Line 6 Helix

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  • menamestommenamestom Frets: 4641
    What are the reverbs like on the Helix? Are they up there with Neunaber, Big Sky, H9 etc?
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  • TeetonetalTeetonetal Frets: 7801
    What are the reverbs like on the Helix? Are they up there with Neunaber, Big Sky, H9 etc?
    Serviceable, not special.
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    What are the reverbs like on the Helix? Are they up there with Neunaber, Big Sky, H9 etc?
    Serviceable, not special.
    Depends what you are after I suppose
    I'm a rock guitarist so I don't have much use for reverb apart from when I'm doing a Van Halen track
    But the Particle Verb and the Octo seem pretty good ambient reverbs and sound spectacular at volume
    I use the octo for the intro to Video Killed the Radio Star and it always turns heads
    I'm more a delay guy and the delays are great
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  • menamestommenamestom Frets: 4641

    Yeah looking for nice ambient verbs for swells and special fx.  I may go the Neunaber route,  but that means closing the door on the Helix or similar for a few years.
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214

    Yeah looking for nice ambient verbs for swells and special fx.  I may go the Neunaber route,  but that means closing the door on the Helix or similar for a few years.
    You do need to play one first. People are vastly different when it comes to opinions on what sounds good and what works for them. I didn't get on with the FX8 at all. People swear by them. I've got an eventide Space... don't really like it but people love them. Look at opinions on something like the Timeline.. it borders on religious war :)
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  • John_AJohn_A Frets: 3775
    As Cabicular said the Particle Verb and the Octoverb are lovely I you are after effects style reverbs and given the amount of updates we've seen for the Helix and the number of requests for improved reverbs I would guess there are improvements coming in the not too distant future. 
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  • jaytmonjaytmon Frets: 167
    What are the reverbs like on the Helix? Are they up there with Neunaber, Big Sky, H9 etc?
    My experience with both would put the FX8 reverbs (and delays) ahead of the Helix. Not to say the Helix ones are bad - they are perfectly usable, just not as noticeably lush as the Fractal ones. There will always be a degree of subjectivity though!
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  • sgosdensgosden Frets: 1993

    only had the helix a week, and only got 3-4 hours use out of it. But using the parallel paths with stereo delay in one, and verb (high mix) into a modulation into another verb. made a massive sound scape thing.

    loving it so far. Taking it to first rehearsal tonight so get to play it at a fun volume :)

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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    edited March 2017
    The whole path system is difficult to get your head around when it gets complex but there is so much flexibility 
    Ive  never seen anything quite like it
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    edited March 2017
    What are the reverbs like on the Helix? Are they up there with Neunaber, Big Sky, H9 etc?
    Serviceable, not special.
    I think that's missing a trick - I don't think that any one algorithm would win votes in a head to head with the gorgeous effected ambience available on a single Eventide or Strymon patch, but you're not just buying a reverb, and are not just limited to having your 'effect' being generated by that one 'pedal'.

    As well as all the parameters on the reverb itself you could be feeding it to/from an eq block, or shelve it, or boost it just for that one snapshot, or add some low level modulated delay, or or or or (you get the picture)  - and with the easy UI you can try all that in a couple of minutes. Or audition a bunch of versions of it in snapshots and alter parameters with your feet while you play until you get that perfect, unique sound.

    And I actually think the 63 spring reverb is better than any spring algorithm I remember trying 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24579
    TimmyO said:

    And I actually think the 63 spring reverb is better than any spring algorithm I remember trying 
    I agree.

    I really like the 63 spring. 

    The thing with the Helix is the capability to quickly and easily shuffle delays, reverbs, etc. around - stack them, put some pre and post amp, layer up some really rather good sounds very easily and quickly.

    You can bet that Line 6 will add more at some point...

    If you really did need a super expensive Strymon (which is 1/3 of the price of a Helix alone..) then you can just patch it in using one of the Helix FX loops.. 
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    edited March 2017
    TimmyO said:

    And I actually think the 63 spring reverb is better than any spring algorithm I remember trying 
    I agree.

    I really like the 63 spring. 

    The thing with the Helix is the capability to quickly and easily shuffle delays, reverbs, etc. around - stack them, put some pre and post amp, layer up some really rather good sounds very easily and quickly.

    You can bet that Line 6 will add more at some point...

    If you really did need a super expensive Strymon (which is 1/3 of the price of a Helix alone..) then you can just patch it in using one of the Helix FX loops.. 
    It's a great point. 
    The position of the reverb in the path makes a massive difference
    Before or after the cab emulation or even parallel 
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24579
    Cabicular said:

    It's a great point. 
    The position of the reverb in the path makes a massive difference
    Before or after the cab emulation or even parallel 
    Yes, absolutely - being able to place a reverb in three or four locations in the path and turn them off/on at will to compare is fantastic. 

    Being able to turn them all on at the same time allows you to do something you couldn't do unless you had 4 reverbs all the same - or a massively complicated pedalboard and a lot of cable...


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  • What are the reverbs like on the Helix? Are they up there with Neunaber, Big Sky, H9 etc?

    See the videos @Drew_TNBD posted on his YouTube channel comparing the Helix to other pedals, there are more on the channel


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  • TeetonetalTeetonetal Frets: 7801
    TimmyO said:
    What are the reverbs like on the Helix? Are they up there with Neunaber, Big Sky, H9 etc?
    Serviceable, not special.
    I think that's missing a trick - I don't think that any one algorithm would win votes in a head to head with the gorgeous effected ambience available on a single Eventide or Strymon patch, but you're not just buying a reverb, and are not just limited to having your 'effect' being generated by that one 'pedal'.

    As well as all the parameters on the reverb itself you could be feeding it to/from an eq block, or shelve it, or boost it just for that one snapshot, or add some low level modulated delay, or or or or (you get the picture)  - and with the easy UI you can try all that in a couple of minutes. Or audition a bunch of versions of it in snapshots and alter parameters with your feet while you play until you get that perfect, unique sound.

    And I actually think the 63 spring reverb is better than any spring algorithm I remember trying 
    Preaching to the converted, but reverb use and unit flexibility wasn't really the question.

    I'd argue that Helix does the bead and butter reverbs pretty well and yes they can be played with a lot. Like you I think the 63 spring is very good.

    What IMO it lacks is the long modulated dreamy reverb like the wet or the eventide blackhole and for me the special fx reverbs are not as good or useful as I'd like. A bit too gimmicky. For a heavy reverb soundscape type player - I think other options are better (Ideally Id have a wet in a helix loop. But of course, the nature of the unit gives massive advantages.


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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    TimmyO said:
    What are the reverbs like on the Helix? Are they up there with Neunaber, Big Sky, H9 etc?
    Serviceable, not special.
    I think that's missing a trick - I don't think that any one algorithm would win votes in a head to head with the gorgeous effected ambience available on a single Eventide or Strymon patch, but you're not just buying a reverb, and are not just limited to having your 'effect' being generated by that one 'pedal'.

    As well as all the parameters on the reverb itself you could be feeding it to/from an eq block, or shelve it, or boost it just for that one snapshot, or add some low level modulated delay, or or or or (you get the picture)  - and with the easy UI you can try all that in a couple of minutes. Or audition a bunch of versions of it in snapshots and alter parameters with your feet while you play until you get that perfect, unique sound.

    And I actually think the 63 spring reverb is better than any spring algorithm I remember trying 
    Preaching to the converted, but reverb use and unit flexibility wasn't really the question.

    I'd argue that Helix does the bead and butter reverbs pretty well and yes they can be played with a lot. Like you I think the 63 spring is very good.

    What IMO it lacks is the long modulated dreamy reverb like the wet or the eventide blackhole and for me the special fx reverbs are not as good or useful as I'd like. A bit too gimmicky. For a heavy reverb soundscape type player - I think other options are better (Ideally Id have a wet in a helix loop. But of course, the nature of the unit gives massive advantages.


    Totally valid comments mate. I don't want to give the impression we all jump in with purchase justification (I had my share of that on the Fractal forums...). I don't really understand that type of music so my opinions are not as informed
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    Spent a little time this evening fiddling with cab vs impulse - nothing definitive but just made a basic patch with both IR and cab blocks (one active, one bypassed) and scrolled through a load of the (legitimately) free IRs I'd downloaded until I found one that seemed nicer than the rest.

    Then I made a snapshot that just switches the IR off and the cab on.

    The IR was of a Friedman 2x12 and a particular mic & position.

    I scrolled through the cabs until I found one that sounded kind of close (another 212 - think it's the DrZ one) and then tweaked mic and distance until the difference was very small.  And that was without adding an EQ block anywhere, or using dual cabs, or parallel single cabs. 

    I know this only echoes what many others have said re not *needing* to go down the IR rabbit hole but I had been tempted to nonetheless so it was a useful exercise.  
    Red ones are better. 
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  • TeetonetalTeetonetal Frets: 7801
    Parallel.. not dual.. cabs were the way forward for me. I really like helix setup like that. Sounds huge.
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    Yep that will be the next experiment
    Red ones are better. 
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  • Drew_TNBDDrew_TNBD Frets: 22445
    What are the reverbs like on the Helix? Are they up there with Neunaber, Big Sky, H9 etc?

    See the videos @Drew_TNBD posted on his YouTube channel comparing the Helix to other pedals, there are more on the channel


    Reverbs in the Helix are usable for most things. Think along the lines of a Boss RV5, HoF, Digitech Polara, or EHX Cathedral. But if you want the huge Strymon or Eventide sounds, you're gonna fall slightly shy. Until they release some new algo's of course.

    For the most part, I've not struggled to get a single sound I want from the unit.
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