Line 6 Helix

fretmeister

Actually, I do think that all Helix dealers should have a dedicated demo set up for it with someone who knows what they are doing with it.

Teetonetal

fretmeister said:

Actually, I do think that all Helix dealers should have a dedicated demo set up for it with someone who knows what they are doing with it.

That would help immensley I'm sure.

but I was trying in a small store, with only 1 helix available after a 2 month wait since the last one sold...it's a very small part of their sales and the guy told me, this was the first one that they'd actually managed to gwet onto the shop floor..

Cabicular

I agree

I had the same problem with the M13 until Paul Hindmarsh brought one round and went through it with me

If you had a local fretboarder it would be worth getting them to run it.

Long story short you need to EQ the device to its output environment (i.e. FX lopp in or FRFR speaker) once you get that right everything else sounds great. Until you do its either fizzy boomy or just plain ordinary,

Teetonetal

Cabicular said:

I agree

I had the same problem with the M13 until Paul Hindmarsh brought one round and went through it with me

If you had a local fretboarder it would be worth getting them to run it.

Long story short you need to EQ the device to its output environment (i.e. FX lopp in or FRFR speaker) once you get that right everything else sounds great. Until you do its either fizzy boomy or just plain ordinary,

Yup - and it's just too expensive for me to take that kind of punt on

fretmeister

Buy it distance and have a week with it.

vasselmeyer

fretmeister said:

Buy it distance and have a week with it.

Difficult when you're in a country that doesn't have the same rules that we have in the UK.

Teetonetal

vasselmeyer said:

fretmeister said:

Buy it distance and have a week with it.

Difficult when you're in a country that doesn't have the same rules that we have in the UK.

Yup, sadly I'm going to go to plan B - Boss ES 8 and a reactive load box.

Teetonetal

You know it's funny / sad, that I've just been watching this: 

I couldn't get anything to sound even remotely this good. Not even close.

kjdowd

Agree with all the points above about presets and demo environment. Shame you didn't get on with it @teetonetal but the reality is that if you don't love it then there's plenty of other kit out there...

Teetonetal

kjdowd said:

Agree with all the points above about presets and demo environment. Shame you didn't get on with it @teetonetal but the reality is that if you don't love it then there's plenty of other kit out there...

I so desperately want to love it too - it would really solve a lot of my needs in 1 box

I'm toying with buying 1 with a UK account, but having it shipped to Switzerland to get 30 day rules.. checking with a couple of stores about returns policy..

fretmeister

14 days in the UK.

But Thomann offer 30 days - do they not offer the same across europe?

Teetonetal

30 days is to EU lands only. Switzerland is not EU

A reason for UK to vote in

kjdowd

Can only offer my viewpoint that if you own it, you'll get great sounds out of it. And I was a total modelling refusenik before giving it a go.

Cabicular

given the scarcity of them you'd be able to flip it but I understand that puts all the risk on you

If you wait long enough they will come up S\H

Digital_Igloo

There was also a bug early on that caused all presets to default to an SM57, regardless of how they were programmed. Therefore, they all sounded worse ("strident" would be an appropriate word) than if they were programmed with an SM57 to begin with. Yes, when we found the bug we all cowered in the corner, sobbing.

One of the problems with retail is that floor units are almost never properly updated.

johnonguitar

So wondering if some of you Helix guys can help me out.

Im considering selling off both my pedalboards and buying a Helix.

My main use will be in 4 cable method and will be used for standard effects such as reverb, delay and some mod. 

I used to run a TC G System but sold it and as i felt i didnt get full use out of it as i was too lazy to delve into the sub-menus after a while. I moved to a more traditional pedaloard setup where everything was laid out in front of me and ready to tweak. However, its too large to gig, its temperamental and frankly to make it absolutely bullet proof id probably be looking at between another £600-800 (new power supply, some custom power cables, new bag/case etc) which i dont have and I'm not prepared to throw at it anymore.

 I like that its easier to tweak the Helix than something like the G System. It seems better laid out and more conducive to creativity.

Anyway here are my questions:

1.How do the delay and mod effects compare to the M series effects? Or are they more in the league of the Strymon and Eventide stuff?

2. Which overdrive/boost pedals should i keep with this amp? Is there anything onboard thats actually good in this department?

3. How does the compressor sound? I love my Xotic SP but if the Helix is spot on then i would part with it

4. As far as amp sims go I only need two. A Fender clean and a vintage marshall dirty. Will i be golden?

5. How does it handle acoustic guitars?

6. Is there anything any you guys think i should know before i pull the trigger?

And yeah i realise i could go to a shop and try it out but i get the feeling Im really not going to know what I've got until i get it home for a few days and gig it so I'm relying on you guys. Hey, how bad can it be right?

fretmeister

1: No idea

2: I'm happy with the onboards for guitar. For bass - I need Darkglass.

3: The Xotic SP is a basic Ross circuit and I don't like it. I like proper controls on a compressor, and the Helix will let me do the Empress / Darkglass / Jo Meek thing very nicely.

4: Yes.

5: No idea. Not tried it.

6: Delete all the presets and start from scratch.

Cabicular

1. They are good and in the same league- have a look at Glenn Delaunes U2 patches.
2. I run a Gunshot in the loop but the onboard OCD is brilliant and I use that too. Also you can use the preamp models of the amps as drive pedals so loads of options
3. The LA compressor is very good but TBH I run the Klon model on clean at the front of everything and that's what does that job for me (very well)
4. Yes but don't be afraid to step out ...
5. Great. You can also load acoustic IRs in and give the piezo a bit of body.
6. Patch changing isn't seamless, so if you expect to do that in the middle of songs then be wary (but you can get more than enough in a patch to cover what you will do. There are a couple of things I'd like to see like a decent polyphonic pitcher but nothing I can't patch in if I need it
It's quite big but not as heavy as a G system
ill have me tea and see if I can think of more but no real showstoppers

johnonguitar

fretmeister;1054616" said:

1: No idea

2: I'm happy with the onboards for guitar. For bass - I need Darkglass.

3: The Xotic SP is a basic Ross circuit and I don't like it. I like proper controls on a compressor, and the Helix will let me do the Empress / Darkglass / Jo Meek thing very nicely.

4: Yes.

5: No idea. Not tried it.

6: Delete all the presets and start from scratch.

Cheers!

johnonguitar

Cabicular;1054679" said:

1. They are good and in the same league- have a look at Glenn Delaunes U2 patches.
2. I run a Gunshot in the loop but the onboard OCD is brilliant and I use that too. Also you can use the preamp models of the amps as drive pedals so loads of options
3. The LA compressor is very good but TBH I run the Klon model on clean at the front of everything and that's what does that job for me (very well)
4. Yes but don't be afraid to step out ...
5. Great. You can also load acoustic IRs in and give the piezo a bit of body.
6. Patch changing isn't seamless, so if you expect to do that in the middle of songs then be wary (but you can get more than enough in a patch to cover what you will do. There are a couple of things I'd like to see like a decent polyphonic pitcher but nothing I can't patch in if I need it
It's quite big but not as heavy as a G system
ill have me tea and see if I can think of more but no real showstoppers

Awesome

The Helix doesn't have a DC out for powering pedals does it?

The patch changing issue isn't an issue for me, I never get that complicated

I'll give the U2 demo a go

Btw, is the tuner ok? Even if it is monophonic.