I also own both, and play both live. For me it’s vastly easier to get to a great tone with the FM9. I’m not talking about the UI, but more that on the Helix I have to do more tricks to get to sound as good when starting from scratch. Also so many of the presets sound amazing on the FM9, and I’ve never said that about the Helix. Heck Maroon 5 played a Fractal stock preset at the Super Bowl with only slight tweak to gain according to Cooper. This and the Fractal Gift of Tone stuff also make for solid starting points.
That is my experience too. The Helix can do anything but I have to tweak more. Fractal and Neural DSP both chose a more sensible default EQ. I went with Helix because it was so much cheaper for the LT vs the FM or Quad Cortex. Also I only play metal. I've heard folks say for blues or country or alternative Fractal wipes the floor with Helix and QC.
Unfortunately most of us musician's are not so open minded, which I can be guilty of. Maybe it's because we all want to feel we made the best choice. We need to remind ourselves we should respect everyone and their choices, and always disagree respectfully.
When we get fed a culture of "All the best gear was made before you were born" as the norm you will breed a generation of people unsure of buying into new ideas. It's a crazy dichotomy between "We like tech but is it good enough?" and "Why don't any companies try new ideas?!!"
They are both fantastic units. The helix still rules for its age and one of the best. However, I have an FM9 and the clarity across the board is another level. That other level is only a few percent better. It’s like the helix 90% and the fractal is 95% out of 100 being perfect. I still really like the Helix but I love my FM9 Turbo. It’s more powerful and way more configurable both in sound design and with the switches for live use
I'm a long time Helix LT/HX Stomp and Helix Native user. Never used one of the Fractals but am prepared to believe it can sound as good or better but that doesn't mean I need to get one. They're all great but the flexibility of the HX system (the Stomp is great for small gigs and the Native software is important in my recording) leaves me happy with what I have.
It's all in what you connect with. I've had em all, and while I won't sell my Kemper Stage, I've really bonded with my Headrush Prime, it inspires me on unique songwriting tones more than anything else. My FM3 was good too, but didn't inspire me. It's all in what we connect with.
I have owned both. Helix has gotten better on amp models but can't compete on effects or deep editing. It is like the Meris LVX Delay. That is the only delay that you can deep edit. With Fractal you can add modifiers to anything and match any effect out there. You can not do custom effects and amp editing. It is like this, if you want simple, buy a Helix, If you are a deep editor buy Fractal. Both sound similar with with basic effects. Do the custom stuff and it is a different world.
Once you decide to hear with your ears and not with your eyes, things change. For the fx I have to agree.. That is why why I use a Bigsky in conjunction with my Helix ( and a Tonex, just in case.... 😊). At the moment I do not know what to miss. Maybe the unit should learn to serve coffee😂 And don't get me wrong, I really like the sound of the fractal stuff.
I have the Kemper, FM9 and Helix and Kemper has been my main one but lately FM9 due to the flexibility to alt some tones and mods its been my go to... But then again i eel that its all in the mood for what i may needed for and i switch back and forward just like one day I go for a Tle and another day gp for Strat or Gibson... Helix its my least to go for... So for now FM9..
I have a Helix and a kemper and i have to say in the mix you can’t tell what you are using i like them both but i still think an amp with pedals especially when it’s wet dry hands down better sounding but that doesn’t detract from how good the digital stuff has become they improve with every firmware upgrade and in this new world we find ourselves in ,it’s a good time to be alive because we are spoiled for choice and I’m glad i chose the guitar to spend time with instead of any other instrument . I have never tried any fractal stuff it’s almost impossible to even get a hold of one here in Adelaide Australia to demo but everything else is readily available so I’ll stick with what i have which is by no means a handicap. Great discussion Lads .
I still can't get behind the amp+cab modeling in the Helix. It's so far behind the rest of the competition, other than the Fender tone master pro or the boss stuff. Kemper, Fractal, QC, or tonex for me.
I have both and the unbearably bright sound of the Helix cannot be the same as the Fractal. You may be able to find a good sound but after grinding it out for a few weeks and this is included in everything you create. It becomes unbearable. Apart from the feeling as a guitarist, the response of the Fractal is infinitely better. There are unusable Pedals like Drive due to the same Brightness problems. They are not close at all. 😂🤣 I'm sure that at least 99% of the people who have both would prefer the Fractal without giving it a second thought. There are even people who complain about "it's not intuitive" seriously? 🤣 Have you ever wondered if your refrigerator is intuitive? The problem is directly that you do not understand how to turn on a TV. 🤣😂 Man really, 1 week a create all my helix patch more acuracy, excellent volume level, more flexibility jajajaj Helix sucks Sorry.
