I'm buying Helix Floor

[Carlosg98]

Hi! 

I'm buying my first audio processor.   My choice is Line 6 Helix Floor.

I have a limited budget and I have to buy a used one, which costs half of what a new one costs.

Were there worse and better versions, or are all Helix Floors identical regardless of production date?

What is worth paying attention to?

Does it need to be maintained in any way? Does it require a visit to a specialist, e.g. like thermal pastes in computers are replaced from time to time, etc.?

Best regards 

[silverhead]

All Helix Floor devices are the same in terms of hardware. Of course, used devices may have reduced lifetime expectancy re: hardware failure. And as always, buyer beware when buying used. Try to buy from a reputable seller and get some sort of warranty or return/refund period. Higher risk when buying in some parking lot from a stranger using.your local Marketplace.

 

Every new Helix device includes a one-time discount on the purchase of Helix Native, a DAW a plug-in that is sonically equivalent to Helix hardware allowing you to share presets between studio and stage. It’s tracked by Line 6 using device serial number. Ask the seller if this discount has already been used for the device you are considering. If not, you will be able to use it. The discount is worth $300 so factor that into the price. This may explain a difference in asking price for different devices. Knowledgeable sellers may try to ask an inflated price for a device that has no discount available.

 

The only maintenance required is the firmware. There have been regular updates so the most you should have to do after purchase is update the firmware to the latest version so that you will have all the goodies. The update procedure is mostly automatic and is well documented. Users here can help with any update issues.

 

Hardware failures can happen anytime so a visit to a repair centre may eventually be required. This is not a regular thing; only if a failure occurs.

 

Good on ya for asking these things in advance. You’re now an informed purchaser! Enjoy your Helix!!

[theElevators]

In my experience, and in experience of several Helix/Line 6 owners that I know... the footswitches go bad.  Something like they have a life expectancy of 3 years, after which they need to be serviced/microswitches replaced. 

 

So, maybe you can find a great deal in terms of price, but I would be very cautious regarding how much life the footswitches have left in them. 

 

Here's my experience.  I use LT for home practicing an light gigging, Floor for gigging, Pod Go for practicing/gigging.

 

1. Got an open box LT.  The footswitches needed to be serviced within 2 years of reasonable use by me.  Everything worked, but several buttons were not as responsive.  I cleaned them with liquid DeoxIT, and it's still good 2 years later.

2. Got a brand-new Floor.  Within 1.5 years of gigging, 2 buttons became very flaky.  Had to get it serviced under warranty.  1.5 years later -- no issues. 

3. Got a brand-new Pod Go.  Within 3 months of practicing (no gigs!), one button became flaky.  Opened it up, cleaned it with liquid DeoxIT, and 5 months later no issues. 

4. A friend of mine got a used LT -- same thing, had to clean out the microswitches.

5. Another friend got an HX Stomp -- 3 buttons completely died, had to solder new microswitches.

 

 

So if I were you, I'd be extremely cautious getting a used Helix for this reason.  Some people keep it in the studio, some take it on the road.   Some switch sounds constantly throughout the set (me), some just stay on one sound throughout. 

 

[cruisinon2]

"Used" has a thousand definitions. Some units get thrown down flights of stairs, and tossed in and out of the back of crappy vans that smell like socks and farts. Others never see the outside of a home studio, and get carefully enclosed in some sort of case after each use. Some have a light foot, and tap the switches gingerly... others are like an angry Sasquatch stomping on them like they're trying to embed the unit in the floor. Thus, the only useful predictor of hardware failures is exactly how "used" the unit you purchase actually is, and that is often very difficult to ascertain unless you're buying it from someone you know and trust to honest about it's history.

 

Fwiw, my Helix floor is 7 years old. I've only gigged sporadically over the last 3 or 4 years, but for the first couple or 3 years of it's life it was on stage quite a bit. The rest of the time it's been in my home studio, but used pretty much daily. I don't abuse my gear, but I freely admit that I don't baby it either. The screen is in good shape, but there are some light scratches on the housing here and there. All the footswitches, buttons, and knobs work just fine, and always have. Like everything else in life, ymmv..

[silverhead]

… and I’ve had my Helix Rack/Control for more than 8 years. Never been out of my studio. All switches (and everything else) continue to work perfectly. So one can fairly conclude, I think, that switch failure is highly correlated to gigging and associated transportation of the Helix (although there can be failures without gigging as @theElevators reported).

[datacommando]

 

I'm in agreement with the two comments above.

 

I have had my Helix floor since late 2015 and it is used almost daily in my home studio. The only issue I have had with it was a fault on the joystick which was quickly repaired by an authorised Line 6 Service Centre. 

 

Essentially, as with any pre-owned electronic device - you pay your money and take a chance. I have a rack full of outboard digital effects and multi timbral synth modules from the mid 1980s that still function perfectly. I have also bought things brand new that have died within a few months, or even weeks.

 

 

[PaulTBaker]

I first bought the lt in 2019.... started using gigging with it and the buttons and over all (at least imo) it was lightweight so I traded it in for a Floor in 2021.  Gigged out 60+ times a year with it.  The buttons started getting flakey, sent it back, they fixed it (2022).  kept gigging, buttons started to go wonky again, so I traded it in for a new Floor and bought the 5 warranty from GC.  I know that sounds stupid, however these were my main reasons,  there is NO service center for helix anywhere close to me (Raleigh, NC), with the GC warranty, all I have to do when the buttons go wonky (and they will) is take it to GC and they will give me a new one.  Also, got a free Helix backpack (my first one had already been to the tailer to fix)... 

 

So my point is, I love the helix and the flexibility, however, please be careful with buying it used.  Hopefully I am wrong, but my guess is your buttons will go wonky.  Best of luck with your purchase and I hope you love it as much as I (we) do!

[craiganderton]

On 6/10/2024 at 10:35 AM, datacommando said:

The only issue I have had with it was a fault on the joystick which was quickly repaired by an authorised Line 6 Service Centre. 

 

I've used Helix for 8 years and had only two issues. One was the joystick not working well about 5 years ago, after it wasn't used for about a month due to moving. I just moved the joystick back and forth multiple times, and it fixed itself. Regular use seems to make it happy. If it hadn't fixed itself, I would have tried contact cleaner.

 

The other issue was that I didn't think the footswitch pedal was working. It was, it just requires a LOT of pressure to trigger. For that reason, the Helix floor needs to be on a hard surface. If you use it in a studio with a rug, you'll have to push extra hard.

 

Finally, at the risk of being self-serving, I wrote an eBook about the Helix that, among other things, describes what all the parameters do and includes 300 presets. You may find it helpful as you learn your away around what I think is a truly fabulous guitar processor.

[datacommando]

On 6/10/2024 at 9:56 PM, craiganderton said:

One was the joystick not working well about 5 years ago, after it wasn't used for about a month due to moving. I just moved the joystick back and forth multiple times, and it fixed itself. Regular use seems to make it happy. If it hadn't fixed itself, I would have tried contact cleaner.

Ah ha, that was a simple fix for you, but the thing in my situation was with a dry soldered joint. It seems this was happening on a few of the early Floor and Rack units. Although, I then got a little spooked after the repair, when after updating to v.2.8x the joystick once again appeared unresponsive. Lot of other users had the same problem, which appeared to be a “bug” in the Firmware and could be fixed by reverting to an earlier version of the firmware, and later moving on up to v2.9.

 

I haven’t encountered any recent reports of flakey joystick behaviour, but there was lots of reports way back as far as 2016.

 

Oh, yeah - I bought a copy of your fine book on the first release - outstanding work!

 

Happy trails. 

[PaulTBaker]

off topic, but I agree, the book is well worth it!!!!

[somebodyelse]

Only had mine four years, from new. No issues at all, apart from screwing up it's first firmware update, five minutes after first switch on. One cigarette, a coffee and a reboot later, it sorted itself out.

Only useful advice I have is put the work in and you'll be rewarded. I'm still learning new tricks after four and a half years.

[Osse]

I've been a heavy handed user of my hx stomp which I've owned since about 2018. It's not been on gigs, only rehearsals/at home I've just not been that careful with it, it's been working flawlessly except one thing which is attributed to my recklessness. if you plan to plug/unplug the usb a lot, be a little gentle,. I broke the plastic thing in the middle of the usb connector after 300-500 plugs/unplugs. Probably not many who manage to do this but it's the only problem I've had with mine so I thought I'd mention it. I managed to glue it back but it's very sensitive for movement without losing connection afterwards cause of dented pins.

[craiganderton]

On 6/19/2024 at 3:20 PM, somebodyelse said:

No issues at all, apart from screwing up it's first firmware update

 

It's good you brought this up! New users should know that updating requires following Line 6's instructions to the letter. Always read through all the update instructions first before attempting an update.

 

This forum is filled with "update bricked my Helix!!" and "new amps don't show up since updating!!" posts, which were pretty much due to user error. Outlier problems are losing internet or power in the middle of updating.

[mlwinnig]

On 6/9/2024 at 11:34 PM, Carlosg98 said:

Hi! 

I'm buying my first audio processor.   My choice is Line 6 Helix Floor.

I have a limited budget and I have to buy a used one, which costs half of what a new one costs.

Were there worse and better versions, or are all Helix Floors identical regardless of production date?

What is worth paying attention to?

Does it need to be maintained in any way? Does it require a visit to a specialist, e.g. like thermal pastes in computers are replaced from time to time, etc.?

Best regards 

Hi! Thinking of selling mine.

 

Gently used by me only in a smoke-free pet-free home and, by all appearances by original owner.

 

Looks and works pretty much like new. (Bit of fuzz on stomp pedal from micro-fiber dust cloth cover).

 

Just purchased an Akai MPCX SE and MPK249. I believe they will allow me to do all that I need and want to do.

 

Don't NEED to sell it.

 

Open to reasonable offers.

[somebodyelse]

On 6/23/2024 at 8:10 PM, craiganderton said:

 

It's good you brought this up! New users should know that updating requires following Line 6's instructions to the letter. Always read through all the update instructions first before attempting an update.

 

This forum is filled with "update bricked my Helix!!" and "new amps don't show up since updating!!" posts, which were pretty much due to user error. Outlier problems are losing internet or power in the middle of updating.

Absolutely.

I imagine if you went and found my first post on this forum, it was me posting how it'd crashed my PC and wouldn't boot. I think I posted something like, 'I'll give it another go and if it doesn't work, I'll send it back...' then a few minutes later, an 'all good' post.

In my case, what happened was, I started the process off, went for a smoke, came back and my PC had a BSOD, so I had no clue what had actually happened. Rebooted the PC, restarted the L6 Updater - at that point, I'd assumed all updating was done through the Updater and tried updating before doing anything else with the unit, straight out of the box... the rest is history, as they say.