Moderato

+1 Well said. The Amplifi 150 had a bit of a bumpy start but it's working much better now that they've upgraded a few things and I'm happy with it and have confidence in Line 6. I would definitely consider a Firehawk or Helix (most likely the Helix because I think it's worth the extra money). I would like to add that for what these units are capable of doing and taking the cost into consideration you have to feel lucky these days. Unless you have tons of money, space and motivation, having all of these amps and effects and switching options isn't feasible for most of us. I'm glad Line 6 is making the products they do and are constantly researching and developing new technology. B)

Would you mind describing the ways? I'm seriously considering the Helix but at $1500 and then possibly I need an L2t or something similar to go with it that's a lot of money, I could get a boutique amp and some pedals for not that much more and I don't want to be unhappy with this purchase. gunpointmetal mentioned, "have all of that in a single patch and switch "channels" like the two-amp rigs in the 8th set-list" but since I don't have one I have an idea what that means but not 100% sure. Currently I have an Amplifi 150 and it's good but not cutting it for what I want to do. Basically I want to be able to play all the parts in any given song, say there's a chorus arpeggiated section, a crunchy rhythm section and a soaring sustainy lead part, I thought with the Helix I'd be able to switch between those three instantly. If that's not the case then maybe it's not for me or I need to use it differently. I'd like to see if I can get this done for around $3000 or thereabouts, the Helix & L2t would be like $2500 so that's at the low end of my budget but my feeling is I'd rather spend $3000 - $3500 and have it perfect than spend $2500 and still be lacking.

I have 1000 songs on my phone and I use the headphone out to the aux in to listen to music all the time, it works great. I'm not an audiophile when it comes to these songs but I use the EQ settings on my phone to tweak the sound but it sounds clear, loud, doesn't distort, bass is good. Actually I use it more for audio playback these days than as a guitar amp because there seems to take me 10 minutes to log in to Line 6, get the Bluetooth working right, sometimes I need to restart my phone but once I get it working as a guitar amp then it's good. For audio playback I just turn it on, plug in the aux in and go, works every time.

IDK what the deal is with this product, I hadn't used it for a while and I went to play it yesterday and it connected but the controls didn't work although it did decide to start playing some random song that was on my phone for some reason while I was trying to figure out what was wrong with it and why it was unresponsive, I had to reconnect it 2 times, restart my phone, turn the Bluetooth on/off again, and then it finally started working right and then worked fine for the next couple hours I was playing. My plan is to get another amp or the Helix and then use the Amplifi to play music/backing tracks/saved loops while I use the other amp or Helix to jam on. The only reason I'm not overly upset is that the Amplifi was inexpensive and it's great to use to play music on using the aux-in, sounds really good with the songs on my phone, I use it as a stereo these days more than for playing guitar.

It would be nice if they could but does anyone know if the Amplifi even has the capacity to add something like this? The other issue is a decent looper pedal on its own costs $100 - $150, how much can we really expect for the price of the Amplifi? Again, I'd love to have it but if it doesn't have the capacity, I'd certainly understand.

So if I want to switch patches within a song, say I'm playing a super clean, all treble funky chaka-chaka type thing and then in an instant I want to go into a crazy over-driven solo with delay and wah, there's going to be a lag time involved so I can't instantly switch to that for the solo and when it's over switch back to the funky clean treble sound/patch without a pause?

Once you have the PC updater it's easy every time. I've updated twice using that and it gave me no problems.

Cool, thanks for the input.

What are you plugging the Helix into and how's it been working out? Sorry, I didn't mean my reply personally, it's just my feelings on it. I've been frustrated with the Amplifi myself and I thought about returning it many times but to me it's so cheap that I can't even justify the trouble. At a minimum I can use it for practicing and music playback. I am curious about your experience with the Helix, also would like to know your experience and feelings on other gear such as amps/pedals as it pertains to your experience with Helix. Thanks.

I'm wondering if there's a step you're not doing because mine has been working amazingly well since the most recent firmware and app update, and I was down for a few weeks when iOS 9 came out. This amp definitely isn't plug and play but then again what is these days? I've been frustrated with the amp myself at times, sorry you couldn't get it worked out because for the money it's an inexpensive practice tool.

Did you try the USB cable and PC utility?

I have to add to anyone reading this thread, it's worth the few dollars to get the USB cable and update via PC. It's so fast and I had no problems. Just needed some time for the USB to install from the Microsoft Drivers but I think that was an issue specific to my computer. I waited for that to complete (took a while) but after that the update went smoothly and the next time I updated it I had no problems, it was done 1,2,3, following the instructions provided.

I maintain that when you factor in the very affordable price tag compared to getting tons of gear, it's a good deal, and with the latest updates to the firmware, app and getting the USB cable to update from the PC, it's been working great. If you're a serious musician then you need to pony up some bucks for professional equipment, just the way it is.

I checked the effects list and I thought the Helix was a bit light on modeled compressors, thoughts?

Without repeating everything I said in my previous post, the bottom line for me is this device is just for having fun and practicing. If you want to get serious about playing with your band then you need to invest more in your gear. Playing music is expensive, doesn't matter what instrument you play it costs $$$$$. Look into the costs associated with playing other instruments. Look at the cost of getting all the gear the Amplifi is modeling and compare that to what the Amplifi costs. If you had a Helix and a SoundSource speaker @ $2500 then I'd say you'd have a legitimate complaint but to expect a $500 device to do it all, just isn't happening, I don't care how it's marketed or what it says on the box. There's no way around it, with this or anything else, quality costs money and that's just the way it is. You get what you pay for. I'm not trying to lecture you, I'm just trying give you some perspective so hopefully you can feel better about the situation. Take myself for example, I'm not satisfied with the Amplifi so I started shopping and realized I need $2500 - $5000 worth of gear to do what I want to do. The Amplifi @ $500 doesn't look so bad to me anymore. lol Like I said, use it for a practice tool when you upgrade your gear later on, put the wear and tear and drop your beer on the Amplifi and save the good gear for when it counts.

If you're looking for something just for practicing and having fun with a garage band not intending on using it for gigging then it's a great deal. Yes there have been some issues but they've been worked out for the most part. Any songs you have on your smart device you can play through the amp at 1/2 speed which comes in handy for learning solos or really trying to hear a subtle chord change. I use it to listen to music and it's not going to replace a $1000 dedicated stereo but considering the other things it does it's good, true you can't adjust the EQ for music playback but my iPhone has an EQ and that works well as a substitute. I think it's unrealistic to expect a $500 product to replace $3000 - $5000 worth of gear. For what it is it's good, at the time (yes not that long ago) it might have made more sense to buy than it does now as there are so many more options. If I were buying today I'd put the $500 toward a Helix and SoundSource speaker but again cost-wise it's comparing apples/oranges. Like I just mentioned in another thread, if you're just practicing you can use it for that and save the wear & tear on your $3000 boutique tube amp. Really depends on what your needs are.

Not much point in selling it. For $500 it's something you can use for practice, playing music (I use the aux-in from the headphone jack on my iPhone), or for playing backing tracks while you jam out on your other equipment. Let's say you're trying to work out a particular solo. You can get the sound on the Amplifi "close enough" and use that for practice work (the 1/2 speed feature comes in handy). Why put the wear & tear on $3000 worth of tube amps and pedals? It just doesn't seem worth it to sell it, what will you get $250 - $300 if you're lucky? Worth much more than that as a practice tool and for playing music. I was as pissed as anyone with the whole iOS thing and the 2.10 firmware not updating correctly but now that I got it working again, there's no way I'd sell this thing for $250. $500 new you can't beat it for what it does. You'd need $3000 - $5000 worth of equipment just to start getting the "read deal" version of what this amp can do.

Update: Good news! The USB cable and PC utility did the trick! Pretty much the instructions on this site for doing this are correct, I would just add that after you install and run the utility it will tell you to plug in the USB cable and when you connect it to the computer it takes 10 minutes to find the driver from Windows Update. Now I don't know if that was specific to my computer but when I installed the utility it did say USB drivers so maybe that was something specific to my computer but if you get that message on the lower right of the taskbar then leave it alone until it's done installing. So now I have 2.10 installed on the amp, 2.50 installed on my phone and iOS 9.02 and all is good. The amp and app is working good and so far no disconnects when jamming along with music using bluetooth. The past 4 weeks I was starting to think I was never getting this thing working again. So glad it's operational and I can start enjoying it once again.

Update: Good news! The USB cable and PC utility did the trick! Pretty much the instructions on this site for doing this are correct, I would just add that after you install and run the utility it will tell you to plug in the USB cable and when you connect it to the computer it takes 10 minutes to find the driver from Windows Update. Now I don't know if that was specific to my computer but when I installed the utility it did say USB drivers so maybe that was something specific to my computer but if you get that message on the lower right of the taskbar then leave it alone until it's done installing. So now I have 2.10 installed on the amp, 2.50 installed on my phone and iOS 9.02 and all is good. The amp and app is working good and so far no disconnects when jamming along with music using bluetooth. The past 4 weeks I was starting to think I was never getting this thing working again. So glad it's operational and I can start enjoying it once again.

Yeah that's what was happening to me, thought I needed to update to 2.10 but geez that was a mistake. I can't correct this with my iPhone, I tried installing a previous FW but failed again, same thing 4 blinking lights. Why isn't there a feature to just reset it back to when it was new? Holding the master volume and tone isn't doing that, keeping getting 4 blinking lights. I hope when I get the correct USB cable I need I can resolve this with the PC utility. Not happy at all with this thing lately. Waited weeks for the fix for iOS 9 and now it's not working again simply because I got the brillant idea to update it to 2.10 (thinking that would cure the disconnects while listening to music through the app). This just isn't right.

Damn it, I wish I read this forum before I tried to update to 2.10 this morning. This is exactly what's been happening on mine and now I have 4 flashing lights and instead of enjoying playing on my day off, I'm once again on these boards trying to figure out what to do. Now it's even recognizing the device as an Amplfi 75. Trying to figure out if I should try and install 2.00 as an Amplifi 75 or what? I don't have the USB cable I need to attach with the correct plug on the Amplifi side. Arghhhh. edit - Seems like the thing to do is get the correct USB cable I need and update via PC. Will work on that later this afternoon. And yes I was having the same problem with losing the connection while playing songs with bluetooth and I've done everything correctly, I'm not completely inept when it comes to IT issues, this is B$ on Line 6's part. One problem after the other with this thing lately, very dissatisfied.

Well unfortunately same problem for me. I updated my phone to the latest iOS. Made sure the Amplifi app was up to date. Then tried to update the Amplifi to 2.10 and now I have four flashing lights. On here trying to figure out what to do next. I don't think I have a USB adapter with the correct plug I need for the Amplifi so looks like I'll be without the Amplifi for a while again. I didn't want to update to the latest firmware because I was afraid something like this would happen but it kept telling me it was disconnected from the device when I was trying to jam along with music on the bluetooth and I thought it could be due to the fact I was running an older firmware (it would connect initially and work normaly, edit mode worked, but always after the first song finished playing it would tell me it's disconnected even though the next song started playing). How can it be disconnected from the device when a song is playing from my phone via bluetooth?? Song is playing via bluetooth but the app isn't controlling the amp, tuner doesn't work, etc. Anyway the frustration with this product continues... edit - Seems like the thing to do is get the correct USB cable I need and update via PC. Will work on that later this afternoon. And yes I was having the same problem with losing the connection while playing songs with bluetooth and I've done everything correctly, I'm not completely inept when it comes to IT issues, this is B$ on Line 6's part. One problem after the other with this thing lately, very dissatisfied.

Fortunately I don't have any issues with the amp losing the bluetooth connection and I have a house full of people using wireless devices. Although I only use bluetooth for the amp modeling patches, if I want to use it for music then I always use the aux-in so not sure if that has anything to do with it.

Awesome thanks for the post! At work now, glad to hear and will give it a go when I get back to the homestead.

I'll agree that updating to the latest OS right before a gig might not be the best idea and I guess that's a lesson to be learned the hard way but that limited circumstance aside, I myself didn't think twice about updating my phone, especially with Apple products you just sorta have to and like others I wasted a lot of time trying to get it working before I checked here to see if there was an issue. Also if you're a gigging musician you need a backup to the backup plan and that's not criticizing the other poster, I'm extremely empathetic to his situation and I might have made the same mistake myself but nevertheless IMO the Amplifi 150 isn't professional grade and it wasn't meant to be or priced that way and I wouldn't have relied on it even before this happened. Again that's just my opinion, I always viewed it as good for practice/hobby use but I wouldn't have confidence in it for gigging. Anyway I'm sure Line 6 is working hard to fix this, let's face it, it's in their best interest to however I'm watching how this situation unfolds very carefully and it will factor into my decision to spend $2500 on a Helix and StageSource because if I was relying on THAT equipment for a gig and it was rendered useless because it wasn't compatible with a long-known-about update to an OS then that would be unforgivable (does the Helix and StageSource have everything on-board to operate as advertised, I wasn't concerned about that until now?). Eitherway if Line 6 can't come up with a fix shortly then they better address the issue somehow. I mean correct me if I'm wrong but aren't people out there still buying these? Amplifi can be tricky to work with when you know what you're doing let alone if you just brought it home and was trying to figure out what's going on and why it's not working the way it's supposed to, can't imagine the frustration level there. One good idea that someone came up with that I read on these boards was for Line 6 to implement a PC-based interface as well, it's a good backup plan. I'm also wondering if Amplifi will become obsolete after a while, how long will Line 6 keep up with compatibility with new iOS updates?