nuggs_1 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Hi folks, This is my first post here (I believe). I purchased a Helix LT last night, and while I find the amp models pretty amazing, I was a little underwhelmed with the effects, particularly the delays and reverbs. I mainly play ambient stuff, looping swells and drone's and playing over top of that. Almost every good example I find on youtube has a Big Sky or a high quality VST reverb involved. I tried downloading some ambient patches from the Line 6 Custom Tone site, and again I was underwhelmed. When I added Valhalla Shimmer and/or Blackhole Reverb in Ableton, wow things were sounding pretty good. I had hopes to get into this territory without the use of external pedals/vst's. Admittedly, I spent at most 2 hours with the unit, as it was late, so there's still a learning curve involved. Just wondering what people's opinions are on the effects and experiences with ambient patches as well. Is it just a matter of spending more time with the LT? I wanted to be saying "WOW" but I just wasn't. Thanks in advance for the feedback, it is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 A lot of those WOW verbs like you mention are really really involved and awesome, and yes, at this time you may find it hard to get that in Helix.May I suggest stacking verbs, though. Cave + Particle, or Octo + Particle can give you some pretty amazing stuff.I believe they may start adding some new special FX verb at some point. They've been working hard on Native, but v1.0 is essentially completed with just a little more testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbuhajla Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Quite a few people looking for ambient land up putting a pedal or two in the loops. The Helix reverbs and delays are good, but there aren't any engineered specifically for the ambient crowd. You can combine reverbs/delays in different configuration to get some good results, but it's definitlely not drop in and go. If you already have a Big Sky, just put it in the loop and you are good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuggs_1 Posted August 9, 2017 Author Share Posted August 9, 2017 A lot of those WOW verbs like you mention are really really involved and awesome, and yes, at this time you may find it hard to get that in Helix. May I suggest stacking verbs, though. Cave + Particle, or Octo + Particle can give you some pretty amazing stuff. I believe they may start adding some new special FX verb at some point. They've been working hard on Native, but v1.0 is essentially completed with just a little more testing. I was watching your 2 voice (+ Ambience) video on youtube when you replied to this post. That sounds fantastic. Right up my alley. Appreciate the response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 I was watching your 2 voice (+ Ambience) video on youtube when you replied to this post. That sounds fantastic. Right up my alley. Appreciate the response. Thanks. I add a POG2 in one loop and a Mel9 in the other. If I could swing it, I might add an H9 or BigSky in a third loop, but don't have the cash for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Well, the Helix delays are phenomenal, imo. I don't think you're really giving up much, if anything compared to many of the dedicated super-delays out there. For the record, I've owned or currently still own the following - Strymon El Capistan, DIG, & Timeline; Source Audio Nemesis, Boss DD-500, Empress Echosystem. I mean, there are some quirky models on some of those delays, but as the staples, I think Helix does those just as well or better. Here's some my more ambient tracks: https://soundcloud.com/phil-miller-20/ac15-tele-tape-delay https://soundcloud.com/phil-miller-20/dmm-and-bassman https://soundcloud.com/phil-miller-20/ac15-tape-oddity https://soundcloud.com/phil-miller-20/no-longer-strangers As far as the reverbs, it's no secret that the reverbs in the Helix right now are based on the M-series/HD reverbs. They are completely useable still, imo, but they aren't necessarily designed to be what the Strymon BigSky does... So I'd say we've yet to hear HX-class reverbs form the Helix, and I suspect when we do, it will silence a lot of the reverb critics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuggs_1 Posted August 9, 2017 Author Share Posted August 9, 2017 Well, the Helix delays are phenomenal, imo. I don't think you're really giving up much, if anything compared to many of the dedicated super-delays out there. For the record, I've owned or currently still own the following - Strymon El Capistan, DIG, & Timeline; Source Audio Nemesis, Boss DD-500, Empress Echosystem. I mean, there are some quirky models on some of those delays, but as the staples, I think Helix does those just as well or better. Here's some my more ambient tracks: https://soundcloud.com/phil-miller-20/ac15-tele-tape-delay https://soundcloud.com/phil-miller-20/dmm-and-bassman https://soundcloud.com/phil-miller-20/ac15-tape-oddity https://soundcloud.com/phil-miller-20/no-longer-strangers As far as the reverbs, it's no secret that the reverbs in the Helix right now are based on the M-series/HD reverbs. They are completely useable still, imo, but they aren't necessarily designed to be what the Strymon BigSky does... So I'd say we've yet to hear HX-class reverbs form the Helix, and I suspect when we do, it will silence a lot of the reverb critics. Thanks Phil, just the kind of comments I needed to hear. Will get back at it tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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