Posts by mbenigni

Quote from roadrunner

The question in my mind is- Are Line 6 chasing the leaders in this digital field with a quality product at a well pitched price point, or have they gift wrapped another turkey in a sexy little black number ready for the mighty Line 6 marketing machine to steam through the masses at a price they think they can get away with?
Cynical i know but, if it were the former, wouldn't Yamaha want their name on the product?

It depends on how Yamaha wants to leverage the Line 6 brand. They may intend to use the L6 badge for all of their guitar processors going forward. (In contrast with the Roland/Boss tendency to badge high-end products as Roland - and even that trend seems to be breaking down.)

I don't think there's anyway the Helix is going to sound as good as a Kemper with the right hand-picked profile loaded. The architectures just lend different strengths: profiling will absolutely nail that one sound; modeling will approximate the behavior of an entire system, even as amp settings etc. are modified. But despite the compromise in tone, I often find the latter more intuitive to work with. I'm not holding my breath for Kemper tones out of a Helix, then, but if it sounds as good as, e.g. Bias Amps, I'll be thrilled.

Quote from lasvideo

Current info from Line 6 indicate it will be available thru Sweetwater on August 12. YMMV

Wow I would love it if that were accurate. Everything I've seen indicates late August, or even early September. It's going to be very difficult to think about anything else between now and then...

G String, while you're looking into ship dates on Remotes, is there any chance you can find out where/when my KPA is at? I was told a couple of weeks ago that it was fixed and ready for shipment, and it's been radio silence ever since. I've got two open tickets and I can't get an answer. Once again, I find myself a bit frustrated. Great product, really, but you guys have got to work on correspondence.

RA number is 1532KDUS. My original ticket number was KA00098641. Amp is presumably at your repair center in TX? Or somewhere en route?

I can't argue with any of that, guenterhaas. Just advising we keep an open mind, as this is a new design.

Quote from paults

Someone buy one of these, and let everyone know how it really sounds ;).

Hey Paul, I pre-ordered mine on Tuesday. I wish I could tell you how it sounds NOW but it won't be in my hands until late August/ early September, probably.

I rushed to pre-order because I stumbled on a discount that expired Wednesday. I don't want to undercut any other vendors, but since poking around the VGuitar forums would reveal as much... 20%. Ordered from a subsidiary of MF, so... it's doable. (Probably more indicative of the "real" street price after the honeymoon is over, and worth considering when we compare the price of Helix to that of Axe and Kemper-based rigs.)

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I don't agree about this statement at all. Yamaha has been building quality instruments since 1887.
It's a music company through and through.

+1. And as an added bonus, they make great motorcycles, too. (I've got an old YZF in my garage.)

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I don't like the pure amp-tones of the Helix, it's similar to the PODs I used

guenterhaas, I agree with just about everything you have to say about the Kemper, I just don't get how you can make this observation about the Helix so soon. Have you had a chance to play one yet? Or are you just making assumptions based on Line6's history and modeling in general (and perhaps the one amp tone we've heard in demo videos)?

Sorry if I ruffled any feathers, Monkey_Man. I generally champion smaller, cutting edge companies, too. But I'm kind of in a minority here as one of few who has often been frustrated with the Kemper experience, and perhaps that colors my point of view a bit.

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But boy does the univibe model in that video sound juicy. I wish the KPA stomp models had been created with a comparable care ... I recently got my hands on an old Line6 Floorpod ... shitty litlle thing, but the fuzz stomp model in there I had to envy ... because the one inside the KPA doesn't do it for me. Just imagine the KPA plus years of know how in how to recreate stomp boxes ...

That particular tone didn't do much for me, but I agree in general that Line 6 delivers good effects. (I loved the rotary in the POD 2, for its time, and the King Spring in my Vetta.) And I have to agree that the distortion stomps in the KPA are somewhat lacking. Luckily the amp gain on the KPA can be so glorious that it doesn't matter... but it was refreshing just going from the KPA to Bias FX and working with virtual dirt pedals that worked more intuitively for me again.

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I have my doubts. I have seen (and participated in) several threads that asked for an improvement of distortion / overdrive / fuzz pedals and the basic line of suggestion seems to be: use the shapers, eq to color the sound you want.

Or worse, "the xxx in the Kemper sounds exactly like the xxx pedal I have sitting on my desk." If CK doesn't agree something's broken, he's certainly not going to fix it.

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I was thinking if the remote could be an alternative to the kemper remote

Gotcha. I suppose it's possible, but by the time you got done with an iConnect or some other translator, it would be more costly, and probably less convenient.

Quote from magentix

I cant see MIDI output on the helix remote back, just a RJ45 socket. http://www.thomann.de/de/line6_helix_control.htm
I suspect they will not use MIDI protocol on there. It would need some kind of converter to use it as a MIDI remote. With their previous remotes, like shortboard etc. they did not provide a converter. (other than the rack unit , which is 1,5k in this case

Sorry Magnetix, you're absolutely right. I didn't notice that you were asking specifically about the Helix Remote. (I keep forgetting the rack and Remote even exist.) I was talking in terms of KPA and the full Helix multi-effects pedal.

Now we're getting somewhere!

Quote from magentix

I wonder if the helix control would be compatible with the kemper somehow? Or is this absolutely proprietary and works just in conjunction with the helix rack?

I would expect the Helix to send MIDI PC and CC which could be used for rig change and effect on/off on the Kemper, at the very least. It's also got amp switch outputs (for reverb and channel, typically) which might be compatible with the Kemper's external footswitch inputs. It would be an expensive rig, and a ton of cables, but I imagine the Helix and KPA wired together would be extremely flexible.

Quote from meambobbo

And there it is. Line 6 employee saying theyve been working on it for 6 years. Thats before the pod HD launched. The tone in the above video sounds pretty darn good, but again, i have no faith in line 6 supporting a "flagship" product anymore.

I'm not too concerned about long term support. It'll make me happy out of the box, or it will go away. And a few years down the road, realistically, I'll be working with something else entirely.

Quote from deadpan

I personally would not put that tone on an album.

I personally would not put that tone on a product demo. I don't know why Line6 is so obsessed with this "Plexi" - it doesn't even sound much like a Plexi to me. Even the Sweetwater demo lingered here. It's kind of weird that no one has bothered to turn the dial yet...

Arrgh! I was really excited when I saw the caption on that video, but one amp model with and without overdrive and Univibe is not a "tone overview". In fact, I think that's the same damn tone I heard in the other videos! Please, more audio samples!

Looks like my other fear was well-founded: this is the first video where I get a sense of scale, and the Helix looks absolutely HUGE here. That'll take some getting used to.

He used the "P" word! That should get some tongues wagging LOL.

I honestly don't give a damn about the looks - if anything I have sort of an inverse bias here, where I'll be a little embarrassed dropping something as glitzy as the Helix on stage at most of the dives I typically play.

But I do care about ease of use, and I think the same design philosophy that made the Helix so easy on the eyes will also make it somewhat easier on the brains. (Mine are usually fried before I even get around to picking up a guitar at night.)

This is where your question about targeted market gets interesting: the kind of player who will make no compromises re: tone, and is willing to work with a somewhat more obtuse rig to make that happen (i.e. a pro) is probably already happy with a Kemper or an Axe Ultra or perhaps their favorite tube amp head, integrated with an external foot controller, etc. The AX-8 is going to pull guys who - like me - want things to be a bit more convenient, more flexible, easier to use - and this is where Helix will likely have an advantage.

Here's hoping the AX8 doesn't "massacre" the Helix in tone quality. I hope it's a closer race than that LOL.

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Can't wait to try these, your JTM45 picture looks identical to the one I wish I had never sold

Every now and again I think about giving up the whole high-tech thing and buying one damn good amp, and this is always one of the first to come to mind.

Quote from GASbag

That Cliff quote doesn't sound bad at all to me. The guy is by all accounts a workaholic who lives and breathes this stuff. I much prefer his frank opinion as opposed to fake modesty.

Yeah, benefit of hindsight, I do think I got a bug up my ass and over-reacted. Apologies for that.

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What JTM profiles are these?

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We just completed profiling the Marshall JTM45. This amp has a raw sound with less gain than later Marshalls. This particular 30W small-box amp has had it's stock PC board upgraded to a hand-wired turret board. We paired the amp with our Marshall 4x12 cab loaded with old Celestion 25W Greenbacks. We love the sweet, organic tones we were able to grab from this tone machine! Hope you like 'em too. Profiles available at: http://www.topjimi.com/NEW-Mar…45-Profiles-JTM45.htmDemo Video

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Quote from lasvideo

I havent seen them and am curious as to what he said. Do you have a link?

I really shouldn't be throwing fuel on the fire. First of all I read a post quoted in a forum, and I'm not even sure now that it was Cliff. Second of all, I read it again and it didn't sound nearly as bad I remembered. He did help himself out with an edit at the end to take the edge off.

I guess what I find frustrating is the same thing I see from so many people: assumptions and bold proclamations about a product that they haven't even heard, based on experience with markedly different products from the same vendor - and in Cliff's case, based on some obvious conflicts of interest.

Anyway, here's the quote. And maybe I'm the douche this time. Wouldn't be the first or the last, I'm sure.

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Let me straighten all this out.

1. The Axe-Fx II is still the most powerful guitar processor ever created. A TigerSHARC is about twice as fast as a SHARC clock-for-clock. Additionally the TigerSHARC's we use run 33% faster than the fastest SHARC. The Axe-FX II has two of these. Therefore it's got about three times the power of a Helix.

2. The upcoming AX-8 has the exact same DSP complement as the Helix. It will therefore be equal in processing power. We also have many years of experience in code optimization. I've been writing DSP code for Analog Devices DSPs for over 20 years. I guarantee our algorithms are at least as efficient if not more so.

3. Our modeling algorithms are the best in the world. They are very detailed and require lots of processing power. We could've easily designed the AX-8 to run four amp models but the decision was made to use the same algorithm as the Axe-Fx II. This algorithm is extremely detailed and only one instance would run with the available processing power.

4. The Helix is a "check the boxes" product. It's all about features. If a myriad of features is what you want then it's the product for you. A big, color LCD is pretty and all but it doesn't improve the sound quality. It's also very expensive which means that you can be sure that pennies were pinched elsewhere to meet the cost target. Our research shows that most people do their editing on a computer so why put an expensive color display into something when it's not necessary. Put the money into the important stuff like signal path and processing power.

5. We don't skimp on the design inside. All Fractal Audio products use full-differential analog processing which is expensive. I can almost guarantee that the Helix will be a single-ended design as all their previous products are single-ended. We also use premium op-amps and film caps whereas competitors use cheap TL07x op-amps and electrolytic caps. The results of this philosophy are manifested in the FX-8. It is the first all-digital effects processor that has zero "tone suck". No one else was able to do it until now. But it wasn't cheap to do that. It requires expensive components and careful design.

It's about a difference in design philosophy. Do you want something that looks pretty and has a bunch of bells and whistles or do you want something that is purpose-built for the absolute best sound quality. The Helix is an attractive product with a lot of features. Our products aren't as pretty and don't have all those features. But they are the best modelers in the world and that's our design philosophy. Do you want an Olympus or a Leica. I'll take the Leica.

Edit: I want to be clear that I think the Helix is a fine product (as I said earlier). It's a different design philosophy and if that philosophy resonates with you then you should buy that.

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Bottom line, I don't believe Cliff is in a position to "straighten all this out" for us. When I first read it, it seemed condescending and a little unprofessional. Then again, the "Edit:" turns all that on its ear.

Edit: (my own this time) Absolutely everything in that quote may very well bear out, and I may be playing an AX-8 around this time next year.