JimGordon

I don't think it's in your head. Remember, the original Helix hardware is like 10 years old, so it follows that the new hardware has improvements in the D/A conversion and whatnot. Check CustomTone to download some proxy clones. There's also an old thread on the Gear Forum digital modeling website where people posted some proxy clones that haven't shown up on CustomTone. I uploaded some Metal Zone captures, but I don't think they turned out so good (maybe user error or maybe just cuz the Metal Zone is, uh, "special"), compared to other community clones I've heard.

I had something like 270+ presets I ported over from my Helix. One of the more notable issues from that was that sometimes the switches got reversed for the reverbs where i had the mix level higher when the switch was on, originally; in the Stadium, some of the patches reversed the switches. I've found Agoura amps are not always better for certain presets I had already made with the HX versions. My early Van Halen one that I made on the OG sounded noticeably worse with the Agoura Marshall Plexi, in terms of getting "that" sound; the high end sizzle was gone, so I stuck with the HX Plexi. My mid-90s Helloween patch made with the Ecstasy red channel also didn't quite give me the same sizzle when I replaced the XTC with the Agoura version. In other cases, the Agoura replacements were definitely more accurate. I think maybe they really focused on the midrange w/ Agoura, and maybe neglected the high end a bit? They really need to fix up that initial startup process- there'll be people who will return the Stadium, thinking it's broken, when they are unable to log into Line6 to update it, due to the clock issue. My first unit actually got bricked when I thought I had updated it, tried dragging some proxy clones into it, and then realized the update had only downloaded, and not been installed. After updating, the unit got stuck during the resets, and trying to do the manufacturer restore did not work at all. I think the updating process may need a change in the prompts, maybe make it install automatically once it is downloaded. I view the Stadium as an expensive investment in the future potential of the unit, but at this moment, it already is paying off, with all the proxy clones, and all the stuff I already liked about the Helix being there. And of course, that sexy, sexy touch screen.

Right now, I largely have no regrets. There are still bugs in the system, but not as many as there once were, and the onboarding at startup is still a mess, with the whole loop of having to skip logging into Line 6, just to manually set the clock that keeps you from being able to log in at its default setting.....how this got past QA is totally beyond me, and why this hasn't been corrected just seems sloppy. BUT....the Stadium at the moment is a more feature complete beast than the Helix was at the same point in its life. Pretty much everything from the Helix, including the old pre-HX legacy effects the Helix had, are here, in addition to Agoura amps. Also, Proxy has the promise of letting you get "new toys" in between the official updates, provided of course that users upload clones to Custom Tone somewhat regularly. Yes, they vary in quality, but Proxy is still new, and there will likely be improvements in both user creation and the engine itself. There's also the fact that the hardware itself lets you put more stuff into patches, and if you use stomp mode, you get 2 extra switches with the ability to flip into preset mode to change between presets. The hardware also simply is improved in terms of output and digital conversion. The touchscreen is also one of those things I never knew I needed until I actually used it; it makes creating and naming patches much easier. The change from patches fixed in setlists to a general patch folder that you can, but don't have to, assign to setlists makes it so you don't have to switch between setlists if, like me, you have WAAAAYYYYY too many user patches for your own good, lol. The biggest issues I might have would be the reduction by half of the number of user patches from the Helix, and Agoura amps having no bias controls (another "why did they do this" decision). Agoura amps also seem darker in general, a tradeoff for more accuracy in feel and a more robust midrange. Thank god the legacy amps are still there as well, if you prefer the old amp models for certain patches/sounds.

I knew that Digital Igloo only rarely pops in here. I guess I'm just puzzled as to why up through the 3.15 update they had notices of the new updates, and then suddenly stopped. It just seems odd that they wouldn't want to keep potential buyers and new users aware of the new features they add. I bought the Helix when I did (in mid 2019) after seeing the announcement of the planned new features for version 2.8 on this page, and saw that the Helix was clearly a continually improving product (when it was first released, the dearth of models kind of turned me off- no Mark series Mesas?).

Maybe if you have your guitar volume very close to all the way down, as opposed to just the output volume from your speakers. I vaguely recall a bit of glitchiness if i was trying to clean up a higher gain patch with my guitar knob almost all the way down. Do you have the input pad on? That also might be causing the guitar signal to die out early, which could make it harder for the Helix to track it. Otherwise, as others have said, it is likely you hearing the unaffected "acoustic" string ringing at a higher pitch than the amplified sound.

The Vitriol Crunch model no longer totally farts out like a broken fuzz pedal when you increase the gain (either pre or post) above 7. It's still a bit tubby sounding and not that tight, but it sounds about how you'd expect the channel to sound after hearing the real Invective crunch channel in videos. In other words, it's usable without having to put the Horizon drive in front of it to cut the bass frequencies going into it. Thank you to the team for fixing this, and ignoring people who say "what's the big deal? it sounds cool broken!". There's a difference between keeping around something that is "souding different due to the underlying modeled example having an issue" (like the original Rat), and completely jacked up, like the VC model was. You can always stick a fuzz in front of the Vitriol if you want that sound again, anyway. On an unrelated note, is there a reason why no one puts a sticky/announcements anymore for new firmware releases on this page? It doesn't make sense for newer users who might not know about places like Gearpage (and the endless threads about the next update) to not be alerted to the new updates before connecting the Helix to the internet for the auto-update. It also makes no sense PR-wise. Just curious....

There definitely is noticeable sound improvement when increasing distance with the new cabs, as opposed to just using high cuts and distance with the old cabs. With the old ones, you would lose much more presence and high end moving the distance, and especially using high cuts. I'm actually looking forward to the next set of cabs/mics to be modeled, because the new method just retains more of the frequencies than the older "filter method"....and for me, I previously did not care as much about improving the cab block before hearing it in this update.

Please add the 112 Dynamic Mic (AKG) into the new guitar cabs section; the top end on those is useful if you want more high end presence "grind". Also, as someone else said, a new WhoWatt cab model would be great.

Oh, you'll get it in spades. If this is a bug, and "not as intended", you may want to ask them to keep the bugged model renamed as "Vitriol Taco Bell" if they fix it........

Yeah, I tried to see if messing around with the Post Gain would help, but that only makes it sound quieter, and less gainy in an "unhelpful" way, without eliminating the "fart". Guess the Horizon drive may be the only way to make it usable at higher pre gain settings, without completely altering the character. I tried the Pillars pedal first, but it didn't seem to help much at any of the settings. Seems like the bass jumps way up at the input stage at 7.1. Lowering the actual bass control or resonance really does nothing for this issue....

Actually, a Sunn guitar amp model was on my list of "overdue" missing Helix amps. I actually felt a bit let down that there were only 2 new amps in the update, after all the "mysterious" hype from people in the know saying that there would be so much new stuff in the update. We are still missing a few well known amps/amp families that are industry standards: a VHT Pitbull of some sort, a Laney (Supergroup would be nice), Bogner Ecstacy, and some others. I do appreciate this stuff is free, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to them rounding out the collection and filling in the missing spots. However, now that I found out that the new cabs are essentially thousands of IRs funneled into a user friendly UI, I can sort of see why there weren't more amps and effects: all that shooting of IRs takes time and manpower. And I won't lie, the results are actually more impactful than I thought they'd be, even for a guy like me who uses real combo speakers. The 57 mic'd cabs previously sounded grainy, undefined and muffled, so I'd always need to include a 112 dynamic in a matching dual cab with it. Now, there is this punch and clarity, and high cuts don't muffle things quite like they did before. That said........why are the Catalyst amps not included? It seems like such an obvious win from a metrics standpoint to throw in 6 new amp models that are already completely designed, and make the update seem that much more impactful from a "new toys" standpoint. They use HX technology too, so I don't see why they weren't ported over. From a business standpoint, it would make sense- for people who start w/ a Catalyst amp, if they decide to move to a Helix, they'd have a few familiar models they could rely on while learning how the other ones work. And the Helix and Catalyst are not in direct competition with each other- the Catalyst is focused on providing a relatively cheap, loud amp, with a range of models to make it versatile and better sounding than, say, the 90s solid state Peaveys that were dominating the "cheap loud amp" market.

So, when using the Vitriol Crunch model, when the pre-gain is set up to and including 7, it behaves "fine", if a bit "tubby" and undefined. However, the moment you set it to 7.1 or above, it suddenly loses all definition and becomes like a bloated fuzz pedal disguised as an amp model. I've seen video demos on youtube from Ola Englund and Kyle Bull, where it definitely had a fuzzy and undefined low end, but not to this extreme. Could this be a modeling bug? I could see it becoming this bad set to like 9.7 or so, but it seems like the gain taper is "off" and just shoots up without warning. I tried EQ'ing before and after to cut lower frequencies, but none of that worked. Maybe someone who has used it in Metallurgy can answer if this is the way their model works. On a related note, I did find a workaround for this. After hearing that the master boost needs to be engaged in the real thing (Invective) to make it sound "good", I decided to put a Horizon Drive in front of it, because the guy who they consulted to design this amp was also the guy who came up with the Horizon Drive concept. Set the gain to relatively low, level to 10, and "attack" to 3, and guess what? The uncontrollable low end vanished at higher pre gain levels. Lowering the attack to "2" reintroduces some of the tubbiness, but not to the ridiculous levels you hear without the pedal. What's weird is that the lead channel model doesn't have this issue.....

While I agree there are a number of real-life models that the Helix still should get (such as the MRX Distortion +, some kind of Fryette/VHT amp, Laney, etc), this isn't an "either or" choice. The models have already been created using HX tech, so this wouldn't take away from time spent on any other models, and honestly, the more we have in Helix, the better. I held off on buying a Helix for 3 years because the list of models at launch was frankly too small. Regarding cannibalizing sales, I don't see that being a factor at all. As others have said, Line 6 clearly wants to make feature-sharing across products a priority when possible. The Catalyst is in no way a "substitute" for a Helix or vice-versa; they fulfill different roles. The Catalyst is very clearly an attempt to use modeling as a superstructure for affordable amps for people who would've otherwise bought a Peavey solid state amp as one of their first amps, or as a decent sounding plug and go amp solution for people who need a backup, or just want something that sounds good enough for a quick gig. The full-on Helix, on the other hand, is aimed at people who have already been playing for a few years, or who have very specific sounds they want to achieve (and will need a lot of options), and will make the call on what type of output solution they will add. As far as NDAs, I'm aware there's no "but" about it; that said, NDAs are usually there to keep competitors from getting inside info that they could use to copy something and rush to market; the difference here is that the Catalyst models are already out in the wild.

Over at the Gearpage forums, there was a back and forth at one point where someone implied that Line 6 might not include the new Catalyst models (Carillon, Clarity, etc) in the 3.2 Helix firmware update because it would "cannibalize" sales of the Catalyst. Phil_m responded that there wasn't a fear of that, but didn't indicate whether those models would indeed be included. Given that the models have already been put out in the public domain, could someone in "the know" confirm that they will be coming to Helix? I know there's NDAs, etc, but we already know that HX modeling tech was used to create these, and frankly, the cat's already out of the bag as to what these models are all about. I'd love to have at least some scrap of info about a little of what we are going to be getting in the next update.......

I use the Helix straight into the low input a HR DeVille 4x10; I've swapped the preamp tubes to lower gain (12ay7/12at7) to deal with the twitchy volume pot, and it works pretty damn well at giving the best of both worlds- "real amp punch" and the ability to get a ton of different amp sounds out what would otherwise be a vanilla amp. The lower gain preamp tubes might help you match the FOH patch sound and the on-stage amp sound better, as there will be less added gain and noise on the amp end. Gotta say, the one drawback for me to the Hot Rod is the weight, but on the other hand, it just sounds so legit as a platform for Helix that I'm willing to compromise. Maybe the "vanilla-ness" of the Hot Rod series is what makes it good translating the modeling without as much coloration?