Leftzilla

I guess I am just a little amazed at some of the logic here. And I don't mean to insult anybody but some of this confuses me. For anyone that chose to buy an LT over a standard Helix I am sure that there were reasons such as I don't need the scribble strips or other bells and whistles, which is perfectly fine. I personally would not have even thought about Native as part of this, or if the price of Native was part of the thought process I would have certainly done the research on what information was out there. I bought my Helix as soon as it was released and have had it coming up on two years, at that time Native was probably only on Line 6's mind as it certainly wasn't announced at that time nor was the LT announced. When it did get announced with the pricing I was "great I have a Helix so it will only cost me $99"

Yeah your original post is a little confusing, you say you have great sounding patches which implies they are in the Helix already. So I am not sure what you are actually asking.

The really nice thing about having a Variax/Helix pairing is that you can hear the different responses between Humbucking and Single coil and the differences between guitars made by the same manufacturer's such as Fender etc etc. I think the prior advice given is spot on in emulate your favorite artists setup from guitar through amps through effects is probably the best way to start. Each of these, Helix/Variax can be overwhelming in their own right and the combination.....Well try not to be and have fun!

amsdenj I do disagree slightly with your point about mixing the front of the house via IEM. I have been successfully doing it through 3 bands now, but I also have trained myself to deal with a balanced mix (i.e. knowing where my guitar should be in the mix). The Audio Technica system that I use allows for either a mono or stereo output. When using the mono output can can change the volume balance between two feeds going in. So one feed is the full mix, and the other just guitar. So back then if I needed to get more guitar I would just adjust the balance and it wouldn't affect the main mix. But you do bring up a good point as it did take me awhile.

My band actually rehearses via IEM and records each session due to our practice space being our recording studio and the kit is "permanently" miked up. I personally have the full mix going into my ears (except for the drums) but since we are using a behringer X18 Air we have the capability of custom mixes. We built the system after playing too many places that had subpar monitoring (at least by our standards). As stated by Peter Hamm any tweaking to your tone should be done via FRFR or the PA. Since we record pretty much everything this allows us to listen to where each instrument "sits" in the mix and allows me to tweak my sound prior to recording. This also allows me to "know" what the mix should sound like in the IEMs if as in some cases I am running the sound from stage for venues that do not have a PA or a sound man. Theoretically the IEMs should sound like the PA but there are going to subtle differences or adjustments needed based on the room. In the OP's case I think its more a matter of getting used to your particular IEM and let the sound guy (whoever that is) worry about the PA

Pretty easy after all was said and done ordered replacement off of Amazon installed it and managed not screw up the peizos. Total cost $5.10. Thanks for the suggestions and advice.

Its the collar on the bridge where the arm mounts. Specifically the threads the tremelo arm mount screws into. I did order a new mount (5.10) to see if its compatable and hopefully works. Thanks to all for the suggestions.

My Bass player in my original prog band had the same complaint as in he wanted a dedicated guitar amp onstage. When it finally came down to it it was just HIS personal comfort zone and nothing to do with the sound of the unit (which he thoroughly enjoyed) There seems to be a general misunderstanding on his part on what modeler's actually do and how they are applied. The basic statement that modeler's are not used live is pretty much untrue even if he did see a mike in front of an amp at a Van Halen show. There are plenty of bands touring with modeler's in the Rig. Alex Lifeson uses an AXE modeler in his system. I personally have run my HELIX straight to the board since word go and have gotten tons of compliments including from the sound guy. The only good point would be the one about onstage monitoring. In the past I have used small behringer keyboard amps, currently using JBL CW 1000, and the band also has an in ear system. I am also the sound guy for the band when we do have to drag a PA around. However guitar amps are also very directional so I seriously doubt he would have been hearing the straight feed onstage anyways.

Well here is an odd one. While restringing my 89F i cracked the first two threads on the floyd rose whammy bar interface (the part where the bar slips into the whammy housing that you tighten the collar on to "lock" the whammy bar). As a results the tightening collar won't thread easily.. Does anyone know if this interface can be replaced without replacing the entire housing? Or what series floyd rose does JTV89F come with?

Sorry to hear about all of your problems with the broken joystick. I have has my HELIX for almost two (purchased August 2015) years and use the HELIX bag for transport and have not had an issue ever.

The 89F has only been around 4 years (I got mine in April of 2013 one of the first batches). What specifically are you worried about? Let us know how it works out for you.

Brue58ski/Peter Hamm you are certainly correct but this requires the VDI which the OP preferred wireless. But, and I am not sure, you could leave the VDI tethered to Helix for specific songs and tether to the Variax when needed, while still using the wireless. I will try this later to verify that the VDI doesn't "block" the quarter inch guitar input while tethered to the Helix. Sheehanje you are definitely correct on that advantage. The Variax can either store a custom tuning per patch, use the "tuning" knob to adjust tuning or store a custom tuning (or it can be stored via within a Helix patch). The only time you need the VDI in this case is when you are editing via workbench (or forcing variax changes via Helix). And it is the same advantage for a hard tail piece. The custom tuning was one of the original reasons I was drawn to Variax. I was doing a one man show doing Goo Goo Dolls, Creed, Rush etc that all required custom tunings for various songs, and I just got tired of bringing multiple guitars. And another advantage to the Variax that we all missed is absence of pickup noise when using the models! I recently joined a punk band where I was using a new epiphone onstage with a high gain amp model in the helix and I had to keep turning down the guitar between songs. I need to play with some noise gates to see if I can help mitigate this.

Depends which features. Obviously anything that needs a vdi connection, such as patch changing, using the volume and tone controls as controllers, combining the magnetic pickups and models. However, on the fly detunes, quick switch between models are still easily done in a live environment with a wireless. I used all of my variax's (I have a JTV 59 and JTV89F 89F is the main guitar now) wirelessly until I got into my prog band where I started using the VDI extensively due to multiple (up 4 different guitar models) changes per song starting with an HD500 and now Helix, but that's just my preference in that band. The VDI interface is quite useful depending what you want to do, but there are still advantages to a Variax that don't require it and would be applicable to the other units also. I have not had experience with any of the AXE systems or Kemper only because I have been more than satisfied with the Helix and had no reason to look further.

I think some of the design thought could be to give the user the capability of swapping out the current padding with something else possibly more rugged or lighter (list goes on).

I have been using the same VDI on my JTV89F since I bought it. This is through all of the band practices and gigs for the past 4 years with no issues.

Then the sound design bit. At home and on the gigs I use a QSC K12 as my "amp". When the house needs me to go through the mix, I use the QSC as my stage amp. What I have been noticing is that when I'm happy with the sound I design @ home, most of the times, if I go direct throught the mixing board to the PA, I sound very diferent. Does that happen to you too? How can I minimise that difference in order to be "mostly" sure of my sound? And finally the guitars. Do you guys program sets of sound for different guitars? I have a telecaster and a Les Paul that sound (obviously) completely diferent through the same setup. My guess is that the only way to solve that is to tweak a bank for each guitar, Is that it? Thanx for reading so far and don't hesitate to chime in an give your 2 cents! Peace! For your first point I agree with the other posters that your QSC shouldn't sound that much different than what the PA would produce unless the sound guy is modifying your signal. I have been running my Helix direct to every PA I have played through including the band's live PA rig (when venues do not have one). I currently rely on an Amplifi 75 and headphones for designing sounds and recently purchased a pair of JBL 710 and have run them side by side and found no discernable difference in sound. To your second point I use a Variax so I am constantly changing guitars with patches and I have found the Helix is much more responsive to guitar and playing style the the HD series. MY current band is an original prog band so each patch is customised for guitar and song. In some songs I will switch between up to 3 different guitars. I would say that you have probably already found that the Tele and Les Paul will sound different in the same patch.

And too heavy

I appreciate all of the feedback and thank you for replying. As to investing in the Amplifi for Helix, I bought the Amplifi 75 originally to monitor the Helix onstage in venues that had crappy monitors, with the main signal going to the PA and also its nice having a 75 watt blutooth speaker. But onstage with Helix input it wasn't loud enough. It works great as a stereo practice amp with Helix input. Fixed the crappy monitor situation by building up an in ear system for the whole band. But in this case obviously not using the onboard Amplifi modeling. So now I have been recruited into a local "punk" band The Dirty Blondes, and while it would be nice to use the HELIX it only requires 1 or two basic tones. So I tried the amplifi 75 watt onstage since there is certainly more head room with the Amplifi modeling but again wasn't loud enough. The venues this band plays typically don't mike amps and rely on onstage volume. So this is the main reason I would like to upgrade to an Amplifi 150. To get the added oooomph onstage with the punk band. Also having a 150 watt blutooth spkr would be cool. And the other reason is that I am familiar with the amp itself and it is stereo so I can still use it with the Helix at home. The only other systems that I see with stereo are under powered (Roland Kybd monitors) or more expensive (such as Spacestaion3 which looks pretty cool but I have no way to test one out and it is 300 dollars more) and if I got powered monitor I would need 2 and extra weight and money. Anyways thank you again for the replies, and if anyone really cares I will update this post with whatever comes of it.

Your points are well taken, and i probably wrote that more out of frustration with the GC salesman than anything. (Why would the first things out of your mouth be "Oh they discontinued that line because blah blah blah" not a very good salesman) I have a ton of LIne 6 equipment that I have never had a problem with. I think its more of a do I invest in the Amplifi 150 or a straight up FRFR to use with my Helix such as the L2M, JBL EOS, Spacestation V3 etc. And will the Amplifi 150 be loud enough onstage? Can anybody comment on the volume difference between the 75 and 150?

Hey just got back from the local Guitar Center here where I was going to trade in my Amplifi 75 for an Amplifi 150. Blah blah blah salesman told me that the Amplifi line had been discontinued due to communication issues with the app. Again Guitar center salesman. So as part of demonstrating that the Amplifi 75 worked I linked to it played music via Blutooth downloaded the app on the spot (new phone) and started editing the Amplifi 75. Long story short the money they offered me on trade in was OK (roughly twice what one of there 15% discounts would have given me off of the new one) but what worries me is that there hasn't been an update to the software in 2 years and if the product is being discontinued. I would like to know if this is the case (and I know asking in the forums is pretty much ridiculous) before I decide to make the plunge with the 150. The 75 works very well just not loud enough to use as an onstage amp with a very active drummer.

Rewolf48- There are parts listed but the main board is not one of them unless I completely missed it. But to the OP there are quite a few people who have done it.

I use my Helix with an Amplifi 75 going into the AUX input. Not a lot of head room or volume (never was loud enough in a live environment) but good for practicing at home and getting a stereo output. cruisinon2's suggestion is well worth consdiering.

Yup its the Elephants of Scotland, unfortunately we only get tickets for our spouses/girlfriends and nothing else and like you said no other real compensation. Thank you for your suggestion and you are right nothing lost by asking.

Thanks for the replies so far. HELIX would have to be checked, and trying to find one to rent would be an option but again would have to find one first. Also the group's music requires multiple Variax model changes via vdi.

My band has been selected to play at Summer's End festival in Wales in early October of this year. I will need to bring both my JTV89F and Helix. I know there has been new legislation for bringing instruments into the cabin vs checking them in like luggage. If anyone has been traveling recently especially with a guitar I would certainly appreciate any insight or what to expect traveling overseas with an instrument.