blitzt29 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Yesterday I asked the question about whether or not the Helix was a true bypass unit or not. Maybe I asked the wrong question. Let me rephrase my question. Will I be able to plug into the Helix without the tone suck? If so, what connection method would be recommended to keep the sound of my amp? The reason I'm asking is because I bought the HD500 to use it for effects only during live gigs while keeping the tone of my Dual Rectifier. No matter how i connected the HD500 I was never able to avoid the tone suck with the HD500 in the chain. I have tried all of guitar input/output signal modes, tried every cable mode known, and they all sucked my amp's natural tone. I don't want to spend $1500 if I'm going to run into the same problems as I did with my HD500. I just want to use the Helix without spending hours adjusting my settings, the EQ, the mix, or tweaking this and that just trying to keep the natural sound of my amp. I want to use the Helix live on stage with my Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, using ONLY the effects without the tone suck. Will this be possible to use the Helix without the tone suck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I have tried the Helix in front of my Princeton Reverb and in the 4 cable method with my Egnater Renegade, both with effects only patches, and I have not noticed any detrimental effects on my tone. I hesitate to make any definitive promises regarding specific setups because I've read complaints from some people on nearly every piece of gear. I can say this, though, I do find the Helix to be as transparent, if not more, than my pedalboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitzt29 Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Thanks for your response. I just bought the Fractal FX8 and got it in on Monday. Then on Friday I read about the Helix and I was blown away by the video from Sweetwater Music. I got bummed out because if I had known that Line 6 was coming out with the Helix (prior to ordering the FX8), I would have waited to try out the Helix first to see if there was any tone suck before making my decision on which unit works best for me. Now I'm sitting here wondering if I should return my FX8, but I don't know 100% for sure if I can use the Helix for live gigs while keeping the tone of my Dual Recifier. The only reason I made the jump from my Line 6 M13 to get an FX8 was because of the foot switch issue. Some of my foot switches on my M13 are not working properly. Failing to turn off or on during practice or live gigs. Come to find out Line 6 uses the cheap tactile foot switches (which pushes a tiny spring to turn on/off the effect) on all the M series units and the HD500. 2nd question: Will the Helix upgrade their foot switches from the cheap tactile foot switches to a more reliable Carling Momentary type switches or an SSS (Solid State Switch) foot switch? With a $1500 price tag I sure hope so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahrens Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Thanks for your response. I just bought the Fractal FX8 and got it in on Monday. Then on Friday I read about the Helix and I was blown away by the video from Sweetwater Music. I got bummed out because if I had known that Line 6 was coming out with the Helix (prior to ordering the FX8), I would have waited to try out the Helix first to see if there was any tone suck before making my decision on which unit works best for me. Now I'm sitting here wondering if I should return my FX8, but I don't know 100% for sure if I can use the Helix for live gigs while keeping the tone of my Dual Recifier. The only reason I made the jump from my Line 6 M13 to get an FX8 was because of the foot switch issue. Some of my foot switches on my M13 are not working properly. Failing to turn off or on during practice or live gigs. Come to find out Line 6 uses the cheap tactile foot switches (which pushes a tiny spring to turn on/off the effect) on all the M series units and the HD500. 2nd question: Will the Helix upgrade their foot switches from the cheap tactile foot switches to a more reliable Carling Momentary type switches or an SSS (Solid State Switch) foot switch? With a $1500 price tag I sure hope so! Good question. I wouldn't be able to reliably play out with my HD500 because of the foot switches, without having it repaired first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_mink Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 If I'm not mistaken, there was a huge foot switch upgrade with the 500X, and those are he switches on the Helix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital_Igloo Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Helix's footswitches have been improved from HD500X. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitzt29 Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 What type of foot switches will the Helix be using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital_Igloo Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 They're new. Based on HD500X's switches, but better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew_tnbd Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Thanks for your response. I just bought the Fractal FX8 and got it in on Monday. Then on Friday I read about the Helix and I was blown away by the video from Sweetwater Music. I got bummed out because if I had known that Line 6 was coming out with the Helix (prior to ordering the FX8), I would have waited to try out the Helix first to see if there was any tone suck before making my decision on which unit works best for me. Now I'm sitting here wondering if I should return my FX8, but I don't know 100% for sure if I can use the Helix for live gigs while keeping the tone of my Dual Recifier. The only reason I made the jump from my Line 6 M13 to get an FX8 was because of the foot switch issue. Some of my foot switches on my M13 are not working properly. Failing to turn off or on during practice or live gigs. Come to find out Line 6 uses the cheap tactile foot switches (which pushes a tiny spring to turn on/off the effect) on all the M series units and the HD500. 2nd question: Will the Helix upgrade their foot switches from the cheap tactile foot switches to a more reliable Carling Momentary type switches or an SSS (Solid State Switch) foot switch? With a $1500 price tag I sure hope so! Here's what I would probably do ... return the FX8, and wait for the Helix. In the meantime send your M13 over to Jack Vaughn at JHV3 and have him mod your M13 so it has decent and reliable switches. It's not a particularly expensive mod, and is worth it's weight in gold! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC-Tonequest Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Still want to know if there is a drop out when switching presets. This was a huge issue for me with the HD500. That's the main reason I sent it down the road. I didn't even use the amp modeling and it still dropped out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC-Tonequest Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Still want to know if there is a drop out when switching presets. This was a huge issue for me with the HD500. That's the main reason I sent it down the road. I didn't even use the amp modeling and it still dropped out. The silence about this has me worried that there is a significant drop out when switching presents...Digital_Igloo??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 The silence about this has me worried that there is a significant drop out when switching presents...Digital_Igloo??? He mentioned it in the other thread, but he can't actually give an exact number as an answer yet because this is something that will be optimized prior to the launch firmware. I would expect it to be in line with what the 500X is. There isn't spillover between patches, so by definition, there will be some gap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBeagle Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 My experience with the Helix with the 4 cable method is as follows: Guitar in helix Guitar out to Mesa Express plus 5:50 guitar input Send out from Helix to return on Mesa Send out on Mesa to return on Helix This allows you to assign effect before the amp And other effects after preamp I have not xperinced anything but total transparency and the best sound from any processor including Kemper. There is no diminished or attenuation of sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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