sheehanje

I got the second L3T tonight - amazing. I tried bass through it, and while it sounds very good for a monitoring or rehearsal type session, I'm not so sure it would hold the low end for a gig. Definitely want to add subwoofers to the mix when I can. For the Helix definitely, and probably for vocals (I will be testing tomorrow) - I think these are perfect. I started building some of my own patches, and it defnitely they definitely come to life through the L3T. I've tried some patches with headphones and with small JBL studio monitors - and while they sounded good, they didn't have the punch I'm getting now. For presets - the Factory 1 04D (ANGL Meteor) sounds insanely rich. Also, I've been using the Archon models, and they are so easy to dial in, definitely one of the best in the unit for me. I've been using the stock cabs, but am looking for a good set of IR's to start really opening these babies up. I looked at some other FRFR solutions - almost going with the mission engineering cab (which I heard is great) - but I want flexibility and the ability to really be able to expand this into a full live sound solution for the band. I think I made a great choice!

With my wife now, I just hand her $200 and say I'm buying new guitar stuff....

I would suggest selling or trading your Spider V for a decent FRFR speaker. the V's are only 60 watts of solid state - so really a bedroom jam kind of amp (it's not going to cut very well in a band setting). Not trying to knock it, its targeted at the beginner guitarist crowd. But you have a state of the art amp modelling solution. If you are using it for recording, or plan on using headphones a lot, great. If you plan on playing out with it, you will always have to depend on FoH PA to plug into. If you want maximum versatility with the Helix and the ability to rehearse with the band, and annoy your neighbors, invest in at least a 250 watt FRFR speaker.

It's not ideal - with no FX loop you can't do any preamp (or poweramp) modelling. You can go into the front of the amp - which will allow you to use helix effects (distortion, wah, etc, stuff good in the front) - but you will still have to do amp/cab modelling on the Spider. The only thing I could think of is if you use the Aux in - you'd have to get an adapter for it. Not ideal, but I suppose it could work.

Sounds like I could just use a small mixer then, L6 Link from Helix to 1st speaker, Mixer L to Left Speaker, Mixer R to Right speaker and go that route. We already have a mixer from my singers PA, so I can just utilize that.

Ok - a quick breakdown: L2's are 800 watts, with 1 10" speaker and one 1" HF driver - they will work well if you want just an "amp" for your Helix. L3's are 1400 watts, with 2 10" speakers and one 1" HF driver. These will also work well as an "amp" for the helix, but can deliver more low end and are more versatile as they are idea to use in a PA system. The diffrence between the T and the M: M I believe stands for monitor. They don't have a built in mixer like the T's. You definitely can use the Helix with it via L6 link, You can hook an MP3 or other player to it for backing tracks - but if you want to mix in things like bass and vocals you need an external mixer. So, for just using as an amp, an L2M or L3M is perfect. For PA use or to gain a lot of versatility, a L3T is ideal, although for simple applications (acoustic guitar and a vocal) a L2T would suffice. Hope that helps. And by the way, I'm pretty new to the StageSource stuff - I just got my first L3T yesterday and ordered another that's due here on Monday. I've just been doing a lot of reading up on it...

Thinking of options here - and there are so many just from 2 L3T's. So, even if I'm just using the Helix - I skip the L6 Link if I want to use both speakers?

I just got an L3T thanks to the sweetwater 48 month interest free financing deal going on - I was so impressed with it, I ordered a second. Massive sound with the Helix. With 2, I will have some really good flexibility for different venues. I'm usually a tube amp player, but this thing is giving me some serious contention on what I actually want to use... I can't speak for the L2M - but if you are just planning on using an L3 for the helix (and simple playback), then the L3M would save $100 and give you the same sound.

It's great - but I just got two Line 6 L3T Loudspeakers and I'm now torn between my amp and my helix with the l3t's.

So, after my tube amp (A Mesa JP-2C) cut out the other day at practice (ended up being the cabinet) I decided I needed a backup. I already have a Helix which I run 4CM to the JP-2C - it sounds great. Instead of buying a whole new head, I decided to go with a L3T so I can have a little versatility. Well, just going through the Helix presets (I didn't have my own amp modelling patches setup seeing I only run effects) - I got to say I am very impressed. So much so I ordered a second L3T. Who's using this setup? Is there enough power and clarity to run a whole hard rock band through 2 L3T's with the Helix going in with the L6 Link, or does it put the L3T into a mode where it's only ideal to use it exclusively with the Helix? I know I've run my bass player into the aux and through the second path when going through my small JBL monitors when we are in song writing mode. But does 2 L3T's have enough to run vocals and at least a kick drum through? I definitely don't have enough to spend on a whole setup right now - so 2 L3T's is going to be all I have for at least a year. I would eventually like to get a couple monitors and subwoofer. Also, can I mix and match the l2m's in with the setup? I know I'm on the Helix forum - and some of my questions are more on the l3t's, but the helix is my primary reason for having these. Can't wait to start really dialing in my own patches.

No - ended up selling the Two Notes - ended up getting a Mesa JP-2C with built in cab clone. While it's not as elegant as the Two Notes, it does what I need and eliminates a piece of equipment for me.

I don't think the USB works that way on the Helix - it's just an "output" device. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Quick demo here - utilizing Helix, JP-2C going out via Cab Clone. https://soundcloud.com/john-sheehan-21/jp-2c-cab-clone-demo I warn you - I'm a fairly pedestrian guitar player but thought it would be nice to do a demo that's not from a "pro". From my Sound Cloud Description: This is a very quick demo of a JP-2C using Cab Clone in "vintage" setting. Guitar is an Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty Recorded with Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 and Reaper DAW. Line 6 Helix is used in 4CM Method - I use chorus on the clean tone, and small amounts of delay in the rhythm (channel 2) and leads (channel 3). Boost is kicked on for a part of the rhythm demo, and is always on the lead channel. In order: Clean Tone - Bridge Position Clean Tone - Piezo Pickup Rhythm Tone - Bridge Position Rhythm Tone w/Boost - Bridge Position Lead Tone - Bridge Position (Boost engaged) Lead Tone - Neck Position (Boost engaged)

I notice it going into the front of my amp, but into my helix, I don't notice any tone coloration at all. Think the G10 works best going into a buffered pedal/pedalboard. Even if it is clunky to use on the floor. I've had great luck with mine so far. Gigged with it, brought it to rehearsal and great around the house. I've actually gone outside with it while the unit was still getting signal in the basement. Great range. I think Line6 will address some of the "issues" in the next generation of this product. For now though, I'm a very happy customer.

I agree with snapshots being great. I had one solo that absolute depends on going right in with the wah, then going right back out to my normal rhythm channel. I thought snapshots would be great for this - but looks like Line6 would need to either change the behavior or make an option to make the wah pedal act as I want it to. For now I'm going to have a little tap dance and then have to remember to disengage the wah again before moving snapshots....

I will give this a try tonight. The one thing baffling to me is I tried my patches before the gig and they seemed to work as desired - it must have been that I left my wah on when moving to test another snapshot. But I want the Wah to always turn on (and be in toe position) in the particular snapshot I had an issue with. I should have some time to play with it tonight. As for whether it's a bug or not - doesn't really matter either way - I'm not getting the desired behavior. Hopefully one of the workarounds mentioned will work for me - I have one particular song we do live that having a snapshot change to my lead sound with the wah on in toe position will make it that much easier to wail into it.

Helix can be as easy or complicated as you make it. It's a great piece of hardware that will have years of use - and honestly - it's easier to use than the PodXT even with all the extra options.

Couple things - when my Helix is hooked up to my amp AND the computer via USB - I get a very loud hum - disconnecting the USB eliminates it - so check for that. Second - check ALL your cables one by one. I had an issue where one cable sounded fine isolated, but as soon as it was introduced in 4CM I'd get hum - so really change out each cable one by one and see if it solves your issue. Another thing that was mentioned is plug into the same outlet. I run a furman ss-b power outlet to my amp, then run a lead from that to my pedal board. The strip you can get anywhere from $30 - $40 and it eliminated EFI/RMI noises from my setup. As a bonus it has a 15' lead which is very handy in some venues. Also - while it won't cause a "hum" - that's usually a 60 or 50hz cycle from a ground loop - keep any cell phones away from your guitar/pedal board/amp. I remember once in the studio we were having trouble tracking down an odd noise... turns out I had my cell phone in my pocket and my guitar's active pickups were picking up interference from it. Comical, but costly because it was 40 minutes of commercial studio time figuring that one out. Check your levels on your effects loop - make sure all sends/returns/outputs are set to instrument instead of line level. You may have to back off the output level from some of these too - or if your amp has an effects loop adjustment, back that down a bit. If none of these work - if you have a tube amp you may have a microphonic tube that handles the effects loop. Check your amp manual for that. Don't give up - the helix took me a while to figure out how to play nice with my Mark V - then my Mesa JP-2C. In the end it was worth it - I get some killer sounds out of it and definitely an upgrade from my Line6 M13. Good luck!

So I finally got to get a good test of the Helix at a my bands CD release show. First of all - I run the Helix vie 4CM into a Mesa JP-2C and use Midi to switch settings on my amp. Works like a charm for the most part. The first issue I had is one of my snapshots was not saved - I had to recreate it before the show. Don't know what happened, but it reverted to "Snapshot 4" and had none of the settings. I hit save about 20 times every time I tweak settings. Anyways - the bigger issue was during the performance, I have one snapshot that switches to channel 3 on my amp, turns on delay and turns on my wah. It's called Lead w/Wah - ingenious, right? Anyways, I hit it at the show, my wah pedal was toe down - but when I hit the snapshot, wah started and stayed in heel position. Ended up scratching that patch for the one other song I was going to use it for that night and went to my Lead snapshot and engaged the wah manually. Other than that (which kind of blew the lead on one of our songs, it was 3 measures in before I recovered by switching to another snap) - the setup worked and sounded great all night. Gotta figure this one out before the next show - I've really come to like engaging that snapshot for leads that start with the wah engaged.

Got my unit from Sweetwater today - played for about 2 hours with no issue at all. Tone has been great. So far I've only used it into a Helix - but I'm going to test with my amp later tonight.

It seems to me Glenn and Line6 have a mutually beneficial relationship - without the Helix, Glenn wouldn't have anything to make and sell patches for - and Line 6 benefits because it gains more customers thanks to Glenn demoing his patches.

You mean the Wah? I still can turn it on in any of my "snapshots" by pressing the top button - but with the 4th snapshot, it puts me in with the lead sound with the wah already on, so I don't have to do a second button press. I'd be glad to share the patch - but it's built for my Mesa JP-2C in 4 cable method - so very specific to that setup.

So I just got back from my first rehearsal with the Helix 2.0 firmware - worked flawless. No tap dancing. I'm probably one of the users with very low requirements in effects, but my priority is having it all seamless. Worked like a charm using 4 snapshots: Snapshot 1 (Clean): Change JP-2C to Channel 1, Turn off Amp EQ's - Turn on Amp Reverb, Turn on Chorus, Turn on Helix EQ Snapshot 2 (Rhythm): Change JP-2C to Channel 2, AMP EQ1 On, Amp Reverb On, Amp Shred Mode On, Turn off chorus Snapshot 3 (Lead): Change JP-2C to Channel 3, AMP EQ2 On, Amp Reverb On, No Shred Mode, Turn Off Chorus, Turn on Delay -- Minotaur Boost Available but off Snapshot 4 (Lead w/Wah): Same as above, but turn on Wah It's so simple now it's brilliant.

The 2.0 update finally has made the Helix my dream pedal board. I've been struggling trying to get it to do what I want with my amps - first with a Mesa Mark V with mini amp gizmo, now with the Mesa JP-2C with it's Midi Capability. It seemed I could change a lot of settings on the fly, but with a lot of tap dancing - but the new Snapshot feature is just what I was looking for. After fooling around for about 2 hours, I got it to do what I want - Change my Amp settings and Pedal settings with 1 button. Up until this update, I wasn't sure each week if I was bringing the Helix to rehearsal. I have yet to play a show with it, but next Friday I will be using it for my bands CD Release show. I was using the Helix mainly as a late night scratch recording tool. Once in a while I'd bring it to friends with a couple studio monitors to do some lower volume guitar noodling. I think the amp models are really good - but I really wanted the Helix to upgrade the effects I had with the M13 in front (and in the loop) of my tube amps. I haven't really played too much with the Mark IV models - but I will. One thing I really like is the new vintage delay - it sounds awesome. Definite upgrade (to me) over the simple delay I was using with the unit. Anyways - Line 6 knocked it out of the park with this update. For me the update process was very smooth - been reading some of the issues people have been having with the update not working - hope they get it resolved because it's really a great update. I haven't reviewed Helix on any sites yet - because I knew big updates were in the works - and I knew scenes (snapshots) weren't too far off being a much talked about topic in the forums. I'm now a very happy Helix owner.

Wow - some of the most important stuff to me released on my birthday. I was honestly thinking about trading my Helix, but Snapshots and a MKIV model are just what I was looking for. I won't be giving up my Mesa JP-2C - but the Helix just got a whole lot more potent for live use. The MKIV model will get me close enough to the sounds I'm looking for when doing some late night recording. Now if I can just figure out why I'm getting a loud buzz (not 60Hz hum) with my helix plugged into the front of my amp I'll be really happy.