for those musicians who loyal to the real amp , they can consider bluguitar amp 1 iridium or mercury , h&k nanotube , victory amp , etc . Last thing need to know , Thomas blug said that bluguitar ampx gonna be released in June . there will be a demo video , sound sample . looking forward to amp x
Exactly. I use(and prefer) real amps when my band is direct support or headlining but if you have to get in/get out/ are not on the tour and only have 7 minutes to get on and off stage(like how Warped tour would literally fire you if you were not off in 7 minutes) this is perfect. Anyone who says otherwise has never done any real touring or fly dates
Imho the helix relies more on third party ir than the other “big” modellers, but it takes it to another level. Especially when you use all the routing options the helix offers in combination with a tube amp, this is going insane.
I have a Pod Go and my co guitarist has a Helix, we run them through Headrush speakers and it’s a game changer. Sound guys love it, and as an opening band it’s nice to have all the extra room after back lining lol. Welcome to the Line 6 fam 🤘
I have the POD Go as well, go it so I didn’t have to spend the equivalent price on a pedal setup for my church rig and I can use it for so much more than just worship. Can’t beat it for the price and it rocks for recording since I can’t max out my amps to record in my bedroom
Sold all of my expensive tube amps and gigantic pedalboard 6 months ago. Bought the helix and power and 212 plus. Took 2 hours to grasp a hold of it without resourcing a single instruction. Hands down best guitar decision I have made since the day I started playing.
I love my helix. I play guitar at my church and if I want to play through a fender, I get my fender patch, if I want a vox, I get my vox patch. When I'm home, I play metal. I wouldn't be able to afford all of the amps that I would need. The helix is perfect for me.
Welcome to the Helix club 🤘 I got a LT nearly a year ago and it was a game changer. There's gonna be a lot of people interested in your custom tone's so get ready for that 😁 having gigged with a setup like the one you described I'd say get yourself a good holdall and rock the Helix on the road. Good luck with the tour and stay metal 🤘
I was honestly “meh” about my HX Stomp for awhile - BUT they did some sort of “resolution” update to the sound that changed the game for me. Now I want the rack.
Line6 always made great stuff. People were just lazy and didn’t spend time getting to know the units and get the most out of them. Helix is also the most user friend modeler out there
i got an FM3 as a present to myself after passing my flight paramedic exam a couple years ago and i have never play guitar as much as i have recently. i have a vintage fender deluxe reverb but to walk in a guitar store and look at pedals/amps and say “eh i have that at home” is crazy. not to mention it can process my piezo/electric guitars. modelers these days make so much more sense for players who want tone with portability.
Had my Helix for 4 years +...Wait till you get to doing snapshots...Super awesome.Learn the global eq Ray,very important...Congrats and you will fall in love with it my man...Many big,big bands have those babies behind the curtain...Much luck dude
Hell yeah man! That thing is crazy. I just got their PodGo Wireless which I know is a tiny microcosm of the Helix but it sounds really really great. I personally love getting nerdy with new gadget and gear so the learning curve was fun for me on the PodGo, but the lack of touchscreen is a bit of a negative for me as well. Glad to see you venturing out. Tone sounds legit via the sound demo! Have fun on tour buddy!
Im a helix user and have been since about 2018. I found that it is wayyyyyy easier to navigate on the actual device over and Fractal products. I mainly edit patches from come computer then save everything to the helix. I hope you enjoy it! It's a great piece of gear!
I have an LT and love it! IR's will take you deeper down the rabbit hole. But if you have a preferred IR pack, it'll play quite well with your Helix. Feel free to share any presets you dial in on Custom Tone or in the descriptions/comments! :)
Love my Helix....I've had Diezels and Marshalls and I have finally found my favourite gear. But you MUST get some IRs...the thing comes ALIVE and sounds a million times better...trust me! Ownhammer are really good....but my favourites came from Michael Britt...he has a pack of presets which are great.... probably not so useful for your sound but the IRs that come with it are amazing! I use mine with a Headrush FRFR speaker. Have a great time on tour mate!
Here’s something you can do. Use a send 1 block in between the amp and cab so when you use a frfr or what ever the speaker doesn’t come through that. The helix world is very difficult at first but after you know what you are doing you get some crazy stuff out of it. Also to make it easier using the software on the computer really helps. Also a big one always back up your helix weekly and put it on a flash drive. You never know when it’ll come in handy.
The Helix as well what I am hearing is it is very articulate with how good the distortion sounds with chords and single notation. I know some floor modeling amps like those have a hard time with distortion. The Distortion on this amp sound really good.
Cool video! Classic strawman against modelers = "you just tweak tones, never play"... Well, I use literally 3 profiles with my Kemper... one distorted, one clean, one for bass... It's all up to the user to decide for something and not get lost in "tweak hell"
Take a look at Sonic Drive Studio's A/B comparison between the Orange Rockerverb and the Helix model and see if you can tell the difference... ruclips.net/video/K9XeFZ7sRgE/видео.html
2 plus years enjoying my Helix setup.. I use it with with two power amps into 2 412's in a mono wet/dry setup. Monster tone... As for the IR'S and Cabs for recording. I went down the rabbit hole at first but seriously the stock cabs are quite good.
@@Bernz66 it's great. I'm using it with a 21000usb C Anker power bank (with a 9volt usb cable). Right now, my girlfriend is using it for vocal effects, while I'm getting by with a boss katana 212 (also got that for a good deal).
Your tubes will be fine. If your amp goes down, it's probably not a tube issue. I still own my parents old zenith tube television from 1958. With original tubes. And they are fine.
Agreed. My late Grandpa’s Super Reverb has tubes in it that must be 40 years old by now. Still works fine. I’ve changed out the large capacitors though.
Good luck bro!!! I know how it can be with a new piece of gear that is not easy to work with (talking about my QC), but once you start to get the hang of it they are really worth their weight for sure 🤘🔥🔥🤘
Right on bro! Congratulations on your purchase. Have you tried using the computer app for the Helix? Its a bit easier to navigate and create tones. I currently have an hx effects unit and its rad. Its glitching on me at the moment and not usable so its off my board till I can figure out whats going on with it. Looks like I may have to do a firmware reinstall and if that doesn't work I may have to take it apart and check a connection ribbon thats been known to work loose. So if your Helix glitches out, don't panic or throw it to the curb. It may be a simple fix. Those things are powerful tools! I hope it does everything you need and more.
These are 7 years old now, so at the time...touch screen just wasn't a demand like it may be now. I'm sure we're going to see a Helix 2 not too far from now. More DSP, touch screen, smaller in size. It's definitely coming.
Happy NGD dude! That's awesome! I honestly pondered recently about getting either an HX Stomp or PodGo. I've been exclusively digital since a bit after Covid hit, so I decided to roll the dice (pun intended) with something of a more all analog approach for direct to interface recording. A Victory V4 "The Jack" preamp. It's completely blown my mind (and budget for a bit hahaha!) Besides, I've had a longtime running love/hate relationship with Line 6 products that spans across literally decades of products like: The first POD (Nope), the DL4 (absolute freakin' game changer of it's day IMO), an old Flextone 3 combo (meh), and a busted input 1x12 Spider III 50 watt combo a buddy found left out by an apartment dumpster that, after fixing and hearing the amp, I honestly wanted to go toss back into! Haha! Although, this new Line 6 Metallurgy Doom plugin?!!! Looks/Sounds seriously wicked AF!!! The Helix stuff is Super Freakin' Solid though from what I hear, and also given the recent vacuum tube supply issue and it's subsequent stupid "panic buying" of tubes now going on? I'd be more than inclined to say that not only have you just made an honest forward thinking touring investment, but one helluva good call for "road-dog" durability and overall venue tone consistency. Definitely a smart move. Sounds absolutely brutal too BTW! Haha! \m/
One thing to be aware of when using the Helix live, be VERY wary of the power running to the stage. I was running a Helix live for a while cause I'm lazy and didn't want to carry my head and pedal board to gigs, I used Helix at 3 gigs, and at 2 of them there was questionable power on stage, leading to the Helix rebooting, meaning I had 20-30 seconds of dead air. Last gig I missed a part where I was supposed to be playing a guitar break on my own cause it was rebooting. After that I felt like I couldn't trust it. Granted it's more of an issue with house power than the Helix itself (it's a phenomenal unit) but I felt like I couldn't trust it after that. Just my two cents for what they're worth. Love your videos dude!
Love your Channel Ray. I used a Helix for 3 straight years. 120 gigs a year in an events/wedding/conference band. 3 sets a night. Was super convenient and easy to carry around..........Having said that I'm right back in the full analog tube amp world and loving tonal life. I say enjoy the tone you love and don't worry about the future. take care of your amps as best as you can but enjoy them for what they are. Its better to have loved and lost your tone then to never have loved a tone at all.......or something like that! Cheeers!
Greetings from Nova Scotia Canada Ray im a long time subscriber and I’ve been a L6 HX stomp user since October 2020 it was just supposed to be a small all in one rig so I could jam and gig with friends and having a spinal injury being able to carry my own gear without any help was the difference between playing with people and not …. But the sound quality was so far above my expectations that I retired my all tube amps and analog pedals …. I love my HX Stomp so much that I’m actually trading it today for a Helix LT for the extra DSP so I won’t have to use any extra gear with my line 6 anymore unless it’s something that I otherwise can’t get from the helix….. sooo excited to see what I can do and create with it and I’m happy for you man welcome to the digital side we have igloos ;-) and any real L6 HX fan that’s on the forums should understand the joke lmao
I've had the Helix LT for awhile but don't use it as much since I've gotten into Neural DSP plugins. I do think the Helix is great for people who tour, which I don't do. It has great amps and pedals. The Archetype is amazing.
I bought a HeadRush 108 to play my Helix thru at home...I was doing the 4-cable thru a blackStar which was good but I am really liking the frfr cab...you got it sounding awesome Ray...rock on bro!!!
have a hx stomp xl and love it. I use it mostly for effects in front on my amps but I also play with the amp models on there from time to time. IR's really give it the extra lift. I just export them from the GGD studio cabs plugins.
Hey Ray. Each one of those pathways on your patch are dedicated to one of the processing chips. You can just use one line of your set up and add a block to send your signal to your poweramp/cab before it hits the speaker cab block and save half of your DSP power for other stuff. Can use that set up to run dual amps, but if your just signal splitting then I'd lose the bottom one.
@@xanderraymondcharles yea man and in the final output block of the top line (circle with arrow) you can set that to run into the second path making your signal chain twice as long too! Have fun. Its a rabbit hole indeed dude!
So much for your little headrush MX 5 lol! A little back story I actually tried out the headrush MX-5 after watching your video on it and the first one I got the touch screen did not work on it so I returned it and got a second one and that one had foot switching issues as well a few other issues so I had to send that one back as well. Now I have the Boss GT-1000 which I just got recently and I love it! I had looked at the Helix as well but I have always had good luck with Boss products so I went with Boss. They are very similar units and they both can just go direct into the P.A. with out needing any amps or cabs which makes touring and gigging so much easier especially as an opening act. There was also a bit of a learning curve with the Boss Gt-1000 as well but I think it is a little easier to program then the helix from what I have seen and heard. I say take the helix on tour with you and make your life easy and simple out there and good luck with the tour as well look foward to seeing the video's from it!!
@@xanderraymondcharles well that sucks man!! I will say this I did like the ease of the touch screen but I prefer having to turn knobs in stead of a touch screen as I feel there are just to many things that can go wrong with it especially in a liver setting so I would day you are way better off with how the helix works. But ya the learning curve on these new multi effects pedals can really suck! I am like you I like to keep it simple.
Man I’ve had my helix for about 3 years and mann do i love it !! Took about 2 months to catch all the bells and whistles Best tips are irs and snapshots ! Im still debating on power amp cab setup vs a frfr setup
Its probably best to play with the Helix at a rehearsal first (if possible) before you take it on the road with you. You mentioned using a solid state power amp, I have tried many and the SD Powerstage units sound best with the Helix. It has a great Treble/Mid/Bass EQ that helps shape the tone without having to tweak the Helix itself. If you want over the top greatness when using a real cabinet, use a tube power amp. I have the Mooer Tube Engine at 20w el84s and the KSR PA 50w el34. The KSR also takes 6L6s with a simple bias tweak in front of the unit and its about the size and weight of a lunch box amp. Of course you can always run the Helix in 4 cable method but that defeats the purpose of not having to lug around a tube amp. Try running the Helix in any tube amp loop return and you will see/hear the difference.
I have the Helix Native. I got it when I got my Helix floor unit. I use the Native a lot more since I'm always writing and using my computer to play. It helped me learn my way around so it was easy to plug the floor unit up to the computer and put my settings onto it.
It's funny. I just sold mine to get the Kemper instead. You make the Helix sound great dude! You should try out some IRs. I've used to use Ownhammer IRs and York Audio IRs! Would make some interesting comparisons!
Been using the helix live in place of my evh and mesa, can honestly say I do not miss my tube amps or pedalboard, it might be cause I still own them. I still find myself using the helix over everything else. I definitely love it and I am sure if your willing to give it the time you will just get better and better with it.
You’ll really figure it out in less than a week. I don’t own one personally, but the HD series was pretty awesome, and people have been touring with line 6 products for decades now (Looking at you Fear Factory!). I truly enjoy their products and hope you find what you’re looking for with that unit.
I haven't gotten to play around with the full fledged helix but I do have the hx stomp. I can say I had a little bit of the initial learning curve but I watched a ton of RUclips videos on it and got the hang of it. Such good sounds.
Take your tube rig. Worst case scenario a tube goes and you use a spare, run out of spares and youve got a lineup of tube amps to pinch tubes from until supplies are good to go. With the one factory still producing tubes they will return...
Hey Ray…quick, simple suggestion. If you need a small but effective power amp for that thing, give the electro harmonix 44 caliber a shot. I have one and still can’t believe it kept up with the engl savage and 5150 in rehearsal and live. I didn’t even have to come close to turning it all the way up. I was pairing it with an atomic aa12.
I just started running one with a powerstage 200 and a 2x12 orange. I still prefer my frfr for running lite weight, but there is something about a real cab.
I have a Pod Go and love it. I can carry 2 guitars, backpack w/pod go and cables, and Headrush FRFR 108 monitor all at one time. So easy to gig, practice and record with. And it sounds great. I use a Friedman model (placater dirty).
Use your tube amps as powerstages via EFX return, have a parallel Di. out with cabinet emulation to FOH, very powerful setup, makes bad FOH sound almost impossible (there are BAD soundguys out there...).
The amount of possibilities that this device offers is incredible. It took me some time to get into the philosophy of handling it too. But once you understood it it all makes sense. I would not say it is complicated but it is good to learn how to use it right. The best thing of it are the updates, that give you a huge amount of features and improvements after all the years it exists. Last update: 28 new effects and a very good sounding Amp and new possibilities to use the knobs to switch Snapshots. And you already paid for it, it is all free. What other manufacturer does this today? I assume one reason why they did not include a touchscreen is that it might be not so reliable after a longer time
Got an HX Stomp a year and a half ago and it’s my main gigging rig. Couple of drives and volume pedal in the front. Plugging in direct or through My headrush frfr for outdoor gigs. The Helix family stuff is killer
Couple years with my floor model and I’ve maybe learned 20% of what it’s capable of. Really just go on custom tone find random patches and tweak them to my own liking.
Welcome to the family brother. It's an amazing time to be alive as a guitar player hey. I chuck a 7K highcut on most patches, it focuses the sound and attention to where it matters. Nothing above that is particularly useful anyway. Love my stomp, super useful tool, i don't mind the creative "limitations" either. I would say: don't over complicate things, it's a natural tendency when people start out. I think simple patches are often the best, let the music shine. I really feel people often over-compensate tone tweaking these days and then blame the hardware (laughs), the #1 way people make things sound bad is trying to do too much, when it's really their playing and song writing that needs focus. Write a hit song with a crap tone and everyone will want it, write a shit song with a great tone and no one will care at all.
It's a crazy rabbit hole dude. I Just got a Floor unit too. Get some IRs for your cabs. York Audio IRs pretty much ended my tweaking. And get a usb cable for it and use HXedit. Way easier to use than the regular UI
I sold my trusty Bogner Uberschall, then my beloved but unpredictable Ecstasy. Went to Helix with a powerstage, and ya, I miss my amps, but once you find your tones, there's no reason to go back. What you lose in the obvious, you gain in ease of use, portability, and dependability. Also has great bass tones!
I have an old Line6 POD XT-Live that I used to really like but, not so much anymore (I'll trade you for that Helix!). Have been thinking about getting a Helix but... I'm getting drawn to the BluGuitar Amp1 Iridium. It is a much smaller package than the Helix and it has a 100w power amp with a tube in it. It sounds incredible! No effects except reverb, but I generally don't like built-in effects, I like pedals.
Stick the Simple Pitch in block #1 to get the best tracking for it. Also don’t use the poly pitch capo over simple pitch. It’s doesn’t track as well and colors your tone.
I was just thinking isn’t this Ray who went to Russo’s music in Philly? Yep it is him. I have the helix rack and the Kemper. I need a real pedal to help both with feel and sound. Not a chugger or heavy metal player. For now I’m going to continue enjoy my tube amps and a great pedal. I haven’t had them for more than about 8 yrs re my amps. I saved up for and waited til I deserved it so I think the tube shortage will be worked out through Mike Mathew’s from EHX and Western Electric. Someone could make a ton of dough making tubes here and not relying on a war criminal to make them. Yep and obviously hoping the war ends asap. If you plug in a diesel pedal into keys say a Friedman or Bogner it beats the modelers. Just picked up a quad cortex just in case the tubes do have to wait. Tbh the best overlooked double modeler is the Yamaha 100hd $800 new comes with power. Plug in and play thru a real cab. Cheers Ray. Stay safe.
For touring musicians that can't afford large crews or the cost to travel with tube amps, modelers are the way to go. Sounds great, my dude!
Even for people who can, it’s just so much more convenient for many people (:
for those musicians who loyal to the real amp , they can consider bluguitar amp 1 iridium or mercury , h&k nanotube , victory amp , etc . Last thing need to know , Thomas blug said that bluguitar ampx gonna be released in June . there will be a demo video , sound sample . looking forward to amp x
Exactly. I use(and prefer) real amps when my band is direct support or headlining but if you have to get in/get out/ are not on the tour and only have 7 minutes to get on and off stage(like how Warped tour would literally fire you if you were not off in 7 minutes) this is perfect. Anyone who says otherwise has never done any real touring or fly dates
My fiancé bought me a Line 6 Helix last year and I’ve used it every single day ever since. Best piece of gear to ever exist in my opinion.
she's a keeper.
I agree.... Both with your statement and the she is a keeper one 🤣 wife that woman now! Have a blessed day dude
Imho the helix relies more on third party ir than the other “big” modellers, but it takes it to another level. Especially when you use all the routing options the helix offers in combination with a tube amp, this is going insane.
I have a Pod Go and my co guitarist has a Helix, we run them through Headrush speakers and it’s a game changer. Sound guys love it, and as an opening band it’s nice to have all the extra room after back lining lol. Welcome to the Line 6 fam 🤘
Headrush is the way to go for FRFR with the Line 6 stuff. That's what I use as well.
Bow does the pod go stack up against the helix tonally?
How*
@@lewiskeller97 they are the same tonally, but the Helix has more dsp power :)
I have the POD Go as well, go it so I didn’t have to spend the equivalent price on a pedal setup for my church rig and I can use it for so much more than just worship. Can’t beat it for the price and it rocks for recording since I can’t max out my amps to record in my bedroom
The line 6 helix was the best investment I ever made.
Haven’t played through a tube amp in 4 years.
Same
Sold all of my expensive tube amps and gigantic pedalboard 6 months ago. Bought the helix and power and 212 plus. Took 2 hours to grasp a hold of it without resourcing a single instruction. Hands down best guitar decision I have made since the day I started playing.
Same man, the software is very intuitive I figured it very quickly without help. Most other modelers are a pain compared to helix.
I love my helix. I play guitar at my church and if I want to play through a fender, I get my fender patch, if I want a vox, I get my vox patch. When I'm home, I play metal. I wouldn't be able to afford all of the amps that I would need. The helix is perfect for me.
Welcome to the Helix club 🤘 I got a LT nearly a year ago and it was a game changer. There's gonna be a lot of people interested in your custom tone's so get ready for that 😁 having gigged with a setup like the one you described I'd say get yourself a good holdall and rock the Helix on the road. Good luck with the tour and stay metal 🤘
I was honestly “meh” about my HX Stomp for awhile - BUT they did some sort of “resolution” update to the sound that changed the game for me. Now I want the rack.
I’ve had the LT since 2017 and have helix native as well. Fantastic stuff!
Line6 always made great stuff. People were just lazy and didn’t spend time getting to know the units and get the most out of them.
Helix is also the most user friend modeler out there
Great! The Helix is awesome!
Congratulations! I always come back to my helix because it sounds great and really simplifies my rig! I hope yours inspires you as much as mine does 🤘
i got an FM3 as a present to myself after passing my flight paramedic exam a couple years ago and i have never play guitar as much as i have recently. i have a vintage fender deluxe reverb but to walk in a guitar store and look at pedals/amps and say “eh i have that at home” is crazy. not to mention it can process my piezo/electric guitars. modelers these days make so much more sense for players who want tone with portability.
That opening tone made my ears giggle
Had my Helix for 4 years +...Wait till you get to doing snapshots...Super awesome.Learn the global eq Ray,very important...Congrats and you will fall in love with it my man...Many big,big bands have those babies behind the curtain...Much luck dude
Sounds good. You’re a stand up guy Ray. Good luck on the tour.
Dude try out the Line 6 Badonk amp in there. Pretty killer amp for the chugs.
Man, I’ve been using my Helix for about 3,5 years now, still really happy with it.
Hell yeah man! That thing is crazy. I just got their PodGo Wireless which I know is a tiny microcosm of the Helix but it sounds really really great. I personally love getting nerdy with new gadget and gear so the learning curve was fun for me on the PodGo, but the lack of touchscreen is a bit of a negative for me as well. Glad to see you venturing out. Tone sounds legit via the sound demo! Have fun on tour buddy!
Hey me too. It just came in the mail. Looking forward to checking it out. Got the floor as well
helix just looks like its magic, i love it
Im a helix user and have been since about 2018. I found that it is wayyyyyy easier to navigate on the actual device over and Fractal products. I mainly edit patches from come computer then save everything to the helix. I hope you enjoy it! It's a great piece of gear!
The nastier the sound, the happier your face :D Awesome to see man, Rock on!
I have an LT and love it! IR's will take you deeper down the rabbit hole. But if you have a preferred IR pack, it'll play quite well with your Helix.
Feel free to share any presets you dial in on Custom Tone or in the descriptions/comments! :)
Best wishes for the upcoming tour man!!!
Love my Helix....I've had Diezels and Marshalls and I have finally found my favourite gear. But you MUST get some IRs...the thing comes ALIVE and sounds a million times better...trust me! Ownhammer are really good....but my favourites came from Michael Britt...he has a pack of presets which are great.... probably not so useful for your sound but the IRs that come with it are amazing! I use mine with a Headrush FRFR speaker. Have a great time on tour mate!
Love the shirt, Ray!
Sounds killer!
congrats Ray and welcome to the Helix train! If you ever wanna collab on a video or need any help on it, hit me up!
Here’s something you can do. Use a send 1 block in between the amp and cab so when you use a frfr or what ever the speaker doesn’t come through that. The helix world is very difficult at first but after you know what you are doing you get some crazy stuff out of it. Also to make it easier using the software on the computer really helps. Also a big one always back up your helix weekly and put it on a flash drive. You never know when it’ll come in handy.
When you get back, definitely check out Line 6's new Metallurgy collection, the quality and value is absolutely insane
I love my hx effects and hx stomp. can't beat the helix modelling
The Helix as well what I am hearing is it is very articulate with how good the distortion sounds with chords and single notation. I know some floor modeling amps like those have a hard time with distortion. The Distortion on this amp sound really good.
I love my HX so much. Good grab
Helix in my opinion IS the way to GO !
Cool video!
Classic strawman against modelers = "you just tweak tones, never play"...
Well, I use literally 3 profiles with my Kemper... one distorted, one clean, one for bass...
It's all up to the user to decide for something and not get lost in "tweak hell"
i got my helix , love the sound with ownhammer irs
Definitely prefer it as a pedalboard for a real amp (evh 5150 iii) but I wouldn't be upset going direct with it. You're the man, Ray!
It always has that artifical "fizzyness" on the high end as you can hear on the video....
Its possible to EQ that out but yeah thats why I stay away from modelers and stick with profilers.
Definitely possible to EQ that out. P90s exacerbate that fizz especially given the conditions (new owner, high gain, etc.)
That's why I have never pulled the trigger on these units
7K high cut and done. They're great units. You have to try and make things sound bad these days honestly.
Take a look at Sonic Drive Studio's A/B comparison between the Orange Rockerverb and the Helix model and see if you can tell the difference...
ruclips.net/video/K9XeFZ7sRgE/видео.html
2 plus years enjoying my Helix setup.. I use it with with two power amps into 2 412's in a mono wet/dry setup. Monster tone... As for the IR'S and Cabs for recording. I went down the rabbit hole at first but seriously the stock cabs are quite good.
I have the HX stomp - really good for the size (got it just before the prices went up).
Great little unit that you can throw into a backpack when flying…… took mine to Europe in 2018….
@@Bernz66 it's great. I'm using it with a 21000usb C Anker power bank (with a 9volt usb cable).
Right now, my girlfriend is using it for vocal effects, while I'm getting by with a boss katana 212 (also got that for a good deal).
@@LeeJoRo niiiiiiiiiicccceeeee!
@@Bernz66 still trying to figure out re-amping when connected to a DAW (I use cubase 12). That's the only thing I can't wrap my head around
@@LeeJoRo I use Helix Native, Guitar Rig 6 and Amplitube 5 Max for recording guitars…… I need to figure that out too……. I also use Cubase 12 Pro
Welcome to the club! Like everyone said get you some external IRs and you’ll be golden!
You can do your preset with half blocks, just add a split on your path 1 before the cab and voilà ^^
Your tubes will be fine. If your amp goes down, it's probably not a tube issue. I still own my parents old zenith tube television from 1958. With original tubes. And they are fine.
If you amp goes down it usually is a tube lol
Agreed. My late Grandpa’s Super Reverb has tubes in it that must be 40 years old by now. Still works fine. I’ve changed out the large capacitors though.
Good luck bro!!! I know how it can be with a new piece of gear that is not easy to work with (talking about my QC), but once you start to get the hang of it they are really worth their weight for sure 🤘🔥🔥🤘
Right on bro! Congratulations on your purchase. Have you tried using the computer app for the Helix? Its a bit easier to navigate and create tones. I currently have an hx effects unit and its rad. Its glitching on me at the moment and not usable so its off my board till I can figure out whats going on with it. Looks like I may have to do a firmware reinstall and if that doesn't work I may have to take it apart and check a connection ribbon thats been known to work loose. So if your Helix glitches out, don't panic or throw it to the curb. It may be a simple fix. Those things are powerful tools! I hope it does everything you need and more.
These are 7 years old now, so at the time...touch screen just wasn't a demand like it may be now. I'm sure we're going to see a Helix 2 not too far from now. More DSP, touch screen, smaller in size. It's definitely coming.
The pod XD is still one of the best ..i use to hate these types of boards untill i really took the dive in.
Welcome to the Helix Fam!
I was gona get one of these but went with the headrush instead for its simplicity.. stay metal bro! 🤘
Happy NGD dude! That's awesome! I honestly pondered recently about getting either an HX Stomp or PodGo.
I've been exclusively digital since a bit after Covid hit, so I decided to roll the dice (pun intended) with something of a more all analog approach for direct to interface recording.
A Victory V4 "The Jack" preamp. It's completely blown my mind (and budget for a bit hahaha!)
Besides, I've had a longtime running love/hate relationship with Line 6 products that spans across literally decades of products like:
The first POD (Nope), the DL4 (absolute freakin' game changer of it's day IMO), an old Flextone 3 combo (meh), and a busted input 1x12 Spider III 50 watt combo a buddy found left out by an apartment dumpster that, after fixing and hearing the amp, I honestly wanted to go toss back into! Haha!
Although, this new Line 6 Metallurgy Doom plugin?!!!
Looks/Sounds seriously wicked AF!!!
The Helix stuff is Super Freakin' Solid though from what I hear, and also given the recent vacuum tube supply issue and it's subsequent stupid "panic buying" of tubes now going on?
I'd be more than inclined to say that not only have you just made an honest forward thinking touring investment, but one helluva good call for "road-dog" durability and overall venue tone consistency.
Definitely a smart move.
Sounds absolutely brutal too BTW! Haha!
\m/
My church uses line 6 helix’s for rhythm and lead I get some very nice tones from those things 😎
One thing to be aware of when using the Helix live, be VERY wary of the power running to the stage. I was running a Helix live for a while cause I'm lazy and didn't want to carry my head and pedal board to gigs, I used Helix at 3 gigs, and at 2 of them there was questionable power on stage, leading to the Helix rebooting, meaning I had 20-30 seconds of dead air. Last gig I missed a part where I was supposed to be playing a guitar break on my own cause it was rebooting. After that I felt like I couldn't trust it. Granted it's more of an issue with house power than the Helix itself (it's a phenomenal unit) but I felt like I couldn't trust it after that. Just my two cents for what they're worth. Love your videos dude!
You could carry a battery backup surge protector like you'd plug your computer into.
Love your Channel Ray. I used a Helix for 3 straight years. 120 gigs a year in an events/wedding/conference band. 3 sets a night. Was super convenient and easy to carry around..........Having said that I'm right back in the full analog tube amp world and loving tonal life. I say enjoy the tone you love and don't worry about the future.
take care of your amps as best as you can but enjoy them for what they are. Its better to have loved and lost your tone then to never have loved a tone at all.......or something like that! Cheeers!
Hey thanks so much for sharing Brad! That’s a ton of gigs haha. Yeah on one end I wanna save it for the future, but the future isn’t guaranteed!
Greetings from Nova Scotia Canada Ray im a long time subscriber and I’ve been a L6 HX stomp user since October 2020 it was just supposed to be a small all in one rig so I could jam and gig with friends and having a spinal injury being able to carry my own gear without any help was the difference between playing with people and not …. But the sound quality was so far above my expectations that I retired my all tube amps and analog pedals …. I love my HX Stomp so much that I’m actually trading it today for a Helix LT for the extra DSP so I won’t have to use any extra gear with my line 6 anymore unless it’s something that I otherwise can’t get from the helix….. sooo excited to see what I can do and create with it and I’m happy for you man welcome to the digital side we have igloos ;-) and any real L6 HX fan that’s on the forums should understand the joke lmao
Regarding your patch. You don't need to have 2 seperate paths. All you need to do is put a send block inbetween the amp and the cab.
I've had the Helix LT for awhile but don't use it as much since I've gotten into Neural DSP plugins. I do think the Helix is great for people who tour, which I don't do. It has great amps and pedals. The Archetype is amazing.
Try the new Line 6 Plugins!
Metallurgy! They are so good right now!
Congrats Ray !! As someone whom is a muscian ... that will be a awesome tool to use to write & play with for you !! :)
The badonk and revv amps are killer!
I bought a HeadRush 108 to play my Helix thru at home...I was doing the 4-cable thru a blackStar which was good but I am really liking the frfr cab...you got it sounding awesome Ray...rock on bro!!!
have a hx stomp xl and love it. I use it mostly for effects in front on my amps but I also play with the amp models on there from time to time. IR's really give it the extra lift. I just export them from the GGD studio cabs plugins.
Hey Ray. Each one of those pathways on your patch are dedicated to one of the processing chips. You can just use one line of your set up and add a block to send your signal to your poweramp/cab before it hits the speaker cab block and save half of your DSP power for other stuff. Can use that set up to run dual amps, but if your just signal splitting then I'd lose the bottom one.
Oh okay awesome thanks for the heads up! I did no know that
@@xanderraymondcharles yea man and in the final output block of the top line (circle with arrow) you can set that to run into the second path making your signal chain twice as long too! Have fun. Its a rabbit hole indeed dude!
So much for your little headrush MX 5 lol! A little back story I actually tried out the headrush MX-5 after watching your video on it and the first one I got the touch screen did not work on it so I returned it and got a second one and that one had foot switching issues as well a few other issues so I had to send that one back as well.
Now I have the Boss GT-1000 which I just got recently and I love it! I had looked at the Helix as well but I have always had good luck with Boss products so I went with Boss.
They are very similar units and they both can just go direct into the P.A. with out needing any amps or cabs which makes touring and gigging so much easier especially as an opening act. There was also a bit of a learning curve with the Boss Gt-1000 as well but I think it is a little easier to program then the helix from what I have seen and heard.
I say take the helix on tour with you and make your life easy and simple out there and good luck with the tour as well look foward to seeing the video's from it!!
Yeah I broke my mx5 on tour so I’m obviously not gonna bring that haha
@@xanderraymondcharles well that sucks man!! I will say this I did like the ease of the touch screen but I prefer having to turn knobs in stead of a touch screen as I feel there are just to many things that can go wrong with it especially in a liver setting so I would day you are way better off with how the helix works. But ya the learning curve on these new multi effects pedals can really suck! I am like you I like to keep it simple.
Man I’ve had my helix for about 3 years and mann do i love it !!
Took about 2 months to catch all the bells and whistles
Best tips are irs and snapshots !
Im still debating on power amp cab setup vs a frfr setup
Its probably best to play with the Helix at a rehearsal first (if possible) before you take it on the road with you. You mentioned using a solid state power amp, I have tried many and the SD Powerstage units sound best with the Helix. It has a great Treble/Mid/Bass EQ that helps shape the tone without having to tweak the Helix itself. If you want over the top greatness when using a real cabinet, use a tube power amp. I have the Mooer Tube Engine at 20w el84s and the KSR PA 50w el34. The KSR also takes 6L6s with a simple bias tweak in front of the unit and its about the size and weight of a lunch box amp. Of course you can always run the Helix in 4 cable method but that defeats the purpose of not having to lug around a tube amp. Try running the Helix in any tube amp loop return and you will see/hear the difference.
I have the Helix Native. I got it when I got my Helix floor unit. I use the Native a lot more since I'm always writing and using my computer to play. It helped me learn my way around so it was easy to plug the floor unit up to the computer and put my settings onto it.
the helix rack would be my future rig
It's funny. I just sold mine to get the Kemper instead. You make the Helix sound great dude! You should try out some IRs. I've used to use Ownhammer IRs and York Audio IRs! Would make some interesting comparisons!
It’s actually easier to create patches with hx edit on a computer. Were you using the bass octaver effect in the beginning?
Been using the helix live in place of my evh and mesa, can honestly say I do not miss my tube amps or pedalboard, it might be cause I still own them. I still find myself using the helix over everything else. I definitely love it and I am sure if your willing to give it the time you will just get better and better with it.
You’ll really figure it out in less than a week. I don’t own one personally, but the HD series was pretty awesome, and people have been touring with line 6 products for decades now (Looking at you Fear Factory!). I truly enjoy their products and hope you find what you’re looking for with that unit.
I haven't gotten to play around with the full fledged helix but I do have the hx stomp. I can say I had a little bit of the initial learning curve but I watched a ton of RUclips videos on it and got the hang of it. Such good sounds.
Take your tube rig. Worst case scenario a tube goes and you use a spare, run out of spares and youve got a lineup of tube amps to pinch tubes from until supplies are good to go. With the one factory still producing tubes they will return...
I ordered the stomp xl recently 🤘🏼
Hey Ray…quick, simple suggestion. If you need a small but effective power amp for that thing, give the electro harmonix 44 caliber a shot. I have one and still can’t believe it kept up with the engl savage and 5150 in rehearsal and live. I didn’t even have to come close to turning it all the way up. I was pairing it with an atomic aa12.
Hey thanks so much for the suggestion!
I just started running one with a powerstage 200 and a 2x12 orange. I still prefer my frfr for running lite weight, but there is something about a real cab.
I traded my Gibson SG for a Helix LT (with cash, of course) just two weeks ago. Barely scratched the surface of what it could do.
It’s a fun little unit!
Lack of touch screen kinda sucks but it's also another component you don't have to worry about breaking
I have a Pod Go and love it. I can carry 2 guitars, backpack w/pod go and cables, and Headrush FRFR 108 monitor all at one time. So easy to gig, practice and record with. And it sounds great. I use a Friedman model (placater dirty).
Use your tube amps as powerstages via EFX return, have a parallel Di. out with cabinet emulation to FOH, very powerful setup, makes bad FOH sound almost impossible (there are BAD soundguys out there...).
The amount of possibilities that this device offers is incredible. It took me some time to get into the philosophy of handling it too. But once you understood it it all makes sense. I would not say it is complicated but it is good to learn how to use it right. The best thing of it are the updates, that give you a huge amount of features and improvements after all the years it exists. Last update: 28 new effects and a very good sounding Amp and new possibilities to use the knobs to switch Snapshots. And you already paid for it, it is all free. What other manufacturer does this today?
I assume one reason why they did not include a touchscreen is that it might be not so reliable after a longer time
Got an HX Stomp a year and a half ago and it’s my main gigging rig. Couple of drives and volume pedal in the front. Plugging in direct or through My headrush frfr for outdoor gigs. The Helix family stuff is killer
Couple years with my floor model and I’ve maybe learned 20% of what it’s capable of. Really just go on custom tone find random patches and tweak them to my own liking.
One word ray.... BADONK!
I’m surprised you didn’t go with the Quad Cortex. Touch screen and the soon promised plug in integration!
Welcome to the family brother. It's an amazing time to be alive as a guitar player hey.
I chuck a 7K highcut on most patches, it focuses the sound and attention to where it matters. Nothing above that is particularly useful anyway. Love my stomp, super useful tool, i don't mind the creative "limitations" either.
I would say: don't over complicate things, it's a natural tendency when people start out. I think simple patches are often the best, let the music shine.
I really feel people often over-compensate tone tweaking these days and then blame the hardware (laughs), the #1 way people make things sound bad is trying to do too much, when it's really their playing and song writing that needs focus. Write a hit song with a crap tone and everyone will want it, write a shit song with a great tone and no one will care at all.
I think you should tour with the Kraken V4. They got plenty of tubes for those.
Now you need a Shuriken Variax SR270! Such a Dope Combe for sick drop tunes!
It’s night and day from a regular guitar!
It's a crazy rabbit hole dude. I Just got a Floor unit too. Get some IRs for your cabs. York Audio IRs pretty much ended my tweaking. And get a usb cable for it and use HXedit. Way easier to use than the regular UI
I’m old school. I’m going to keep my tube amp. I don’t see a need to change to modelers any time soon. ✌️
I sold my trusty Bogner Uberschall, then my beloved but unpredictable Ecstasy. Went to Helix with a powerstage, and ya, I miss my amps, but once you find your tones, there's no reason to go back. What you lose in the obvious, you gain in ease of use, portability, and dependability. Also has great bass tones!
I have an old Line6 POD XT-Live that I used to really like but, not so much anymore (I'll trade you for that Helix!). Have been thinking about getting a Helix but... I'm getting drawn to the BluGuitar Amp1 Iridium. It is a much smaller package than the Helix and it has a 100w power amp with a tube in it. It sounds incredible! No effects except reverb, but I generally don't like built-in effects, I like pedals.
That fucking balaguer is so sick though!!!
Are you going to peel that plastic off the screen? lol
Great piece of gear, Ray! Total envy here.
You also need to look into mission Gemini 2 powered cab it is insane it’s a 2/12 expensive but definitely the best
But I would imagine a solid stats with a 4/12 is awesome also
Stick the Simple Pitch in block #1 to get the best tracking for it. Also don’t use the poly pitch capo over simple pitch. It’s doesn’t track as well and colors your tone.
those pickups sound heavy as fuck
I was just thinking isn’t this Ray who went to Russo’s music in Philly? Yep it is him. I have the helix rack and the Kemper. I need a real pedal to help both with feel and sound. Not a chugger or heavy metal player. For now I’m going to continue enjoy my tube amps and a great pedal. I haven’t had them for more than about 8 yrs re my amps. I saved up for and waited til I deserved it so I think the tube shortage will be worked out through Mike Mathew’s from EHX and Western Electric. Someone could make a ton of dough making tubes here and not relying on a war criminal to make them. Yep and obviously hoping the war ends asap. If you plug in a diesel pedal into keys say a Friedman or Bogner it beats the modelers. Just picked up a quad cortex just in case the tubes do have to wait. Tbh the best overlooked double modeler is the Yamaha 100hd $800 new comes with power. Plug in and play thru a real cab. Cheers Ray. Stay safe.