robbieb61

Yep I've used a tube preamp with mine before. Sounded fantastic. Especially back when I first got my Helix in Oct. of 2015. Really warmed up the amp models. Having said that...over the last few updates...the new amp models have improved to the point that I no longer need it. The PRS Archon model and the modded Marshall models are just freakin' incredible. Also the Boogie Mark V models. Back when I was using the Rectifier model mostly with the Helix cabs...it sounded good. But the tube preamp really brought that to life. Now I'm using the Archon model for clean, crunch, and distortion along with an Ownhammer Marshall IR cab. No longer needed the tube preamp anymore. But go ahead and experiment. Just stick it in a loop. When I did it, I had mine between the amp model and the cab in the chain. But you can experiment with it in any position to find the sweet spot you're looking for.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Helix updating. :( Sorry to hear this happened. But the good news is you CAN get your Helix back up and running. Do a search through this forum and you will find all the info you need to get it back up on it's feet again.

Ha...when I first saw this title in the list of threads...I thought it said "Clarinet" I was like: "WTF???"

There is a way to access your amp. And that's a very cool amp indeed. But...you wouldn't be able to use the speaker in the amp. You would need to run the Helix to a monitor. And you would have to buy another piece of gear. The gear you would need would be a load box. Something like the Riviera Rock Crusher for instance. Then you set up a send/return on Helix. The "send" goes to the amp input. Now you take the Rock Crusher and you grab an extra SPEAKER cable. Unplug your combo speaker. Plug the speaker cable into the speaker output you just unplugged the combo amp speaker from. Then plug the other end of that speaker cable into the load box. Now you run a SIGNAL cable from the line out of the load box back to the "return" on Helix. What you have now is the full amp sound of your Oxygen amp (both pre-amp AND power-amp sections) going into the Helix. And like I said...from there you would need to come out of the Helix to an FRFR or straight to the mixer, etc.

Line 6 or Congress? LOL! I heard that DI is appointing a special counsel to investigate possible Russian collusion with the tuner...

Are you saying that Congress acts quicker than Line 6? 😂

That's what I'm talking about Peter...you're questioning me as if I'm a liar. YES...I can quickly check all my strings to make sure they are in tune in between songs. I didn't mean that I was tuning my guitar in a matter of a couple of seconds. If you are a pro and play onstage you know exactly what I mean. Especially if you are playing in a band that puts on a show. And every tuner I've ever owned...including the ones in the Vetta and HD500 were more than adequate to quickly check my tuning. Now if I'm actually way out of tune (which really doesn't happen)...then yes...I would whisper to the lead singer to give me a second and talk to the crowd. And again...I NEED a tuner that is stable and allows me to quickly tune under that circumstance as well. I'm kinda feeling like maybe there are two different worlds of guitar players here. In the world I'm operating in...the Helix tuner NEEDS to be able to perform as well as a cheap clip-on tuner in terms of getting the job done quickly and accurately. And with that big, beautiful display...it should be a shining jewel in the crown of the Helix instead of a never-ending controversy amongst guitarists here on the Helix forum.

@ Peter and Phil: I don't think anyone is lying. Why would anyone do that? I also don't think it's "too accurate and too fast". If that were the case it would QUICKLY stabilize and ACCURATELY allow me to tune. For a pro musician tuning onstage while the drummer is counting to "4" for the next song...it is the exact opposite of accurate and fast. More like unstable and un-Godly slow to use. I think that some of the people are just getting so frustrated with being told that it's "them" and not the tuner... that they are letting that get the better of them in the conversation. You have to realize...when you tell me that I just don't understand how to use a guitar tuner...it's insulting. I'm sure you don't mean it to be insulting. That's why I try to let it slide off my back. I really do think Line 6 has a problem with this tuner. I have never heard of a tuner being the subject of multiple posts, a poll, arguments amongst people, etc. Tuners are something that just always work. The fact that all of this commotion is going on about the tuner should be a red flag to Line 6 to do something about it. I know if I get emails and complaints about something specific on my sites...I am going to investigate. And 9 times out of 10 the customers are right. And in business...the customer is ALWAYS right. Doesn't have to be ALL our our customers. But if a big percentage of them report stuff to me...I'm gonna figure out the problem and fix it. I think that's something that's kinda getting under people's skin too. Nobody at Line 6 or the people who test stuff for them are acknowledging it. From my perspective it just seems like y'all are being over-defensive and proclaiming that there is nothing wrong. Just wanted you guys to know, I'm not wanting to argue with anyone or attack anyone personally over a tuner. :) I'm just hoping I can just ONE of the people at Line 6 or a beta-tester to say: "Hey, that is screwed up....maybe we should see if we can make it work more usefully" . :)

How about just a regular tuner that works great like all the other professional tuners out there. Jesus...

Okay.. Here is my suggestion when you get your Helix home. Do NOT plug in and play ANY factory preset. Pretend they don't exist. Go to one of the User banks. Open up preset 01A. It will be empty. Choose the Archon Lead Amp. Just the amp, not Amp+Cab. Now stick one of the Marshall 4x12 Helix Cabs after that. Turn it up. You simply can not go wrong for a nice thick distorted sound with that amp. If you start off by screwing around with the factory presets you'll throw the Helix in the garbage. Just fight that temptation and let the first thing you hear out of your Helix be the Archon Lead amp. And then let the tweaking begin. :)

What kind of music are you gonna be playing Jam_Sandwich?

What is the point of "Catsup" anyway? Can we all agree that Ketchup is the ONLY tomato based condiment that should be used on French Fries?

Oh I wasn't suggesting anything...I was just being self-deprecating to try and be humorous by calling myself "stupid". :) I never heard any of the complaints (nor did I have any) about the tuner on my Vetta or on my HD 500. Can't speak for any other products.. And yeah...the first day I got my Helix I showed it to another guitarist and the very FIRST thing I demonstrated was the tuner display! We were both "oohing and awwing" over it. I remember joking that it wouldn't matter how drunk I got...I would still be able to see my tuner! lol

I haven't used my Boss tuner in over a decade. Kept the Korg tuner in my rack as a separate tuner for my Ovation. So "no" I wasn't trying to compare it to anything. But if I did...shouldn't the Helix be "better" to use? Used a small Korg tuner in the late 1970's. Worked great. Switched to Boss tuner in the mid 1980s. Worked great. Got the Boss GT5 in the mid 1990's (my first modeling system). Used the tuner on it. Worked great. In 2000 I used the tuner on my Roland VGA7 amp. Worked great. In 2002 I moved to a Marshall stack and used my Boss tuner In 2003 I got a Line 6 Vetta amp. Used it's tuner. Worked great. In 2005 went to a rack system with a Bogner Ecstasy head and a G System. Used the G System tuner. Worked great. In 2010 got the HD 500 and a DT 50. Used the tuner on the HD 500. Worked great. In 2015 got the Helix. And apparently dont' have the ability to understand the sheer complexity of it's tuner. Not wanting to argue. But it's very frustrating. A tuner is so freaking simple. It shouldn't be jumpy at all. It should have the ability to catch the note and let you tune it and be stable. There simply is no other tuner that I'm aware of that jumps all around like the Helix one does.

Really? You guys didn't see the Korg instantly stable while Helix is still "searching". Then I don't know what to say. I guess I'm just stupid or something. And every other tuner I've ever owned must have been faulty. I'll just keep using my Boss tuner I guess. The Helix is apparently too precise for me to use. :)

The Korg tuner I used in my video has the same exact specs as far as tuning accuracy is concerned. In my opinion...it's not being "precise" when the thing is jumping all around and never stabilizes. I've never seen any tuner exhibit the kind of behavior that the Helix one does. The Korg zeroes in on the note and gives a stable readout. The Helix never stops moving. I'm never 100% SURE that I'm in tune because my visual on the Helix never stops moving around. THAT is the problem...not the accuracy or "precision" (whatever that term would mean in this context...precision is when something works flawlessly like a fine watch). It's the inability of the Helix tuner to be able to stabilize itself. If you watch the video...the Korg DTR 2000 almost instantly stabilizes the note. Meanwhile, the Helix is blinking and jumping all over the place. It it were "precise" then it would STOP on the note and show me "precisely" where it is. LIke every other tuner in the world. It's just frustrating when trying to tune up onstage with only a few seconds available to do so. Trying to think to myself: "Well, the tuner is still jumping all around...but I'm probably close enough" just isn't acceptable in a working situation.

Here's my vid. Just made it. Brand new Ernie Ball Paradigm strings on my Floyd Rose Model K Redmond Series guitar (these new Paradigm strings are GREAT by the way) I'm using the Helix tuner and my Korg rackmount DTR 2000 tuner (which has the same exact specs as I have seen posted here about the Helix tuners specs) Started with the guitar in tune. Observe how the Korg "grabs" the note very quickly. The Helix meanwhile tends to jump all around, and on the D string it was just reading wrong. My complaint has been since I first got my Helix back in Oct. of 2015 that the tuner was too jumpy. And that was when it only had the one bar. Now with two bars...it's double-jumpy! LOL! As I said before...most of us who play in professional bands only have a couple of seconds to check our tuning between songs. Not a lot of dead air in a pro band that is putting on a show. The drummer is counting off the next song before the last song has finished ringing out. The jumpiness is unacceptable for me. Here's the vid:

Anytime brother.

DI, you are making me feel like an old man. I have no idea what that genre is or what it means. You kids these days....

Didn't think of the guitar.... Next time you come to Vegas, pm me ahead of time. If I'm not playing you could use my Helix for the gig. Just load your presets in from your laptop and then delete them after the gig. I've got plenty of empty user slots. :)

Me too! I'm actually here on my own time. ðŸ˜

We took that as a "suggestion" :lol:

@brue58ski: I would think it would be stable. Give it a try with the tone generator. I don't think with a solid non-stop note coming at it, it would have any choice except to stay stable. I know I've said this before...but I'll say it again: Back in the 1980's when there seemed to be thousands and thousands of gear manufacturers and 4 or 5 different music stores in every little town...when it came to tuners, one of the big things that companies like Boss and Korg, etc. would push in their advertisements was the ability of the tuner to zero in on the note and stabilize it for accurate and quick tuning. In my experience...that is the problem with the Helix tuner. It doesn't seem to be able to stabilize

Yep, that's it. I just call it Fremont Street. lol And damn it...now I can't remember the name of the band. They were doing an album release deal that night...it was a new up and coming band which is why I can't remember off the top of my head. :( I think you could probably take the helix as a carry on if you have the line 6 helix backpack. I have that and it would fit as a carry on I'm pretty sure...though I have not flown with it.

What I am seeing in this video and on my own unit...is that the Helix never seems to stop moving about. The other tuners in the video were able to "capture" the note being played and allow it to be tuned. The Helix never seems to be sure of the note. Jumping all around. That's not "sensitivity" or being "precise". That's jumpiness. And that causes me to not be sure whether the string is really in tune or not. As I've said before...never had a tuner do this in my life. And I've used 'em all over the decades. I love the Helix. And the tuner display was one of the things I was excited about because it's so big. But I need quick clarity on a note being in tune. Watch the video again...the other two tuners are stable. The Helix never stops moving. That's the opposite of precision to me.