tonymckenziecom | 4 years ago

Why I bought an Helix Rack over and above the Axe-FX III. This is a closeup review inside and out of the Fractal Audio Version 3 amplifier simulator. I cover in here the most important things that made me decide that the Line6 Helix Rack is the best unit out there today. Check the video and take a look at why my conclusions made me decide that.

The Contents
==============
00:00 Start
00:15 Information

Inside the Unit
===============
00:25 Inside the AXE-FX III
05:06 The Axe-FX III Power Supply
06:50 The Keystone Processor - The Facts
10:06 General PCB & Other Hardware
11:41 The Power Switch

The Chips & Components
=====================
12:46 Other Chips - Their Use & Pricing
14:36 Closeup & Pricing of Main Processor
18:30 Memory Chips Used
19:28 The XILINX Spartan Chip
21:16 The TPS73701
22:06 The Cheap Aluminum Cased Capacitors
22:48 The TI LMZ30604 Power Module
23:43 Cirrus Logic DAC CS4355CSZR
25:00 Voltage Regulator MC7805CT Obsolete
26:00 Winbond 25Q128FWSQ 128 Mb Flash
26:54 Cheap Jamicon DC Axial Fan
27:30 Operational Fan Noise
28:10 3.3v CPLD Gate Array
29:32 Cirrus Logic DAC CS4385-CQZ
30:53 Last Thoughts About The Processor

The Origin
==========
33:50 Imports From The Far East

Using The Unit
==============
34:46 Front Controls On the Axe-FX III
43:20 The Back Panel & The Connectors
52:17 FCC, CE & Other Important Standards

1:01:39 INTERMISSION

1:02:24 Looking Closer - The Firmware
1:07:38 Front Panel & Features Overview
1:47:10 The Axe Edit III Basic Overview
1:51:40 The Performance Mode - Thank God!
1:54:06 Millions of Settings
1:58:55 The John Petrucci Myth... or is it?
2:01:30 Axe-FX III - Other Considerations
2:01:35 Axe-FX III The Warranty
2:05:06 Price and Value
2:08:10 Complexity & its Effects on Sales
2:13:00 Other Costs Involved

Summing Up & Opinion
====================
2:14:20 Summing Up - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
2:14:40 My dislikes of the Axe-FX III
2:17:20 My Likes About The Axe-FX III
2:20:50 The Final Review Score
2:22:00 Last Words

The video had over 40 minutes removed that would have been considerably enlightening to viewers.

In the good old days of 2011 or thereabouts I looked at the predecessor of the Axe FX III and was quite surprised at what I saw, not in a good way. But forward to 2019. There's no waiting list to buy the version III unit like there was in the 'old days'. In fact currently those halcyon days seem to be gone forever. Let's face it, the cost of (in Europe) the Axe-FX III at about £2400 or so is, well, at best high. But the price in the USA is not cheap either.

In 2020 there's other competition at substantially lower cost than it used to be, although Kemper seems to be on the wrong side of £1300 ($1600) including sales tax of 20% or so also these days but the Helix rack I recently bought for just £875 ($1000) (including 20% tax) effectively for me negates any real advantage that the Axe-FX III might offer offer to some.

So here's an inside and out review that is now abridged to shorter length reduced by 40+ minutes.

Indeed I did cover a huge amount of things, like noisy fans, power switches glued in place, country of origin of the unit missing off the unit but it seemed to carry a 'Made in China' tag. The cheap $61 processor, the complexity of the unit and so much more did make me think about the V3 with trepidation. I was sworn at, harassed, threatened.. abused... you name it.

Indeed those are the sort that could maybe drive someone to suicide... and as you see on YouTube, sometimes that happens through being harassed by others. Its not funny in the least. I Don't support that type of behavior. Helix users tend to be very different than that. In my experience they are helpful and friendly - as are most Kemper, Roland and other amp simulator users.

While the Helix is not perfect pound for pound the Helix Rack is probably the best value unit on the market today - and I have tried them all, looked closely inside and checked their support, warranty and everything else.

IF YOU SUPPORT GENUINE SELF FUNDED REVIEWS AS THIS ONE IS THEN PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, RING THE BELL AND THUMBS UP.

The opinions expressed in the video are entirely personal views and some of the information may be correct or incorrect depending on what was found on the internet at the time. All information was already freely available on the internet in August 2019.

E&OE.

This entire video and its audio contents and texts is (c) A B Mckenzie 1998-2020. All Rights Reserved. All Trademarks Acknowledged

Here are a few links which might be more useful:

Line6 HELIX Review is here: https://youtu.be/0sN-bwrDf2Y
Line6 Helix Rack review & building a rack: https://youtu.be/HJHCG0k_oTY
Roland GT-1000 Review is Here: https://youtu.be/VW7PP4d-12M
Kemper Rack Review is Here: https://youtu.be/4RZUnEyG2eM
DV-Mark Multiamp Review Here: https://youtu.be/xTL1Q6A6U5c
H&K Black Spirit 200 Review Here: https://youtu.be/RMz_itRupqk

#axe-fx #insideandoutreview #helix