jeff5x01

I can't really add too much to the comments above. I came from a Kemper to a Helix. The bottom line is, if you've never used a modeler before none of them may sound good to you. I didnt care for the Kemper when I first got it. However when I sold it 5 years later, I absolutely loved it. It took me 2 days to bond with the Helix. At first I was disappointed, but now I think it's awesome. I would suggest not paying too much attention to comparison videos. Just go try one out if you're able to. I think all of the units mentioned are incredible units. You just have to pick the one that has the work flow you need. Fractal has awesome FX and nice modeling. Kemper has great raw guitar tones but not much in the way of routing or fx. Helix has a combination of all of the above. Honestly I really don't think you could go wrong with any of them if you're use to modeling.

My bassist plays through a B3 and loves it. I keep trying to convert him over to Helix. His set up is simple though. Glad you're diggin it!

This is one area that Kemper already does so it would be neat to see it incorporated in the Helix. In the Kemper you can literally save any FX setting(drive pedal, delay, chorus, whatever) as a favorite, name it, and pull it into any amp you are playing. I like this idea for the Helix. I'll vote on it!

I just left Kemper a few months back. I was first disappointed when the Helix arrived. I now love it. I mean really love it. Don't give up on it after your first impression and like others have said, don't even try the stock presets. I'm not a tweaker but I love the editor and huge failing point for the Kemper. Something that has been requested since day 1 and Christoph refuses to listen to his users. I got my Kemper during the first shipment to Sweetwater. Had it for 5 years. Loved it and still think it is an awesome piece of gear. I do not miss it though. The routing in the Helix is just too cool. The tones are in there, you just gotta dig them out. Unlike the Kemper which I consider a plug and play unit, the Helix requires a bit of tweaking. Not much. I pretty much hi pass and low pass everything, though not on a global level. I'm a Helix convert. Hope you dig it after you get it dialed in!

I've just recently switched from a Kemper to a Helix. They're different but both sound great. For me the change was a little difficult at first. The Kemper is plug and play. Not a whole lot of tweaking.....just trying different profiles. The Helix for me personally required a little bit of tweaking, but nothing major. On the plus side for the Helix are the effects and the routing. Kemper can not pull off the incredible routing that Helix has, and the Kemper effects while ok, you're limited to how many and where you can place them. I had the Kemper for 5 years and loved it. I've had the Helix for 2 weeks and don't miss the Kemper. The Helix also has an editor which after 5 years of asking for an editor for the Kemper......it still does not. Both great boxes each unique in their own right. It really comes down to what you need, but you can't go wrong with either. I have no experience with Fractal products, but all the videos I've heard of it sound great.

I generally will only make positive comments on a forum I am a member of. I'm new here, so I don't want to ruffle any feathers. I've had the Helix for almost 2 weeks now. I used it for the first time in church today. The tuner for me personally is just way too jumpy. Brand new strings on a brand new guitar. I've been playing guitar for over 30 years and have owned several tuners and several different digital boxes (Pod XT Live, Pod HD 500, Zoom G3, Elevenrack, Kemper, etc) It's not un-usable but it certainly is very difficult to get a guitar in tune in my limited experience with it. It's great that some of you have no issue with it. For me it's just all over the place. I would hope that Line 6 would look into it as this is such a basic feature that there should be no issue with at all. In all of the previous mentioned boxes I've never had an issue with tuning. For me it's not an accuracy thing, like others have said, it won't grab onto the note. It just flails all around. Doesn't matter what pick up I use or where the tone knob is (nor should it) it just won't lock on. I was so impressed by the huge tuner display (as my sight declines with age lol) then super un-impressed it was to actually try to tune the guitar with it. Just one mans story here. I believe that all of you who say you are not struggling with the tuner....are actually NOT struggling with the tuner. It's a disappointment here, but as others for now, I'll just have to put a tuner that works for me in front of the unit. Hopefully there will be a resolution that is good for everyone coming down from Line 6 eventually.

That guitar is beautiful!

Great idea!

I think the added money considering what you get is worth it. Like you I was looking at the LT first. It has the same tones in it which is ultimately the important thing to me. After having the Helix though the scribble strips make things so easy in a live setting. Now I'm sure plenty of guys out there are getting along more than just fine with the LT in a live situation. I'm an older guy (48) so being able to see the snapshot modes and effects (color coded even) just really helps me keep a handle on things. Plus if I ever need more ins and outs I have them. Honestly though you can't go wrong with either. If you think long term (say keeping the unit for over 5 years) the extra money for the Helix just isn't that much. Let us know what you decide and why!

Thrilled it went well for you!

No he doesn't have an "Everything" deal. He has various bundles. http://www.mbrittprofiles.com/kemper/index.html

Based on what youve said (play a vox, play every Sunday etc) I'm going to assume you are in a worship band. If I'm wrong I apologize. If you are in a worship band, head over to Worship Tutorials and download a couple of patches from there. There are a few Vox patches. They should get you through the practice. However, as eager as you are to try this out at practice, I'd say wait. I got my Helix a week ago and it took me 2 days to get something I was happy with. I just don't want you to walk away from practice thinking the unit sucks. When I first plugged in, I hated it. I came from using a Kemper which I loved. Now I have almost the exact same tone that I had with the Kemper, but it took some work to get there. An hour probably is not enough time to find "your" tone. Can you stay after practice and hook up the Helix to mess around with it through the pa? That would be ideal. I'm a trustee at our church and I have access to the building anytime I want. So naturally I've spent some time tweaking at home, then again up at church, all before even attempting to try it out with the band. I know you're excited to see what this thing can do......I get it. Just realize it may take some time to get the tone your after. Plus practice is suppose to be fun. You dont want to be frustrated. ps. Do NOT attempt the firmware update before practice. I got a Helix last week and it was firmware 1.06. Current version is like 2.21? I took me an hour and 2 phone calls to Line 6 to get it updated. It refused to update. You may not have any problems. It may go smooth. But if you intend to try it at practice forgo the update for now.

Yea man that distorted guitar on the left is super fat and punchy. Sounds great!

Says track has been removed? Also just curious, don't you get some phasing issues by combining IR's from different companies? I haven't tried it, but I heard it's not a good idea.

Yea man sounds killer even through a phone. Nice job on the solo! Was that a butterfly that dive bombed your head at 30 seconds in?

Since you have a Kemper I would highly suggest trying MBritt Profiles. They are insanely good, especially his hi gain stuff.

Obviously we don't know all of the things you have attempted but when using IR's or even stock cabs I find it essential to dial the hi cut down quite a bit. Sometimes all the way down to 6k. I also use the low cut to get rid of excessive boominess from 80-110 hz. Also a lot of nastiness lives around 4k in a distorted guitar tone so you may want to use a parametric eq with a sharp q a pull 3 to 4 db of that out. One thing I've found with this box (I'm a new user as well - 3 days in) is for me personally it is not a plug and play box. You really have to get in there and wrestle with it to get the tone youre after. It's in there though. Finally like another poster mentioned, you may be so used to amp and cab sound versus a mic'd amp and cab sound. It takes some getting use to. However if you're happy with your existing rig keep rocking out with that.

Having come from a Kemper to a Helix I have some thoughts. Keep in mind, I've only had the Helix for a couple of days while I had the Kemper for 5 years. Right out of the gate, I was disappointed in the Helix tone wise. Kemper is really plug in play. Try a profile, if you like it great, if not move on. Most of the user made profiles sound pretty bad, with the exception of a few. So yes, you need to buy profiles usually if you want a great sound. My favorite profile was the AC Morgan 20 which was a free profile and I played on that profile for 5 years. That's kind of why I let my Kemper go. I only need one tone with a lot of effects. The Helix has to be dialed in. It definitely takes more work, however the tones are in there. To say that one box is better than the other is pointless. It's taken me 2 days to dial in a great sound and to get to know the Helix. The routing and effect capability of the Helix is just really top notch. Very sophisticated yet intuitive. I think both units are great. One thing I really love about the Helix that I didn't care for with the Kemper are the dirt pedals. Really really good on the Helix. I'm a huge fan of the chains in the Helix as well. So far I'm happy with Helix. I'm certainly hoping for a more sophisticated IR management system though. Thats the one thing that's pretty ugly with the Helix. Not a huge deal though.

I got this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L961JAY/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ASX0OOEL0DXNP However, I'm just using it to get my Helix from Church and back. If I were a bar gigging musician, I'm not sure it would be sturdy enough. It's a nice case for the price though.

Hey thanks for the response. Im quite familiar with the way a Kemper sounds through a pa, so I'm hoping that knowledge will help me. We have a Presonus Live mixer so I am able to capture the band at rehearsal and play it back through the pa and adjust. I generally high pass up to around 100 hz and low pass anywhere from 10k sometimes down to 6k. I hate fizz so Im thrilled there is a parametric eq on Helix. My main concern was the stock cabs. I've seen different perspectives through the last two weeks of research on the Helix. Some think the cabs are totally fine and love that you can choose the mic. Others think they are not as good and you need IR's. I have purchased some packs from 3 Sigma, and Ownhammer so i can see for myself. In the past, I've always felt like Line 6 cabs (along with Elevenrack) were the weak link. However in watching so many videos over the course of a couple of weeks, I havent heard any stock cabs that I think sound terrible. So I'll just have to see for myself.

Sounded great! Nice job!

Hey fellas, first post here. Thanks for having me. So I ordered a Helix last week. I'm no stranger to Line 6 products. In the past I've had Pod 2.0, Pod XT Live and Pod HD 500, Spider Valve MK2 along with various other Line 6 Pedals. Except for the Spider Valve amp I've been disappointed in the past. For the last 5 years I have been playing a Kemper and loved it. However in those 5 years, I've stuck with one sound. A Morgan AC 20 profile. Love it. However Im a frugal guy and having 2100.00 tied up in one profile just seemed pointless even though I loved that one sound. I'm a church player so I have to go direct, no amps. I'm totally past the "amp in the room" thing and have embraced modelling despite my past "tubes are the only way to go" feeling. I have been watching a ton of videos on the Helix and was pretty shocked when I heard how great it sounded in videos. I'm hoping that translates when I get the unit. Are there any set up tips I need to know about that are going to make a night and day difference? As a mixing engineer, I know my way around a parametric eq which I'm so thankful Line 6 has incorporated in this unit. I've watched videos on snapshots, gain structure, multiple routing paths, using IR's etc. So I think I have a good idea of how to get around it without having actually placed my hands on it yet, but is there anything "special" I need to know about? The first thing I plan to do is update the firmware. I have the Updater and Helix Editor already loaded on my computer. Thanks in advance for any tips! Looking forward to being a part of this community once again. I was a member back in the old forum days. Jeff