Should I step up to Helix?

[blazeone]

I presently have a Spider V 240. It's been a good step for me to lose the zillion pedals I had been using with my conventional amps. But it seems the Helix community is MUCH larger than the Spider V. Also I just can't dial in the exact tones I'm looking for with the Spider V. Too me it seems to over saturate easily. So should I drop he coin on a Helix and run into either my Marshall DSL40 or the Spider V post pre-amp?

[pbatts]

You might want to wait a week and checkout the new Line 6 products being announced at NAMM.

[BBD_123]

I presently have a Spider V 240. It's been a good step for me to lose the zillion pedals I had been using with my conventional amps. But it seems the Helix community is MUCH larger than the Spider V. Also I just can't dial in the exact tones I'm looking for with the Spider V. Too me it seems to over saturate easily. So should I drop he coin on a Helix and run into either my Marshall DSL40 or the Spider V post pre-amp?

 

The problem with this is that to really hear what Helix can do, you need to run it through powered FRFR cabs and / or studio monitors. Guitar cabs are anything but flat response, and will colour all your tones. So looking forward, you probably need to think about the cost of new speakers too.

 

And what pbatts said about waiting for NAMM...

[spikey]

So should I drop he coin on a Helix and run into either my Marshall DSL40 or the Spider V post pre-amp?

 

 

I use Helix (4 cable method) with my Marshall DSL 100H, and it sounds AWESOME!!! 

 

What ya waitin for then?  :D

 

[TheDaveDaveDave]

I use Helix in many ways - as a pedalboard, 4cm, preamp models into power amps and FRFR.  It rocks in every way in each scenario. 

 

Cheers

[DunedinDragon]

The rhythm guitar player in our band uses a Spider V 120 and for what they are, they're pretty decent units.  I'm not sure what you mean by oversaturated but his sounds great even on overdriven presets.  It does have a full-range speaker cabinet, but it provides no way to by-pass the pre-amp.  The Marshall DSL40C has a send/return setup so you could use that to by-pass the pre-amp on the Marshall, but it's not a full-range speaker setup.

 

Here's the reality of what you would be facing going to a Helix.  The Spider V, just like most modeling amps in this category, provides a fairly simple, but generally thorough way of managing the signal chain in a preset.  Although it follows a lot of the Line 6 conventions as does the Helix, it's pretty rudimentary compared to the kinds of things you can do on the Helix with building a preset, so there would still be a significant learning curve.  The interface is very easy, but it's up to you to understand the fundamentals of how to put things together in a way to get the sound you want.  Basically the Helix is only as good as the knowledge of the person using it.

 

In some ways I think you would be taking a step backwards if you went to a conventional non full-range setup.  The advantage you have on the Spider is that what you're hearing from the cabinet is what your audience will be hearing if you route it through a PA.  So since you really don't have a way of exploiting the Spider amp and full-range cabinet, you'd probably need to look at some other avenue like a powered speaker such as an Alto or Yamaha, or QSC, or Line 6 L2 speaker...pr some form of a full range cabinet like the Friedman.  That's yet more learning curve to deal with.

 

As most here would testify you can get some amazing things out of the Helix, but you have to recognize and be willing to take on the learning curve that comes with it in order to get the most out of it.  That part is quite a leap from the "plug-in-and-play" aspects of the Spider.  To be honest that's why I would NEVER recommend something like the Helix to our rhythm guitar player because I KNOW he would never commit to that and would end up being frustrated.

[VirtualGuitars]

I use Helix in many ways - as a pedalboard, 4cm, preamp models into power amps and FRFR.  It rocks in every way in each scenario. 

 

Cheers

 

+1

[Tehzim]

You'd probably have better luck running it into the aux or loop of your Spider.  Since I live in a small house I used a Blackstar Fly for a long time.  And I also have headphones.  But I knew I was never going to be in a position to run a cranked amp.  So I emulate a cranked amp at reasonable levels with my Helix.  Are you looking to perform?  If so you might be better off with selling that Spider and getting an FRFR monitor.  Just my two cents.

[blazeone]

Thanks for the info.  I got the Helix and am running it to a Peavey DM12 PA speaker. All is good and the adventure begins. I'm a young retiree so I have plenty of time for learning and tweaking. 

[VirtualGuitars]

Thanks for the info.  I got the Helix and am running it to a Peavey DM12 PA speaker. All is good and the adventure begins. I'm a young retiree so I have plenty of time for learning and tweaking. 

 

Welcome to the Helix!  There was a slight learning curve for me, but it has now become the centerpiece of my home studio.  I absolutely love it.  There are plenty of very talented Helix owners on this forum that are available to help answer any questions or scenarios that you might need help with.

 

Since acquiring the Helix, I have purchased two Mission Engineering / Line 6 expression pedals, a Relay G70 wireless unit, and two reference monitors that are the other side of the room.  The Helix has so many inputs, outputs, and send/receive loops that I can leave everything cabled up at the same time and switch between the 4CM, 7CM, and/or my FRFR monitors with ease (I have different patches for each setup).  I also bought an extra long 30-foot USB 2.0 high-speed cable to my Helix is always hooked up to my DAW.  Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine!  Good luck!