harwood_rocks

I'm in the process of acquiring a power amp to go in the rack with the helix and an expression pedal.

Voted

I believe it would push many people towards a purchase if there were more upadates/add ons planned. The amp models provided by the helix/HD500 are great but it would be nice to have more choice like the axe fx does, especially when the axe fx is what the helix is designed to compete against. In the pod HD Pro facebook group many people complained that the new add ons weren't free but as the units only cost a fraction of the price of axe fx's it's easy to see why they would be charged for. However with the helix being a much more expensive and advanced unit, again marketed to compete with axe fx it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect the same updates/add ons regularly and FOC. The kemper are really the only future proof unit at the moment as when you want a new amp model you can just get a new profile.

I apologize if this has already been asked but, how are we going to be looking for updates? The Axe FX has regular updates where extra amp models and FX are added FOC, I am hoping this will be the case with the Helix.

The IR idea is a good one, but actual models would also be very useful. Having something where you can pick and mix the pre amp and power amp like the BIAS program would be great.

I've commented before but it wasn't picked up, which i'm not surprised by with how many people are on this post asking things. One feature that would be mega helpful would be a separate power amp block, even if it was just an FX block that was like a single clean tube amp model or something. This would be useful for silent recording real amps with the 4 cable method to capture the real amp pre-amp and then run it through a 'power amp' block and a 'cab' block.

There's music other than rock?

I too am wondering this. I am torn between getting the floor board version as it has the expression pedal without the added expense of the controller OR getting the rack and controller due to it being safer in a rack case away from drinks that could be spilled at gigs.

I would also like to see some amp comparisons between the HD500, the Helix and the real deal.

Thanks guys!

I can't help but smile haha

Here is another video with the ENGL and the jet city cabs. The HD500 was providing compressor, Hard Gate and tube screamer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3gnGtXOQiY&app=desktop

I have a Jet city 24S+ which has the same eminence speakers in. I have been a massive fan of those speakers for a long time!

The idea of the test was to test how well the ENGL preamp is replicated by the ANGL model. By keeping everything the same except the preamp a good idea of how they compare can be heard. I use the ANGL model with a stand alone guitar power amp through a guitar 2x12 or 4x12 if i am not using my actual ENGL Head.

Exactly. It sounds near enough for me to leave the ENGL at home for some gigs.

There was no cab sim as I used the same real cab in both tests, output set to stack power amp, power amp settings of presence and depth set to 50% each. Model and amp EQ set almost identical.

Here's a quick test I did to show how close the model of the ENGL really is! ENGL tone is all ENGL with a tube screamer provided by the hd500. The ANGL pre tone is the hd500 model through the ENGL power amp via the fx return with a tube screamer again . Both running into my 4x12. Amp and model EQ'S matched and cab sim turned off. Output set to stack power amp. Very close I reckon, close enough for me to leave the ENGL at home for some gigs! https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Svt7izUSySw&app=desktop

No worries dude! Happy to help :) thanks for the kind words. I use the HD500 for both the 4CM with my ENGL and as a full modeller with a power amp.

I made this video a while ago to help people on the pod HD facebook group with setting up the 4CM Hopefully it will be of help to some of you here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeKyb65CnyQ&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

As mentioned previously, I think having power amp models as their own block would be a brilliant tool for us who use the 4 cable method and want to record silently. If it were possible the chain would be; Guitar - pre fx - fx loop (for amp preamp) - power amp sim - cab sim - post fx - out to interface. I did it once before and had to do the power amp sim and cab sim in logic which worked but would be much better as an all in one in the unit itself especially with it being the mother ship of connectivity!

This video I did should help. I've been using 4CM for years with no problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeKyb65CnyQ&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

My video should help. I have been running 4CM for years with my tube amps without any signal loss. 4 Cable Method with HD500 & MIDI Talk Through: https://youtu.be/xeKyb65CnyQ

Having been using my HD500 for a good few years now as both an fx and controller unit alongside my tube amp using the 4 cable method & midi and a full modelling and fx unit with a power amp in live and studio settings I am very very excited about the endless possibilities that are going to come with the new helix unit! As they say, good things come to those who wait.