Maybe a Helix contender ... But "gapless switching" and yet another modeller ... What do y'all think?

    Looks very Helix like. Same guys that did 11r but it's not clear if this is an Avid offshoot company or if they're ex Avid employees. Either way right now there's not a lot to go on, it just looks like an early render and some generic marketing fluff, the clean design is appealing though, lets see how it sounds when it lands.

    Only 1 promo video that I could find. Sounds good, but it's super limited in what it shows.


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    Great playing, UI looks very clean, the tones do not sound good to me though in that video, very muffled very compressed, very digital drenched in room verb (maybe a bad IR?) rather than real amp in a room sounding to my ears

    Really wasn't a fan of the eleven rack personally; when trying it out at a showcase (and would therefore expect great tone...) so don't hold high hopes for it - Just like any Line6 gear that gets released the hi gain stuff is never quite right like it is with Kemper...


    *edit* though saying that - did find some good tones off the Bogner Spider and X3 PRO rack but feel that was down to the Bogner design / Dual path functionality / presets dialled in by artists...

    Quote from MementoMori

    Only 1 promo video that I could find. Sounds good, but it's super limited in what it shows.


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    Quote from Per

    Great playing, UI looks very clean, the tones do not sound good to me though in that video, very muffled very compressed, very digital drenched in room verb (maybe a bad IR?) rather than real amp in a room sounding to my ears

    Yea, agree Per. Interface looks really good. Tone was less than inspiring.

    WHY would the PR people think that a demo of cheesy compressed 80s hair metal tapping will impress people? It's like the Roland approach to marketing.


    Play some Radiohead, Nirvana, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Beatles, Bowie whatever, I just want to hear some straight up classic amp tones, clean, dirty, overdrive etc.

    Perhaps it's just extremely niche and only aimed at the market who want to play tapping using their neck pickup on a headless guitar whilst in an empty concert hall haha

    Quote from endlessnameless

    WHY would the PR people think that a demo of cheesy compressed 80s hair metal tapping will impress people?

    For the same reason the same PR guys once in the mid-90s thought it would be a good idea to kill the image of "skilled musicians" of the 70s supergroups and the 80s "guitar/drums/bass"-heroes and selling "unskilled" boygroups/grunge/techno/gangsterrap as the "next big thing" for the next 20 years.. ^^


    The result today is that everything has become just a mix of idiotic clichés/stereotypes and big confusion.Specially when it comes to all issues about electric guitar.

    Quote from Nikos

    For the same reason the same PR guys once in the mid-90s thought it would be a good idea to kill the image of "skilled musicians" of the 70s supergroups and the 80s "guitar/drums/bass"-heroes and selling "unskilled" boygroups/grunge/techno/gangsterrap as the "next big thing" for the next 20 years.. ^^
    The result today is that everything has become just a mix of idiotic clichés/stereotypes and big confusion.Specially when it comes to all issues about electric guitar.

    I agree that electric guitar has had the stereotype of big hair, leather, sexism and 'widdling' 15 minute guitar solos hanging around for far too long. But for that I blame 80s metal. It simply hasn't left in many quarters of guitar (gear). Boss and Roland videos and marketing are testament to that. At least this new video has a woman as the main 'star' - I give it credit for that.


    Now I am sure a lot of people love 80s metal. So no offence to those people. But it carries a lot of baggage that has bogged down guitar for years. And I am not convinced great tone was a strength of it either.


    The 90s allowed the positive guitar of the 50s, 60s 70s and 80s to come forward and add even more to that. It stopped being about showboating and pyrotechnics and more about supporting the song.Not sure I agree that grunge bands are 'unskilled' musicians either.

    Quote from Nikos

    For the same reason the same PR guys once in the mid-90s thought it would be a good idea to kill the image of "skilled musicians" of the 70s supergroups and the 80s "guitar/drums/bass"-heroes and selling "unskilled" boygroups/grunge/techno/gangsterrap as the "next big thing" for the next 20 years.. ^^
    The result today is that everything has become just a mix of idiotic clichés/stereotypes and big confusion.Specially when it comes to all issues about electric guitar.

    I guess it depends how you look at it. It's not as if the 80's didn't have its share of electro-pop music and image-centered sensationalism.


    I would also argue that today with the advent of the internet, we rely less on a handful of labels cramming what's on the radio and have access to an endless array of music. Given, an endless array of music also means a ton of bullshit, but none of it is really forced on you anymore and you have a much easier time finding what you like, not to mention services like Pandora customizing playlists based on your preferences.


    Maybe I've just gotten really good at tuning out pop culture and not letting it bother me. Either way, there's a ton of skill and great music out there, always has been.


    But back on topic: some people may find the tone overcompressed and a bit 80's, and perhaps it is, but it certainly doesn't sound bad to my ears. Didn't wow me, and the fact that it gave you a very limited glimpse into the tone doesn't speak well for it, either. We shall see, but it looks interesting. At the very least, competition is good and might drive the Helix and AX8 to up their game... or perhaps even Kemper to look into a floor-based model.

    To be honest I just want a KPA REMOTE 2.0 with some incarnation of 'scribble strips' or 'OLED screens' -- despite owning the remote now :p (integration is spot on and aim of the game but would be nice to just glimpse and know what effect is assigned and custom label any switch etc... But I've been saying this for years now haha :whistling: )

    @endlessnameless


    I really just wanted to say something about the "marketing".Who sells in 2017;Yes..it is still Slash for Gibson & Marshall,Santana for PRS,Petrucci & Lukather for Music Man & Mesa Boogie,Eddie for Fender etc,etc..is there any player from the 90s on some poster;Or any player from today;


    Why is this the case;

    Quote from Nikos

    @endlessnameless


    I really just wanted to say something about the "marketing".Who sells in 2017;Yes..it is still Slash for Gibson & Marshall,Santana for PRS,Petrucci & Lukather for Music Man & Mesa Boogie,Eddie for Fender etc,etc..is there any player from the 90s on some poster;Or any player from today;


    Why is this the case;

    There's still a ton of romanticism for old guitar heroes, no doubt, and these are still some of the guys who either revolutionized certain types of playing or are now synonymous with a brand. But I guess it depends where you're looking, too. These days I see a ton of Tosin Abasi and Joe Bonamassa.