Line 6 Helix

hugbot · June 2015

octatonic;666689" said:
ROOG said:

looks very smart, i would be interested to hear what those who work with this type of kit think of the feature set.

It looks good- whether it will be good enough to topple the AFX remains to be seen.

I doubt they be able to keep up with Fractal's update schedule, but in some ways that might be a positive.Getting a stable AFX build means actively saying 'NO' to the weekly Fractal update merry-go-round.

It has to sound great and up until now Line 6 haven't really been in the same league.

I'm curious as to how well the looper works.

The looper on the m series is awesome so hopefully exactly the same.

John_A · June 2015

Added very swiftly to the 'I need' list. If it sounds as good as it looks!

octatonic · June 2015

hugbot said:

I'm curious as to how well the looper works.
The looper on the m series is awesome so hopefully exactly the same.

Have you used the looper in the AFX?

It is insanely beautiful as a sound design tool.

menamestom · June 2015

looks ace, can't wait to buy the Zoom version for £179 later in the year!

guitarfishbay · June 2015

As an Axe FX owner I honestly hope this is good. The more competition the better. I would say the toughest thing to get right is the 'balls' when going through a SS power amp and cab. Axe FX low frequency resonance modelling gets so much closer than the HD500x could, and I like the tones I get but recognise it took a bit of work to learn it. I wonder how they're dealing with that here.

monquixote · June 2015

This page has some useful information on it.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Helix

They are calling it the HX engine which suggests it is an advance on the HD technology.

monquixote · June 2015

The thing with the AxeFX for me isn't about the sound it's that using it feels like work not play.

ThorpyFX · June 2015

monquixote said:

The thing with the AxeFX for me isn't about the sound it's that using it feels like work not play.

I got the invite email to purchase an axe8 I looked at it and went to the basket..... They added $20000 for shipping to prevent me from shipping it to the UK... Why send me the bloody email,to purchase it if I can't buy it... The Helix looks incredible though.

Drew_TNBD · June 2015

Very very very interesting

Wazmeister · June 2015

Whatever the in and outs of this, it is a stunning and ground breaking looking design. The option to customise labels and colour code the unit is incredible. Our learning styles and ability can be vastly improved and increased by using colours...

The presentation, just watched on my iPad, is also ground breaking. Stunning all round, BUT will this translate to £1400 ??? Wowzer, thats a LOT of corn...

longi · June 2015

Looks stunning! I hope it sounds as good as it looks. I have the money but not the will, plus my wife would string me up if I turned up with it and told her how much it cost! I've got too much stuff as it is, and it's all about PA systems for me at the moment.

I think I'll pick one up second hand in about four years when it's about £200!

octatonic · June 2015

longi said:

Looks stunning! I hope it sounds as good as it looks. I have the money but not the will, plus my wife would string me up if I turned up with it and told her how much it cost! I've got too much stuff as it is, and it's all about PA systems for me at the moment.

I think I'll pick one up second hand in about four years when it's about £200!

You can use the rest of the money to buy your wife some trousers.

ThePrettyDamned · June 2015

It only sounds expensive because it's line 6.

If strymon released something that cost people would wet themselves anyway.

dindude · June 2015

Wazmeister said
The presentation, just watched on my iPad, is also ground breaking. Stunning all round, BUT will this translate to £1400 ??? Wowzer, thats a LOT of corn...

Na, you've spent more on a delay pedal I'm sure.

dindude · June 2015

monquixote said:

The thing with the AxeFX for me isn't about the sound it's that using it feels like work not play.

The interface here does look pretty amazing. Fractal caught all these boys like Line6 napping with regards to sound and user functionality, but this could well have just caught Fractal napping on the user experience front.

timmysoft · June 2015

Looks great! A really sensible choice on features, it's almost like line6 have actually listened to what players want. It is expensive, but I'm sure that within a year they'll be under 1k new. The rack version will definitely be of interest for me, although it'll force the prices lower on the current hdx range so they suddenly become a lot more tempting!

vasselmeyer · June 2015

That really does look outstanding. If they're been working on this for four years then this is probably all Line 6 DNA, and not much input from Yamaha.

Cool web site too.

spacecadet · June 2015

The more I read about this thing the more excited I get. I hate the term "game changer" but think it's appropriate here. I can see me building a rig around this. Being able to incorporate pedals in the 4 loops and place them anywhere in the chain is brilliant. Amp channel change control and I just read there is a model of an OCD that has a parameter to go between V2 and V4! Looks like they may have thought about everything and what they haven't can be done via a firmware update.

The only sticky bit for people will be the amp models but I have heard a lot of people say they are using IR's with the HD amp models and say they sound incredible. As good as Kemper.

digitalscream · June 2015

vasselmeyer said:

That really does look outstanding. If they're been working on this for four years then this is probably all Line 6 DNA, and not much input from Yamaha.

Cool web site too.

Dude only said he'd been working on it for 4 years - he didn't say he'd been working on it for 4 years while working for Line6

With that said, yeah...I imagine it is all Line6's development (hence the recent products going back a generation in terms of modelling code), but they were running out of money to build the thing. That's where Yamaha's manufacturing base comes in, and it's probably what's responsible for the price too. Proper engineering, not designed-for-home-players engineering.

octatonic · June 2015

I'm seriously considering the floor based unit.

It depends on how good it sounds and how well it does 4 cable method.

The dynamic labelling thing looks brilliant.

I hope the text is clear enough on stage.

digitalscream · June 2015

octatonic said:

I'm seriously considering the floor based unit.
It depends on how good it sounds and how well it does 4 cable method.

Same here, although it also depends on whether my shoulder gets fixed and I can play live again. If it genuinely is next-gen stuff and sounds appropriately good, I might even be tempted to gig with just this straight into the PA. That's my holy grail, because it might enable me to gig properly even if my shoulder's unfixable.

octatonic · June 2015

digitalscream said:

octatonic said:

I'm seriously considering the floor based unit.
It depends on how good it sounds and how well it does 4 cable method.

Same here, although it also depends on whether my shoulder gets fixed and I can play live again. If it genuinely is next-gen stuff and sounds appropriately good, I might even be tempted to gig with just this straight into the PA. That's my holy grail, because it might enable me to gig properly even if my shoulder's unfixable.

I'd like to be able to have the choice of using my CAA or this direct to the PA.

It needs to be able to globally defeat amp/cab sims to do this and will need to be implemented so that the levels in the other modules work properly in either solution.

If this works then you could, in theory, use one set of presets for both scenarios.

How is the shoulder at the moment, mate?

guitarfishbay · June 2015

While I won't argue that the helix UI looks easier already the Axe FX 2 isn't difficult to use, the screen just doesn't look pretty and just because there are deep editing options you can scroll through (depending on type of block you may or may not want to do this). I would have preferred a larger screen but the current one is functional.

It is hard to make complex things less complex without removing choice, so it will be interesting to see how they've balanced it on the Helix.

monquixote · June 2015

digitalscream said:
With that said, yeah...I imagine it is all Line6's development (hence the recent products going back a generation in terms of modelling code), but they were running out of money to build the thing. That's where Yamaha's manufacturing base comes in, and it's probably what's responsible for the price too. Proper engineering, not designed-for-home-players engineering.

Yeah that's pretty much what I was thinking

Great product mostly developed, but don't have the cash required to do the kind of massive launch it deserves.

I'm really wondering how Roland are going to respond. A "GT-1000" with much improved amp modelling would be awesome.

digitalscream · June 2015

octatonic said:

How is the shoulder at the moment, mate?

Not great, especially after a comedy of errors on Wednesday (extremely long story, which I can't even face typing up).

Getting a bit nervous - we've got what is potentially our last gig (ironically, our first gig in London) in a few weeks, and I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to manage it

digitalscream · June 2015

monquixote said:

I'm really wondering how Roland are going to respond. A "GT-1000" with much improved amp modelling would be awesome.

I doubt that'll come to pass - from everything I've seen, it's vastly easier to be "a modelling company also doing effects" than it is to be "an effects company also doing modelling".

EDIT: I personally love the idea that this might've been a skunkworks project - somebody who thought along the same lines as we all have and said, "C'mon, guys, we've crippled every multi unit we've ever done with bad planning and broken functions...I know we can do it right" and then just did it.

jgmouton · June 2015

Too expensive for what it is. Should cost $800. L6 must make a huuuuge profit margin.

digitalscream · June 2015

jgmouton said:

Too expensive for what it is. Should cost $800. L6 must make a huuuuge profit margin.

I presume you can share the bill of materials with us then?

If Fractal, Kemper or Digidesign had come out with this exact product, I'd be willing to bet nobody would be saying "Too expensive for what it is".

dindude · June 2015

Agree, and remember this looks like a flagship and is priced accordingly, with ll the R&D that involves.

I'm looking forward to the lesser models which will hopefully bounce off this, as I don't personally need 4 amps at once and a lot of the other functionality, but do want an easy to use, great sounding modeller to play about with.

monquixote · June 2015

jgmouton said:

Too expensive for what it is. Should cost $800. L6 must make a huuuuge profit margin.

Totally disagree.

If Fractal had released the exact same product people would be calling it a bargain.

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