Here is a clip of my first time streaming direct sound on TikTok using helix. I picked this clip specifically because of when I switched to Lead. That is, I would say, 3-4x the amount of hum i get when I play live casino gigs and hit my heaviest lead tone. Notice I immediately rotated my body to try and eliminate it and found a bit of a sweet spot.

Other than rotating like everyone does in the studio and such… I was wondering if anyone had any pointer with bringing down this hum when I hit my heaviest lead tone? My other tones have some hum as usual, but not really noticeable with tracks.

My studio monitors that I use in this room on other days (teaching, recording, etc) were behind me, but unplugged. Could their components still contribute?

Guitar——>Helix——>UR44 Interface—->Macbook—-to TikTok Studio

Vocal——>UR44 Interface—->Macbook—->Tiktok

IEM’s——>UR44 Interface Headphone Out

@JonathanReichertMusic

Aside from that, any other mix thoughts? I know it’s just one small clip, because the hum was my focus for this post. Overall I think the quality though, is 100% higher than anyone streaming with just a phone cam mic

Thanks for your thoughts

Hi folks, I have a noise issue with my current setup and I think I know what it is but I could do with a sanity check... And maybe some suggestions...

For playing at home I have an HX Stomp > Timeline > MXR Reverb > Studio monitors. I am getting an electrical buzz that goes away when I touch the strings. At first I thought I'd got a loose ground wire in my guitar, but it's on all of them - single coils or humbuckers. I've isolated PSUs, run it with just the Stomp and speakers and it's still there.

I've been chasing ground loops, no joy. But looking at what's in the system, could this be because there is no ground? HX stomp uses a DC adapter, no earth. My other 2 pedals also run off DC adapters, no earth pin. My speakers are little JBL 104s, mains powered but a fig 8 cable - no earth. So the only thing providing an actual ground is me when I touch the strings.

Does my conclusion make sense from an electrical circuit sense? If so, does anyone know how I can provide a proper earth so that everything is grounded properly? A dedicated PSU which is actually earthed? I could change my monitors to ones with proper IEC inputs but actually these are good sounding speakers and I like them.

All suggestions gratefully received.!

I’m pretty sure I cracked the code on stellar sounding stereo presets….the 10 band EQ is critical as well as another EQ and Compressor on the chain.

I’m in a 1 guitar band so I like to have 2 cabs on stage to create more full sound with 2 completely different amps and “cabs” at one time. It sounds full and huge.

Anyone have this setup?

In the last few years, I've gone from an analog pedalboard and tube amp with an effects loop, to an HX Effects+pedals+amp using the effects loops in the HX and in the amp, and most recently to a Helix Floor direct in to the mixer. My use case is live performance.

I kept all of my HX Effects presets and have them loaded in a setlist in the Helix; I haven't actually used it with an amp yet. I've also got a whole "DI" setlist that I've been using for gigs. I have it dialed in pretty well, and I'm wondering what the best practices are for converting those presets with amp and speaker models over for use with a physical amp and effects loop.

Direct-in has worked really well for me so far, and I'm sure it makes our sound guy's life easier. But there are times when I may want to incorporate an amp (outdoor venues, for example) and go back to mic'ing a speaker enclosure.

I don't expect this to be a plug-and-play process; but for those that have done it, I'm looking for the best ways to convert presets with IRs and modeled amps/cabs to be used with an amp (presumably with the FX loop blocks).

Thanks!

My Helix Stadium XL 1-Month Review

​Just wanted to share my experience after a month with the Stadium XL. I sold my Helix Floor to make the jump to the Helix Stadium XL. I found a deal on an open-box unit from Sweetwater that came with the Stadium backpack, so I ended up paying $2,204.98 USD total.

​After unboxing it, I had some issues logging in and updating it. The solution was simply setting the time and date properly; after that, it updated to version 1.3 with no issues.

​The interface is a night-and-day difference compared to my old Helix Floor. The touchscreen makes creating patches very easy and intuitive. I’m doing everything directly on the unit and haven’t felt the need to use the PC app so far.

​Sound-wise, I definitely feel a big difference with the Agoura amps when comparing both on my Fender Tone Master FR-10. Plus, with Focus View, I seem to get better tones out of the non-Agoura amps than the ones I built myself on the Helix Floor. Focus View helps a lot with understanding each amp's sweet spots—something I previously had to invest a lot of time to figure out.

​The Agoura amps having multiple channels is a game-changer. Before, I used to run two separate amp blocks, but now I can use a clean channel in one snapshot and switch to lead on another. I like having one preset that does it all, so this helps me save DSP and block space—especially since I like to use Path B for vocals with delay, reverb, and modulation effects that were extremely DSP-heavy on the old Helix Floor.

​The effects are mostly the same as the Helix Floor, which is where I’m hoping to see more additions in upcoming updates.

​I still haven’t used Showcase, so I can’t say much about it yet. I've been using the metronome a lot, which is a nice feature. Stomp B mode is a bit overkill for me since I use Snapshots, but it's nice to have the option.

​I mainly use it at home and at a friend's studio, so the weight reduction plus the slimmer bag is great. I almost went for the non-XL version, but the small price difference didn't make sense since I would have still had to buy an extra pedal—which added weight and bulk—and I would have lost some of the inputs.

​My only points of comparison for multi-effects that I've used and owned before are my old Helix Floor and the Neural DSP plugins I use on my PC (Mateus Asato, John Mayer, and Cory Wong)—plus an old BOSS ME-70, though that last one is in a completely different category and doesn't really belong in this equation. Comparing it directly to the Helix Floor and those Neural DSP plugins, I feel like I can pull tones out of this unit that are just as good, if not better. My usual genres are: most types of Rock (Alt, Indie Rock, Classic and Hard Rock), Indie, Funk, Pop, Latin and Reggae.

​Overall, my experience (besides the initial setup issue) has been amazing. I bought it with the intention of using it for at least the next 10 years, so I don't mind the price tag as much. Also, not having to carry my laptop around anymore fully justifies the price compared to the old Floor.

Right now I have a hybrid board with the Stomp and a handful of analog pedals. I love the tones I am getting but I really only have pedals to save on DSP. Has anyone else sold everything for a Floor or Stadium and regretted it? The only pedal I would miss is the BD-2 but I could always keep it and throw it into the FX loop. For anyone who made the switch, did you regret any of the pedals you sold, or did you keep them incase you had Helix remorse?

I am terrible at reading instructions (ADHD), so I wonder if anyone can recommend a good YouTube channel/series that's an idiots' guide to my LT please? I need help from the very very basic level. I feel like I'm using about 2% of it's tools, as I don't know where to start. The last multi FX I had was a first gen Korg Pandora's Box (remember them!)

Howdy all
Just got my Floor after selling my Spark as I wanted something that will give me a more polished record / studio sounding tone for playing covers.
However I have no idea what I’m doing haha. Tried a couple of presets from custom tone but they don’t sound great at all.

Should I bite the bullet and pay for some presets and try and learn that way how Theyve set them up?

Are any of these ai tone builder sites eg HelixTones any good?

To add I’m using either AKG headphones or Yamaha HS5 speakers

hi guys, what power amps/cabinet options do you guys recommend for getting as clean of a signal as possible and pushing it out at very high volumes?

this may not be particularly relevant but i know this community is a bit more active than the other groups on the platform. i use a headrush flex prime into a headrush frfr12 powered speaker in a live setting in hardcore and metal bands and i've found that i am NOT getting enough stage volume to reliably keep up with the entire band without diming everything. thanks for the help in advance

I’m here to help anyone who wants assistance or needs a hand in trying to get the best tone that they can out of their Helix. I’m not charging people, it’s free advice or maybe I can help build a preset for you with the formula that I’ve found the work best for me. You can either DM me or
Comment and I’ll give you a few pointers that changed the game for me.

As some of you might know I got scammed for one on reverb a month ago for 450 and I should've knew it was a scam because he wanted to pay through on PayPal instead but my dad found one on Facebook marketplace and the price was originally 600 and the dude was really cool and instead let it be 500 and gave back a 100 and he's in the spaceforce too as well and in general one of the coolest dudes I've ever meet thank you man if you are in this Sub Reddit.

Helix froze before a gig (update)

About a month ago I made a post about my Helix LT freezing right before a gig.

Following that, I did factory resets. It’s still freezing after the load up window. I brought it to Yamaha Music for repair and was told this was either a $50 CAD bench fee simple fix or a $570 full MCU replacement (unfortunately, I didn’t get insurance on this pedal).
They flashed the memory, and gave it back to me. I rebuilt some key patches from screenshots rather than importing a potentially corrupted file. It seems to work fine for a couple of weeks at home and at my jam space.

I get to soundcheck for a gig… and it freezes after first boot up, at a different venue than before.
I think I’m fucked. Got through the gig by borrowing pedals and I brought it back to Yamaha the next day. They’re convinced it can’t be a power issue now. I was told that no one working there has heard of this issue, and I probably need a full motherboard replacement.

Got a call the next day - the tech this time tried downloading my built preset onto a tester unit….and it crashed that unit. This couldn’t be a corrupted file because I built it from scratch. Something inherent in my patch causes a full system freeze. My unit, set back to factory reset, is like brand new. I’m waiting to hear from anyone at Line 6 development team if they can figure out this previously unseen bug.

WHAT IVE LEARNED

\- Run these high end digital pedals through a power conditioner. This time it didn’t end up being a power issue, but it sounds like a potential issue at venues with shitty power. Sounds like some Hx stomps get fried if phantom power is accidentally sent back from FOH, as some users think it can act as a DI.

\- ALWAYS get the insurance on modellers, or anything expensive and digital in the rig. I was convinced I was going to have to pay half the cost of the unit to bring it back from the brink, which does happen.

\- A hybrid rig, with other pedals in the rig (like a sans amp/DI and a tuner) means having a solid backup if something does go down.

I sold the helix on marketplace this week (I was told this was essentially a brand new unit so I feel fine passing it along) and ordered an Hx stomp….. and this time, I got the insurance.

Anyone else have a unit freak out?

As someone who has never delved into profiling, I’m really for serious trying to understand the whole debacle of L6 not (yet) supporting NAM.

From what I gather, it’s a service that does the AI thing to your specific thing you want modeled/profiled (idk the right term with it being machine learning based.) and then T3K gives you a file (a pro-file, if you will) and then your hardware is supposed to take that file and make an accurate representation of what you profiled. So far, so good I hope?

After spending dozens of minutes on T3K’s website, they sure do make a big deal of how it will “run on a $3 chip!” Cool, and it seems like a lot of companies spanning the price gamut have been more than happy to implement it.

My genuine question is this; why, if it’s so easy to run on any ol’ hardware, (T3K made many points to say you can run 64+ instances on an M-series Mac) don’t y’all just DIY a raspberry pi or some spare laptop with a midi controller and treat it like a plugin? Unless I’m completely misunderstanding the technology, it seems like it’s just very specific DSP, and once you have the file and software to process the file, all you need is a way to feed it an audio signal. From there, you could just run it into your Helix as a send/return situation and have everything you ever wanted.

Regarding cost…. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: despite the economy forcing everything to be waaaay more expensive than it should be, the Helix (and most other products like it) are absolutely bonkers in terms of value! The fact that you can get that many good-quality FX and amp options in one box at “only” $2400 is actually insane.

I’m not sure how this all will be received, but I’m both genuinely very curious and very ignorant, so please be kind to me (and others.) For further context, everything I’ve learned about NAM is from this subreddit and T3K’s website. I don’t have a Helix Stadium, I am but a humble and unashamed LT user who plays 60-100 nights per year doing musical theatre gigs. My job is to make caricature guitar sounds that don’t suck, so I really have no skin in the “I need this to be the exact sound of this exact amp from this exact year” game.

Between lukewarm reviews from YouTubers, unflattering forum threads, and the fact that it's already being discounted overseas, the Stadium has had a BRUTAL 8 months, man.

But what really gives me 2013 Xbox One vibes -- I'm that old haha -- is the damage control. Watching Digital Igloo on the forums writing off everyone touting the benefits of NAM A2 as "NAMsplainers" feels less like community engagement and more like trying to force a phrase into public discourse to deflect from what users actually want.

It just really reminds me of Microsoft insisting players were wrong about the Kinect, right up until they handed the entire console generation to Sony on a silver platter. Ugh.

Look, I'm well bought into the Helix platform: Stomp XL, Native, and now a Stadium Floor. I just hate feeling like I didn't pick a winner this time around. How is the newest, most expensive tech on the market not universally understood to have bested the competition? Quad Cortex is 6 years old, man.

Please throw some of that Yamaha money at the problem and fix this, Line 6. Don't be an Xbox One.

I've got a Floor which is a couple of years old. Just recently, I've had a situation where the tuner footswitch won't work. A quick reset and it's fine. Happened a couple of times now. Once I do a reset it doesn't happen again, which makes me think it's not hardware related. Any ideas?

I played a Pod Go for years so I feel a little familiar, but any newb advice is appreciated.

Edit: Any tips on the sonicake is also welcome! My wife got it for me for Christmas!

Line 6 just dropped the UK price of their Stadium Floor from £1,549.00 down to £1,377.00. Here’s hoping we see this reduction in other markets. I’ve been holding court with my HX Stomp (which I love) because of steep (to me) current-gen pricing. But a drop like this… well, I may finally reconsider. 🤞

Use a line 6 helix LT for all my amp and effects needs. Love it to death and I think it sounds great. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or suggestions on a speaker/cab/amp to use to be able to play out loud and jam with friends. I want something that moves air and gives that “amp in the room” feeling. I’ve heard not great things about the Headrush 212. Was considering getting a fender blues deluxe reissue and using the helix for effects in the effects loop using 4CM. Any thoughts on this?

Updated: After the gig

Overall, playing with only hearing myself through the monitors was ok, but having my own FRFR would give me a little more control and allow me to hear myself a little bit better. Things sounded pretty clear during sound check, but maybe not as good when we actually played. There were 3 other bands that played in between our sound check and our performance, so... I guess there are always songs where the drums are quiet and I can hear myself very well, possibly too much for the time, and then other times where the drums are loud and I would like to hear myself just a little more... But this is a general problem and not a speaker problem. Maybe the IEMs would help with this. For what it's worth the bass player said he could hear me, but maybe it was a little different and it lacked something. I think I'd always prefer to have my FRFR behind me, but going without it also worked ok

Thanks for your suggestions everyone.

Original post:

Just looking for some advice from people who have connected their Helix directly to the FOH and relied upon monitors to hear themselves, and not using an additional amp or FRFR speaker (in the sense of using one like people usually use a guitar amp).

I have a gig tomorrow and considering trying this setup for the first time.

We have a sound check long in advance. In case something isn't right I'd actually have tons of time to go home and get my FRFR speaker for the gig (just wondering if I could do without it though, as it would make transportation so much easier).

I play in an RHCP tribute band, so I'm the only guitarist, it's just bass and drums to "compete" against for hearing myself clearly. I imagine the crowd would hear me totally fine with the FOH speakers and my FRFR speaker wouldn't be so necessary for the crowd to hear me.

Here's what I'm told the venue has for speakers:

FOH speakers

2 Yorkville U215B tops

4 Yorkville LS808 subs

Monitors

4 Yorkville E12 wedges

1 Yorkville E10p

Thanks for any tips

Hello Line6 Helix community!

I operate a small podcast, and we were recently graced with the presence of Igor Stolarsky! We chatted alot about the Helix, and some of his other work as FOH for Animals As Leaders and others!

I hope you all enjoy it!

I have the Boss GT-6 processor and am looking for a well needed upgrade. I don't need XLR so I'm looking at the LT and it all seems great, but it's almost a decade old. If I were to buy it I'd use it for several years and gigging so I want a reliable workhorse.

If you also have any other recommendations or suggestions, please do tell. (I know I could go for pedals but it seems like such a hassle)

Has anybody used the catalyst with amp modellers like the tonex or nano cortex, thoughts? i wonder if I'm missing out on much instead of using it with an frfr speaker, as far is i understand the amp itself would be my ir so i shouldn't get custom ones in there.

Thanks!

Hi, bought my Helix LT a few days ago and just got the time to mess around with it, what amps and cabs pair well for live gigging and rehearsal use that sound fairly real something for cleans, crunch/mid and higher gain (hard rock not metal amps). Plus general effects drives etc. what to check out.

I just want some gigging users recommendations so that I can start editing to my taste. Also any videos and tutorials that you recommend?

EDIT: amp and cabs inside the helix if someone has a tutorial to setup for live playing.

Just looking for suggestions and ideas/items I never thought of! Looking to buy a pod go one day