PRSGuy

Although I do not own a helix yet I was informed the switching mechanism was the same as on the pod. I am not a fan of that...I found it crunchy and requiring a bit of force on the pod...plus it boosts whatever ever state it is in prior to switching over when you need to toe switch. What I would prefer is a switch assigned to toggle between Wah and Volume AND it update the EXP1/2 to the state of the pedal (WAH or VOL). Is that possible?

Yeah but windows 10 hasn't dropped out of nowhere...so although I understand things happen and resources can be limited...Line 6 and any other company that develops for windows etc was well aware windows 10 was on the horizon...the beta software has been available for a very long time. New PCs are shipping with windows 10...it is pretty obvious it needs to be supported regardless of the timing of the Helix release... With that said, I do trust line 6 will have a fix in the short term...but I also understand the frustration of many users too...

I think it depends on when the outage occurred and/or if the Helix has a built in bootloader of sorts to handle firmware updates... You'll need DI or someone from Line 6 to confirm if you are no longer seeing the Helix...

Why would the XLRs default to line level? I am asking because maybe I am missing a technical reason for running XLR at line level...I don't think the HD500 needed to be changed from line to mic (I run the XLRs all the time to the FOH, maybe I just don't remember doing it)

the AX8 fits in the same space as well...thing is they are all great products...if you can't use any of them to make great music (HD included) the problem is you, not the equipment.

"No one wants to admit their 3000+ equipment is matched by a $1500 product..." the AX8? :lol:

probably a million plus lines of code...issues are expected as the use cases grow by leaps and bounds...anyway Line 6 seems to be right on top of this stuff so kudos to them. I would rather have one in my hands (which I don't) versus waiting for one...issues and all... :)

Anyone? Been reading it sounds great...

@feinberger Not to muddy the water for you but Fractal is coming out with the AX8 which sounds pretty good too...so there are plenty of good options to consider. Good time to be a guitar nerd. Helix from the couple clips I have heard sounds excellent (as far as youtube goes), such as:

@psarkissian Are you saying using rechargeable batteries for a G30 versus regular alkaline batteries may cause me problems? Or is it simply because hogbob is using a higher voltage battery????? Any information is appreciated since I use a G30 for all my gigs with rechargeable batteries...

@Guitarzan that PRS is gorgeous...it has the piezo? Man oh man...

I go direct into the HD500 from the G30 (no tuner / pedal board in between) out the XLRs to FOH. I have not tried mucking with the cable setting either, I was content with the sound from the get go. Have you tried putting the G30 direct into the HD500 and comparing the sound that way? Maybe the tuner / pedal board is introducing some changes? It is probably far fetched but eliminate the variables I guess. Also are you running to an amp etc? A simple test is to go guitar->G30->HD500->headphones and see if you notice any changes plugged with a cable versus G30 in the headphones...if no change that way, you can try to find what additional equipment might be the problem. If you do hear changes I am not sure what it could be...hopefully someone else has some ideas. good luck!

@maxnew40 it looks sharp!!

Regarding lights... Well, as far as, the most important component -- you need to have a plan for what you want the stage to look like. Do you want someone controlling the lights from the stage, are they going to run in a live mode where they react to the music via a built in mic(sound activated feature) etc all hands off. You can use a controller to work the lights, it can be a piece of hardware or a software solution. Each light has a unique address you assign to it and the controller sends commands to each light. You can create scenes and such for multiple things to happen at once. I am really glossing over the details of DMX but it can be as simple or complex as you want... We run up to 4 movers like this: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/IntSpot255IRC We have 8 of these (similar): http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SlimParQ12IRC Plus a bunch of other little lights and a fog machine. All our lights are linked using DMX . We run wireless DMX because it greatly reduces setup/teardown. If you are unfamiliar with DMX it is a control protocol that tells the lights when to turn on and off, change color and so on. A tutorial is here: Lights are another rabbit hole to go down you can spend a ton on lights. If you are not a tech guy lights can get tricky depending on the setup so plan accordingly. With all that said, you can start small and build up. Without really knowing what you are looking to do there are lots of options to get started: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/COLORstripM http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/4BAR http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/COLORstrip http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Obey40 Anyway, I have really just tossed out some stuff...if you have more questions just ask...lighting can be another big topic like amps etc.

Hey...we run our own sound and lights from stage or iphone by one of our significant others...if anything seems interesting in the video let me know and I can tell you what we are using and what they cost....or some other options as well. This is all live off the board so some of it is a little rough but you'll get the idea...oh and it is dance music...sorry rock dudes. :) BTW: HD500 straight to board We run a small setup like in this video, also with live bass / drums / sax. We have a minimum per player fee per night so depending on the club budget / size etc we can use different configurations.

Endorsements really don't mean too much...some artists get stuff for free, others get paid to use it...blah blah. While the AX-FX is a very nice product, it is nice because it is a very nice product. I assume the same will be said for the Helix, endorsements or not. Just because someone has a bigger marketing budget etc doesn't validate anything. Many of those artists you list use all sorts of stuff...they are gear junkies like the rest of us, except they get it free sometimes. You ever watch an artist try to sell something they clearly don't use or worse don't like? It is hilarious...

Peter! Sounds great, nice demo. Sounds as good as the HD500 to my ears -- on computer speakers anyway :P How much futzing around did you have to do to get your tones. I am an HD500 guy so is the Firehawk that much easier to reach tone nirvana? How reliable was the bluetooth? thanks, you have a good style in your playing...very enjoyable.

Maybe the firehawk would have been a better bet? Not all guitar players want to tinker with their setup...I like it, but some don't. So although it makes me scratch my head a bit there are some really great guitarists - musicians that don't care to know anything about their equipment other than I plug it in and it sounds good.

http://www.diywatergardening.com/New-Helix-Pond-Skimmer-Has-Arrived_b_15.html Probably not the one you were thinking...back to your regularly scheduled program... :P

I hope this is a joke? :P Actually, following the same idea as Helix not allowing stuff to be loaded (grayed out as an option in the menu) once the limit is exceeded is a much better approach...versus trying to guess if an effect will put you over the top based on your current signal chain.

Yes on Bias! I have actually toyed with the idea of building a mobile gig rig around Bias as well. It does sound good...I just would need it to be foolproof...which I am not sure of yet. I would need an interface that charges as well as connects digitally versus through the headphone/mic jack. How was the experience with the blue board? I believe Positive Grid just released their own pedal board as well. Helix does look very yummy...but Bias is an interesting product that does sound quite good, whether or not it is gig worthy I am not sure. Never knew about the Apogee Gio...that looks pretty cool, thanks.

Evidently they were shipped to the island with Kennedy and Elvis by accident...stay tuned...

In our case we have a digital mixing console which can also be run by an iPAD (behringer X32). So we build a template file for venues we play which we can recall as a starting point. The keyboard player runs the mixing console. He set up an A/B switch where he can hear either his personal monitor mix or listen to the master bus (FOH). So he is able to keep tabs on the FOH. He, also depending on the song, walks out front once in a while to make sure things have not gone astray...blah blah. Overall it works very well. Yea once in a great while we have a tough night dealing with stuff...but overall...it is pretty seamless.

I will add the other problem with on stage monitors especially if you are mixing from stage (which we do most of the time) is the guy/gal mixing is influenced by the sound of the monitors (location, reflections, volume etc) which may not at all be the same as FOH. So for example the person mixing is near the keyboard monitor which sounds "hot" so the keys get turned down when in fact they sound fine out front...there are ways to work around this but just things we have run into prior to all in ears. Anyway, with all the pros and cons, there are great bands that use both methods with a great deal of success so you need to pick your poison and figure how to resolve the issues you may have with either approach. I am not trying to sell the in-ear approach, but simply it does work for us. I will add though regardless of the approach be mindful of ringing in your ears after a gig, that is not a good thing and over time will cause you problems.

I am a direct to PA, in ear monitor guy...actually our whole band is...it sounds fantastic. My mix is dialed in for how I like it (I actually like the whole band mix with my guitar floating on top. I also control my solo volume level as well via the HD500). Everyone else has their own preference in their mix too. In ears do a couple nice things, there is no stage volume problems, there is no, "I need more of me" or "the singer is too loud" or sound checks to get the monitors figured out because each room varies. I also don't have to lug 6 or 7 monitor wedges on stage and set them up and tear them down...the in ear mixes are consistent from venue to venue whether we play for 100 people or 1000 it is the same. With that said, I understand the rush playing with air moving from an amp or monitors...but in the end for me, it was the economics of quick setup and tear down, consistently good sound and my ears DO NOT RING after gigs...period. I know I have been a little off topic, but monitoring on stage is tough for local bands even with a good sound guy. The bigger bands have dedicated techs and sound guys strictly for the monitoring of the band... anyway...sorry I digress...