Line 6 Helix HX effects unit leaked....

Wazmeister

thomasw88 said:

2.6 is out. 
Also the full  fat editor is now there.

Wow. Looking forward to try that

mattismetal

Second ones arrived. I'll see how I get on!

Musicman20

Apparently the reverbs are now 'wetter'.....

I'm preparing myself to order one but still concerned about getting a unit that needs repairing. 

stickyfiddle

Have they made the pitchshifting not-shit yet? If they can get this close to being a Whammy replacement I'll consider buying one...

Beexter

Musicman20 said:

Apparently the reverbs are now 'wetter'.....

I'm preparing myself to order one but still concerned about getting a unit that needs repairing. 

Don't be concerned. I bought one online from Andertons about 2 weeks ago. Thought it was a little hissy so contacted Frank Ritchotte at Line 6 through the thread on the Gear Page who responded immediately. This was on a Thursday. He said he would send me a screened unit direct from the US that would arrive by Wednesday. It did. He also told me to keep the original unit until the new one turned up so I wasn't without a unit and that he would send a prepaid return label once I was happy. 
He did. On top of that, he gave me a free licence for Helix Native "for the inconvenience"

Absolutely stellar and faultless customer service. Chances are that any units bought now will be fine but if not, you'll be looked after.

TTBZ

You can't fault that customer service! 

John_A

stickyfiddle said:

Have they made the pitchshifting not-shit yet? If they can get this close to being a Whammy replacement I'll consider buying one...

If you are after the classic whammy it up an octave effect then it's more than good enough for that.  It's the POG type stuff that's still in the pipeline

stickyfiddle

John_A said:

stickyfiddle said:

Have they made the pitchshifting not-shit yet? If they can get this close to being a Whammy replacement I'll consider buying one...

If you are after the classic whammy it up an octave effect then it's more than good enough for that.  It's the POG type stuff that's still in the pipeline

All I want is to be able to play 2 notes at a time without it sounding like a ring mod. Glitchy stuff like a Whammy 4 is fine, potentially even great. But the sounds in whatever version was when I sold it were unusable for anything except very carefully played single notes

meltedbuzzbox

stickyfiddle said:

John_A said:

stickyfiddle said:

Have they made the pitchshifting not-shit yet? If they can get this close to being a Whammy replacement I'll consider buying one...

If you are after the classic whammy it up an octave effect then it's more than good enough for that.  It's the POG type stuff that's still in the pipeline

All I want is to be able to play 2 notes at a time without it sounding like a ring mod. Glitchy stuff like a Whammy 4 is fine, potentially even great. But the sounds in whatever version was when I sold it were unusable for anything except very carefully played single notes

I think octaves and 5ths are ok. It all goes a bit Pete tong after that

John_A

The harmoniser is really good, use it on stuff like boys are back, Detroit rock city etc. and use an octave for some stuff too  Polyphonic stuff isn't there, but expected in a later release

mattismetal

Unpacked it from Anderton's. Box looked a bit 'used' but everything else seemed fine. The unit had a small green sticker on the left side. The one I had before didn't. Came with firmware 2.54. I wonder if it's been 'screened' hence the packaging and sticker? Anyway the horrific noise of the first one is not there with the orange amp like it was last time but I'll make sure to play about with it

siremoon

stickyfiddle said:

Have they made the pitchshifting not-shit yet? If they can get this close to being a Whammy replacement I'll consider buying one...

No.  A major rework is apparently in the works for a later release.

mattismetal

I thought I should chime in with an update as I had to return the first HX effects due to the dreaded noise.
I am on my second HX Effects. I've tested it out with a few different amps (Laney AOR, Orange TH30, a couple of Marshalls).
The first one I had was faulty or had the issues that have been documented because there is NO noise at all, except a ground loop in four cable method, but that is not the fault of the HX.
Some people have mentioned problems with amp switching but it switches all mine fine.

One thing I didn't really try at first were the legacy models, I just quickly skipped past them thinking "they sound alright but the HX models must be better". Well, it turns out some of the new models are great. Klon, Timah etc but I actually prefer some of the legacy modulations, the legacy script phaser is very good.

The signal routing is a real bonus. I have a parallell loop in one amp which causes phase issues. If you have a delay on with mix at 100%, all is good. Turn the delay off and the FX send signal is mixed back in with the original amp signal causing phase issues with a loss of bottom end. BUT with the HX  you just program a volume block with the level all the way off to turn on when you turn the delay (or any other FX loop effect) off. Voila, all is good. It sounds complicated but it isn't really.

You can still fanny about putting other pedals in a loop as well. I was apprehensive about it being all digital and lacking 'analog dry through' and all that but honestly, I think this proves, to me at least, that were beyond that.

I've seen another thread where they're now £399 which I don't exactly think is pocket money but is far more realistic. 

Genuinely great effects, looper, Impulse responses, amp switching, 4 cable method.

If I could make one request of line 6, I know they cannot reduce the power requirement but change the adapter. It is awful to fit on a pedalboard!

Kebabkid

Another nice vid from Paul at Line 6 showing off more sounds

Kebabkid

 @guitargeek62 @rossyamaha @jamesguitar @Wazmeister any other owners?

Are any of the HX owners using the drives as their sole source of overdrive? Talking to a few people, the unit seems to be part of a system, as a controller for a board, or for their delay and modulation stuff, which is cool, but I'm still not hearing too much about the drives in this thing. How do they hold up to the real pedals their modelled on and any standouts?

Cheers

Blueingreen

Kebabkid said:

 @guitargeek62 @rossyamaha @jamesguitar @Wazmeister any other owners?

Are any of the HX owners using the drives as their sole source of overdrive? Talking to a few people, the unit seems to be part of a system, as a controller for a board, or for their delay and modulation stuff, which is cool, but I'm still not hearing too much about the drives in this thing. How do they hold up to the real pedals their modelled on and any standouts?

Cheers

I've just gone through the same thought process.

Mine is hopefully arriving tomorrow or Tuesday but it takes me a long time to make up my mind about gear so I probably won't know whether it's really for me until I've gigged it a few times.

For me it's only an attractive unit if I use the drives as my sole source for overdrive.  I'm not a big user of other effects.  If I end up having to take a couple of drive pedals with it, it won't be earning its keep.

I've researched opinion the on the drives as best I can and what I'm seeing is a load of divided opinion.  Some are in the "I've sold all my boutique drive pedals and couldn't be happier" camp, others in the "the drive sounds are not good enough to replace my analogue pedals" camp.  The split seems pretty even.

I decided to take a punt because the people who are positive about the drives seem on the whole more convincing.  I'm sensing a lot of old-tech-is-best prejudice and confirmation bias on the negative side.

mattismetal

I cannot tell the difference between the minotaur and a Klone. Nor could I tell the ep booster apart. I don't always use high gain either. Unless you have a very specific drive pedal, the hx should have you covered. Or you can put a drive pedal in one of the loops...

gibsongretschfan

Blueingreen said:

Kebabkid said:

 @guitargeek62 @rossyamaha @jamesguitar @Wazmeister any other owners?

Are any of the HX owners using the drives as their sole source of overdrive? Talking to a few people, the unit seems to be part of a system, as a controller for a board, or for their delay and modulation stuff, which is cool, but I'm still not hearing too much about the drives in this thing. How do they hold up to the real pedals their modelled on and any standouts?

Cheers

I've just gone through the same thought process.

Mine is hopefully arriving tomorrow or Tuesday but it takes me a long time to make up my mind about gear so I probably won't know whether it's really for me until I've gigged it a few times.

For me it's only an attractive unit if I use the drives as my sole source for overdrive.  I'm not a big user of other effects.  If I end up having to take a couple of drive pedals with it, it won't be earning its keep.

I've researched opinion the on the drives as best I can and what I'm seeing is a load of divided opinion.  Some are in the "I've sold all my boutique drive pedals and couldn't be happier" camp, others in the "the drive sounds are not good enough to replace my analogue pedals" camp.  The split seems pretty even.

I decided to take a punt because the people who are positive about the drives seem on the whole more convincing.  I'm sensing a lot of old-tech-is-best prejudice and confirmation bias on the negative side.

I think on a whole the guys that are happy are those that use the pedals that are actually modelled in real life

I still use my own drive pedals as Helix doesn’t yet have a B.B. Preamp, Zendrive or ODR1 but I’m pretty confident if they ever do model these pedals I will be more than happy. 

Blueingreen

I'm not super fussy about drive pedals so should be ok.  I've been playing a Flyrig 5 at recent gigs and leaving an Amp 11 and BB Preamp in the gig bag.  Do I think the Sansamp/Plexi combo on the FR5 sounds as good as the boutique pedals? Maybe not quite, but I can get the sounds I want and I like the one-unit solution.  I'm hoping the HX gets me drives I like as much or better, a bit more variety, a wider range of effects, and the convenience of presets.

digitalscream

gibsongretschfan said:

I think on a whole the guys that are happy are those that use the pedals that are actually modelled in real life

Not quite true. I've always used amp distortion, at the most with a clean boost in front to give it some extra zing.

I'm now using the SLO crunch on a mid-gain setting in the Helix, with the OCD in front for my rhythm tone. For the lead tone, I put a Timmy in front of the OCD with a bit of extra gain and a bit of a level boost. It sounds just as good as any real-amp-based tone I've ever had. To say I'm happy would be a significant understatement.