Helix FAQ

[TheRealZap]

It works on a PC with drivers... its class compliant on a mac.... i don't have any idea what the experience would look like on a surface... pretty close to a PC, but it's a tablet if i'm not mistaken.

 

Can one of forum experts/insiders speak on the Helix capabilities as a USB audio interface?

 

All I have right now is a high-spec (i7, 8GB, 256GB SSD) Microsoft Surface Pro 3 PC. I started thinking about putting together a home studio setup, using this PC to host Reaper and EZ Drummer 2, and have the Helix to deal with all my analog audio I/O needs.

 

Ideally, the Helix will drive my (to be purchased) active monitors for all monitoring activities, using the XLR balanced outputs. For guitar/mic sounds processed within Helix, obviously it will be awesome. But I wonder if we'll be provided with high-quality, low-latency audio drivers for everything else.

 

Does this sound realistic? Thoughts anyone?

[mileskb]

For the experts...  and excuse me if this has been asked already..

 

1.  For the RACK unit, which I am leaning towards... why does't the ground controller have a display or expression pedal?    I would have thought the ground controller would have just been essentially an empty floor unit except for the display, switches and controllers.        

 

2.  Due to #1, is there any reason I couldn't use my Behringer FCB1010 controller via midi to run the beasty?  At least it has a display and TWO expression pedals.  After I typed this message I did some more searching and see that Line6 actually has some nice pedals.  Will any of them work to control the Helix rackmount unit?

 

3.  Speaking of MIDI, as I have never used Line6 gear before... can I access most EVERYTHING via midi or is it limited patch, bank, type functions?

 

Thanks in advance...  

Miles

[TheRealZap]

1. the controller is pricey at 500$, a screen would have made it impossible to sell... i believe that the controller has ports for footpedals of your choosing.

 

2. the primary reason you wouldn't want to use another controller (although you could...) would be the foot edit mode... but there is also the text on the scribble strips and the color rings indicating effects type.... and no... none of the other line6 pedals will work with it...

 

3. i believe you can access most things via midi... although i suspect that some finer and deep control options would not be available.

 

For the experts...  and excuse me if this has been asked already..

 

1.  For the RACK unit, which I am leaning towards... why does't the ground controller have a display or expression pedal?    I would have thought the ground controller would have just been essentially an empty floor unit except for the display, switches and controllers.        

 

2.  Due to #1, is there any reason I couldn't use my Behringer FCB1010 controller via midi to run the beasty?  At least it has a display and TWO expression pedals.  After I typed this message I did some more searching and see that Line6 actually has some nice pedals.  Will any of them work to control the Helix rackmount unit?

 

3.  Speaking of MIDI, as I have never used Line6 gear before... can I access most EVERYTHING via midi or is it limited patch, bank, type functions?

 

Thanks in advance...  

Miles

[ultraknilch]

When using the helix with a normal (MONO) guitar amp, could I setup the Helix like this:

Path 1:

Guitar -> Helix Guitar Main Input

Helix 1/4" Out Left -> Amp Input

Path 2: 

Amp FX Send -> Helix Aux Input

Helix 1/4" Out Right -> Amp FX Return

 

Of course I would have to pan the appropriate signals hard left and right for this to work...

 

I just thought it would be a cool way to setup the 4 cable method - this way you could still keep all four effect loops!

[phil_m]

When using the helix with a normal (MONO) guitar amp, could I setup the Helix like this:

Path 1:

Guitar -> Helix Guitar Main Input

Helix 1/4" Out Left -> Amp Input

Path 2: 

Amp FX Send -> Helix Aux Input

Helix 1/4" Out Right -> Amp FX Return

 

Of course I would have to pan the appropriate signals hard left and right for this to work...

 

I just thought it would be a cool way to setup the 4 cable method - this way you could still keep all four effect loops!

 

You could do that. There only drawback is that method requires using two signal paths, which maybe isn't a big deal. Also, the Aux In isn't necessarily designed for a line level signal which is what the signal coming from your amp's FX send would most likely be. That may or may not be an issue.

[ultraknilch]

cool, thanks for your reply! It could work, since, if I remember correctly, the loop on my friedman smallbox is instrument level!

I just thought it might be a little tidier to have one path for pre fx and one for post fx ;)

[Ka5par]

http://www.thomann.de/gb/line6_helix_guitar_processor.htm

 

Due back in stock on 30.10.2015

 

Nice...

[sonic_assassin]

saw a working unit being demoed at my local guitar center today. i mostly caught them talking about aplifi or firefli or hawkeye some other product i have no use for. but then there was some helix demo.

 

one of the employees, a friend of mine and axe fx enthusiast, said that everything sounded very processed. i feel like a great deal of his impression was that the helix was being used with the stagesource speakers and cab sim. i feel like to really get this thing to shine, one has to use a real cab.

[Blondiedk]

Anyone?

 

Will this possible:

Variax to variax input.

Wireless to guitar input.

Pedal in loop 1

Aux monitor send from FOH to wedge parallel out to R4

Main out L+R : all guitars (variax and/or variax mags or wireless) out to FOH

Unbalanced out L+R: all guitars (variax and/or variax mags or wireless) out to FRFR monitors

S3+S4 (L+R): all guitars + AUX monitor from FOH to IEM.

 

Anybody have an idea if this will be possible and how it will be setup in the Helix and how much "path-space" I will "waste"?

[siremoon]

 

 

one of the employees, a friend of mine and axe fx enthusiast, said that everything sounded very processed.

 

Wow that is truly shocking.  I can see the headlines now "AXE FX enthusiast doesn't like competing product from different manufacturer".  Who'd have thought it.  :huh:

[phil_m]

saw a working unit being demoed at my local guitar center today. i mostly caught them talking about aplifi or firefli or hawkeye some other product i have no use for. but then there was some helix demo.

 

one of the employees, a friend of mine and axe fx enthusiast, said that everything sounded very processed. i feel like a great deal of his impression was that the helix was being used with the stagesource speakers and cab sim. i feel like to really get this thing to shine, one has to use a real cab.

 

Meh, having used the Helix for several months now, methinks your friend might need to get his ears checked. Yes, the Helix doesn't give you an "amp in the room" experience, but that's not what it's designed to do. It's designed to model a miced amp. So the real world comparison would be listening to a miced up amp from a contorl room in a studio. But, having said that, I do find the Helix to be very responsive and have the feeling of playing through a real amp. I typically play mine through my studio monitors, and it works great this way. If you want to use a power amp and guitar cab, you certainly can. You can get great tones that way too, I'm sure. But I actually think (well, I know) you'll get a much more accurate representation of the modeled amps by using a high quality FRFR system.

[Plastalmonus]

"Amp in the room" is by far the stupidest bechmark/concept I have heard of. After years of playing on stage and seeing live gigs, all I've heard is a mic'd amp. Every CD, MP3, and record I own is a mic'd amp.

 

Holding a pro piece of gear up to how much it resembles your bedroom rig is just stupid.

[ryansalmond]

A mic'd amp is exactly the kind of sound I want, no matter what musical setting I'm in.

[sonic_assassin]

i used my HD500 as my amp and effects into a power amp and cab. it is 100% of my tone. direct with line 6 cab sim sounds terrible compared to putting it through a real cab. i feel like if i had politely borrowed the helix and plugged it into the power section of a (preferably tube) amp with a big fat mesa cab and pulled up a recto or engl sound, it would have sounded massive.

 

i know where line 6 is headed with these weird speakers and stuff they are making, but they aren't apple. the masses aren't going to just give up on real amps and go direct with a PA on stage. that's not a terrible idea, but its not for most people.

 

his comments didn't sway me. i'm still going to upgrade ASAP.

[billdutcher]

What type of input source, pick up signal, will be auxiliary input except and process? In particular, will except the input signal and impedance of an acoustic guitar soundboard transducer like the LR Baggs iBeam?

[ryansalmond]

I'm not sure if this is the same as what you're asking, but you've got me wondering something along the same lines- I have an electroacoustic with a passive pickup and usually use an outboard preamp- is there a recommended way to set this up in Helix?

[billdutcher]

I'm planning on using an acoustic guitar, set up with the magnetic pick up (Sunrise) in the sound hole, and a transducer (LRBaggs iBeam) inside on the bridge plate. I'm just wondering if there's any type of modeling for acoustic guitar pick ups that can be assigned to the auxiliary input signal. That way I can run electric guitar based effects on the regular guitar input, with the magnetic pick up, and blend in acoustic sounds from the auxiliary input .

[ColonelForbin]

Helix has no output modes, by design. Instead, if offers way more flexibility and lets you route whatever you want pretty much anywhere.

 

While connected to a computer as a souncard via USB, can Helix send computer audio playback (IE, ProTools) to the Line6 Link output?

[Guitarzan]

Usage question (since I'll be doing this with my own Helix within two weeks)... :D

 

http://line6.com/data/6/0a0643391bb055fca90096a38/application/pdf/Helix%20Cheat%20Sheet%20-%20English%20(%20Rev%20A%20).pdf

 

So, I'm scrolling through the banks with FS1 and/or FS7 and Helix is in Preset Footswitch mode... then I get to the bank I want... FS2 through FS11 are showing the 8 Presets in that bank... I select one of the Presets... 

 

Then I select FS6 to put Helix in Stomp Footswitch mode and can turn or or off the blocks in the selected Preset. Do I have that right?

[TheRealZap]

pretty much... although you do have options to change some things in your scenario....

so it's not 100% always like that (if you change the settings)

 

i personally just use the bottom row for presets and i have some common effects set on the top row...

so i dont have to change modes as often....

 

Usage question (since I'll be doing this with my own Helix within two weeks)... :D

 

http://line6.com/data/6/0a0643391bb055fca90096a38/application/pdf/Helix%20Cheat%20Sheet%20-%20English%20(%20Rev%20A%20).pdf

 

So, I'm scrolling through the banks with FS1 and/or FS7 and Helix is in Preset Footswitch mode... then I get to the bank I want... FS2 through FS11 are showing the 8 Presets in that bank... I select one of the Presets... 

 

Then I select FS6 to put Helix in Stomp Footswitch mode and can turn or or off the blocks in the selected Preset. Do I have that right?

[Digital_Igloo]

pretty much... although you do have options to change some things in your scenario....

so it's not 100% always like that (if you change the settings)

 

i personally just use the bottom row for presets and i have some common effects set on the top row...

so i dont have to change modes as often....

 

Yep, and I change the BANK UP/DOWN switches to act like PRESET UP/DOWN and stay in stomp mode. Everyone uses Helix differently, and it's pretty flexible to use it the way you want. We stopped just short of 100% customizability (that is, any switch can be anything) to keep things simple. For example, in preset and stomp modes, FS6 is always MODE and FS12 is always TAP/TUNER.

[duncann]

Can the Preset UP/DOWN be changed to Preset DOWN/UP?

[Guitarzan]

Yep, and I change the BANK UP/DOWN switches to act like PRESET UP/DOWN and stay in stomp mode. Everyone uses Helix differently, and it's pretty flexible to use it the way you want. We stopped just short of 100% customizability (that is, any switch can be anything) to keep things simple. For example, in preset and stomp modes, FS6 is always MODE and FS12 is always TAP/TUNER.

 

 

pretty much... although you do have options to change some things in your scenario....

so it's not 100% always like that (if you change the settings)

 

i personally just use the bottom row for presets and i have some common effects set on the top row...

so i dont have to change modes as often....

 

Awesome, I suspected this functionality based on demos I have seen but wasn't sure. Thanks guys!

[Blondiedk]

Maybe digital igloo?

 

Will this possible:

Variax to variax input.

Wireless to guitar input.

Pedal in loop 1

Aux monitor send from FOH to wedge parallel out to R4

Main out L+R : all guitars (variax and/or variax mags or wireless) out to FOH

Unbalanced out L+R: all guitars (variax and/or variax mags or wireless) out to FRFR monitors

S3+S4 (L+R): all guitars + AUX monitor from FOH to IEM.

 

Anybody have an idea if this will be possible and how it will be setup in the Helix and how much "path-space" I will "waste"?

[garymwest]

Can the effect assigned to expression pedals be set to a default parameter setting ignoring the pedal position until pedal is moved. Just like the controls on the variax?

 

​Also since I typically use the onboard exp. for delay parameters and a wah, when I engage wah with toe switch the delay para's move with the wah. Can the toe switch be set to lock the delay para's at a default while wah is engaged? Thanks!

[jdosher]

Can someone explain if it's possible to implement an "A/B/Y" switch. I'm refering to a scenario such as a "clean rig" path, and a "dirty rig" path with the ability to switch between them. I see that the Split block can duplicate its input,  but I'm unsure if the Split block can be set to have its output go down only one path.

 

Or maybe I should ask, is there an entirely different way to do this? Is there a dedicated A/B/Y block? Or a way to route the Guitar In signal down Path1-A vs Path1-B at the press of a button? Or Path1 vs Path2?

[Digital_Igloo]

1. Can the effect assigned to expression pedals be set to a default parameter setting ignoring the pedal position until pedal is moved. Just like the controls on the variax?

 

​2. Also since I typically use the onboard exp. for delay parameters and a wah, when I engage wah with toe switch the delay para's move with the wah. Can the toe switch be set to lock the delay para's at a default while wah is engaged? Thanks!

 

1. Yes, they do that by default.

 

2. When you switch over to wah (EXP 1), the delay parameters (EXP 2) will be set to toe values. You could, however, use the toe switch to bypass the current delay and engage a separate delay set to your parameter defaults (with no EXP control).

 

3. Can someone explain if it's possible to implement an "A/B/Y" switch. I'm refering to a scenario such as a "clean rig" path, and a "dirty rig" path with the ability to switch between them. I see that the Split block can duplicate its input,  but I'm unsure if the Split block can be set to have its output go down only one path.

 

4. Or maybe I should ask, is there an entirely different way to do this? Is there a dedicated A/B/Y block? Or a way to route the Guitar In signal down Path1-A vs Path1-B at the press of a button? Or Path1 vs Path2?

 

3. Yes, use a Split > A/B block and assign a footswitch (or expression pedal for dynamic blending) to the "Route To" parameter. There are template presets set up and ready to go.

 

4. Yes. There are so many ways to do this, it's impossible to discuss them all in one post.

[erich]

http://line6.com/data/6/0a06439cb91a5609df67966ca/application/pdf/Helix%20Owners%20Manual%20(REV%20B)%20-%20English%20(%20Rev%20B%20).pdf

[mileskb]

As I don't want to make any assumptions....  Can the expression pedal control more than one parameter at a time?

 

Specifically I'm looking to create a very specific effect that uses Delay and Reverb and also some control over levels and feedback...  the controller would adjust the Frequency of the delay as well as the level of Reverb and it may need to have a couple of other of the parameters tweaked at the same time.    Basically..  creating a Hyperspace Pedal if you know what that is.

 

Again. to be clear.. not switching between paramaters.. but as example... as the pedal moves it slows down the delay's frequency, and increases the reverb's depth.

[Nurn]

As I don't want to make any assumptions....  Can the expression pedal control more than one parameter at a time?

 

Specifically I'm looking to create a very specific effect that uses Delay and Reverb and also some control over levels and feedback...  the controller would adjust the Frequency of the delay as well as the level of Reverb and it may need to have a couple of other of the parameters tweaked at the same time.    Basically..  creating a Hyperspace Pedal if you know what that is.

 

Again. to be clear.. not switching between paramaters.. but as example... as the pedal moves it slows down the delay's frequency, and increases the reverb's depth.

 

Yes, it can. Up to 8 parameters I think.

[Blondiedk]

Possible?

 

 

Blondiedk

Posted 28 September 2015 - 06:57 AM

Maybe digital igloo?

 

Will this possible:

Variax to variax input.

Wireless to guitar input.

Pedal in loop 1

Aux monitor send from FOH to wedge parallel out to R4

Main out L+R : all guitars (variax and/or variax mags or wireless) out to FOH

Unbalanced out L+R: all guitars (variax and/or variax mags or wireless) out to FRFR monitors

S3+S4 (L+R): all guitars + AUX monitor from FOH to IEM.

 

Anybody have an idea if this will be possible and how it will be setup in the Helix and how much "path-space" I will "waste"?

[Jose7822]

Blondiedk,

 

From what I understand about Helix's routing so far, you could probably do that, but in a slightly different way from your graph. I think you won't be able to merge Path 1A into Path 2A as per your graph, but you could simply copy the FX chain after the merge in Path 1A into Path 2A. That will give you the same results, though it will cost you more DSP to achieve. I'm sure Helix has enough processing power as long as you're not using too many Amps and Cabs, which doesn't appear to be your case.

 

Having said that, please take what I just said with a grain of salt. I don't own a Helix, but I'm sure someone who does (or from Line 6) will answer your question. Just thought I'd give your question a stab :-).

[Blondiedk]

Thank you very much José7822.

I hope to get some info from the l6 guys meanwhile I'll dig into the manual and check out your suggestions.

[phil_m]

Possible?

 

 

Blondiedk

Posted 28 September 2015 - 06:57 AM

Maybe digital igloo?

 

Will this possible:

Variax to variax input.

Wireless to guitar input.

Pedal in loop 1

Aux monitor send from FOH to wedge parallel out to R4

Main out L+R : all guitars (variax and/or variax mags or wireless) out to FOH

Unbalanced out L+R: all guitars (variax and/or variax mags or wireless) out to FRFR monitors

S3+S4 (L+R): all guitars + AUX monitor from FOH to IEM.

 

Anybody have an idea if this will be possible and how it will be setup in the Helix and how much "path-space" I will "waste"?

 

I saw your question a few days ago when you asked it, and I was racking my brain for awhile trying to come up with a way to do it. I think that if you really need to run in stereo, you're not going to be able to do it. If you could run in mono, I could probably work something out. Also, having separate paths for the Variax and the regular guitar input might overly complicate things. Do you need to have it so you can use them both in the same preset? Are you actually going to be running them at the same time? Also, if you have the input for the tone set to multi, you can have the Variax and Guitar plugged into their respective inputs at the same time, and just use the same path. They don't need to have dedicated paths unless you want them separated for some reason.

[Blondiedk]

Mono is not an option😎

I don't use regular guitar along with variax. And it shares path with the variax. But I do use the variax modeling together with the variax mags for blending acoustic and electric. So mags gets its own path. (In those preset mags would probably go to 1a and variax to 2a)

[Digital_Igloo]

Will this possible:

Variax to variax input.

Wireless to guitar input.

Pedal in loop 1

Aux monitor send from FOH to wedge parallel out to R4

Main out L+R: all guitars (variax and/or variax mags or wireless) out to FOH

Unbalanced out L+R: all guitars (variax and/or variax mags or wireless) out to FRFR monitors

S3+S4 (L+R): all guitars + AUX monitor from FOH to IEM.

 

Anybody have an idea if this will be possible and how it will be setup in the Helix and how much "path-space" I will "waste"?

 

Hmm... If I understand what you want to do, yeah, it looks doable. If your Variax and Guitar use the same processing blocks, you can do it with only two of the four paths:

1. Set the input block to Multi.
2. Split the signal right before the outputs.
3. Move the merge block down to create two outputs (one set to Multi, which includes both XLR and 1/4", the other set to Send 3/4).
4. Place a Return 4 block on Path 1B, right before the Output > Send 3/4 block.

If you need separate processing for your Variax and Guitar, you'll need all four paths:

1. After performing Steps 1-4 above, duplicate Paths 1A and 1B to 2A and 2B.
2. Set Path 1A's Input block to Variax and Path 2A's Input block to Guitar.

[Jose7822]

Hmm... If I understand what you want to do, yeah, it looks doable. If your Variax and Guitar use the same processing blocks, you can do it with only two of the four paths:

 

• Set the input block to Multi.
• Split the signal right before the outputs.
• Move the merge block down to create two outputs (one set to Multi, which includes both XLR and 1/4", the other set to Send 3/4).
• Place a Return 4 block on Path 1B, right before the Output > Send 3/4 block.

If you need separate processing for your Variax and Guitar, you'll need all four paths:

• After performing Steps 1-4 above, duplicate Paths 1A and 1B to 2A and 2B.
• Set Path 1A's Input block to Variax and Path 2A's Input block to Guitar.

Hmm, I was pretty close, though I forgot to include the duplication of Path B (duh!).

[Blondiedk]

 

Hmm... If I understand what you want to do, yeah, it looks doable. If your Variax and Guitar use the same processing blocks, you can do it with only two of the four paths:

1. Set the input block to Multi.
2. Split the signal right before the outputs.
3. Move the merge block down to create two outputs (one set to Multi, which includes both XLR and 1/4", the other set to Send 3/4).
4. Place a Return 4 block on Path 1B, right before the Output > Send 3/4 block.

If you need separate processing for your Variax and Guitar, you'll need all four paths:

1. After performing Steps 1-4 above, duplicate Paths 1A and 1B to 2A and 2B.
2. Set Path 1A's Input block to Variax and Path 2A's Input block to Guitar.

 

I think I get it...

 

I need separate  processing for Variax and Variax Mags. The Electric through wireless is for jumping into the audience for showoff, and will not be used at the same time as the Variax. But the four path idea will be the same I guess...

Will I be able to run dual amps or fx in parallel or is the B paths "locked" by the Return 4 merge block?

Shall the Return 4 merge block be present en both patch 1 and 2?

[Digital_Igloo]

I need separate  processing for Variax and Variax Mags. The Electric through wireless is for jumping into the audience for showoff, and will not be used at the same time as the Variax. But the four path idea will be the same I guess...

Will I be able to run dual amps or fx in parallel or is the B paths "locked" by the Return 4 merge block?

Shall the Return 4 merge block be present en both patch 1 and 2?

 

Okay, it still works. Instead, set 1A's Input block to Multi (which includes both Variax and your wireless Electric via the Guitar In jack), and 2A's Input block to Variax Mags.

 

The separate output blocks for your IEM feed need to be fed by a path, which precludes parallel processing on said path.

 

I'll keep thinking about it. Maybe there's a way...

[phil_m]

 

Hmm... If I understand what you want to do, yeah, it looks doable. If your Variax and Guitar use the same processing blocks, you can do it with only two of the four paths:

1. Set the input block to Multi.
2. Split the signal right before the outputs.
3. Move the merge block down to create two outputs (one set to Multi, which includes both XLR and 1/4", the other set to Send 3/4).
4. Place a Return 4 block on Path 1B, right before the Output > Send 3/4 block.

If you need separate processing for your Variax and Guitar, you'll need all four paths:

1. After performing Steps 1-4 above, duplicate Paths 1A and 1B to 2A and 2B.
2. Set Path 1A's Input block to Variax and Path 2A's Input block to Guitar.

 

 

Wow, that's a really elegant solution. I think I was getting hung up on the sending three stereo outputs from one path, and I forgot that it was as simple as creating a parallel path and setting the sends as outputs...