Line 6 Helix

[Johnny the Kid]

http://line6.com/helix/

New modeler from Line 6. From what I can tell, they pulled out all the stops on this. It looks like it has a huge amount of DSP (based on the number of effects on the screen in the teaser).

It costs $1500 and looks like it's meant to compete with the AxeFX more directly, rather than cornering the market on the lower priced modelers, they want to be starting to take over some of Fractal's customer base.

I was kind of relieved to see the $1500 price point, because that means that the PODs aren't going away anytime soon and that they'll still be somewhat supported by Line 6 (although with AMPLIFi, Firehawk, and now the Helix, I expect Line 6 to be putting even less effort towards the PODs than they are now).

Do you guys think this could compete with the AxeFX?

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Line 6 Helix

I was checking it out earlier today after getting an email ad from Line 6. The Helix looks pretty freakin' sweet, but that $1500 price tag is going to make it out of the question as far as I'm concerned... I just couldn't possibly justify putting that much money into it when my POD HD400 keeps me pretty happy now at a fifth of the price!

I was definitely drooling, though... gave me a bad case of GAS!

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Line 6 Helix

I was checking it out earlier today after getting an email ad from Line 6. The Helix looks pretty freakin' sweet, but that $1500 price tag is going to make it out of the question as far as I'm concerned... I just couldn't possibly justify putting that much money into it when my POD HD400 keeps me pretty happy now at a fifth of the price!

I was definitely drooling, though... gave me a bad case of GAS!

I just want one of those expression pedals.

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Line 6 Helix

Well, being a long time Line6 fan, I can't wait to hear how this will sound. I'm really happy with my POD HD 500 / DT 25 setup, but I've been considering going back to rack stuff, mainly for portability, coupling good digital preamps/fx processors with solid state amps. Actually the POD HD through an old Marshall Valvestate poweramp sounds really good.

This will also be an awesome tool as home studio gear, going for something the POD HD can't do.

If only it wasn't so damn expensive (the rack and pedalboard will set me back in around 1900 dollars, plus two expression pedals and a good case to fit them in, plus all the rack stuff). But I guess if you want quality, you'll have to pay for it.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Line 6 Helix

If my band makes any sort of money ever (LOL) and I end up ditching my amps and pedalboard I'll probably go with a Helix.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Line 6 Helix

If my band makes any sort of money ever (LOL) and I end up ditching my amps and pedalboard I'll probably go with a Helix.

Sweetwater did a review of it, and if someone hadn't told me it was a modeler, I'd have thought it was a real amp. The way it plays and reacts to guitars is just like a real amplifier. I might be selling the HD500 and saving up my money for one of these.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Line 6 Helix

I'm not falling for this. I got an HD500 when it first came out and just sold it. Updates were slow to come, never addressed problems, and they make you go through a stupid web interface to suggest revisions which never get addressed This might look fancy, but I am not getting on that frustrating thing again. I'd rather give my money to Fractal, who updates every other week and has a direct connection with their customers.

 

[RustInPeace]

Re: Line 6 Helix

Looks fantastic. Although Im pretty happy with my hd500x right now, I could see myself getting this in the future.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Line 6 Helix

I like the ambition. Nice to see they're planning a rack version, too. But what's up with no expression pedal on the controller?

 

[B2D]

Re: Line 6 Helix

The version I'd want (the rack plus footswitch) is $2000. Jeebus - I hope that's not MSRP. For that price it better be amazing.

I hate running long 4-cable method runs in for effects but sometimes it's gotta be done, though I don't like it. Plus I hate dealing with MIDI so I'd always wanted to get something where you can rack the brain and control it with something on the floor, like the TC G Major.

Aw what the hell. I'll call my connection at Line 6 and see if he can get me some demo time with one.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Line 6 Helix

The version I'd want (the rack plus footswitch) is $2000. Jeebus - I hope that's not MSRP. For that price it better be amazing.

I hate running long 4-cable method runs in for effects but sometimes it's gotta be done, though I don't like it. Plus I hate dealing with MIDI so I'd always wanted to get something where you can rack the brain and control it with something on the floor, like the TC G Major.

Aw what the hell. I'll call my connection at Line 6 and see if he can get me some demo time with one.

Normally I don't like the modeled amps, but based on this video, I would be completely okay with this being the only thing I gig. Maybe into a power amp for stage volume.



But yeah, Line 6 is terrible with updates and conversing with customers whereas Fractal will make an update based on one minor detail in a chorus block that only happens with one amp set up in one specific way.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Line 6 Helix

Where's the list of amps it models?

EDIT:

I found this:

WhoWatt 100 - HIWATT DR-103Soup Pro - Supro S6616
Stone Age 185 - Gibson EH-185 (NEVER leave this model out, Line 6!)
Tweed Blues Nrm - Bassman Normal
Tweed Blues Brt - Bassman Bright
US Small Tweed - Tweed Deluxe
US Deluxe Nrm - Deluxe Reverb Normal
US Deluxe Vib - Deluxe Reverb Vibrato
US Double Nrm - Twin Reverb Normal
US Double Vib - Twin Reverb Vibrato
Mail Order Twin - Silvertone 1484?
Divided Duo - Divided by 13 9/15
Interstate Zed - Dr. Z Route 66
Jazz Rivet 120 - Roland Jazz Chorus
Essex A-15 - Vox AC-15
Essex A-30 - Vox AC-30
A-30 Fawn Nrm - Vox AC-30 Fawn Normal
A-30 Fawn Brt - Vox AC-30 Fawn Bright
Mandarin 80 - Orange OR80
Brit J-45 Nrm - Marshall JTM-45 Normal
Brit J-45 Brt - Marshall JTM-45 Bright
Brit Plexi Nrm - Marshall Superlead 100 Normal?
Brit Plexi Brt - Marshall Superlead 100 Bright?
Brit Plexi Jump - Marshall Superlead 100 Jumpered?
Brit P-75 Nrm - Park 75
Brit P-75 Brt - Park 75
Brit J-800 - Marshall JCM 800
German Mahadeva - Bogner Shiva
German Ubersonic - Bogner Uberschall
Cali Rectifire - Mesa Dual Recto
ANGL Meteor - ENGL Fireball
Solo Lead Clean - Soldano SL0100
Solo Lead Crunch - Soldano SL0100
Solo Lead OD - Soldano SL0100
PV Panama - Peavey 5150
Line 6 Elektrik - n/a
Line 6 Doom - n/a
Line 6 Epic - n/a
Tuck n' Go - Ampeg B-15 Portaflex (?)
SV Beast Nrm - Ampeg SVT
SV Beast Brt - Ampeg SVT
Cali Bass - Some sorta mesa bass amp I guess, but IDK which?
Cali 400 Ch1 - Mesa Bass 400+ or SWR SM 400 (but that's single channel)?
Cali 400 Ch2 -
G Cougar 800 - G&K 800RB

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Line 6 Helix

Nice to see some more bass options. I wonder what kind of effects will be modeled. Basics like the TS and the Crybaby obviously, but I wonder if they've added some new ones. A Soul Food/ Klon style drive would be cool.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Line 6 Helix

Nice to see some more bass options. I wonder what kind of effects will be modeled. Basics like the TS and the Crybaby obviously, but I wonder if they've added some new ones. A Soul Food/ Klon style drive would be cool.

The video you posted showed them using an affect called the Minotaur that was an OD.

 

[Hank-]

Re: Line 6 Helix

It seems to use two DSP chips instead of one like the HD500. That unit had DSP limits, so with two chips this time i guess one could have two times what was achievable with the previous gen limits.

Still looks good, the use of external IR cabs is probably gonna hog the dsp more. The number of S/R loops is great, one more than what the Boss GT-Pro has.

I wouldn't want that expensive unit down on floor though. Fractal has the AX8 in works, probably gonn be just as so expensive, maybe more. Ah well i cant afford either of these so lol :22:

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Line 6 Helix

The video you posted showed them using an affect called the Minotaur that was an OD.

It's the Klon Clone Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.

It seems to use two DSP chips instead of one like the HD500. That unit had DSP limits, so with two chips this time i guess one could have two times what was achievable with the previous gen limits.

Still looks good, the use of external IR cabs is probably gonna hog the dsp more. The number of S/R loops is great, one more than what the Boss GT-Pro has.

I wouldn't want that expensive unit down on floor though. Fractal has the AX8 in works, probably gonn be just as so expensive, maybe more. Ah well i cant afford either of these so lol :22:

I'm kinda hoping that is this does well and sneaks into the market that Fractal and Kemper pretty much own, that maybe we can see those two companies try to start sneaking into the mid priced modeling systems (such as where the Line 6 POD line currently sits).

 

[DankStar]

Re: Line 6 Helix

Is that sweetwater guy on coke or something, never heard anyone talk so fast about gear.

 

[aleclee]

Re: Line 6 Helix

Here's something I wrote on another board yesterday about the comparison of the Helix with the upcoming Fractal AX8:

Here's what we can say with a fair degree of confidence:

• Helix and AX8 have same DSP complement (2 x 450MHz Sharc)
• AX8 appears to offer fewer concurrent blocks than Helix
• Helix allocates CPU dynamically based on estimated usage. AX8 allocates CPU in a more static manner based on block type. Simpler blocks get the same CPU allocation as complex blocks of the same type so a simple amp model and a complex amp model would each be allocated the same CPU.
• Helix will allow for four amp and cab blocks in a preset (and not much more) while a single AX8 amp block uses nearly 100% of one of the DSPs. On the other hand, that still leaves much more DSP for the average Helix amp model relative to its HD counterpart.

From this we can infer that the average Helix block uses less CPU than the average AX8 block. We also know that there's a goodly bit more CPU (I'd guess 50%) being thrown at the amp models than in the HD. Is that enough? Heck if I know. I know that my Amplifire sounds awesome but its per-block CPU utilization seems more in line with the AX8 than the Helix. It probably comes down to "How much DSP headroom does dynamic CPU allocation buy you?"

 

[Hank-]

Re: Line 6 Helix

^well, personally if a unit allows presets then i'd rather have each dedicated to a particuar amp than have four amps hogging processing power in a single preset, granted theres spillover for delay/reverb when switching presets. So for someone like me thats a lot more free power available. If they can get the amp modelling sounding way better than before then this unit is gonna rock.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Line 6 Helix

^well, personally if a unit allows presets then i'd rather have each dedicated to a particuar amp than have four amps hogging processing power in a single preset, granted theres spillover for delay/reverb when switching presets. So for someone like me thats a lot more free power available. If they can get the amp modelling sounding way better than before then this unit is gonna rock.

When I was using my POD for amps I would blend two different amps quite often. My distortions were usually a combo of an 800 and a Mesa Dual while my clean tones were a Deluxe Reverb and an AC30. But I don't think I would use 4 amps at once.