Line 6 Helix - next gen guitarist's wet dream..?

@Raoul23: I'm not complaining, mate!
But after all the work with enhanced profiling is done I guess it's time to adress some of the most common FR's regarding FX, if possible.

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. As far as effects such as the univibe are concerned, I have the impression that it's has been made very hastily and not really with as much enthusisam when it comes to getting the details right. ... The delay requests have often been met by the question: What guitarist uses such weird delay effects ...
But let's see.

Quote from Ingolf

@Raoul23: I'm not complaining, mate!
But after all the work with enhanced profiling is done I guess it's time to adress some of the most common FR's regarding FX, if possible.

I knew you werent buddy maybe CK has got something really good planned for us as we are long due a FW update

One interesting fact is that LINE6 product(like tone core pedals) uses the same line of DSP (motorola /freescale).

Quote from DamianGreda

One interesting fact is that LINE6 product(like tone core pedals) uses the same line of DSP (motorola /freescale).

What does this mean? the KPA uses motorola to? sorry I'm not very tech savey when it comes to things like this

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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.

Quote from Raoul23

What does this mean? the KPA uses motorola to? sorry I'm not very tech savey when it comes to things like this

Yep - but there are several models and i really don't know what DSP is in helix.
Update(ADSP-21469s—with dual MCUs) so it's not the same in this case.

Quote from mbenigni

"Proportionate to the scope of the company" has no relevance to me, personally. Either the distribution is adequate for the consumer demand or it isn't. I know there are pros and cons (many cons) to a large parent company, but I can't see any way in which faster, broader distribution is a con.

Perhaps, but Line 6 will, and as this hasn't changed, there's no reason to assume it would change (in our completely fictional scenario) for Kemper.

I get you, but real-world experience has taught me that typically distributional reach and stock availability lag behind demand as sales increase and a company grows. It's a practical reality IMHO. On the plus side, to me at least, it indicates (I reckon) that sales of our beloved Kemper continue to grow. I had to wait an extra 3 weeks for mine 'cause the boys were at Music Messe. That tells me that the people who really count are in there getting their hands dirty; IOW, I doubt there's much fat that could be trimmed.

Obviously, and again, this is just MHO, if the company were, oh I don't know, 4 or 5 times its current size, we'd probably perceive a marked difference in both the "speed and bandwidth" of the distributional channels, as well as more immediate availability of stock as more units are cranked out per day / week or whatever.

Perhaps I'm too forgiving, but I've always been more than prepared to wait for quality, especially where "pioneering" products and companies are concerned. Oh, and of course I agree that "faster, broader" distribution couldn't possibly be a con!

Yes, I agree that the availability of the product/s kinda sucks... for now. I'm willing to bet 'though that everyone who wants one and has the dosh to plunk down for it... will get one.

Lastly, I think you may have forgotten that I was responding to a tongue-in-cheek comment that "Yamaha should buy Kemper"; that's the perspective from / context in which I was musing, so no, of course L6 won't change its modus operandi when it comes to posting. I was implying that if Yammy were to acquire Access / Kemper, we'd not see any of 'em here in the forum, or if we did, the boss would certainly not be one of them.

I'm done. This is beyond our control. S'pose I've been making excuses for the company, which is the default position I take in circumstances where I'm not privy to all the facts - in this case, the inner workings of the organisation.

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.

Same here, mate. I literally feel as if I was lied to these past 5 years (the previous 15+ years were good), and you know what? I bloody well was!

I'm actually quite stunned by my own level of distain for the whole palava; I'm doing my best to ignore it or at least not look back. It's completely out of character for me to feel this way; I've never been angry in my life. Not once. This, 'though, just leaves a bad feelin' in my gut and sour taste in my mouth every time I think about it.

Take care, Bob-man.

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.

I own a Kemper so I don't need any of the modeling, so I'll probably check out the FX8.
But, If Strymon would come out with something that looked and worked like the Helix, I would sell my car to buy it.

Everybody can use whatever he wants...

I always was searching for a digital device, offering the authentic tone and feel of a real tube-amp. The KPA is the only digital device on this planet, offering exactly this.

I used all PODs from model 1 up to HD500, it's a different tool with a different approach. The pure amp-sounds are quite poor and noisy, but for little money (HD 500, NOT Helix) you get a lot of stuff, which maybe enough for 90% of all guitar-players.

I don't like the pure amp-tones of the Helix, it's similar to the PODs I used, that's just the difference between modelling and profiling, of course CK will have a patent and others can't copy his invention. For me the KPA is the perfect tool and I like the Remote very much, too. By the way, the KPA-effects are not that bad, of course there's always the possibility of using external effects with the loop. I'm using f.e. two Strymons (Timeline and Mobius) and the best Auto-Wah in the world (Mad Professor Snow White).

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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)?

Quote from guenterhaas

I'm using f.e. two Strymons (Timeline and Mobius) ...

This is where it gets interesting, Günter.
Add another Strymon or another high quality pedal and you're already spending about what the Helix costs in total.
Personally I'm sure the Helix can never touch the Profiler regarding the amps modeling, but OTOH it could make for an awesome FX and control unit, quality wise not that inferior to Strymon (which is ex- Line6 anyway) to add to the profiler.

Quote from guenterhaas

Yamaha should continue to produce motorcycles, that's where they are really good....

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.

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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.)

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

In today's email, it is $1499 at Guitar Center - "Don't see the deal you want? Call!". So...$1350? $1275?

But, If the MIDI implementation is quirky (or non-existent), the Axe pedal might be a better choice for someone who wants to interface with the Kemper.

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.)

Quote from Ingolf

I've gone from Pod 1 through Vetta incl. Pod XT, X3 and HD 500 myself, als well as having owned a DL4, an M13 and quite a few Variaxes. I think the tempting element for a lot of KPA users, if any, would be in the FX department. Line 6 FX have been quite good from the beginning and the Helix delivers in this regard. We as Kemper users have been promised additions to its FX pallette for a long time now, but still no sign what's actually in the pipeline or when.

With any luck this may force their hand to address the FX update....

Quote from guenterhaas

Everybody can use whatever he wants...

I always was searching for a digital device, offering the authentic tone and feel of a real tube-amp. The KPA is the only digital device on this planet, offering exactly this.

I used all PODs from model 1 up to HD500, it's a different tool with a different approach. The pure amp-sounds are quite poor and noisy, but for little money (HD 500, NOT Helix) you get a lot of stuff, which maybe enough for 90% of all guitar-players.

I don't like the pure amp-tones of the Helix, it's similar to the PODs I used, that's just the difference between modelling and profiling, of course CK will have a patent and others can't copy his invention. For me the KPA is the perfect tool and I like the Remote very much, too. By the way, the KPA-effects are not that bad, of course there's always the possibility of using external effects with the loop. I'm using f.e. two Strymons (Timeline and Mobius) and the best Auto-Wah in the world (Mad Professor Snow White).

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Quote from paults

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

In today's email, it is $1499 at Guitar Center - "Don't see the deal you want? Call!". So...$1350? $1275?

But, If the MIDI implementation is quirky (or non-existent), the Axe pedal might be a better choice for someone who wants to interface with the Kemper.

I just wish the Kemper Remote had 'scribble strips' ...

Stay Metal!

Quote from guenterhaas

I don't like the pure amp-tones of the Helix, it's similar to the PODs I used, that's just the difference between modelling and profiling,

check info from 4"07

Stay Metal!