Has Anyone Replaced Their Pedalboards with Helix?

[Axolotl]

I've had an HX stomp for about two years and I love it. At the studio it hasn't replaced my pedalboard but rather merged into it. I place a few pedals before the HX input and delays, reverb and such in its effects loops. It sounds great in a studio setting and I love the computer editor for the HX and its overall functionality.

Last July I used the HX in a few gigs and in that case it did replace my pedalboard (and amp!) and it worked great -and my back was thankful- I was using some rather tamed guitar sounds though, nothing too crazy.

Also remember that using some good IRs with Helix (or most amp simulators for the matter) makes a world of difference.

[Fiddy]

I love Helix....a great underrated Canadian band.

Lol, they're from my city.

[rhythmjones]

I use amp sims sometimes but almost always also use my "regular" pedalboard. There's something about one switch/one effect with no menu diving etc...

[infinity_times_nil]

Can anyone tell me whether with Helix or AxeFX or any equivalents there's provision to use 2 expression pedals simultaneously on different parameters of the same effect ? (for example speed and depth on tremolo) This could help me decide if I want to go in this direction. Thanks

In the AxeFx that's no problem at all. You can attach a "source" to a vast amount of parameters (basically everything you could have as physical pots). The source can be one or more expression pedals. But if you run out of them or don't want to buy new ones you can also attach a switch and make it somewhat behave like a pedal sweep (or an LFO,...).

[antisymmetric]

^^Thanks, that's exactly the info I need. Cheers!

[clark]

OP here:

So I picked up a Helix. Here are my impressions: the UI is a work of ART. I can easily dial up sounds that work. It seems like an iPad to me where dialing up sounds is easy and intuitive. I have used the Helix about every day and it has become part of my workflow. It does not get in my way creatively, I think of it as a Swiss army knife.
And yes, it has replaced my pedalboard, almost entirely. It’s “pedals” are good to great sonically. Although they aren’t as “alive”, I’m not really sure it matters. The only use case were I think real pedals win is drives in a live band context with no miced amps. Their liveliness seems worth staying analog.

I have sold off 99% of my "analog" gear and have kept a couple of items out of nostalgia.
I also have been able to do several tests through PAs and I found the sound out front to be close enough/equal/better to micing amps. Once you add in a band and the difference in a Helix vs. a real amp is negligible to none (IMHO, etc., etc.).

Hope this helps someone...

[burpgun]

It's funny. Over at Talkbass I spotted a thread where folks were debating why guitar players weren't being offered Class D style amps like those that are slowly taking over bass world from the old big iron. I didn't get involved but I thought the revolution in guitar world is just ditching amps altogether for stuff like Helix. I don't play live any more and don't think I will again, but I'm really wondering why I keep my tube Deluxe Reverb around anymore.

[eggwheat]

OP here:

So I picked up a Helix. Here are my impressions: the UI is a work of ART. I can easily dial up sounds that work. It seems like an iPad to me where dialing up sounds is easy and intuitive. I have used the Helix about every day and it has become part of my workflow. It does not get in my way creatively, I think of it as a Swiss army knife.
And yes, it has replaced my pedalboard, almost entirely. It’s “pedals” are good to great sonically. Although they aren’t as “alive”, I’m not really sure it matters. The only use case were I think real pedals win is drives in a live band context with no miced amps. Their liveliness seems worth staying analog.

I have sold off 99% of my "analog" gear and have kept a couple of items out of nostalgia.
I also have been able to do several tests through PAs and I found the sound out front to be close enough/equal/better to micing amps. Once you add in a band and the difference in a Helix vs. a real amp is negligible to none (IMHO, etc., etc.).

Hope this helps someone...

Yeh I replaced my entire live set up with a Helix floor and stereo powercab 212 at the end of last year. I agree with everything you've said. Very easy to use, sounds great. I use it to emulate all the pedals and amps I used to use. I use the Roland JC amp with the CE-1 stereo chorus and it sounds phenomenal to me out of the stereo 212 powercab...the power cab is super light for a 2x12 (neo magnets) and super loud and wide in stereo just as I like it. PA Engineers always comment on how good it sounds from gig to gig...no mics, just two XLR's out the back. I love being able to turn the amp off (as doesn't affect send to PA) and just hear the monitors when setting up on stage and getting a balance.

The convenience of the Helix live is just huge.....Things like polyphonic pitch and the acoustic emulator. For instance I was taking an acoustic for just one song and the song is in D standard. I can do all that in the helix with my electric in E standard and one footswitch press.. another song was in F standard..again no capo needed, one footswitch press and I'm tuned F standard with all the effects there, tweaked and ready for that one song...incredible.

Only thing I wouldn't do is get rid of the powercab and go in-ear....have to have my own cab on stage for feedback and things of that nature.

[Embenny]

It's funny. Over at Talkbass I spotted a thread where folks were debating why guitar players weren't being offered Class D style amps like those that are slowly taking over bass world from the old big iron. I didn't get involved but I thought the revolution in guitar world is just ditching amps altogether for stuff like Helix. I don't play live any more and don't think I will again, but I'm really wondering why I keep my tube Deluxe Reverb around anymore.

The only thing I'd point out is that Class D amps are being offered - they're just being kinda snuck in there.

Kemper has offered, almost from the beginning, a "PowerRack" version of their Profiler, which includes a 600W Class D power amplifier.

Similarly, for at least a decade, many guitarists have been pairing their Kemper/AxeFX/Helix with powered "FRFR" (Full Range/Flat Response" cabinets. The Atomic CLR was one of the first high-end ones to take off, Mission Engineering released one soon after, and now there are tons more, often from the modelers manufacturer themselves (e.g. Line 6/Headrush).

All of those are Class D amps with a PA speaker, either in wedge monitor form, or sometimes disguised as a guitar cab.

In fact, the latter was what helped me make the jump myself. When I first got my Kemper, I got a Mission Engineering Gemini powered cab, because it gave me the familiar form factor of a 1x12 unit that "looked like a guitar cab."

I got a matching rack unit from Mission Engineering (or their parent company, I don't think it's Mission-branded anywhere) that's covered in the same black tolex, and came with a 1U rack space cover that had the same black grille cloth and silver piping as the cabinet, so it looks "like a guitar amp" when you have it in the backline or at rehearsal. Also gave me the ability to have my own monitoring and stage volume, even if the modeler is run to FOH. Lets me monitor my playing "in the room" as I track, as well.

I liked it so much that I even bought a second 1x12" cab, so my "modeling rig" looks like you took a full stack and shrunk it down to four and a half feet tall and 1/4 of the weight. It can also project about as well as your average 60W tube amp, so it solved the issue of being completely dependent on whatever PA you happen to encounter.

In the bass world, they're making amps that are themselves styled and marketed similarly to traditional amps, just with Class D power sections. They're not generally doing the exact same thing with guitar amps - but they're sticking tons of Class D amps in modeling-focused products.

Even then, they're popping up more and more in all-analog guitar products. The Vox mini-amps spring to mind, like the MV50. It's all-analog, it's got a Nutube for flavour, and it's got a 50W Class D power section.

The Hotone mini-amps and "pedal amps" are another example.

These products take a different approach from most Class D bass amps, by embracing the miniaturization that becomes possible with the technology instead of being made larger and branded as "ultra-light" like Fender's Jazzmaster (no relation) amp.

That's definitely down to marketing and what guitarists want. If it's "an amp," we want it to look "like an amp." I'm guilty of this too - see my "full stack" above which could be replaced by a powered PA wedge - otherwise, we respond better to pedals and "guitar toy" marketing (like Hotone's offerings).

So Class D is very much a thing in the guitar world, increasingly so (and for good reason).

[eggwheat]

The helix powercab 2x12 I mentioned above is Class D, with neo magnet speakers. Very light.

[Embenny]

Only thing I wouldn't do is get rid of the powercab and go in-ear....have to have my own cab on stage for feedback and things of that nature.

I'm in the same boat, but there are increasingly convenient alternatives like the FreqOut.

I even learned the other day that my AxeFx can do a convincing - and free - imitation of the FreqOut.

If I was part of a touring band with a whole in-ear setup and dedicated engineer, I could see the stage volume being completely unnecessary (and probably irksome to others) at that point, but when jamming with people or playing tiny and crappy venues, it's still a helpful thing to have.

But I'll have to admit, my new semihollow Harmony Comet is a blast playing in front of a speaker pushing air. It breaks into controlled feedback at non-hearing-damaging volumes, and the tactile feedback of feeling it resonate is half the fun.

[clark]

I to wish helix had the Freqout!

[clark]

A couple of sounds that you can create with the Helix that are not obvious are gated and reverse reverb by using the “multi tap” delay. I have experimented with using 2 “multi taps” , both in serial and parallel and been able to copy the Digitech Digiverb/ Hardwire / Polara (or whatever 90s Reverse rack unit)almost exactly. Great stuff for when MBV type sounds are wanted.

[JSett]

Yeah, the bassist in my band uses a Kemper and a powered cab. He's primarily a guitarist but when he joined us on bass he just changed the profile from his usual guitar ones to a couple he made for bass and rolled with it. Sounds great, plenty of volume, light.

Zero cool points though. I call it 'Sputnik 73'. But we're 36-41 year old adults with brains so 'cool' points are pretty irrelevant these days.

[Unicorn Warrior]

Yeh I replaced my entire live set up with a Helix floor and stereo powercab 212 at the end of last year. I agree with everything you've said. Very easy to use, sounds great. I use it to emulate all the pedals and amps I used to use. I use the Roland JC amp with the CE-1 stereo chorus and it sounds phenomenal to me out of the stereo 212 powercab...the power cab is super light for a 2x12 (neo magnets) and super loud and wide in stereo just as I like it. PA Engineers always comment on how good it sounds from gig to gig...no mics, just two XLR's out the back. I love being able to turn the amp off (as doesn't affect send to PA) and just hear the monitors when setting up on stage and getting a balance.

The convenience of the Helix live is just huge.....Things like polyphonic pitch and the acoustic emulator. For instance I was taking an acoustic for just one song and the song is in D standard. I can do all that in the helix with my electric in E standard and one footswitch press.. another song was in F standard..again no capo needed, one footswitch press and I'm tuned F standard with all the effects there, tweaked and ready for that one song...incredible.

Only thing I wouldn't do is get rid of the powercab and go in-ear....have to have my own cab on stage for feedback and things of that nature.

What cab are you using? I really like my JC-40 because it allows me to go stereo out while keeping signal through the speakers that I can use for my own monitoring purposes. Our vocalist doesn’t typically like hearing my loud and reverberated guitar in the mix very high. This works great for me being able to still hear what I’m doing