Line 6 Helix

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  • Drew_TNBDDrew_TNBD Frets: 22445
    Drew_TNBD said:

    Part of me does wonder about picking up another Big Sky for those huge ambient reverb washes, but I think at a gig setting up 4-cable method + expression pedal + Big Sky power + audio cables into the Helix ... it would just take too long. And I don't have the luxury of setting it all up in a pedalboard box because I need to be able to carry it on the tube, so need things to be lightweight and portable.

    Thoughts on that later point appreciated!

    Personally I'd just not worry about it and use whatever gives a vibe that works for the parts.  I generally think it is better to go all one way or all another (so either multi, or separates)... incorporating pedals in the loops might be 'easy' but it's not as easy, reliable, or compact as just using the Helix.  You're going to get annoyed carrying extra stuff, unless you're going to get 2 and leave one at the rehearsal space permanently... at that point you might as well get the LT instead and leave that at rehearsal 
    Yeah that's the thing really. Carrying extra stuff would piss me off... setting up all the extra cabling each time would piss me off and cost us soundcheck time when we gig... slows down how quickly I can get setup for rehearsals too... I don't even know if I would notice the difference between the Big Sky and say, stacking a few reverbs+eqs+modulations+distortions on a dedicated parallel path on the Helix and just mixing it into the main path I use. Need to give it a go and see where my head is at.

    The reverbs on the Helix are definitely not crap. They're just limited to bread and butter sounds, and sometimes you want a bit more. Saying that though, I've only ever used a dash of hall or mod reverb for the past 9+ years anyway!! So I'm probably just over-thinking the possibilities and not really taking my actual needs into account!
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  • SporkySporky Frets: 27586
    Drew_TNBD said:

    The reverbs on the Helix are definitely not crap. They're just limited to bread and butter sounds, and sometimes you want a bit more.
    I think that's hard to disagree with.

    On the upside it makes it more entertaining to create more interesting reverbs using the parallel routing and adding in other FX on just the trails and having external feedback loops and so on...
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    I've stripped right back.
    I now just have the helix in it its back and a wireless receiver and expression pedal in the pocket.
    It's great and I can live without the ancillary pedals I had wired.
    The only thing I miss is a separate wah (I have issues using the Helix one)
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  • Drew_TNBDDrew_TNBD Frets: 22445
    Oh yeah that's the other thing I need to setup each time. Separate wah.

    Basically I need: volume pedal, wah pedal, expression pedal for morphing/textures/oscillations.
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  • Cabicular said:
    I've stripped right back.
    I now just have the helix in it its back and a wireless receiver and expression pedal in the pocket.
    It's great and I can live without the ancillary pedals I had wired.
    The only thing I miss is a separate wah (I have issues using the Helix one)
    How comfortable are you sitting Helix on the ground? This is how I originally intended to use it but after having about theee people narrowly avoid standing on the cables coming out the back during setup at its first gig I promptly ordered a flight case and board
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    Cabicular said:
    I've stripped right back.
    I now just have the helix in it its back and a wireless receiver and expression pedal in the pocket.
    It's great and I can live without the ancillary pedals I had wired.
    The only thing I miss is a separate wah (I have issues using the Helix one)
    How comfortable are you sitting Helix on the ground? This is how I originally intended to use it but after having about theee people narrowly avoid standing on the cables coming out the back during setup at its first gig I promptly ordered a flight case and board
    No different to any pedal board IMO
    We use the L2ms as monitors so the Helix sits under the overhang of that
    Still doesn't protect me from Pinball wizards falling over the monitors or dribbling beer jugglers but I'm fairly robust at booting them away from the stage

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  • Cabicular said:
    Cabicular said:
    I've stripped right back.
    I now just have the helix in it its back and a wireless receiver and expression pedal in the pocket.
    It's great and I can live without the ancillary pedals I had wired.
    The only thing I miss is a separate wah (I have issues using the Helix one)
    How comfortable are you sitting Helix on the ground? This is how I originally intended to use it but after having about theee people narrowly avoid standing on the cables coming out the back during setup at its first gig I promptly ordered a flight case and board
    No different to any pedal board IMO
    We use the L2ms as monitors so the Helix sits under the overhang of that
    Still doesn't protect me from Pinball wizards falling over the monitors or dribbling beer jugglers but I'm fairly robust at booting them away from the stage

    True, I'm not sure what was putting the frightened in me about Helix. I'm not precious about gear.

    To be fair Helix looks pretty water proof. 

    When i had a G System I could let punters fall on it just for punsihment
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    Cabicular said:
    Cabicular said:
    I've stripped right back.
    I now just have the helix in it its back and a wireless receiver and expression pedal in the pocket.
    It's great and I can live without the ancillary pedals I had wired.
    The only thing I miss is a separate wah (I have issues using the Helix one)
    How comfortable are you sitting Helix on the ground? This is how I originally intended to use it but after having about theee people narrowly avoid standing on the cables coming out the back during setup at its first gig I promptly ordered a flight case and board
    No different to any pedal board IMO
    We use the L2ms as monitors so the Helix sits under the overhang of that
    Still doesn't protect me from Pinball wizards falling over the monitors or dribbling beer jugglers but I'm fairly robust at booting them away from the stage

    True, I'm not sure what was putting the frightened in me about Helix. I'm not precious about gear.

    To be fair Helix looks pretty water proof. 

    When i had a G System I could let punters fall on it just for punsihment
    That thing is ridiculous. It's just a bent piece of sheet steel!
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  • Cabicular said:
    Cabicular said:
    Cabicular said:
    I've stripped right back.
    I now just have the helix in it its back and a wireless receiver and expression pedal in the pocket.
    It's great and I can live without the ancillary pedals I had wired.
    The only thing I miss is a separate wah (I have issues using the Helix one)
    How comfortable are you sitting Helix on the ground? This is how I originally intended to use it but after having about theee people narrowly avoid standing on the cables coming out the back during setup at its first gig I promptly ordered a flight case and board
    No different to any pedal board IMO
    We use the L2ms as monitors so the Helix sits under the overhang of that
    Still doesn't protect me from Pinball wizards falling over the monitors or dribbling beer jugglers but I'm fairly robust at booting them away from the stage

    True, I'm not sure what was putting the frightened in me about Helix. I'm not precious about gear.

    To be fair Helix looks pretty water proof. 

    When i had a G System I could let punters fall on it just for punsihment
    That thing is ridiculous. It's just a bent piece of sheet steel!
    Remember the video they made of a tank running over one? Don't make em like they used to!
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  • Cabicular said:
    Cabicular said:
    Cabicular said:
    I've stripped right back.
    I now just have the helix in it its back and a wireless receiver and expression pedal in the pocket.
    It's great and I can live without the ancillary pedals I had wired.
    The only thing I miss is a separate wah (I have issues using the Helix one)
    How comfortable are you sitting Helix on the ground? This is how I originally intended to use it but after having about theee people narrowly avoid standing on the cables coming out the back during setup at its first gig I promptly ordered a flight case and board
    No different to any pedal board IMO
    We use the L2ms as monitors so the Helix sits under the overhang of that
    Still doesn't protect me from Pinball wizards falling over the monitors or dribbling beer jugglers but I'm fairly robust at booting them away from the stage

    True, I'm not sure what was putting the frightened in me about Helix. I'm not precious about gear.

    To be fair Helix looks pretty water proof. 

    When i had a G System I could let punters fall on it just for punsihment
    That thing is ridiculous. It's just a bent piece of sheet steel!

    I think it's waaaay chunkier than sheet steel. Really thick chunk of aluminium.
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  • @Cabicular. Can I ask what it is that you don't like about the Helix wah?

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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    Nothing wrong with the wah
    its just I use that pedal for a volume boost so when I switch the wah on it's deafening
    its the dual use of it I can't get to work out for me
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  • @Cabicular. Thanks for the rapid reply! Good to know the wah is OK.

    On a conventional pedalboard, I tend to use a clean boost pedal for lead breaks. Can that be done on the Helix... or is the vol pedal the only way?

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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    Cabicular said:
    Nothing wrong with the wah
    its just I use that pedal for a volume boost so when I switch the wah on it's deafening
    its the dual use of it I can't get to work out for me
    Is there not a way to use one of the scenes to switch the usage of the pedal, rather than toe down?  It'd require you remembering where to park it, but it could be a solution
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214

    @Cabicular. Thanks for the rapid reply! Good to know the wah is OK.

    On a conventional pedalboard, I tend to use a clean boost pedal for lead breaks. Can that be done on the Helix... or is the vol pedal the only way?

     Any pedal can control virtually any parameter
    so you go activate a clean boost
    or bump the channel volume or bump the gain or bump the mids or all of the above simultaneously!
    personally I like to vary the amount of boost I need for solos as it changes from song to song and gig to gig.
    I put + 7db on the exp pedal which gives me options 
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  • Cabicular said:

    @Cabicular. Thanks for the rapid reply! Good to know the wah is OK.

    On a conventional pedalboard, I tend to use a clean boost pedal for lead breaks. Can that be done on the Helix... or is the vol pedal the only way?

     Any pedal can control virtually any parameter
    so you go activate a clean boost
    or bump the channel volume or bump the gain or bump the mids or all of the above simultaneously!
    personally I like to vary the amount of boost I need for solos as it changes from song to song and gig to gig.
    I put + 7db on the exp pedal which gives me options 

    Thanks for the info.
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    Cabicular said:
    Nothing wrong with the wah
    its just I use that pedal for a volume boost so when I switch the wah on it's deafening
    its the dual use of it I can't get to work out for me
    Is there not a way to use one of the scenes to switch the usage of the pedal, rather than toe down?  It'd require you remembering where to park it, but it could be a solution
    Maybe but it is easier just to plug a wah in.
    I wondered if I could have a footswitch to switch between exp1 and exp2
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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4159
    One thing that always irked me with the Helix was the lack of protection to the alpha rotary encoders directly underneath the display, even the HD500 had chrome bars to stop an errant size 13 foot snapping one off. Had I kept mine I had some Toblerone shaped aluminium blocks made at work to be fixed with double sided tape 
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  • Digital_IglooDigital_Igloo Frets: 378
    Cabicular said:
    Maybe but it is easier just to plug a wah in.
    I wondered if I could have a footswitch to switch between exp1 and exp2
    No, but if Volume and Wah are both assigned to EXP 1 or EXP 2, a footswith can toggle between them.
    Chief Product Design Architect, Yamaha Guitar Group | Line 6 | Ampeg
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  • Digital_IglooDigital_Igloo Frets: 378
    edited May 2017
    sweepy said:
    One thing that always irked me with the Helix was the lack of protection to the alpha rotary encoders directly underneath the display, even the HD500 had chrome bars to stop an errant size 13 foot snapping one off. Had I kept mine I had some Toblerone shaped aluminium blocks made at work to be fixed with double sided tape 
    There's a video somewhere with Dom moving Helix across the back parking lot by kicking those knobs. In the end we were convinced a metal bar was wholly unnecessary.
    Chief Product Design Architect, Yamaha Guitar Group | Line 6 | Ampeg
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