GeeTah

I pack a Tech 21 Fly Rig in my Helix bag. Takes up practically no space, weighs next-to-nothing and covers the basics well enough to get me me through a show if the Helix fails, which BTW it has never done and I’ve had mine since 2015. Fly Rigs come in a variety of flavors - check your favorite gear provider/store for the various options available. The newer ones (ie V2) have onboard tuners, the older ones don’t. Good luck!

I put a Fender Tolex guitar case on an X keyboard stand and put the Helix and my laptop on there at the same time connected via the USB. Then I can adjust the stand to sitting or standing height depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. That's an easy, cheap and sturdy solution that has worked for me all the way back to my X3 Live days. Hope that helps. Good luck, Brad

Epic!!! Sell that to the Navy Blue Angels aerobatic team - perfect musical score for one of their insane demo videos!!! Brad

I have four different FRFR Solutions and - depending on the venue size - one of these works. BTW, all my patches are stereo which was based on my old 2 amp and pedal board rig. In all case with the Helix, I send the XLR outs to FOH and the quarter inch out to the FRFR Option 1 - Large venues - Mission Gemini 2. Extremely accurate reproduction, works in stereo - large footprint and weighs 75lbs. Option 2 - Smaller venues - Pair of QSC K8-2 - DSP Setting of "Studio Monitor" - sounds great - loud as you want (lightweight) Option 3 - Even smaller venues - Single QSC K8-2 - DSP Setting of "Studio Monitor" - both channels plugged into the one K8-2 Option 4 - Church and zero stage volume rooms, studio session work - no stage monitor at all, IEM's and Helix direct to FOH or recording console. Hope this helps. Brad

Like so many others, I've gone with an FRFR box to run with my Helix (Mission Gemini 2) and I love it. But... last night I had occasion to retrack a guitar part in a song that my praise team had cut 4 years ago where I had used my old HD500 with two DT25s in stereo. Despite acquiring the Gemini 2, I could never bring myself to part with my pair of DT25s. They're just great amps - sitting there in our studio... I got out the old HD500 (kept it as a backup) and the DT25s and retracked the guitars and came away thinking... man, that's one of the sweetest sounding rigs I've ever heard. To my ears, the totally organic response of the tubes is just something that even the best digital rigs (Helix, Axe, etc.) can't really "quite" do - not totally/not the same way.... Left me thinking: I wonder if Line 6 is just going to leave the DT25/Helix integration in the rearview - or if somehow/someday they will craft a true integration into a Helix firmware release so that it's capable of being truly controlled via the L6 wiring. I would LOVE it if that could happen. Not via a workaround with midi, I mean a true integration like the HD series had. Even if the suite of amps and cabs had to be limited to what the DT could handle, it would be great. Even if it was a "pay-for" upgrade, it'd be worth it. Line 6 - if you're listening - I'd really LOVE to hear your response on this. I bet I'm not the only one. Thanks, Bradley GT

Factory Helix backpack all the way, no hesitation. I was an early adopter of Helix (November 2015) and have now played tons of shows with it and transported it in planes, trucks, you name it, to every show in that backpack. Only had one issue (and it was about a month after I received it). One of the plastic clasps that holds together one of the shoulder straps failed as I was climbing down a stairway leaving a stage at a load-out. The Helix toppled down the metal stairway and onto the concrete street below, about a 6-7 foot fall. The Helix wasn't even scratched. The backpack was pretty banged up and Sweetwater replaced the whole backpack for me under warranty. It has a surprising amount of usable space too. In mine I carry: extra cables, a Tech21 RK-5 Fly Rig (as a backup for the Helix) with a wall wart, a Mission Engineering Expression Pedal, my Shure GLX-D16 wireless pedal and body pack and other stuff I can't remember. Never an issue and I have it LOADED full all the time. Fits neatly into overhead plane bins on fly shows. Cannot begin to recommend the factory backpack enough. Rock solid. Even when you load it down like I have. BTW, never a single issue with the zippers. They are built as tough as the backpack is. Good luck Bradley GT

I've heard "about" the IO, but haven't demo'd it in person. Cool form factor and love the Neodymium magnet speaker. 29lbs... that'd be really nice. Sonically, It'll have to be spectacular to be in realm of the Gemini 2 tho... I've tried lots of stuff out there (Stereo DT25's, L2 and L3, Pair of Power Engine 60's, lots of different monitors - QSC, EV, Alto, JBL) and nothing I've tried comes close (IMHO) to the purely good feel, vibe and sound of the Gemini 2, true stereo. To me it just brings out everything that is great about Helix. All the nuances and subtleties and - more power than you need when you crank it.

That does look sweet. Wish it was a tad bit lighter... I have a Mission Gemini 2 and run a lot of stereo patches (mostly delays that modulate and phasing). Really like (actually LOVE) the feel of the Gemini 2. In additional to twin XLR's the G2 also will take a stereo TRS connection and that makes it super-simple to do for a stage rig with the Helix. Just connect it via a TRS cable to the Helix headphones-out and you've got your fully-baked tone with a separate volume control. Really nice to have separate output volume controls for FOH and stage. The biggest issue with the G2 is how much it weighs. The G2 specs show it as 62 pounds but I've had it on our scale and it was closer to 70. Add a padded cover and it's like lifting 2 big sacks of top soil at the same time. The Friedman is lighter, but not much and appears to be mono... Thanks for sharing - nice to see Friedman's team working so hard to get it right. Great folks over there. Really good at what they do (but the same goes for the team at Mission Engineering). The more choices the better!!! Best to all, BradleyGT

I have both a Korean and USA JTV59 and have used both a lot. Play inside and outside shows. I never even thought to look at the bridge plating (as discucssed above), but did after seeing this post. Both the K and the USA 59 have the same type of wear we're talking about here and I haven't noticed any degradation of tone or function at all. We do clean the bridges at every string change (probably every other show) and - other than that - everythign is working fine on both. Can't be certain, but I agree with the others here that if you're hearing some kind of metallic overtone, it's probably unrelated to the plating (which is just an aesthetic finish). Best, Bradley GT

I too am an extremely happy Gemini 2 owner and get lots of compliments on how great the rig sounds, usually JTV59US, HSS Strat or R9 Les Paul > Helix > G2. The guys at Mission were great to work with too. Thought I'd share my wiring set up with you guys. I run a studio quality TRS cable from my headphone out of the Helix to the G2, and the stereo XLR outs from the Helix to the FOH console, simultaneously. That gives me my fully baked patch tone in stereo via the G2 on stage with its own volume control (the headphone volume) and allows me to vary my stage volume while leaving the FOH volume (Master) alone. Maybe call it the 3CM... Handy.

+1 Thanks so much Stratotron! That's very cool!

My pleasure. The most time-consuming thing for me was everything sounded great that was coming back into my stage mix for months of using the Helix. But then, when I deployed the G2, I was hearing the really annoying issues you described, edginess in the upper-mids and horn-sounding in the lower-to-mid mids. To further complicate things, I'd get board recordings of our shows and the tone was fine... If I would have just known that our engineer just "fixed" it at our first sound check when I rolled-out the Helix the first time, sure would have avoided a lot of chin scratching. After all the G2 was supposed to be the holy grail of FRFR solutions.... BTW, I didn't change the global EQ prior to all of this and now practically always fine-tune it at sound check using the G2. Good luck and hope you get to the bottom of it and get it working like you want. You've got a great combo there with the Helix and the Gemini 2. Brad

I also run a Gemini 2 and totally DO understand the mid "honk" you're getting and also the brittleness (too much presence) of the highs (around 1k to 2.5k). I was able to fix it - and when I fixed one, it fixed the other (edginess and mid honk both gone). BTW... My stage setup is to run L&R XLR outs to the FOH console and then run a separate stereo TRS cable out of the Helix headphone-out of the Helix into the stereo TRS Input of the G2. So the G2 is getting the fully baked tones (I have my phones output set to mirror the XLRs). The result is independent stage volume control over the G2 while the Helix output to the PA can stay put. I don't send anything to the FOH out of the G2 - only direct out of the Helix. When I was experiencing what you are describing I was literally pulling my hair out, trying this and that, and just before I was about to unload the G2, I discovered that the difference was at the FOH console (a digital mixer that saves all settings allowing me to look at the EQ's later on my iPad) and that our engineer had tweaked my EQ. I noticed that he was pulling the EQ's back 7-9db in the 1-3k range to soften my output. He said that he had made the EQ change after I deployed the Helix. The settings had been saved months before I got the G2 when I was just running direct with no stage amp - he never said anything to me at the time. So... not sure this help, but (bottom line) I found that the G2 was giving me back exactly what I was sending it. I started changing the EQs in everything to dial out that edginess and the mid-honk (almost like the speaker emulation was a horn vs. a 12" driver) and have been happy with the tone ever since. I don't use any third party IR's BTW. Everything is factory. If you have edginess and honk that won't go away with EQ, I'd sure recommend that you get in touch with the guys at Mission Engineering. They're great to work with and will stay on a problem until it's solved. One other suggestion: Record Helix-direct into your DAW into one (or stereo) channels and also mic your G2 cab with twin mics, listen to whether you can hear the difference in the recording. It may be less than you think. But, again, if it is really different - reach out to Mission and let them solve it. Best, Brad

Thanks Dave - it just seems that since updating to v2.01 the headphone output isn't responding to the global EQ changes. My setup is a stereo FRFR amp on stage fed via the headphone output (very handy as it give me completely independent control of my stage amp level) and then stereo XLR outs to the FOH. I do want to hear what I am sending to the FOH console on my stage amp - so I do want the global EQ to affect the phones output the same as the XLR outs. I do have headphones set to monitor XLR outs on the phones output in the global settings - so I'm good there. Any other idea would sure be appreciated. Best, Bradley

Just curious - does the global eq affect the eq output of the headphones output?

The USA models also ship with a rectangular hardshell case in black Tolex. The Korean models include a gig bag (a VERY nice gig bag BTW!!). Did you get the hardshell case too? Hope so!!!!!! Bradley

Bassboy, consider yourself lucky. If it says Handcrafted in the USA, you've got a USA custom shop model. The Koreans say "Crafted in Korea." Another FAST way to tell is via the serial number. The Korean's all start with a W (Line 6 outsourced the builds to World Musical Instruments in Seoul - same place makes PRS SE and lots of other high quality instruments). The USA models just start with a number. I have both a JTV 59 Korean and a USA. Both great axes. That, BTW, is by FAR the best deal I have ever heard on anyone getting into a USA JTV Variax. Congrats! Bradley GT

Real* DT Amp integration that works seamlessly with L6 would be my top pick - even if the amps modeled when connected to a DT amp would be limited in number. *(ie where no work-around or under the hood setup is required)

You might reach out to Mission Engineering via email or phone - they're great to work with and surely they can figure out some way to get a G2 to you Down Under. Good luck!!!!!

I mortgaged my house and pulled the trigger on a Mission Gemini 2 (G2). Used it live Saturday night for the first time and have to say that I don't regret spending the money now. Caught a deal on condition A open box at Musicians Friend and that softened the blow somewhat. It did include the 45 day return option, so it was worth checking out. So very happy I did. I'll be selling other stuff now, because IMHO the G2 is "the" amp for Helix. I understand that your question specifically asks for alternatives to the G2. There are several. I agree totally with ncockerill above that the L2t/m's are great sounding but they are mono - you can send a summed stereo signal to one of those (analog connect or L6 Link both work out of Helix), but you don't get any separation. I had one for about a week and returned it. Again - it sounded EXCELLENT - just mono. I also tried a pair of Tech 21 Power Engine 60's and they were great too - lightweight and durable. Our band is still using some of those. They are midrange dominant but are affordable - made in the USA. I also have used twin DT25's and they are pretty good, but don't do acoustic voicing well. But again, after all the surfing, trying every FRFR solution I could get my hands on with my Helix, I can't say enough good things about the Gemini 2. Bulky size? Yes... Expensive? Yes. But, all tolled it's the best sounding FRFR stage volume solution I've found for the Helix. The Mission support team is also awesome. Good luck and hope this helped. Bradley

Can anyone see any reason that you wouldn't want to feed the stereo input of a Mission Gemini 2 FRFR stereo powered cab via the stereo headphone out of the Helix? Seems like a marriage made in heaven to me. 1. Send the Helix' XLR outs to the FOH console, set everythign exactly right - levels, etc. FOH Engineers are happy. 2. Then, send the stereo headphone out of Helix to the stereo input on the Mission Gemini 2. That gives me some stage volume and it (theoretically) sounds exactly like what I'm sending to FOH. That setup keeps the level consistent at FOH, while allowing you to vary your stage amp volume independently with the separate headphone volume control on Helix. Seems too easy - sounded really good too. Just curious if anyone sees a reason that wouldn't be a good-sounding, fast hookup and workable solution - assuming you have a Mission Gemini 2 (I have access to one via my church). Thoughts? Bradley GT

Has anyone tried this method with a Mission Gemini 2 stereo FRFR amp? I'm going to have access to one at church this Sunday and might try it. Sure seems to make perfect sense.

Gary, Just wanted to say thanks so much for the thoughts. I'll look into this further asap. My question the L6 Link was just for the audio feed between the Helix and the DT's. No worries there. Bradley

Gary, As the owner of two DT25's (purchased at Sweetwater at full retail less than 2.5 years ago), formerly used with my HD500 in stereo via L6 Link, prior to Helix purchase, I was really disappointed to learn that a midi workaround was required to get the Helix and DT's to cooperate. I finally gave up and have been running with no stage amps (direct to PA) or using an FRFR solution. I have a couple of questions about your suggested approach to my situation: Are you using the L6 Link out of the Helix to the DTs? Do you use the direct XLR out of the DT's to go to the PA or do you mic the DT's? I am SO not a computer tweaking guy - but I'm willing to work with it a bit. I'm also willing to wait for a Line 6-developed integration if one is coming fairly soon. Any real intel on that? Thanks Gary and really appreciate your sharing with us here. I am where you were last week - love the Helix, but kinda frustrated that it doesn't truly integrate seamlessly with the DTs - especially given what we all paid for the DT's only a short time ago. Bradley

Does anyone know where I can get a replacment knob for an X3 Live? This has been missing for a while, but now that Gearbox appears to be going away, replacing this knob is more important now. Line 6's parts area doesn't show this to be available from Line 6. I've attached an images to show the knob we're looking for - see yellow pointer. Thanks in advance, Brad