So - will I regret it if I buy a Helix?

peteri

I would suggest the LA studio compressor, don't hammer the signal - in many ways you shouldn't hear it working, should just hear a thicker, fuller drive sound - smoothing out the edges.

On the impedance - if you leave it on Auto, Helix will (I believe) change the impedance to map the modelled impedance of the first pedal, whether it's active or not.

This is of course a more accurate simulation but I didn't like that approach, I wanted something consistent regardless of the pedals I'm messing about with. 1Mohm is a fairly standard high input impedance value, I tried all of them and for me with my guitars this was the sound I liked best. The higher the value the more treble and 'open' the sound, but at the same time you can overdo it and for some guitars it can end up sounding thin and spiky.

What got me into this was trying to simulate the sound of my main G2 board. The G2 has a very high value of 2.2Mohm, once I realised that it explained why the only guitar I didn't like through the board was my old Telecaster (a 68) which has that typical Tele 'spank' which was overemphasised by the G2 high impedance.

I fixed this in the G2 by adding a buffer in front btw

Jonathanthomas83

Ah right, of course, this is deja vu, I remember the conversations a few weeks back. Thanks! :-)

gearaddict

Well, just to bring this to a close - the Helix has left the building...again.

I think having a second run at it was the clincher for me, as I was mainly giving FRFR a go and that didn't really work for me. I think Clarky nailed it when he said you really need to be prepared to put the work in with these units - I'm just too impatient and lazy.

peteri

If you have the budget can I recommend trying an AX8? I've found that much quicker to learn/get to grips with

Unorthodox

I eagerly await the inevitable return of another modelling unit and the process starting all over again.

sweepy

Well I have had 2 Helix units, who knows

Jonathanthomas83

sweepy said:

Well I have had 2 Helix units, who knows

And you kept the Fractal...@gearaddict you should try one!

DevonChris

I've been playing with an Amplifire AA3 and it is surprisingly good. I much prefer it to Helix LT which I returned within three days.

The amp and fx sounds more realistic than the Helix and it is much more simple to use. You need to hook up a laptop to use their editor but that is very intuitive and once you have created your presets thats that.

I've not been tweaking the AA3 presets anything like I was doing with the Helix. The Helix is more powerful, but that power comes with a tweaking cost!

Even though I've only got three footswitches when I play live I'll get a cheap midi controller (Behringer) to easily access presets and fx. That also places the Amplifire away from the beer spillages!

The Amplifire seems much more "configure and forget", which is what I want, particularly as it sounds so good.

John_A

Not tried an amplifier, but recently got a zoom g3n as a backup for my Helix.  First thoughts were 'wow, why have I spent all this money on a Helix'. At rehearsal though it just didn't respond in the same way as the Helix, it's the feel that makes the difference in the top modellers IMO

FarleyUK

Another suggestions for trying an AX8 if you can. Night and day when compared to my old Helix (for me, anyway). Much more responsive to playing dynamics, and sounded a lot more 'full' and - dare I say it - realistic (even using the same IRs I had in the Helix).

gearaddict

Yeah, I think I probably would like the Axe but it's just far too much money for me to justify. Ideally I need something to use in 4CM as I always seem to go back to the core amp sound in the end. The HD500X wasn't great for that as it just sucked all the life out of the amp. I hear the GT100 is better in that regard. I'd like to try the Zoom pedals but unfortunately they don't have a loop for running 4CM. Similarly the Nova system...

...I am wondering about the 4CM thing though. I started running my chorus in front of the amp now because it was being a bit noisy in the loop and it actually sounds good. Although I tend to mainly use that with cleaner sounds. Delay is the main problem with running all your pedals up front...just sounds messy.

Danny1969

I had my first go on a Helix last night. At first it was through a mates AC30 and sounded awful as that's not obviously the idea. Switching to a stereo PA made the thing come alive and I thought some of the plexi sounds were pretty good. Effects wise I thought the verbs were't quite what I would expect in a unit costing this much, I thought they would be better to be honest but maybe you can tweak em to sound less one dimensional. It looks really easy to program and the screens great.  I wouldn't mind borrowing it for a gig, that would be interesting 

siraxeman

Danny, I gigged  my helix for the 1st time Sunday night...direct into the ac30 normal channel (top boost channel way too bright and harsh)...sounded quite ok, just not quite as good as my pedalboard into my ac30. But I had the 2 XLR's direct to the PA. singer said it sounded great out front. From my ac30 on stage it was passable/ok. Next try will be just using my 2 Id's in the helix loops for my dirt and then use helix just for the digital fx...hopefully for a best of both worlds!

Danny1969

siraxeman said:

Danny, I gigged  my helix for the 1st time Sunday night...direct into the ac30 normal channel (top boost channel way too bright and harsh)...sounded quite ok, just not quite as good as my pedalboard into my ac30. But I had the 2 XLR's direct to the PA. singer said it sounded great out front. From my ac30 on stage it was passable/ok. Next try will be just using my 2 Id's in the helix loops for my dirt and then use helix just for the digital fx...hopefully for a best of both worlds!

Yeah the AC's internal EQ put a real harsh edge on it for me last night .... as it was a more modern one it had a loop and we could have used the return of that maybe to bypass the pre amp section but it was the straight into the PA sounds I was interested in as that's a modellers real strength I feel. 
For me on IEM's I don't need an amp, the Helix stereo out can go straight into my IEM box on it's own control, I could turn up to gigs with just the Helix and a guitar. The stumbling point is the price tag at the moment

PS ...PMT are doing these for £1080 at the mo in Portsmouth

siraxeman

you can't get feedback though off of IEMs.