RichHall67 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I just purchased a helix LT and I am currently setup going thru my amp with the 4 cable method, I'm not sure if doing this will get me the most from helix, I am tempted to get a set of studio monitor speakers instead and I've also been looking at the power cab plus but that would leave me at mono. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 A lot depends on what you want to do with your Helix. If you're looking more at home playing, practicing with recordings, or possibly doing some recording you might prefer a good set of studio monitors. If your thinking about doing live playing the Power Cab might be the way to go and stereo won't be that big of an issue since stereo isn't really used that much in live venues as the audience isnt really able to distinguish the separation in the chaotic acoustics of a live venue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jceepe Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 i got two frfr108 at home, live at church, I go straight to the mining board and IEMs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashetler1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 The powercab plus will give you the flexibility of choosing different speaker types or even using irs in frfr mode. I personally can’t get used to playing through frfr speaker systems, so the speaker models on the powercab are the ticket for me. It just sounds and feels more like a traditional amp+cab set up to me. If you use the l6 link to connect the helix to powercab you can control and save the powercab settings on the helix. I was on the fence about sticking with the helix as an all in one rig until I got the powercab now I don’t think I could do much better. I don’t doubt that the right tube amp with the right cab... (right for me being the key element), would be superior to my ears, although I suspect it would be a minor improvement considering how happy I am with my current set up. My plan now is to use the helix + powercab as a guide to decide what traditional amp+cab set up I want to save up for in the future. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benthere77 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 11 hours ago, ashetler1 said: The powercab plus will give you the flexibility of choosing different speaker types or even using irs in frfr mode. I personally can’t get used to playing through frfr speaker systems, so the speaker models on the powercab are the ticket for me. It just sounds and feels more like a traditional amp+cab set up to me. If you use the l6 link to connect the helix to powercab you can control and save the powercab settings on the helix. I was on the fence about sticking with the helix as an all in one rig until I got the powercab now I don’t think I could do much better. I don’t doubt that the right tube amp with the right cab... (right for me being the key element), would be superior to my ears, although I suspect it would be a minor improvement considering how happy I am with my current set up. My plan now is to use the helix + powercab as a guide to decide what traditional amp+cab set up I want to save up for in the future. I assume you are referring to the Line 6 power cab that is about $600 new? Does this really give you the "amp in the room" sound/feel. Also, can you get good tones even at bedroom/living-room levels? I'm currently using the HR108 and although it has some plusses and you can't argue with the price, I also am having a very hard time getting used to the frfr sound/feel. In fact I'm not sure I even can get used to it so if this power cab is significantly better that might be an option for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashetler1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 I will start by saying I don’t have a real amp to compare it to. I have the power cab plus, I bought it a month or so ago when it was on sale for 650. It was between that or going 4cm with a supersonic 22( I had this amp previous to the helix and loved it). At the sale price I told myself if I was ever going to try a powercab now is the time and that if I was happy with it then I wasn’t going to obsess over needing to A/B it with a real amp. With all that being said, to me it sounds and feels like a real amp. Before I was doing the frfr thing through a pair of line 6 l3m speakers which are a 2000 dollar set of speakers, and I spent over a year trying to dial in something I liked so it’s not like I didn’t give it a chance. I am very happy with the sound/feel at this point. Does the vintage 30 speaker model sound and feel identical to a real cab and speaker? I don’t know. I’d love to A/B it someday but for now I don’t really care because I think the speaker models sound and feel great. On top of sounding great, you have the ability to save which speaker you want in your presets or snapshots so you can go for a Jenson on your clean tone and with the press of your foot go to a greenback for overdrive. Just one example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benthere77 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 25 minutes ago, ashetler1 said: I will start by saying I don’t have a real amp to compare it to. I have the power cab plus, I bought it a month or so ago when it was on sale for 650. It was between that or going 4cm with a supersonic 22( I had this amp previous to the helix and loved it). At the sale price I told myself if I was ever going to try a powercab now is the time and that if I was happy with it then I wasn’t going to obsess over needing to A/B it with a real amp. With all that being said, to me it sounds and feels like a real amp. Before I was doing the frfr thing through a pair of line 6 l3m speakers which are a 2000 dollar set of speakers, and I spent over a year trying to dial in something I liked so it’s not like I didn’t give it a chance. I am very happy with the sound/feel at this point. Does the vintage 30 speaker model sound and feel identical to a real cab and speaker? I don’t know. I’d love to A/B it someday but for now I don’t really care because I think the speaker models sound and feel great. On top of sounding great, you have the ability to save which speaker you want in your presets or snapshots so you can go for a Jenson on your clean tone and with the press of your foot go to a greenback for overdrive. Just one example. Thanks for the info. I think this may be the way for me to go eventually. I'll hold off for a few months since I just purchased a lot of new gear but I think I'll like the power cab better than the frfr. Does it still have great tone at bedroom volume levels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashetler1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 In my opinion yes I sounds good at comfortable playing levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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