Reasons Why I Returned My Helix

[miguel_lopez]

I partially disagree with rrmark. Yes it does take a lot of working helix knowledge to coax good tones out of the helix. But, the biggest part IMO, is what frfr/amp etc nightmare combo's to get those good tones to come out. I had two helix and returned both. I went thru endless hair pulling out nights with countless monitors and the like and could not get what I Needed it to sound like, and I had GD DOWNLOADS etc. I now have a firehawk 1500 and tone wise and ease of use just sounds great on stage and thru FOH. To tell you the truth from my perspective better than the helix. Use your iPad standing up, yeah not bent over, not on a desk not using your feet to adjust parameters. Tones are great thru all those speakers in front on the fh1500 and it transfers almost seamless to FOH. Oh did I mention you can feed a line back into it for your band monitor, with its own volume control. Cheers

Im' so curious... I've always have had two of everything cuz of the blend-stereo-split/divider-tone reinforcement purpose, I always need two identical amps to complement them and play stereo effects... WHY DID YOU HAVE TWO HELIX UNITS???

[miguel_lopez]

This post is for those who don't own a Helix yet and may be on the line  and confused about this thread.

Scott you don't have to reply to this, I've read your posts and just as you are entitled to your opinion... so am I.

 

I own a GNX4, I used it for gigs for 2 years, initially found it hard to get really good tones til I found MFX Supermodels on line, this guy made a large amount of very usable patches which I then modified to my needs. Really liked this pedal.

 

I now own a Helix. Bottom line this thing is LIGHT YEARS ahead of the GNX4, the only problem I have found with the Helix is the number of modifying options, this is not a bad thing but dialing in the PERFECT sound if you are a tweaker can seem to take a long time between choosing AMP, CAB, MIC, MIC DISTANCE, EFFECTS etc etc etc.

 

I have found it extremely easy to get usable sounds right away, I am a constant tweaker and will keep adjusting many of them as I go, but I did this with the GNX4 as well.

 

IMHO.... to sell this thing and keep an old outdated pedal that you can only get one usable sound out of (this is not my experience) makes ZERO sense.

AND... if you cannot get one usable sound out of this device... you have no idea what you are doing.

 

This is all my opinion.

everything is about taste

and purposes(intentions)

I really would like to hear an example of a recorded song(famous or not) to know what Scott is searching for, that did not got from helix...

you hear recorded music: the beatles, Creedence, Metallica, Satriani and the G3 stuff, guns n' roses, brittney spears, tears for fears, the who, hendrix, cold play, etc etc etc; this is your impression of the music you may expect to get from your hands when you play an instrument...

all of them sounds different

all of them recorded with different sources: amps guitars processing procedures; digital-analog live-studio

DON'T FORGET IS MASTERED WITH VERY EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT AND BY PROFFESIONAL AUDIO TECHNICIANS

then you buy your first guitar: a GIO ibanez, epiphone les paul, squier strat/tele, LTD, Cort, and learn it's NOT enough; you need something better

the same as an amp, let me guess... a solid state crate 1x10 or 12????

the same as your pedals, and you find out why cheap pedals and amps sound weak and tube stuff or expensive pedalboards are more alive...

then you join a band... where da hell do you reharsall??? what are your options to balance your ensamble's volume

do you go thru a PA? or just your poor amps in the floor and drums without mics and worn patches tolly outta tune

does your bass man has restring his bass lately? even you?

then you reharsall and think you are ready to rock the world and become the next rockstar of your days such as guns metallica nirvana pearl jam aerosmith or whatever it was during your young days

then you go on stage and what happens? you didn't know how to set up since you are just a garage band

most of the time you gig with NO monitors, with NO decent amps, with NO compression from the PA, tolly unbalanced; sometimes you don't hear yoursefl, some others you barely hear the singer

you must know the fact of earing a gig is constantly changing 'cuz your ears get tired and stop listent to the high frequencies then the mids, deppending on your placement; if i'ts near the big speakers or if you are in front of an amp

sometimes the tone search is very similar to a perfume: you smell the first one and it's ok, then it comes the second one and you are confused, then the third fourth fifth smells to alcohol all of them

sometimes you are tweaking and soon you find what you are searching... the next gig you are lost and tolly displeased with what you found yesterday as the precious tone

it's very complex

a sound engeneer knows a lot of air sound response beheavior but is not a musician

a musician plays his music but is too far to understand management, copyright, company records, sign a contract, music laws, administration, and yes, how to produce his sound the best way possible

it's a team work

I have a Helix, I would't say it's the best of the best 'cuz I don't master the tweaking area by now... but I'm pleased; I'm more a songwritter so I don't get that bussy tweaking 'cuz to me is more important the song itself, then I try to get close to something I need to get my song into a decent tone

that's the moment where the engenneer and producer help me to finish my work

so it's a team work

the same as my mannager

he's gonna help me to mannage me to where I have to play my music: an arena? a stadium? a theater? a hall concert?

and again... what will I need??? an FRFR? a 4x12 cab? a combo? or just a PA???

we all are NOT judas priest to travel with roadies and customized gear and techs... we must care almost everything by ourselves... and even judas sounds crap sometimes...

cheerz

[capdoogie]

I should of been clearer in my above post. I had two helix's. But not at the same time. I was one of the first to get one. That one was returned due to one of the knobs working erratic. The second one I put countless hours of my own sweat and others bought sweat and tears and just couldn't fine what I wanted. I just didn't want to buy endless monitors to find that elusive tone in my head if there is such a thing. So I moved on. I'm sure the helix is working great for others who have been lucky to find the right frfr system, but the whole idea of the helix was to plug and gig. What I read here and my own experience playing live with the helix is you ended up schlepping more gear than you did with your normal rig to sound good.

[fukuri]

I should of been clearer in my above post. I had two helix's. But not at the same time. I was one of the first to get one. That one was returned due to one of the knobs working erratic. The second one I put countless hours of my own sweat and others bought sweat and tears and just couldn't fine what I wanted. I just didn't want to buy endless monitors to find that elusive tone in my head if there is such a thing. So I moved on. I'm sure the helix is working great for others who have been lucky to find the right frfr system, but the whole idea of the helix was to plug and gig. What I read here and my own experience playing live with the helix is you ended up schlepping more gear than you did with your normal rig to sound good.

I've got it to work for me and work very well. To the point I could go to anything else without it feeling primitive

The key for me was to ignore all this FRFR stuff and use it primarily as a pre amp and FX unit

 

I don't really get FRFR ... It seems to be solving a problem that not many people have. I find the idea of changing my entire tone from song to song might be a bit jarring for the audience. Also it seems to be a lot of money to try and replicate a fairly simple thing

 

When I went Helix to Valve power amps to guitar speakers .. It all started to sound more natural to me

I still use the modelling and the cabs but that all goes to FOH. I have found that I hate having that tone in my backline because it doesn't sound feel or react like I'm used to.

 

so I can have the best of both worlds with the Helix it just took me a while to figure out that's what I needed

[maxnew40]

I see the OP complaining that reverb makes the tone sound more distant, but that is exactly what reverb does and is supposed to do. It simulates space and distance.

 

-Max

[klangmaler]

I - see... Well.

Thanks for this pioneering observation.

I thought this trollish thread was already gone...

[cruisinon2]

I - see... Well.

Thanks for this pioneering observation.

I thought this trollish thread was already gone...

Ladies and gents, please take your seats for the second movement of "My Gear Stinks! / Oh No It Doesn't!" in B minor...;)

[BrockDavisson]

OP mentioned starting a patch and putting a overdrive down etc... but failed to mentioned if he was running into a amp and if he had amp sim off, or did he forget to add a amp/cab sim if he was using something else and perhaps THAT was his problem?

[hideout]

If you are describing me thats not what I said. What I said was not to expect to get a 1600 dollar new preamp tone for 800.00. What I said was we usually get what we pay for. The reason why the 1600 dollar one sounds good is because it "is" expensive and well made with quality items that cost money to build. I understand trying to get a good deal- Im not saying thats wrong. But its unreasonable, foolish and frankly a cheap elitist attitude to have IMHO by thinking we should all have something for nothing, or even at half the cost new and then EXPECT it sound sound as awesome as one that cost twice the price. The devs gotta eat too.

Amen!!

[laxtlo]

Come on !! I laught out loud ! LOL and TROLL ! If somebody has played his whole life using only real tube amp i would totally understand this but Digitech GNX4 Phuahahahahaa  :D

[Tinine]

Hey guys, first-time poster, here.

 

Respecting the fact that this is a Line6 forum, I hesitated to post because I am a very contented GNX4 user for the past 12 years. I now have SEVEN of these units. Gigging without a backup is not an option for me. I only have so many because they can be had for next-to-nothing in as-new condition.

 

Clearly, the OP has a fundamental setup issue that is likely not at all related to a limitation of his modelers. The fact that one of the harshest-sounding presets, "Satch", is the one that sounds good to him, speaks volumes.

 

The following links, transformed what I initially regarded as a cheesy toy, in to something that I now regard as an extension of my guitar and, I suspect that the advice can be of use with all modelers:

 

http://mfxsupermodels.com/MFXNEW806/CUSTOMIZE.html

http://mfxsupermodels.com/MFXNEW806/EFFECTS.html

http://mfxsupermodels.com/MFXNEW806/MFX_SS_LIVE.html

http://mfxsupermodels.com/MFXNEW806/ASSIGNS.html

 

"MY AMP SOUNDS ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE HEADPHONE SOUND..WHY IS THIS??"

http://mfxsupermodels.com/MFXNEW806/FAQS.html

[HonestOpinion]

Hey guys, first-time poster, here.

 

Respecting the fact that this is a Line6 forum, I hesitated to post because I am a very contented GNX4 user for the past 12 years. I now have SEVEN of these units. Gigging without a backup is not an option for me. I only have so many because they can be had for next-to-nothing in as-new condition.

 

Clearly, the OP has a fundamental setup issue that is likely not at all related to a limitation of his modelers. The fact that one of the harshest-sounding presets, "Satch", is the one that sounds good to him, speaks volumes.

 

The following links, transformed what I initially regarded as a cheesy toy, in to something that I now regard as an extension of my guitar and, I suspect that the advice can be of use with all modelers:

 

http://mfxsupermodels.com/MFXNEW806/CUSTOMIZE.html

http://mfxsupermodels.com/MFXNEW806/EFFECTS.html

http://mfxsupermodels.com/MFXNEW806/MFX_SS_LIVE.html

http://mfxsupermodels.com/MFXNEW806/ASSIGNS.html

 

"MY AMP SOUNDS ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE HEADPHONE SOUND..WHY IS THIS??"

http://mfxsupermodels.com/MFXNEW806/FAQS.html

 

Some great info in those links, thanks!

[mark14]

The Helix did get a huge rap when it came out, thus there are great expectations.

 

The Helix should be like any guitar amp, if you can't good sounds out of it in a couple of minutes then it is the wrong bit of gear for you. No one ever spent two weeks trying to work out whether they could use their AC-30.

 

You might need two weeks to refine your sounds, but it should be very impressed with it straight out of the box.

[cruisinon2]

The Helix did get a huge rap when it came out, thus there are great expectations.

 

The Helix should be like any guitar amp, if you can't good sounds out of it in a couple of minutes then it is the wrong bit of gear for you. No one ever spent two weeks trying to work out whether they could use their AC-30.

 

You might need two weeks to refine your sounds, but it should be very impressed with it straight out of the box.

I've been using modelers of one sort or another for nearly 20 years. Never had one that provided instant gratification. The more complicated they get, the more tweaking they require. If I were to have determined the worth of each unit by the way they sounded right out of the box, I would have returned them all.

 

You really can't compare any of these things to a "real" amp. Yes, anyone should be able to figure out their AC30 inside of 2 minutes...because there's only so much you can do with 6 knobs.

[PeterHamm]

I've been using modelers of one sort or another for nearly 20 years. Never had one that provided instant gratification. The more complicated they get, the more tweaking they require. If I were to determine the worth of a unit by the way it sounded right out of the box, I would have returned them all.

 

You really can't compare any of these things to a "real" amp. Yes, anyone should be able to figure out their AC30 inside of 2 minutes...because there's only so much you can do with 6 knobs.

 

SO MUCH THIS!

[hideout]

I've been using modelers of one sort or another for nearly 20 years. Never had one that provided instant gratification. The more complicated they get, the more tweaking they require. If I were to determine the worth of a unit by the way it sounded right out of the box, I would have returned them all.

 

You really can't compare any of these things to a "real" amp. Yes, anyone should be able to figure out their AC30 inside of 2 minutes...because there's only so much you can do with 6 knobs.

^^^This!^^^

 

I would change one word, however. I wouldn't use the word 'Complicated'. I'd say, 'Capable' or 'Flexible'. Most of the complications in the Helix are happening internally and unseen. The UI, though not without its idiosyncrasies (what doesn't?), is for the most part, not complicated. I do suppose that compared to a 6 knob amplifier, it is complicated. 😉

[phil_m]

 

The Helix did get a huge rap when it came out, thus there are great expectations.

 

The Helix should be like any guitar amp, if you can't good sounds out of it in a couple of minutes then it is the wrong bit of gear for you. No one ever spent two weeks trying to work out whether they could use their AC-30.

 

You might need two weeks to refine your sounds, but it should be very impressed with it straight out of the box.

 

I don't know... I've known many players who've bought amps and futzed with them for years trying to get them to sound the way they want. Whether that be replacing speakers, getting NOS tubes, replacing caps, etc. Many guitarists are generally not happy unless they're unhappy with their rig in some way it seems to me. Heck, when I owned an AC15, one the very first things I did was replace the speaker. Beyond the amp itself, look at how many pedal companies are selling dozens of variations of relatively simply OD and fuzz circuits, just because people are convinced they're missing out on something.

 

The thing about the Helix, and really almost any modeler, is that it's meant to replicate a whole signal chain, not just the amp part of it. Personally, I don't find it that difficult to get some very good basic tones from the Helix, but I think that people need to have more than five minutes worth of patience with it, especially if they are new to the world of modeling. It's kind of like the people who start learning to play to guitar but give up because it hurts their fingers too much... Enduring a little pain is generally required to get good results in, well, almost anything worth doing.

[Verne-Bunsen]

I didn't read the whole thread so I'm not sure where we're at contextually overall, but I can contribute based on the last few comments. Helix was my first modeling unit and when I purchased it I was indeed under the mistaken impression that I would turn it on and it would be like sitting at Guitar Center plugging into all of these amps one after the other. The discovery that everything didn't sound awesome "out of the box" was initially disappointing, but only because of my own lack of understanding of the technology. I spent several months learning the machine, making banks of presets, learning in the process, deleting them all and starting over with the new knowledge, repeat ad nauseam. These days I'm able to get the sounds I hear in my head to come out of my speaker pretty faithfully and pretty quickly. It's the best piece of gear I ever owned, but it took some dedication to get there.

 

Another thing I discovered was that I was FAR more critical of my Helix tones than I ever was of my tube amps. For instance I heard fizz in the Helix, more in some amp models than others, and was frustrated and disappointed at this "flaw". That is, until I went back and listened to my tube amps with new ears, and listened more critically to the guitars on my favorite recordings. Oh... Switching from tube amps to a modeling unit was a huge psychological hurdle for me, the mental aspect of acclimating to these devices can't be ignored. Like I said before though, having at last wrapped my head around it there's no part of me that wants to go back.

[Lachdanan0121]

@crusinon2, and @Verne-Bunsen...

 

Both of your last posts are very well said.

 

I was at first a little "meh" with my Helix, but the more I use it the more I am blown away by it. With less tweaking than I use to do before, I get better tones than I use to before. I find that the articulations, and raw guitar tone still sound through in full mixes with a lot of post processing.

[mark14]

I should point out I am a long time Line 6 user and I still use my Guitarport.

 

I wasn't keen on how Line 6 terminated some of the features, but that is life.

 

I still stand by my comments, Helix does come with patches which have been designed by Line 6 to sell the Helix. In my experience these patches are impressive. I was initially wowed.

 

As far as guitarists changing their gear, I think a lot of guys do it because they can (DIY bug) or they get bored with their gear, which isn't to say their amps initially sounded bad.

 

Also bear this in mind, I think a lot of guys like the lush sounds but in a very live room, it all can turn to mush.

[jroseberry]

Assuming the Helix is properly functional, you need to spend some time getting familiar with it.

The sounds I get out of Helix today are a whole lot better then when I first got it (a year or so ago).

 

Over time, I've learned that I like a high-pass filter prior to hitting the amp-block.

I've got IRs of my own cabs, mic'd the way I like them, and IRs of hardware Neve EQ to help further sculpt the sound.

I've saved a couple of presets that are now Templates (used as starting points for new amp/cab combinations).

My point is that (over time), you can mold the Helix into what you want/need.

 

I've got a MESA Dual Rec with Friedman 4x12 sitting right next to my Helix FRFR setup.

I actually prefer to play thru the Helix setup.

I get the feel of a real amp... with the details of studio type processing.

The amount of control and ease of use (live or studio) is amazing.

 

I've bought a lot of music gear over the years.

Helix is one of the best musical purchases I've made.

[hefonthefjords]

I bought Helix in the middle of last summer (2016) and returned it during the two weeks grace period specifically because of the gaps in preset changes.
The very next day the 2.0 update with snapshots came out and fixed the problem I was having, so very shortly after that (maybe about a month later) I bought one again.

It did take me several weeks of tweaking and tweaking and playing and tweaking and figuring out routing and playing with things to get the sounds I wanted and required, often times having to ignore what the settings say and just go with what sounds correct even if the numbers don't correlate with what I hear.
Helix reacts very differently to any other device in my experience and I moved to it from X3, owning both Live and Pro. It also reacts very differently to my two different guitars, with the same tone sounding WILDLY different depending which guitar I'm using.

Now, several months later, having figured out those quirks and had a few bugfix software updates, I wouldn't swap my Helix for anything. I'd still consider buying other stuff to play with alongside it, but I don't think I'll be moving permanently to anything else because the value for money is way too good with Helix.

[kelco]

I would have liked a thunderbolt option- other than that I think the Helix over delivers, if anything.

[PeterHamm]

I would have liked a thunderbolt option- other than that I think the Helix over delivers, if anything.

 

 

What it would give you that a USB connection doesn't? Exactly?

[kelco]

What it would give you that a USB connection doesn't? Exactly?

 

To be rid of that blasted connector!

 

Also I hear the advancements in the technology allow for lower signal latency for audio interfaces.

[jroseberry]

To be rid of that blasted connector!

 

Also I hear the advancements in the technology allow for lower signal latency for audio interfaces.

 

Windows recently got full "PCIe via Thunderbolt" support.

It's contingent upon several things.

• You have to be running one of the latest generation Z170 or X998 motherboard that provide Thunderbolt-3 via USB-C port
• You have to be running an up-to-date install of Win10
• Your audio interface has to have "PCIe via Thunderbolt" drivers available for Windows
• You need an approved Thunderbolt-3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt adapter

If you have all these things in place, the audio interface can offer low latency performance on-par with PCIe units.

Right now, MOTU and UA have "PCIe via Thunderbolt" drivers actually available.  Most don't have Windows "PCIe via Thunderbolt" actually available (this will change).

 

FWIW, Ultra low latency audio interface technology isn't Line-6's forte'.

Plus, the best performing USB-2 audio interfaces are pretty close.  

ie: The RME Fireface UFX yields 4.3ms total round-trip latency at a 48-sample ASIO buffer size 44.1k.

USB is also cheaper to implement. 

I can see why L-6 chose (especially when Helix was being designed) to skip Thunderbolt.

If you've already got a top-performing audio interface, the Helix's AES and S/PDIF outputs are fantastic.

[strabes]

I read this whole thread and the OP didn't even say what speakers he was running through. Bottom line, helix sounds like the same amp+cab+mic setup monitored through the same speakers. There's a reason the helix challenge is 50/50 right/wrong. 

[kelco]

Windows recently got full "PCIe via Thunderbolt" support.

It's contingent upon several things.

• You have to be running one of the latest generation Z170 or X998 motherboard that provide Thunderbolt-3 via USB-C port
• You have to be running an up-to-date install of Win10
• Your audio interface has to have "PCIe via Thunderbolt" drivers available for Windows
• You need an approved Thunderbolt-3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt adapter

If you have all these things in place, the audio interface can offer low latency performance on-par with PCIe units.

Right now, MOTU and UA have "PCIe via Thunderbolt" drivers actually available.  Most don't have Windows "PCIe via Thunderbolt" actually available (this will change).

 

FWIW, Ultra low latency audio interface technology isn't Line-6's forte'.

Plus, the best performing USB-2 audio interfaces are pretty close.  

ie: The RME Fireface UFX yields 4.3ms total round-trip latency at a 48-sample ASIO buffer size 44.1k.

USB is also cheaper to implement. 

I can see why L-6 chose (especially when Helix was being designed) to skip Thunderbolt.

If you've already got a top-performing audio interface, the Helix's AES and S/PDIF outputs are fantastic.

 

You consistently write quite a lot for my paltry one sentence quibs.  Where do you get the energy?

 

Anyway, yeah mainly it's the "which way does this sucker go" when trying to plug it in and it taking more than the 2 tries.

[jroseberry]

You consistently write quite a lot for my paltry one sentence quibs.  Where do you get the energy?

 

Anyway, yeah mainly it's the "which way does this sucker go" when trying to plug it in and it taking more than the 2 tries.

 

FWIW, This subject broaches what I do for a living.

Feel like it's an area where I've got some knowledge/experience that can be helpful.

 

Full Thunderbolt support on PC is very new... and is subject to strict conditions.  

ie:  If you've got a Thunderbolt-2 port (running Windows), you'll never have full "PCIe via Thunderbolt" (full bandwidth) support.

If all those conditions aren't met, your Thunderbolt audio interface won't work under Windows.  

That's my point.  

 

Was also trying to suggest the logic as to why L-6 chose USB as a more "universal" solution (in this case chosen over TB)... at a slight performance cost (under the best of conditions).

[kelco]

FWIW, This subject broaches what I do for a living.

Feel like it's an area where I've got some knowledge/experience that can be helpful.

 

Full Thunderbolt support on PC is very new... and is subject to strict conditions.  

ie:  If you've got a Thunderbolt-2 port (running Windows), you'll never have full "PCIe via Thunderbolt" (full bandwidth) support.

If all those conditions aren't met, your Thunderbolt audio interface won't work under Windows.  

That's my point.  

 

Was also trying to suggest the logic as to why L-6 chose USB as a more "universal" solution (in this case chosen over TB)... at a slight performance cost (under the best of conditions).

 

 

Sure, but if someone wants to part extra money for the privilege and it's trivial to do, then why not?  USB won't be around forever.  Eventually everyone will have to understand a new interface.  I certainly want a dedicated port for my line6 and the TB port sits there on my mac, unused.  

 

TB3 does make it easier though since it shares USB protocols.  

 

We'll probably end up getting another Helix at some point but it wont be used as an interface there unless it really makes a particular instrument shine that wouldn't in a dedicated piece.  You never know, though.  Certain things just sound good together.

[Ka5par]

If you've already got a top-performing audio interface, the Helix's AES and S/PDIF outputs are fantastic.

 

Yeah, I have RME Babyface, that's decent, but unfortunately it only has optical digital input.

[jroseberry]

Yeah, I have RME Babyface, that's decent, but unfortunately it only has optical digital input.

 

You can get coax to optical S/PDIF format converter (and vice-versa).

[Ka5par]

You can get coax to optical S/PDIF format converter (and vice-versa).

 

Sorry for late reply...

So you have any experience with the units - are the cheap ones good enough?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coaxial-Coax-SPDIF-to-Digital-Optical-Toslink-Signal-Converter-Adapter-Splitter-/371343649796?hash=item5675ce6c04:g:W7YAAOSwpdpVcGd9

 

vs.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/StarTech-com-Two-Way-Digital-Coax-to-Toslink-Optical-Audio-Converter-Repeater-/302099411576?hash=item4656873278:g:FAYAAOSwpLNX9-dM

[jroseberry]

I've not used those particular S/PDIF format converters... but they should work just fine.

The StarTech converts both ways...

[duncann]

Sorry for late reply...

So you have any experience with the units - are the cheap ones good enough?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coaxial-Coax-SPDIF-to-Digital-Optical-Toslink-Signal-Converter-Adapter-Splitter-/371343649796?hash=item5675ce6c04:g:W7YAAOSwpdpVcGd9

 

vs.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/StarTech-com-Two-Way-Digital-Coax-to-Toslink-Optical-Audio-Converter-Repeater-/302099411576?hash=item4656873278:g:FAYAAOSwpLNX9-dM

 

Not with either of those, but I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/C2G-40018-Coaxial-Toslink-Converter/dp/B0002J2MV4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1488150408&sr=8-4&keywords=spdif+to+optical

 

No problems at all with an HD500X. With Helix, I experience an occasional ~1 sec dropout, but I don't think it's because of the converter.

[Ka5par]

Not with either of those, but I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/C2G-40018-Coaxial-Toslink-Converter/dp/B0002J2MV4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1488150408&sr=8-4&keywords=spdif+to+optical

 

No problems at all with an HD500X. With Helix, I experience an occasional ~1 sec dropout, but I don't think it's because of the converter.

 

Thanks for the info!

Aah, damn the dropouts - I guess there's no point in bothering with the converter until these issues are fixed, if they even can be fixed that is.

[formercakid]

To each his own but once you get the hang of the Helix it's hard to get a bad tone out of it and with progressive updates from LINE6 it is only going to get better.  I originally had the Atomic Amp pedal but sold it cause Atomic was not progressive with their updates.  The great thing about LINE6 is that they are on the case for improvement and making a better mousetrap.  This is what I expect from a vendor not one that issues a product which sells big time and then they either drop it from their product line or fail to make it better.

[hideout]

On 3/17/2016 at 8:26 PM, ScottAyers said:

 

In summation:

-The Helix has a thicker, muddier, sound than what I wanted. It's not really bad. But it lacked a cutting edge to my ears.

-My old GNX4 has a thinner, cheaper, sound than what I want. But I love the way the pedal works (even if it's inaccurate).

-The Helix removes some of the GNX4 behaviors that I love and use all of the time.

-The selection of amps was a bit limited compared to other pedals

 

Just goes to show ya. We all hear things differently.  I find that the Helix can be both bottom heavy and too bright and fizzy - if you don’t make good use of the low and hi cuts. The EQ is quite capable also and I have no issues with either excessive lows or highs.  

 

As for the Helix not behaving like the GNX4 to your guitar’s volume control, well... it’s a Helix, not a GNX4. 

[cruisinon2]

It's a dead thread, gents... waste of time. 

[soundog]

I saw The Dead Threads in Portland last year.