Fractal FX8 users question

Wazmeister

Thanks to all who helped out in choosing the FX8...

It really is absolutely stunning ! Stunning.

meltedbuzzbox

come on then @Wazmeister give us some details 

Wazmeister

Jack, I need to write a full review. Im still learning the FX8 but it is absolutely superb. If i can get it to link with the EHX 45000, life will be complete

meltedbuzzbox

thats good news mate. I am curious to see what you think of all the individual effects and how they all perform etc

Heartfeltdawn

meltedbuzzbox said:

thats good news mate. I am curious to see what you think of all the individual effects and how they all perform etc

Same here. I find the demos online to be frustrating as I don't want to hear drives or the amps they're using. Just the effects would be much better. 

John_P

The drives are great but I think the other effects - modulations, delays and reverbs are better - I can't think of a floor pedal or multi I've used that sounds as good. 

Moltisanti

i've rehearsed with mine 4 times now, and it is superb, never had a better core tone, and it's super versatile

Wazmeister

Mind blowing.

The FX8 has quite simply thrown all my pedal thinking on its head !

kjdowd

Glad to hear it @Wazmeister. Knew you'd like it!

Moltisanti

without wanting to start a debate, @wazmeister how does it compare in your experience against the Helix having tried both ?

guitarpolo

cbellanga said:

I had a very early FX8. It didn't work for me as I couldn't find a very subtle edge of breakup setting after a week tweaking it. It's awesome for heavier things or if you're using the amp's drive. I have my name in the ax8 wait list now as I assume that will allow me to sort those kind of sounds + remove the amp from the equation.

Has anyone else struggled with an edge of breakup setting?

John_P

guitarpolo said:

Has anyone else struggled with an edge of breakup setting?

If anything I would say the drives are too biased towards breakup and boosts and I'm hoping for more higher gain pedals in future updates.      I've found lots of pedals that give that edgey sound and found it hard to narrow it down to a favourite.   

octatonic

guitarpolo said:

cbellanga said:

I had a very early FX8. It didn't work for me as I couldn't find a very subtle edge of breakup setting after a week tweaking it. It's awesome for heavier things or if you're using the amp's drive. I have my name in the ax8 wait list now as I assume that will allow me to sort those kind of sounds + remove the amp from the equation.

Has anyone else struggled with an edge of breakup setting?

I haven't but it depends on what you are running into.

With the CAA and the Two Rock the breakup is great.

guitarpolo

Thanks folks. I am getting tempted.

Wazmeister

The break up is fine with the Rambler.

kjdowd

Moltisanti said:

without wanting to start a debate, @wazmeister how does it compare in your experience against the Helix having tried both ?

I've tried both, and without doubt the FX8 has the better tones (although I didn't get to hear them side by side). Difficult to describe exactly how, but it sounds a bit more polished and - well - just better! I've stuck with the Helix as it is a better fit for me - I can easily use it at home over headphones and Helix via a PA works better for me in a lot of live and rehearsal situations. Also - while I don't think it is quite at the Fractal level - the Helix sounds great to my ears and I'm playing more than I have for a long time.

My v quick summary

FX8

Better tones

Excellent range of effects

Total plug and play with an amp either into the front or 4CM.

Updates look good

Unity gain totally straightforward

Helix

Much better UI (although FX8 is fine)

Much better routing and flexibility in a rig and with other pedals etc (although FX8 is fine)

Unity gain across presets is a bit more work

Lag in switching between presets (although I think other amp modellers have this when switching between models??)

Not quite as good as the FX8 in terms of tones, but still very, very good

Updates look good

Suspect I'll use it less with an amp, more with PA etc.

If you just want multi fx into an amp, FX8 every time. For a floor based unit that does amp modelling, the Helix is great. Really pleased with it. 

Had the AX8 been easily available at the time I got the Helix, that might have been a bit more of an interesting decision...

kjdowd

guitarpolo;950534" said:

cbellanga said:

I had a very early FX8. It didn't work for me as I couldn't find a very subtle edge of breakup setting after a week tweaking it. It's awesome for heavier things or if you're using the amp's drive. I have my name in the ax8 wait list now as I assume that will allow me to sort those kind of sounds + remove the amp from the equation.





Has anyone else struggled with an edge of breakup setting?

On this, I got a great edge of breakup tone with the fx8 and the eternal love drive. Did a whole gig basically using this drive and the guitar volume pot it sounded so good (well, the tone at least )

Wazmeister

@kjdowd - that review and comparison is spot on, and matches my findings...

For me personally, I needed a multi effects which worked into my amps... I had difficulty getting the Helix to unity, and much prefer the FX8. Undoubtedly, the Helix is a fine looking piece of kit and it has a superior interface, and the ability to switch stuff about really favoured it UNTIL the v3 release last week on the FX8.

You can move ANYTHING anywhere, AND now rename too.

Quite simply breathtaking...

Cabicular

I think that's a fair and balanced review @kjdowd
For me it's the Helix because it works better for my rig (the 1.06 firmware adds some nice stuff too like 3 matchless DC30 models and a few nice drives)
But if I was just gigging the Friedman I'd use the FX8
My only niggle is I hate the menus on the FX8
Just a world of pain (but I can't deal with the H9s for the same reason)

Moltisanti

for the edge of breakup i use the Blues OD (or something like that) it sounds quite AC30 ish to me, i use it for Beatles/Stones type stuff which has a bit of mild grit in it, but not crunch.

the FX8 in 4CM into my JCM800 combo last night sounded out of this world