this place; we’ve been hommies on another forum for like 10 years and I can’t believe he’d ask me to a place I wouldn’t feel welcome.

And I just now realized that one of the regulars from my other main forum (SSO) is one of the guys that started this place?! I don’t pay attention at ALL

 

[imperator]

Y'all tell me.

Measure the far field of speaker cabs and create a "FRFR" speaker array to try to emulate an amp in the room. Figure out how to do it affordably, good luck.

Iterate on the power cab?

Beat tonex to the punch and create an affordable capture floor unit that holds 50 or so captures for under $500. Or make the hw even cheaper and move to a 10 bucks a month subscription service.

 

[Moe45673]

@Digital Igloo , for serious, why don't you bring the pod go knobs and screen to..... any Helix? 5 knobs is awesome, and the PG screen is large and bright

Ok, brainfart. I apologize. I meant primarily WRT the HXFX. I went for the PG over that because of the screen and knobs

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I'm still trying to figure out what the ideal desktop modeler/interface/studio-hub form factor would be. HX rack is pretty great and checks most boxes buuuuuuuuuut...

In an ideal world the interface wouldn't be nearly as vertical, would be a liiiitle closer to the user than most desktop rack bays are, and it would have a few switches (possibly just mirrors of switches on Control) on the unit itself for hand-use.

Stomp is a huge dongle fest for this use; is missing mic pre, enough I/O and too crippled a UI for this kind of desktop interface/studio hub application.

FM3 is...a little short on I/O and while not a dongle fest, is still a bit of a cable management nightmare maybe if everything snaked?

I don't have a solution to this other than (1) make a Rack with remote Control for floor use and remote UX for manual use - i.e., you rack the processor and I/O and then just have a detached, dedicated hardware UI (preferably wireless.). Which is likely getting well into/above Apollo X8 territory but with way fewer inputs. Or (2) "that's what HX Edit is for".

Maybe other folks have other ideas. Maybe just a remote I/O with a snaked single high-pin-count cable, but then you get into proprietary cables, etc., Ugh.

 

[Jarick]

I honestly think that, outside of a highly portable setup, it's better to have a separate audio interface to control ins and outs than jamming it into the modeler itself. There's some basic controls for levels, but even on my Axe 3 the metering isn't as precise as my $250 MOTU. And there's other benefits like having combo XLR/instrument jacks on the front AND ins/outs on the back.

Most of the home studios I see are running something like a UAD interface that not only provides inputs/outputs and conversion, but also handles some plugin processing as well. I think that makes sense when doing a lot of tracking. Helix and Axe FX can do re-amping, but only one track at a time and you have to re-bounce everything in real time for any changes.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I honestly think that, outside of a highly portable setup, it's better to have a separate audio interface to control ins and outs than jamming it into the modeler itself. There's some basic controls for levels, but even on my Axe 3 the metering isn't as precise as my $250 MOTU. And there's other benefits like having combo XLR/instrument jacks on the front AND ins/outs on the back.

Most of the home studios I see are running something like a UAD interface that not only provides inputs/outputs and conversion, but also handles some plugin processing as well. I think that makes sense when doing a lot of tracking. Helix and Axe FX can do re-amping, but only one track at a time and you have to re-bounce everything in real time for any changes.

Used to agree with this. Then I started recording my own vocals and the power of combining modeler and audio interface so that I can capture a DI, but monitor latency-free with an excess of compression and reverb really opened my eyes/ears - it gives me the most useful aspect of the UA workflow, without me having to buy an expensive interface/plugin suite.

I agree that the way Fractal has crammed it's audio interface into the III/FM3 is kinda cost-added-with-minimal benefit.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Used to agree with this. Then I started recording my own vocals and the power of combining modeler and audio interface so that I can capture a DI, but monitor latency-free with an excess of compression and reverb really opened my eyes/ears - it gives me the most useful aspect of the UA workflow, without me having to buy an expensive interface/plugin suite.

I agree that the way Fractal has crammed it's audio interface into the III/FM3 is kinda cost-added-with-minimal benefit.

We've chatted numerous times and you know I have always leaned this way. In doing the current weekly challenge; I am using the Axe I/O and it is great but that ability to track a dry track directly from the modeler via usb audio is priceless, imo. HX is by far my preferred route amongst the big players for this purpose.

 

[Digital Igloo]

Isn’t every Variax wireless, once you attach a $50-$100 nubbin?

When most people ask for wireless Variax, they want the same experience, just wireless. That's 3 channels—Models, Mags, and a back channel for remote control. It would've cost $1000 years ago; it's likely more now.

...and move to a 10 bucks a month subscription service.

I'm sure some at YGG would love to collect $10 every month from the hundreds of thousands of Helix/HX users out there, but personally, I loathe the subscription business model.

Helix and Axe FX can do re-amping, but only one track at a time and you have to re-bounce everything in real time for any changes.

Helix Native. Haven't needed to reamp in years, outside of ensuring Helix/HX hardware does it correctly.

 

[Orvillain]

move to a 10 bucks a month subscription service.

Ew. Grody.

 

[paisleywookiee]

When most people ask for wireless Variax, they want the same experience, just wireless. That's 3 channels—Models, Mags, and a back channel for remote control. It would've cost $1000 years ago; it's likely more now.

Oh gotcha. I just want a better-sounding Variax that’ll take a Warmoth neck.

 

[Orvillain]

Y'all tell me.

Ok, so....

- More high-gain amps; more Marshalls, Mesa's, maybe a bunch of Fryette's? Get an old knackered Laney VH100R and sex it up.... that'll give you all the coconut juice.
- Deeper editing possibilities for delays and reverbs. So 'Dynamic reverse', 'Dynamic Digital', 'Dynamic Brigade' etc etc.... with tons more tweakery and stuff that only twelve people will ever use, but I'll be one of them
- A quad DSP unit that enables me to have a full dual-path preset AND preset spillover at the same time.
- More snapshots. Even if I don't have the switches on the unit for them, I can use an external midi controller to trigger them, like a Morningstar MC8 for instance. I actually *can* do everything I need to do DSP-wise in a single preset. But I cannot do all the switching I need to do.
- The super loopswitcher Boss MS3/GigRig killer thing as discussed before but will probably never happen, again coz only 12 people would buy it
- LFO's, envelopes, a step sequencer
- sidechains for compressors and gates
- Amp profiling using the latest ML techniques - IK are suuuureeelllyy about to drop their ToneX-in-a-pedal thing
- Lower latency roundtrip ASIO drivers (probably require custom in-house drivers rather than Thesycon, if that is what you're using, not sure)
- Digitech FreqOut
- bb535 crybaby wah model (the Adam Jones one! Not the 535q which is different)
- Noise-gates built into the FX loop blocks so you can kill the return signal when the signal is low-enough; would help kill noise coming from pedals when they're not doing anything (pedals are set to wet only, and mix is done inside the block on Helix)

 

[Orvillain]

In terms of new hardware..... I don't know really.... I oscillate between wanting more footswitches and more DSP.... and a smaller unit that I can put on a board with other pedals. The Stomp's and HX Effects don't quite do it for me in terms of workflow.

 

[Lysander]

I'm sure some at YGG would love to collect $10 every month from the hundreds of thousands of Helix/HX users out there, but personally, I loathe the subscription business model.

My man!

 

[imperator]

I mean subscriptions are annoying, but the boys a line6 would love the idea. My main point was that the way captures are going, the hardware needed to run and store hundreds of high quality amp captures is probably going to be pretty cheap, they're going to want to make their money some way. I guess the alternative is to sell captures like IR packs.

 

[Orvillain]

Actually commenting on the FC12 just now made me realise... I'd quite like press+hold to perform different actions on the Helix. This could be to switch to a different numbered snapshot, to turn on the tuner, or to switch the assignment from one effect to another - more or less giving you their a/b channel selection mode. That sort of stuff is really useful.

 

[Digital Igloo]

Actually commenting on the FC12 just now made me realise... I'd quite like press+hold to perform different actions on the Helix. This could be to switch to a different numbered snapshot, to turn on the tuner, or to switch the assignment from one effect to another - more or less giving you their a/b channel selection mode. That sort of stuff is really useful.

You can do this now, but only with Command Center > HX Snapshot and HX Looper Commands; for example, you can assign Next Snapshot to FS3 release and Previous Snapshot to FS3 hold. Block on/off doesn't currently let you do this as it would A) preclude momentary functionality and B) require engagement on switch release instead of press.

It's far from insurmountable, but for traditional block bypass assignment, we've traditionally leaned toward fast and easy vs. slow and tweaky. I can totally see the advantage of press/release/hold with MIDI and hotkey messages tho' too.

 

[mbenigni]

- Noise-gates built into the FX loop blocks so you can kill the return signal when the signal is low-enough; would help kill noise coming from pedals when they're not doing anything (pedals are set to wet only, and mix is done inside the block on Helix)

Love this.

 

[norminal]

I could tell you some sh*t about the shenanigans that the company I believe DI is referring to tried to pull with us but I'm tired of all the social media nonsense.

I just design products and algorithms and write code these days. Social media has really soured me on, well, everything. I'm happy to answer questions about our products but the sleazy marketing crap and other nonsense that happens on social media has really taken a lot of the joy out of customer interaction.

When are we getting an interview Cliff? I wasn’t around during the OG Axe-FX days. I’d love to hear about the beginnings of FAS and how you got into electrical engineering. I know @2112 was asking about guests for his podcast.