Do I sell everything and buy a Helix?

stickyfiddle

Guess who's next on what is apparently becoming "the thing to do" in guitar playing... 
[edit - I also don't actually mean sell everything. Just some stuff..]

Current thought process:

- these days I play exclusively at home
- I love my Badcat but it would be really good to have something I could use with headphones that sounds really really good.
- i like FX pedals a lot, but the last stuff I bought hasn't actually made me happier at all and I'm wondering if I'm losing the plot and if having something as comprehensive as the Helix would actually encourage me to play and experiment with sounds more than just googling dirt pedal videos
- if I did buy a Helix the pedals it would replace would pretty much pay for it (timefactor, whammy, various dirts, univibe, maybe even the tuner) I'm considering moving on the Gretsch as well which would cover it and then some combined with the fx.
 

 Concerns
- it doesn't have a small stone model, which makes me sad
- i don't want to get into the whole FRFR thing. Is it overkill to just use it as a multifx whenever I'm not on headphones?
- I'd be ordering internationally so returns are a pain; how is reliability looking after 18 months on the market? 

Help welcomed and invited!

joeyowen

Yes. 

Wazmeister

Or sell everything and get an FX8, as youd expect me to say !

TimmyO

I'm going to go with "No" based in part on your statement about really liking fx pedals.

You still will I reckon.

If you just need headphone use then get a reactive loadbox and cabinet plugin/sim.

Me selling a Toropedo Reload is coincidental I promise.

simonk

Wazmeister said:

Or sell everything and get an FX8, as youd expect me to say !

Sell everything except the amp...

stickyfiddle

Wazmeister said:

Or sell everything and get an FX8, as youd expect me to say !

See that is another option. I've never looked at them tbh, but I definitely should do before diving headfirst in one direction. 

I like the Helix interface a lot, and the in-built expression pedal is attractive. And the headphone out...

May I ask what makes it better, for your purposes eyes? Also, given the FX8 and AX8 are virtually the same price, why wouldn't you go for the AX8 as they presumably have the same fx functions?

fretmeister

Helix also has dual paths. Ax8 doesn't. 

if that is important to you.

Teetonetal

You can add 4 external fx ro helix. So you still get to have a pedal fix. For home playing it's a no brainer imo.

Kebabkid

I think you love pedals too much Mike and everything that surrounds them, construction etc and you've got some good stuff.

IMO, I'd say, if you can afford one of these units without selling your pedals, try that first.

stickyfiddle

TimmyO said:

I'm going to go with "No" based in part on your statement about really liking fx pedals.

You still will I reckon.

If you just need headphone use then get a reactive loadbox and cabinet plugin/sim.

Me selling a Toropedo Reload is coincidental I promise.

That is also a potential issue. Though I have to admit in making a list of what I'd sell I would still keep at least half of what I have (lots of kit builds that aren't worth much, my old faithful Rat and Liquid Sunshine, etc). Then I won't have lost anything sentimental or hard to replace in the event I don't like the Helix in the long term. 

octatonic

Do you want to tweak or play?

Most of my playing/practice is a clean amp, or a clean amp with some distortion in front and a touch of delay.
Sometimes the distortion/delay comes from pedals, sometimes from the FX8 or Axe FX 2.
Any of them work for the purpose of playing/practice.

Col_Decker

Selling your pedals AND a Gretsch to buy a Helix? I think I just threw up a little.

stickyfiddle

octatonic said:

Do you want to tweak or play?

Most of my playing/practice is a clean amp, or a clean amp with some distortion in front and a touch of delay.
Sometimes the distortion/delay comes from pedals, sometimes from the FX8 or Axe FX 2.
Any of them work for the purpose of playing/practice.

Honestly, a bit of both. 

I'm pretty sure I'd use the Helix for my handful of default sounds I already have, but it would also let me tweak things when I felt like it, so when the feeling of "oh, i'd really like a bit of tremolo" comes, I don't have to go and buy one..!

stickyfiddle

Col_Decker said:

Selling your pedals AND a Gretsch to buy a Helix? I think I just threw up a little.

The thinking about the Gretsch is much more because the Jazzmaster has taken over as "trem guitar" and I picked up my CS336 for the first time in forever yesterday and it made me realise it's still the best guitar I have, even better than I remembered, and I probably don't need as many guitars as I have, which would put the Gretsch first on the block.

TimmyO

stickyfiddle said:

TimmyO said:

I'm going to go with "No" based in part on your statement about really liking fx pedals.

You still will I reckon.

If you just need headphone use then get a reactive loadbox and cabinet plugin/sim.

Me selling a Toropedo Reload is coincidental I promise.

That is also a potential issue. Though I have to admit in making a list of what I'd sell I would still keep at least half of what I have (lots of kit builds that aren't worth much, my old faithful Rat and Liquid Sunshine, etc). Then I won't have lost anything sentimental or hard to replace in the event I don't like the Helix in the long term. 

Ok I think we can all see which ay this is heading :-) 

They do look very slick

RandallFlagg

Yes, I've just done it and have no regrets. 

Try the new Celestion IRs as well, I bought the G12M-65 Creamback and it sounds great.

Col_Decker

stickyfiddle said:

Col_Decker said:

Selling your pedals AND a Gretsch to buy a Helix? I think I just threw up a little.

The thinking about the Gretsch is much more because the Jazzmaster has taken over as "trem guitar" and I picked up my CS336 for the first time in forever yesterday and it made me realise it's still the best guitar I have, even better than I remembered, and I probably don't need as many guitars as I have, which would put the Gretsch first on the block.

Coolio. If it works for you then do it, life's too short to worry about what amp you use. 

stickyfiddle

I have no idea what IRs are. Is it essential a speaker emulation?

Do I need them if putting it through an amp? 

stickyfiddle

@Col_Decker I'm also pretty sure there's a big spangly single-cut Gretsch in my distant future, so not too worried if I go a year or 5 after shifting the DC.

Sporky

stickyfiddle said:

I have no idea what IRs are. Is it essential a speaker emulation?

Yes.

The Helix comes with plenty. Some people prefer 3rd party ones, some find the inbuilt ones are fine. I'm in the latter camp.

Cabicular

Buy the Torpedo reload 
best thing I bought
or buy a Helix the other best thing I bought