First about me. I played for thirty five years. Owned almost every Marshall, Mesa, Fender + a lot of boutique amps ( Matchless, Bad Cat +++) Liked most of them, but Guitarist always want something new, right?
Also worked for over 15 year selling guitars and amps.
Now the Helix.
While the Helix is my favorite toy and more than satisfying in my studio, I only used it as a pedalboard in live situations. It´s by far my best and most versatile pedalboard ever :-)
Let me also mention that i do not use stereo setup live.
My Problem:
While some of you like it the FRFR thing does not work for me. Tried Line6, EV, Yamaha and other brands but i dont like the "miked" sound.
My Solution:
I stumbled over a old forgotten Mesa Boogie. The Simul Satellite. Made in the early 90´s for use with the Mesa Mark IV for a stereo setup. It´s like having a 112 cab with a built in power amp. And you can use it as a singel channel amp as well. It is Perfect for my needs. While most tube amps bypass the tonestack when using the effect return the Mesa Simul Satellite have a 5 band footswitchable eq + presence and a master volume. Switchable from 90w down to 15w
The one i got also have the EV12L speaker. IMHO the best speaker ever..200w and clean no matter what i put in to it. To my ears it does not color the sound like my V30, Greenback ++ This is of course a matter of taste.
Cons: With the 8.6 kg EV12L speaker it is a bit on the heavy side.( Not more than a quality 12" PA speaker) Have to choose between 6L6, EL34 or 6V6 tubes.( Can also mix 6L6 and EL34)
Pros: It´s a tube amp made for the use of the effect loops!! Amp sounds good alone, and take pedals were well. Compact size. 15w to 90w . The EV12L sounds good from bedroom level to stage level. Can gig with only one amp, using different preamps in the Helix.
Now i have the Helix amp simulations as a Backup for the Mesa, and my Tech 21 fly rig 5 as a backup for the backup.
Hope this can help others "old school" BluesRock players like me out there searching...