mileskb

Well this is a little disappointing. I "purchased" mine from GC locally, but it was part of a deal where I sold them used gear which they used with some additional I had thrown in, to order the Helix. So I have the $1500 tied up, and it's going to be two months before I see the unit? While I agree that the first release date can get a little hinky for any company to meet (unless you are Apple-sized), the 2nd or 3rd ship dates they should have it. Based on my research, no GC in Washington has had a Helix in hand except maybe for one in Seattle which I believe sold when they did the tour there. I have also been to the GC outside Boston and they didn't even know what it was. Of the other Line6 dealer music stores I have contacted, it's a toss up between "who knows" and "what is it?" I'm sad now.

Finally someone mentioning the L1 System. I see the smiley face, but can you share details? Any drawbacks? What type of music do you play? I have been looking at L1's since they came out. The best reproduction for Acoustic guitar (especially Ovation) I have ever heard. How do they handle rock and metal tones?

Wow, I think that's going to be a tough one. I totally get what you mean, I do nearly the same thing but in my case I'm really only cutting the drive in/out to go from fat crunch to clean. In my case I leave the chorus and lite echo on so I don't have the continuity issue, and... in other cases the transition is a measure long so I can get away with it. Now I don't have the unit yet, but I wonder... if a way to cheat it is rather than switch patches... switch paths.. So lets see if I can get this... There'a a couple ways to do this, but essentially run the same signal down two paths or two sets of patch (mono vs stereo).. Mono would really make this easy... Anyway... set up a switch to switch between the INPUT of two paths or maybe even the expression pedal to "pan" the INPUT between the two paths. Merge the output paths back together. This way... when you move your input from the wet input to the dry input... the output of the wet will continue until it's done... Not sure if the unit's DSP can handle all you need, but sounds like this might work.

flaviogianello, or someone else that understands... What does he mean by "a multifx that cuts the delay tails" I have my own theory but I'm not understanding why someone would have an issue with this unless I'm actually NOT understanding it.

For real control of guitar in the mix 500 and 1k just don't cut it, at least not for me. I'm used to having the added 700 and 1.4K bands which leads me to the next question, that I think I know the answer to, but I don't want to assume.... Can you have more than one "effect" in a block? or is a "Block" just a container for ONE thing, be it amp, effect, etc? By the way... I've been reading the manual and the Global EQ is a nice touch. Worth the price of admission right there for anyone running through an amp or cabinet.

Thanks Nurn.. that helps on the Para EQ... what about the "Simple" EQ. (fingers crossed hoping it's at least 10 bands that I can set myself).

So I'm not sure I was clear enough... Audition: The copy idea sounds great.. but more simply asked... If I send a signal in... maybe a guitar part from the DAW looped.... can I just scroll though the amp options (as example) or do I need to actually SELECT an amp option, listen, then SELECT another amp option, Listen etc... EQ: How many bands are on the simple and parametric EQ's ? and can you add more?

I have not seen these items addressed specifically in any of the demos... Audition: Do the effects audition as you scroll through them? This is to ask... as example... If I'm going to add a distortion pedal to a block.... but I'm not sure which one I really want.... can I rotate through the different distortions without actually selecting one right away just to get an idea of it's tone? This is really helpful and maybe more helpful with amp and cab modules. I used to have a Vox Valvetronix and it was great to set up the effects I wanted, and then just roll through different amp models without having to commit until I found the one I wanted to use. EQ: Are any of the EQ's customizable ? Specifically.. is the center frequency of each band of EQ programmable. or as I'm not really familiar.. maybe the question is.... How many bands is the "Line 6 Original" or can you make it as many bands as you need set to the frequencies that you need?

LOL.. Thanks the "causes pitch changes as you sweep the pedal" is somewhat the point of the Hyperspace effect. ;)

I find this thread interesting as I'm selling much of my Rockman gear now to make way for a Helix. I have been using Rockman gear since the begining, and every time I move away, I miss it. Yes it really is the only way to get that "Boston" sound, but lets not forget everyone from ZZTOP and Santana and just about every other rock album in the late 80's early 90's has some Rockman Module on it somethere be it a Smart Gate, Compressor, Distortion or Sustainer... Anyway, the real key and what people mostly think of as "the sound" is the Distortion mode of the Sustainer. As I have one, I am going to use it in the loop, but I am primarily going to try and emulate it. I think the Helix might be better suited as the Sustainer is... A Cabinet Simulator, a Compressor, a Limiter, Distortion and EQ at the very least. Even the Ultimate Distortion pedal, that's just a single pedal with knobs like most standard distortion pedals, has those circuits built in, just pre set to get a particular sound.

As I don't want to make any assumptions.... Can the expression pedal control more than one parameter at a time? Specifically I'm looking to create a very specific effect that uses Delay and Reverb and also some control over levels and feedback... the controller would adjust the Frequency of the delay as well as the level of Reverb and it may need to have a couple of other of the parameters tweaked at the same time. Basically.. creating a Hyperspace Pedal if you know what that is. Again. to be clear.. not switching between paramaters.. but as example... as the pedal moves it slows down the delay's frequency, and increases the reverb's depth.

For the experts... and excuse me if this has been asked already.. 1. For the RACK unit, which I am leaning towards... why does't the ground controller have a display or expression pedal? I would have thought the ground controller would have just been essentially an empty floor unit except for the display, switches and controllers. 2. Due to #1, is there any reason I couldn't use my Behringer FCB1010 controller via midi to run the beasty? At least it has a display and TWO expression pedals. After I typed this message I did some more searching and see that Line6 actually has some nice pedals. Will any of them work to control the Helix rackmount unit? 3. Speaking of MIDI, as I have never used Line6 gear before... can I access most EVERYTHING via midi or is it limited patch, bank, type functions? Thanks in advance... Miles

Thanks Lance. I haven't used an LA2A nor do I have any familiarity with Line6. The Dynacomp is a great unit, but.... there's that annoying Ducking issue instead of a more smooth "limiting" when it hits the wall that Rockman, and other higher end compressors have. I'll guess I'll just wait for one to get to a store to check out.

I guess I need to ask more specific questions.. Is there a compressor(s) and how flexible are they? I want to assume it would be as flexible as most of the line 6 effects but I haven't heard anyone speak of a compressor specifically.

Compression and EQ I'll get straight to it. I'm planning on replacing my Rockman Gear with the Helix, but I need to know the Compression/Sustain and EQ will be flexible enough to re-create those sounds. Actually Sustain is the key, not distortion., Frankly I'm surprised someone doesn't model the Rockman stuff as it was used on just about every rock recording from everyone important for nearly 15 years.. but I digress. I am really looking forward to this unit if it can recreate those classic effects. I've been playing through full range cabs since I got my 1st XPR back in the day. I've had my eyes and ears on Line6 for a long time hoping you'd get to a unit like this eventually. So thanks for that.