cmsaw83

It is a boutique amp manufactured by a company called "Divided by 13". Like Matchless, they specialize in Clean, or CleanER amps. I LOVE the Matchless amps in the Helix, though I love the Essex 30 and 15 just as much. The Vox style amps just sound great, both in reality and in the Helix!!

As was just mentioned in the post above mine, you should try engaging the Input Pad in the Global Settings section of your Helix Menu. I'm willing to bet that like me, you are going to come to find a whole new world available to you once you do this. Initially, I thought that the Helix must have been designed for Strats and ONLY Strats when I first got it and started playing, because my Les Paul with Pearly Gates (which are humbuckers, but PAF types only registering at 8.0k (neck) and 8.5k (bridge) respectively, so not what I would consider "hot" by any means) pickups just made pretty much EVERYTHING break up right out of the gate. As soon as I found out about the Input Pad and engaged it, Problem Solved! Just like that, everything became usable, and I don't even disengage it when I want to use my Strat. Though my Strat does have EMG pickups, so I don't doubt that there are others who may switch it on and off when switching between different guitars. I will say though, that even with the active pickups (aside from the 89 in the bridge, except when in the single coil mode), my Strat did not come in so hot to the front of the Helix that it required the Input Pad to be turned on. I guess that's just another reason why it surprised me as much as it did when I found out the difference it made. It's worth it to mention the fact that there are other things to consider as well, such as the use of a high/low cut (both as an effects block and in the Global EQ), a compressor at the end of signal chain, an EQ as an effect, and then of course, the EQ and settings of just about EVERY amp found in the Helix, as just about ALL of them require some adjustment, even if it's only the lows in the EQ. All of the amps in the Helix are set with the lows too high. I am not sure why this is? I tell myself that there is some logical explanation, as I can't see the people at Line 6 engineering such remarkable amp sims, while at the same time being ignorant of what a decent setting is for lows on an amplifier, but who really knows. I just know that it is one of few things that people seem to agree upon pretty much unanimously. That being said, there are other settings I find on amps which are also quite often set too high by default, gain (which could obviously have a lot to do with the situation you are describing, though I am not saying that's what it is, just that it's worth taking into consideration as a factor), also Master Volumes are another setting I find to be notoriously set too high, and the Master will inevitably effect your gain. As I understand it, Channel Volume is one of, if not THE only control that can be adjusted on any of the Amps within the Helix that will not color your tone in any way, simply bring overall volume up or down. And the list goes on, some amps being easier to deal with than others. And while I find Line 6 did a magnificent job at duplicating the sounds of the amps they included in the Helix, and making each one act/react the way they would in reality for the most part, still there are some that don't fit that mold quite as well as others, but I feel like this is something that can be and should be expected in a device capable of providing us with what is quite literally a WORLD of different tones and near endless options. There are afterall, limits to what a given device can do, even the Helix, but given all it CAN and DOES do, I am extremely happy with the way I get mine to sound overall, with just about any amp or combination of amps I can dream up!

You just have to try some things honestly, and see what works best for you. This is where shopping with companies who have great no hassle return policies comes in. Sweetwater, AMS, Guitar Center, and Sam Ash are a few I could recommend starting with. I say this because just because you purchase a set of speakers DOES NOT mean at all that you are stuck with them if you decide they aren't getting you where you want to be. If that turns out to be the case, you just call up whoever you ordered them from and tell them exactly that. Just be honest and explain to them that you have a Helix and you are searching for the best speaker at whatever your price point is, and there will be no questions asked. They will send you an email with a return packaging label, you then print it out, put it on the box they were delivered in (oh yeah, SAVE PACKAGING any time you order something and have it delivered to you for this very purpose... you just never know. Even if its something you know you love, it could crap out in the first 30-45 days, and if so, you'll be glad you don't have to go purchase a $20-$30 dollar cardboard box and packing materials just to send it back and get your exchange or refund), take it to the closest UPS, FedEx, or USPS place near you and drop it off, and as soon as they receive it, they will either refund your money, or put it toward whatever you'd like to try next. Try not to get too caught up in listening to people tell you about how "you get what you pay for", as if its some warning to suggest you can't find good sound at an affordable price. This simply is NOT true. Now, you need to understand that there are indeed levels to all of this. Of course an 8 inch set of monitors is going to sound better than a 4 inch set! They are larger, and will move more air, so yes they are going to sound better when you play your guitar through them, and they are going to allow you to play louder without distorting. As far as studio monitors as an option goes, you also have to understand what a studio monitor is, and what they are used for. It may do you some good to research this a bit for yourself rather than just taking a suggestion and running with it, and then being upset when whatever the option is doesn't end up meeting whatever your personal expectations might be. Studio Monitors are not going to be the route you want to take if you are looking for that 4x12 feeling of a cab moving air. A good set will sound accurate, and very good, but they will not always give you that chuggy feeling that alot of metal players might be going for. If that is your thing, you would almost certainly be better served to purchase something along the lines of a Line 6 Powercab or Powercab Plus. If you can't afford that, I too have heard good things about the Headrush FRFR speakers, of which there are 2 options, the 8 inch and the 12 inch. If I were going that route, personally, I would certainly save the extra $100 if I didn't already have it, and go for the 12 inch version, as I would get the 8 and constantly wonder if I had sold myself short, but that's just me and my OCD talking. Me personally, I use a set of what could be considered "budget" studio monitors. While they are not the cheapest monitors, as I have the 8 inch model(s) as opposed to the smaller 3.5 and 5 inch models that are available as well, they are one of the cheapest 8 inch studio monitors available, probably THE cheapest if we are talking about something available to be purchased in a store. Mine are 8 inch Near Field Studio Monitors made by Sterling Audio (a company owned by Guitar Center) and they are superb for literally EVERYTHING I do at home with my Helix! I could not be happier with them, and I have owned them longer than I have had my Helix, as I purchased them originally to be used for home recording, using plug-ins like Bias FX2 and Amplitube. They are very well built, and they have still yet to give me the first bit of trouble. And they can also get pretty damn loud as well. Not nearly as loud as my old 4x12 of course, but well loud enough that I never want to come close to maxing them out and it's plenty loud to get a good bit of chug out of them. They are ported in the back, and they also have both low-pass and high-pass filter switches on them, so when I want to jam, I turn the low filter off, but if I am recording, I turn it on. With it off, the two 8 inch powered monitors do a remarkable job of providing great tone, while also moving just enough air to make it FEEL good as well. Trust me, they can get LOUD. Loud enough that my wife will get pissed if I play it like that for too long while she is home, and when I'm doing so, I am no where near as loud as I COULD go with them. And I got mine on sale at GC for something like $169 a piece, which is a great price for a good 8 inch studio monitor! The other thing I love about them is the fact that they give me an AWESOME means of experimenting with Stereo Rigs (which can also be done using headphones, but I love using my monitors so long as the kids are either awake, or better yet, off with their Mom somewhere! However, you can find all manner of off-brand, super cheap stuff on Amazon and Ebay and the like, and while I personally would not go that route, as I prefer to stick with companies with a decent reputation for quality (which can easily be found, even at the budget end of the price range), and who specifically manufacture products designed to be used by musicians, that's not to say that they aren't out there, and I'm sure there a couple of models out there that have met plenty of peoples needs just fine, even if it's only until they could get their hands on something a bit better. My point here is, like many say in threads such as this one... It's really up to you, as you have your own ideas as far as what your wants and needs in a speaker or set of speakers might be, and they could be completely night and day from what the next guy wants and needs. So it's best to just do some research for yourself and then start trying things out. You may get lucky and find that the first purchase you make gets you exactly where you want to be. But if not, it isn't the end of the world. As long as you shop smart, purchasing an item does not mean that you have permanently limited yourself to that one item. You can try different things. These companies want you to end up with something you like and ultimately have a good experience, even if you have to return something 5 times before you finally get it right the 6th time around, because once you do, the idea is that you will appreciate it, and remember how they helped you in your search for a product that fit your needs, and hopefully come to them again the next time you are ready to spend some money on more gear. Loyalty still does go a long way as a consumer. Sticking with a good company that treats you well is never a bad idea.

I just use my Helix to record now. I use whatever sample rate is auto detected or used as default by either Cubase, or Reaper and my Helix, and I direct monitor via the Helix, while muting the tracks I am recording within my DAW. It doesn't matter to me how far behind the direct signal the recording may be, it's still going to sound exactly like what is coming from my monitors as I record it, once it comes time to play it back. I never record more than 3 tracks at a time personally, and one of those is always a D.I. track recorded from output #7 on the Helix. Output #7 by default is a USB Out which carries the DRY signal from the Helix no matter what effects, instruments, amps, IRs, or any other variables I may be using or otherwise including within my Processed Track which I get from Outputs 1 and 2 (sometimes 3 and 4 as well). I combine outputs One and Two into a Stereo signal and that is my Processed Sound that I will record. However, the addition, of the Original completely DRY Track recorded in just plain old Mono, leaves me the opportunity to go back and change anything I want to (or even COMPLETELY CHANGE the entire sound and rig all together) using Helix Native within my DAW. I've got a Focusrite Audio Interface, and a bunch of different recording gear that I have accumulated over time, but since I got my Helix and realized it's capabilities, and also realized that it doesn't just do these jobs, but it does them very well.

FWIW, I just figured I would throw my 2 cents in. I just switched over to Helix and only Helix and nothing but Helix, from my old tried and true rig which consisted of two 2 tube amp heads, one through a 4x12 cab, and one through a 2x12 (though not used at the same time, at least not too often) and an analog pedal board (the RV-6 and DD-200 were digital, so mostly analog), or through a Two Notes Torpedo Captor 16 with a Two Notes CABM+ whenever I did any recording without fooling with all the mics, which became always because the Two Notes products were great and produced fantastic results. Anyway, several factors played into this such as, getting a little older, not playing out quite as often, and others, but the biggest is the fact that my wife and I moved to a different place and the new spot is not secluded or set apart from the surrounding homes in the area whatsoever, also, I no longer have my detached garage, so it got to the point that I was rarely able to plug in my amps and really jam the way I liked to, and so I began looking for an alternative, at which point every other suggestion was "Helix is the answer", so it didn't take long for me to decide to try it. It took a little longer before I decided to sell most of my gear, but after I began to get the hang of the Helix and became comfortable with it, it blew me away and still does today. Sometimes I look at it, and as cool as it looks, I still ask myself "how can I actually be happy with this and have no regrets whatsoever about selling my gear", yet I am and there is really no question in my mind about it. The Helix alone does WORLDS more than my other gear could ever hope to, and I'm still working on patches that push what I know how to do with it and take it to new levels, and I have a blast doing it. And even the guys I play with who gave me grief have ALL been silenced at this point, and one of them even went and bought a Helix himself and has already told me it's all he's bringing next time we jam. He's always calling me asking me how to do this or that, which brings me to the subject at hand. He mentioned to me one evening on a call not long ago that he plugged headphones into it and that it sounded terrible, and I trust his ear for tone and his ability to achieve a decent one from just about anything he's given. So I asked him what cans he was using and he told me a pair of JBL over ears. So I let him borrow my Sennheizer HD 300 Pros, and a half hour after I left he hit me up and thanked me and basically said problem solved. I then told him I prefer my Audio Technica M50x set over the 300 Pros, and not just by a little bit, but A LOT. Two days later he came to return my 300 Pros and thanked me again for the other suggestion, saying that he agreed the M50x monitors blow the 300 Pros out of the water. I prefer them, but the 300 Pros have their uses too. I've come to find that I actually prefer them when I'm playing stuff that's clean and ambient. Perhaps it's the flatter response, as opposed to the slight bump up in the low end that I otherwise much prefer from the M50x set, or maybe it's the added openness/airiness from the drivers being a bit further off the ear (similar to DT770 Pro 80s which are great as well), or maybe it's both along with something else I haven't put my finger on, but the Fender Strat through a clean amp does sound better to me through the Sennheizers, and it only gets better when you start adding reverbs, flangers, delays and the like. Anyway, I know this is alot, but the gyst is that I personally don't believe too many exceptions were made when they engineered the Helix at all. As a guy who came into using one completely green and new to the digital world from a backround of nothing but tube amps and cabs with minimal effects, the Helix has been anything BUT a device that displays any evidence of corners that may have been cut or areas that did not receive a proper thinking through prior to it's being put into production. Rather, it embodies the idea of an "all bases covered" (and THOROUGHLY) type of device in every way that I can think of, certainly every one that definitely counts for something. I can't think of another device I've encountered in my 25 years of playing guitar that comes anywhere close to achieving what the Helix has, and then you take the price point into consideration. $1500 might be a chunk, but my perception tells me that it could have been priced plenty higher and would be just as deserving of the praise it has received, and I've been so pleased with it that if I ever do think about what it cost me, it's just that I can't believe it didn't cost more. I learned how to do some killer stuff in NO TIME, and it only took watching a few youtube videos from guitar channels I watch anyway. The Helix is an amazing and fully featured tool, and every one of those features is extremely well thought out from every angle. The last thing any team building a device like this would settle on if they were going to settle on anything, would be one of it's options for monitoring and being heard. From a 100% honest standpoint, perhaps offering a bit of constructive criticism, but without intending to be in any way offensive, and perhaps in hopes it might save anyone learning the Helix some time if they were to happen upon this thread/post..... If you aren't getting a completely usable, great tone using headphones, the first thing to troubleshoot should be "possibilities in regard to user error". I think its been said before in relation to this subject, in this very post if I recall correctly, and others... Why would one spend $1500 on a piece of gear such as this, only to plug a set of $40 skull candy headphones up to it? And if one were to do so... when the result is less than satisfactory, why does avoiding the headphone out and posting on a forum about how the units heaphone out is insufficient and lackluster, seem to be the logical next step forward, as opposed to taking into consideration that perhaps there is a reason music supply stores sell headphones too, not just Target? And while the music store cans are obviously more pricey than most of the Target offerings, perhaps there is something to that yet as well. You might think of it like this... You bought a Helix at $1500 rather than an ME-80 at $300 or a GT-1 at $150 or $200, why? Likely the answer or at least part of it has to do with quality, and the fact that in every way, the Helix outperforms those other products. So much so that it is well worth spending $1200 more than an ME-80 to own one. Well, the same can be said for headphones. There is a difference between headphones and studio monitoring headphones, a very big difference, and while one need not spend the $500 to $600 for some of the most expensive sets out there, still, finding and purchasing a budget set or something priced in the middle somewhere is certainly an improvement over whatever set they have beside the ipods at Target to be sure. Personally I prefer the Audio Technica M50x headphone monitors over anything else when it comes to playing and recording/tracking guitar. A set of M50x headphone monitors will only set you back $149 at your local guitar shop, and if they don't have them its only because they sold the last set, because these are some of the most popular studio cans on the market period, and their price-point only aids further in making them a best seller. You can also order them from any one of a ton of different places online, if you can't think of anywhere else, try the "A" word place, they'll be a lock to have M50x or any other type your heart desires. A couple other sets that sound great but won't cause you to be late on your car payment, are Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros (there are 3 different sub-models of these though, so research the differences between the 32, 80, and 250 ohm sets before you run out and spend your money. Don't want to mess with an extra headphone amp, then the 250's probably aren't for you, although with the proper setup they are very very hard to beat in terms of frequency response and the amount of detail they produce. Think you're chops are mistake free, play through a set of these and I promise they'll show you EVERYTHING you DO still need work on... Able to drop $180 on cans, but want to make sure you can use them across all your devices, the 32s are definitely your best bet. If you want the best option for plugging straight into the Helix and that's the sound you are focused on, the 80s won't steer you wrong) and lastly, Sennheizer HD 300 Pros will run you $200, have amazingly flat response and are extremely accurate at only 32 ohms, so they will also work just fine with your phone, tablet or xbox. Its worth mentioning the M50x set is 32 ohms as well so will work with all devices as well and sound just as amazing on all of them as they will with the Helix. Not getting good headphone tone straight into your headphone jack... Don't be "that guy" (or girl for that matter), common sense may not be so common, but try it on for size anyway and in this case I can assure you you won't be let down. I can't promise the sound will translate the same through FRFRs or a tube power amp, or any power amp and cab, or even your desktop monitors, but I'm confident in saying any one of the 3 suggestions above will put you close enough that you can figure it out with minimal tweaking necessary. If not, box the headphones back up, do the same with your Helix, and send them both back from whentz they came and find something on which your $1500 would be more wisely spent because for right now the Helix is a little too advanced. Maybe think about purchasing and mastering a POD GO after which you could give Helix another go.

I was thinking this was the case but wasn't sure. They should be clear about this. Maybe specifically add it to the page that explains everything that comes with an update. You know, where it says the bugs it fixes, the amps it adds on, and the effects, and provides descriptions. It would be sweet if somewhere in there, for laymen such as myself, they specifically stated in there somewhere "ASIO drivers for connectivity of Pod Go with a PC and required for use of Pod Go in DAWs are included as part of this update. Installing this update will install the ASIO drivers required for Pod Go to work with your computer as well, there is no need to go to ASIO4ALL or any other third party site in order to download ASIO drivers as they are part of this update." You know.... Something like that... Anyway, thanks for the help. I truly appreciate you taking the time to clear that up for me. Have a great day.

I just got my Pod Go a few days ago. It was a Friday, so I had over the weekend to play it before I had to go back to work. (Got a new Marshall DSL100HR too though, so the Pod Go had to share the stage. It got more than enough play though considering I can't play the marshall through haedphones without connecting up a bunch of other gear I don't feel like messing with when I now have Pod Go right here) Anyway.... I do quite a bit of recording with Reaper, and part of the reason the Pod Go appealed to me was the fact that it can be used as an audio interface. Infact, that was one of the main reasons. I wanted something to help me simplify my workflow when tracking, but that would not be a compromise on tone. Seeing as how Pod Go uses the same HX series effects processor as Helix and HX family of products.... Enter Pod Go.... Now, I like this thing alot. However, I have yet to be able to use it for what I bought it to use it for, which is recording. It needs ASOI drivers in order to be used an an A.I. correct? I've got it plugged up tp my PC, and my studio monitors, and I get sound, and the unit sounds good through the monitors, but can I just use it as is in Reaper? Or do I need the ASIO drivers? The info on the Line 6 site says I need the ASIO driver, but the only downloads I can find anywhere for Pod Go on the Line 6 website are the firmware updates, and updates for Pod Go Edit. Both of which are up to date at 1.30. Is it possible that I missed something, and the ASIO drivers are part of that download? Or is it something else all together? And if it is something different, where do I find it. I have to say, the way it was explained to me, this thing was supposed to be a great tool for me to use for recording, but as of right now, I have to say that the difficulty I am experiencing in trying to find out something/find something which should be right there out front and easy for anyone to find, it is making me a little worried that maybe I jumped the gun spending this money, and perhaps I should have just stuck with playing my tube amps through my Captor 16 and CAB M+..... If anyone else knows where I can find this, I would greatly appreciate it if you could fill me in as I'd love to become privy to such knowledge. If there is maybe a link that someone could share to the web page where the download is located, that would be even better! Thanks in advance for any assistance anyone out there may be able to offer.