Helix - Axe FX, Kemper question re: Profiling/ Tone Matching

Beexter

I'm looking at the possibilities offered by these units and am particularly interested in their profiling/ tone-matching capabilities, so have a question for owners..

The Kemper clearly is capable of "profiling" amps - that's kind of what it was created for. To create a profile, my basic understanding is that you run a signal from the Kemper through your amp and it just does its thang. However, to profile a pedal, you have to have it as part of the signal chain when profiling and it is then "locked" to that amp profile. Right or wrong? Or can you just profile a pedal and use it with any amp profile you have?

With the Axe FX, do both the FX8 and AX8 offer the tone-match feature? Can you just tone-match a pedal and save it as a pedal "model".? What about amps/ cabs - can they be tone-matched?

Is the Helix able to do any of this wizardry?

Any comments greatly appreciated.

guitarfishbay

I don't use tonematching but I do have an Axe FX 2.  You have to dial in a similar sound first then the tone match 'corrects' the difference between the two sounds.  How close you get the initial sound will have an impact on how close the result is.

I don't really see an advantage as it won't copy the dynamics, just the 'tone', dynamics will be tied to whatever models you're using for the core tone so if they differ from the target that'll never truly match.  

If matching sounds and feel are both really important to you the Kemper is probably the best choice over anything else.

Sporky

The Helix doesn't do any of this; it includes impulse responses for cabs and can take 3rd party impulse responses too.

guitarfishbay

In terms of matching amp sounds the Kemper will be closest, but the Axe FX 2 or Helix model of the amp in question plus the same or very similar IR will get you very close.

I personally switched my recording setup from Rectifier + Rectifier 2x12 to an Axe FX2 and impulses of the same cab.  I was going to shoot my own as I still have my cabs but the Ownhammer ones sound just like my cab anyway.  I think another member here had a similar experience with their Helix setup and some Bogner IRs.

duotone

@Beexter Which route did you go in the end?  

Jonathanthomas83

@duotone he went with the AX8, I believe.

Beexter

@duotone , I bit the bullet and bought a new AX8. I'm delighted with it. 
OK, the interface isn't as intuitive as the Helix but the sounds are terrific. What I like is that the basic amp sounds are great so you don't NEED to do any deep editing to get something that sounds good but if you want to, the possibility is there. I just load up an amp and cab and tweak bass, middle and treble etc from the dedicated dials on top of the unit as I would do with a regular amp.
It's already become indispensable and the convenience factor is ace. Live, I run it through a DXR10 Yamaha and take a feed from the DXR to the desk. Here's a link to a rough and ready recording on a GoPro from last weekend using the above setup. I'm the main guitar sound and am on the far right of the stage.

duotone

@Beexter  Yeah the Fractal Audio products look really good & all the online demos of them I've heard sound fantastic as well.

Am glad your happy & getting on well with it. 

John_A

Beexter said:

@duotone , I bit the bullet and bought a new AX8. I'm delighted with it. 
................... above setup. I'm the main guitar sound and am on the far right of the stage.

Sounds great.  Looks like a bloody awful gig though!

Beexter

John_A said:

Beexter said:

@duotone , I bit the bullet and bought a new AX8. I'm delighted with it. 
................... above setup. I'm the main guitar sound and am on the far right of the stage.

Sounds great.  Looks like a bloody awful gig though!

Cheers @John_A . It was - raining horizontally at one point, right in my face! I'm amazed none of us were electrocuted! I had to partly dismantle my DXR afterwards to get all the water out and the AX8 got a fair soaking too.
There were a few bands on so we got no time to soundcheck - literally get on, plug in and play - the sound guys mixed the sound as we ran through the first number. Using something like the AX8 in this scenario makes things so much easier though, as it takes no time to set up. The sound guys were chuffed too as all they had to do was plug an xlr into the DXR. They even came up afterwards to complement me on the tones!
I'm a definite convert.

John_A

Good stuff, Modellers certainly do make life easy and sound great, shame they don't get us better gigs