Helix LT or Pedals

horse

You'll be amazed by the variety and quality of tones from the zoom at the price. The preset patches are likely to be a bit ott, so be prepared to experiment with changing the settings to more subtle levels to get the most from it

meltedbuzzbox

Yeah apologies I forgot the fretboard rule that you can't have a negative opinion about some aspects of the helix...

andyoz

I'd get a Katana head. Even if you do move up the food chain of gear later I bet you still use it for practice loads or as a Backup.  Boss Tone Studio software is well sorted for newbie players too.

The risk with Helix is you just end up fiddling and not practising...

EDIT: I see you have a Corso amp so scrub the Kataba idea..

gibsongretschfan

meltedbuzzbox said:

Yeah apologies I forgot the fretboard rule that you can't have a negative opinion about some aspects of the helix...

It’s not about having a negative opinion it’s about posting things that aren’t true in a completely polarised way. “Arse bag awful” must be down to user error. “Not quite my cup of tea and I have pedals that sounded better through my particular setup” I can deal with. 

Dont think it it really helps putting things like that in the guys head when he’s just starting out.

www

gibsongretschfan said:

Dont think it it really helps putting things like that in the guys head when he’s just starting out.

To be fair, I do need protecting from myself sometimes  

meltedbuzzbox

gibsongretschfan said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

Yeah apologies I forgot the fretboard rule that you can't have a negative opinion about some aspects of the helix...

It’s not about having a negative opinion it’s about posting things that aren’t true in a completely polarised way. “Arse bag awful” must be down to user error. “Not quite my cup of tea and I have pedals that sounded better through my particular setup” I can deal with. 

Dont think it it really helps putting things like that in the guys head when he’s just starting out.

no you are right. I must have got confused somewhere between turning the effects on and off and connecting the helix to my amp.

I dont have to sugar coat my opinion to make things more palatable for you.

I wouldn't steer a new starter towards a £650+ bit of kit and I would put the onus on learning to play. I would say that is more helpful than getting all jumped up and defensive about your fanboy, bandwagon ridding, flavour of the month helix and the generic opinions that come with it. 

gibsongretschfan

meltedbuzzbox said:

gibsongretschfan said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

Yeah apologies I forgot the fretboard rule that you can't have a negative opinion about some aspects of the helix...

It’s not about having a negative opinion it’s about posting things that aren’t true in a completely polarised way. “Arse bag awful” must be down to user error. “Not quite my cup of tea and I have pedals that sounded better through my particular setup” I can deal with. 

Dont think it it really helps putting things like that in the guys head when he’s just starting out.

no you are right. I must have got confused somewhere between turning the effects on and off and connecting the helix to my amp.

I dont have to sugar coat my opinion to make things more palatable for you.

I wouldn't steer a new starter towards a £650+ bit of kit and I would put the onus on learning to play. I would say that is more helpful than getting all jumped up and defensive about your fanboy, bandwagon ridding, flavour of the month helix and the generic opinions that come with it. 

As someone who uses Helix in front of an amp you just called my sound “arse bag awful” that’s not me being an over defensive fanboy. 

I also told him Helix was not a good idea to start out with. 

Sporky

meltedbuzzbox said:

 you are right. I must have got confused somewhere between turning the effects on and off and connecting the helix to my amp.

I dont have to sugar coat my opinion to make things more palatable for you.

I wouldn't steer a new starter towards a £650+ bit of kit and I would put the onus on learning to play. I would say that is more helpful than getting all jumped up and defensive about your fanboy, bandwagon ridding, flavour of the month helix and the generic opinions that come with it. 

You do understand that when you post hysterical, passive aggressive, rude nonsense like this it makes you seem a bit unhinged?

Calling people fanboys because you weren't capable of getting a good sound from a Helix and they are is childish and pathetic.

How's that for not sugar coating an opinion? Do you want to go back to being a polite grown-up yet?

@www - don't worry, most of us are capable of dealing with other people having different opinions.

meltedbuzzbox

Sporky said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

 you are right. I must have got confused somewhere between turning the effects on and off and connecting the helix to my amp.

I dont have to sugar coat my opinion to make things more palatable for you.

I wouldn't steer a new starter towards a £650+ bit of kit and I would put the onus on learning to play. I would say that is more helpful than getting all jumped up and defensive about your fanboy, bandwagon ridding, flavour of the month helix and the generic opinions that come with it. 

You do understand that when you post hysterical, passive aggressive, rude nonsense like this it makes you seem a bit unhinged?

Calling people fanboys because you weren't capable of getting a good sound from a Helix and they are is childish and pathetic.

How's that for not sugar coating an opinion? Do you want to go back to being a polite grown-up yet?

@www - don't worry, most of us are capable of dealing with other people having different opinions.

Admin edit - Post removed. We allow opinions. We allow bad language. We do not allow personal abuse.

gearaddict

Harsh, dude.

menamestom

gearaddict said:

Harsh, dude.

Not as harsh as a Helix through a Hiwatt

Adam_MD

menamestom said:

gearaddict said:

Harsh, dude.

Not as harsh as a Helix through a Hiwatt

Arse bag awful apparently.  

IvanMC

I wish I had the brains to go Helix LT... unfortunately, I find those little machines downright baffling. Yeah, I've watched videos, many of which have blown me away and given me motivation to learn... but I haven't been able to cope with a HD500 in years, so... maybe in my next life.

simonk

@IvanMC Helix is way more user friendly than the HD500, so I wouldn’t talk yourself out of giving one a try on that basis.

theflyisback

Just my thoughts...

you can have lots of fun with pedals but with it comes a bit of hassle getting them powered properly and buffered and in the right order etc. Takes a bit of time getting your signal right.

rather than consider the expense of a helix perhaps look at one of line 6’s cheaper units I.e the amplifi 100fx. You can get a whole bunch of pedals via Bluetooth and controlled via iPad if you have one. You can change orders of stuff to get a good grasp of how effects work with each other.

cheap pedals can be great, really great in fact, but bad cheap pedals can hinder you. 

gearaddict

simonk said:

@IvanMC Helix is way more user friendly than the HD500, so I wouldn’t talk yourself out of giving one a try on that basis.

I understand why people say that but for me it was one of the more disappointing aspects of the Helix. I went directly from the HD500 to the Helix and I found it just as fiddly to set up, find all the options that effect things and generally get it working. They are different to work with but like any complex unit, there is a significant learning curve with either unit. Once you are familiar then either one is fine to work with.

The Helix required just as much knobbing around with eq as the HD500 did, in order to get things sounding good. I had really hoped it would sound good out of the box. Plus I found the joystick / knob really maddening. I was constantly losing settings because I accidentally spun the knob when I wanted to move the joystick.

I wouldn't buy the helix hoping that you will be up and running in 10 minutes...

jellybelly

theflyisback said:

Just my thoughts...

you can have lots of fun with pedals but with it comes a bit of hassle getting them powered properly and buffered and in the right order etc. Takes a bit of time getting your signal right.

rather than consider the expense of a helix perhaps look at one of line 6’s cheaper units I.e the amplifi 100fx. You can get a whole bunch of pedals via Bluetooth and controlled via iPad if you have one. You can change orders of stuff to get a good grasp of how effects work with each other.

cheap pedals can be great, really great in fact, but bad cheap pedals can hinder you. 

I’d agree with this! Line 6 m9 would be a great starting point, I kinda wish the new HX Effects were as simple. 

Flanging_Fred

What's an 'arse bag' and should I get one for my wife's birthday (she likes bags)?

mbe

Flanging_Fred said:

What's an 'arse bag' and should I get one for my wife's birthday (she likes bags)?

'Tis a voluminous pantaloon. Certainly not a pertinent metaphor as used in the foregoing comment.

steer

For goodness sake he bought a zoom, not a helix. The silly in arguments about the helix is therefore completely irrelevant and not necessary. 

FWIW The Zoom G3 is exactly the type of thing I would point people in the direction of for their first effects unit.