Helix footprint concerns

[guitarbloke]

Hey folks,

 

I'm considering stepping from the HX Stomp to a Helix Floor. but the huge footprint is bothering me slightly.  

At the moment I use a Pedaltrain 2 which contains my HX Stomp, 2 overdrives, Digitech Drop, Dunlop mini volume pedal, and a Voicelive 3 Extreme.  

 

If I need to add a talkbox for a gig, then sometimes I'll switch out the Voicelive 3 for a Voicelive Play which is much smaller.

 

I'm lead singer in my band and we play small-ish venues so floor space is pretty much at a premium - plus whatever I use has to be right next to my mic stand. 

The Pedaltrain 2 is about as much space as I can get at most gigs.

 

If I go to a Helix Floor, that would be the exact same size as the Pedaltrain, but without the vocal unit - which I do need.

 

Is anyone using a 2-tier pedalboard to get around issues like this?  Does it negatively impact the use of the Helix since part (or all?) of the screen will be obscured.  Any recommendations to which boards are worth looking at?

 

There's no point me going to a Helix LT as even though it's a smaller footprint than the Floor, it's not enough to make any difference.

 

Not really sure what to do, but all I know is I am GASsing for a full Helix!

[rd2rk]

If you don't need to see the screen, you can get a MIDI controller to use on the floorboard and put the Helix in the backline somewhere..

Carefully consider your actual performance needs and then google "MIDI floor controllers"

The MeloAudio MIDI Commander and Keith McMillan Soft step come to mind as being relatively small, but you'll need to check out their manuals to be sure they'll do what you need.

[themetallikid]

4 hours ago, guitarbloke said:

Hey folks,

 

I'm considering stepping from the HX Stomp to a Helix Floor. but the huge footprint is bothering me slightly.  

At the moment I use a Pedaltrain 2 which contains my HX Stomp, 2 overdrives, Digitech Drop, Dunlop mini volume pedal, and a Voicelive 3 Extreme.  

 

If I need to add a talkbox for a gig, then sometimes I'll switch out the Voicelive 3 for a Voicelive Play which is much smaller.

 

I'm lead singer in my band and we play small-ish venues so floor space is pretty much at a premium - plus whatever I use has to be right next to my mic stand. 

The Pedaltrain 2 is about as much space as I can get at most gigs.

 

If I go to a Helix Floor, that would be the exact same size as the Pedaltrain, but without the vocal unit - which I do need.

 

Is anyone using a 2-tier pedalboard to get around issues like this?  Does it negatively impact the use of the Helix since part (or all?) of the screen will be obscured.  Any recommendations to which boards are worth looking at?

 

There's no point me going to a Helix LT as even though it's a smaller footprint than the Floor, it's not enough to make any difference.

 

Not really sure what to do, but all I know is I am GASsing for a full Helix!

I will attach a picture of my pedalboard later tonight.  it works great, I can house a talkbox, and several other pedals and the space is literally not much bigger than the Helix footprint and a Mission engineering EXP pedal.  I'll comment back again later tonight when I take it out.

[DunedinDragon]

Although I do keep everything on a large pedalboard, it's technically not necessary as the only thing I ever interact with on stage is my MIDI controller.  I could easily place everything else anywhere that's convenient on or off stage.  Over the last couple of years my band has transitioned from a traditional setup with amps on stage to everyone connecting directly to the mixing board and depending on high quality FRFR stage monitors and using small MIDI or preamp pedals.  This has dramatically changed our stage footprint and may be the direction you want to examine as this is becoming more and more prominent as more people turn to modeling preamps.

As rd2rk mentioned above there are a wide array of very powerful MIDI controllers on the market all of which would likely be able to manage your equipment with just a little planning and investment of time.

[guitarbloke]

@rd2rk @DunedinDragon - thanks guys. The idea of MIDI has always been (and still is!) a bit daunting to me, but maybe it's time I started looking into it as an option.  

 

@themetallikid - I'd be really interested to see a pic of your board man, it sounds like the kind of setup I had in my head!

[talonmm]

Here's something to possibly consider:  The HX Stomp XL.  I have two pedalboards that I use - depending upon the size of the stage we are playing.  I will use a full helix floor and pedals when there's room.  In tighter spots I use the HX Stomp XL on a smaller pedalboard.  Like you, I use a harmonizer on both boards.

 

For my needs, The HX Stomp XL works just as well as the the Helix floor - although your needs may be different than mine.

 

[guitarbloke]

 

3 hours ago, talonmm said:

Here's something to possibly consider:  The HX Stomp XL.  I have two pedalboards that I use - depending upon the size of the stage we are playing.  I will use a full helix floor and pedals when there's room.  In tighter spots I use the HX Stomp XL on a smaller pedalboard.  Like you, I use a harmonizer on both boards.

 

For my needs, The HX Stomp XL works just as well as the the Helix floor - although your needs may be different than mine.

 

 

The Stomp XL would be really nice due to the much smaller footprint, but I keep being drawn back to the idea of the Helix Floor for 2 main reasons:

(I guess this is the point where I find out I want it for all the wrong reasons!)

 

 - So I can easily send one signal with an IR to the desk, and one without an IR to my amp+cab.

 - The additional DSP would be really handy so I can use effects like the Poly Capo and then lose the Digitech Drop from my rig.

 

 

[talonmm]

3 hours ago, guitarbloke said:

 

 

The Stomp XL would be really nice due to the much smaller footprint, but I keep being drawn back to the idea of the Helix Floor for 2 main reasons:

(I guess this is the point where I find out I want it for all the wrong reasons!)

 

 - So I can easily send one signal with an IR to the desk, and one without an IR to my amp+cab.

 - The additional DSP would be really handy so I can use effects like the Poly Capo and then lose the Digitech Drop from my rig.

 

 

 

That's exactly why I mentioned that my needs may be different than your needs.  Typically I only need a few effects for my tones so having half the DSP has not hurt me.  And I can get the Poly capo working with some effects and not run out of DSP resources. 

 

I am also not a big fan of the smaller screen, it is harder to read than the larger floor model.  I am not sure about the IR situation.  Perhaps someone else here can address that challenge. 

[themetallikid]

So here is my board.  It measures roughly 17" x 30".  It has a flip up top surface that allows all my power cords and such to be housed underneath.  My MXR talkbox is also underneath (my goal was to also have a Digitech Drop and Freqout, however I did not like how those pedals integrated and also new the Poly stuff was coming down the road at some point).  The side panel has 2 female power outlets, 2 usb powered outlets and a male power outlet that powers the whole board.  

 

This setup is great.  When I do my solo acoustic shows, I bring the board, a powered speakers, stands and guitar.  My monitor speaker and tablet plug right into one of the outlets on my board.  My lights/main speaker plug into a 3 way extension cord which also plugs into the 2nd outlet on my board and I run a 25ft IEC cable to power my board to the wall.    My full band shows I only have the tablet and monitor to run on it.  It also has a bracket next to the power plate that I can put a mic stand into.  

 

All of this was customizeable and I think I paid around $300-$400?  I'd have to dig for that, and also to find the website.  I'd gladly do that if you think you'd wanna check them out.  

[guitarbloke]

@themetallikid Thanks so much for posting that! 

 

A board like this would be ideal, but unfortunately I also have to squeeze that pesky vocal unit on there as well (that's another 14" x 8.5") :(  

[themetallikid]

I would really suggest looking into a place like I used and at their custom prices.  The company that I used built this to my specs including making the lid 1.5" taller to accompany the angle/height of the Helix.  I know they do tiered systems as well and maybe they can quote you something that matches what you need.  

[codamedia]

@themetallikid.... the top view of your board looks a lot like mine, right down to the wireless position. 

 

 

 

7 hours ago, guitarbloke said:

@themetallikid Thanks so much for posting that! 

 

A board like this would be ideal, but unfortunately I also have to squeeze that pesky vocal unit on there as well (that's another 14" x 8.5") :(  

 

That is certainly a problem as that size almost requires a board of it's own. 

Sometimes there is no way to cheat "size" - LOL!