Seeking advice on helix purchase...

[ChadHawk]

TL:DR at bottom.. Hello, brand new here and to line 6 products. Just a little backstory.. I am a former gigging musician with a 40 watt tube amp and a quite large pedal board.

It is completely wasted. I only play at home now with no desire to be in a band again. I love my tube amp but I never get the volume past 2 so I am no where near the tonal orgasm to me that is pushing the tubes. 

 

I have a 5 year old son so I cannot leave my gear out and half of the time I don't even play because I do not want to drag it all out and hook it all up for an ~hour after work. I am ready to sell off my gear and I have my eyes on a Helix. I played around on one for about an hour today at a GC and was very impressed.

 

 

Now that the backstory is out of the way I am ready to pull the trigger on a Helix. I cannot decide between the Helix and the Helix LT, but the main reason I cannot decide is because I can either get the Helix now and play through headphones until I sell some gear to buy a few studio monitors as that will be all the volume I need for personal playing.. or I can get the Helix LT and go ahead and get the monitors with it.

 

I can't decide! I like playing with jam tracks and would typically prefer not to use headphones so the monitors are very appealing asap and the musicians in my area typically do not spend much on gear.. for example I had a Wampler in popular local classifieds for $120 obo with all box and paper work in perfect condition and didn't get a single bite. Gear is just hard to move here so the ability to sell so I can buy monitors may be a lengthy process.

 

 

I love the look, sturdier feel and of course the scribble scripts on the Helix but for no more than I am doing it isn't a big deal not to have them although I find it very nice. The Helix LT should be just fine and with the added benefit of getting the two monitors at the same time is a huge plus but I don't want to regret not getting the scribble in the future.

 

 

TL:DR -- Only play for myself, no desire whatsoever to play out.. Buy the helix and use headphones for the foreseeable future until I can afford monitors or buy the Helix LT and two monitors together?

 

Thanks much and sorry if I rambled too much, I turned into talking myself through it as I was writing to ask for advice ;P

[olivierJez]

Hi,

The main difference between Helix and LT are the connections on the the back. The LT don't have as much. The rest is only small details for home use.

In my case i can plug a mic and an acoustic guitar into the helix (and something more) in the same time for live recording.

If you have no use of all the extra connections, go for LT and buy the monitors.

Ultimately the sound is what matters at home use and they sound exactly the same. The scribble scripts, I don't even watch much what is on it, i have few patches at one time, I could live without.

If you plan to go live band at some point, it may be good to have the extra options...

Or find a second hand helix :)

Consider also the rack, if you don't change patches much.... no need the floor rack, maybe just an expression pedal...

 

cheers

O

[VirtualGuitars]

As a home player I went with Helix Floor just recently for the expandability and I’m very happy with my purchase. I also bought the Helix Native plug-in at a substantial discount because of it. The possibilities are endless - especially if you want to record at home.

[SteveFrance]

I've bought the LT cause of the price difference.

 

I have the same problem at home and i like playing with jam track too and this is one Helix LT's limitation : there's no aux-in input.....

So if you want to play with headphones and mp3, it's gonna be complicated.

Personnaly, i dislike the sound with headphones, it's really different that the feeling i have with my FRFR, so i play with a very lower volume and i can plug my mp3 on the speaker.

 

For the price, this is the only concession i was ready to do.

If i want to play with headphones, the other solution ; record a track with the looper and play on it !

[jbuhajla]

For home use with headphones playing along with backing tracks, LT is perfectly fine for the job. As far as playing backing tracks, Helix has 8 inputs and 8 outputs available over USB. Connect your PC/Mac to Helix with USB and you can play your tracks to the Helix via USB in 1/2. You can even connect your iPhone/iPad with the camera connection kit. You adjust the USB IN 1/2 level in global settings, then play along to your hearts contents. This is how I practice at home all the time. 

[PeterHamm]

If you know you only need one input (the guitar) and know that you won't need 3 Expression pedals and know that you aren't going to do tons of recording and know that you aren't going to need more than the two loops, getting the LT is a no-brainer, especially for home use.

 

Scribble Strips? A luxury you can live without. (You can't live without them on the Rack/Control version, but they are the LEAST significant usability issue between LT and Full Helix Floor).

[jacek69]

I went with Full Helix floor after having Helix LT for a weekend.

 

LT chassis didn't feel sturdy. You can see impressions of the PCB studs on the top panel - not esthetically pleasant. The panel shows fingerprints early, when touched. The pedal looks and feels light duty. The LT doesn't have a microphone input, so there would be a need for extra equipment if you need a mike for recording. I liked the performance display though.

 

I traded my gear (13 pedals, two pedal boards, Pod HD PRO X Rack, Pod HD bean, etc.) at Long & McQuade for Helix LT on Friday. On Monday i returned it and I got a Full Helix Floor. The build quality of aluminum is superior. the finish of aluminum cast is top notch.. Helix Floor is more future proof and versatile..

[MusicLaw]

The Helix Floor's Two (2) additional FX Loops, dedicated Headphone Volume Control, Mic XLR Input and circuitry, and AuxIn for an Acoustic Guitar were all useful for me. The Scribble Strips are a delight, as are the additional footswitches and higher build quality.

 

Currently, Line6 is running a Free Helix Backpack promotion with the purchase of a Helix Floor. This applys only to the Helix Floor; not Helix LT. Even for use at home, the Backpack is a fantastic storage case for the Helix, cables, headphones, etc. Additionally, should the Helix Native Plugin be of use to you (now or in the forseeable future) it is discounted to $99 for Helix Floor (and Rack) owners. For Helix LT owners the prices is $299.

 

Also, be aware that until the end of the year the JBL LSR305 near field active Studio Monitors are on sale at the reduce price of $99 each. These are exceptional for their price point!

 

Hope this helps with your considerations to get the Helix model that best suits you.