erabjohns

Thats kind of what I do. I run a synth in using 2 stereo effects loops and give it its own path with effects and filters. I use another path for the electric guitar and amp model/effects. I plug a mic and and set its own path with the mic preamp and reverb to capture my acoustic and bring everything together with a stereo looper at the end. Plus I can have USB audio playing at the same time. Helix is the brains of my studio. Also, Rack us nice if you don't want the computer on and/or have to bend over to make changes. Rack is up and eye level and controller is on the floor.

OP is talking about capo, as in digital capo effect. Seems strange but sounds like it worked out.

I only have the 250, but the difference between the two when playing through a Helix is pretty straight forward. Your headphone knob will just be turned a little higher with the 250 version compared to the 80. If you run out of space on quiet patches, you just up the output block a little. Sound quality is identical in this case. My Stereo can drive the 250s pretty well. If I was just listening through a laptop, I'd definitely go for the 80s.

You'd be surprised how much you end up playing with headphones once you hear the glorious stereo effects.ots of different ways to use a Helix.

I'd love to see some better Supro amps added. There are some great, sparkly amps in that collection. The Black Magik mabye? Also, more 10 inch speaker cabs. Vox AC10 or a Marshall 1974x.

I use a regular Helix to control Kemper via midi. Works great. I assume the HXFx is the same or similar enough. Are you able to make any midi commands, or is nothing working? Page 269 in the Kemper manual will give you the command values for rig changes. On my Helix presets I have two foot switches that let me go up or down the rig list. From the Helix, it looks something like this: Command: Midi CC Midi Channel: 1 CC# 49 (scrolls up, use 48 to scroll down) Value: 0 Page 264 will give you the values for each block on the Kemper. Pretty easy from the Helix. Toggling the A block looks like Command: CC Toggle Midi Channel: 1 CC#: 17 Dim value: 0 Lit Value: 1(can be anything greater than zero) The only Kemper setting I had to change was around midi changes in performance mode, but I mainly just use browser mode and scroll through the rigs. You may benefit from a system restore on the Kemper if you're not getting anything from the HXFX.

Wow, that's deep Ogre.

Figured it out. I had to monkey around with the output settings on the kemper. Turns out I dont need and effects loop block on every kemper rig thankfully. Next step is midi integration....

I figured I'd ask the question here since I have much more experience here than the Kemper forums but hopefully there are some Kemper users here that can answer the question. I just bought a Kemper to integrated with my Helix Rack and was hoping to use the 4 cable method to use Kemper for amps & reverb and rely on Helix for everything else. I hooked everything up and all I hear through the Helix is the dry guitar signal. Nothing coming back from the Kemper. I set up a basic patch with a Send 1 block followed by a Return 1 block. Here's how I set up the cables. Guitar into the Helix Helix Send 1 to Kemper guitar input Helix Return 1 to Kemper Send Helix L/Mono Out to Kemper Return Does that look right or is there something I'm supposed to do on the Kemper end for the signal to be sent/returned? If I need to add an effects loop to the kemper, do you do it in one of the Mod slots, or in the "X" slot? Does that make a difference? Thanks! Rayf

Are we talking about the joystick? If so, you can set it to rotate instead of press in the direction you want to go. That coupled with the amp button as DI said gets me where I need to be pretty quickly. I agree with OP though. Pushing the joystick left/right or up/down was not a good feeling.

Buy a used one I'd your concerned about your gear depreciating. As far as future support, I expect another 2 years of firmware updates to address the lack of HX reverbs and the oft mentioned pitch shifting. After that who knows. Other than cab and IR changes, not sure where else there is to improve

I'm getting an FM3 so I can pit the fractal/Helix debate to bed. The idea that Fractal can sound so much better than Helix just doesnt make any sense to me. Maybe it does and I switch to the Fractal platform but I have a hard time seeing how its possible. My biased opinion is most of these "Helix doesnt hold a candle to Fractal" posts are made by high gain players where their tone and style aren't close to anything I play. Last I checked people acknowledged that Helix shined in the edge of break up tone which is my bread and butter. That may have changed with Ares, but I'm looking forward to comparing the two model systems.

I believe they had to do some major dsp software changes to model the tweed deluxe because it was so processor intensive. More DSP doesnt neccesarily mean better sounding, but I think Line 6s modeling technique has become more sophisticated since Helix first launched.

Is there a power amp that doesnt color the sound or change the feel of Helix? Basically something like the amp in the powered version of Kemper? Powercab is a nice option but 90% of what I play is open back Fender cabs and Marshall 4x12s. I'd love to have a power option and then run to my own cabinets. Line 6 would do well to put out their own clean power amp and then a line of unpowered cabs, open back, 4x12, closed back, etc. I imagine you can still model the individual speaker, but you'd have the enclosure and power source nailed. Line 6 would pretty much dominate the market IMO.

With the looper on Path A, I assume you use that to lay down your rhythm track to say Time or Money. Switch to Path B for your solo.

I appreciate the insight. The MIDI controls are more of an interest than a key reason to go this route. Mainly, I just want to turn effects on/off and I figure this will allow that to happen.

Cool. I didn't see this video before. I'm a total noob when it comes to midi so I should probably do a little homework before jumping in. Thanks!

I've had a Helix Rack for a while now and I've been kicking around the idea of adding the Helix Control. Last night, the idea dawned on me to just spend the extra $100 and get the HX Effects. I know it's overkill, but I figure I can run most of the effects I want through the HXFX, save on the DSP in the Rack. Since the HXFX can send/receive MIDI commands, I assume I can do things like toggle blocks on the Rack on/off, right? Is there something that I'm clearly missing, or would this work?

The Axe FX III looks & sounds like an amazing product. I am sure there are places that the III can go that Helix can't quite get there, and I think it primarily is in the high-gain realm. I don't play high gain other than as a novelty now and then, so that isn't a selling point for me. Delays & Reverbs are richer, I'm sure but again, there isn't anything exclusively in the III that is a requirement for me. Honestly, when comparing clean and edge or break up amp models, I can hear a (usually slight) difference but that difference isn't a good/bad thing. It is almost a tweak in how something is EQ'd so that could be easily replicated on either device. If the difference comes down to the modeled amp's dynamic response and "feel", then I can understand why people say the difference is a big as they sometimes do. I haven't played the Axe FX III so I can't make a judgement call on that. I do know that the POD HD series sounded good but did not feel at all like a real amp. The Helix overcame this issue for me, which was a big deal. I can't imagine there's room left for Fractal to make as big of a jump in amp response (from Helix to the III) that I saw coming from the HD to the Helix, but then again, I can't compare the two units. At the end of the day, I use 6 Helix amps on a regular basis(8 once 2.8 gets here!). I use a smattering of overdrives, maybe 4 different kind of delays, 4 different kinds of reverbs and I got pretty light on the modulation. Trying new amp models is fun, but I can't justify the Axe FX III price tag just to monkey around. I will say the Helix UI is better than Fractal. The fact that I can edit settings on a Helix as fast as I can do it on an amp or pedal, without being tied to a computer is groundbreaking IMO.

I have this problem from time to time and it seems more to do with the amp settings and Helix's headphone output than my actual headphones. Unless I max out the master and channel volume, the output isn't enough to get to the sweet spot on my 250ohm BD 880s. If I want the master on 7 or so, I have to add a Gain block.

This was exactly my problem. Seemed like every set up I saw showed the looper in the last spot before the output. Yet, if I put the Ditto last, everything sounded like garbage. Move it in front of the amp and I was good to go. Same with my Echorec. I put most HX delays towards the end of the patch, after amp and cabinet and they sounded great. Put the pedal in an FX loop there and everything sounds terrible again. I learned my lesson. Another good point about a real A/B test. In my old set up, everything, including the looper ran in front of the amp since there was no effects loop. What I was doing before was not the same hence the muddy sound. Lesson learned, never doubt the Helix.

Nice. I got a good deal on the DT 880s, but if not for that, the Sennheiser 650's would be my first choice. Let us know what you think once you break them in.

I got the 205 ohm version. I've read the highs can be a little brittle and the higher ohm versions take some of the edge off. If you have any thoughts about using these with a phone or ipad, I would go with the 32 ohm version. The Helix can drive the 250 ohm version, but sometimes I need to add gain to a patch to get it loud enough, mainly with clean tones where the drive & master are around 5 or below. They're also semi-open back headphones. I really like these compared to closed back. You don't feel like you're playing in solitary confinement but I also don't get complaints from others that it's too loud or annoying. I have the Premium edition which are comfortable, but the cord is really long. I believe the Pro edition has a coiled cable which may not get caught up as much depending on your setup.

Good headphones will make a difference. I went from an entry level Audio Technica set to Beyerdynamic 880s. It's a huge upgrade considering how much time you spend listening to your helix through headphones. My only complaint is the non-removable cables on the Beyerdynamic. Its a super long cable, gets in the way and it's started to cut out now and then. There's a way to replace them if you can do your own soldering, but it's still a PIA. Sound quality is great though.