New multi effects day- Helix Lt!

DrJazzTap · April 2023

After going down a rabbit hole with pedals since the mid 00s. Pissing around with switchers and playing with the constant puzzle of shoe Horning a never ending rotation of pedals on a board.

I bit the bullet, sold 99% of my pedals and bought myself a helix lt.

I confess I've never tried one out. I was very impressed with the gt1000....but I went for a helix blind mainly because it looks a lot easier to get to grips with, seems to have better support and a stronger resale value.
I'm sure the gt1000 is awesome, I'm confronting my inner technophobe head on. Baby steps

Roland · April 2023

DrJazzTap said: Baby steps

Definitely the right way to do it. One effect at a time. Start with default values. Gradually replicate your current rig. If you’ve kept some pedals then you can AB them against the Helix.

BlueStrat · April 2023

Congrats on the new toy.

Have a look on YouTube for some excellent guides by John Cordy and Jason Sadites.

It’s not as daunting as it first appears, you can go as deep as you want to.

Ensure that you’re updated to the latest firmware.

Good luck with it

jackio · April 2023

Love my helix...so much better for me and my music than pedals. Look on the Line6 forum for other peoples patches, I've downloaded a fair few, dont use some, play others lots. Also much around but mostly just play with less tweaking

duotone · April 2023

Enjoy your new gear!

I've had my Helix LT since November 2017 & it's a great bit of kit.

Make sure you Register & sign in to the free: https://line6.com/customtone/ as most of the tones you are chasing have most likely been created by someone on there already.

stratman3142 · April 2023

Yes I've had my Helix LT since April 2017. It may have been one of the first in the country.

Technically it's my second Helix LT, as the pedal broke on the first one in 2020 and Line 6 sent me a new replacement.

Live, I use mine in stompbox mode (pedals only) with the 1/4 inch jack output going into an HRD IV. There's an ampsim in the XLR path for home use into my monitor speakers, and in case I ever wanted to go straight into a PA.

dazzer22 · May 2023

I have the helix pod go, i sold my pedals over 5 years ago and i am complete happy with everything . I like the software and they do updates . It dose take time to build up your own patches but well worth learning it .

relic245 · May 2023

Just out of interest, is not having scribble strips ever a problem or even a bit of a pain?

Thinking of upgrading my hx-fx to a helix but not sure which one (stomp even xl isn't going to cut it for me, had one before but just want more control available at my feet)

guitarmangler · May 2023

You can colour code the foot switch buttons for the lt. I haven’t missed having the scribble strips. I look
down and see red as distortion, green for delay etc. I don’t think I’d have time to read what it says on stage .

Bats_ · May 2023

relic245 said:

Just out of interest, is not having scribble strips ever a problem or even a bit of a pain?

Thinking of upgrading my hx-fx to a helix but not sure which one (stomp even xl isn't going to cut it for me, had one before but just want more control available at my feet)

There is performance mode on the LT, where the screen changes to show the layout of the foot switches. Pretty useful.

I went from an LT to the floor just for the mic input, I also think the floor is a little better built… the expression pedal is much better too.

Musicwolf · May 2023

DrJazzTap said:

I'm confronting my inner technophobe head on. Baby steps

A lot of it is in the mind. I have a Helix, the other guitarist in my band has a Helix FX. I can make my Helix sit up and do tricks, he's run scared of his since day one and I still have to do much of the editing for him. It's not because he's technically incapable, he's just got himself into the 'this is too dificult' mindset.

Don't think 'baby steps', you are going to take magnificent strides, but also be prepared to have to back track once in a while. You can do this if you put in a little effort.

To get the most out of your new toy you'll have to decide how you want to interact with it, and that may take a little time. A couple of options that you'll need to address;

Use the PC Editor (HX Edit) or edit from the unit itself? (either route is well implemented in Helix). I prefer HX Edit but it's really about personal choice.

Pedal Mode or Snapshot? Do you want to switch each pedal on and off individual (like a conventional pedal board) or do you want to switch several pedals on or off with a single footswitch? i.e. one foot switch for 'verse', another for 'chorus' a third for 'solo' etc.

Don't be afraid to ask if you get stuck - loads of Helix users on here willing to help.

DrJazzTap · May 2023

Thanks guys.

At the moment I'm focusing on learning the tracks.

Have to figure out how I'm gonna use it to it's full potential. Seems a shame to just use it as a glorified pedal board.

Musicwolf · May 2023

DrJazzTap said:

Seems a shame to just use it as a glorified pedal board.

Absolutely. It is capable of so, so, much more.

normula1 · May 2023

And don't be afraid to leave some of the fx at their default settings and just play. There's loads of times I've checked what I set a parameter to because it sounds great to find I didn't tweak anything
The Ampeg liquifier chorus is a good example.

DrJazzTap · May 2023

Musicwolf said:

DrJazzTap said:

Seems a shame to just use it as a glorified pedal board.

Absolutely. It is capable of so, so, much more.

Trying to think of the best way of utilising it. Ideally want to use my orange 2x12 but don't want to lug around the rockerverb head. Thinking a small power amp or a quilter head atm.

jackio · May 2023

I put mine through a yamaha 10inch pa speaker. DXR10, works an absolute charm

Musicwolf · May 2023

DrJazzTap said:

Trying to think of the best way of utilising it. Ideally want to use my orange 2x12 but don't want to lug around the rockerverb head. Thinking a small power amp or a quilter head atm.

There's a couple of ways that you can go'

If you want to use an existing guitar cab + power amp then you can use the amp sims within the Helix but you won't want to use cab sims. You'll be limited to one type of cab (your Orange), but that's not a bad thing. If you wanted to send an additional signal to the PA you could set up an additional path within the Helix and put a cab sim on the output to the PA but not the output to the power amp / Orange.

You could get a FRFR powered cab to go on stage in which case you would employ cab sims in the Helix. The powered cab could be in front of you being used as a monitor or behind you like a conventional cab. I've done this with an Alto TS210 (10") and it sounded good. I ended up having the Alto on a speaker stand (as you would with a PA cab) and having it up at ear level was fantastic.

If you do go down the FRFR route then you can also do things like putting an acoustic guitar IR in there.

Heartfeltdawn · September 2023

Good Dr J, how does it go with the LT?

DrJazzTap · September 2023

Aloha really well. I got to grips with the snapshot feature and that's super handy. I'm working with a pink floyd covers band. Having three presets i can access quickly to get the different reverb levels for "Empty spaces" is so much easier than tap dancing.

I can't see myself going back to a conventional pedal board anytime soon. The flanger models aren't 100% but the whole thing is much more useful.
Would actually like to shift my orange amp on. I'll just pick up another cheap peavey and run into that.

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New multi effects day- Helix Lt!

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