Helix and Amplifi

[derektownsend]

Hi,  quick question.

 

I am going to purchase a Helix, but I also think I want an amplfi.

 

Can I use the Helix with the Amplifi?

 

thx

 

Derek

[Digital_Igloo]

Yes, I suppose, in the same way you can use a Mac Pro with an iPad.

[Rewolf48]

:rolleyes: Subtle sarcasm there...

 

 

I can understand buying a Helix for studio/stage

 

I can understand a Amplifi TT in the Living Room or an Amplifi for practice

 

Not sure I understand why you would want both working together?

 

From a simulation perspective everything in Helix would be a couple of orders of magnitude better, and routing is limited on Amplifi; so how would you do this - Helix outputs into the Amplifi 1/8 Aux Input? 

 

There are better options for amplifying a Helix out there...

[derektownsend]

Yes, I suppose, in the same way you can use a Mac Pro with an iPad.

 

with a USB?  suppose is probably not a good enough answer form a line 6 staff.  No offence.

 

Can you just plug it into the guitar input?

[derektownsend]

:rolleyes: Subtle sarcasm there...

 

 

I can understand buying a Helix for studio/stage

 

I can understand a Amplifi TT in the Living Room or an Amplifi for practice

 

Not sure I understand why you would want both working together?

 

From a simulation perspective everything in Helix would be a couple of orders of magnitude better, and routing is limited on Amplifi; so how would you do this - Helix outputs into the Amplifi 1/8 Aux Input? 

 

There are better options for amplifying a Helix out there...

Thanks,

 

what would you use to amlifi?

 

love the idea of headphones, but what were your thoughts for an amp?

 

Derek

[Rewolf48]

Well Digital Igloo has said elsewhere that he will be using one of these: http://line6.com/stagesource-pa-speaker/

 

They have more than enough power to run as backline (amps behind the band) in competition with 50W valve amps, and are accurate enough to be used as Studio Monitors. They even connect digitally to Helix using L6 Link. 

 

And so will I because I have 2 x L2t now that I use with my HD500.  The next bit sounds like a fan-boy advert, but it is true  :rolleyes:

 

I had spent ages tweaking the HD500 with other best in class speakers and never was happy - if it sounded great at home it was rubbish in rehearsal, good in rehearsal it was rubbish on stage.  Basically the problem was with PA speakers that emphasise highs and lows so that they sound good in DJ situations, when the HD500 is really meant to give Studio quality output, so needed adjustment.  I got the L2t and discovered that the parametric EQ, Global EQ etc could be removed and it sounded great. Setup is so easy these days - I use my L2t in monitor mode, connect HD500 to it using L6 Link and set both speaker master volume and HD500 master volume to 12 o'clock.  Then take output from L2t and feed to PA. And the whole rig guitar, hd500, L2t is a single trip to/from the car

 

Not just me though... Paul Hindmarsh (paid demonstrator for Line 6 admittedly) likes it

and all of the demos of Helix you have seen so far were using L2t e.g Andertons review http://blog.andertons.co.uk/guitars/line-6-helix-review.

 

If you want similar but cheaper, then there are good reviews of the Alto TS110A, and if you want the absolute best then if you can wait then the Atomic CLR is probably the best commercial product (professional PA gear is as good or better, but you pay a professional price as well)

 

If you are not looking for a Live solution, then you simply want the most accurate speaker system that fits in with your requirements - studio monitor speakers.

 

 

Why no guitar amp?  Any guitar amp you use will impose it's own character on the sound, which is great if you have a guitar amp that you really like and want to add effects and routing options to it using Helix, but because you are suggesting Amplifii it sounds as though you don't have a precious valve amp and a quality FRFR speaker is what you need to give you the full flexibility that Helix deserves.

 

Unfortunately you cannot skimp on any component in the chain... Guitar, Multi-FX and Speaker all have to be good quality.  The weakest component will drag the performance of the rest down.  

[derektownsend]

Thx.

 

I don't have an amp at this time.  Sold it.  Played a lot years ago and now want to get back into playing regularly again.

 

Love the idea of the Helix and will buy one.  I was impressed with the amplifi as it have speakers to play along with.  If I can do that with the helix I will be OK.

 

For me, this will be just for my home office fussing around and having a good time.

 

I don't plan nor anticipate every playing in a live environment.  My only goal right now is to relearn everything and have a great time doing so.

 

Besides, I don't mind spending the money of cool guitar related stuff.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Derek

[Rewolf48]

You need decent quality studio speakers to go with your Helix then - playing along to backing tracks or recorded music with Helix isn't a problem; it is an 8in 8out USB Audio Device so anything that can drive a USB Soundcard can send sound out to it - PC, Mac, iPod (with kit), you then need to connect the Helix audio outs to some sort of amplification and speakers.

 

But, just suggesting a little caution here; if you want to test the waters with getting back into guitar again and had considered Amplifii, then I would seriously consider buying an Amplifi second hand and seeing how it goes for a few months.  If later you want the more advanced features of Helix, then you can probably sell the Amplifi for what you paid for it and buy a Helix, otherwise the Amplifii may suit your needs anyway. The Helix may be the top end of the L6 products, but it is intended for Stage and Studio use, while Amplifi is really the home practice tool. 

[cruisinon2]

There's nothing about the Amplifi that Helix isn't gonna do better. Powering one modeler with another is like stuffing a golf cart into the cab of a monster truck. It's redundant, and most of the features of one of the two devices will go unused.

 

Plus, you may not plan on gigging or jamming with anyone else now, but you never know. Imho, the money would be better spent on a good FRFR powered speaker, and you will be good to go for any situation, be it in the living room or on stage.

[tobalvarado]

Can the Amplifi work as a monitor/speaker for the Helix?  Is there a way to cancel al effects on the Amplifi and then plug in the Helix?

[phil_m]

Can the Amplifi work as a monitor/speaker for the Helix?  Is there a way to cancel al effects on the Amplifi and then plug in the Helix?

 

Use the 1/8" aux in on the back of the Amplifi. It's not my favorite type of connection as far as being robust, but it will work. One word of advice - get a male 1/8" right angle plug to make the connection into the Amplifi. A straight one has quite a bit of torque on it, and could easily be ripped out.

[tobalvarado]

Use the 1/8" aux in on the back of the Amplifi. It's not my favorite type of connection as far as being robust, but it will work. One word of advice - get a male 1/8" right angle plug to make the connection into the Amplifi. A straight one has quite a bit of torque on it, and could easily be ripped out.

Thank you, it worked fine. I might keep the Amplifi as a stage monitor, but still have to do a live test.  

[flowride]

On 1/18/2016 at 10:30 AM, tobalvarado said:

Can the Amplifi work as a monitor/speaker for the Helix?  Is there a way to cancel al effects on the Amplifi and then plug in the Helix?

 

Not meaning to drag a dead thread back to life but this was the question that I had, as well.  While it's been a while since I've used my Amplifi 150, I wonder if you could just assign a preset with absolutely ZERO effects on it to one of your four main channels on the Amplifi and then run your Helix through that "clean" channel?  By doing so, you eliminate the need of the Bluetooth compatibility component of the amp. 

 

The question then becomes how to hook it up?  You've got a 1/4 guitar jack, a USB jack, and the headphone jack on the Amplifi.  That's it.  For someone with that amp, it might be nice to utilize it instead of having to purchase an FRFR speaker.  

Anyone have thoughts on how to hook it up or thoughts on using it in this fashion?      

[Kilrahi]

46 minutes ago, flowride said:

 

Not meaning to drag a dead thread back to life but this was the question that I had, as well.  While it's been a while since I've used my Amplifi 150, I wonder if you could just assign a preset with absolutely ZERO effects on it to one of your four main channels on the Amplifi and then run your Helix through that "clean" channel?  By doing so, you eliminate the need of the Bluetooth compatibility component of the amp.

 

The question then becomes how to hook it up?  You've got a 1/4 guitar jack, a USB jack, and the headphone jack on the Amplifi.  That's it.  For someone with that amp, it might be nice to utilize it instead of having to purchase an FRFR speaker.  

Anyone have thoughts on how to hook it up or thoughts on using it in this fashion?      

 

Yeah it can seem complex but it's actually a pretty easy question. The amp is largely flat response, so turn off all effects/equilizors and set the amp setting to "no amp" (found in the clean settings). Plug the guitar into the Helix, and the Helix into the guitar in.

 

There's no reason to use any of Amplifi's abilities other than sound projection when you have a Helix. 

 

To beef it up you could split the Helix signal and run a wet path into the aux in channel. I've done that and with some fine tuning it can work pretty well.

[bsd512]

2 hours ago, flowride said:

 

Not meaning to drag a dead thread back to life but this was the question that I had, as well.  While it's been a while since I've used my Amplifi 150, I wonder if you could just assign a preset with absolutely ZERO effects on it to one of your four main channels on the Amplifi and then run your Helix through that "clean" channel?  By doing so, you eliminate the need of the Bluetooth compatibility component of the amp. 

 

The question then becomes how to hook it up?  You've got a 1/4 guitar jack, a USB jack, and the headphone jack on the Amplifi.  That's it.  For someone with that amp, it might be nice to utilize it instead of having to purchase an FRFR speaker.  

Anyone have thoughts on how to hook it up or thoughts on using it in this fashion?      

I had an Amplifi 150 a few years ago. I'm 99% sure it has a stereo "aux" 3.5mm input. Unless I'm going senile, I remember hooking my Helix L/R 1/4" outs into that using a Y adapter cable. I recall it sounded pretty darn good that way. You'd be bypassing all Amplifi processing and effects, which is probably what I'd think you want. That's what I wanted when I did that.

[flowride]

19 hours ago, Kilrahi said:

 

Yeah it can seem complex but it's actually a pretty easy question. The amp is largely flat response, so turn off all effects/equilizors and set the amp setting to "no amp" (found in the clean settings). Plug the guitar into the Helix, and the Helix into the guitar in.

 

There's no reason to use any of Amplifi's abilities other than sound projection when you have a Helix. 

 

To beef it up you could split the Helix signal and run a wet path into the aux in channel. I've done that and with some fine tuning it can work pretty well.

 

What you've mentioned about a wet path was really cool.  Now since I'm a newb to all of this stuff (I never really did anything more than plug into a stack and play), it makes me wonder if you could pick up ANOTHER Amplifi second hand and run stereo...or is that absolutely moot because of the Amplifi's stereo speakers?  Buying one seems cheaper than picking up a Power Cab or two.  

Also, I thought about the IDCore 150 from Blackstar.  $270 and it has the "Wide Stereo" speaker setup.  

 

 

17 hours ago, bsd512 said:

I had an Amplifi 150 a few years ago. I'm 99% sure it has a stereo "aux" 3.5mm input. Unless I'm going senile, I remember hooking my Helix L/R 1/4" outs into that using a Y adapter cable. I recall it sounded pretty darn good that way. You'd be bypassing all Amplifi processing and effects, which is probably what I'd think you want. That's what I wanted when I did that.

 

Thanks.  I was thinking that you might have to use a Y adapter.  

[Kilrahi]

9 minutes ago, flowride said:

 

What you've mentioned about a wet path was really cool.  Now since I'm a newb to all of this stuff (I never really did anything more than plug into a stack and play), it makes me wonder if you could pick up ANOTHER Amplifi second hand and run stereo...or is that absolutely moot because of the Amplifi's stereo speakers?  Buying one seems cheaper than picking up a Power Cab or two.  

 

 

That's totally an option.  It just depends on how happy you are with the Amplify's frequency range/sound output. My suggestion would be to test it mono first, and if you fall in love with it and it makes sense to you, sure, jump in on a second one. Then you would just route the Helix for a stereo setup split into the two Amplifi's.

[flowride]

1 hour ago, Kilrahi said:

 

That's totally an option.  It just depends on how happy you are with the Amplify's frequency range/sound output. My suggestion would be to test it mono first, and if you fall in love with it and it makes sense to you, sure, jump in on a second one. Then you would just route the Helix for a stereo setup split into the two Amplifi's.

Thanks for the feedback, man.  It's greatly appreciated.  I've done a few stereo setups for my Helix, as well as a few mono.  I figure it best to have both.  Most of my shows are fly gigs, so I could take one for mono setup.  Or...yet another thought, buy a Seymour Duncan Power Stage and just run through a backline cab.  It's good to have options.