Finally Bought The Helix Floor. Instant Regret?
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- Опубліковано 17 лют 2024
- Today I give you my experience of the Helix Floor unit. I’ve switched between real pedals and multi effects units over the years, and finally made the decision to get the helix, as a “one for all” type of gear.
Watch till the end to see what I really think about this unit.
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Play guitar.
You're free to use what you want to use, of course. This platform is 8 years old, with firmware updated last month, and hundreds of hours of UA-cam videos. You never even showed an HX Edit screenshot of your presets that "ran out of DSP". I use 2 or even 3 amps in full stereo show presets with DSP to spare. I'm not saying that the heaviest blocks won't consume all your resources, but the others will not. The box comes with a hex wrench for the expression pedal, which is mentioned on page 4 of the current Manual at the website. What I got out of this was that you found a squeak, fixated on it for comedic effect, and sought no guidance with your preset design. Thousands of musicians tour and perform with the HX product line, but you're free to use what you need to use to be happy.
Yea I was too frustrated to film my problem with the dsp. I read so many forums and watched videos on how to clear up dsp. Believe me I tried. I think it may have been because I was using legacy effects along with stereo delay/effects. But you are probably right, I may have had something not set up right but I couldn’t figure it out for what I wanted.
And yeah I used the Allen wrench to adjust the pedal. I tried a very loose and very tight setting with no positive result. Squeaked like crazy. 😂 Also the squeak I could’ve dealt with, but the expression pedal not corresponding to the correct value is unacceptable, for a $1,600 unit.
I know it’s just bad luck and that most don’t have this issue but I’m not the only one this happened to.
I’m glad (and envious) if it works for you, I really wanted it to for myself.
Love youre vids man! Im also a huge John Frusciante fan! Glad i found youre channel.
Thank you! There’s a lot of us frusc fans out here, glad to hear from another one! Glad to have you here! I reply to everything just about so if you have any questions or recommendations let me know. 👍
I’ve tried to get into multifx processors for years, and they can be great - but at the end of the day, I still prefer “regular” pedals. Maybe it’s the simplicity or the nostalgia.
Exactly. I think you’re 100% right. I’ve been back and forth. Too bad I sold 95% of my gear, though I still have a fuzz, boost/gain pedal, and phaser. I’m happy with the simplicity. Just hate all the cables and pedal power cords 😂.
What does your rig look like?
@@frusciantegeartonefor my primary (church) board, I use the “typical” stuff (comp, OD, trem, verb, delay). If I’m playing a jazz/rock gig, I generally just use a OD and delay (set low). Sometimes a phaser. Nothing special. The exception is when I’m writing or just trying to be creative, I will use different guitar synthesizers (roland/boss). But for everything “serious” it’s always just pedals.
@@guitfiddleblue that sounds like a solid setup. I was also gigging 2 times a week at a church and I’m glad I didn’t take this thing on stage and have all that SQUEAKING during an ambient quiet part of a song 😂. That would’ve killed the vibe
Sorry you had a poor experience! That sucks. I've had my helix floor for about 4 years and still love it. Your video scared me and had me booting mine up and testing my volume pedal for squeaks and to make sure it can hit 0 on heel and luckily for me it's fine on both counts. If I was to ever get rid of / replace my helix I'd likely either go back to single effect pedals going into something like a Dream 65 as a pedal platform setup so that everything could be on one board or I'd get a fractal. But until my helix gives out I'll be happy to keep using it lol.
That’s so awesome that you’ve had a good experience. I do think I could try again and be happy. I’m just worried about the future inconveniences.
I have also looked at the fractal. Definitely worth looking into. Digital modeling sounds so great these days. I want to try it out.
Welcome to hx family. You really pulled that trigger man. FYI that "phase mod script" phaser is better than your Joyo vintage phaser
I agree, the sounds in the helix are amazing. I did however play the joyo phaser last night and though it has only one knob for speed and limited on what it can do, I actually think it sounds and feels more real. There is something about real pedals that I can’t describe. I love the diversity of the helix and love the sounds but it doesn’t sound as real as analog pedals. Could be latency but I can’t be THAT sensitive to the digital stuff.
For example, I had the line 6 fm4 and though it’s digital, it still felt & sounded more real than the helix and m 13 that I had with the same effects. Best way I can describe it is real pedals they feel 3d and the helix feels 2d, but really close to being 3d.
My tips to add more depth to helix modulation is using the stereo model even if you place it in front of mono amp block. Set the spread to 0.5 it will add the stereoness effect as additional depth. I pretty much do comparison mm4 pedal with all modulation legacy model and yes the helix legacy model lack of bit depth except the pitch vibrato which is spot on. More about phaser because Im a phaser freak.. the deluxe phaser is pretty solid to mimic some famous phaser. I made my phase 100, ph2, bad stone with it, it takes so much time to me to fine tune this complex parameter. They ar super sensitive to changes..hope this help.
jajajajajaja it´s was so funny but interested, I appreciate your comments, it help my decision making.
You’re welcome. Just for the record, I have an updated video of a new helix floor unit and I’m very happy. It works great
@@frusciantegeartone ok, i will review, thanks!
@@marioescobar7680 you’re welcome!
i never liked the Floor unit - i coughed up the extra dough for the Rack and Foot Controller. SOOOO good!
Nice!
It comes with an allen wrench for the pedal. But that does sound odd. I'd be upset too if I even go to the point of using the expression pedal... I'm still trying to update from the purchased 3.11 firmware.
Yeah I used the Allen wrench to loosened and tightened multiple times with no luck. Still squeaked and wouldn’t calibrate to the correct position. I hate it too because I was ready to be done with pedals and new gear and just stick with the helix for the next 5-10 years… guess not. 😢
It’s a preference thing, I LOVE MINE!!!! I sold all my pedals and amps and have not looked back for years.
Awesome! I wish that could’ve been me!
No issues with the expression pedal?
@@frusciantegeartone mine glides like butta! I don’t hear any noises, then again, I am using custom IEMs so I don’t hear anything around me, LOL.
My Helix started squeaking like that yesterday. If yours is under warranty, then send it back for a lube. so you don't void warranty. Mine isn't, so i had to pull it apart for a lube. Wasn't too difficult. Pulled up a disassembly vid and made it happen. got it back together with no problems thankfully, and no more squeaking! gl with yours.
Also maybe the reason your pedal wont go to zero is that bolt might be to tight. GL
I actually sent it back and got another one. It works perfectly! So happy. I’m just learning to use it now which is pretty easy but I know it can go really in depth of tweakability but I’m keeping it simple.
Man after watching your video I am 💯 convinced these all in one stage boards are a double edged sword if something goes wrong with a switch or pedal you're pretty much SOL unless you got some extra insurance. Thanks for the vid 👍🏼
You are correct. They can be great and absolutely horrid 😂.
Just depends on what you play live. All in one pedals are great for studio and live situations. But a small pedalboard with the essentials is failproof (usually) playing live.
I’ll have to take a look at mine - albeit the LT version - but I was sure I could set the expression pedal effect so that you could have a custom range ie. Set zero earlier then fully back for instance and fully on to like 60% or whatever value you wanted. I gig with mine and not gonna lie, have had the expression pedal become non functional too lol. I always carry a spare wah that I run out of the fx loop for those just in case moments. Otherwise love what I get from mine tonally while playing in my RHCP cover band and in my AC/DC GnR band - which I only use the expression pedal for a vocal effect on GnRs version of Hair of the Dog :-) - so if it fails there, it’s not huge. But the chilis stuff - gets used a lot more.
Yea I actually sent it back and just today got another one in the mail. I spent the afternoon building a “by the way” era preset. The wah pedal works this time. O squeak and the pedal actually goes back to 0% instead of farting around at different inconsistencies like the previous one.
One thing I changed this time is expression 1 on the helix is wah and expression 2 is wah. This may have helped with the issue I was having but it wouldn’t have helped doing pitch shifting. But yea I’d love to hear or see your RHCP setup.
Are you running dual amps? I keep having the dsp issue running two amps (hard panned L&R) and not being able to have effects after dual amps.
You ran out of DSP because you didn’t configure it right. You can have Amps and Cabs in parallel on the same DSP track panned hard left and hard right, then add your entire effects chain on the second DSP track.
I tried that too. I think the legacy effects was the problem. Some of them don’t like too many stereo paths. But also didn’t give it enough time to really figure that part out well, I’m sure you’re correct though. Wish it would’ve worked out. You have the helix floor?
@@frusciantegeartone I do, use it for live performances all the time. I am yet to run out of DSP, but I also don't build very complex chains, I do have stereo amps / cabs configs though, hence the comment above :). Most of the time there are ways to get pretty much anything reasonable including stereo amps. I do not use legacy effects, mostly run latest effects in stereo. Can you tell me exactly what you were trying to do when you ran out of DSP?
I was trying to run a frusciante type of rig. Left side brighter amp with reverb pedal only on that side and right side be a darker side. Both edge of breakup dirty clean.
Then I was running a few legacy effects but couldn’t because dsp.
I tried different variations of amp/cab combos and placement & also tried amps that weren’t combos but no matter what, I ran out of dsp. I ended up being fine with one amp/cab that sounded like a good mix and was able to run legacy effects. I was mainly using stomp mode since John uses a lot of effects, and simplified it to per album since every album uses different effects.
Sorry if that doesn’t help but best I can describe.
The real problem was that expression pedal squeak and especially the position of the pedal not reading the 0%-100% correctly or consistently.
You think I should give it another shot?
I really dread buying ALLLL those pedals back and having cables strung all over the place..
@@frusciantegeartone I absolutely think you should give it another shot. What you are describing should work no problem, my only recommendation would be to try to utilize new, not legacy effects and use the amp+cab combo blocks for a more compact look. The way I would route it is all pre amp stuff (compression, distortion, etc) as well as the parallel left/right amps with hard pans would go on the first DSP line, and any post amp effects (make sure to select stereo option here) on the second line of DSP. I just wired up something similar on my unit as a sanity test and I can absolutely do that, with a couple of extra stomp effects in line as well.
Dang that's crazy
Loco
hahahahaha! I"m going to heaven lord. 😆
😂
Had the same problem , and instant call sweet water and they sendme a new unit . Now dont have any problems with Dsp or expresion pedal . I think your unit came with factory isues
Yep, I got another one and it’s perfectly fine!
Who woulda thunk, Chris Evans is into guitar effects. Hehe. This is informative, thanks for the insight
😂 Thank you! 🙏
como sacar el sonido de john en helix?
Hice un video recientemente sobre la configuración de John aquí.
ua-cam.com/video/0i4vkq7n1OM/v-deo.htmlsi=uUGE-qB5_fhqCS5D
@@frusciantegeartone sí lo vi de hecho Ahí te encontré pero hice exactamente lo que tú hiciste solamente que al momento de Yo querer tocar la canción de Can't Stop no me suena nada parecido le falta el Crunch ¿podrías asesorarme?
Im a bassist so i dont really use much beyond a tuner and an occasional fuzz here and there, but man, i would never entrust one of these things over a tried and true basic rig. Pedals and amps have worked great for over half a century, no need to reinvent the wheel 😂
Never thought of it that way, but you are correct. Pedals are simple, yet complicated in certain setups, but have worked so well for so long. We haven’t had digital modeling as long so it’ll be interesting in the future to see if people stick with one or the other.
I actually had a dream last night that I bought another Helix and had the same issue 😂 ☠️.
As far as amps go, I know people are talking about shortage of tubes but I have a “trans tube” peavey amp, and the tube switch on the amp really does create that tube sound. Heck, even a small, cheap compressor pedal can sound like a tube amp. Digital world sounds great but I can feel the difference, either in latency or incorrect settings. Either way, it’s complicated and/or not as good. Plain and simple
I feel like you definitely got a faulty unit and that you should return it
Yep, I just sent it back. I wish I could say that I’m willing to try another unit but I just can’t. I had the same issue with a past line 6 product (m-13) and even if I got a better unit, I’d fear that it would have the same issue in the future.
Otherwise, I love the helix. The sounds are amazing.
just go for real pedals like DS2, EHX reverb, WH10, SD-1, some Fuzzes and a Line6 M13 for delays , chorus, ELECTRIC MISTRESS, Phasers Phase 90 and 12 stage , also Fm4 stuffs
You're like me a real pedal man
Greetings from Belgium !
Yessir! I am a pedal guy through and through. I actually had a m13 with a ds2 and wh10 etc.. Tap tempo/tuner on the m13 went out and I never trusted it again. (Especially playing live 2x a week).
I’m honestly thinking of an all boss board (I know, prolly too many buffers lol) or even an all or mostly behringer board.
I’ve had behringer in the past but can’t remember if floor noise was a problem. What I like about boss/behringer is silent switching. Big deal for playing ambient stuff on stage. True bypass delays and reverbs usually click too loud for my liking.
Thanks for the words! What kind of board are you running? I’d love to hear about it!
Guess I've been extremely lucky I've had my helix for many years have not experienced that type of problems with it has been a great unit for me. I definitely would not deal with the squeak issue. And I hope you didn't pay $2,000 for that unit because they have been on sale lately for way cheaper than that. Hate you have had a bad experience with the product.
Thank you for that. I actually sent it back and ordered another unit. So far, it’s amazing! I can’t complain besides the switches being so close together but I’m sure I’ll get used to that!
Ye.
Wow. Thanks for this. Truly bugs me that the high profile reviewers all love this thing and I've never heard any of the things you're bringing up.
You’re welcome! Just giving a an honest review.
I’m not paying almost $2,000 for faulty equipment. Some of the helix fanboys are complaining about me not knowing how to work the thing, but the fact is that the pedal is non functioning and at that price point, I shouldn’t have to fiddle or send it in for repair on a new unit.
I’m sure I have some user error, but the SQUEAK had to Go! 😂
@@frusciantegeartone I can't abide a squeak like that. Bass player here. Have been considering the HX Stomp because signal routing gets to be a pain with pedals. I sold my old multifx after playing with a Boss octaver pedal and the tracking was amazing. But I want signal path flexibility. Thankfully I have a decent expression pedal that doesn't squeak :)
Oh Dear Mister Turbotime has Upload a new Video😱😱That squeeshy sound🤔
The squeeshiest! 😂
@@frusciantegeartone 😂😂
it's Sound like it's missing some grease on your pedal mechanism!
For sure! And it’s something I could have probably fixed, but why pay 💰 for something new that needs work, you know?
@@frusciantegeartone you're right!
Wd 40
Returned and bought a new one. The was 40 would fix the squeak but not the calibration (digital aspect).
But yea the new one works great!
i'm going to get flamed for this but Line 6 is consumer grade stuff. I have Fractal units they are top notch professional grade
Yea the line 6 boys don’t like to hear anything negative about the company. While line 6 is great, no question, they have flaws. My 3rd line 6 product and all 3 have had issues… I can’t have THAT bad of luck 😂.
I definitely should look into fractal before going back to pedals again. Would love to hear your setup on how you use it. Definitely interested
You got an extra sound for free: "pedal wiki-wiki", and you still complain! 🤣 There has to be some type of lubricant or fix for that, contact them and ask. As per running out of DPS, did you try the latest firmware?
😂 never looked at it like that, you’re right!! The squeak I could prolly fix. The 0-100% expression pedal calibration issue is definitely a software issue. My m13 used to do that as well with an external (fully functional) expression pedal.
As far as dsp, I did try the latest firmware. But I figured out ways around it, since I was expecting a lot from the unit in my signal path(s). I returned this one for a new one and I absolutely love it. I’m sold for life. I made a video update on my channel if you’re interested.
Thanks for watching and giving your humor in a bad situation, it actually is a nice thing!
Man, i think the helix looks cool, the UI is great, the effects are okay, but man. The amps are incredibly awful imo (yes, even with third party IRs and the 3.5 cabs). Kemper, fractal, or QC for me.
Yea I watched Andersons comparing the helix with others and actually liked the kemper. The kicker for me was that the helix had the exact pedals I needed. (Obi wah, spin cycle, and a few others). I love that I can play through headphones while also running into stereo amps or front of house while having a volume knob for my headphones only (which would def be needed for me). Can’t imaging doing sound check, dialing in, but then when we play live the drummer kicks it up a notch and then I can’t hear myself. All I’d have to do is turn the mix on my headphones really quick on the helix while not affecting the house mix volume. Not sure if the others have that capability but helix wins the versatility trophy for me, while kemper wins the tone. I think dialing in side by side, I could get a helix to sound like a kemper. Maybe.. 😂
What type of system are you running?
@@frusciantegeartone Gotcha! I'm still running a pedalboard. I've got a princeton reverb, handwired ac30, and pro junior that I use on all my session work and any venues that allow amps on stage still. For playing churches, casinos, or any other silent stage venues, I've been using the kemper toaster for my amp+cab with my pedalboard (wet effects in the fx loop of the kemper). Just grabbed the kemper player, so that will defintely be nice not having to carry the toaster as well. I've found that kemper+pedals gets me closest to the tones I get running my board into my amps.
@@spillemusicstudios8515 wow! That’s a nice setup. I noticed that the helix dropped price by a couple hundred dollars. Makes me think a new helix is on the way but we’ll see. I’m definitely late to the game of digital modeling. So far I’m very impressed. Option paralysis is real 😂
Well, that has to be disappointing!!
Indeed brother!
How can you be clueless enough to not even learn how to setup a unit properly but entitled enough to make a video to prove that point?
Did you hear the SQUEAK?!? 😂
I’m not taking apart a brand new $1600 unit to attempt and fix a hardware issue that shouldn’t exist.
And as far as dsp, I did so much research (forums and well known UA-camrs) who show how to solve the dsp issue, but for effects I wanted to use, it just wouldn’t work. You may be correct. I may have missed something. But that’s also another reason to not want anything to do with a product that takes hours and hours to troubleshoot, when I could just use actual pedals.
But yea I could’ve handled the dsp issue and been fine with some limitations but I won’t pay almost $2000 for a squeaky toy 😂.
I’m guessing you have some info on what I missed? I would love to hear it.