Helix LT questions

[dvok64]

Looking into a helix LT in the next couple of weeks and I have a couple of questions. 
 

Has the expression pedal issue (breaking?) been fixed on the new units now for sale? 
 

And I would like to use it to power my in-ears live. I want a separate signal path for that purpose because I like the guitar allot darker in my ears (hi cut as low as 1.2k). There’s no separate volume control for the headphone jack but I assume it’s just a matter of controlling the volume via that separate path ? Are there any issues doing it this way ? 

Lastly the I/O of the LT checks all my boxes an the lack of scribble strips is a non issue for me. Is there any other reason for going full helix instead ?
 

 

[PaulTBaker]

I started with the LT and of course it is great!  I use it mainly in stomp mode, kind of like a pedal board and have different patches for different amps.  Because of the 8 stomp limit (as opposed to the 10 with the helix floor) I had to use snapshots to add the extra "stomp buttons".  The LT also seemed kind of flimsy to be used for gigging.  I don't think that is a reality, just my perception.  I had to send the LT back to get a button fixed, so I got a helix floor to use in the interim.  I was going to return the floor after I got the LT back.  However, I found being able to use the extra 2 button in stomp mode REALLY made a big difference for me.  I was now able to have most everything I wanted on a patch and was able to access them with the buttons.  I was surprised how much of a difference this made for me.  Also, I guess good and bad, but the floor is (or at least seems to be) much heavier and sturdier than the LT.  So I kept the floor and returned the LT.  I am glad I did... but please don't tell my wife :)   Either way, the helix is great!  I come from the pod beans, to the hd500x to the helix.  I now have a PC 112+ and a PC 212+.  I play them stacked and they sound awesome (at least to me)!

[dvok64]

That’s a concern. I keep reading the word “flimsy”. I just play in a bar band for fun but my gear does get bounced around allot. This will be used for gigging. 

[zappazapper]

8 hours ago, dvok64 said:

And I would like to use it to power my in-ears live. I want a separate signal path for that purpose because I like the guitar allot darker in my ears (hi cut as low as 1.2k). There’s no separate volume control for the headphone jack but I assume it’s just a matter of controlling the volume via that separate path ? Are there any issues doing it this way?

 

Some things to know...

 

From the Helix LT manual @ https://line6.com/data/6/0a020a3f18374611d5dffd3a45/application/pdf/Helix LT 3.0 Owner's Manual - Rev D - English .pdf

 

From page 65:

 

"Volume Knob Controls - Determines which output(s) are affected when turning the top panel VOLUME knob. For example, you may want to control the level sent from the 1/4" outputs to your stage monitor without affecting the XLR level sent to the front-of-house mixer. Or you may want to disable the VOLUME knob altogether; in this case, set it to “Digital,” at which point Helix LT’s 1/4" and XLR outs will be at unity level."

 

"Headphones Monitor - Determines which signal(s) are heard from the PHONES output. Normally you would set this to Multi (1/4"+XLR+Digital+USB 1/2), but there may be a situation where you only want to hear what’s sent from the 1/4" or XLR outs, particularly if they are fed different signals (or band members!)"

 

So what I might do in your situation. 

 

I'm assuming you're using a normal guitar amp with your Helix, or at least something that has a volume control of its own, so you probably don't need to also control the level of your guitar from the Helix also. So set the Volume Knob Controls to XLR, and set your Headphones Monitor to XLR also (assuming you're not also sending a signal from the XLR jacks also). On all your presets, set your main output block (probably Path 1A?) to 1/4". Just before that output block, create the EQ block that you want to use for your hi-cut, then use the ACTION button to move it down to Path 1B. Make sure the Split block is a Split-Y, and then use the ACTION button to move the Merge block down to Path 1B, which creates a separate output block for that Path. Set that output block to XLR. Now your straight signal, before the hi-cut, will go to your 1/4" jacks, and the hi-cut signal will go to your headphones, controlled by the Volume Knob. 

 

Of course, there are many variations of this technique based on whether your presets are also using Path 2 for more processing power, but that's the jist of it. 

[theElevators]

Helix LT is mostly awesome, except the expression pedal.  For me, I bought a lightly-used unit and the exp pedal squaks after a year and a half of normal use.  The pedal used to break off in the earlier run of the LT, but that has been fixed a long time ago.  If you put your entire body weight on it, it may break, I don't know... it's pretty thin... Also sometimes the exp pedal does not go all the way to 100%.  It goes to 99% then 98%... until you reboot it and it corrects the issue.  So if you use pitch effects with the expression pedal, you may have a situation where your Digitech Whammy-type sound will be out of tune.... 

 

You can buy an inexpensive expression pedal to use if your onboard one fails.  My hack is as follows: set up all your sounds to only use EXP 2.  Use auto-engaged wah-wah, like Morley Bad Horsie... or save your wah on/off depending on the snapshot.  If your onboard pedal dies, connect the external one and it will be EXP 2.  There's a weird bug if your external wah is connected while you save your snapshots, your EXP 1 or EXP 2 state is not saved to the snapshot.  So just disconnect the external EXP when building your sounds.

 

About a separate headphone mix, there are many ways to set up multiple independent paths.  You can have it so that the main volume knob controls your headphone mix, for example.  Or if you only use one preset, you can have some kind of a volume block and put the cursor on it, to adjust the volume during a show... Or even use an expression pedal to control your monitor mix...  The possibilities and workarounds are plentiful.  Watch https://youtu.be/XIWlCNhA96E

 

I personally don't care for scribble strips and find LT screen's snapshot view a lot easier to read in direct sunlight.  I don't use any of the effects loops at all, I find that it defeats the purpose of using a guitar processor if you use stomp boxes in addition to it. 

 

LT is slightly smaller and lighter, while the buttons are spaced out exactly the same way as the Floor.  Good enough for Bumblefoot, good enough for you.  But then again, just for a couple hundred more, you can get a more solid machine, the Floor model.  I have both and use them interchangeably.  Why both?  Because I need a backup, as all equipment breaks down. 

[codamedia]

On 11/3/2021 at 2:28 PM, dvok64 said:

That’s a concern. I keep reading the word “flimsy”. I just play in a bar band for fun but my gear does get bounced around allot. This will be used for gigging. 

 

I'm a "gigging" guitar player and I don't find the LT to be "flimsy". Not built like a tank, but hardly what I would call flimsy. My LT is mounted on a board along with an external expression pedal, a DI and a Wireless.... it is properly cared for and maintained, but not babied. The case has a hard cover for moving around. 

 

As for the expression, mine has never given me any trouble. I don't seem to suffer from the problems "theElevators" mentions above. It reaches 0 and 100 respectively, and no sqeaks/squaks from mine. His concerns are something I am mindful of though, because many people have brought that up. 

 

One problem I do have with the expression pedal occurs on sunny outdoor gigs. When the sun hits it at the right angle it wreaks havoc on the sensor and the pedal behaves erratically. I'm not sure of the Helix floor or controller suffers from this, but it is a problem on my LT under the "perfect" conditions. (ie: it's not all outdoor gigs, just certain ones). 

[zappazapper]

6 minutes ago, codamedia said:

I'm a pro level "gigging" guitar player and I don't find the LT to be "flimsy".

 

I'm a washed up hack and I also don't find the LT to be flimsy. 

[codamedia]

@zappazapper .... I didn't mean to come across as pretentious with my statement, but it sure looked that way didn't it :)  I've edited my statement. 

 

"dvok64" was concerned about flimsy and said he had to gig with it.... I was just pointing out that I gig with mine often and have had no issues. 

[zappazapper]

22 minutes ago, codamedia said:

@zappazapper .... I didn't mean to come across as pretentious with my statement, but it sure looked that way didn't it :)  I've edited my statement. 

 

"dvok64" was concerned about flimsy and said he had to gig with it.... I was just pointing out that I gig with mine often and have had no issues. 

Ha. I didn't think it was pretentious at all. I wish I could make that claim myself. I was just making a joke. No changes required. I think musicians of all levels would like to hear from full-time players that the stuff they just bought has survived the rigors of pro-level gigging. 

[dvok64]

Thanks for the tips. Pretty confident that the LT will do what I want. I’m trying digital again after having an atomic Amplifire and being really disappointed with it. Been using tubes exclusively since then. My son is a huge helix fan and he got me interested in trying this route again. I’ve downloaded the native demo and have been able to get some really great tones with that. The available tones are far better than what the Amplifire had in 2016.  Particularly impressed with the tone I’ve been able to get in my in ears. 

[zappazapper]

4 hours ago, dvok64 said:

Been using tubes exclusively since then. 

 

The Helix with a good tube amp in 4-cable method is a pretty deadly combination. It's probably a better way to go then an FRFR speaker, because what you're hearing is the sound that you would get from a microphone in front of an amp, as opposed to a speaker in the open air. The downside of 4CM is that you probably want to stay away from power amp and miked speaker cabinet models/impulse responses, as your power amp and speakers will color the sound on their own and you'll never get an accurate representation of the models. Even still, every amp in the Helix has a preamp-only version that offers a lot of flexibility for 4CM users. I have yet to have the opportunity to try a Powercab, which is an interesting idea in that it models JUST speakers, not miked speaker cabinets, which in theory should sound more like a real amp in the open air. But I'm in no rush for that because as much as I'm all in on digital modeling, I do love the sound of my Boogie. 

[dvok64]

My son picked up a mint condition LT and powercab for me close to where he lives. I'm going to be picking it up in a couple of weeks. He's an experienced floor user so he said he's going to do a factory reset, update the firmware and put some of his presets in there. Thanks for all the info.

[dvok64]

To go along with this I bought helix native yesterday too.