Helix Broken NOW Fixed Hurrah !!!

sweepy

Ah well, 10 days in and the Helix has broken, Scribble strip failure on the foot controller, lets see how good PMT are as I bought it in Bristol whilst buying a Gold Top Les Paul and my nearest store is Oxford, needless to say the only paperwork I can find is the till receipt for the deposit.Not good Line 6, I thought you'd ironed this problem out

MattBanshee

PMT should have digital receipts for all transactions at their end, so no drama there. The Oxford lot are pretty good guys too.

sweepy

They turned up trumps and just emailed the receipt, off to PMT in Oxford tomorrow,  

guitarfishbay

Stuff happens, sounds like it is getting sorted very fast so props to PMT.

fretmeister

While it is annoying, the failure rate seems pretty low to me.

(Won't stop me from questionning their parentage if mone breaks, obviously!)

sweepy

I've always had sterling service from PMT tbh, it is a tad annoying when the scribble strip issue first came out and it was supposed to be sorted. In an Ideal World I wish someone could create a Hybrid Axe-Fx and Helix with a 500w Quad power amp built in,

gibsongretschfan

sweepy said:

I've always had sterling service from PMT tbh, it is a tad annoying when the scribble strip issue first came out and it was supposed to be sorted. In an Ideal World I wish someone could create a Hybrid Axe-Fx and Helix with a 500w Quad power amp built in,

What exactly do you mean by failure?

guitarfishbay

I think it's inevitable that Fractal will have to come up with a nicer UI for its next generation.  Axe Edit is very usable though, and soundwise (my priority still) I'm very happy to stick with Fractal.  I'm using a Matrix poweramp, it's only 1U and 1000 watts for a couple of KGs, works out well for me. 

However, someone needs to replace Cliff's shoes with clown shoes.  I wish the MFC had wider spacing and less switches.  I'm far too clumsy to hit switches on a 3rd or 4th row.  I think Line 6 nailed it with the Control Board for their Helix Rack, that's the exact form factor I'd want in a foot pedal.

sweepy

gibsongretschfan said:

sweepy said:

I've always had sterling service from PMT tbh, it is a tad annoying when the scribble strip issue first came out and it was supposed to be sorted. In an Ideal World I wish someone could create a Hybrid Axe-Fx and Helix with a 500w Quad power amp built in,

What exactly do you mean by failure?

There as an issue with scribble strips with corrupted display and going dark very early on in the run, it was covered widely on the Line 6 Forum, my first one was fine but it only lasted me @ ;


I agree @guitarfishbay Cliff must have size 5 feet the MFC is a bit clunky and tbh overpriced for what it it is

guitarfishbay

Yeah I'm just using a Behringer FCB.  It works, I don't particularly like it, but I also don't particularly like spending money on things that don't change the sound so I'm just going to stick with it.

What are your general thoughts on the Helix coming from a Fractal perspective?  There still aren't that many people who've owned both.  Obviously excluding this minor setback!

FarleyUK

I've had 2 faulty Helixes (Helices?) over about 18 months - one was the preset knob dial no longer working, another was the output jacks not working correctly.

The third unit I have also has a faulty headphone socket - but I can't be bothered to sort it out anymore.

I have to say though, the support guys - especially Frank Richolette in the Helix FB group - are superb.

Drew_TNBD

Touch wood, my Helix has had zero problems in the time I've had it. Coming up to 12 months.

sgosden

guitarfishbay said:

Yeah I'm just using a Behringer FCB.  It works, I don't particularly like it, but I also don't particularly like spending money on things that don't change the sound so I'm just going to stick with it.

I was using FCB with helix rack, but the actual floorboard makes it 100 times more functional 

Jonathanthomas83

guitarfishbay said:

I think it's inevitable that Fractal will have to come up with a nicer UI for its next generation.  Axe Edit is very usable though, and soundwise (my priority still) I'm very happy to stick with Fractal.  I'm using a Matrix poweramp, it's only 1U and 1000 watts for a couple of KGs, works out well for me. 

However, someone needs to replace Cliff's shoes with clown shoes.  I wish the MFC had wider spacing and less switches.  I'm far too clumsy to hit switches on a 3rd or 4th row.  I think Line 6 nailed it with the Control Board for their Helix Rack, that's the exact form factor I'd want in a foot pedal.

Agree that the switches on the MFC are a bit close. I bought MFC Edit after being daunted by the whole thing, but within an hour or so of hooking it up to the Axe, I got by brilliantly without the software and have never used it. So I wouldn't say it's as clunky as people say it is. I really find it intuitive and it's fantastic to use. That said, it's expensive and if the switch proximity is an issue for you, it's not going to change soon. +1 for a better Axe FX UI though. Best modeller I've ever played with, without a doubt.

welshboyo

Drew_TNBD said:

Touch wood, my Helix has had zero problems in the time I've had it. Coming up to 12 months.

Same Here, coming up to 18 months now -  mine gets gigged every weekend, chucked around in the back of a van, dribbled on, kicked about etc etc, hasn't missed a beat..

menamestom

 

Not had mine long but have done 4 or 5 gigs with it.  Some idiot dribbled beer on it the other day but it was fine.  Unfortunately the idiot was me so I didn't get to hit anybody with a Telecaster

duotone

Sorry to hear that, but glad they are sorting it

professorben

menamestom said:

 

Not had mine long but have done 4 or 5 gigs with it.  Some idiot dribbled beer on it the other day but it was fine.  Unfortunately the idiot was me so I didn't get to hit anybody with a Telecaster

In this scenario you just hit the Telecaster. 

sweepy

Now with a replaced Foot Controller, a huge Thank you to the lads at PMT in Bristol and Oxford. If you are in Oxford, check out the new shop its a vast improvement over the old one

guitarfishbay

That's a pretty fast turnaround and dare I say it one of the advantages of buying from an established chain store... given it was bought in one store and replacement sourced within a day of issue at another.

sweepy

Yes, I've used PMT and Guitar Guitar a lot, especially with my Daughter being at Epsom Uni and the Epsom GG being one hell of a shop