Kiwiguitar
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Re: Dr. Z says modeling amps are going to be the next wave...
Except for the Kemper, but the Helix is right up there. A fine tool.
Dr. Z says modeling amps are going to be the next wave...
- Thread starter Lewguitar
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Red_Label
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Re: Dr. Z says modeling amps are going to be the next wave...
I had a Kemper for 2-3 weeks. Didn't care for it. It may have had some decent tones in there (or able to be imported), but I hated the interface so bad that I couldn't stand it. Helix and Eleven Rack are the best modeler/profiler interfaces I've ever used. The Helix kills the 11R, but the 11R was pretty good for its time and the only other fully digital "amplifier" I've ever been able to stand.
I had a Kemper for 2-3 weeks. Didn't care for it. It may have had some decent tones in there (or able to be imported), but I hated the interface so bad that I couldn't stand it. Helix and Eleven Rack are the best modeler/profiler interfaces I've ever used. The Helix kills the 11R, but the 11R was pretty good for its time and the only other fully digital "amplifier" I've ever been able to stand.
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Re: Dr. Z says modeling amps are going to be the next wave...
That's why I love the Helix... you DON'T have a spend a lot of time tweaking it. I HATE tweaking. I've always referred to myself as a "RONCO set-it-and-forget-it" kind of guy when it comes to amps and FX. The Helix has been so intuitive for me to use that I didn't mind what little knob tweaking I had to do to set it up for my preferences. I can't remember if I even opened a manual. Just looked at the big cheat sheet for a minute and then got busy. I'm sure that there are some things that I haven't explored yet. Probably a LOT of things actually. But it sounds so good almost right out of the box, that I just created a few banks of user presets and have pretty much called it good since that.
I did scroll through many of the factory presets, but I got so bored of that in short order, that I ended-up going to a blank preset and just started spinning knobs to find the amp models that I liked best for dirt and cleans. I like the 2203 best for dirt (with a Greenback 4x12 if memory serves) and a Deluxe Reverb for cleans (except for my Brad Paisley lead patch, which uses a Vox AC30). I haven't tried putting the latest firmware with the Friedman model on there yet, as I want to make sure that the firmware doesn't have bugs before I upgrade. At any rate, despite my little experience where V2.3 corrupted it and I had to send it back... I can't sing the praises for the Helix enough. No, I would never gig it without a backup. But I never gig ANYTHING without a backup of some sort. If I ever get serious about gigging regularly with the Helix, I will buy a second as a backup for sure. But I would do that with a Axe-FX, Kemper, or any other unit.
Having gigged and even toured extensively throughout the 90s and 2000s, I can tell you that nothing sucks worse than having a piece of gear take a dump on you and having to finish the night with some jacked-up rig like a TS9 straight into a PA or something. I've done things like that before and have no interest in being that uncomfortable ever again. The audience may not have noticed, but it deflated me so bad that my playing was a ghost of its normal self. I can only remember one gig where my rack FX unit died, and I had to finish the rest of the gig with just my ADA-MP1 running 100% dry, and I actually played MORE inspired than normal. That's when I realized that it was time to dump the rack gear of the time and go back to quality tube amps. I've been that way ever since... until the Helix showed-up. It's got me thinking about trying it the next time that I gig.
That's why I love the Helix... you DON'T have a spend a lot of time tweaking it. I HATE tweaking. I've always referred to myself as a "RONCO set-it-and-forget-it" kind of guy when it comes to amps and FX. The Helix has been so intuitive for me to use that I didn't mind what little knob tweaking I had to do to set it up for my preferences. I can't remember if I even opened a manual. Just looked at the big cheat sheet for a minute and then got busy. I'm sure that there are some things that I haven't explored yet. Probably a LOT of things actually. But it sounds so good almost right out of the box, that I just created a few banks of user presets and have pretty much called it good since that.
I did scroll through many of the factory presets, but I got so bored of that in short order, that I ended-up going to a blank preset and just started spinning knobs to find the amp models that I liked best for dirt and cleans. I like the 2203 best for dirt (with a Greenback 4x12 if memory serves) and a Deluxe Reverb for cleans (except for my Brad Paisley lead patch, which uses a Vox AC30). I haven't tried putting the latest firmware with the Friedman model on there yet, as I want to make sure that the firmware doesn't have bugs before I upgrade. At any rate, despite my little experience where V2.3 corrupted it and I had to send it back... I can't sing the praises for the Helix enough. No, I would never gig it without a backup. But I never gig ANYTHING without a backup of some sort. If I ever get serious about gigging regularly with the Helix, I will buy a second as a backup for sure. But I would do that with a Axe-FX, Kemper, or any other unit.
Having gigged and even toured extensively throughout the 90s and 2000s, I can tell you that nothing sucks worse than having a piece of gear take a dump on you and having to finish the night with some jacked-up rig like a TS9 straight into a PA or something. I've done things like that before and have no interest in being that uncomfortable ever again. The audience may not have noticed, but it deflated me so bad that my playing was a ghost of its normal self. I can only remember one gig where my rack FX unit died, and I had to finish the rest of the gig with just my ADA-MP1 running 100% dry, and I actually played MORE inspired than normal. That's when I realized that it was time to dump the rack gear of the time and go back to quality tube amps. I've been that way ever since... until the Helix showed-up. It's got me thinking about trying it the next time that I gig.
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Kiwiguitar
New member
Re: Dr. Z says modeling amps are going to be the next wave...
The Line 6 PC interface is awesome though.
The tones from the Kemper are fantastic. Much more amp-like than the Helix (which is decent) and is way easier to just plug and go than you've experienced. Plus they continually release new and improved functionality to preserve your investment.
The Line 6 PC interface is awesome though.
Red_Label
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Re: Dr. Z says modeling amps are going to be the next wave...
Different strokes I guess. Just didn't do it for me. Neither did the Bogner XTC 101B that sat in the man cave during the same period (much preferred my XTC Classic). So it's not that the Kemper was lacking. It was just lacking what I wanted.
Regarding the Helix... the fact that mine is sharing a room with two Friedmans (I've had five Friedmans and all are my favorite tube amps of all time) and I haven't thrown the Helix out the window... tells you how highly I think of the Helix. IMO the Helix, Kemper, and Fractal stuff is all top tier stuff. None is "better" than the other... just different. The Helix happens to be my favorite of the three by far. And I'm not alone in that. They all have fan bois.
The tones from the Kemper are fantastic. Much more amp-like than the Helix (which is decent) and is way easier to just plug and go than you've experienced. Plus they continually release new and improved functionality to preserve your investment.
The Line 6 PC interface is awesome though.
Different strokes I guess. Just didn't do it for me. Neither did the Bogner XTC 101B that sat in the man cave during the same period (much preferred my XTC Classic). So it's not that the Kemper was lacking. It was just lacking what I wanted.
Regarding the Helix... the fact that mine is sharing a room with two Friedmans (I've had five Friedmans and all are my favorite tube amps of all time) and I haven't thrown the Helix out the window... tells you how highly I think of the Helix. IMO the Helix, Kemper, and Fractal stuff is all top tier stuff. None is "better" than the other... just different. The Helix happens to be my favorite of the three by far. And I'm not alone in that. They all have fan bois.
Progbusters
New member
Re: Dr. Z says modeling amps are going to be the next wave...
i bought a Positive Grid last year on a whim. It works well for me. Its not as loud as you think though. Good enough for a small band. Some models need a lot of tweaking or have more headroom than others. Sounds seems good. Helped me explore tones.
I notice concerts they are playing modeling amps like Nickelback and Baby Metal. It really doesn't sound that good except it saves the audience's ears. Compared to a Black Sabbath show that I saw few years ago where they were doing it right with tube amps.
i bought a Positive Grid last year on a whim. It works well for me. Its not as loud as you think though. Good enough for a small band. Some models need a lot of tweaking or have more headroom than others. Sounds seems good. Helped me explore tones.
I notice concerts they are playing modeling amps like Nickelback and Baby Metal. It really doesn't sound that good except it saves the audience's ears. Compared to a Black Sabbath show that I saw few years ago where they were doing it right with tube amps.
ibanezrocks
HardtailPisser
Re: Dr. Z says modeling amps are going to be the next wave...
I've had it for two weeks now so I'm still tweaking a lot. Spent a lot of time playing with EQs and compressors all over the signal chain trying to get it to sound right (mostly for high gain). Now I've figured out to use two cabs (usually both the same) with different mics: one ribbon and one dynamic. That's the biggest improvement I've found by far. Helps with all tones. Otherwise the mics always seem either way too harsh or way too dark - this lets you balance them. Adding a tiny delay (3 ms, no feedback), to one of the cabs also helps beef things up.
Now I can swap amps in and out and get them sounding pretty good. But a little EQ before and after the amp still goes a long way.
I've generally found the high gain tones are harder to dial in (prior to figuring out the dual cab trick) than clean or crunch tones though.
The Friedman model in there is great. It's my favorite along with the 5150 and PRS models.
Sent from my BlackBerry using Tapatalk
I've had it for two weeks now so I'm still tweaking a lot. Spent a lot of time playing with EQs and compressors all over the signal chain trying to get it to sound right (mostly for high gain). Now I've figured out to use two cabs (usually both the same) with different mics: one ribbon and one dynamic. That's the biggest improvement I've found by far. Helps with all tones. Otherwise the mics always seem either way too harsh or way too dark - this lets you balance them. Adding a tiny delay (3 ms, no feedback), to one of the cabs also helps beef things up.
Now I can swap amps in and out and get them sounding pretty good. But a little EQ before and after the amp still goes a long way.
I've generally found the high gain tones are harder to dial in (prior to figuring out the dual cab trick) than clean or crunch tones though.
The Friedman model in there is great. It's my favorite along with the 5150 and PRS models.
Sent from my BlackBerry using Tapatalk
Red_Label
New member
Re: Dr. Z says modeling amps are going to be the next wave...
Hmmm... I may have to take the plunge on updating to V2.5 this weekend and check the Friedman model out.
I haven't tried running two 4x12s in parallel with two different mics. Great idea! I need to get busy doing some more exploring on the Helix. That's what I love about it... it sounds damn good with minimal tweaking, but one can get nutty with all of the options if one wants to. That's where the good modelers have the real tube amps and FX beat.
Hmmm... I may have to take the plunge on updating to V2.5 this weekend and check the Friedman model out.
I haven't tried running two 4x12s in parallel with two different mics. Great idea! I need to get busy doing some more exploring on the Helix. That's what I love about it... it sounds damn good with minimal tweaking, but one can get nutty with all of the options if one wants to. That's where the good modelers have the real tube amps and FX beat.
Red_Label
New member
Re: Dr. Z says modeling amps are going to be the next wave...
I was curious about the Positive Grid stuff as well. There hasn't been one locally for me to try out. And now that I'm comfy with the Helix that's how I'll stay. But it's great that there are other options to the Helix and Fractal stuff, and will just spur everyone to step up and improve their products all the time (or go out of business). I haven't tried a Headrush yet either, but I have read some positive things about those too.
I was curious about the Positive Grid stuff as well. There hasn't been one locally for me to try out. And now that I'm comfy with the Helix that's how I'll stay. But it's great that there are other options to the Helix and Fractal stuff, and will just spur everyone to step up and improve their products all the time (or go out of business). I haven't tried a Headrush yet either, but I have read some positive things about those too.