Line 6 Helix Floor review

Started by Antonuzzo, August 26, 2020, 01:03:46 AM

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Antonuzzo

I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here: What the Helix is and what it does has been extensively covered. What I will do is give some of my own insights into the strengths and weaknesses of this unit.

Factory Presets

Whatever the unit, these usually get lambasted for being too weird, too showy, too over-processed - what have you. And in some cases that's true of the Helix. However, straight out the box, it boots with a block of eight presets that are useable straight off the bat.

Nothing too fancy - just a selection of Fenders, Plexis and the like with some well-chosen effects. In fact, you could probably get through a gig on preset 01A alone, given that it comes with a chorus, tremolo and a Klon Centaur emulation.

Sound Quality

I was taken aback instantly by the depth and realism of the overall sound. After playing with it for a while, I'm convinced: this is the most sonically mature effects unit I've ever used. The Mooer GE300 doesn't come anywhere close, for example.

The VG-99 is a harder comparison. It's ten years older than the Helix and the guitar emulation brings something totally different to the table. A VG unit with a 13-pin input gives incredible sounds and versatility, but used with a 1/4" input, it's definitely found wanting. Roland's effects are great, but the overall realism of the Helix is far ahead of the Roland units that I've used.

The Amps

The selection of amps is very impressive - all the usual Fenders, Marshalls and Boogies are present and correct, but it's a big plus to be able to dial in a HiWatt or a Supro.

Tweakability is almost ridiculous, with parameters for sag and hum. Being able to load Its raises the game even further; you can get close enough to the genuine sound of most amps that you'd need an oscilloscope to tell the difference.

Effects

Some real thought has gone into this (and continues, with Line6 pushing out new additions every few months.) There's a good mixture of standard workhorses, boutique pedals and legends mixed in; buying an actual Boss DM-2, a Timmy and Klon would doubtless cost more than the unit itself.

Due to the hard-to-find nature of some of the pedals, it's hard to make a comparison. But the quality is fantastic across the board. The Electric Mistress emulation is very close to the original, the Big Muff sounds exactly as good as the dedicated unit - you get the point.

A big plus is that the controls vary for each effect. Roland have a habit of giving every distortion the same set of values; so it's a welcome change to see a RAT that has a filter dial, for example.

One big change from the VG units - for me at least - is that I've used them as a means to an end. If I've been going for a particular sound, I've found myself cycling through effects and amps going 'nope', 'nope', 'nope', 'okay...'

With the Helix, I've been enjoying exploring each of the effects in depth. I can easily lose a few hours playing around with a single effect block and getting to see what it can do; the same with the amps. Just a single amp with a bit of reverb and that's an afternoon gone. You can really hear the differences and subtleties of each of the blocks.

In use

All those footswitches! It's cleverly done though, and you can quickly hop between selecting presets, snapshots and the stomp box mode.

The switches are capacitive, which I've not really explored; but you could build a whole patch just using the foot controls. If you were mad.

It's simple and intuitive, and that bright screen helps - the scribble strips are really useful, and you find yourself wondering how you lived without them.

Extras

The inputs and outputs cover every possible base - although it's curious that there's no WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity. But... send / return loops? Four of them? Oh yes.

The looper is surprisingly basic, and limited: a maximum of 120 seconds at half speed.

You have three tuners including - joy of joys - a strobe tuner.

Programming

It's been lauded as intuitive, and indeed it is... to a point. The HX Edit software makes editing a breeze, but it has its own quicks; make sure you save frequently as a single erroneous click can wipe away all of your edits.

That said, with two signal paths and powerful DSPs, it's quick to assemble the sounds that you want. As an example, I spent ages trying and failing to replicate David Gilmour's tone from 'No More Lonely Nights'; on the Helix, I had it pretty much nailed within ten minutes.

It'll take some trial and error to fathom out the parameters of some of the effects, which brings us onto:

The Manual

You get a printed 'cheat sheet' and a USB with the manual as a PDF. This is pretty poor, given the cost of the unit, particularly for anyone used to the thick and extensive Roland manuals.

And 'pretty poor' is a fair approximation of the manual itself. It's got a fun tone of voice, but does not go into any depth on any of the blocks. None of the parameters are explained, something that becomes a stumbling block when trying to puzzle out some of the more complex effects like the models of the Eventide or the synth engines.

Gripes

The manual is a fairly major one. HX Edit doesn't have an audio pass-through, which is a pain if your Helix is wired into your DAW;  it can't connect to the latter if you're using the editor.

The synth blocks are okay, but basic - particularly if you're used to the VG equivalents.

I'd like to see more in the way of simple boost effects, and there isn't a phaser to match the PH-3; and no Dipthonizer.

Value For Money

You can pick up a new unit for around £1000 or a secondhand one for under £800. In the case of the latter, you've got a good chance of bagging some third-party IRs and presets.

The Mooer GE300 can be had for around £550 new, and doesn't come anywhere close. I've not tried the Boss GT1000, so can't really comment.

So it's not cheap, but you get an incredible amount of sonic power for your money, and with Line6 pushing out updates, it's going to be a while before it needs replacing.

VG-99 Comparison

So is it a replacement for the VG-99? No.

I needed a unit like this because my main guitar is a rare old Telecaster that I can't and wouldn't mount a GK onto. I'm getting some of the best tones that I've every had out of this combo.

However - the VG-99 is a totally different beast and will still stay part of my sonic arsenal. There are sounds that I can coax out of it that can't be had anywhere else, and the ability to muck around with tunings and the D-Beam is unique.

At some point, I'll try them together. The Helix has two signal paths; running a VG-99 into the Helix is potentially a devastating mixture.

aliensporebomb

Nice review.   I've considered doing a "does a 10 year old VG-99 still provide relevant features for guitarists in 2020?" video.

The Helix definitely is a cool system.   I just can't justify spending $1000+ every few years on the next new latest and greatest although it's obvious the Helix is here to stay.  I was thinking about it and I thought it had only been out a year or two but we're talking five years.

My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

Kevin M

The HX Stomp is a pretty nice little box at a reasonable price. With the v 3.0 firmware (still in progress), it should get an extra couple of blocks making two signal paths more doable than under the current six block limitation.

sixeight

QuoteAt some point, I'll try them together. The Helix has two signal paths; running a VG-99 into the Helix is potentially a devastating mixture.

Absolutely!




HecticArt

That's a good review for sure.

I've been really happy with mine. It can do so much more than I ask it to do. It's one of those things where I've been able to build patches that work nicely, and then I start playing and forget that I need to dig deeper and experiment with the thing.

One of the things that I've been impressed with is that they designed it to not only be updated, but to be able to handle new features. Some of the shortcomings that it had when it was released, have been corrected too. I think the current build is likely to be around for a few more years before they give the hardware a significant update.

I use mine with my GR-55 and have been able do all kinds of cool stuff blending the two together. It's been a lot of fun.


Antonuzzo

Quote from: aliensporebomb on August 26, 2020, 07:23:37 AM
Nice review.   I've considered doing a "does a 10 year old VG-99 still provide relevant features for guitarists in 2020?" video.


That's a good idea - I'd like to see that.