Rob[atSound-Rehab]

cclarry 
hardware unit sounds far better.  And, at $399, definitely a pass
for me...

How did you arrive at that conclusion?

If you own the hardware it's $99, if you don't how can you tell so quickly?

They advertise it as the same algorithms, so if you feed it the same signal, it should sound the same ... it's just 1s and 0s after all ...

I don't own the hardware, but I have demo'd the hardware...
so now you know...

That software sounds pretty cool but at 399.99 I would have to pass. I am having a great time learning the ends and out of TH3 myself. That is one awesome amp sim. 

At $399 might as well add $600 and get the Helix LT?
 
At $999 might as well add $400 and get the full Helix?
 

bapu
At $399 might as well add $600 and get the Helix LT?
 
At $999 might as well add $400 and get the full Helix?
 

At this rate, the Variax Shuriken is starting to look mighty good.

It takes a while to get acclimated to using Helix.
The more time you spend with it, the more you can make the results "your sound".
For me, a huge part of getting sounds I like is making my own cab IRs.
Cabs that I like... mic'd the way I like.
 
Regarding the Native Plugin vs. the hardware:

• Gain-staging and the front-end are imperative to getting a good sound.

I had to turn the input down about 4dB to get response similar to Helix hardware.

• If you've ever listened to DI bass recorded with a cheap DI box... vs going DI thru a Neve channel... the difference is literally night vs. day (and the cost also reflects that  )

Here's an example of Helix Native... playing a modded Marshall type sound.
www.studiocat.com/temp/Helix_Native_ModMarshall.mp3
 
57/08 Bride Humbucker > Neve Portico II > Fireface UFX.
Ignore the crap guitar playing - trying to give an idea of how the sound responds to picking, dynamics, and volume.
Cab IR is a Friedman 4x12 (v30 speaker mic'd with a Miktek CV4).
 
You can download the Marshall patch and Cab IR here:
www.studiocat.com/temp/JimsMarsh.zip
If the Cab is too bright for your taste, you can use a darker IR or the "high cut" in the IR block.
Note that I increased the Sag parameter in the Amp block to 9 (you can dial this back if desired).
There's an additional "tone shaping" IR included... which provides a slight boost in the mids (off by default).
The patch also has drive, phaser, and delay blocks.
The LA-2A type compressor is used before the Cab IR block... to simulate slight speaker compression.
Got the idea from when I had the Axe-FX II XL+.
 
Helix Native is sounding very similar to the hardware here...
IMO, The biggest part of getting your sound... is getting the Cab right (to your ears).
Get that to your liking... and the rest will fall into place.
 
 
 

 
Here's the same patch with a different Cab IR (Friedman 4x12 mic'd with Royer-121 and SM-57)
www.studiocat.com/temp/Helix_Native_ModMarshall_121_57.mp3
 
 
 

Nice tones there Jim.

I had one of the first Helix units sold in the US.
Was using a Kemper at that time... and thought it sounded better than the Helix.
A lot of that was the fact that I'd spent months working with the Kemper vs. a few hours with Helix. 
Sold the (first) Helix.
 
Over the next couple of months, as strange as this might sound, I couldn't get the Helix UI out of my mind.
It was actually FUN making/tweaking sounds.
At this point, I had the Kemper and Axe-FX II XL+... so I decided to pick-up another Helix... so I could have the three of them side-by-side.
 
First thing I did when I got the new Helix was to create an "acoustic" patch for my piezo equipped guitars.
Loaded an IR of the body resonance from a Taylor acoustic guitar.
The sound blew my mind.  No more smacky/quacky/smacky piezo guitar sounds.
Used a small amount of EQ... and the sound was even better.
I'm not going to say it's a replacement for a well mic'd acoustic...
But for live... it sounds a whole lot better than it should.  
To my ears, Helix was better sounding at this application (sounded less processed) than the Axe-FX.
 
My next hurdle; to create a nice dynamic crunch sound... in the ballpark of a 5150-III into a 2x12 with v30s.
About this point, I decided to create my own Cab IRs.
I had already done some Profiling with the Kemper... so creating Cab IRs seemed logical.
Cabs I like... mic'd the way I like.
That was the final kicker.  Helix was now starting to sound like me (instead of vice-versa).
All the while, the UI was genuinely fun to use.
Helix was a keeper.
 
It was a hard decision to sell the Kemper.
It was the first device to convince me that great guitar sound/response could be had without tubes.
The Axe-FX is a great sounding unit... but I just didn't like the form-factor... or the onboard UI.
Axe-Edit (software editor) is a breeze... but maybe not the most convenient while holding a guitar.
 
Anyway... just my experience...
Everyone is different.  If you can, try them all.
They're all capable of fantastic sounds.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Now THAT sounds like it should!!!

I like that the tone your using is relative clean, when lightly picked,
but the crunch kicks in well when you're into it!!!  Very nice Jim!!!

One big thing with both Helix and Axe-FX (at least to my ears):
You have to run a high-pass filter prior to hitting the Amp block.
Otherwise, the bottom end sounds flabby/muddy (out of control).