Line 6 Helix LT or Stomp XL?

[NC870]

in your opinion... is it worth it to get the Helix LT over the Stomp XL?

The Helix LT dropped in price to $999 and the stomp is $750.

I play at home/recording. Budget-wise the XL makes sense for me, but with the price drop, I'm
wondering if I should just get the Helix LT.

Are the benefits of the Helix LT dramatically better?

[silverhead]

Depends on your needs. The Helix LT has more I/O options and dual DSP chips supporting more complex presets that can use more amp, cab, and FX blocks. Both support recording similarly- you can record a dry guitar track and reamp it using the hardware or plugins like Helix Native.

 

I suggest you download the manuals for both and compare the I/O and dual path capabilities. If your needs are not too demanding (e.g. no need for dual amps or many FX blocks, and no need for heavy DSP elements like polyphonic pitch shifting) then the Stomp XL should suffice. It will easily handle a single amp with a cab/IR and a reasonable number of FX blocks and parallel routing. They both handle IRs and both include the recent firmware upgrade re: cabs that make IRs redundant for many users. Both are identical in terms of sound quality and modeling. In other words, a simple Helix LT preset that uses the same elements as the Stomp XL will sound the same. Sound quality is not a reason to choose the LT.

 

The Helix LT has two completely independent processing paths, making it effectively twice as powerful as the Stomp XL. It is compatible with Variax guitars, has XLR outputs, and has two Send/Return pairs. It also has a digital output. The Stomp. XL does not have these. Do you want/need these?

[rd2rk]

On 8/15/2023 at 11:49 AM, NC870 said:

in your opinion... is it worth it to get the Helix LT over the Stomp XL?

 

I just responded over on TGP, but here it is again:

 

Yes. The real question is, do you NEED all of that power?
Do you think you might EVER need all that power?

Assuming that you have a decent computer and an audio interface, download the Helix Native trial.
Download the manuals for the LT, XL and Native. Read them.
Use Native in Hardware Compatibility Mode for the XL and compare that to the LT Mode.
IF you can get all the sounds you think you'll ever need with the XL, there's your answer.

Or you could skip the above and read the opinions of 100 random anonymous internet presences.

Here's my opinion, and I'm much like you, a home player.
I have BOTH the HX Stomp (XL with less switches) and Helix Floor.
I could survive with just the HXS. The Floor is far superior.

[MGW-Alberta]

The follow is one man's opinion.  Feel free to have a different opinion if you like.  

 

It seems to me that a number of the query posts we see here and elsewhere on the internet relating to HX products have to do with people trying to figure out how to do something that exceeds the capabilities of the device.  I suspect what happens is the person decides at the time of purchase that they can get away with a cheaper model because they don't envision needing any more capability than that but then once they get into it and start learning and paying closer attention to what other people are doing with their HX device they decide they want to try a few new things for themselves ... but they can't because of the limitations of the device they chose.

 

What I am saying is that I think people in general should probably get the most powerful one they can possibly justify spending the money on, even if it means saving up a little longer and not buying anything right now.   If you don't want to come up against a brick wall at some point down the road then now is the time to follow the old saying, go big or go home.

 

My two cents.

[NC870]

Coming from my analog world, and EVH iconic owner...

 

for my Jackson setup HB/SC and my YJM strat (stacked SC), i used some clean boosts for the single coils*    some eq, delay, reverb and modulation.

 

Looking for a handful of amp types for both  hi gain and clean tones.

 

I'm considering the Line 6 PC  along with my CATALYST  as a stereo setup.

[NC870]

On 8/15/2023 at 3:31 PM, MGW-Alberta said:

The follow is one man's opinion.  Feel free to have a different opinion if you like.  

 

It seems to me that a number of the query posts we see here and elsewhere on the internet relating to HX products have to do with people trying to figure out how to do something that exceeds the capabilities of the device.  I suspect what happens is the person decides at the time of purchase that they can get away with a cheaper model because they don't envision needing any more capability than that but then once they get into it and start learning and paying closer attention to what other people are doing with their HX device they decide they want to try a few new things for themselves ... but they can't because of the limitations of the device they chose.

 

What I am saying is that I think people in general should probably get the most powerful one they can possibly justify spending the money on, even if it means saving up a little longer and not buying anything right now.   If you don't want to come up against a brick wall at some point down the road then now is the time to follow the old saying, go big or go home.

 

My two cents.

i hear you... and agree.  but if you see my most recent post.. i just dont want extra features that i might not /need use.  I'm pretty straightforward, and this is my first all digital rig attempt.

 

 

[DunedinDragon]

On 8/15/2023 at 3:35 PM, NC870 said:

Coming from my analog world, and EVH iconic owner...

 

for my Jackson setup HB/SC and my YJM strat (stacked SC), i used some clean boosts for the single coils*    some eq, delay, reverb and modulation.

 

Looking for a handful of amp types for both  hi gain and clean tones.

 

I'm considering the Line 6 PC  along with my CATALYST  as a stereo setup.

 

Since this is your first foray into an all digital rig it's really hard to say what you'll find a need for.  That's because it's not about digital, it's about modeling.  The way you worked with a traditional rig is often due to the limitations of space or convenience.  In the modeling world all of that goes away and the doors are open to a much wider range of possibilities because your entire rig is "virtual".

 

A classic example might be you would like to design a preset where you start off with a simple, straight-forward chunky mono setup with a classic amp such as a vox with a vox cabinet and a few effect that at some point instantaneously changes to a different, more aggressive amp going through a Marshall cab mic'd differently with some polyphonic effects such as a key change and is in stereo.  Not something you'd likely attempt too much with a traditional setup, but something that's easily achievable in the modeling world, but only with an LT or a Floor due to the expanded capabilities.

 

Modeling is more like having access to a HUGE studio with a large inventory of gear that you can reconfigure at will even in the middle of a song.  That kind of thing may or may not appeal to you.  I don't commonly use it, but I still have a Floor unit.  That's because it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

[MGW-Alberta]

On 8/15/2023 at 1:37 PM, NC870 said:

i just dont want extra features that i might not /need use

 

 

Exactly my point.  You're doing it right now.  You can't envision needing more capability and you think that won't change but it always does.

[silverhead]

On 8/15/2023 at 1:49 PM, NC870 said:

..

The Helix LT dropped in price to $999 and the stomp is $750.

..

The LT represents a doubling of DSP capacity as well as more I/O and other hardware features. Seems to me that an extra cost of 33% might be worth a more than 50% potential future expansion of your ‘needs’.

[afterburner1277]

On 8/15/2023 at 3:31 PM, MGW-Alberta said:

The follow is one man's opinion.  Feel free to have a different opinion if you like.  

 

It seems to me that a number of the query posts we see here and elsewhere on the internet relating to HX products have to do with people trying to figure out how to do something that exceeds the capabilities of the device.  I suspect what happens is the person decides at the time of purchase that they can get away with a cheaper model because they don't envision needing any more capability than that but then once they get into it and start learning and paying closer attention to what other people are doing with their HX device they decide they want to try a few new things for themselves ... but they can't because of the limitations of the device they chose.

 

What I am saying is that I think people in general should probably get the most powerful one they can possibly justify spending the money on, even if it means saving up a little longer and not buying anything right now.   If you don't want to come up against a brick wall at some point down the road then now is the time to follow the old saying, go big or go home.

 

My two cents.

I have to agree. I didn't think I needed the powercab Plus. Well, I did! A few more bucks, a lot more capability and a Sweetwater swap and I am very happy. I too am a stricly home player/recorder person and I went full bore with the Helix floor and I am sooooooo VERY satisfied that I did.   

[codamedia]

On 8/15/2023 at 12:49 PM, NC870 said:

Are the benefits of the Helix LT dramatically better?

 

I own an LT and an HX Stomp.... I would say the Helix LT is dramatically more flexible.... which leads to better for some people, including myself. 

 

At the prices you gave... the LT is well worth the extra dollars for the features it brings. 

If the footprint size of the LT does not bother you... treat yourself.

 

On 8/15/2023 at 2:31 PM, MGW-Alberta said:

I suspect what happens is the person decides at the time of purchase that they can get away with a cheaper model because they don't envision needing any more capability than that but then once they get into it and start learning and paying closer attention to what other people are doing with their HX device they decide they want to try a few new things for themselves ... but they can't because of the limitations of the device they chose.

 

I hear ya.... I bought an HX Effects thinking I'd just plug it into my existing HD500. I upgraded to the LT rather quickly and have never regretted that move - and it's now 5 years in.