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

    Quote from Corey1213

    So based on the videos, If I want to sound like hendrix playing through a pod then they've created the piece of gear just for me!


    Ha - that does sum it up pretty well. And this is coming from a guy who pre-ordered a Helix!

    Quote

    Seriously, their marketing team might want to show off some high gain settings, everything sounds insanely digital at this point.


    I'd also be interested in hearing some genuinely clean settings.

    Let me enlighten everyone to what the Variax actually is or was.....

    Its a clever repackaging of a good piezo pickup combined with DSP SIGNAL PROCESSING mostly EQ curves....
    So great you have presets to call up that have been tweeked for good or bad to resemble the tonal aspects and gain of different pickups and what the impression of these pickups sounded like on the so called instrument models.

    Now actually this should be very easy for Kemper to do also .... The only fly in the oinment is having a control subject.

    If KEMPER were to offer a custom piezo pickup that the Kemper front end dsp eq was tweeked for to produce similar "XYZ Guitar / Pickup " results then you could have presets designed for said piezo....

    So that I have stated this idea completely to also have a blending interface with selector using midi or hek why not wireless midi that could be say installed into a stratocaster pickguard there would be parody if not better. Just sayin ....

    Pretty sure I'm going to sell my KPA. I haven't done any profiles with it since I got it and I am just not having any luck with downloaded profiles. I will go blindly with the Helix because I've always loved Line 6, the POD HD Pro was an awesome unit my only complaint about it was the noise. I thought it sounded great and I could coax some really nice tones out of it. Even after significant tweaking I can't get a profile to sound very good. Yeah, I'm probably doing it wrong but I feel like after owning the KPA for about a year it is just not for me.

    Quote from MathiasUlrick

    Pretty sure I'm going to sell my KPA. I haven't done any profiles with it since I got it and I am just not having any luck with downloaded profiles. I will go blindly with the Helix because I've always loved Line 6, the POD HD Pro was an awesome unit my only complaint about it was the noise. I thought it sounded great and I could coax some really nice tones out of it. Even after significant tweaking I can't get a profile to sound very good. Yeah, I'm probably doing it wrong but I feel like after owning the KPA for about a year it is just not for me.


    Wow, I did NOT see that coming. I thought I was the only guy on this forum who had "lost the plot". :)

    My experience is a little bit different to yours though - I don't make profiles either, but I found quite a few on the R.E. that I loved the sound of - to the point that letting the Kemper go was a really tough decision. I literally lost sleep. But I owned the Kemper for about three years, and like you, my sense is that "it's just not for me". I just ran into too many roadblocks where practical matters were concerned - how to set up an efficient (meaning easy to transport, set up and tear down) live rig, how to build a versatile, affordable floorboard and get the KPA to respond to MIDI effectively, and so on. I invested a lot of time, and for me the return on that investment was not acceptable. I spent too much of that time waiting on f/w improvements - most of which have yet to be realized.

    But the journey forced me to take stock of a couple of things about myself too: I'm not a professional performer; I'm not making important records; I don't have "ears of gold". I am an (occasionally) creative hobbyist, and it's more important that the gear I choose puts a smile on my face. No one in the entire universe cares whether I have the best tone possible, except for me, and after this past three years, I'm pretty much over it. Good tone, yes please. Best tone? Depends: how much hair am I going to pull out?

    Quote from mbenigni

    I don't have "ears of gold". I am an (occasionally) creative hobbyist, and it's more important that the gear I choose puts a smile on my face. No one in the entire universe cares whether I have the best tone possible, except for me, and after this past three years, I'm pretty much over it. Good tone, yes please. Best tone? Depends: how much hair am I going to pull out?

    This... THIS!!! Get outta my head, man! :thumbup:

    I'm just trying to be as truthful to my experience and personal opinion that I'm clearly presenting only as a personal opinion no more no less in an honest and truthful discussion about equipment.

    Quote from ReneLangenhan

    Why don't you guys see it this way: IF the helix sounds any good, which remains to be heard, you might simply take a profile of it and keep the Kpa. :)


    For me, this would totally miss the point. I already have (oops, had, haven't gotten used to that yet) great sounds in the Kemper; I'm looking forward to the integrated floorboard, the additional I/O, the extensive parameter mapping, etc. of the Helix. If anything, I wish I could take the sounds from KPA, and import them into the Helix, but of course that's not possible. I'm actually taking the leap fully expecting to sacrifice tone. Hopefully not too much of a sacrifice, but that remains to be seen...

    I said so before and have no problems standing behind what I said. I will absolutely NOT sell the Kemper. Ever.
    Whether I eventually buy a Helix or a FX8 or any other fx gizmo out there has no bearing on the discussion because I have all the amp tones I need so that aspect of the Helix is not what I'd consider a selling point at all (should the Helix ampsims prove to be noteworthy).

    OK, I may be armtwisted into selling the KPA to finance the KPA2.... :D

    I'm just trying to be as truthful to my experience and personal opinion that I'm clearly presenting only as a personal opinion no more no less in an honest and truthful discussion about equipment.

    Interesting read this thread. I can't believe people want to sell there KPA's but hey everyone is different I haven't heard the Helix properly and don't really care for it either. Me personally couldn't be happier with the KPA it's been a game changer for me both live and in the studio. Before, some times my live sound would be hit or miss but now I'm happy with it every gig. ive never profiled and amp and don't plan on ever doing it either I'll leave that to the pros and give them the cash for saving my time :)

    Ill be waiting for the guys who have ordered a Helix to write their reviews on here and see what they have to say :)

    Quote from Raoul23


    Ill be waiting for the guys who have ordered a Helix to write their reviews on here and see what they have to say :)

    That will be interesting, but anyway: I'm totally happy with my 2 KPAs (1 Toaster-Powerhead, 1 Toaster spare) and the fabulous remote. The KPA is the first digital tool, offering the tone and feel of the amps I like and it's very reliable, too. I did 3 tours with my KPAs and never needed my spare. And I'm using the KPA all the time for studio-sessions and my own productions and there's no need to transport heavy tube-amps and cabs anymore.

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