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  #31  
Old 09-15-2017, 02:18 PM
rschultz rschultz is offline
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Originally Posted by DavidE View Post
I haven't paid much attention to the Felix but I'll take a look and see what I can add.
Most people probably look at the Felix and marvel at all the bells & whistles. But some would say that the preamps in Felix are better than most acoustic DI's on the market.
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  #32  
Old 09-15-2017, 02:26 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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Originally Posted by DavidE View Post
I haven't paid much attention to the Felix but I'll take a look and see what I can add.
Not taking into acoustic the sound or feel of the Felix, I'll try to address the features and specs.

The Helix has an xlr microphone input that will supply phantom power if you want it. Great for a dual source system if one source is a mic.

Features of the Felix that are also on the Helix:

Input gain is fully controllable.
The notch filter function can be accomplished with a 10 band or parametric eq on the Helix. You can include as many eq blocks as the dsp will allow.
Fixed low and high controls can be duplicated with a simple or 10 band eq. There are other eqs if you need to set the center point and q. That will duplicate the mid controls on the Felix.
There are many ways to boost your signal on the Helix. I tend to use a simple eq with a higher level, but there are many choices.
You can control the mix blend on the Helix.
The Helix has high pass and low pass filters in the eq section.
Helix can toggle between two channels.
Helix has at least one preamp (tube studio pre) good for acoustic but I wouldn't rule out trying some of the bass preamps too.
Helix has a headphone out.
Helix allows you to set your outputs at mic or line level.


I don't see anything on the Felix that the Helix can't duplicate. And on Helix you can have multiple instances of the same block. So you can have two eq high and low cut blocks and switch between them for example. Two different choruses.

Additional things the Helix has that are helpful:
Built in tuner
L.A. Studio compressor (and other compressors)
Numerous effects
Many presets so you can dial in each instrument and store the right tweaks for it.
IR capability to duplicate what an Aura system does.
Lots more.

None of this means the Helix is better. At $999, that Felix better SOUND amazing!
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  #33  
Old 09-15-2017, 07:59 PM
rschultz rschultz is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidE View Post
Not taking into acoustic the sound or feel of the Felix, I'll try to address the features and specs.

The Helix has an xlr microphone input that will supply phantom power if you want it. Great for a dual source system if one source is a mic.

Features of the Felix that are also on the Helix:

Input gain is fully controllable.
The notch filter function can be accomplished with a 10 band or parametric eq on the Helix. You can include as many eq blocks as the dsp will allow.
Fixed low and high controls can be duplicated with a simple or 10 band eq. There are other eqs if you need to set the center point and q. That will duplicate the mid controls on the Felix.
There are many ways to boost your signal on the Helix. I tend to use a simple eq with a higher level, but there are many choices.
You can control the mix blend on the Helix.
The Helix has high pass and low pass filters in the eq section.
Helix can toggle between two channels.
Helix has at least one preamp (tube studio pre) good for acoustic but I wouldn't rule out trying some of the bass preamps too.
Helix has a headphone out.
Helix allows you to set your outputs at mic or line level.

I don't see anything on the Felix that the Helix can't duplicate. And on Helix you can have multiple instances of the same block. So you can have two eq high and low cut blocks and switch between them for example. Two different choruses.

Additional things the Helix has that are helpful:
Built in tuner
L.A. Studio compressor (and other compressors)
Numerous effects
Many presets so you can dial in each instrument and store the right tweaks for it.
IR capability to duplicate what an Aura system does.
Lots more.

None of this means the Helix is better. At $999, that Felix better SOUND amazing!
David,

Clearly you know the Helix and you make some great points. I'm probably going for the Helix LT... just due to funds. Not sure I need the Floor, but it does lacks the Mic input, aux input, 2 send/returns and the scribble strips. Do you have any thoughts on the difference between the two?

Thanks!
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  #34  
Old 09-15-2017, 08:35 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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Originally Posted by rschultz View Post
David,



Clearly you know the Helix and you make some great points. I'm probably going for the Helix LT... just due to funds. Not sure I need the Floor, but it does lacks the Mic input, aux input, 2 send/returns and the scribble strips. Do you have any thoughts on the difference between the two?



Thanks!


I'd spring for the full Helix. Even just for the scribble strips. They make gigging so much easier. Look for a used one!
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  #35  
Old 09-15-2017, 08:49 PM
rschultz rschultz is offline
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Originally Posted by DavidE View Post
I'd spring for the full Helix. Even just for the scribble strips. They make gigging so much easier. Look for a used one!
Yeah... but they are still $400 more than used. Hard to justify... for scribbles...
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  #36  
Old 09-15-2017, 09:19 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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Yeah... but they are still $400 more than used. Hard to justify... for scribbles...


I've seen used as low as $1,000. Sometimes $1100 with the Helix bag.
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  #37  
Old 09-15-2017, 10:33 PM
AcouStickistNS AcouStickistNS is offline
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Default Helix LT

A Line 6 rep put on a Helix clinic at a local GC a month or two ago. He used the Helix LT. if you are going to do any live performances go for the full Helix. Lighted scribble strips are awesome on a dark stage. For most people just using one guitar the LT was enough for them. Saw a couple people actually buy the LT on site after the clinic was over. Sadly, no mention of acoustic guitars, or even bass. I think the reason for that is competition seems pretty high in proving who has the best amp and cab simulators for guitar. Shame, because the Helix does a lot more than that for just about any instrument that you can run through it. Seems the best way to learn what you can do with it is by talking with actual users.

Didn't get a chance tonight, but from these discussions I want to try creating a variable feedback notch controllable by a foot pedal.

The biggest complaint I've read is the aux input switch, doesn't have the controllable impedence option the other inputs have. If you are using a stereo out instrument, the aux doesn't keep up with the guitar input. This creates issues with people that have stereo outputs and want to do biamping when recording through DAW; not possible. I tried helping someone on the L6 forum but the only solution is to get another pedal to boost the input into the aux, which tends to add noise. So if you don't need all of those inputs, the Helix LT should work fine.

The only pedal I got a chance to compare to its original to the model in the Helix was the OCD overdrive. It was pretty close to half of the real OCD. The Helix version doesn't have the toggle switch the real one has, so only half the OCD was there, but it was still pretty true to the real thing for the mode it duplicated.
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  #38  
Old 09-16-2017, 07:30 AM
rschultz rschultz is offline
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Originally Posted by DavidE View Post
I've seen used as low as $1,000. Sometimes $1100 with the Helix bag.


For that price, sure I'd jump on it. But I can't find anything right now for under $1200
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  #39  
Old 09-16-2017, 07:35 AM
rschultz rschultz is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AcouStickistNS View Post
A Line 6 rep put on a Helix clinic at a local GC a month or two ago. He used the Helix LT. if you are going to do any live performances go for the full Helix. Lighted scribble strips are awesome on a dark stage. For most people just using one guitar the LT was enough for them. Saw a couple people actually buy the LT on site after the clinic was over. Sadly, no mention of acoustic guitars, or even bass. I think the reason for that is competition seems pretty high in proving who has the best amp and cab simulators for guitar. Shame, because the Helix does a lot more than that for just about any instrument that you can run through it. Seems the best way to learn what you can do with it is by talking with actual users.


I play at church, so it's live but not dark. The scribble strips don't seem like a deal breaker to me, although the extra inputs could be useful.
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  #40  
Old 09-16-2017, 08:12 AM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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My dual source guitars all have preamps for the piezo so I have no problem with the piezo side meeting or exceeding the volume of the electric side. Even if they didn't have the preamp, it's very easy to boost the input of the a aux input on the helix. If the second source is a microphone, you can use the mic input which has its own gain control.
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  #41  
Old 09-18-2017, 11:00 AM
AcouStickistNS AcouStickistNS is offline
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Default Parametric

I experimented with this last night, noticed the Parametric eq is three band, not two like I thought. I set two frequencies that I know will create feedback and gave them the smallest q-factor. Did not lose much tone and an expression pedal was not necessary, I assigned it to one foot switch. So three individual patches could be setup.

I don't have feedback issues anymore, but I might get a chance later in the week to try this patch with some other instruments and amps. I experimented by playing hard enough to let certain strings ring out. Not the greatest way to test this, but it least I get an idea of how it impacts tone. The additional q parameter gives one more feature besides frequency and cut/boost that I've seen on other pedals and amps.

When I had an older acoustic amp I hit the feedback button on a Zoom A3 which could instantly remove feedback, but I wasn't always happy with the resulting tone. Great discussion as sometimes I'm not allowed to bring my amp or PA when playing outside of home.
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  #42  
Old 09-18-2017, 11:36 AM
rschultz rschultz is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AcouStickistNS View Post
I experimented with this last night, noticed the Parametric eq is three band, not two like I thought. I set two frequencies that I know will create feedback and gave them the smallest q-factor. Did not lose much tone and an expression pedal was not necessary, I assigned it to one foot switch. So three individual patches could be setup.

I don't have feedback issues anymore, but I might get a chance later in the week to try this patch with some other instruments and amps. I experimented by playing hard enough to let certain strings ring out. Not the greatest way to test this, but it least I get an idea of how it impacts tone. The additional q parameter gives one more feature besides frequency and cut/boost that I've seen on other pedals and amps.

When I had an older acoustic amp I hit the feedback button on a Zoom A3 which could instantly remove feedback, but I wasn't always happy with the resulting tone. Great discussion as sometimes I'm not allowed to bring my amp or PA when playing outside of home.
Great report. Excellent information. Thanks for sharing!
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  #43  
Old 09-18-2017, 10:34 PM
AcouStickistNS AcouStickistNS is offline
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Default Success!!!

Worked on this some more tonight, got out both of my acoustics. I needed to add the Studio Mic Pre amp to the path. With my Fishman equipped Martin I got it to feedback by turning up the gain on the Studio pre, and my "Feedback" switch (Parametric EQ) worked like a charm. Then I switched to my Emerald double neck with LR Bags I-mix and I needed to increase both gain and level to get that guitar to feedback, and again, my "switch" took care of the feedback.

Thanks for bringing this up, and DavidE also for comments. I was going to get the new Boss AD-10, but with this much control, lugging a large mutli-effect will be worth the effort. Also, I prefer the sound of my Emerald without the Studio Pre Amp, but with the Martin I prefer using the Studio pre. So depending on your guitar and what you run the Helix into you may not have to use any amps. After that there's cabs and mic's to play with.
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  #44  
Old 09-18-2017, 10:42 PM
rschultz rschultz is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AcouStickistNS View Post
Worked on this some more tonight, got out both of my acoustics. I needed to add the Studio Mic Pre amp to the path. With my Fishman equipped Martin I got it to feedback by turning up the gain on the Studio pre, and my "Feedback" switch (Parametric EQ) worked like a charm. Then I switched to my Emerald double neck with LR Bags I-mix and I needed to increase both gain and level to get that guitar to feedback, and again, my "switch" took care of the feedback.



Thanks for bringing this up, and DavidE also for comments. I was going to get the new Boss AD-10, but with this much control, lugging a large mutli-effect will be worth the effort. Also, I prefer the sound of my Emerald without the Studio Pre Amp, but with the Martin I prefer using the Studio pre. So depending on your guitar and what you run the Helix into you may not have to use any amps. After that there's cabs and mic's to play with.


Great. Good to know!
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'22 Furch Red Pure G-LR - Barbera Soloist
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  #45  
Old 09-23-2017, 11:30 AM
tochiro tochiro is offline
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I wonder if the Helix "colors" the sound of an acoustic guitar. Has anyone tried the acoustic guitar direct to the PA via DI and via the Helix?
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