This Helix thing then....

BRISTOL86

Bridgehouse said:

BRISTOL86 said:

Bridgehouse said:

I use my Helix at home - got some Yamaha monitors and some decent headphones - USB into my Mac and use the interface. It's a very good audio interface infact. 

Use it for recording and playback. If I use iTunes I can play tracks and play bass along with it - an eq tweak in iTunes and I can drop the bass out from the original track.

So the helix and the Mac are both plugged into the same speakers? Is that direct from Mac into speakers (ie no audio connection between helix and Mac) ?

No you can set the Mac to output all audio to Helix then into the monitors as passthrough. 

Ah cool thanks.

Can someone not as much of a Luddite as me let me know what cables I’d need if I got the iLoud micro monitors to use with the Helix?

Or if they’re not appropriate for what I’m intending to use them for then let me know...all a bit of a minefield this for me!! These speakers appeal due to their small size and the fact that I’m playing in a box room all the time. 

Here’s the reverse of them.


Lack of headphone input on the speakers is a shame (noting the comments about headphone sound from the Helix itself) but 90% of the time I’m playing at low volume rather than through headphones anyway as I don’t much like wearing phones while I play. 

ThePrettyDamned

BRISTOL86 said:

Thanks all for your help. Going to do a lot of reading in the coming days and go to PMT and hopefully they’ll demo for me. 

Here’s a wider queation and potential can of worms....

When using a digital solution like this (or amplitube or even a traditional modelling amp) how much difference does the guitar make? 

Obviously it’s been done to death how much effect the guitar itself has on sound but that argument tends to be based around using traditional amplification. Playability aside - would you expect to hear much difference say between a £200 Squier and a £2k custom shop Fender when played through a completely digital solution such as the Helix? 

In my opinion, about as much as a "real" amp. 

It's working with the signal from your pickups either way. A squier won't sound like a cs strat, but it will sound like a strat in the same way a cs strat will sound like a strat. 

Bridgehouse

I'm not sure about those iloud monitors - you can do a phono conversion from one of the outs - maybe even the headphones out.. 

But personally I'd go a bit bigger (if you have the space) and you'll get a much better sound - something like the Yamaha HS 5's (which have XLR inputs and thus you can connect two XLRs to the stereo outs of Helix)

BRISTOL86

Bridgehouse said:

I'm not sure about those iloud monitors - you can do a phono conversion from one of the outs - maybe even the headphones out.. 

But personally I'd go a bit bigger (if you have the space) and you'll get a much better sound - something like the Yamaha HS 5's (which have XLR inputs and thus you can connect two XLRs to the stereo outs of Helix)

Thanks I’ll have a look at those. I have a bit of space I just like the idea of the smallest footprint possible and was conscious that I might not need something very big for the sort of volume levels I’m playing at.

Bridgehouse

BRISTOL86 said:

Bridgehouse said:

I'm not sure about those iloud monitors - you can do a phono conversion from one of the outs - maybe even the headphones out.. 

But personally I'd go a bit bigger (if you have the space) and you'll get a much better sound - something like the Yamaha HS 5's (which have XLR inputs and thus you can connect two XLRs to the stereo outs of Helix)

Thanks I’ll have a look at those. I have a bit of space I just like the idea of the smallest footprint possible and was conscious that I might not need something very big for the sort of volume levels I’m playing at.

You will find they give a better overall sound even at low volume. Possibly more so at low volume. 

BRISTOL86

Bridgehouse said:

BRISTOL86 said:

Bridgehouse said:

I'm not sure about those iloud monitors - you can do a phono conversion from one of the outs - maybe even the headphones out.. 

But personally I'd go a bit bigger (if you have the space) and you'll get a much better sound - something like the Yamaha HS 5's (which have XLR inputs and thus you can connect two XLRs to the stereo outs of Helix)

Thanks I’ll have a look at those. I have a bit of space I just like the idea of the smallest footprint possible and was conscious that I might not need something very big for the sort of volume levels I’m playing at.

You will find they give a better overall sound even at low volume. Possibly more so at low volume. 

Thanks man. Very helpful. 

welshboyo

As a play @ home solution, I use a Bose Soundlink with a 3.5 mm jack into the headphones socket of the Helix - I switch the Helix to send the full XLR feed to the headphone out so I get IR treatment at the headphone out - works a treat and sounds really good.

NelsonP

I wouldn't discount headphones, if you get a decent pair. Something like the Audio Technica ATH-M50x's would see you right.

One other thing to be prepared for. The sound is equivalent to a mic'ed cab. Basically the sound you hear on a record rather than what you hear when standing in front of a Marshall stack.

If you have headphones or small monitors then the experience is different. But then it is also different for whoever you share your house with!

BRISTOL86

Thanks Nelson. I have the M20Xs so hopefully they’ll be more than sufficient for my needs, which I think are pretty basic!

NelsonP

Yep. I'd stick with those and see how you get on. Take them with you to the shop when you try it out.

If you are thinking of studio monitors then I'd re-iterate the old adage that the sound quality is as good as the weakest link in your chain. In your shoes I'd want to A/B iLoud vs Yamaha HS5. You could always start with a single monitor and output in mono to it until you can afford a pair.

Bridgehouse

Don't forget that there is so much you can do with a Helix that 30 mins in the shop will only show you a fraction of the built in presets and will not be properly reflective of what it can do

After a good week or so - building your own patches from scratch, you can get stuff out of it that will be wildly different to anything experienced in the shop. In many ways it's like most amps - you have to twiddle and dial your sound in - but it's like doing it with a massive number of amps and cabs and effects laid out in front of you 

BRISTOL86

Thanks guys. Really looking forward to trying it out actually! And at least I now have an excuse to buy a good pair of speakers  

BRISTOL86

Now if someone would buy my amp then I’ll have a reason to expedite my shopping trip  

blobb

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/ik-multimedia-iloud-micro

Neill

In the days when the POD was state of the art I think the choice of guitar was more important than if you were plugging into a valve amp, even if it was only a valve preamp.  A good valve amp will flatter any old guitar.  Having said that I reckon there are solid state amps that will do this now.  

But things have, apparently, moved on since the POD, and I think the gap has narrowed, from what others tell me.  

Having packed in gigging, I'm now using DI all the time in one form or another.  In fact I don't even own a proper amp any more.  But there's lots of ways to approach this.  Rightly or wrongly I still tend to think plugging an electric guitar straight into an all digital solution is going to lose something which is why I've gone down the valve preamp into a cabinet simulator route.  The problem is, a good preamp plus a good cab sim is getting near the cost of the Helix LT.  I suppose the other thing that sways me is I don't care for a lot of effects, and the Helix has lots of toys to play with if that's your thing.  I just want to get the best possible tone out of a DI set up - until I try it for myself I won't be convinced the Helix is the best way to achieve this  - I'll end up getting one I know, but for now I'm playing safe.

Having said I don't totally trust the DI approach I do think you can get a great sound by just plugging straight into Garageband, the only problem being you need a Mac, but I have the pared down iPad version and I am so impressed with it I have been tempted to go down the Mac/Garageband route.   You do need time to play around with all the sims though, the presets aren't that good - same as with the old POD.  

I know you say you aren't likely to be performing anytime soon but one other consideration is, though there's a lot of sense in going straight into the PA these days, it does mean you need some form of monitoring. I've played this way and it can be a pain in the neck to set up.   Traditionally in a small venue if it was a simple amp - drums - bass amp set up no need for monitors you can usually hear enough of the vocals through the PA.  I ever return to performing I'd still do it that way. There's still nothing like having the amp behind you - apart from anything else it looks cooler and where are you going to place your drink without an amp...?    
  

mellowsun

I saw both a Helix and Helix LT in the flesh for the first time last week.

These things are huge! I was expecting something much more compact.

Neill

Brainfart

NelsonP

mellowsun said:

I saw both a Helix and Helix LT in the flesh for the first time last week.

These things are huge! I was expecting something much more compact.

Like one of these perhaps?



No mention of Headrush pedalboard yet. There I've mentioned it.

John_A

There's a full fat Helix in the classifieds for very little more than a new LT (not mine)

BRISTOL86

John_A said:

There's a full fat Helix in the classifieds for very little more than a new LT (not mine)

Thanks for that. I don't want to do anything until I've had chance to see it in the flesh and work out if it's what I want. I also get 10% off at PMT so that will take the price of an LT to around £600 with warranty which is decent!