Helix LT is now available for order. Cut down version - ish.

sweepy

guitarfishbay said:

UnclePsychosis said:

Well, to be fair, it seems lots of the Fractal fanatics (not necessarily here) are also repeating their stories from years ago where Fractal weren't competing with astoundingly good alternatives available at approximately £1000 less, backed by giants like Yamaha / Line6.

The market has changed significantly. Companies don't always deal well with change. Lets hope Fractal adapt because choice is good for us consumers.

Well since the Helix was announced the Axe FX 2 has had 7 major firmware releases, 35 new amp models, re-modeled and updated all drive pedals, new FX including compressors updated delays etc.

While there's been no headline grabbing new hardware unit, the software updates have been great IMO.

Agreed, the level of support is pretty amazing, it is easy to get into " Modeller Wars", all the units have there pros and cons and if the LT makes Guitarists lives easier, then that's excellent news

NelsonP

The literature says no aux in on the helix LT.

Is there a way of playing backing tracks into the device, for jamming etc? E.g. via the fx return? 

Teetonetal

NelsonP said:

The literature says no aux in on the helix LT.

Is there a way of playing backing tracks into the device, for jamming etc? E.g. via the fx return? 

Yup - FX in should work - or if using as an audio interface you can play direct from PC/Mac

Voxman

Bridgehouse said:

@Voxman - why doesn't the LT interest you?

@welshboyo said:Why doesn't the LT interest you - what do you feel is missing from the LT?

I'm not interested in recording, only live gigging and if I'm going to spend £900 on something I want it to give me maximum ease of use on stage.  I really liked the transferable labels in the Helix which was a clever and unique feature I'd not seen before.  This may seem a 'small' thing to some but to me its brilliant because you can easily see exactly where you are at a glance without having to remember/decipher numbers/colours.  The new LT doesn't have this which I think is a ridiculous mistake - to expect a buyer to have to stick on labels or remember colour codes etc at thi price is nuts when the facility could clearly have been kept.  I'm sure the only reason they left it off was to differentiate & justify the Helix' higher price.  

However, whilst the Helix LT (£849)  and the Headrush FX (£899) are very similarly priced, the HFX has this feature.  Regardless of other bells and whistles the LT has (many of which I don't need), its the bread & butter ease of use on stage that I want.  Whilst of course I'd compare all 3 units once I'm in the market, based on what I've read so far and current spec/facilities my impression is that the HFX might be the better fit for my needs.  

welshboyo

Voxman said:

Bridgehouse said:

@Voxman - why doesn't the LT interest you?

@welshboyo said:Why doesn't the LT interest you - what do you feel is missing from the LT?

I'm not interested in recording, only live gigging and if I'm going to spend £900 on something I want it to give me maximum ease of use on stage.  I really liked the transferable labels in the Helix which was a clever and unique feature I'd not seen before.  This may seem a 'small' thing to some but to me its brilliant because you can easily see exactly where you are at a glance without having to remember/decipher numbers/colours.  The new LT doesn't have this which I think is a ridiculous mistake - to expect a buyer to have to stick on labels or remember colour codes etc at thi price is nuts when the facility could clearly have been kept.  I'm sure the only reason they left it off was to differentiate & justify the Helix' higher price.  

However, whilst the Helix LT (£849)  and the Headrush FX (£899) are very similarly priced, the HFX has this feature.  Regardless of other bells and whistles the LT has (many of which I don't need), its the bread & butter ease of use on stage that I want.  Whilst of course I'd compare all 3 units once I'm in the market, based on what I've read so far and current spec/facilities my impression is that the HFX might be the better fit for my needs.  

Even though "Performance" mode gives you the button assignments on the Screen - much like the FX8/AX8??

I love the scribbles though...

Bridgehouse

The scribbles are great, I agree. But performance wise I would happily live without them tbh. 

The coloured circle is more useful in a live context as it's easier to distinguish straight away rather than reading the strip. 

digitalscream

I honestly don't see the scribble strips being useful to me in a performance context - it's never been a problem for me using normal MIDI controllers, and even if I did use them I certainly wouldn't be reading the bloody things while I'm playing...I'd be looking at the colour if I really needed a visual reference.

guitarfishbay

Agreed, colour is more useful in performance. I think it's a great feature.

Voxman

guitarfishbay said:

Agreed, colour is more useful in performance. I think it's a great feature.

I suppose it depends on how your brain is wired, and a scribble tag is harder to mix up - but bear in mind I'm also a little colour blind.  

professorben

digitalscream said:

I honestly don't see the scribble strips being useful to me in a performance context - it's never been a problem for me using normal MIDI controllers, and even if I did use them I certainly wouldn't be reading the bloody things while I'm playing...I'd be looking at the colour if I really needed a visual reference.

The way I organise my switching is always the same on any bank anyway

1)clean
2)wet clean
3)crunch 

etc etc. 

Top row would be pedals in signal order. 

So scribble strips are a nice touch, but I doubt I'd use them for much anyway. 

digitalscream

Voxman said:

guitarfishbay said:

Agreed, colour is more useful in performance. I think it's a great feature.

I suppose it depends on how your brain is wired, and a scribble tag is harder to mix up - but bear in mind I'm also a little colour blind.  

OK, so that would make life a little more difficult.

Beexter

The scribble strips on the full fat Helix are nice, but essential? I'm not convinced. 
I think the performance mode which utilises the screen is just as easy to identify which switch does what. It's exactly the same principle as my AX8 which I find is really easy to identify what is what. 
I've been an old school pedal user for years and it's just as easy to switch an effect on or off on these new generation Multi-fx as it is with traditional pedals - in many ways, it's easier.
Before getting the AX8, I thought the various magnetic labels you could get (like a hardware version of scribble strips) was going to be an essential purchase but in reality,  they're just not needed - the AX8 clearly shows the switch layout (which you can customise to your heart's content - if you want every single switch to turn your delay on, you can!) onscreen,  in much the same way as the Helix LT 
It's now very good value but I think they should have got rid of the expression pedal (allowing you to use your own)  which would have shaved even more cost off AND made it smaller and lighter- a proper LT. 

Bridgehouse

digitalscream said:

Voxman said:

guitarfishbay said:

Agreed, colour is more useful in performance. I think it's a great feature.

I suppose it depends on how your brain is wired, and a scribble tag is harder to mix up - but bear in mind I'm also a little colour blind.  

OK, so that would make life a little more difficult.

Nope. I'm a lot colour blind and the line 6 colours are f***cking obvious - even to me - and I'm properly registered colour blind.

gearaddict

To be honest, in the heat of battle, if I have to take time to read something in order to know what I'm stepping on then I'm essentially screwed.

I'm used to having neither scribble strips or colours with the POD HD500X or my Switchblade midi footswitch...so having the colours would be a bonus.

Bridgehouse

In the heat of battle, I'd rather have a rifle than a POd HD500x...

fretmeister

The scribble strips are very useful when returning to an old patch and trying to remember what the hell does what.

But that's not going to pop up in many performances.

gearaddict

Bridgehouse said:

In the heat of battle, I'd rather have a rifle than a POd HD500x...

I dunno - it can be quite piercing!

Voxman

Beexter said:

The scribble strips on the full fat Helix are nice, but essential? I'm not convinced. 
I think the performance mode which utilises the screen is just as easy to identify which switch does what. It's exactly the same principle as my AX8 which I find is really easy to identify what is what. 
I've been an old school pedal user for years and it's just as easy to switch an effect on or off on these new generation Multi-fx as it is with traditional pedals - in many ways, it's easier.
Before getting the AX8, I thought the various magnetic labels you could get (like a hardware version of scribble strips) was going to be an essential purchase but in reality,  they're just not needed - the AX8 clearly shows the switch layout (which you can customise to your heart's content - if you want every single switch to turn your delay on, you can!) onscreen,  in much the same way as the Helix LT 
It's now very good value but I think they should have got rid of the expression pedal (allowing you to use your own)  which would have shaved even more cost off AND made it smaller and lighter- a proper LT. 

I'm sure my lack of familiarity with Helix is a factor here (I've never yet played one) - the screen doesn't seem that big but how exactly does performance mode work and how does it show which switch does what?  I've looked in the manual and on you-tube vids but can't immediately see anything called 'performance mode'.  Is there a vid demo of this somewhere?

gibsongretschfan

Helix LT doesn't sound as good as an original Helix which has slightly more haunting mids

Beexter

Voxman said:

Beexter said:

The scribble strips on the full fat Helix are nice, but essential? I'm not convinced. 
I think the performance mode which utilises the screen is just as easy to identify which switch does what. It's exactly the same principle as my AX8 which I find is really easy to identify what is what. 
I've been an old school pedal user for years and it's just as easy to switch an effect on or off on these new generation Multi-fx as it is with traditional pedals - in many ways, it's easier.
Before getting the AX8, I thought the various magnetic labels you could get (like a hardware version of scribble strips) was going to be an essential purchase but in reality,  they're just not needed - the AX8 clearly shows the switch layout (which you can customise to your heart's content - if you want every single switch to turn your delay on, you can!) onscreen,  in much the same way as the Helix LT 
It's now very good value but I think they should have got rid of the expression pedal (allowing you to use your own)  which would have shaved even more cost off AND made it smaller and lighter- a proper LT. 

I'm sure my lack of familiarity with Helix is a factor here (I've never yet played one) - the screen doesn't seem that big but how exactly does performance mode work and how does it show which switch does what?  I've looked in the manual and on you-tube vids but can't immediately see anything called 'performance mode'.  Is there a vid demo of this somewhere?

Tried to find a pic but this is the best I came up with.. 
https://goo.gl/images/swlHSD

It separates the screen into areas corresponding to the position of the footswitches. 
AX8 does the same but without the pretty colours