Line 6 Helix Megathread - 2.80 update

[Captain Butterscotch]

If you can handle The Jesus for a minute then this video has a few crunchy, delay-ey, and ambient demos that sound ok.

Line 6 Helix - First Impressions and Review, Free AC30 Dual Cabs Patch

 

[spn_phoenix_92]

My cousin grabbed one of these the other day, I managed to toss around a short Post-Rock/Metal riff to kind of test it out. It definitely got the job done

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/andrewwukusick/they-lie-atop-ravens-peak-in-progress[/SC]

 

[spn_phoenix_92]

A friend of mine just made a demo showing the metal amps of the Helix, He's making a series of videos that will go into depth of everything in it, & how it works.

 

[icipher]

So I struggle to get my tube amps as flexible as I want for live use. I am wondering if the Helix would make a good replacement.

I am tired of buying pedals and running a million wires for different power supplies etc, worrying about FX loop vs front, and not having an amp with a loop button on the footwitch.

Would the helix make a good live unit replacement for me?

Would I simply run the Helix to a power amp and then into my 4x12? Is it that simple?

 

[HighGain510]

I didn't see it in here yet, but Ola posted a comparison video showing the differences between the Line 6 Helix and the Fractal AX8 and he was pretty impartial (and I'm assuming since Line 6 sent him one, he probably had to TRY to be somewhat fair about how he dialed it in, we all know he can dial in metal tones like a boss ) in the review and highlighted the things he liked better about the Helix vs the AX8:



For those who don't want to watch the whole thing, the basic summary was that the AX8 beat it in tone (Helix had more high end sizzle and less punch than the corresponding models on the Fractal) but the user interface on the Helix was much more user friendly and easier to just pick up and get started. Ola even tried both units with his own custom IR's and still found the tones on the Fractal unit to be a bit better overall.

I haven't had a chance to try out the Helix myself yet, would love to compare it to the AX8 as I was impressed with the UI from their release vids, but Ola's vid does temper my expectations a bit with regard to the overall tones for metal use. To me it seems like the ultimate unit would be the proccessors and code from the Fractal and the UI/floorboard from the Helix!

 

[jbealsmusic]

So I struggle to get my tube amps as flexible as I want for live use. I am wondering if the Helix would make a good replacement.

I am tired of buying pedals and running a million wires for different power supplies etc,

It will definitely help with this! Digital all-in-one units are killer for increasing flexibility and simplifying your connections and power requirements.

worrying about FX loop vs front, and not having an amp with a loop button on the footwitch.

You'll run into many of the same issues setting up Helix. It is a virtual signal chain. You have to put the amp/cab/effects in the right order to get the sound you want and properly assign everything to footswitches to have the changes you want. There might be a bit of a learning curve there. But it comes quickly.

Would the helix make a good live unit replacement for me?

Would I simply run the Helix to a power amp and then into my 4x12? Is it that simple?

Almost that simple. You will have to tweak the sound a bit to suit your cab, but yeah. Pretty simple. And, awesome on the back when loading/unloading gear and setting up.

 

[icipher]

It will definitely help with this! Digital all-in-one units are killer for increasing flexibility and simplifying your connections and power requirements.

You'll run into many of the same issues setting up Helix. It is a virtual signal chain. You have to put the amp/cab/effects in the right order to get the sound you want and properly assign everything to footswitches to have the changes you want. There might be a bit of a learning curve there. But it comes quickly.

Almost that simple. You will have to tweak the sound a bit to suit your cab, but yeah. Pretty simple. And, awesome on the back when loading/unloading gear and setting up.

Sounds like there is an initial setup period, but once setup it's ready to rock?

Also, I play high gain metal. Think In Flames crossed with some of the modern"djent"(i hate using that term). I've historically played VHT, Peavey, Laney etc. Will the Helix be able to emulate those tones well?

 

[icipher]

Also, with a decent power amp, should this be able to replace my Laney Ironheart head and pedal board for live performance or are most guys just running these out front as strictly effects units?

How "tubey" do these things feel?

 

[lewis]

Also, with a decent power amp, should this be able to replace my Laney Ironheart head and pedal board for live performance or are most guys just running these out front as strictly effects units?

How "tubey" do these things feel?

This is exactly why, in the end I just went Kemper, when I had my saved up £1500 funds and had a decision between the 3 to choose from. I wanted to go the route that gave me the most realistic tube amp feel aswell as sound. At the time the Helix was really new and that hadnt really been showcased so.

I own the HD pro rack, the HD bean, full pod farm etc previous, so I had experience with their sounds and I wasnt convinced I would get the "feel" from the Helix so went elsewhere for a change. I actually hope though, that they nailed feel.

 

[that short guy]

Does anyone use the ownhammer heavy hitter IR's? If so can you do me a favor and post a clip comparing them to the similar cab that's stock in the HX (the HX mesa cab vs the ownhammer Mesa cab for example). I'm on the fence about them and just want someone to push me to one side or the other

 

[Ericjutsu]

Does anyone use the ownhammer heavy hitter IR's? If so can you do me a favor and post a clip comparing them to the similar cab that's stock in the HX (the HX mesa cab vs the ownhammer Mesa cab for example). I'm on the fence about them and just want someone to push me to one side or the other

I did a comparison between the.stock cabs and Ownhammer.cabs from.the.Justin York.Collection. I'll give you the link once.I get home.from.work

Here's the comparison. I did a comparison between the stock mesa cab and various IRs including, Ownhammer.

[SC] https://soundcloud.com/ericjutsu/sets/line-6-helix-cab-comparison[/SC]

I do own the Heavy Hitters Collection as well. Maybe I'll do an updated one soon.

 

[spn_phoenix_92]

Also, with a decent power amp, should this be able to replace my Laney Ironheart head and pedal board for live performance or are most guys just running these out front as strictly effects units?

How "tubey" do these things feel?

Actually, they nailed it pretty great. So much more natural tube-like response than any non tube amp/modeler that I've ever played.

 

[that short guy]

I did a comparison between the.stock cabs and Ownhammer.cabs from.the.Justin York.Collection. I'll give you the link once.I get home.from.work

Here's the comparison. I did a comparison between the stock mesa cab and various IRs including, Ownhammer.

[SC] https://soundcloud.com/ericjutsu/sets/line-6-helix-cab-comparison[/SC]

I do own the Heavy Hitters Collection as well. Maybe I'll do an updated one soon.

Hey sorry about the delay in this response,work got crazy for a little bit. But thanks for posting your comparison. They definitely sounded great

 

[Radau]

Working on a Tesseract "One" style tone, I'm not a guitarist but I think it's pretty close.

 

[Ericjutsu]

Working on a Tesseract "One" style tone, I'm not a guitarist but I think it's pretty close.

cool! Care to share the patch?

 

[Radau]

Yeah I'm just working on a version of it with stock cabs at the moment, I'll let you know when it's done!

 

[Ericjutsu]

Yeah I'm just working on a version of it with stock cabs at the moment, I'll let you know when it's done!

What IR did you use for the original one that you posted?

 

[Radau]

One of the Ownhammer Mesa cabs with a 57, here's a version of it with the stock cabs. If you're gonna use an OH Mesa IR just remove the second row of EQ's.

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/2542050/

 

[Ericjutsu]

One of the Ownhammer Mesa cabs with a 57, here's a version of it with the stock cabs. If you're gonna use an OH Mesa IR just remove the second row of EQ's.

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/2542050/

Cool. Thanks I'll try it out. Which mesa pack was it? Ownhammer have like 6 of them lol. I personally like the JYC 412 pack the best.

 

[Vrollin]

Careful downloading patches with IRs in it, it's been known, I have first hand experience also, that loading a user patch with an ir can cause helix to lock up for some users. If you do load it just be sure to back up all of your own user presets first so you don't risk losing anything!