chirondragon

Ok. I'll throw in my speculations/possiblities/dreams for NAMM 2019. Totally unqualified and likely dead wrong. - At one time I was thinking L6 would just skip 2.8 and just drop the big daddy 3.0 since it's NAMM and they seem like maybe they're close to getting the features set and why wait a whole year for NAMM 2020. But that seems highly unlikely. So we'll probably get 2.8 and maybe 3.0 announcement at summer NAMM. - Will 2.8 have all the poly stuff? Could be. Maybe that's why DI is speaking and will demonstrate that stuff with those fancy new colored units on display. - Amp Building? I don't know if this would be in 2.8 or 3.0, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if L6 came up with some sort of twist on profiling and amp building. Maybe some kind of way of having pre-built amp templates with the ability to make modifications. If they had this and some type of "cloning" then people would be able to copy and/or build custom amps. If only there were some sort of Marketplace to sell these amps. - Seems like there are some new cab options coming. I was wondering what the cost of a non-powered speaker from Powercab would cost. Maybe the could make an extension cab for stereo or wet/dry/wet. I wonder if they would ever make cabs with those new Celestion speakers. Then I was thinking if they did that, then why not make a 4X12? And then we could really have the… - Helix Dream Rig. But we would need a powered Helix head. So why not strap a Helix rack on to a Powercab amp section and throw it in a box? Sure the rig with a floor board would be over $3000 but it would be the baddest MF out there. I realize it's a specific and small market item, but it really would be the ultimate Dream Rig, except… - We would need new Variax updates and models. Hopefully this is another thing for DI to reveal. A new slate of Variaxes and Yamaha guitars with L6 tech. Revstar Variax anybody? Well that's my list. Ridiculous? Maybe. But I wished for a product pretty much exactly like the Helix in 2008 and it's here now. So we'll see.

https://helixhelp.com/models/amps/guitar/

You can plug your acoustic into one of the returns. There is a switch beneath the expression pedal. Helix should be transparent. It does not come with any IRs. (although you can download the Allure cab pack for free.) (also, I think 3 Sigma has acoustic IRs for like 10 bucks.)

The LT can definitely replace what the 500x is doing. Things are a little confusing on my end if you're trying to replace the analog pedals and still incorporate the loopers. It seems like you would still need to use additional sends and returns inside Helix to do that. One reason being that I think you can only use one instance of the looper inside Helix (although you would probably prefer to use your external loopers). But you obviously have a better command and understanding of your flow than I do. But if you're just doing up to 3 inputs, each one of them can be assigned their own chain. All of the inputs can be changed to take in different types of signals. INPUT 1 (BASS) > ASSIGNED TO CHAIN 1A ---> INTERNAL FX ----> 1 fender guitar amp INPUT 1 (BASS) > ASSIGNED TO CHAIN 1B ---> INTERNAL FX ----> 1 vox INPUT 1 (BASS) > ASSIGNED TO CHAIN 2A ---> INTERNAL FX ----> 1 Crate bass amp INPUT 2 (SYNTH) > ASSIGNED TO CHAIN 2B ---> INTERNAL FX ----> Roland amp Then the issue is there are only two 1/4" outputs so you would have to convert the XLR OUTS.

That's a sweet setup you have there. I'm a little groggy so I may not completely follow your signal/s flow. I just got an LT and internally you can create four discrete chains to go to the four outputs (2 1/4 and 2 XLR) like the Helix, but I'm pretty sure it only takes in up to 3 regular inputs and a Variax input. So if you need more inputs than that, you would need a regular Helix. I don't know if that helps at all.

This tip of the iceberg thing is interesting. Like many, I've really been thinking about the future of Helix. I think the dev team cares about support and the community and things like Ideascale. But to me they seem to be driven by more selfish motives. And I mean that in a good way. It seems like since this product was revealed that there has been, and still is some serious passion going on in the L6 offices. They really seem to be determined to make the best possible product out there. It kinda feels like a lot of the ideas that people come up with are already being experimented with in the lab. They obviously started developing the Helix several years ago with high processor power component modelling in mind. But during that time Fractal and Kemper released their products and of course they're aware of what the other companies have to offer. So, going back to this iceberg thing, I think this version of Helix is actually just the basic platform they are going to be using for their pro-level digital amps and effects. This team seems like they want to be the best out there and "To be the best, you gotta beat the best." I'm guessing that since everyone keeps comparing them to Kemper that they've already been working on a form of profiling. Maybe they'll call something like 'cloning' to go with the Helix branding. Peavey is doing it with Revalver, so I really wouldn't be surprised if L6 is doing it too. Then they'll probably go into component level amp building with a new editor similar to Bias. And maybe make a power head just for peeps who want to take a head and plug into their cabs/monitors. All of these things will take time to get out there but it just seems to me that the guys at Line 6 would love to put out a product that basically closes the discussion and comparisons to all the other digital products because they will have all the features that their competitors have in just one platform. I already think the Helix is fantastic as is and personally wouldn't buy one with speculations of massive updates. Bug fixes, tweaks and a few new models here and there are cool. I have a feeling they're going way beyond that though in the near future. btw, this is just a response to the 'tip of the iceberg' thing. To be clear, this is definitley not a comment or opinion about the OP.