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Not really. I have and really like my Helix. But, I gig with valve combos.
My Princeton - Nearly 10 years of gigging, 2nd set of valves, 100% reliable.
MJW Tweed Deluxe - I've been using this for most gigs since I got it, it sounds great and has been 100% reliable.
They are both loud and ample power for my uses. Both light and easy to get a good sound.
For this particular band I only use a couple of sounds, and don't need versatility, just a pure, sweet clean tone and a bit of grit with a pedal. The Helix would come into it's own in a cover band which cover a lot of ground where getting close to the original sound is important, but that's not my thing so there's no reason to change my setup.
If I had a DXR10 or similar, I would probably try the Helix for the odd gig and there's no doubt I'd be happy with it.
I haven’t even tried 70% of what it does,
Mention was made (can't find who!) that valve amps do not give consistent and repeatable switching between tonal setups?
I would suggest the Blackstar Series One models cover this with a MIDI footswitch controller? Ok, I know there are those that do not like the basic sound but surely other amps exist with such control options?
Then I do not agree with the idea that valves slowly lose their performance over time? In fact they tend to hold up to spec for decades for pre valves and a good year for even well thrashed OP valves. Were this not the case things like valve TVs would have been impossible as picture size, position, synchronization and brightness would have varied day to day!
Dave.
One thing that tends to be overlooked about the reliability of modern valve amps is that many of the failures that will stop you getting through a gig aren't caused by the valves directly - although it is true that the much higher voltages they operate at are a major contributing factor in most of them. This is partly to do with poor PCB layout, but sometimes it's difficult to design a complex amp in a way that avoids it entirely.
Simple vintage-style valve amps - including the ones built with PCBs, if it's done right - are quite a different thing and are very reliable apart from the valves themselves.
But it's still true that overall...
Valve = more likely to fail but easier to fix, including at the gig with spare valves and fuses, usually.
Analogue solid-state = less likely to fail but not fixable at a gig, although fixable in the workshop.
Digital modelling = less likely to fail but once the manufacturer is out of parts (usually the whole PCB), not fixable.
Analogue solid-state using modern switch-mode power supplies and/or Class D power amps are usually close to unfixable too.
I still wouldn't gig with any of them without *some* sort of backup solution, even if it's just a pedal you can DI in an emergency.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
If your power amp dies with a modeller, you have the option of switching on the cab sim and running DI (the quickest solution, depending on how good the sound guy is).
In all other cases, the smart thing to do is simply take a cheap modeller with you that'll get you over the hump, and then cry about the expensive incoming repair later...
*I've had to scrap a few valve amps for unrepairable PCB damage though, mostly when unnecessary extra nonsense like a 'valve bias monitoring system' is built onto the main board and sets fire to itself. There's a well-known amp series from a famous company which will be landfill once they've stopped supplying replacement boards too.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
There have been problems with the expression pedal on some of the early Helix LTs, but that's repairable too.
The most common one I've heard of is with cheap modellers, where the input/output/power jacks are cheap and just fail (especially when the singer steps on the jack and smashes the socket...go on, ask me how I know...). Again, easy repair.
The failures are relatively rare at least in the short to medium term, but if they do happen then your amp becomes at best a powered cabinet even if it's got some way of accessing the power amp.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
The problem is that as things get older the failure rate becomes cumulative, and some of them just aren't going to be repairable in the long term, so you need to rely on luck.
Exactly. Even something that lets you go through the house PA will do no matter how 'bad' it sounds, as long as you're audible. The real problem is what happens if the PA dies!
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I think personnel failure is a higher risk
As for the "What if it breaks after 10 years?" question...just like my computers, I expect to be upgrading after four or five years, at which point my current one becomes the backup. Effectively, I only need that four or five years of consistent service from it, and only occasional/emergency use after that.
The XT is my back up.
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/
Example: 57 Deluxe [clone] amp. It does what it does.
The only downside to me is editing the patches - the display on the AX8 is really small and it's not very intuitive. I do all of this on the software you get stick on your desktop as it's much easier - the Kemper is a bit easier from this point of view, our other guitarist uses one. This is only really a drawback when playing live; I got asked by the guy doing the sound recently to change my noisegate a bit, and didn't know how to do it on the unit itself, which was a bit embarrassing. I'm not hugely into gear apart from guitars themselves, but in 30 years of playing this is probably the best not-an-actual-guitar thing I've ever bought. I didn't go for the full Axe-FX rack version for this reason - just loads of stuff I probably would never get round to using; for plugging in and playing, this is awesome.
For the kind of stuff that you play I reckon that you'd find loads of sounds to suit, well worth a go I can't remember whereabouts you live, but you're welcome to try it if you're ever in the Gloucestershire area! My mates Kemper is equally good from what I can tell, but I haven't really played that much with it.
https://www.facebook.com/benswanwickguitar