Line 6 Helix

gibsongretschfan

Also, imagine if they started letting EHX put up the C9 and B9 or the Digitech Freqout or someother cool effects that’s companies don’t necessarily have a dog in the modelling fight and it’s hard for L6 to reinvent the wheel every time they want a certain type of effect

gibsongretschfan

See if you Line 6 guys are going to let 3rd party amps start appearing on the Helix format can you please, please PLEASE give Mike Scuffham a call? And if you get to speak to him ask her where’s the updates!

TTBZ

Giving Helix yet another go with Native trial (my 3rd and final time, sorry line 6!) to see if I can get tones I like in under 6 blocks and just lost about an hour simply playing with the Placater Dirty, an Ownhammer Mesa IR and a bit of room reverb. Still don't like the built in cabs but with an IR it's great. The last 2 times I tried it I went back and forth and ended up not being a huge fan but the Placater just sounds great.

Suffice to say pretty sure I'll be saving up and getting a HX Stomp when they're readily available in the UK. Not sure if I'll make the full switch to digital but that tone was perfect for me jamming at home through headphones, and I could probably ditch my drive & tuner and just use the Stomp as a pedalboard with my real amp for rehearsals 

Cirrus

Selling amps etc would potentially undermine the preset market - hard to sell a preset if not everyone's got the same library of modules to choose from, I'd have thought? So, my thinking is they'll continue to be free.

Digital_Igloo

Cabicular said:
My worry is they adopt the AmpliTube Custom shop model.

Line 6 is not EA.

Cabicular

Digital_Igloo said:

Cabicular said:
My worry is they adopt the AmpliTube Custom shop model.

Line 6 is not EA.

That’s good to hear!

Teetonetal

Digital_Igloo said:

Cabicular said:
My worry is they adopt the AmpliTube Custom shop model.

Line 6 is not EA.

How many times have you said this since launch?

gibsongretschfan

Anyone stuck a keyboard through a Powercab? How does it handle it?

Digital_Igloo

Teetonetal said:

Digital_Igloo said:

Cabicular said:
My worry is they adopt the AmpliTube Custom shop model.

Line 6 is not EA.

How many times have you said this since launch?

Too few, presumably.

nickp

Sorry for asking a question that's been asked before but I've got bogged down in line page 120 of this thread, reaasearching. 

it's also quite a long question (series of questions) but gets to the knub of it really and £1000 is a big spend not without risk.

My current set up is guitar - tuner, wah, TC Spark booster, boss OD2, klone,  Blackstar 100w 6l6 head (often on lower power!!) - then in the loop - volume pedal, TC Delay, TC reverb.  Then a 2 x 12 cab reputed to be a zilla cab but unbadged 

all fairly obvious.  The tc booser is to kick the strat volume up to match the lester without having to fanny with volume levels.

the volume in the loop is essential as the "other guitarist" constantly dicks with his volume through a gig <sighs> and has to be the loudest

I also have a few other pedals and an acoustic DI box for acoustic gigs - my wife wants to get a set together (her singing thankfully)

I have two quesitons (simple answers for an idiot please).  I can just about fund a Helix s/h by selling every pedal I own and the pedal board.  But the eggs will have to be sold to get the chicken.  and then I will have all my chickens in the one basket (formerly reserved for eggs).

The band is a pub band playing rock covers with the PA just being vocal - unless we do the odd big gig.  We don't do festivals as at least two of us have lives that involve other hobbies and not just being weekend musicians - so we limit the gigs we do.  so no real need to go direct to PA.  However, who knows, and I have half of a fingerpicking acoustic set that might appear occasionally so the future might be slightly more varied.

Questions:

stage 1 - get me to the gig on time:   Will the Helix happily, capably and easily (sonically) replace all of those pedals (my delays and reverbs settings aren't complex).  Will it take long to set up and use.  4cm probably as this will make me feel at home.

stage 2 - will i acheive sonic happiness by going straight into the power amp section of the blackstar thusly reducing it to one cable.  I appreciate this will take some fiddling time to get a nice amp/cab setup or whatever in the Helix.

stage 3 - will dumping the (stupidly heavy) amp and cab allow me to buy a flat wotsit speaker and acheive sonic happiness but with a lighter rig?  (my back is fucked).  This is the golden egg (or was it chicken) 

stage 4 - will the helix plus the flat wotsit speaker do a good job of powering an acoustic rig of guitar (me) and vocal mike (sue) 

I appreciate that is 4 questions not 2 - sorry.

thanks muchly, in nervousness and with the bloated feeling of an impending GAS explosion

Nick

Sporky

I would say yes to all of those. 

welshboyo

@nickp

Helix will easily replace your current pedal set-up, it will actually give you a whole lot more..

4CM is a doddle to set up, in fact the Helix as a whole is hilariously easy to set up.

Straight into Power Amp section will work, however, I will say I have never ever been 100% happy with this, in saying this, some of our "backline supplied" gigs I do this and nobody has ever died or moaned about the shit sound - it will work fine, it'll just need a little tweaking to get right IMO.

Flat Wotsit speaker is a place I haven't gone to yet but a few on here use them and they sound great - I may dip my toe soon too just to give my back a break..

And finally yes, there are enough signal paths in the Helix to process guitar and vocals - the only thing Helix doesn't do is vocal harmonies.

The standard Helix response - its the best bit of kit I have ever bought

hubobulous

Acoustic into mic preamp works a treat. I am also in an acoustic duo and rock covers band and use Helix for both

Cabicular

welshboyo said:

@nickp

Helix will easily replace your current pedal set-up, it will actually give you a whole lot more..

4CM is a doddle to set up, in fact the Helix as a whole is hilariously easy to set up.

Straight into Power Amp section will work, however, I will say I have never ever been 100% happy with this, in saying this, some of our "backline supplied" gigs I do this and nobody has ever died or moaned about the shit sound - it will work fine, it'll just need a little tweaking to get right IMO.

Flat Wotsit speaker is a place I haven't gone to yet but a few on here use them and they sound great - I may dip my toe soon too just to give my back a break..

And finally yes, there are enough signal paths in the Helix to process guitar and vocals - the only thing Helix doesn't do is vocal harmonies.

The standard Helix response - its the best bit of kit I have ever bought

I do the straight into power amp thing at rehearsals and some guest spot gigs
the trick for me is to split the 1/4 into a different output just before the cab sims and to put the 5 band Mesa EQ block just before the output
Ive had to put some outrageous Eq settings into to make it sound good but all the tools are there 

Cabicular

Also @nickp the best thing you will notice is if you put +7db on an output block and adding it to the exp pedal all of a sudden you can sweep up to your solo boost or just get a little bit louder in sections you need
I MUCH prefer it to a single boost switch as I don’t need all the boost every time. Sometimes just for a small section where I’m on my own or if there is a wee phrase I want to pop out I’ll just ride that pedal till I get the volume I want
also when the solo is over you can fade back down rather than a big cliff like fall you get with a stomp. It sounds more natural to me

nickp

Cabicular said:

welshboyo said:

@nickp

Helix will easily replace your current pedal set-up, it will actually give you a whole lot more..

4CM is a doddle to set up, in fact the Helix as a whole is hilariously easy to set up.

Straight into Power Amp section will work, however, I will say I have never ever been 100% happy with this, in saying this, some of our "backline supplied" gigs I do this and nobody has ever died or moaned about the shit sound - it will work fine, it'll just need a little tweaking to get right IMO.

Flat Wotsit speaker is a place I haven't gone to yet but a few on here use them and they sound great - I may dip my toe soon too just to give my back a break..

And finally yes, there are enough signal paths in the Helix to process guitar and vocals - the only thing Helix doesn't do is vocal harmonies.

The standard Helix response - its the best bit of kit I have ever bought

I do the straight into power amp thing at rehearsals and some guest spot gigs
the trick for me is to split the 1/4 into a different output just before the cab sims and to put the 5 band Mesa EQ block just before the output
Ive had to put some outrageous Eq settings into to make it sound good but all the tools are there 

@Cabicular ; - I know you are a genius - because I'm reading your old posts in this thread and not understanding them entirely due the absence of a boardy helixy bit of kit


but was that a yes? 



and regards the flat response speaker thing - is that going to work really well too as long as it is EQ'd properly and I get the right one?  



got the bit about putting a volume onto a eq pedal - it would be nice to limit it too as my ernie ball goes from zero to hero and as such (with a grunty amp) it can be difficult to get to the right spot or it frightens everyone to death if i accidentally max it

nickp

and thanks to everyone who has taken time out to reply so far.  As always and as it has been for years - just a great forum

Cabicular

  

Cabicular

nickp said:

Cabicular said:

welshboyo said:

@nickp

Helix will easily replace your current pedal set-up, it will actually give you a whole lot more..

4CM is a doddle to set up, in fact the Helix as a whole is hilariously easy to set up.

Straight into Power Amp section will work, however, I will say I have never ever been 100% happy with this, in saying this, some of our "backline supplied" gigs I do this and nobody has ever died or moaned about the shit sound - it will work fine, it'll just need a little tweaking to get right IMO.

Flat Wotsit speaker is a place I haven't gone to yet but a few on here use them and they sound great - I may dip my toe soon too just to give my back a break..

And finally yes, there are enough signal paths in the Helix to process guitar and vocals - the only thing Helix doesn't do is vocal harmonies.

The standard Helix response - its the best bit of kit I have ever bought

I do the straight into power amp thing at rehearsals and some guest spot gigs
the trick for me is to split the 1/4 into a different output just before the cab sims and to put the 5 band Mesa EQ block just before the output
Ive had to put some outrageous Eq settings into to make it sound good but all the tools are there 

@Cabicular ; - I know you are a genius - because I'm reading your old posts in this thread and not understanding them entirely due the absence of a boardy helixy bit of kit


but was that a yes? 



and regards the flat response speaker thing - is that going to work really well too as long as it is EQ'd properly and I get the right one?  



got the bit about putting a volume onto a eq pedal - it would be nice to limit it too as my ernie ball goes from zero to hero and as such (with a grunty amp) it can be difficult to get to the right spot or it frightens everyone to death if i accidentally max it

It’s a hell yes. Sporky has probably done more innovative stuff with the Helix than anyone I can think of so take his word for it too!
A good frfr speaker is a portable rig. But even with vocal PA I tend to stick the Helix out front and use the frfr to monitor guitar and vocals
everyone is going powercab daft these days and I would like that as a solution but the good old fashion L2t are pretty cheap second hand. If you get one with the wheelie case you can stuff the Helix bag handle through the wheelie case handle. Quick bungee for security and the whole rig can be wheeled about.
When using it with a Foreign PA I always take the L2T with me. I get the sound guy to give me my monitor cable and put that in one channel for vocal and I take a feed off the headphone socket and put it into the other channel. That means whatever he does with the monitor mix I can always turn up guitar in my own monitor without affecting anything else
If you pick up a cheap variax the things you can do are amazing ....

menamestom

@nickp  IMO.....

tuner - Based on the old one no, based on the new one quite possibly, unless you want polyphonic (I've not updated mine yet)
wah - possibly, probably.  Depends on the wah but the Helix sound good and have good variation
TC Spark booster - yes no problem
boss OD2 - Yes, but it's nice to keep the odd analog dirt pedal.
klone - As above
Blackstar 100w 6l6 head - Based on my experiences with Blackstar you will see an improvement with the Helix
volume pedal - no problem
TC Delay - Based on the Flashback I had, I would say you will improve in this area.
TC reverb.  - Depends on the reverb but the latest Helix are very good.
Acoustic - The Helix is amazing for acoustic, the EQ and effects are great but the ability to load an IR makes it very powerful.


I still use an amp and some pedals for live mainly, but I've used the Helix and know how good it can be.   With a decent monitor/PA speaker the answer would definitely be yes to all 4 questions.


I still use an amp because I love amps and also both my amps are light and compact.  Swapping wouldn't mean any less gear.
 I gig in a lowish volume acoustic 3 piece with no drums so my Princeton and Tweed Deluxe are perfect for this.  But if a had heavy gear and swap in an instant.