Headrush pedalboard....just when you thought!

digitalscream

mixolyd said:

...the Headrush which so far just seems to be the Aldi version of Helix. 

(DISCLAIMER: this is all conjecture on my part)
 
That's the odd thing. I can't help but feel like they've basically recompiled the Eleven modelling for ARM CPUs, slapped a pretty interface on it and run it on an Android tablet rehoused into a Helix-alike shell. It doesn't take much to get Android booting pretty bloody fast, especially if you strip out all the guts and reskin it to do very little; the touchscreen functionality is effectively achieved for free then.

Note that they only say "quad core" - they don't specify that it's a quad-core DSP processor at any point. Given how cagey they've been about almost everything else, I'm becoming increasingly cynical.

Incidentally, did anyone else notice the heat vent at the back of it? That scares me a bit, and supports the above. All it takes is a particularly warm stage and a bit of dust obstructing that vent, and I wonder if it'll be game over. Not only that, but we all know that such vents are perfect beer-catchers.

digitalscream

JonHosker said:

Fair enough.....thanks
Big plunge for me.
FRFR options??

I wouldn't bother with FRFR. Get a cheap mini bass head (you can get ones with an effects loop and 450W of headroom for a couple of hundred notes), plug the modeller into the effects return and run it sans-cab-block into a vaguely decent, lightweight guitar cab for on-stage monitoring. Then just run the cab emulated outputs into the PA.

Pretty much every giggable modeller on the market can do that. Except the Eleven Rack, ironically enough.

JonHosker

Thanks 

Aidanspaghetti

mellowsun said:

Ask yourself this, who has more credibility and experience in digital modelling: Akai or Line6/Yamaha?

And who has more credibility and experience making guitars: Gibon/Fender or Parker/PRS ......
Not nitpicking but if everyone gives up the ghost before trying to take on the big boys - It only ends badly.
Thank God there are the Christian Kemper's and Ken Parkers of the world.
And who knows, maybe the Headrush will be amazing!

Great for us consumers at the end of the day ....  More toys/choice

guitarfishbay

Helix native will be interesting. It's a no brainer for Helix owners but for non owners it is fairly expensive (not commenting on value) which may limit it to an extent. 

Then again I remember watching a Ryan Bruce video where he reckoned the practice amp was no longer needed due to how many people use software these days. In that context maybe it'll sell just fine.

guitarfishbay

Sporky said:

mixolyd said:

Voxman said:

Helix prices will have to fall after NAMM to combat competitors or Line 6 will lose market share and its sales will suffer.  The wealthier customers have already bought it and it will have to cut prices if it wants to win customers from the next pricing layer set by units such as Head Rush FX.

That's a huge claim given that the Headrush has yet to prove to be any good at all, let alone a competitor for Helix.

And given how healthy Helix sales are.

Fractal prices didn't fall when the Helix came out either.

They expanded and bought a new warehouse https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/new-warehouse.120043/page-3#post-1428921

I think there's a market for high end digital, and I still reckon the Helix is one of the best value pieces of gear available today. There's a ton of gear that costs the same or more, especially when you consider like for like solutions - it really doesn't take much to get an amp, versatile pedalboard, recording interface and mic to cost the same or more.

Teetonetal

guitarfishbay said:

Sporky said:

mixolyd said:

Voxman said:

Helix prices will have to fall after NAMM to combat competitors or Line 6 will lose market share and its sales will suffer.  The wealthier customers have already bought it and it will have to cut prices if it wants to win customers from the next pricing layer set by units such as Head Rush FX.

That's a huge claim given that the Headrush has yet to prove to be any good at all, let alone a competitor for Helix.

And given how healthy Helix sales are.

Fractal prices didn't fall when the Helix came out either.

They expanded and bought a new warehouse https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/new-warehouse.120043/page-3#post-1428921

I think there's a market for high end digital, and I still reckon the Helix is one of the best value pieces of gear available today. There's a ton of gear that costs the same or more, especially when you consider like for like solutions - it really doesn't take much to get an amp, versatile pedalboard, recording interface and mic to cost the same or more.

I wholeheartedly agree Helix is amazing value for me. It does so much and most of it well... for anyone using a DAW with guitars, vocals and VSTs it's a wonderful investment. I'm not sure I'd go that route if I wanted it for gig use only, but the home use side of it is insane.

Sporky

Voxman said:

I stand by what I said earlier..there has to be a downward price correction this year.  

I don't see why. Fractal and Helix sales are perfectly healthy; why would they cut prices?

Once we know more about the Headrush it'll be easier to judge if it'll hurt the others, or whether it'll appeal to a different group of guitarists who don't need/want as much flexibility and don't want to spend as much.

The Amplifier 12 looks very old school with that tiny low-res screen. To me that looks like a lot of money compared to the Helix when you consider all the things it can't do that the Helix can.

John_A

 Helix Native + cheap laptop + midi pedalboard Make your own Headrush   I thought the Helix was expensive when I bought it, but it's proved to be excellent value, and had more use out of it than any other piece of gear I own, couldn't do without it now

digitalscream

John_A said:

 Helix Native + cheap laptop + midi pedalboard Make your own Headrush   I thought the Helix was expensive when I bought it, but it's proved to be excellent value, and had more use out of it than any other piece of gear I own, couldn't do without it now

Even better, an Intel NUC running Linux with Helix Native under WINE (which is my plan). Small enough to fit under a pedalboard, faster than Windows, no moving parts, rock solid...remote desktop from a tablet or phone if you want to edit it.

I've also been considering building a Raspberry Pi-based alternative. None of Helix's models (it'd be effects-only), but I reckon I could make it work and it'd be much cheaper.

professorben

digitalscream said:

John_A said:

 Helix Native + cheap laptop + midi pedalboard Make your own Headrush   I thought the Helix was expensive when I bought it, but it's proved to be excellent value, and had more use out of it than any other piece of gear I own, couldn't do without it now

Even better, an Intel NUC running Linux with Helix Native under WINE (which is my plan). Small enough to fit under a pedalboard, faster than Windows, no moving parts, rock solid...remote desktop from a tablet or phone if you want to edit it.

I've also been considering building a Raspberry Pi-based alternative. None of Helix's models (it'd be effects-only), but I reckon I could make it work and it'd be much cheaper.

I so wish I knew what any of that meant, but I'm sure at some point you will show me.....and I will buy it off you. 

Sporky

A NUC is a teeny-tiny PC.

Linux is an operating system.

Helix Native is the recently-announced VST version of Helix (ie it runs on a PC rather than on a Helix hardware platform).

WINE is a Windows emulator for Linux that sometimes (?) runs faster than Windows would on the same hardware.

professorben

Sporky said:

A NUC is a teeny-tiny PC.

Linux is an operating system.

Helix Native is the recently-announced VST version of Helix (ie it runs on a PC rather than on a Helix hardware platform).

WINE is a Windows emulator for Linux that sometimes (?) runs faster than Windows would on the same hardware.

Thank you Mr Sporky. 
That sounds pretty good, but won't you have to host the Helix VST in a DAW?

digitalscream

professorben said:

Sporky said:

A NUC is a teeny-tiny PC.

Linux is an operating system.

Helix Native is the recently-announced VST version of Helix (ie it runs on a PC rather than on a Helix hardware platform).

WINE is a Windows emulator for Linux that sometimes (?) runs faster than Windows would on the same hardware.

Thank you Mr Sporky. 
That sounds pretty good, but won't you have to host the Helix VST in a DAW?

Or another VST host...or it might have the ability to run standalone like Amplitube.

guitarfishbay

I've not used it in 3+ years but IIRC podfarm could run standalone.

Teetonetal

digitalscream said:

professorben said:

Sporky said:

A NUC is a teeny-tiny PC.

Linux is an operating system.

Helix Native is the recently-announced VST version of Helix (ie it runs on a PC rather than on a Helix hardware platform).

WINE is a Windows emulator for Linux that sometimes (?) runs faster than Windows would on the same hardware.

Thank you Mr Sporky. 
That sounds pretty good, but won't you have to host the Helix VST in a DAW?

Or another VST host...or it might have the ability to run standalone like Amplitube.

They mentioned there will not be a standalone version at launch and no hard promise to ever bring one out.

mixolyd

Free, lightweight VST hosts are available.