Line 6 Helix

[Dante]

So, I went to see a friend's band last night. Like me, they use in-ear monitors. Unlike me, the guitar player doesn't bring an amp, just runs direct. I told him not to do that, because when people get close to the stage (and the mains) they cannot hear the guitar. Did he listen? No.

Anyway, he was using a fancy new pedal board that I hadn't seen. I could see that it said Line 6 on the back, and it had very pretty multi colored lights on it  but the sound was unremarkable. Granted, the sound man had plenty to do with that. But, I went home last night to see what the hell it was and found out its the Helix. It cost $1500!!!!

Jeezus, you know how many ADA rigs you could build for that kind of money?  :facepalm:

I'm going to see them play again tonight, at a different venue, hopefully with a better sound man. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Kim]

I was looking at that Helix in a catalog thinking "that might be good for a 'fly' rig"....but not for that much money!   :crazy:

[vansinn]

To be fair to those boards (or rack dittos) and the price..
Building a complete rig with rack gear, amp and speakers will easily set you back a good deal too.

WRT sound, the Line 6 thingies do require a good amount of programming.
When done right, they can sound pretty good for certain sounds.
I'll see if I have the links to a dude who can really tweak 'em - hold the horse till then, and don't spook it!

Yup, found it. Now this isn't for the Helix but rather the HD500, but to my knowledge, same principles applies.

LINE 6 POD HD500 HUGE MULTITRACK RECORDING ☆ Chris Beaver  (it's a six part series)

[Iperfungus]

Mmmmmh.....I used or tested enough digital units with emulations, profiles or physical models to have the idea that there's nothing you cannot do with a good audio interface, a PC and any software like Amplitube.
You can achieve good results using impulses, maybe...but, at the end, all this stuff has the same flavour: digital.

They do not sound crappy or bad, let's be honest.
But they loose something very important: dynamics.

I keep repeating that you can put together a complete and very good rack at a fraction of the cost of a Axe FX, Kemper ore Helix.
And it will sound better a lot for sure.

Just a single Lexicon MPX G2 will easily destroy them.
Add an ADA MP-1 in its loop and say goodbye to profiles.

[Iperfungus]

I was looking at that Helix in a catalog thinking "that might be good for a 'fly' rig"....but not for that much money!   :crazy:

Fly rig = Zoom 9150 + Valvestate 8008 + Zoom 8050 and FP01 + 2U very good rack case

Total cost = 50 + 70 + 75 + 60 = 255 euros

Add some cables and forget other "fly rigs".  :metal:

[Dante]

Don't get me wrong, I think some of these things sound good....in a bedroom. Once you go live, they sound lifeless IMHO. No umph, no dynamics, no balls.

Impulse Response = EQ settings, nothing more

My 2¢

[Iperfungus]

Don't get me wrong, I think some of these things sound good....in a bedroom. Once you go live, they sound lifeless IMHO. No umph, no dynamics, no balls.

Impulse Response = EQ settings, nothing more

My 2¢

+1

No miracles at all.
Until there's stuff with tubes inside, there's no way.   :waving-banana-smiley-emoticon

And you can notice the big difference only when you play with digital stuff: if you just listen, the sounds are awesome.
But, as soon as you connect a guitar and play 2 notes, you'd feel what I mean.

[rnolan]

The other thing I'd say re tube setups (and their abundance of dynamics) and analogue gear in general, is that you (easily) can make you own tone.  Something I did from the get go over 40 years ago. These days it seems everyone just wants it in a box (or that's what it's being sold on).

I'd encourage any new guitarist to beg/borrow an old Marshall (no master vol), crank it right up and learn to play.... >:D :metal:

[Iperfungus]

I'd encourage any new guitarist to beg/borrow an old Marshall (no master vol), crank it right up and learn to play.... >:D :metal:

That's the way WE learned!!!  :thumb-up:

I still remember when I was 14 years old and I attempted to learn Riff Raff from a vinyl AC/DC live LP on my old stereo...  :banana-guitar:
With amp stuff is the same: start from the difficult side!

[MarshallJMP]

I'd encourage any new guitarist to beg/borrow an old Marshall (no master vol), crank it right up and learn to play.... >:D :metal:

That's the way WE learned!!!  :thumb-up:

I still remember when I was 14 years old and I attempted to learn Riff Raff from a vinyl AC/DC live LP on my old stereo...  :banana-guitar:
With amp stuff is the same: start from the difficult side!

Oh so true !!

[rnolan]

Ahh 14, over 40 years ago... The best sound (I remember) I had a 2nd hand Navarra Les Paul (precursor to Ibenez I think) > mic preamp kit I built (9v battery) > crystal input of old tube radio gram (it had a turntable with a serious needle LoL), 5w speaker out > ETI 413 100w transistor power amp kit (I also built) > 2 x 20w Phillips twin cone HiFi speakers (each in 4 cubic foot boxes, my dads old stereo cabs). It sounded awesome (though obviously I didn't understand gain structure back then  :facepalm: ).  The ETI 413 had a speaker fuse (no power fuse  :dunno: ), I blew 3 of them (then had none left). Drummer suggested cigarette packet tin foil to repair the fuse  :facepalm: bad idea, the first speakers I ever fried.

[Iperfungus]

Ahh 14, over 40 years ago... The best sound (I remember) I had a 2nd hand Navarra Les Paul (precursor to Ibenez I think) > mic preamp kit I built (9v battery) > crystal input of old tube radio gram (it had a turntable with a serious needle LoL), 5w speaker out > ETI 413 100w transistor power amp kit (I also built) > 2 x 20w Phillips twin cone HiFi speakers (each in 4 cubic foot boxes, my dads old stereo cabs). It sounded awesome (though obviously I didn't understand gain structure back then  :facepalm: ).  The ETI 413 had a speaker fuse (no power fuse  :dunno: ), I blew 3 of them (then had none left). Drummer suggested cigarette packet tin foil to repair the fuse  :facepalm: bad idea, the first speakers I ever fried.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

You're a hell of a DIYer!!!

[rnolan]

Hey Max, I've got a bit more sensible over the years, but still up for an "out there" idea LoL. My next (main) amp back then was my 1973 Marshall 50  >:D which developed a hum (over thousands of gigs) and is now fixed  . Next rig I build (which is a bit sideways for me) will (maybe) be MP-1 (Fx probably in loop (I just want a little bit of mild delay and reverb, though, like MJMP, I'm not fond of the MP-1 loop) > Marshall (direct to power amp jack input (recent mod)) and 1 x (2 x 12) ADA slant split stack. This is how MJMP uses his Marshalls (but he has 2  :facepalm: ) so can preserve stereo... and he has a bunch of Marshall cabs...

[Iperfungus]

Next rig I build (which is a bit sideways for me) will (maybe) be MP-1 (Fx probably in loop (I just want a little bit of mild delay and reverb, though, like MJMP, I'm not fond of the MP-1 loop) > Marshall (direct to power amp jack input (recent mod)) and 1 x (2 x 12) ADA slant split stack. This is how MJMP uses his Marshalls (but he has 2  :facepalm: ) so can preserve stereo... and he has a bunch of Marshall cabs...

Mmmmh.....it will be a nice rig for sure.
I agree about MP-1 send/return: I do not love it too much as well. 

MJMP WHO? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azwU5rrrlVg


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Dante]

Next rig I build (which is a bit sideways for me) will (maybe) be MP-1 (Fx probably in loop (I just want a little bit of mild delay and reverb, though, like MJMP, I'm not fond of the MP-1 loop) > Marshall (direct to power amp jack input (recent mod)) and 1 x (2 x 12) ADA slant split stack. This is how MJMP uses his Marshalls (but he has 2  :facepalm: ) so can preserve stereo... and he has a bunch of Marshall cabs...

Mmmmh.....it will be a nice rig for sure.
I agree about MP-1 send/return: I do not love it too much as well. 

MJMP WHO? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azwU5rrrlVg


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Well well well, thanks for sharing that vid, I have subscribed  :thumb-up: