I've had all three modelers (Helix Floor, but it's the same sound as the stomp). I have enjoyed them all. They are all very good. The perfect comparison would be to also have the actual amplifier, I think. Helix Floor always cut well in the mix, perhaps because of its more mid-focus sound. My personal ranking is FM9-Helix-Quad Cortex.
I liked the saturation on Fractal. HX Stomp sounded nasal, but I liked its low noise floor. All these Modelers could produce excellent results when dialed in. Thanks
Nice test! I think basically all the differences between the units could be dialled out by adjusting settings a bit (which would account for pot and parts tolerances from each companies reference amps). For instance, the Helix sounding more midrangey could just be the master volume being a little too high. I think all units have the same tones in them, maybe on Fractal you have to work a bit harder because the modes are spread across different models and sometimes the parameters are a bit different to the ref amp.
Thanks! Honestly I don't know what it was like before the current gen Fractal products, but in the FM9, the "Tone" tab is all the actual potentiometers from the actual Amp channel. Any additional setting is for tweaking values in the amp relating to Tubes, Cathodes, Bias, Power Supply, Variac, etc. Akin to modding a real amp.
@@TheGooseChaseMusicright, but on the real amp HBE, C45, voicing, structure are all on switches. In Fractal they’re spread over different models, with some switches available in the edit window. It’s fine, but I kind of wish all of the BE100 models were combined into a single amp, same with the Mark series stuff. But I suspect it’ll be the next gen of Fractal stuff where they have the DSP and ability to do that
@@eds4754 that's not a DSP issue, since Fractal has more settings than any other brand. As mentioned, Neural and Helix don't have the Thump/Depth knob modeled. On the Real Amp, there are three voicings, Fractal has the three modeled separately, Neural has only two via a switch, and Helix has none. Fractal's documentation also tells you how to achieve those voicings with the Amp Block's additional settings instead of changing models, if so desired. That being said, I agree it should just be a switch on a single model. However I'm certain the limitation isn't because of DSP.
@@TheGooseChaseMusic Cliff has literally said the engine the amp modelling runs on wouldn’t allow for amps to mimic the real layouts 1:1, and would require rewriting the DSP to offer that kind of stuff. That’s why they’re split over different models, it depends how the real amp can overlay its features over Fractals engine. Depth/Thump are features of the BE100 DLX, not the BE100 (which is why Helix and NDSP don’t have them). Fractal has those knobs set at the default BE100 values (which you can’t adjust on the real amp). But they give you the parameters to be able to adjust like the DLX because they’re already in all Fractal models and it makes sense to make them available. But yeah; it’s a cool feature of Fractals platform to be able to perform tweaks and update circuits to match any real world changes (like bright caps or different clipping diodes or whatever)
@@eds4754 ah, well I guess for Axe-FX III, this is likely a non-issue since channel switching is gapless, and you can now assign the voicings to any of 4 channels in an amp block to switch between the voicings (plus the aforementioned switch workarounds). Hopefully that makes it to the FM9 in an update soon. But yeah, the workarounds are def not the easiest compared to other modelers, unless you have fun reading documentation (I'm guilty haha)
The problem is not the sound, the three would sound good in a mix, the difference is in the sensation of actually playing an amplifier, in the dynamics, in the hit of the pick, in the palm mute... and in that Helix It is clearly below, it shows that it has been on the market for many years and is outdated. Helix sounds 2D and the other two sound 3D.
Wasn't expecting to hear Distopia of the Dead and Seishun Complex when I clicked on this video lol. Also, nice seeing another FGN guitar player! I recently got myself a Neo Classic and love it. I can definitely hear more low and top end in the FM9. It's boomier and fizzier to me, while the QC and Helix seem to be a bit better balanced. Mix ready as some others have commented. If you double tracked them, I think the FM9 would 'lose' just because it'd be too much without some EQ to tone down higher frequencies.
Just trying to subconsciously add anime riffs into folk's minds. Also best part about this comparison is that most of the controls are close to noon, and the differences are small. Each of them could sound like the other with a bit of tweaking. No losers here to my ears, all of them are awesome, just personal preference :D
@@TheGooseChaseMusic For sure. Modelers have gotten really really good nowadays. Starting to get real hard to notice the difference. Peep out the tone I made for the Helix for Bocchi the Rock on customtone. You might like it!
Hx sounds more natural. It imply picking dynamic better. The other one’s sounds more compressed. Metal guys might like QC or Fractal but as a Jazz rock musician, HX is my choice
IMO FM9 sounds the cheapest to my ears using headphones. HX Stomp XL is the way to go! YT sound compression doesn't do justice in sound comparison though.
When you up the low gain on the helix model, does it compensate for the low mid thing? Or is there still something missing? I try to get that low mid thump and I max out low gain on a parametric eq, set the low frequency at 120 and add bass to the amp model. I even max low gain on the reverb and that even helps. Gets the closest to the "wall of sound" in the axe fx. I get this pod go to sound just as good as when I had an axe 8, but clearer. I love the mid sizz of the hx, that's why I got it. I really do extreme settings to make it have tube amp like low mids.
@@TheGooseChaseMusic awesome I'll try 300 instead of 120hz on the lows and see what's up. When you dial it in, is it still missing bass frequencies compared to fm9?
@@hartlee1160I don't think it's that far off, if at all, I would only have to boost by 3 or 4 DB max, with a somewhat medium Q, otherwise it gets too bassy for me.
Interesting, personally I found the Axe FX's to be just a hair brighter than the other two, but it's definitely more relaxed in the upper mids than the HX, so it could be heard as darker. Thanks for sharing!
