Which multi effect unit?

[alexakisn]

Hello everyone,

 

Looking for help.

I play live with an acoustic looping rig, based on Voicelive 3, through stagesource speaker(s) and M20D.

I have been a previous owner of DL4 and M9,  effects that I was using to "strengthen" my loops and overall sound, using mostly the amazing sweep echo, as well as other effects from these units. I wanna separate Voice/looping board from effects board. I am looking to purchase one of the multi-effects units from L6, Helix LT, pod 500x or Firehawk. I wanna place it before my Voicelive unit. I will mostly use delays, mods as well as some swell effects. I use a couple of Gibsons (Sheryl crow and Elvis dove) both equiped with LR Baggs Anthems. That said I need no alter in tone, when playing with the effects off.  I also need to use the ME unit on its own with an electric guitar for some gigs.

 

I would much appreciate any opinions and recommendations, I really like the helix LT, but its twice the price of the POD 500x and the firehawk. Is there sound differences? Quality of build? Other?

 

thanks so much for your time.

 

Nikos

[DunedinDragon]

If you're just looking for effects I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time looking at the more advanced units like Helix because it doesn't appear you have much of a need for the modeling aspects which is really at the core of what these units are used for.  I have a hard time even thinking of them as a multi-effects unit given where most of the development time is being spent.

 

The Firehawk FX may be a lot closer to what you need since it's really marketed as a multi-effects unit.  It also has some modeling components, but It's clearly targeted toward the effects market.

[brue58ski]

Hello everyone,

 

Looking for help.

I play live with an acoustic looping rig, based on Voicelive 3, through stagesource speaker(s) and M20D.

I have been a previous owner of DL4 and M9,  effects that I was using to "strengthen" my loops and overall sound, using mostly the amazing sweep echo, as well as other effects from these units. I wanna separate Voice/looping board from effects board. I am looking to purchase one of the multi-effects units from L6, Helix LT, pod 500x or Firehawk. I wanna place it before my Voicelive unit. I will mostly use delays, mods as well as some swell effects. I use a couple of Gibsons (Sheryl crow and Elvis dove) both equiped with LR Baggs Anthems. That said I need no alter in tone, when playing with the effects off.  I also need to use the ME unit on its own with an electric guitar for some gigs.

 

I would much appreciate any opinions and recommendations, I really like the helix LT, but its twice the price of the POD 500x and the firehawk. Is there sound differences? Quality of build? Other?

 

thanks so much for your time.

 

Nikos

 

The Helix LT sounds better. If it's built as well as the "normal" Helix then the build is better. The POD 500X will get you where you need to be. The hard part is it just takes a lot more tweaking to get a good amp sound out of it. That does not appear to be a concern of yours. Many of the effects in the Helix will be better but $500 better? That's up to you. I believe the effects in the HD 500 are the same ones in the M9 so if you're looking to improve those, I'm pretty sure you'll just be getting the same thing. Can't speak to the Firehawk. Also, make sure the sweep echo is in the HD500X. It should be but I don't remember.

[alexakisn]

The Helix LT sounds better. If it's built as well as the "normal" Helix then the build is better. The POD 500X will get you where you need to be. The hard part is it just takes a lot more tweaking to get a good amp sound out of it. That does not appear to be a concern of yours. Many of the effects in the Helix will be better but $500 better? That's up to you. I believe the effects in the HD 500 are the same ones in the M9 so if you're looking to improve those, I'm pretty sure you'll just be getting the same thing. Can't speak to the Firehawk. Also, make sure the sweep echo is in the HD500X. It should be but I don't remember.

 Hi,

 

Thanks for the post. As said, I will be side-playing some electric guitar with a small band, and at that time, yes, I will use some amp staff. Nothing fancy though. 500 plus is a lot, but at least now I know that the effects sound better, so that's a plus.

[alexakisn]

If you're just looking for effects I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time looking at the more advanced units like Helix because it doesn't appear you have much of a need for the modeling aspects which is really at the core of what these units are used for.  I have a hard time even thinking of them as a multi-effects unit given where most of the development time is being spent.

 

The Firehawk FX may be a lot closer to what you need since it's really marketed as a multi-effects unit.  It also has some modeling components, but It's clearly targeted toward the effects market.

 

Thanks. I think that the FH is the one to go at the moment, but if the Heliz does sound better, I might just break the piggy bank and go for it, as said I will also need to plug in an electric, so maybe looking for a good future based purchase. 

[DunedinDragon]

Thanks. I think that the FH is the one to go at the moment, but if the Heliz does sound better, I might just break the piggy bank and go for it, as said I will also need to plug in an electric, so maybe looking for a good future based purchase. 

 

I can put it this way, the Helix has the potential to sound better, but in practice it doesn't always.

 

The price of the Helix is representative of the amount of features and capabilities that are offered and the dual DSP chips which allow for much more processing intensive tasks.  The issue is that many of the effects in the Helix at this point were simply ported over from the HD series.  Over time this will change and has been changing.  Most of what Line 6 has been investing in with the Helix tends to be more toward the amp modeling and cabinet features.  There have been some improvements and additions to the effects, but the core of Helix is really all about top end modeling.  The good news with the Helix is it has a very flexible architecture for incorporating external effects pretty much anywhere in the signal chain.  That's why many Helix users opt to use outboard effects.  This is more true of the Helix than the Helix LT by the way.

 

I'm not trying to discourage you from going to the Helix, but I would rather you go there with your eyes wide open.  The real value of the Helix is if you think at some point you want to incorporate the modeling capabilities into your stage rig because that's really where all the advanced and flexible design characteristics come into play.  And that's by and large what the Helix users tends to ask for.

 

That's also why I cringe when someone refers to the Helix as a Multi-effects unit.  It for sure isn't that.....

[alexakisn]

I can put it this way, the Helix has the potential to sound better, but in practice it doesn't always.

 

The price of the Helix is representative of the amount of features and capabilities that are offered and the dual DSP chips which allow for much more processing intensive tasks.  The issue is that many of the effects in the Helix at this point were simply ported over from the HD series.  Over time this will change and has been changing.  Most of what Line 6 has been investing in with the Helix tends to be more toward the amp modeling and cabinet features.  There have been some improvements and additions to the effects, but the core of Helix is really all about top end modeling.  The good news with the Helix is it has a very flexible architecture for incorporating external effects pretty much anywhere in the signal chain.  That's why many Helix users opt to use outboard effects.  This is more true of the Helix than the Helix LT by the way.

 

I'm not trying to discourage you from going to the Helix, but I would rather you go there with your eyes wide open.  The real value of the Helix is if you think at some point you want to incorporate the modeling capabilities into your stage rig because that's really where all the advanced and flexible design characteristics come into play.

 

That's also why I cringe when someone refers to the Helix as a Multi-effects unit.  It for sure isn't that.....

 

Well, nicely explained. And BTW, another question I would have is this: I saw a youtube video (cant seem to bring it up at the moment, cant find it) where an acoustic guitar is used, with a cab/speaker patch, and there's distorsion and el guitar effects that are pretty amazing in my opinion ( REMINDER: I am an acoustic player- show patience pls). If I could get a descent el. guitar sound out of my acoustics, that would be a HUGE plus in my set-up, being able to incorporate these sounds in my loops, in and out of choruses, fatten the sound. That's whats modeling is all about right? 

Thanks so much.

[DunedinDragon]

Well, nicely explained. And BTW, another question I would have is this: I saw a youtube video (cant seem to bring it up at the moment, cant find it) where an acoustic guitar is used, with a cab/speaker patch, and there's distorsion and el guitar effects that are pretty amazing in my opinion ( REMINDER: I am an acoustic player- show patience pls). If I could get a descent el. guitar sound out of my acoustics, that would be a HUGE plus in my set-up, being able to incorporate these sounds in my loops, in and out of choruses, fatten the sound. That's whats modeling is all about right? 

Thanks so much.

 

Modeling is about simulating the behavioral characteristics of actual amps, cabinets, mics and effects.  What you would likely achieve would be close to the same effect as plugging the acoustic into an actual guitar amp and turning up the drive to get an overdriven sound.  The result of the sound would be dependent to some degree on the type of pickup being used on the acoustic (piezo or electro-magnetic). 

[zooey]

Mostly a product like Helix is focused on emulating OVERDRIVEN guitar amps. If you want to sound like you're playing your acoustic through a Marshall turned up really loud, it's a great choice.

 

It's also a very flexible recording interface and system controller, if those capabilities are useful to you.

 

If you just want chorus, delay, reverb, etc, and that's all, there are way cheaper and in some senses more capable choices.

[alexakisn]

Eventually, I went for the firehawk. I liked the Helix LT, but it did not give me much more at this point, at least for the 600 euro difference. I will revert with my opinion, once I get my hands on it.

Thanks everyone for your help!