Line 6 Helix

Sporky

Teetonetal said:

This was brand new into stock on Monday. Do new units not ship with newer firmware?

I think mine came with 1.1, when 1.3 was already out. Not that uncommon when (most likely) the shipping is by boat - there'll be a significant lag between leaving the factory and arriving at the retailer.

The upgrade to 1.65 (I think) made a big difference, and to 1.10 added useful functionality, but no sonic change that I noticed.

keir

rossyamaha;1054866" said:

@Teetonetal sorry it didn't do it for you. As others have said though, you should ignore the presets. They are programmed by someone with specific tastes using whatever gear they were using  and playing a certain way. The chances of you being that exact player are pretty slim. I know what you mean though about expecting to plug in and be wowed. I thought the same about the Dumble I once got to play and when I did, well, meh.



Worth checking this vid out.

That video was excellent thanks, shows more standard tones and how easy it is to get going.

johnonguitar

Cabicular;1055127" said:

Fine
I worried about that but I'm used to wahs mounted on the board and functionally I can't say I notice a difference
I only use that pedal for a volume boost though (I put plus 7db on the outputs controlled by the exp) I had some overly complicated wah setup I've ditched and gone for a straight volume sweep
I never want a volume pedal from 0-100
I need 70-100 and I play at 70 and use the rest of the sweep depending on how much extra volume I need for solos or cool phrases
Did you see this from when I first got it?

It's evolved a bit from then but this was v2 of my main patch

Nah I hadn't seen it, cheers dude! Big help.

To be honest 95% of the time I'm just going to be camped out on a patch with a simple reverb, mod delay, chorus, trem, whatever boost I have in the loop and a Wah into my amp. Using the relays for channel switching

I'm planning on getting the Powerstation V2 when it comes out so I can tame the amp and use the reactive load to feed it back into the Helix for recording, FOH and bedroom playing.

The more I think about this the more it makes sense and i should break about even

keir

Just listened to the Pete Thorn demo on youtube through good quality headphones. Sounds amazing. 

johnonguitar

keir;1055979" said:

Just listened to the Pete Thorn demo on youtube through good quality headphones. Sounds amazing. 

The general consensus seems to be that you should immediately load up some third party IR's. Seems to be what Pete did as well

Cabicular

I don't buy that
There is a lot of flexibility with the in built cabs (plus stereo if you need it with the dual cab block)
I think he just went for what he knows and uses all the time rather than spend the time

keir

I think the IRs are about £30 for a big pack. Not that I had a clue they even existed until I read this thread!

Sporky

I downloaded the free Ownhammer IR, stuck it in a patch with the closest Line6 IR and an appropriate amp (and nothing else), did a bit of jiggery to get the levels identical (against a calibrated meter I borrowed from work - it was within 0.05dB) and then assigned a footswitch to flip between them. I put a piece of paper over the screen so I didn't know which way was which and hammered the switch fast enough that I couldn't count the changes.

I then A/B'd them.

They sounded very nearly the same, and neither was better than the other.

This "you must use 3rd party IRs" thing is just cork sniffery. I've nothing against people using them, but what the Helix comes with is more than good enough.

keir

Sporky said:

I downloaded the free Ownhammer IR, stuck it in a patch with the closest Line6 IR and an appropriate amp (and nothing else), did a bit of jiggery to get the levels identical (against a calibrated meter I borrowed from work - it was within 0.05dB) and then assigned a footswitch to flip between them. I put a piece of paper over the screen so I didn't know which way was which and hammered the switch fast enough that I couldn't count the changes.

I then A/B'd them.

They sounded very nearly the same, and neither was better than the other.

This "you must use 3rd party IRs" thing is just cork sniffery. I've nothing against people using them, but what the Helix comes with is more than good enough.

Cool good to know thanks, Having watched a few videos now with proper headphones on, being able to get that sort of sound quality in one unit it could be the perfect home playing solution.

Sporky

I do tend to take an in-with-both-feet approach to rig changes.

When I got bored with my ME-5 I sold it, went to Andertons and left with an ART SGX2000 Express.

When I got bored with that I sold it, went to Andertons and left with a VG-88.

When people told me that pedals were better I sold the VG-88 and bought lots of pedals.

When I realised that other people's opinions are generally irelephant I bought an HD500X.

Then I sold as many of the pedals as I could and swapped the HD500X and some cash for a Helix.

The Helix will likely last me several years until either something magnificiently better appears, or my resolve falters and I listen to weirdos on the inferweb again. If anyone spots me doing that, I would be most grateful for a reminder of this pattern.

fretmeister

I had a little Helix problem today.

I was editing some FX blocks and the screen locked up.

I turned off and on again, worked fine until the editing process again.

I unplugged the loops - no change. Spaz at editing.

I unplugged the foot controller and used the Rack without - that was fine. So I plugged the controller back in = same problem.

Then I unplugged and replugged the footcontroller and that seems to fix it.

It seems that if the footcontroller cable is slightly wonky that it has a bit of a spaz when trying to edit. No drama just swapping sounds - only in the edit process, and (I think) only when the individual model menus come up. It then locks solid.

I'm using the standard Cat5 that came with it, but I might get an ethercon with a proper cable grabby-wotsit.

@rossyamaha @Digital_Igloo

keir

I like the all or nothing approach, gear is one type of thing I tend to keep hold of longer than I should.

The helix looks very inspiring but it'd be a massive leap to abandon my rig completely for it.

Sporky

keir said:

The helix looks very inspiring but it'd be a massive leap to abandon my rig completely for it.

It was a bit for me, but the Helix is lighter, more flexible, easier to control and sounds better than the pedals and valve amps I had before. My musical output has increased since the switch. Well, I say output, I don't feel the need to post everything to prove my worth.

johnonguitar

Sporky;1056190" said:

keir said:

The helix looks very inspiring but it'd be a massive leap to abandon my rig completely for it.





It was a bit for me, but the Helix is lighter, more flexible, easier to control and sounds better than the pedals and valve amps I had before. My musical output has increased since the switch. Well, I say output, I don't feel the need to post everything to prove my worth.

How does Wonderwall on your Squier sound through the Helix? :')

johnonguitar

Anyway, in buying one. I've tore apart both my pedalboard a tonight to tally everything up for sale. Third party IR's or not, I'll make most use of it as a mutlieffects rather than a modeller.

Just need to decide what I'm keeping now.

Digital drive never sounds right going into a valve amp imo. So I'm keeping a few overdrive pedals.

Do I keep my vibe? I've heard big praise of the Helix vibe

And do I keep my Wah? I've never gelled with Line 6 Wah models but I liked the one on the G System

Sporky

johnonguitar said:

How does Wonderwall on your Squier sound through the Helix? :')

Bloody awful, but if I use a PRS Private Stock through the Helix into a Lazy J it sounds just as bad. I'm not very good at the strumming, you see.

johnonguitar said:

And do I keep my Wah? I've never gelled with Line 6 Wah models but I liked the one on the G System

The wahs are pretty decent, I'd say, but if you're nervous keep the wah until you've checked,

Teetonetal

FWIW I thought the effects were good when I tried it out, just the modelling was iffy.

As mentioned above, get it online so you are covered by the DSR... if you can swing it to keep most of your important current gear, I would..

Sporky

Teetonetal said:

FWIW I thought the effects were good when I tried it out, just the modelling was iffy.

But - correct me if I'm wrong - you just spent an hour with it, and just going through presets. That's no way to judge such a capable bit of kit.

Teetonetal

Sporky said:

Teetonetal said:

FWIW I thought the effects were good when I tried it out, just the modelling was iffy.

But - correct me if I'm wrong - you just spent an hour with it, and just going through presets. That's no way to judge such a capable bit of kit.

Nope you are right that is no way to judge and hence the FWIW - but based upon that slender trial, if I was going for effects only, I'd be much happier. I noodled around with some settings and I thought the vibe, rotary and delays were up there with my own stuff - I tried a few fx without cab and sim direct into the Hotrod and thought that side of it was good.

I also think you need 30 days with the thing.

Digital_Igloo

Cabicular said:

Did you see this from when I first got it?

It's evolved a bit from then but this was v2 of my main patch

So much momentary footswitch goodness, it hurts...