miguel_lopez

Hi maybe you've read me before, since Helix users aro not a lord of the rings army... comparing the two units have been already exposed my experience with these two beasts have been pleasent, in fact I used to play with some of the POD models connected to HD preamps, lots of eq and lots of effects PODHD effects are by far more hi-fi than PODxt versions to me it's not that big different HD-Helix so now I use some high gain amps(no cab no mic no speaker no room) thru the Helix universe and I just have the perfect roaring machine to get what I really want what really caugh my attention in this forums in order to compare are the amp models it seems cabs and mics are not the best part, cuz lots of users play the helix thru a power tube amp and then they do the rest as real deal I do this since the first POD so I pick up a real speaker, a real bunch of mics and placements, a real room and I have something I've never heard in any recording so... I would think it would be more interesting comparing real deal vs Helix and try to appreciate not the differences for realism but for what you may be pleased as a musician it's not a matter of being close to a real amp, but to get a real good sound, even better than real deal I am a big fan of the Spinal Puppet model and absolutely prefer it over a real Randall solid or tube, because is tight and compressed or even than a mega boogie treadplate... then I choose real speakers, real mics, real rooms and rock the world I'm not saying it's pointless comparing the products, but I'd prefer open my mind to get good tones no matter what it is, if it's real or digital back in the 80's I used to see backstage pre-amps with tons of divices to get solid distorsions and lots of other processing sounds to get that hair metal

Not exactly the same experience but... Since I'm a huge collector of crappy stuff and extraordinary gear I NEVER get rid of any music device, you know why? cuz I find inspiring any type of sound, any tone may lead me to a song or a catchy tune, so I don't feel the same as you in the transition of the LINE6 history. POD, PODxt, POD HD, now Helix I am those kind of musicians that have a lot of gear from all levels and if I find an interesting bank, patch or by accident a broken cable or if a set of rusted strings sounds funny I can't avoid going deeper and use it for a better purpose So, my advise is not to compare or imagine those differences for a quality "feeling", I just use it I have more than 40 guitars in my studio and all are crazy modified... can you imagine a jazzbox guitar with parallel axis seymour duncan in the neck only with volume and tone control? perfectly set up with a brass saddles high grade bridge??? that's crazy and by far my favorite clean tone guitar so I use Helix more for production and experiments than amps and stuff, although the amp modeling is miraculous let's open our minds and go further but of course, if you are trying to get that coveted tone from smoke on the water, whole lotta love, sweet chind o' mine, master of puppets, day tripper, etc, then you are in front of the best machine to get what ever you may need and more have fun! enjoy the music as well as the silence

ok just a humble word in here PODxt packs are enough models to have everything you may need to gig, record, rehearse, practice and even being inspire to play. Even those "old" models as the Silver Superjubilee or Diezel are killers!!!

when I bought mine one there was only ONE in San Fracisco Guitar Center

I recommend you nothing but the best; even for practicing new strings, warm up, set up your hardware, calibrate pickups, and yes, for practicing, professional monitors, so you hear details in your playing that will hear louder when you record or play live LOUD yamaha MSP7 are just perfect it's also a very different experience when it's about professional headphones use when you work with professional monitors for flat response you have the chance to correct everything you want to improve from your tone but when the mix comes, then your drummer, singer, bassman, keyboardist are gonna make more noise but you will still hear your tone and probably you will tweak less it's easy: you play, practice, monitor professionaly, then you connect to a PA and it is going to be very probable that you will not need to change anything thanks for reading go for Yamaha MSP7

Hi there: this obsession for pure tone is driving me crazy as you guys I have a Pair of Yamaha MSP7, they are PERFECT for your purposes I would totally suggest you to buy them, they are flat response, have a lot of options to manage the excess of unwanted frequencies or for compensating them, NO NOISE like a fan, truly powerfull and amazing tone at low volumes, horsework for studio mixing, but think about this: All the music you hear in your favorite albums, and specially those classic ones, were analog processed by professional music industry tech people. So, don't forget there is a great amount of money invested in that Tears For Fears album you enjoy to have that amazing tone that you can appreciate in your i-pod, your car stereo and your home domestic equipment as well. Monitors are just tools to correct certain details or frequencies to achieve this goal of making a recording result sounds the best possible in any music-player device. For your porpuse, this kind of tools are excessive but you will hear heavenly this amazing digital processor Helix the best possible. Using monitors for recording is different from using it for guitar practicing, but is going to be the best way to set up your tones from Helix-guitar-stomps-pickups-etc...

this may be interesting to share with you guys: many years ago I saw a Video about three guys with such extraordinary abilities: 1.- A man who had memorized all sacred books(and how they were the same thing) 2.- A man who knew all chess secrets and possibilities(he was not even a multi-winner awarded for his abilities, this guy only knew all the detailed chess possibilities) 3.- A man who could understand ALL languages(he was from Portugal): CHECK THIS OUT!!!: this man said he went touring for holydays to weird places with her mother when he was 9 years old he thought it was pure imagination he understood all the people he could hear talking and translate during his tour many years later he realized it was not fantasy but real deal!!! he could actually translate EVERYTHING!!! but the magic in here was not the grammer itself, he was unaware of this fact, he could only know what was the meanning of all those phonetic articulations In the video there were several people around the world who spoke portuguese(and his birth language) to prove his ability and they were incredibly surprised how even local expressions were "translated" to understand their meannings so I think it was NOT a matter of language BUT comunication this man turned on some switch in his brain we all human must have set OFF to activate the comunication capacity we all human beings have so, words and sounds may be the equivalent of language material and expression and reaction may be the equivalent of comunication what about the other arts??? paints, sculptures, films, theatre, dance, literature... but since words are more intellectual material is not that spontaneous as sounds(and even the same as movements) sounds and movements are more primitive

since music is ART, and ART is all about make the audience "FEEL" emotions/sensations-reactions, well, that would be the GOAL: to make feel how many times people have said to me: oh man! that song you played! you almost make cry...! so to say but science and music are always working together I have a friend, he is a book writter, he told me once how easy was to achieve emotions and sensations thru words... but that was NOT easy to do the same with music and sounds then I got obsessed with this subject and trained myself in music to understand how it really works, I mean, the emotional part you can manipulate with sounds(theory of music is NOT enough, neither PSYCHOLOGY) at the end, I realized that technical knowledge is ALSO as important as music itself! then, IR's, which is the subjet in this thread is part of the ingredients we need to achieve that Artistic GOAL: to make feel the audience that miraculous reaction you can only make possible with music

also a matter of "feeling" there is a sensation you perceive when you hear LOUD your part, there is something I can't describe... please try to understand me =) I've worked with so many different cabs (not the guitar cabs for guitar amps, but cabs to monitor myself) and I've realized that some frequencies are impossible to perceive with the human ear, but you can "FEEL" something else; I'm NOT sure what it is (!!!) but there's something there you make a difference, and also the audience notice IT.

oh men!!! I totally understand your concerning about Cab simulation... I used to be totally satisfied with PODxt cabs work, but when I started to use my own REAL cabs-mics relationship in my studio recording work I was SURPRISED how real sounds the real and how digital sounds simulation sources, but sadly I found more flexible the digital simulation when finally I mixed the rest of the recording sources: drums, voice, bass and other stuff do you really guys notice such a GREAT difference between real deal and simulation when the drummer smashes all the mix???

in my case if I would be expeting new sounds from Helix those would be ORIGINAL models, I would't be more excited to get a high gain with balls and compression like those original "amps" in the PODxt family; I wish line6 develop original killer tones anyway we have a whole universe of possibilities with the Helix set from factory!!!

do you really think cabs are the weak point in Helix??? I find it extremely useful to make my PODxt amps(non cab/mic) sound far away better than anything in the market!!!

it took years of hard work to deliver your Helix!!! how would it be updating weekly fx's and amps/cabs ???

stoopid observation: I remember some dude who made a test PODHD vs Fractal AxefxII looong time ago, practically he made sound both units identical claiming it was just the price the difference; so imagine it! if PODHD was that close to AXEfxII, now Helix would be miles further from even line6 PODHD!!! I can't find the videos, but it was a very popular topic during the PODHD years

LET ME JUS ADD SOME MORE SPICE IN THE RECIPE: IT'S ALL THE SUME OF THE WHOLE GEAR YOU SOUND, NOT ONLY YOUR FX PROCESSOR I'VE HAD AWESOME DIFFERENCES PLAYING THE SAME GUITAR, SAME SOUND BANK(IN A MODEST PODXT), SAME STRINGS, SAME PICK, SAME MONITOR/SPEAKER-CAB; AND JUST BY ADJUSTING THE PICKUP PROXIMITY FROM STRINGS YOU MAY HEAR A DIFFERENT ANIMAL ROARING I THINK THAT'S WHY SOME MUSICIANS ARE HAPPIER WITH CERTAIN COMBINATIONS; SOME OF YOU MAY MIX YOUR FAVE STOMPS+AXE OR YOUR KEMPER PLUGGED INTO A POWER'S AMP+REAL CAB(NO MICS) I REMEMBER A VERY COOL FEATURE FUNCTION FROM POD XT FAMILY: YOU CHOOSE AN AMP MODEL AND A SPEAKER MODEL WITH NO MIC; DAMN!!! THAT WAS REALLY IN-FRONT-OF-YOUR-FACE ROARING MUSCULAR TONE... VERY REAL TO BE DIGITAL CABLES ARE A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE OCEAN AS WELL IN HERE: MONSTER? BELDEN? SWITCHCRAFT? AWG?; SO AS PICKUPS... DIMARZIO DUNCAN KNUCKLE LOLLAR AND SPEAKERS OR SYSTEMS: PA? REAL CAB? HYBRID CABS(YES, THOSE FOR P.A.+TWEETER AND MID/BASS DRIVERS-NO GUITAR SPEAKERS-NO FRFR INTENTION) FRFR? STUDIO MONITORS? DON'T EVEN FORGET WHEN YOU RECORD A PROFESSIONAL ALBUM IT GOES AT THE END THRU THE MASTERING PROCESS AND THAT'S THE SUN SHINING ABOVE US; YOU'LL HEAR EVERYTHING! THAT'S WHY I'M VERY INTERESTING IN LISTENING VERY SOON A SONG ON THE RADIO OR THE MTV PLAYED AND RECORDED WITH HELIX(DOUBT IT ONLY WITH HELIX!!!) BUT THAT'S ME... ENJOY MUSIC, AND TRY TO MAKE IT THE BEST POSSIBLE! HAVE FUN CHEERZZ

the main reason I purchased my Helix was, first of all I Know Line6 very well and trust/like-a-lot his tone quality. On the other hand The MOST important thing I need from the helix are the crystal clear tones I can get without the amp/cab/mic models, being so obsessive with the pure tone I get from my strongly modified guitars for this purpose: the clean tone to alter with whatever effect having what I need for the three basic tones I use to play, I have a crunch 70's tone from a tube orange TH30 head and a hand made pine cab with greenbacks(the originals) High Gain tone from three Randall solid state amps modified and paired with tons of celestion speakers to choose And this crystal clear I get from very dedicated guitars(all modified:paint hardware electronics) and a very dedicated route of eq's/preamps before and after(even thru send-return) ready to make shine all those psychodellic effects from any pedalboard choice/trademark. Line6 Helix has been the freakin' winner!!! so... If I'm thinking in Helix as one in all unit that would be impossible, 'cuz I need so many things before and after this magnificent peace of art of gear however, I really would like Line6 to make more high gain models similar to the old Spinal Puppeter in the PODxt family; I can barely imagine how great it would be hearing a liones' roar from a dedicated tone in the new Helix road sounding close or better than this classical High-Compressed-Gain distorted "amp" so, yes, I really would like to get more High Gain tones from Line6 Helix, but I may be combining as well with other peaces of gear I'm beggin' LINE6, please! hear my prayers! get us with more smashing High Gain tones thanx for readin'

I'm not so sure if it's the tunner but the way you use it first of all you have a more accurate tunning with any tunner by tunning your guitar with natural harmonics, those produced by touching softly with the fingertip over the 12th fret and play the string then make sure you are perfectly intonated if that's the case play little parts of the music you play to double check you are ok also press the strings no more than you need to produce the sound without killing the vibration and keep the natural sustain how many times I've been surprised i'm outta tune and when I play note by note it's indeed out of tune, then I go to the natural harmonics procedure and found out there was the problem a little technique skills is basically something that helps a lot to keep this tunning depending on other factors: saddles, nut, nut slots, how strumming affects what you're doing, your bolted on neck, if your tuneomatic is weel installed and set up but all the tunners you mention are fine, the accuracy it's more a treaky procedure try to tune this way with one single tunner, then you check how it reacts to the others and see if they are doing it the same way

this was something I used to do a lot with my PODxt I select a preamp(no mic/cab) connected to the amp's power amp then, I combined speakers(2x12) t12 75 and V30(a very common use) and place sm57 sm 58 MD421 and D112 (real mics) and work A LOT until I have what I like the most in the mixing process microphone's orientation has a very important role in the tone; even with just ONE mic you can do the magic actually what you hear in a recording studio album is a miced amp, not the cab in front of you as you are used to during your private practice and rehearsals

flexibility and orientation: not everyone wants to play hendrix nor slipknot it's all a matter of orientation what's the best trademark for high gain tones? which processor produces the best clean tones? I find very pleasent the high gain tones from the original models in the PODXT family but the cleans are not as amazing as the HELIX... I prefer original LINE6 models (new ones, not from the POD family) to add the Helix than more ordinary amps and more flexibility to tweak those tones as if they were just real amps; more parameters, more interaction between guitar and amp's eq etc...

everything is about taste and purposes(intentions) I really would like to hear an example of a recorded song(famous or not) to know what Scott is searching for, that did not got from helix... you hear recorded music: the beatles, Creedence, Metallica, Satriani and the G3 stuff, guns n' roses, brittney spears, tears for fears, the who, hendrix, cold play, etc etc etc; this is your impression of the music you may expect to get from your hands when you play an instrument... all of them sounds different all of them recorded with different sources: amps guitars processing procedures; digital-analog live-studio DON'T FORGET IS MASTERED WITH VERY EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT AND BY PROFFESIONAL AUDIO TECHNICIANS then you buy your first guitar: a GIO ibanez, epiphone les paul, squier strat/tele, LTD, Cort, and learn it's NOT enough; you need something better the same as an amp, let me guess... a solid state crate 1x10 or 12???? the same as your pedals, and you find out why cheap pedals and amps sound weak and tube stuff or expensive pedalboards are more alive... then you join a band... where da hell do you reharsall??? what are your options to balance your ensamble's volume do you go thru a PA? or just your poor amps in the floor and drums without mics and worn patches tolly outta tune does your bass man has restring his bass lately? even you? then you reharsall and think you are ready to rock the world and become the next rockstar of your days such as guns metallica nirvana pearl jam aerosmith or whatever it was during your young days then you go on stage and what happens? you didn't know how to set up since you are just a garage band most of the time you gig with NO monitors, with NO decent amps, with NO compression from the PA, tolly unbalanced; sometimes you don't hear yoursefl, some others you barely hear the singer you must know the fact of earing a gig is constantly changing 'cuz your ears get tired and stop listent to the high frequencies then the mids, deppending on your placement; if i'ts near the big speakers or if you are in front of an amp sometimes the tone search is very similar to a perfume: you smell the first one and it's ok, then it comes the second one and you are confused, then the third fourth fifth smells to alcohol all of them sometimes you are tweaking and soon you find what you are searching... the next gig you are lost and tolly displeased with what you found yesterday as the precious tone it's very complex a sound engeneer knows a lot of air sound response beheavior but is not a musician a musician plays his music but is too far to understand management, copyright, company records, sign a contract, music laws, administration, and yes, how to produce his sound the best way possible it's a team work I have a Helix, I would't say it's the best of the best 'cuz I don't master the tweaking area by now... but I'm pleased; I'm more a songwritter so I don't get that bussy tweaking 'cuz to me is more important the song itself, then I try to get close to something I need to get my song into a decent tone that's the moment where the engenneer and producer help me to finish my work so it's a team work the same as my mannager he's gonna help me to mannage me to where I have to play my music: an arena? a stadium? a theater? a hall concert? and again... what will I need??? an FRFR? a 4x12 cab? a combo? or just a PA??? we all are NOT judas priest to travel with roadies and customized gear and techs... we must care almost everything by ourselves... and even judas sounds crap sometimes... cheerz

Im' so curious... I've always have had two of everything cuz of the blend-stereo-split/divider-tone reinforcement purpose, I always need two identical amps to complement them and play stereo effects... WHY DID YOU HAVE TWO HELIX UNITS???

it's too soon... I really would like to hear Helix results in a record. does anybody know an artist who has recorded his tracks with helix in an album already released? I remember the magazine Guitarrist posted an article about a band who recorded his demo with a PODxt and when they presented the demo to the record label the company asked them to keep the PODxt as part of the production since it was impossible to get those tones from real amps. I'm gonna search the mag to share the info with the comunity, I think it was Cold Play, I don't remember exactly. Evanescence recorded his first album with Line6 amps (and emg pickups). The firts time I heard PODxt through professional speaker monitor in flat response I was shocked how great and real they sounded. So the remastering final result must be awesome!!! by now we only can count on our shared experiences and some examples non professional recorded posted on facebook, youtube, soundcloud and bandcamp yet, those kemper helix ax8 are killer in those posts; tiny pieces of great music, recorded with inspiring tones from those gears so, I can't wait to hear Helix in a professional recording studio album from a mainstream artist I'm working very hard on mine to release an album or a single

for the gear addicts: it was very funny how my first electric guitar was a high grade one: GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD CHERRY BURST 2008... then after the purchase I started to learn HOW THA HELL YOU PICK UP AN INSTRUMENT. Funny isn't it? it was very frustrating having a Cort z42 made in Indonesia sounding better than my made in USA Gibson. But wait, that impression was that way 'cuz I was not experienced. Nowadays this Gibson made in USA Lester is the best of the best of the very best piece of gear I own in my 42 guitar collection; having Jacksons, Ibanez prestige, Fender USA, Epiphone, Other USA Gibsons, expensive Cort guitars, etc. funny, my favorite guitar is an Ibanez RG 331 m BOR. It was the same when it came to amps, pedals, cables, recording devices AND PROCESSORS. As much as you all guys talk and discuss about who's the winner, who's better, I get to a simple conclusion: I have to buy both. PERIOD. (and still is my favorite the PODx3 PRO)

it absolutely worths every cent you pay for an expensive music device, I'm NOT presuming but how many times I've been said "dude! I can't make my squier cv guitar sounds the way you do!... "how do you do that?" even the same happens with those cheap korg processors; it's all a matter of tweaking the best possible. BUT, if you are a professional musician it's your responsabilty to get the best of the best, AND YES, you play better, you sound incredible and you enjoy life and make the audience happy... YES I have cheap pedals 'cuz I find them useful for certain applications, but I totally notice the quality and differences. Very interesting those experiences when I have to play with other musicians and when is my turn to play the audience notice the difference inmediately; they do NOT know(don't have to, they are just listeners) what it is(not much different from the oher musicians around, they are carying almost the same expensive devices involved) but they definately get surprised and amazed by this difference; i'ts all in your playing and ears...

made in mexico teles can be totally re-designed: paint(lacquer or polyurethane) high grade hardware(steel or brass) custom shop pickups(bare knuckle/seymour duncan/lollar) bourns switchcraft orange drop circuit combo, professional fret rectification, bone nut, high grade tunning machines and guitarrist own choice set up, and YES, you will sound as you will never imagine Custom Shop Masterbuilt Tele don't need too much modification and when you hear the band playing together you WILL NOT notice the difference between helix, X3 made in japan/mexico or even the player on stage; drums smash all the beautiful sound of a guitar tone rig, and also your custom shop masterbuilt may sound crap if X3 is a ford focus and helix a lambo, I may say both do the same: transport from one place to another X3 sounds great, it demands much much work tweaking and tweaking helix sounds incredibly great, it demands the same effort as using the x3 go for a helix, play better, write better songs, reharsal more and well, do your soundcheck untill it's balanced and have fun =)