JackBootedThug
MURDERATOR
Or something else? Grab and go small footprint solution… opinions welcome here… thanks 
Jccobb2
Well-known member
I am down to a single modeler, it’s the new helix. Really good sound all around. It’s really excellent at 2 things:
1 - recording or pushing a mic’d sound out of the PA at a gig.
2 - running into a tube poweramp and into a real cab in a room.
If either of those sounds like your use case than I can’t recommend it enough. Line 6 is supposed to put their capture tech out in the near future (month or 2) which only further makes the helix a good choice.
I haven’t tried the new smaller fractal stuff though, its supposed to be excellent.
1 - recording or pushing a mic’d sound out of the PA at a gig.
2 - running into a tube poweramp and into a real cab in a room.
If either of those sounds like your use case than I can’t recommend it enough. Line 6 is supposed to put their capture tech out in the near future (month or 2) which only further makes the helix a good choice.
I haven’t tried the new smaller fractal stuff though, its supposed to be excellent.
Iamnada
Active member
I'm a Kemper guy..mostly because I have a gob of commercial profiles...recently bought the dimehead NAM player to try out. NAM is a very interesting concept and appeals to my IT guy nature.
DrewJD82
Well-known member
Figure out if you want to do the capture/profile thing or just dial shit in like you would an amp.
If I had to pick one to rely on for regular use, it definitely wouldn't be the capture route unless I were intending on capturing my own gear. Relying on other people to provide your ideal tone isn't exactly efficient. That said, a lot of them sound great and if you're not picky, might be more efficient than dialing something in on your own.
Despite everything to come out in the last 7 years, my Fractal stuff isn't going anywhere.
If I had to pick one to rely on for regular use, it definitely wouldn't be the capture route unless I were intending on capturing my own gear. Relying on other people to provide your ideal tone isn't exactly efficient. That said, a lot of them sound great and if you're not picky, might be more efficient than dialing something in on your own.
Despite everything to come out in the last 7 years, my Fractal stuff isn't going anywhere.
boogieman1187
Active member
Traded in my Bogner rig for an FM9 a few years back for simpler setup and less expensive option to play shitty bars with, wasn't the same but for my purposes it was 1000% acceptable, even for a tube snob like me. If I still played out I would totally go tha route again.
IndyWS6
Well-known member
I have a couple of Fractal units. Are they tube Amps? No. Are they stupid close? Yes… as I get older and pare down the collection, I’ll keep one half-stack (BE-50 Deluxe) with a 2x12 Greenback cab and custom pedal board with Fractal effects and my fractal rack rig. These days, I play in Madison Spare Bedroom and even that is seriously overkill…
JackBootedThug
MURDERATOR
Yeah I’m not a capture guy so that’s pointless for me. Just plug in, pick something and tweak to taste and go…..
IndyWS6
Well-known member
Not bragging, but my custom pedal boards, for both the analog and digital rigs (from nice Rack Canada), are top notch. Couldn’t recommend them enough.
JackBootedThug
MURDERATOR
Playandersons hooked me up (FOR REAL!) with a sweet power amp which got me to thinking about going this route. My homie sdmf38 has the fractal floor unit and it was killer. My first time seeing a fractal unit in the wild. I’m a cheap ass so I was kinda looking at the tonex unit but thought I would check with the homies here first.
DanTravis62
Moderator
Same. I have a ton of really nice commercial and homemade profiles, and prefer the kemper workflow
Shask
Well-known member
I prefer ToneX for pure tone/feel dynamics. Capturing my own tube amps is the best digital and direct tones I have ever heard. Way better than the traditional modelers. I have played with NAM as well, which is cool, but hasn't grabbed me the way ToneX has.
For features, effects, variety, etc.. I like the Fractal stuff.
For features, effects, variety, etc.. I like the Fractal stuff.
JackBootedThug
MURDERATOR
I’m going to be doing a Bon Scott acdc thing and was thinking about something easy to pack. Take that old crate cab that sounds great… leave it there.. then just pack the many rig running into the isp stealth pro…. Boom 
PurityS.L.G
Well-known member
You can't go wrong with any of them honestly. I got to try the tonex this past summer and I was actually very surprised how well it sounded. Would not hesitate to gig with one. Only drawback I see with it is the capturing process takes so long but if you just grab community presets instead, you're golden.
JackBootedThug
MURDERATOR
I would use presets. Might just grab one of those new ones… the valeton or whatever they are called. Or if any of the homies here have something… acdc is pretty straightforward… especially bon scott era…
Spaceboy
Well-known member
I have or still have them all… it’s mostly about your personal workflow, they can all sound great. I’m a Fractal guy, it’s the quickest for me to get tones that inspire me to play and write.
glpg80
Well-known member
For tonal quality of captures? ToneX. For captures and effects routing? Fractal.
Shask
Well-known member
When they updated to V2 of the captures earlier this year, they not only improved the sound and accuracy, but they sped it up dramatically if you have a graphics card.
I can process a Tone Model in about 8 minutes. I just ran off about 50 captures of my 2203 Clone in the last 2 days.
Greazygeo
Well-known member
Tonex One. One clean capture and one dirty…treat it like an amp with some pedals in front and some after…works great in front of a cleaner amp.
Metalhex
Well-known member
The Valeton is supposed to be of lower quality than Tonex but probably close enough
G
gibsonash
Active member
Fractal do not capture
