KVR Audio

SJ_Digriz · Post by **SJ_Digriz** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:03 pm

This should be interesting. Looking forward to hearing comments from Amplitube and S-Gear owners. I have the floor Helix unit. It's pretty awesome compared to older floor modelers. Wondering how it stacks up to the best of the software breed.

Helix Native

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:22 pm

Well, for starters, it seems to be in development hell (it was supposed to be released Spring 2017), so I guess only beta testers can comment on it.

They do say it sounds identical to the hardware, though, which I find is a good thing, for sure.

SJ_Digriz · Post by **SJ_Digriz** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:28 pm

I don't use my floor unit with a DAW. I just use it live through an amp. So part of me thinks it sounds good because of the amp and not the unit

But, I much prefer its sound via amps, than coming out of a computer via S-Gear or Amplitube to the same amps, even though technically you are doing the same thing.

Pädy · Post by **Pädy** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:34 pm

You had to bring even more attention to this, hadn't you. Now their servers came to a grinding halt altogether.

They seemed to have serious issues along the way - despite the extreme delay, there are still quite a few known bugs listed.

$299 for a Helix LT user is an insult though!

SJ_Digriz · Post by **SJ_Digriz** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:52 pm

hahah! yeah the servers have been unresponsive since the announcement

zvenx · Post by **zvenx** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 5:06 pm

I was intrigued why it would cost $399 when my hardware Boss GT-100 didn't cost much more, and certainly my Boss GT-1 cost a lot less, as well as my S-Gear, TH3 etc...
So I downloaded and installed the demo.

After trying out Line6 gear for almost 16 years (from the pod which I didn't get in favour of the johnson j-station)... and owning a few (toneports, the power pack and a few others) which never ended up making it in tracks, I am now finally convinced that line6 sound aesthetics differ significantly from mine.
Odd considering how much the ADAT helped my career and how much I love the oberheim sound.

The $399 cost no longer concerns me...

rsp

SLiC · Post by **SLiC** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 5:15 pm

EvilDragon wrote:Well, for starters, it seems to be in development hell (it was supposed to be released Spring 2017), so I guess only beta testers can comment on it.

They do say it sounds identical to the hardware, though, which I find is a good thing, for sure.

No- we can all comment on it today

I have been signed up forever on the 'email me when there is news' - surprised I only found out you can download and use it free for 15 days fro m today on KVR! (no email yet!)

I was able to log in and download it strait away (its a tiny file), you then log ion to your line5 account again in the plug in to authorise- all fairly painless- will play for the next hour then comment on it

(I have a DT25 and HD500 so the comparison will be interesting)

SJ_Digriz · Post by **SJ_Digriz** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 5:16 pm

zvenx wrote:I am now finally convinced that line6 sound aesthetics differ significantly from mine.

I sort of feel this way about every plugin and modeler I have ever tried. The issue for me has always been that I can plug directly into a tube amp and it sounds awesome pretty much instantly. I go DI to a plugin and it always sounds like shit unless I spend hours tweaking. Part of this is the "in the room" affect that amps/cabs have versus listening through monitors and such via DAW. Part of it I discovered is that sims are very very sensitive to input/output gain staging to/from the converters. Eventually I have been able to get things so I can get the recorded sound from micing an amp, which is far different that what it sounds like in the room, to be similar to what a track recorded via plugin sounds like. But, it has been a struggle. Hats off to those that can just do it ...

Anyhow, using Helix via amps live sounds great and is awesomely convenient. I'm just wondering how the models hold up to the existing in the box plugins. It will probably be awhile before I give it a go.

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 5:17 pm

With Native they mean it is an VST plug ?

SJ_Digriz · Post by **SJ_Digriz** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 5:18 pm

Numanoid wrote:With Native they mean it is an VST plug ?

or AU or AAX

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 5:22 pm

SJ_Digriz wrote:
Numanoid wrote:With Native they mean it is an VST plug ?
or AU or AAX

I got POD Studio UX1 via their UX1 interface, that plug can't be used without the interface.

But Helix is thus free of any such hardware restrictions right?

SJ_Digriz · Post by **SJ_Digriz** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 5:22 pm

Numanoid wrote:
SJ_Digriz wrote:
Numanoid wrote:With Native they mean it is an VST plug ?
or AU or AAX
I got POD Studio UX1 via their UX1 interface, that plug can't be used without the interface.

But Helix is thus free of any such hardware restrictions right?

yes, it's a plugin just like amplitube or S-Gear etc...

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:00 pm

Oh wow, just played it a bit.

It sounds pretty damn good, and with a bit of tweaking I can get what I hear in my head, pretty effortlessly! So not sure what kind of sounds zvenx is really after, honestly.

Will need more detailed testing, of course. For me Kazrog is still the king as far as response to player input is concerned. Let's see how good the Helix gets.

SLiC · Post by **SLiC** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:05 pm

Its very responsive I think, I am drawn to the clean sounds (not so sure about the heavy sounds yet),

Whatever the delay was in getting this out, they didn't spend the time on the GUI or pre-set manager!!

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:06 pm

GUI to me seems pretty straightforward, matches the design language of the hardware (which was expected).

Helix Native plugin