Is helix effects for me?

[trevor4ever]

Hi everyone, so I play guitar pretty much only for myself and my wife/kids these days. I have my PRS and picked up a Carr Raleigh the other day. Anyways, the only pedal I have is a tube screamer. Im planning on picking up a few more pedals and am having trouble deciding whether to spend the money on 3-4 nice pedals or get the helix effects. Ive only used regular stomp boxes in the past, so that seems the simplest way to get the tone I want. But something tells me that id be an idiot if i didn't buy the helix for about the same price + I get ALL the effects. Like I said, I only play at home these days so mobility isn't an issue. Anyone have any input one way or the other? Thank you for any help!

[codamedia]

My own opinion  is that the HX Effects is a perfect option. The effects are outstanding and you can set it up as simple, or as complicated as you want. You also get to experiment with effects you may never consider.... whether you use any or not is your choice :) 

 

Take a look at this video.... Ritchie Castallano is the guitar player for Blue Oyster Cult and is an avid Helix supporter. In this video he switches his father over to the HX effects from just a couple of pedals.... it's a nice little "simple" insight into the HX Effects that you may find interesting. 

 

 

 

[patdixon]

Have you or will you ever use a vol and/or wah pedal? If you get the HXFX & want to add one you'll have to buy an EXP pedal, & then be limited to only one.

 

As long as you have a fairly recent PC the firmware will load fine and sound wise the Helix stuff is as good or better then anything out there IMO. I even like the Minotaur model better than the Klone I had. 

[codamedia]

5 minutes ago, patdixon said:

Have you or will you ever use a vol and/or wah pedal? If you get the HXFX & want to add one you'll have to buy an EXP pedal, & then be limited to only one.

 

The HX Effects will support 2 independent EXP pedals which can be assigned to anything you want in any given patch. But yes, they have to be purchased separately.

[patdixon]

I couldn't remember if it had one or two EXP outs, thanks for clarifying.

 

I sold all my stomp boxes & got an HXFX but a firmware issue (not the unit/my PC) caused me to return it & get an LT, hence my comment above. For $300 more I got all that plus an EXP & more options.

 

Back to the OP the HXFX is a great option, I'd do it in a second.

[codamedia]

11 minutes ago, patdixon said:

For $300 more....

 

I wish.... Sadly, here in Canada the Helix LT is $600 more than the HX Effects and the full Helix is $1300 more. 

 

Sorry to the OP... I don't mean to take this off topic. 

 

[trevor4ever]

Thank you everyone for your replies! By the sounds of it Helix may be the way to go. For some reason I still like the idea of trying out some of the boutique pedals out there like JHS (bonsai), One control (golden acorn overdrive), and animals pedals. But I guess Helix does offer quite a bit for the money.

 

A couple other questions if you don't mind...

 

Helix native doesn't come with Helix Effects does it? I have that little Carr amp which I love, but I also use some studio monitors that I use to dink around with Bias and Garageband.

 

When I got back into playing a couple years ago (wife, kids, you know the drill haha) I bought one of the Amplify amps. I really didn't like it much and it seemed really buggy. Line 6 seemed less than helpful when I contacted them. Does the Helix have issues? and if so how is Line 6 about support?

 

Thanks again for the help! I'm seriously considering making a 3 hour drive this weekend to pick one up as there are no dealers anywhere close to me.

[cruisinon2]

44 minutes ago, trevor4ever said:

Thank you everyone for your replies! By the sounds of it Helix may be the way to go. For some reason I still like the idea of trying out some of the boutique pedals out there like JHS (bonsai), One control (golden acorn overdrive), and animals pedals. But I guess Helix does offer quite a bit for the money.

 

A couple other questions if you don't mind...

 

Helix native doesn't come with Helix Effects does it? I have that little Carr amp which I love, but I also use some studio monitors that I use to dink around with Bias and Garageband.

 

When I got back into playing a couple years ago (wife, kids, you know the drill haha) I bought one of the Amplify amps. I really didn't like it much and it seemed really buggy. Line 6 seemed less than helpful when I contacted them. Does the Helix have issues? and if so how is Line 6 about support?

 

Thanks again for the help! I'm seriously considering making a 3 hour drive this weekend to pick one up as there are no dealers anywhere close to me.

 

A 6 hour round trip to buy gear is nuts, unless you really like driving,  lol. Just order it from Sweetwater... you'll have it in a couple of days, and you've got 30 days to return it, no questions asked, if it's not your thing. 

 

As for the Amplifi comparison...Helix is a VERY different device...imho, and at the risk of offending Amplifi fans, it's really kind of a toy. Helix is pro gear in every sense of the word, and infinitely more versatile. Might be a little overkill for your needs...but if you want amp modeling too, instead of just FX, the Helix LT might be an option for you.

 

Native doesn't come with anything, no matter what you buy, but there is a discount if you've purchased Helix hardware. It's $99 if you buy the full Helix, and I believe $299 (?) if you get the LT. Not sure if there's a discount at all if you've purchased HX Effects. Technically you don't "need" Native to record... but it does make re-amping much easier. 

 

Figure out what you really need/want, decide how much you wanna spend...then splurge accordingly!