Got an AWESOME new toy...

[markD]

Saturday my Line 6 Helix rack and Controller arrived. I have decided to go with the Helix and a FRFR speaker for my new rig. The sounds in the Helix are amazing. The routing is amazing. I am VERY excited about this piece of gear.

Here are a couple of pics:





And here it is with its Grandfathers....

[rjohnstone]

Nice.
I like that it has 4 external send/returns.
The expansion capabilities look great.
I may have to go check one out in person.

[Axewielder]

Cool. I was a Line6 guy for a long time before I moved on to Axe Fx. I still use a Pod Pro to record scratch tracks.

[markD]

Nice.
I like that it has 4 external send/returns.
The expansion capabilities look great.
I may have to go check one out in person.

The biggest reason I went ahead and spent the money on this thing was because it looked like I could utilize it in a variety of scenarios. The reason I got it was this demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQUmE0TfC4I

Even the wife thought it looked like an amazing piece of gear.....

[Tetsuo]

Mark,

What were your reasons on the helix over the axe? I had an axe and moved on from it just wondering what you liked better about the helix.

[markD]

Hahahaha, simple economics - the price. I watched almost EVERY review of the Helix and it looked like it could do killer stuff and had applications in a lot of environments and was a lot cheaper than the Axe. The rack and the foot controller were $1799 total. I saw a used Axe-Fx II Ultra (whatever the newest model is) yesterday for $2000 and no foot controller.

I was VERY skeptical of the Helix at first. I went and bought a Firehawk FX first to see if I liked Line 6's newer modeling any better than what I use (the original 2.0 stuff - which I still like A LOT). I was impressed with the Firehawk but QUICKLY outgrew what it could do. The Helix's routing options are vast. CHances are I won't ever use a lot of what it can do - I have always been a bit of a plug-and-play guy - but the options are there if I want to explore them.

[Tetsuo]

The Helix really seems to nail the workflow aspect of it. That was a major beef with me. Yeah I could have gotten better with the front panel on the Axe FX but damn it wasn't intuitive at all. Axe edit was but that is a hassle in a live situation. I've been debating picking up an Axe 8 or a helix with the 8 it is technically cheaper but no 4CM so it isn't just a good effects processor like the helix can be. Also the work flow issue. The axe does sound killer though.

[markD]

I have never played an Axe. All I know about them is that Jason Bieler from Saigon Kick is using them now. I was always a HUGE SK fan, and I bought my first Rivera after seeing them live and being blown away by Bieler's tone. I was intrigued to see them once they reunited because he was using the Axe-Fx and talking about how awesome it is on his FB page. I was bummed beyond belief when I heard his tone. The venue was one I know well, having played it dozens of times. The PA and sound guy are PRO as it gets in a 1000 person venue. His tone was just crappy.

When I watched the Pete Thorn demo of the Helix, it sold me because he used it in so many different ways tracking the song. ALL of the tones were awesome. I liked the routing options, the loops, I LOVE that it has a "guitar pass through" (at least on the rack version) so I can take an unaffected guitar signal and pass it to something else, be it my old POD Pro (I still dig a lot of those sounds), or an amp on stage.

Last night I loaded some Redwirez IRs into the Helix. It took the tone to a whole other level. The cabs in the Helix are great, I just use EVM-12L speakers in real life and wanted cabs loaded with EV speakers in my Helix. Now I have that!!!

I have mine hooked up to the Helix editor. I LOVE it!! I can do edits on the front panel, using the pedal, or in the computer.

[pianoguyy]

HA, I thought you said Justin Beiber.


The question I have is:
Where did you buy it and how long did you have to wait for it.
I know guys that pre-ordered and are still waiting.

[markD]

HA, I thought you said Justin Beiber.


The question I have is:
Where did you buy it and how long did you have to wait for it.
I know guys that pre-ordered and are still waiting.

HAHAHA!!!!

I got mine from American Musical Supply. I had the foot version on ordered, and it was back ordered for at least a month. I had been waiting a few weeks. Last Friday I happened to check the site to see what was going on and they had the Rack version is stock. I switched my order. As soon as they did, it was backordered again - I think I got the only one. I paid for overnight shipping and it arrived on Saturday morning.

[Tetsuo]

I have never played an Axe. All I know about them is that Jason Bieler from Saigon Kick is using them now. I was always a HUGE SK fan, and I bought my first Rivera after seeing them live and being blown away by Bieler's tone. I was intrigued to see them once they reunited because he was using the Axe-Fx and talking about how awesome it is on his FB page. I was bummed beyond belief when I heard his tone. The venue was one I know well, having played it dozens of times. The PA and sound guy are PRO as it gets in a 1000 person venue. His tone was just crappy.

When I watched the Pete Thorn demo of the Helix, it sold me because he used it in so many different ways tracking the song. ALL of the tones were awesome. I liked the routing options, the loops, I LOVE that it has a "guitar pass through" (at least on the rack version) so I can take an unaffected guitar signal and pass it to something else, be it my old POD Pro (I still dig a lot of those sounds), or an amp on stage.

Last night I loaded some Redwirez IRs into the Helix. It took the tone to a whole other level. The cabs in the Helix are great, I just use EVM-12L speakers in real life and wanted cabs loaded with EV speakers in my Helix. Now I have that!!!

I have mine hooked up to the Helix editor. I LOVE it!! I can do edits on the front panel, using the pedal, or in the computer.

Oddly the general tone snobbery is that the axe is soooo much superior to the helix tone wise but helix has the workflow down over the axe. I kinda call it all hogwash. It is simply personal preference. I really want to try the helix but my ax8 is available now and I am debating that because well I really did like a good portion of their models. Part of me though wants to like the helix more simply because the axe is getting like the R9 of Gibson thing of tone snobbery. Every gig I work I check out the floor boards. You know what I see? Mind you these are touring professionals so their opinion doesn't count but I see a lot of mm4's and I have yet to see a Strymon. Line 6 has this rep on the Internet from a lot of bedroom guitarists that is kinda funny to me. The original pod still sounds good. It just does. I a, not bashing the axe either it really is fucking awesome I just think too many axe users are now looking down their nose at the line 6 stuff where a lot of bigger touring acts have zero issue with line 6.

[markD]

Oddly the general tone snobbery is that the axe is soooo much superior to the helix tone wise but helix has the workflow down over the axe. I kinda call it all hogwash. It is simply personal preference. I really want to try the helix but my ax8 is available now and I am debating that because well I really did like a good portion of their models. Part of me though wants to like the helix more simply because the axe is getting like the R9 of Gibson thing of tone snobbery. Every gig I work I check out the floor boards. You know what I see? Mind you these are touring professionals so their opinion doesn't count but I see a lot of mm4's and I have yet to see a Strymon. Line 6 has this rep on the Internet from a lot of bedroom guitarists that is kinda funny to me. The original pod still sounds good. It just does. I a, not bashing the axe either it really is fucking awesome I just think too many axe users are now looking down their nose at the line 6 stuff where a lot of bigger touring acts have zero issue with line 6.

I hear you. I would buy an Axe if I could justify the cost. It is what always held me back - I have my limits on what I will spend on a piece of gear. The Helix was right at the threshold of what I would spend on something like that, and THEN I had to convince myself that I was actually going to use it live as MORE than an effects box. I decided to do the whole FRFR thing and stop using tube amps on stage. We'll see how it works out, but so far I am pumped.

I see a lot of what you see at gigs. Being in a band that opens a lot of national shows, I am usually at the venue for load in and sound checks (because of backlining). While a lot of touring bands have the Axe, just as many seem to have the POD HD Pro X in their rack. The interesting thing is that the Axe guys are usually FRFR, going direct into FOH, whereas the Line 6 guys are still using amps in conjunction with the POD. Not sure how Helix will change that.

As far as tone-snobbery, I totally agree with you. The community that has built up around the AXE-FX is very elitist and almost seems to look at the designer as if he were a god, lol. I see them as a product, like the Strymon or the R9, that bedroom masters buy so they have bragging rights. That's a shame too, because the Axe is out there in the real world, on stages every night. It will be interesting to see if Line 6 can break through the negative stigma they have now that Helix is out there. I can say this, it sounds nothing like anything they have previously released.

[Vass]

I hear you. I would buy an Axe if I could justify the cost. It is what always held me back - I have my limits on what I will spend on a piece of gear. The Helix was right at the threshold of what I would spend on something like that, and THEN I had to convince myself that I was actually going to use it live as MORE than an effects box. I decided to do the whole FRFR thing and stop using tube amps on stage. We'll see how it works out, but so far I am pumped.

I see a lot of what you see at gigs. Being in a band that opens a lot of national shows, I am usually at the venue for load in and sound checks (because of backlining). While a lot of touring bands have the Axe, just as many seem to have the POD HD Pro X in their rack. The interesting thing is that the Axe guys are usually FRFR, going direct into FOH, whereas the Line 6 guys are still using amps in conjunction with the POD. Not sure how Helix will change that.

As far as tone-snobbery, I totally agree with you. The community that has built up around the AXE-FX is very elitist and almost seems to look at the designer as if he were a god, lol. I see them as a product, like the Strymon or the R9, that bedroom masters buy so they have bragging rights. That's a shame too, because the Axe is out there in the real world, on stages every night. It will be interesting to see if Line 6 can break through the negative stigma they have now that Helix is out there. I can say this, it sounds nothing like anything they have previously released.

When someone snobs it up over their old Les Pauls or Marshalls at least they have a leg to stand on. When it comes to technical gear it's foolish.

This is just barely a prediction : in 10 years there will be applications on your phone that sound better than the Axe Fx. Moore's Law may be fucked for now, but the processing power needed to do what the Axe does exists. Once you have proof of concept, you are 99% of the way there. The last 1% is improvement in cost and efficiency.

One thing tech early adopters can cling to I guess is that they were there for the early shots of the revolution. But whether they were or they weren't, the world marches on. Soon what they deify will be ubiquitous and insanely cheap, if not free.

Now.... 10 years while not a wild assed guess is still just a guess, however it is a guess only in terms of the timeline, not the event. But 10 years is a long time! I've spent plenty on tech gear over the years, including several Line 6 products (HD Pro X being most recent) knowing full well that in 2026 terms I'm way over paying. But who the hell wants to wait 10 years?

[markD]

When someone snobs it up over their old Les Pauls or Marshalls at least they have a leg to stand on. When it comes to technical gear it's foolish.

This is just barely a prediction : in 10 years there will be applications on your phone that sound better than the Axe Fx. Moore's Law may be fucked for now, but the processing power needed to do what the Axe does exists. Once you have proof of concept, you are 99% of the way there. The last 1% is improvement in cost and efficiency.

One thing tech early adopters can cling to I guess is that they were there for the early shots of the revolution. But whether they were or they weren't, the world marches on. Soon what they deify will be ubiquitous and insanely cheap, if not free.

Now.... 10 years while not a wild assed guess is still just a guess. But only in terms of the timeline, not the event. But 10 years is a long time! I've spent plenty on tech gear over the years, including several Line 6 products (HD Pro X being most recent) knowing full well that in 2026 terms I'm way over paying. But who the hell wants to wait 10 years?

True. Look at the recording world. The technological leaps in the past 10 years have enabled ANYONE to make a quality recording on a reasonable budget. It has completely changed the industry - NOTHING is as it was in the 80s or early 90s, let alone when the Beatles were paving the way with recording techniques. Shit, my home studio has more tracking ability and readily available sounds tools than the Beatles could have ever dreamed of.

I think back to when I bought my first red kidney bean POD from Line 6. THAT was some cutting edge technology. It made it SOOOOO easy to get PERFECTLY recorded guitar tones. Were the models 100% accurate - probably according to Line 6's lab environment, but maybe not to MY listening environment, if I happened to have an amp they modeled!!!!


My current song writing partner lives several hors away. We have to schedule days to meet in the studio to work on songs. In order to keep the material flowing and have ideas bloom or get weeded out, I found a DAW app for his android phone. He is technologically retarded, so even getting him a small interface and set-up for his computer was too complicated. I looked at music apps and found a little DAW that will let him turn on a click track and sing using the built in mic. It goes in as 2 tracks and he can message me the "mix". Imagine being able to do that 20 years ago! He can even add more tracks and overdub if he wanted to get complicated. The app has a few plug-ins for effects also!!!

[Axewielder]

True. Look at the recording world. The technological leaps in the past 10 years have enabled ANYONE to make a quality recording on a reasonable budget. It has completely changed the industry - NOTHING is as it was in the 80s or early 90s, let alone when the Beatles were paving the way with recording techniques.

True, and sadly the amount of great music being created today is at all time lows.