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I've been using a Helix LT for a few years now and and recently bought a poweramp (Warwick Gnome mini bass head - Not technically a guitar poweramp but does the exact same thing)and 2x12 to play live. The setup sounds great, but I've noticed a squealing/humming sound when the guitar signal is silent or the amp is on but not being used. I have previously been using the Helix into the Effects Return of an amp (but I don't currently have access to this) and I don't recall this noise there. (Although maybe it was because I always wear ear plugs at practice). The hum sounds almost like the standing 'hiss' from a loud amp with overdrive but no signal, but plus a tinnitus-esque electronic squeal. It persists when even the Helix is switched off, so I also don't think its a software issue on the Helix. I've done some experimentation to isolate the Helix: When my signal is Guitar>poweramp, or Guitar>Normal pedal>Poweramp it sounds fine. Swapping all the 1/4" cables used, as well as the power supply to the poweramp and Helix (direct to wall vs extension lead), and unplugging everything except the 1/4" output on Helix (including the guitar). I've also tried it in every other 1/4" plug on the Helix, whether its an input or output jack. Helix>Headphones and Helix>HiFi via Aux (via phones jack and both mono outs) have no squeal. Using headphones from the poweramp also has the squeal. The issue has got to be somewhere between the Helix output and the Poweramp input, but the fact that the sound persists when the Helix is off is really weird. My full signal chain in full is: Guitar > Instrument cable > Helix Input > Helix 1/4" Output > Instrument cable > Gnome Input > Speaker cable > Cab Input. In the Helix settings I've switched between Line ad Instrument levels and various other settings, as well as Ground Lift (even though I'm not using XLR) on both the Helix and the poweramp. After some light searching I found a post on the Line 6 forum that details something similar, but he was "cured" by using an "impedance balanced TRS cable" I'm not even going to begin to pretend I know what that means but I'll try and read up. Alternatively, I have wondered if an XLR-1/4" cable would help, but don't currently have access to one. Can anyone offer potential insight to the cause of my issue here? It isn't loud, and it can't be heard over playing, but I know it shouldn't be there, and it does increase in volume in line with the poweramp output so I expect at band volumes it may be noticeable. I'm running out of ideas here. I'm not sure where the issue is, since helix output to any other speaker is fine, and poweramp input without the helix is fine too. Thanks for reading!

I am thinking about buying a Pod Go / Headrush mx5 / Mooer GE300lite and using it with a power amp like Harley Benton GPA - 100 along with my 212 v30 cab. Most people use guitar procesors with FRFR cabs, but the problem is that I hate how FRFR feels. For me, it's kinda flat and uninspiring. Simply, I need that "amp in the room feel" and I don't expect tube warmth from this setup, but at least something that will sound at least as decent as Boss Katana Head. Will Pod Go (with cab sim disabled) + GPA - 100 give me an amp in the room feel? Will it sound like a real guitar amp (maybe not a tube one) and have a decent feel and pick attack? Do you think it's gonna be a tone upgrade over my Katana Head?

WARNING NEW GUY I have been playing 15 years...and can dial in a tube amp easily...but modelers are a whole new world to me...here goes nothing! So i have had my helix lt for a few months now and have been using it live almost every weekend. Had a sound i really liked dialed in but wasn't happy just using a monitor and my bands mixer board is one is always one short on running FOH so...it was time for a power amp and 2x12 cab But now i cant seem to find a good setting...i took the IR off the preset. Ive really taken a liking to the Placater so id like to still use that for the 80s cover band. Any suggestions on helix settings using the 2x12 and poweramp route?

Hey Guys, How do you power your Line 6 Helix modeler for Live use with a cabinet ? What is the best solution you've came across while doing your research ? Please share your experience and your perfect setup solution to make the Helix sound has legit as possible. (Amp feel and response, amp in the room feel etc.) So far I've tried many possibilities : - Tube amp Fx loop (power amp in) - Powered monitor such as EV ELX 112P - Line 6 Powercab + - Boss Waza tube expander to power a passive guitar cab with classic celestion speakers. Cheers,

So I’m in a dilemma that I’m hoping someone can help me out with. I play in 2 metal bands that practice at separate rehearsal studios and I am looking for a second rig for the other studio so I was looking into getting the hx stomp or the helix lt but can’t decide which one would be a better fit. Since I play metal I don’t use a ton of effects but maybe if I had more options I would use them more. I mostly just use a high gain profile on my kemper, a clean profile and a lo-fi profile but to be honest the kemper Is not known for its effects so I was thinking the hx stomp might be cool to use as a second rig at the other studio and since it’s so portable I could use it with the kemper as well. The only issue is that since I use real cabinets I use power amps because my kemper is not powered and neither is the hx stomp but the hx stomp doesn’t have an xlr output to plug into my power amp however the helix lt does. Is there anyway hook the hx stomp up to my power amp without using an xlr? Would a 1/4 jack to xlr work? what I’m really getting down to is which one would you guys suggest for my situation the helix lt or the hx stomp? Would the hx stomp be a good stand alone rig if I can run it through a power amp or would it just be better to get the helix lt? Sorry for the long post. I wanted to try and be as specific as possible. Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks!

Hi Everyone, Creating this topic to check if someone has tried the SD's powerstage (power amp > cab) on a live situation. The reason why I ask is for me to decide whether to go for an axe fx or keep using the pod. I mainly use the pod for live use and I guess, won't be using it for any recording stuff. Most forum suggests the axe-fx but I'm having second thoughts as I may just be wasting money as most of the people in the forum are using it for recording. I'm doing live shows and I mostly use Mesa or Fender as my amps for dirt and cleans (sometimes tweed or ac30). Hope someone can chime in their experiences. I'm not here to bash anything, just wanted to get an honest opinion on the pro's and con's as far as my usage is concerned. Thanks in advance.

Hi everybody, I was thinking about how to connect my helix with my old 1960A cabinet, just for fun. I would be like this, right?: Helix (with any amp simulation ON, FX etc., but any cab sim OFF) > ??? > 1960A. The »???« would be what? Kind of a power amp of course. I have a spare 2 x 100W power amp from an old PA somewhere in the basement (no idea about the ohm settings). Would this work? Or would I blow something? Thanks in advance Opti/Alex

Hey guys. I recently sold a great part of my big old rack system, including my Velocity 120 PowerAmp. Now I have the 2x12 sitting there, doing nothing, just annoying more and more my wife. Anyway, I would like to ask you all, for some suggestion on what amp to use with Helix. I don't intend to keep the 2x12. So, I will need something with speaker(s). I do use the amp simulation from helix, which is a big part of my sound. So, I would need the "cleanest sound amp" as possible. I don't care if it is SS or tube, since it gives me a very clean and flat sound (FRFR would be great, but it is not essential). I play only at home, so don't need much more than 20 - 30 watts. I was thinking about the ZT Lunchbox. Really small it has some good reviews. *I saw somewhere, I think in FB page, that someone was using with Acpustic amps. is it good to use it with? Will it be damaged using to much distortion and heavy sounds? (stupid question, I know). Anyway, any suggestion is very appreciated! Cheers, Leo

Howdy all, _Apologies moderators if this is in the wrong forum.. figured it might get a few more hits if it’s in the main forum_.. Having been part of the Fractal Forum (however no longer because I’m a loud and proud HELIX user J), and Kemper Forum, and now the Line 6 Helix forum, I’ve noticed that in particular here in the Helix forum, there’s a huge amount of FRFR discussions, but there’s minimal discussions about players that don’t necessarily use FRFR. This could quite easily be because the bigger majority of players in this Line 6 forum ARE mainly FRFR users/players. This isn’t an anti-FRFR topic or discussion, it’s more about expanding on this forum and perhaps growing the capabilities of the Helix and sharing wins/strategies/tones etc etc. On the Fractal and Kemper forums, there are many discussions about FRFR, but there’s also a lot of discussions and banter about power amps + cabs + Kemper or Axe FX, _not just FRFR_. Is it worth having a forum or chat room for the players that mainly use their Helix rig in a non-FRFR situation? It’s all well and good to download and trade patches with one another that are FRFR; however from what I can ascertain on this forum, at least 90% of all things discussed is FRFR based, with not a lot of input on power amp + cab + Helix and so forth. Again, having owned and played all 3 modellers, I personally keep resorting back to a valve power amp + cab + Helix because that not only works for me, but the band that I play in as well. FRFR is the perfect bedroom solution (which a majority of us forum’ites are, presumably), however, I just think it’d be good to have a place to chat, trade ideas etc that are not always FRFR based.. Food for thought I guess..

While my new Amplifi 150 is in the shop (power issues?), I took the plunge and bought a CRATE powerblock to use with my trusty Pod XTLive board - and used the Crate powerblock only as a power amp into my Fender 4x12 cabinet. It worked like a champ. You do need to configure the OUTPUT setting on the Line 6 Pod XT LIVE (I chose power amp, not direct) - but that's usually the case. Guitar into Line 6 Pod XT Live Line 6 Pod left + right outputs --> Crate Powerblock LINE IN (L&R) Crate Powerblock L&R outputs ---> Cabinet (The Fender 4x12 mustang cabinet can be configured to be stereo) You can see in the picture, pretty easy setup. Note: during a live show, I always use my Boss Tuner (just used to it I guess) and I had bought the Behringer Ultra Shifter/Harmonist US600 Processor pedal so I easily drop to an Eb if needed. Versatile little pedal. (and yes, that's a Kramer 5150 replica, which I use for the fun Van Halen party tunes at the end of the night - always fun to play and usually a few guitiarists in the crowd appreciate it.) Crate powerblock was $100 on Craigslist I've previously used the Pod XT live into a Roland Keyboard amp (KB300) but it's very bass-y. And it's only 1 speaker (albeit powerful). Having a 4x12 was helpful as it filled the stage (an outside benefit show). I spent a lot of time pondering the FRFR (Full Range, Flat Response) route - but this was just as powerful, much more affordable, and flexible. Plus, the stereo effects were nice to hear on stage. Hope this helps someone pondering power-amps in a live situation (like me a few weeks ago).

Hey guys I want to know a few things so bear with me if things go over your head. 1) can I run this head with just one output jack connected to a modded spider 4x12 that i customized to work in just 16 ohm mono operation? I read somewhere that both jacks need to be connected or the amp can blow if you crank it like this...? 2) I've been cranking this baby with 2 identically modded 16 ohm mono spider cabs will I eventually cause my amp to blow? 3) should I return my cabs to their 4 ohm mono/8 ohm stereo op? Could I remod to remain 8 ohm stereo but with a 16 ohm mono op? I just wanted to use all speakers for the sake of having a full range (jsyk not to be mistaken as frfr) tone through all speakers rather than just two speakers per side. Have I made a mistake? 3) has anyone else just used the CD/Mp3 input for the sole use of the power amp section...? I'm running a laptop w/ cockos reaper and a external usb pre amp outing to the mp3 input jack in stereo with backing tracks + amp modeing into the rig to get my desired result. What are your thoughts on this? 4) line 6 really needs to consider adding more speaker configurations, Poweramp in, and speaker cab mute switch (why mute the speaker when using the di through the amp.. wtf) to their next spider series if they still plan on selling these series later on in the future. *more of an opinion*

Just discoverd that using the phones output to connect the pod xt live to the effect return of a Mustang lll amp sound way better then using and configuring the output mode on the line out. Or any other set up!

Hey guys, Love this forum, so helpful compared to some out there. I am looking to sell my ENGL (dont need 150w) and use my POD X3 a bit more - i have some great patches downloaded from Reece Fullwood (Mask of Judas) and Drewsif Stalin - I recommend you check out these guys if you havent heard of them - i nearly quit when i heard Reece! Anyway - i have a 2x12 laney ironheart cab and an X3 bean - I was wondering..... I see the X3 bean has a FBV input on it - does this mean I could purchase the FBV pedal and a power amp and i would be able to run my POD sounds live with the ability to switch around with the FBV? I am desperate to get rid of my ENGL and 4X12 (moved outta my folks house into a top story apartment and my band practices miles away where we have to carry the gear down a long path.... I cant stands no more!!!!! Help me friends!!!! Lenny

Hi all! So I currently use a HD 500 at home which I run into my Scarlett 2i2 interface and monitors. Lately, I've been looking to get the most out of the unit itself, and I've found I'm getting a lot of tones I really like through more advanced tweaking and better setups of patches. My question is will I get more realistic tones and warmth by adding some form of poweramp after the pod and into the 2i2? Valve or not valve, I'd just like to try and bring the tones to life as much as possible! Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm a complete noob when it comes to this kind of thing! Cheers!

Right I have posted this before but to no avail so I'm going to try again. Basically the only way I can get my POD to send a signal to my ENGL power amp is to go via the fx loop and stick a loop block at the end of the signal chain which is rather annoying as I like the use of the looping function. I have sent it directly into a PA before via the 1/4" out without an issue but for some reason it is not working going into the ENGL so I have no clue what the problem is. The output signal is set to power amp, 1/4" line out switch set to amp, guitar in set to normal. My rough signal chain is (working) Guitar in>Vol pedal>Amp sim>Reverb etc>FX block>FX Send (out)>ENGL>Cab. The way I want it to work is; Guitar in>Vol pedal>Amp sim>Reverb etc>1/4" out>ENGL>Cab. Has anybody got any ideas? It's been months and I still can't find a solution.