Excellent pedal for all your needs

I use the Helix LT for my electric, bass, and acoustic guitars. I mostly use effects templates from worship tutorials which makes my life really easy and basically eliminates setup time. I can't say enough good things about the Helix LT. It's a one stop shop for my processing needs. I like that it's a lot lighter than then Helix floor as I carry it around a lot. I also have a Mesa Triple Rectifier that I rarely use anymore as this sounds just as good.

What an amazing piece of hardware. So many options for tones, pedals, IRs. it's going to take a while to figure it all out. My only criticism is that you have to buy blocks of tones from creators and the free tones are not the same quality.

When i had this device it worked well for me .. unfortunately i
Don't have it anymore , I gave up on it too quickly.
My only regret is that I wish I would have had more patience with it.. maybe later in the future I will revisit this device.

.This thing paid itself off in 1 signal chain. I've been able to experiment with pedals and amp/cab combos that I'd never get to mess with at this price point. Even with the new modelers coming I'd say this is good value for people wanting to experiment with a bunch of different tones and effects.

The Helix LT makes authentic amp tones in an easy-to-use platform. Dialing in your preferred sound takes little time and is not cumbersome to learn.

I'm not going to go too deeply into the ins and outs of the unit, as you can find that in plenty of other reviews. Instead, I'm going to discuss the value of this unit in comparison with a full live rig.

I've previously gone through a lot of gear and a lot of ideas on how best to use and travel with that gear for live performance. This unit takes care of all those problems and gets you like 95% of the way there or better tone and feel-wise, but with 100% less hassle. My main rig consisted of a Mesa MkV head with 2x12 or 4x12 recto cabs, a separate Gator rack stack, and a custom built pedalboard with some pretty nice pedals. Did it sound glorious? Yes. Was it a constant headache of diagnosing points of failure in the system chain, testing and replacing tubes, figuring what the best switching system was, and how best to load in/out and travel with the stuff. Also, yes.

If you are looking for a simple solution (that can also get quite complex, if you want to go that direction), a highly useable live tone, ease of portability, and a very customizable feature set, then the Helix is your answer. You will just be running it through FOH or an FRFR cab instead of a traditional amp cabinet.

The only areas in which you might find the Helix lacking, if you are in love with your pedalboard, is that your favorite pedal might not be represented in the available pedal models, and the simplicity of just reaching down and turning knobs (while possible in it's own way on the Helix) is not quite the same in ease or feel. The pedal models are extensive and great (to include boutique classics like the Timmy and the King/Prince of Tone, as well as several from the Xotic line), but if you really need that Red Witch Empress Chorus or your WET reverb you can just run them through the I/Os on the board interface.

The switching system is amazing, well indicated by the various colored LEDs, and far more easily customized and rearrangeable than dealing with all the rewiring and Velcro on a physical board. You also don't have to worry about wiring failures in the middle of a set, or the like. I'm happy with the basic stomp box mode so I haven't yet felt the need to use the Snapshot system, but that too looks quite amazing a feature (if you want just to forward through "snapshots" as the song progresses, which changes multiple presets and parameters at once, instead of switching on/off several stompboxes with your feet).

I haven't performed through a Kemper or Fractal FX unit, so cannot compare them here, although I was strongly considering purchasing the Kemper Stage before settling on the Helix. The Helix had a way more readable and visible layout for live gigs, and the Stage was missing the assignable volume/wah/expression pedal included on the Helix.

I bought mine used in 2023 for about this price and I have no regret. It is an incredible device. Super clear sound. Super capable configurability.

OK sure, it doesn't have a modern UI. But the Line 6 Helix has a lot of hidden features which make it still relevant in 2025.

I'm a Principal Software Engineer and a musician, and I absolutely love the Line 6 Helix.

Since I have received this item, it has been giving me problems. Other than the controls being a bit confusing, and settings annoying to navigate, the system itself is extremely slow. It is not JUST slow but it freezes entirely when you switch presets. Only way to get out of that frozen state is to turn it off and on again. I've also noticed the sound i get on the HX Stomp, a smaller, cheaper version than the Helix LT, is astronomically better even though all my settings on the Helix and Stomp are virtually the same.

Save yourself time, trouble, and money, and just get an entirely different system for your effects. Which is incredibly disappointing to say because i have wanted this system for YEARS. To finally have it and be this disappointed is quite angering. Which is unfortunate because I am quite fond of the other line 6 model the HX Stomp.

This rig is very Nice. It is a good size footprint but very flexible. Some nice default presets but would agree with many online reviews that this unit will shine when you learn to tweak things to your liking and setup. Great for someone who would play a lot of different sounds in a given session. Lots of great online support as well. This is a high quality device

This piece of gear made me 100x happier with my playing overall and especially in a worship setting.

The tones you can get out of the Helix line are just phenominal. It is like dedicating $5,000 to crafting a perfect pedal board, and then spending another $ on a good amp and cab..except all of this can be had for $ in this one device. I have tested many different digital platforms and the Line 6 Helix is the best one.

Great design wit intuitive interface. Easy to started with patches. Great videos on line to help you wrap your head around the whole package.

Just like ladder logic for any PLC people out there.

My son is very happy with his pedal. Awesome addition to his musical equipment!

I upgraded to the Helix from the PodGo, this is a huge step up in sound quality, instantly when I plugged and I started playing I could hear a major difference in sound quality between the 2 units. I went from the PodGo to the Helix for the ability to do more stuff, DSP is much higher in this unit and the ability to run dual amps and the playing with signal chain is more customizable.
My original intent to move to digital was I wanted to be able to make any sounds I wanted, or needed without spending more money on pedals and amps. The technology to model these has come a long way, it is exact? No. Is it close enough? Yes. People listening don't really know what your using or and in my experience don't care.
My other reason was I was tired of carrying around a pedal board and amp. Nice to just grab my guitar and Helix and go and simple to set up for FOH and to tear down.
Definitely would recommend this unit to anyone who is interested in going digital.

Yeah bois - drop your Headrushes, Kempers, dumb amps - get a Helix - you won't need much of anything else.

Nothing bad to say about it's performance, but the plug to connect to your computer is this strange USB 10 prong port, which will certainly get bent during the course of regular use (especially if gigging). Once bent, it's nearly impossible to get back to the point where you can connect it to your computer and update software, add patches, etc.

I was looking for something that was capable of delivering not only the tones I love now, but also the tones I will inevitably love later. The Helix LT delivered! Every time I plug in I am more and more impressed with the power and versatility of this unit.

Two years ago I received my Aristides H/08 with Fluence Abasi signature pickups, which I thought I couldn't love more. The Helix LT has drawn the true power from this guitar and I couldn't be happier.

Aside from gushing over the tones, this unit is built very well. It is very sturdy and nothing feels cheap. The interface is very intuitive and took me almost no time to start setting up my own signal chains. I am very happy with my purchase and I can't wait to start recording with it!

I started my journey with inexpensive modelers a couple of years ago. Have been impressed with capabilities of the inexpensive offerings.

I began playing out regularly, within the last six months. I found, quickly, that my gear, which was ok for home use wasn't easily, "giggable". I took too much time when accessing different presets and parameters. The sounds I was getting were not so great live.

I bit the bullet and bought the Helix LT.
I understand now the reason so many players adopt the Line 6 Helix/HX products. The user interface is well designed and quite intuitive. The sounds? Top Notch!

Sweetwater provided me accurate product information, guidance, and shipped my order to me in speedy fashion.

I can honestly say this is the coolest piece of gear I've ever purchased. I prefer connecting to PC and using it with HX Edit. To a fault really as I'm not good at adjusting without it. It's just so easy to use HX Edit it's hard not to want a laptop to accompany this beautiful piece of technology. I usually play with headphones which is great for setting up your initial sound. If you're plugging into a PA system or a powered cab/pre-amp input(effects loop in), it does require some tweaking to dial into venue. I've been to many a jam session where I've used someone else's rig and my sound fell completely flat. Never again with this thing.

So…last Line 6 product I purchased was a POD XT many years ago. I left music and then came back. Dived into recording, new MIDI Keyboard, Apollo, Logic…whole nine yards. I was using my POD for guitar tracking and thought…"hmmm, perhaps the technology had advanced a bit?" Yes, yes it has. The LT sounds great. Love the 2 paths internally. So many I/O options to create with. It's built like a brick house for gigging. Tank like solid. I have only used it for studio stuff so far. It's worth the price for sure.

I spent a couple of years with the HX Stomp and was pushing it to its maximum capability. Until it just wasn't powerful enough. Not enough dsp, buttons or ins/outs. I almost got the Stomp XL but it didn't have XLR plug ins. So I decided to just go for the LT. It has been such a huge change and it has been totally worth it. I can't believe I've been missing out on these capabilities for so long. I got it for church and my Mesa Roadster. The worship bundle has been legit. It was nice to jump straight into the whole world of worship guitar tone all there coming from a hard rock background. Thx Sweetwater and Erik Molenaar for making it happen. God Bless.

I have been using this product non stop for almost 4 months. Everything positive you have heard in the reviews regarding sounds and functionality is true, so I won't bore you with all its asset details. Long story short, I got tired of lugging around 2 pedal boards (acoustic & Electric) and a tube amp. Got a POD Go which I loved and an FRFR and my life got simplified almost immediately. My back said thank you too. I still use the POD Go as a fly rig for acoustic only or really simple gigs. But I wanted more flexibility and wanted to operate with fewer presets but more options for bigger live shows.

Enter the LT. It has been everything I could have asked for, there is nothing I have thrown at it hasn't been able to handle. It is a pleasure to use and I love it. I am also still learning new tricks and ways to expand its usefulness. Did I mention it is just plain fun. The support for the product is awesome and tons of community help. This thing has a ton of amps and fx available, and L6 is constantly adding to its already formidable arsenal, so, not to mention the free and pay for presets/IRs available. I am so NOT interested in profiling, but understand there are those that do, but I like the idea of others doing the work for me! Awesome product.

I highly recommend the Line 6 Helix LT. Easy to navigate, build snapshots and find your tone. Lightweight, with excellent sounds that are sent directly to FOH. I switched over from carrying backline or requiring backline, to bringing just this unit to the gigs.

Beautiful product; great tones; powerful and efficient. It's getting four stars, however, b/c the looper is very underwhelming and way too short in length. If it had a longer looper, this would be my one-stop shop.

I'm an old guy so I prefer amps and pedals (just prefer) but I needed to make a choice: amps and pedals or guitars?

Well I will waste my money in guitars because this unity works very well! The sounds is great and the machine is reliable.

I would like to have a Dumble, a Plexi, a Twin Reverb, and others, but for me It's not real! Line 6 Helix gives me the possibility to play this amps and not selling my house.

We have a lot of possibilities, pedals, amps, cabs, and you can add IRs!

I'm satisfied and now I'll buy more guitars...

Great right out of the box!! Great sounds available!
Way more to get too ,just taking my time ! This Unit will replace my giant pedal board and a Big amp to carry around!

An amazing piece of equipment. Would've bought sooner had I known how much I was missing.

Amazing sounds out of this. Competes with Fractal and Kemper easily.

I am a professional musician that plays in the studio, live, and at church for over 40 years. I have used Line6 modelers for years starting with the original POD and the giant floorboard with it. The flexibility is unprecedented and the ability to plug and play is unsurpassed. The other factor is the ease with which you can edit the patches. Can you say a wealth of 3rd party patches and IR's that are available, too?! In addition, I use Helix Native in Logic Pro X which allows me to switch amp models while listening to playback in order to find the match for the track. With the ongoing growth from Line6 with updates and patches they have produced a product that will last for many years to come

Incredible machine. Extremely easy to learn with tons of models and effects.

Waited about a month before writing a review to make sure I gave myself enough time to learn how to use the LT and get a good feel for how to shape the tones I wanted. Overall, really really impressed by how organic it genuinely does sound. So far I've played through an FRFR, solid state and tube combo's, and after a few minutes I have been able to build a patch that captures the tone I wanted.

Spent a lot of time deciding on a helix vs. a tube combo, and ultimately elected for the LT due to convenience. I'm a hobbyist and occasionally play with some friends so can't comment on gigging or recording, but for finding a tone that inspires you to jam at home it has been perfect. I live in a condo and have a baby on the way, so being able to practice at low volumes and silently was my #1 priority. What I love most about the LT so far is that you're not dependent on volume for getting the tones you want. I made a stereo patch with a Plexi and Tweed Twin cranked to 10 and can comfortably play at a volume that doesn't bother anyone, and through headphones the stereo options are really something. Adjusting the sag control really makes the tones have a similar feel to a tube amp, and being able to dial in the right amount of amp breakup or OD and then just turning the volume down to a comfortable level is really where this set up shines.

My friend has a full pedalboard and tube set up, and we were able to link up and compare his set up vs. mine. The important differentiating factor I found was that my LT truly captures the tone of a mic'd studio set up, so it's close but not quite the same feel when you're playing, but to be honest neither of us minded as much as we thought. And the flexibility I now have has been honestly the best part. Once you learn how to build patches you can try out so many different amps, cabs, speakers, mic's, and pedals. Every day you can experiment with something a little different and try things out with a single unit. For me that has been the biggest reason I've loved my purchase, using the LT has really helped me hone in on the tone that inspires me to play and I find myself playing more as a result.

Bought my Helix LT from Sweetwater a few weeks back. I have been using a Pod Go at church and really loved the ease of it and the tones I was able to create. Naturally I wanted to upgrade. I battled between the Stomp and the LT, and the LT won.

I bought the House of Worship bundle from here and it's pretty awesome. I can definitely hear the sound difference in my in ear monitors and it sounds fantastic in the house.

I'm not going to tell you how awesome I am at guitar, because I'm not. I will tell you though, that this machine is freaking fantastic and worth every penny.

Wow!!! I bought this to replace an intermittent HD500 and am so happy! It is so easy to set up a patch. Love the tones and the "snapshot" feature is great. I have just scratched the surface of what this can do, but I don't see me exhausting the possibilities any time soon.

Everyone wants either their own excellent guitar sound or something that sounds exactly like someone else. This does both. I had high expectations for the Line Helix LT in my small home studio and for gigging (far less to lug around and keep track of), and those expectations were exceed by the sound alone. The factory sounds are more there for show - they're good but tend to overdo effects in order to show them off. I spent some time copying factory settings were close to what I liked, and tweaking them. I am pleasantly blown away - there's literally hundreds of good effects, and probably unlimited possibilities. This costs a fraction of what a good amp and the relevant foot pedals would cost and it takes up far less room in the studio and editing settings from a PC (in my case) makes it much easier to create great sounds. My only very minor issue is that the plane graphics on the editing sw kinda hides how great the unit sounds. But given the number of devices it emulates and the flexibility in routing and effects, I don't really need pretty graphics. I want functionality, ease of use, and good sound. You'll have to spend some time experimenting with sounds to get the best out of this device. But it is so totally worth it.

Was going to get something else to suit my needs. Ended up calling the Sweetwater Sound & Audio professionals to ask for an opinion. Paid off big time.. This product has everything I need and more.

Its an amazing piece of technology, has something for everyone, and a function for just about anything you would want to do with your music.. from effects, sound modeling, recording.. gigging … etc..

Thanks to Sweetwater Sound & Audio Professionals for guiding me into buying this instead of wasting my money on another product that didn't suit my needs.

Sweetwater is now my go to for all things music.

THANK YOU!

... once you know how to set it up. ... and if you get a good FRFR or Line 6 powercab.

But hey, I did those things. Its great. I just played my first gig with it. I play country in a cover band and it was better than my Blackstar Tube amp I usually drag around. Cant recommend enough. You just have to go all in and get a good speaker.

I picked up the Helix about two weeks ago and absolutely love it. I have used mult-effects pedals for 30 years but this is my first Line 6 product. I selected this one for it's features and price point. Lot's of bang for the buck. So many things I love about it like eight snapshots of a single patch meaning you can modify the original patch eight different ways and access all of them in snapshot view. Line 6 updates the firmware and patches so your not stuck with the same firmware for years. The user community is unbelievable. Lots of resources if you need help. The pedal is made nicely and provides lots of functionality. The patch programing is easy up to very complex with lots of options. Chris Jenkins helped me decide on this and got me squared away.

Deployed a Helix LT as stand-alone into front of the house 3 over years ago. Great experience with Sweetwater. As for the LT, DSP was increased and tone much better than previous HD500X. Recently, the expression pedal broke-off from the base. Called Line 6 (now Yamaha) customer service and got a verbal commitment to replace for free! However, I was required to open a trouble ticket on-line, that was 10 days ago. No response and a dilemma of what to do in the mean time (not to mention any repair delays).

My advice, avoid the LT due to bent steel construction (different from Floor unit), or carry a spare. ...forgo a spare and buy the more expensive Floor unit with improved construction. In either case, it's hard to recommend Line-6 when scrambling to find a replacement.

This is simply Amazing !! Probably more combinations for sounds than Powerball number combos !!!When i set it up,,i sat there and looked at it, and had a big question mark over my head !!...now what do i do ????? Thank you to all the YouTube posters out there making how-to vids ! Pretty easy though, after playing around with it for a day or two..Very solidly built ! Now when i look at my regular pedals,amps i have,,,,Fred Flintstone comes to mind ! So with that said,, "Back to the Future" !

Sell all you other pedals, this is all you need.

I've had this since July, I run 4 cable method with a rectifier and it's split so one side goes to the amp and the other side runs through an IR and to our IEM setup and another runs to front of house. This thing is very impressive and I am very happy with my purchase, it's so versatile and constructed very solid.

I loved the layout, scribble strips, expression pedal, editing software, user interface, etc. I loved everything except the sound. I tried everything, including hundreds of impulse responses, to get this thing to sound as good as my kemper and just couldn't do it. I must recommend spending the extra money for a kemper.

I finally decided to replace my 16+ year old Pod XT, which stills works, with this Helix LT.

I've only had the LT a little over a week and haven't had too much time yet to delve into the full capabilities, which might take some time anyways. What I like so far is how durable it is, how intuitive it's been to use right out of the box, and a sidenote for how beautiful it looks.

I'm a hobbyist and I'm teaching myself as I go along and I look forward to learning more about what I'm doing in general.

This thing is amazing. The factory amps are really good and close enough to the "real" tube amps that they sound great. The factory cabs are ok, but uploading new Impulse Response files make it sound way better. The helix LT expression/way pedal works great too. The usb connection to my computer goes straight into Garage Band, and I have not noticed any lag during recording into my MacBook Pro. Headphone out is great for practicing while the kids/spouse is in bed.
I can get lost in this thing dialing in new sounds, effects parameters and combinations, and snapshots.
The b-stock has a small scratch in the anodization near the bank down switch. It's certainly noticeable but I honestly do not care that it's not 100% perfect.
David (my sales rep) was amazingly helpful throughout the process. I called a couple times weighing my options and he was awesome.

I highly recommend getting a Helix if you're on the fence. The advantage of the helix LT vs the stomp is being able to run a ton more "blocks" - think of being able to run several cabinets to get the best of mixing and matching.

A few years ago, I bought a Fractal Audio Axe-FX II rackmount unit, and I loved it. Still do, in fact. But using it live was complicated; I had to buy the expensive foot controller, as well as a rack case to carry the unit, a stand to keep the rack unit on and a couple of extra monitors for stage amplification (I like playing in stereo). In late 2018, I started playing with a band that did mostly festivals; gigs where I had to set up and tear down really quickly, and I grew jealous of players in other bands who had all-in-one floor units like the Fractal AX-8 and the Helix. Despite the fact that it had much less processing power than the rack unit, I nearly bought an AX-8, but right at that time, Fractal announced that it had been discontinued, that it was being replaced by a newer unit (the FM3). When I saw that the FM3 only has three footswitches (?!?) and learned that it had no more CPU power than the AX-8, I decided to permanently install the Axe-FX II in my studio and buy a Helix LT to use live.

It was one of the best gear decisions I've ever made. I expected to be slightly disappointed with the sound quality, but I wasn't. Yes, as other reviewers have mentioned, the presets uniformly suck, but building your own patches is easy once you get around the learning curve (which is much, much shorter than that of the Fractal), and there are plenty of talented players offering great presets online if you aren't a tone-tweaker. Yes, the available depth of editing for amp models and such doesn't approach the level of detail the Fractal offers, but it isn't hard to get a great tone, so the difference is negligible. Think of it this way: if you're the sort of person who buys an expensive tube amp and then spends hours finely tuning the tube biases, you might be more of a Fractal customer; if you're more likely to plug into the amp and mess with the eq a bit until you get a tone you like, the Helix is probably for you. Yes, I've A/B'd the two units in the studio, and the Fractal does have a slight edge, realism-wise, but for me, the difference is only apparent through expensive studio monitors in a quiet, isolated setting; live, in front of a band, the Axe-FX has discernable advantage over the Helix in terms of amp modeling.

The effects (reverbs, delay, pitch-shifting, etc.) are a bit more lush and configurable in the Fractal, but again, in front of a band, you won't notice much difference, and the trade-off is more than compensated for by the vastly-superior GUI in the Helix; this thing is very intuitive and amazingly configurable, especially if you aren't USB'd to a computer, using the editing program. The Fractal display is very limited, compared to the full-color, larger display on the Helix (which also has more pragmatically-placed controls, making it much, much easier to edit from the unit itself).

The final advantage for live use concerns integration with other products. I bought a Line 6 Powercab 212 to use on gigs where I need a stage amp, and it's fantastic; it connects to the Helix with a single, dedicated XLR-style digital cable, and has its own speaker modeling (taking CPU load off the Helix) which can be seamlessly configured and controlled from the Helix. I've also recently bought a Variax guitar (a JTV-69), which works with the Helix in amazing ways which I've only just begun to explore. I mostly alternate between a Brian Moore, a couple of custom Strats, two Teles, a PRS and a Carvin (Keisel) hollow-body carved top. I have matching banks of patches in the unit for the different guitars (humbucker vs. single-coil). But as I create more and more custom patches in the Variax, I find myself depending on it more and more; I could easily cover all of that ground with an all-Line6 rig, from guitar to amp.

If you're thinking about jumping from the tube world into modelling and you've been considering both the Fractal and Helix (and/or Kemper, Headrush, etc.), my advice is to save some money, some learning-curve time and a huge portion of your brain's available RAM memory and just buy a Helix or Helix LT. I promise you won't regret it!

I read a few reviews, and I am not the only one looking for the cleaner sound. I read one review about the noise and I hear that too. I was able to get that down with the noise gate to where it was usable. I find it bulky too. One area I thought it was really good at is in setting up the sounds. A lot of parameters, but you can interactively set these up then save the preset. I don't like using it with Logic pro, just could not get the sound without spending a ton of time tweaking. I downloaded the Helix Native and that seemed easier to deal with in Logic. To my surprise I was not eligible for the 99 price tag even though I was the registered owner. Don't buy these used, even new the value drops instantly.. ouch...

Great sound. Looks super cool. Great interface. Love the assignable momentary switches. I love the ability to assign the expression pedals to ANYTHING, and the snapshots really make this a class all on its own. I ended up returning this for the Helix Floor because the Helix Floor has more expression pedal inputs, better-built housing, and the scribble strips - which also "extend" your available footswitches to ten. The top casing on the Helix LT I received had a bent side, so the entire left side was warped. That's the only reason for taking off one star. The top panel should be solid and meet the side end caps perfectly and be sturdy. If you can afford it, go with the Helix Floor. If you can't, the LT is great too,

My old original Helix has been through a LOT of gigs, rehearsals, etc., and it was purchased right after it was announced.
All of these years later, and MANY gigs and configurations, I pretty much had to out the old Helix out to pasture. Many of the buttons were failing (from a LOT of use).

BUT, I ordered a brand new Helix LT, which I just received a couple of days ago.
My first impression was being surprised that the length and the width of the LT was very much the same as the original Helix - and the height was actually a little taller (not. much, and it still fits into the Helix Backpack (if you have one).
There isn't a lot of differences, and the things that are different really aren't a big deal - I don't even miss only having "only" 8 floor buttons instead of 12.
The biggest difference is the reduction of many of the inputs and outputs on the back panel - but, you still have everything you need. to set up the infamous "4 cable setup" (which I am now using, along with my Hughes & Kettner amp (and it sounds incredible.
... the new Helix LT is already going to work this Saturday, and I am looking forward to breaking it in.

This is the one that I needed.....with this processor I can create the effect that I really want.

I have a bunch of fancy pedals and a great amp. Wow does it feel like I wasted lots of time and money on them! This device is so much fun to use. It is so user friendly. It has so much power. And most of all it sounds amazing! There are literally infinite sound possibilities, and you can try stuff you never would. For example, I set up a Brian May rig with 3 Vox AC30 type amps run in parallel and a treble booster just like he does. With the flick of a switch, I can run my bass VI through a guitar and a bass amp simultaneously. If you can think of a sound, its in this device. And all that, plus it makes recording a breeze. At eleven hundred bucks, its a hands down steal. If your on the fence, just buy it!

Firstly I'd like to say that I own and love many Mesa tube heads and cabs and I bought this to possibly use on tour as I had a large tour coming up and I wanted to see if this could legit replace a head and cab. First I plugged it in to the return of a triple Rectifier through a Mesa 4x12 and a/b 'd the Mesa preamp against the Helix "Cali Rectifire" and dialed the helix in until I got it spot on to my TR. then I found a Impulse Response of a Mesa 4x12 and I tweeted it until I had them identical. It hurt me deep inside how good the helix sounded compared to my Mesa, I will never stop collecting tube amps but for live playing this is the way to go, and as far as it comparing to a kemper or axe fx I have used them and the quality of sound recreation is as good or better, and the helix is way easier to use And looks cooler than either of those by a long shot.

Don't scroll through the presets. You'll find the same distortion-to-11 bedroom tones that you find in toys and end up wondering why you paid 5 times as much for this. Instead, consider how it will serve you at a show or in the studio. Pair it with the editor software. Pick a sound that you want and consider how quickly you can dial it in. Consider how rarely you come across an effect that's a dud. Consider how easily you can build a set list, tweak it in rehearsal, and call it up in a show. A feature only exists if I can realistically access it and use it at a show or rehearsal and if it yields quality results. That is really where this unit shines. There is no noise, and I mean that in a comprehensive sense. There is no actual noise. There is no noise in terms of a zillion effects to scroll through ,99% of which are useless. There is no noise in terms of an excessively complex UI for its own sake. This unit was designed to be what guitar processors are supposed to be - a tool to get you to the sound you need. The Helix is a 10/10 on that front.

I have been blown away by the Helix LT! I love the simplicity of use and the functionality of the Helix Ltd. The effects and amp models sound great! I have used other multi effects units with amp modeling in the past and they just sound cheap but the Helix doesn't. I couldn't be more pleased. I also love how I can use it as an interface for recording guitar. It was so easy to set up and use and it sounded great right off the bat. I didn't have to do a whole lot of tweaking to get good clean signal running into my DAW like I have had to do with other USB interfaces and guitar recording solutions. Literally plugged the Helix LT into my computer and was hitting record withing a matter of a couple of minutes. I really enjoyed the reamping functionality of the Helix LT as well. It is super convenient and really easy to set up and use. I also own a JTV-69. I love how the Helix LT integrates with the Variax. Being able to control the guitar from the pedal is super convenient and honestly really cool. It is everything I wanted and more. Over the last couple of weeks using the Helix LT especially with my Variax I have kinda become a Line 6 fan girl!

I was between this, other modelers/profilers, and going the full amp/pedalboard route and after figuring out the math between the Helix LT, other modelers/profilers and the amp/pedalboard set up the Helix LT was actually cheaper, but definitely not cheaper in tones and overall quality so I decided to bite the bullet and I'm so glad I did; it has been one of the best gear decisions I've made.

The tones and the sounds that can be made in this unit are amazing. If there's a tone in my head that I want it can be easily achieved with this. I'm in a band and I use the Snapshot feature to it's fullest extent and it has been an amazing feature to use to avoid the traditional pedalboard "pedal tap dance" to change effects and even change amps, occasionally.

I love to explore different sounds and tones outside of my band's sound, so it's nice to be able to just choose a different amplifier and a different effect on a whim and dial in a tone especially when using different types of guitars and different types of pickups.

OK, so I thought what i wanted was a basic pedalboard. I ended up with the Helix LT. Going that route actually saved me hundreds of dollars and introduced me to the world of digital modeling . This thing is a blast to play around with. It doesn't seem to be limited (or limiting) in any way. The possibilities are endless!

Hey guys I've been a helix user for almost 2 years and I can say that if u make the purchase to buy this pedal u won't regret it. I use it live in church with the powercab 112 plus miced with a shure sm57 and man does it sounds awesome!! Trust me u won't regret getting it and plus it has infinite sounds and effects u can think Of! Just got to be creative! GO FOR IT!!!

Thank you Tad Shaffer (your the Rokkstar!)Sweetwater (SE) great service and awesome shipping..

First of, I started with Helix Floor then switch to LT due to the fact that I didn't need all those I/O's on the Helix floor. So aside from that, Either one will do, depending on ones gig needs.

As for me, Helix LT is more than enough for what I do on weekend gigs. I have been ampless now going 7 years since I first got to dial in the helix well Through FOH/IEM's and have never looked back.

It has definitely Reinvented my way of doing gigs,recording etc.. in a more efficient way. Sound guys are always blown away by my sound with little or no EQ's at FOH and IEM's, and I don't have to fight with sound guys concerning stage volumes, I just go Straight FOH via XLR's OUT from the Helix LT. Gone are the days of hauling 70 pound tube amps and 50 pound pedalboards. Definitely gig worthy and has never let me down.( I take good care of my gear)

One piece of advice, Purchase a couple of Headrush 108's FRFR and a small mixer with clipping LED's(never clip FOH) so to dial in some basic patches before band rehearsals and gigs, call Tad Shaffer at X1791....

I replaced a Boss GT1000 with an LT. The GT1000 worked and sounded fine with the rig I use (Guitar-to-Pedalboard-to-amp channel input, effects only), but was limited in ways that had me searching for alternatives. I tried a Headrush Pedalboard, it was easy to configure but sounded terrible as a stompbox replacement straight into my amp (Fender Tonemaster Twin). So I bought a Helix LT.

The LT has addressed all the items and issues. Sounds great straight into my TMTR, no amp or cab sims needed. The effects including 3 ODs sound really good with near-transparency on-par with the GT1000. The display works alright outdoors, indoors it's fantastic. I have a learning curve ahead learning and configuring the LT but it'll do for sure.

Finally, Ben at SW has been really supportive of my efforts. I couldn't have done it without him!

So I tried one and to my dismay it had way to much Noise when not playing even when there was no gain on and using a totally clean amp model, a low volume hummmmmm was what you heard. I use humbuckers and turning the guitar pup volume off or EB volume pedal closed I still got the same hum and a Noise gate on the patch did nothing to get rid of it, turn the LT off and the hum in the PA went away so it wasn't anything else in the system. I play mostly in a church setting and this is totally unacceptable, so sadly back it went. That said some of the sounds I was getting were ok to good, but nothing great and there was this strange static sound in the background coming from the delays when you used one that has modulation on it. When watching demo videos I heard the same Noise and thought it must be coming from something other then the LT, however I was wrong. My other processor, a L6 Firehawk FX, is totally quiet so I know it not a grounding issue on my end. That said you may like the LT and I do appreciate Sweetwater and their easy return policy. Happy Pickin'- Peace, Out...…....

I currently play worship guitar at my church. I had been playing acoustic for months and never played electric since my Marshall JVM Combo was way too loud. I heard great things about the helix from watching Worship Tutorials.

I finally wanted to see what the hype was all about. I have no words to express how awesome the Helix is for worship guitar. All I have to say is if stage volume is an issue you need the Helix. I have not been able to stop playing guitar since I got it. This thing is a keeper. I would also like to give a shout out to my sales engineer Nick Huskins. He gave me a great deal and took the time to explain how the helix works. Thank you Sweetwater for hiring such awesome people. I can’t wait to place my next order.

I’m a hobbyist guitar player and while I love a wide variety of gear, I hate the time it takes to switch from a Dickey Betts tone, to a Jeff Beck tone, to a Steve Vai tone, etc. Using individual pedals, it can be really time consuming. That’s time I’d rather spend playing and improving my skills. I became interested in the Helix and, ultimately the Helix LT because of numerous positive reviews and video demos that I had seen. It looked like it would be a great solution for me and it has proven to be beyond my expectations. The amps, cabs and effects that are available are great and afford you the opportunity to create and explore a practically infinite range of tonal options, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

For me, the presets are where the real value lies. In addition to the factory presets that come installed there are numerous presets that can be purchased online and even better, there are almost 5,000 free presets (that’s right, almost 5,000) you can get from the CustomTone page on the Line 6 website. You want an Eric Clapton preset, it's there; a John Petrucci preset, it's there; a David Gilmour preset, it's there; you get the idea. Find what you want (the presets are rated by users) download it and instantly you have the desired tone. Switching presets is particularly easy if you have your Helix connected to a computer and you use the free HX Edit software you can download from Line 6.

So, no more disconnecting and re-connecting pedals to switch tones, just select a different preset and you’re off and running. If I do want to use my favorite pedals I can use the send and return jacks to put them in the signal chain. Best of both worlds.

I would highly recommend the Helix LT to any guitar player. It’s high quality, versatile, efficient and most importantly, produces the sound you want. It’s not cheap, but neither is a collection of amps, speaker cabinets and effects pedals. In fact, from that perspective, it's a bargain. My purchasing experience with Sweetwater was flawless. Stuart was all over it.

Yes, it is as good as everyone says. It has everything you’ll ever need or want. Once you get past the initial learning curve, you’ll be dialing tones you never thought imaginable. The more I use it, the more I love it. WTG Line6.

Fantastic piece of equipment the singer emulate almost anything! I have it set up into a four cable method into a marshall Jubilee and it is pure Bliss !!

I recieved my Helix LT as a warranty exchange for my Headrush Pedalboard (put some money on top, of course). I think this review may be very helpful for those having doubts between the Headrush and the Helix. I loved the sound and everything about the Headrush. The interface was very intiutive and user friendly. No gaps between presets (which is very impressive, to be honest) and the spillover feature on the time-based effects worked great too. The only problem is... THE THING BROKE AFTER 7 MONTHS!! I talked to my buddy Miles Patterson, who sold me that as well as a good couple of other items at Sweetwater, and he helped me out with the warranty and recommended the Helix LT, which, by the way, has the same brain and sounds the Floor model has... I took it, because my trust towards Headrush was as damaged as my old pedalboard so I did not want a replacement. I recieved it (with the backpack bundle, I must say), and the difference in the sound was instantaneously evident. This thing sounds FAAAAAAAT. With the HR I felt that I had to tweak every model A LOT to get a good sound out of it, but the ones in this thing sound killer as soon as you load them. Obviously they sound better when you tweak them a little bit to adjust them to your personal taste, but you get tons of tone out of the default settings. I had a Marshall JMP-1 valve preamp before I switched to digital with the HR and I must say that although the modeling quality was good, there was a difference. But the Helix brought me back to my valve days right out of the box. Now, I gotta say a few things that were better on the Headrush. First, the interface on the Helix is not nearly as easy to use as it was on the HR. I miss the touch screen, the footswitch label screens, the setlist mode, dragging and dropping models and moving them around in the signal chain in miliseconds... But that's not a really big issue because you can get used to the Helix after a couple of days. It's not like the Helix is rocked science anyway, it's just that the HR is ridiculously idiot-proof. Here's a big one, though: there is NO spillover inbetween presets on the Helix. There's also a sound gap when you switch presets and when I realized that after I recieved my Helix and played around with it, I actually thought about returning it. Good news about that is that it has this very cool "snapshot" feature, and once you get the hang of it you can get around those problems and get an AWESOME tone while changing sounds seamlessly. This thing is DEFINITELY worth every penny. You'll get tons of tone for a fraction of the money you would spend buying a bunch of pedals and amps that still would never have the flexability of the digital world. No hard feelings towards the Headrush family, but the Helix LT runs rings around it. Believe me, I've had both.

I bought the hx stomp in May to replace my orange ad 200 and it did it completely. Only issues I had with it was the xlr out wasn't fun for most gigs which I ended up using a amp when I couldn't plug in. I got sick and tired of that and decided since I love the hx stomp I'm selling my orange head that I've had for about 10 years. I dont regret it at all because the helix is way better sounding the the hx stomp I didn't even think there was anything different at first but there is the quality of helix is far more outstanding than the stomp I got a direct copy of the orange amp out of this without any worries and it's a hell of alot lighter. I run this with a frfr headrush speaker as a monitor out using the send on the effect loop and that's it. I also run a Seymour Duncan power amp to a 410 cab for rehearsal but I never have to use a amp live ever again this was an amazing purchase.

TL:DR - Great buy!! Worth it! Silent practice! Hassle free gigs! Great flexibility!

I have been playing guitar for over 15 years. I went to school for guitar as well. I play a lot of different genres. But very little Metal. I play weekly at church (basically a cover band) and like everyone else have always been in search of the sound rattling around in my head.

I have played and researched guitars, played and researched amps, played and researched pedals. To very little long term avail. I'd get close but not quite there. OR, it'd be there one day and gone the next despite my diligent note taking of settings including pictures and physically marking the equipment. I heard about the helix and honestly wrote it off: "line 6 is fine, but real tone comes from tube amps." There are a lot of cool videos though and I went down the rabbit hole strictly because they were entertaining. But the sounds really started to nag at me. They were awesome!!

I saved up, bit the bullet, and made a purchase. It's been 2 weeks and the compliments I've gotten have astounded me. Even band mates who are ultra critical and hard to please. LOVE this thing. Admittedly, despite it's intuitive interface (IT IS INTUITIVE!!) it has a decent learning curve. It is much more work on the front end as I've decided to set up a preset for each song. With Helix Edit I just copy a preset and paste it with a new name if they're very similar. But it makes playing more enjoyable. I can focus on playing the guitar and the song, instead of my board.

Even though my settings aren't great (but will get better as I learn the system), they're still better than my tube amp and pedals. And it weighs less. And it's the same sound no matter where I go. And it's smaller. And it's all in one space. And it's harder to forget one small critical piece of gear which forces me into tough decisions. And the Helix bag is amazing! And I can practice with headphones which doesn't disturb my 3 month old. And I'm not going back to my tube amp which is a great amp! I'll keep it around as a back up. But if something happened to this, I'm more likely to buy another than pull it out again.

If you want the extra outputs or expression pedals you can go with the Floor model. But honestly, the LT is everything I need. And probably everything most people need. The first day I was kicking myself for not having scribble strips. But 3 days later I hadn't thought about it since. You don't need them. I'm sure they're handy! But ultimately not necessary.

For the first time in 7ish years of gigging my entire rig fits into a guitar case, and a backpack. And that kind of convenience along might be worth it. The fact that I got an upgraded sound on top? Sweetens the pot even more!


For some criticism, I'd say that if you were to A/B this to the real deal it's imitating then a discerning ear could tell which was the modeler. But once you add in drums, cymbals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, keys, a few vocalists, possibly another electric guitar? those differences are LOST. And let's be honest, most people that we play for don't have a discerning ear. To buy one of the amps that thing imitates would be close to the cost of the helix. That doesn't include mics or pedals. This is absolutely worth it!

This has completely replaced all of my pedals and amps. No more patch cables, power supplies, Velcro, and trading pedals back and forth. It"s incredibly easy to use and setup. I have made several pedalboard and amp combos in the few weeks I"ve owned it, many with models of legendary pedals that would cost hundreds and thousands to buy in analog. The ability to scroll through famous amps in a second is amazing. I"m not sure I"ll ever go back as my ears can"t tell the difference from the real things. I have a Deluxe Reverb sitting next to the Line 6 Powercab that I have the helix plugged into...the Deluxe Reverb gonna go up for sale soon. The helix is that good.

For one of my main gigs, I play several times monthly as the lead guitarist for a contemporary church group. It is the only one I don't use my own rig on, as the church was providing a decent little pedal board with a few Wampler pedals and a Tech 21 Fly Rig. It sounded pretty good, but our other guitarist, Jared, had been doing a lot of digging on the Helix stuff and was aiming for a change. So he bought a Helix LT for the electric rig (we usually operate off a single acoustic guitarist and a electric guitarist in the band), and the rest is history.

I've only played it live a few weekends now, and maybe have had an hour at best to dial it in during rehearsals and between services. And I've already dialed in a tone that has quickly talked me into buying one myself. I mean, not only does it smoke the Fly Rig setup, but it is so much more versatile and fool proof. Makes my job a hell of a lot easier.

I'm just using a Vox AC30 setting with a few overdrives and delays I kick on and off, and it knocks me out. Have barely touched the surface of what is possible with this thing

There isn't enough good things to say about the Helix. First things first, it can do ANYTHING you want it to do. It can do more than you even can want or think it can do. It does everything. As a consequence, there is a learning curve not only for the hardware and software, but also for signal chain etiquette, sound shaping, acoustics, and knowledge about tons of pedals and effects.

I'm the type of player who plays 80% full distortion and doesn't need much adjustment. I don't want to spend hours creating different tones and noises, I just want to play. That being said, I know I don't sound like your typical Helix player - that's where you're misunderstanding all this thing can do.

If you go to line6 and go to "CustomeTone", there are over 4,500 downloaded Helix settings files that you can download and instantly play. I can sound like anything or anyone in 20 seconds, no problem. This cuts out the time I don't want to spend shaping my tone and lets me take advantage of the amazing online community that Line6 has built. You can tweak the tones in 5 minutes to fit your amp/speaker/system and be jamming. Best thing ever.

The Helix really is worth the money. If you're thinking about old school daisy chain pedals because you believe the sound is better/different/this or that, then that's OK. But you're going to spend a ton of money on each individual pedal when you could simply fork over the cash once for Helix and have everything in a one-stop convenient package.

It's better than creating a chain. It's better than 20 pedals on a board. It's better than 20 power sources and analog settings on all the pedals. It's simply better. You won't regret it one bit!

I purchased the Helix primarily to travel with, jamming into my headphones without bothering hotel neighbors. It was OK. I had it for a little less that a week before I returned it. My problem with the Helix LT was that I couldn't dial in distortion that I really enjoyed. I could get close, but it was never quite "right". Anything more than a mild distortion sounded flabby and farty. Trying to get just a little dirt in a preset would make it get boomy. There is a good chance this was due to "user error". But I tried every preset, attempted tweaking any that were interesting. I tried adjusting global EQ and settings. I downloaded and imported dozens and dozens of presets. I watched tutorial vids about making presets. I made a few of my own and got close to being what I wanted, but I ultimately became frustrated with it.
Please note that I have owned a Fractal Audio Axe FX for a year. I do love it. Maybe I am making an unfair comparison between the Helix LT and the MUCH more expensive FAS unit. The Axe FX sounds fantastic. I just didn't want to travel with it, so I tried the Helix.
Sweetwater was great, as always. Shipping was FAST! and the item return was hassle free.

So, for some quick background, I have been using modeling type stuff in some way since I started playing...

I had (and in fact still have) a Digitech RP-series multi effect, a Line6 Bass Pod XT, and have used quite a few others. I have amps and pedals as well, but have always liked the idea of having an "all-in-one" type solution. I picked up an HX effects back towards the end of last year, b/c I had been impressed with what I heard from the demos of it and stuff, and thought it would be a great way to add some of the Helix sounds to my amp rig, and it was!

That being said, I decided to take the plunge into the full Helix realm, and so I picked up the LT...

I have had it for about a week now, and I'm blown away. The quality of the modeling on the amps and effects is amazing, the interface is super intuitive and easy to figure out (and change on the fly when needed) and the versatility is second to none.

Modeling has come a long way, and while the touch and feel of these amps isn't exactly the same as a tube amp, it is REALLY close and is good. Sound wise, I challenge the tube snobs out there to really do a blind test on the tones... I doubt they'll be able to tell the difference.

I've built several really good pedal boards that deliver a broad range of tone to my various amps. But, lately I've been thinking about playing at church where I will need to be more portable and flexible to use electric or acoustic. My research led me to the Helix, then the less expensive version the Helix LT.
Overall first impressions:
This thing is solid. The touch switch editing is fantastic. I hate having to do everything in a computer. Being able to edit the patch easily on the fly makes this board worth every penny.
I don't think the amp models are perfect, but they are good enough to gig with. In that sense, its the best of both worlds, something good enough to gig by itself that's exceptional as a pedal board connected to a tube amp.
Effects:
Before playing I updated the firmware and searched out a comprehensive list of the effects. Some of my favorite pedals aren't in here. That makes me sad. However, it is possible, even likely, that Line 6 will add more effect via another firmware update. That's the good news. The even better news is that when I tested several known pedals with the Helix models, they were spot on, absolutely perfect versions of the pedals.
Ease of use:
I've already mentioned building patches directly on the board. Fantastic feature set there that is easy to use. Beyond that, the device is easy to set up in almost any circumstance. This week I was a little out of it, tired, sick... when I had a session to record. The kid I'm working with needed to re-record a bass track on a song we're mixing. I didn't have much energy and couldn't remember how we originally recorded, what pre-amp... so I patched the bass into the Helix LT, output to a keyboard amp to monitor, found two bass amp/cab combos that we liked, patched one to right and one to left and recorded straight into my DAW. Perfect, and the setup took only a few minutes.
Documentation:
The manual is good, but there are some things missing. No one can expect them to rewrite the manual with every effect or amp model they add, so that one gets a pass. There are a few other things that aren't explained well. See below.
Things to avoid:
The one button looper. I still haven't figured that one out, and it's not in the manual.

Finally, the Helix LT is so good that I have decided to sell of most of my pedals and get a Helix Effects to replace my second pedal board. Yep, it's that good. Coupled with the excellent service from Connor and the rest of the Sweetwater team, you can't go wrong with the Line 6 Helix products.

This thing is never ending. The possibilities are endless. Software integration with DAW is great, and the interface is unbelievably easy to use in a studio, live, or any other setting.

Sounds great 5 cabled (4 cable method + an additional cable into the foot switch jack) into my mini recto 25 head. Snapshot functionality coupled with this cabling allows me to switch from an almost dry (only a noise gate applied to take away the rectifier"s hi gain channel hiss) signal just using my rectifier"s crushing hi gain sounds on channel 2, to a chorus and reverb laden clean sound on channel 1 with one stomp. Terrible for your social life, unless all your friends are gear nerds too. Only complaint (:

It is a great unit and does what it does really well, but don't be mistaken, it does not have the organic sound and feel of tube amps with analog pedals. Especially in that slight break up to low gain area. There are points in that high gain area where you can pick up some slight digital artifacts. Like I said, Good at what it does, but not quite there.

Takes a bit of dialing in due to the massive flexibility, but this thing is awesome. (I had to roll the drive down on most of the distortion patches to get the cleaner "Fender" sounds I was after) Sounds great through my Twin Reverb and even direct into my SRX tops.

Such amazingly sounding effects board

If you don"t have one of these helix units, you are missing out!

I didn"t expect this Helix to be that good, I am going to sell all my pedals, nice job Line 6

Amazingly powerful system and pretty easy to use given its power. I don't have a lot of experience with amp and pedal settings so there is a learning curve on how to proceed but that would be true if I tried duplicating this functionality with an amp and a boatload of pedals. Looking forward to a much lighter load going to gigs

I got this last year with an AX8 and I returned the Helix LT in a week.
It sounded fizzy and harsh...
Some user below said that this much expensive gear should sound good right out of the box and I totally agree with him.

But its UI was so attractive then I got a LT again in a week ago.

Long story short, now I can make it sound good with ease and I have them both now.

For those who are torn between AX8, Headrush, Helix LT?

Save money and buy all of them. (I still have a plan to get a Headrush Gigboard soon...)

Sound : all they are great. But imho, AX8 > HR > LT...

UI (easy to use and edit) : HR > LT > AX8. However, If you are using an editor, it"s same. All are very easy.

Value : LT > HR > AX8. I chose LT because it comes with an expression pedal and more amps and FX than HR and less than AX8.
I think AX8 has too many options that I don"t use and no expression pedal on it.

Box/wrapping : LT > HR > AX8
Certainly, LT"s colorful and black/silver logo box gives very luxurious feel to it. HR comes with a regular colorful box and AX8 comes with a regular cardboard box which is not cool.

Conclusion?
If someone asks me an advise, I would tell him buy a Helix LT in the first place because it"s a great all rounder out of three. And then AX8 in the second, HR in the third. Or I would say "Just get all of them!"

I wasn't too sure about this when I ordered it, but the hype got to me and I placed my order. Really glad I did because I will now be selling my main tube amp and my two pedals, but will be keeping my Marshall 1w tube combo. I also got the HeadRush FRFR-112 as the speaker for this and those two combined are a FORMIDABLE combo. And this combo works well for exactly what I need it to; the ability to play at "condo" level. Even with the 12" speaker, I can tones that are pleasing to me and still not upset the neighbors (or my wife). Perfect!

As far as the tones, I may in the future mess around and make my own, but since I'm not a musician and just play in my home, I've been really happy with what I've been able to either download for free or to purchase. Pretty happy with my Glenn Delaune patches, and I've made only minor tweaks to those. In his demos, he plays an isolated track of artist and then plays the same track with her patch and special "Sound Imprint"IR's, and on some you almost can't tell them apart for all intents and purposes. That's really pretty cool.

Anyone looking to buy one of these probably has already watched a bunch of reviews, and the interface is pretty easy to use. I know there is a lot of power I'm not tapping into yet.

All in all, very impressed and very happy with my purchase of the Helix LT from Sweetwater. And of course dealing with Sweetwater is alway great, and my sales Engineer Josh is always great and knowledgeable, and I've appreciated his ability to listen to me and make recommendations.

Rock on!

Todd in Chicago

I have been playing for 30 years. I no longer play out so I have not tested this in a live environment. I am at home player/home studio musician. I am no pro. I don't spend hours a day practicing and playing, but i enjoy writing and recording. I hesitated for months and went through other options before finally pulling the trigger on this. I tried the 11R, Bias 2, Zoom, Revalver and other alternatives. None of them were bad, but none were getting me where i wanted to be. My hesitation was that i didn't want to spend hours dialing in tone. I am a minimalist and just wanted something i could spend a little time getting my tone and laying down clean tracks. After receiving this I found dialing in the tone to not be as complicated or time consuming as i thought it would be. I am sure you could spend all kinds of time making complicated patches and I am sure mine aren't the best, but they work well for me. It is fun to use, fun to play through, and great in recording. It is not cheap, but i spent a bunch of unnecessary money looking for a "cheaper" alternative. Given everything it can do and how well it does it, it is worth the $$$.

Strongly recommended. If you're still on the fence about buying this, don't wait any longer.

I thought I would provide an update after using the Helix LT for gigs this last year.

I think the best compliment I can give the Helix is twofold: 1.) I don't miss my tube amp and 2.) I haven't even looked at a pedal in the last year. The tone is that good.

Gigging with this unit is a dream. I run two different electrics, a six-string acoustic, 12 string acoustic and a bass guitar through the Helix and they all sound amazing straight to FOH. Custom tone for days.

If you have doubts, don't. It's so easy to use and it sounds great. If you get one, make sure to join Chad Boston's Facebook user group. An incredible group of 15,000+ and growing users who offer up amazing advice.

The Helix LT is *the* sweetspot on price and value with all-in-one effects processors. I hesitated to get into the Helix family due to the price of the Floor and Rack models, but thanks to the LT I could get something that was within my price range and provided amazing sounds.

I highly recommend download HX Edit on your Mac/PC to edit your tones, as it gives the best editing experience possible. I can't wait to create more patches!

FLOORED! I'm smitten with this. Easy to use, covers so much ground and I've barely scratched the surface and have yet to update the firmware (came with 2.5.4). Sounds amazing. Try one out. You'll be happily surprised.

I have always been strictly a tube guy! I have a Mesa Boogie MKIII, a 68 Twin, a hand wired, point to point Frenzel to mention a few tube amps I own, so, I did not go easily into the digital modeling world. But, from the first moment I plugged into my audio interface, the Helix blew me away. I first bought and have been using the POD HD500X which has really come a long way from the first POD, and the POD HD500X is great for live, but for directly into a recording interface, the POD can"t touch the Helix. Of course live, the Helix is also amazing. The Helix has beautiful verbs, delays, choruses, all kinds of stomp box effects, not to mention the excellent, 100% believable, usable amp models. I can"t see myself ever going back to the 80 LB tube amp/pedals/noisy patch cable route!

Wow. That's all I can say. Finally, they got it right. This feels like a tube amp. It sounds like a tube amp. I use it live. It rocks. So easy to use. Usable sounds immediately. I'm using it FRFR with a Yamaha DXR12. Fantastic. I can't say enough about it. The ability to edit on the computer is HUGE.

I'm in love with my Helix LT from Line 6. It's really an unbelievable piece of gear. The sounds, the software, and sheer depth is really fantastic. Easy to use and solidly built. This has replaced my Marshall stack on stage. It's worth every dollar spent.

Was heavily debating this versus the Kemper. The Line 6 Helix LT is outstanding. Phenomenal presets right from the start, so you get great sounds from the get go. The previous Line 6 devices (HD, XT) took a lot of tweaking to get good sounds, and often the sweet spots were elusive. Not with this one! Sweet spots everywhere! Editing and tweaking is easier than any of the other modelers and profilers that I tried. Absolute best value for your dollar. Fair pricing, phenomenal sound quality, easy to navigate parameters, outstanding software if you want to use your computer, and a robust and sturdy hardware. Could not be happier.The Kemper has a lot of hype surrounding it so I gave it a fair shot. But the Kemper did a few things very very well, but does not come close to the wide range of high fidelity sounds like this unit does. Bravo Line 6!

I have been shopping around for a multi-effects pedal board/processor for about 6 months, looking at all of the Line6 units from the stomp box modelers on up, as well as units by Kemper, TC Electronics, Zoom, Headrush, etc.

After discussing the Headrush vs. the LT with my Sweetwater engineer Chris Ishak, I ended up going with the LT based on his experiences with both. As much as I liked the concept of having a touch-sensitive screen for programming and navigating the Headrush, the overall impression from Chris was that this fades quickly into the background once you start playing guitar...a week or so later, I pulled the trigger and ordered the LT. Due to demand, however, the *Free* Helix LT backup was on backorder - waiting for that to come through now.

On to my impressions of the LT:

- Solid construction, "feels" durable enough for routine gigging
- Plentiful ins/outs to keep me routed where I need or want to go
- Fast editing through the knobs/joysticks
- Seemingly endless combinations/customizing patches
- Works great direct into a mixer / out to 'house" speakers (in my scenario, a CenterPoint Stereo SpaceStation v3)
- Tonal quality through my Hughes & Kettner GrandMeister 40 Deluxe is okay (need to reset amp head to neutral settings to eliminate any H&K amp effects etc)
- Responds to different guitars/setups (single-coil Strat, EMG active humbuckers, Gretsch passive humbuckers)

I'm no guitar whiz, metal monster, shredder, blues genius, or middle-age-crisis rock star...so no - this won't make me PLAY better, but it will make me SOUND like I know what I'm doing, even when I don't...

Provided Line6 supports the Helix lineup for years to come (software updates, firmware updates, etc.), I don't think I'll ever need to buy another basic pedal or pedal board ever again (famous last words). Come to think of it, I won't ever need another guitar amp / cab either...

I have it for about a week, I only work 8 programs and It make the work ! all tones that I need in the easy access of a foot switch! very easy to use!!!

I wont believe in emulation since I am a Mesa Boogie guy but the Helix change the way I think!!!

I recommend this Ultimate Tool to every one no matter the kind of player or the guitarist level!!!

This is not only well made but extremely versatile. Just got the LT a couple of days ago and used it last night for an acoustic gig. Worked like a charm.
Highly recommended for a guitar player.

I loved this thing at first- it was a blast playing all the amps I"d never played, and many of the sounds are great. Very great. I revisited my teens and rocked out somethin" Fierce. For a long time; it"s that good.

But after a while, I sort of felt this tapping on my shoulder, which I ignored as the volume was too high. But finally the voice got through- Where are the cleans? After being annoyed by this for weeks, I finally took my pedal board out from under the bed and, dang, the clean sounds almost made me cry.

But I called to complain, and they said they hadn"t heard that criticism, so maybe it"s just me or I have a defective unit, but that seems unlikely. There is one dedicated clean preset ( out of many!) and it doesn"t sound very good.

So, good luck!

I was giggling as I worked my way through the Guitar sounds. I played guitar for years before I picked up bass. The bass sounds are great too. Loaded a couple of IR's for bass cabinets and It really sounds like my GK head through my Epifani cabinet!

So, I was super skeptical leaving analog as I just rebuilt my board with new pedals about a month ago, however, the helix lt was intriguing and thought I would give it a go, and all I can say is Wow! I've only been able to spend about 30 minutes with this thing as I just got it in this evening, but the sound is absolutely amazing. I was worried running into my line 6 dt25 amo would cause issues, but direct into the effects return with no problem - you know the sound is good when your wife walks by and stops cause of "dem tones". My sales rep Caleb really helped me pull the trigger on this as I have been debating for a bit now. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to achieve "the tone" they're looking for. Can't wait to dig into this thing more.

Received this thing yesterday. WOW!!!! Unbelievable. I just plugged it straight into the effects return of my JVM410 that's running into a Bogner oversized 2x12 and setup some preamp models and various effects. WOW!!!! This thing sounds incredible!!! I've been a tube snob for years. The Helix LT sounds and, more importantly, feels like playing through a tube amp. I freaking love it. The dynamics and responsiveness of this thing are incredible. If you're on the fence, buy one. You will not regret it. Get the Floor or Rack models if you need more IO or the scribble strips. The color coded rings work well enough for me. Performance view is very useful, too. I may sell my JVM. This thing sounded great out of the box, especially the plexi models. High gain will need a little tweaking, but not a lot. Incredible!!! Oh, and ODs and distortions on this sound awesome, too! Each has a very different character that's easy to use with amp models as well as real amps. Perfect.

I'm was a skeptic when it came to digital guitar equipment but this changed my mind. With a need to record in my home studio, I decided to buy the unit and now I'm a believer. It is easy to dial in the presets. I recorded directly to my Pro Tools with an XLR out to my interface. The sound is amazing. Guitar and bass sound authentic in a blues sample I made to test the sounds of the unit. I have all kinds of amps and effects at my fingertips. I can keep the windows open in the summer and record great guitar riffs without firing up the tube amps!

Customer service was very good... shipment was fast....love the Helix LT so far....win win.

Sell every pedal and amp you have. The Helix will change everything for you.

This thing is fantastic. I've had it for a few months now, and I am completely content. I mainly play worship music, and this covers everything I need and more. It's amazing to be able to switch from a worship patch to a high-gain Mesa in no time. Don't let people tell you it doesn't sound like the real thing. All I bring to band practice anymore is this (in the backpack) and a guitar. So convenient and easy to use.

Just bought one of these coming from an original Pod HD500 from Line 6 and all I can say is WOW..... This thing is such a step up and well worth the price tag! The HD500 feels like a toy compared to this thing! I can't wait to get into the advanced routing stuff either! Also the stock cabs sound great in the Helix, but I actually ended up taking my buddy's word for it and bought some third party custom IR's and it just came to life even more! I will definitely be using this for quite a while!!

When I bought the LT i wanted to safe some money. So that's y I bought it, but I was worried if it would be good as the helix and it is just awesome. Sounds great as the big one and is very easy to use.

Having owned previous Line 6 processors, I was a bit skeptical, but trusted a studio musician friend who used it in the studio without having an amp. After spending an hour or so getting used to the menu, I was amazed at the versatility and quality of the sounds. I had made my own presets in the first day or so and couldn't be more pleased with the results. I have used it on a couple of tracks in ProTools to finish up guitar parts on a project I am doing and it sounds fantastic. If you are looking for a direct unit to your DAW for recording, this is definitely the deal and it sounds great over my amp, also. I couldn't be happier. Thanks to Mike Hammond at Sweetwater for his help. He always take great care to make sure I get exactly what I need.

This is a great piece of gear. Period. Simplifies your rig in so many ways...once you get it set up. The user interface is very intuitive and even though I'm not a fan of menus (Been using Positive Grid software for the last couple of years), I found that I could build my signal chain amazingly fast with Helix.

This unit gives you to many options to count. You can even change it's behavior to suit you in terms of how it's configured. For example, you can set it to have a dedicated patch for all your footswitches or you can do like I did and make the bottom row your patches and the top row your stomp boxes. Anything can be assigned to a switch.

Setting up for a gig is such a snap and people never fail to compliment me on my tone. That said, one flaw of this unit is that I found it very difficult to get the tones I wanted when I was creating my patches. A lot of users say it's good right out of the box, but that wasn't my experience. I had to build all my patches from scratch and experiment comprehensively with dialing in my tones for live use. It took many hours to do this. One reason for that is that the unit acts like 2 completely different amps when using it at studio level vs live level. There's always a difference with how an amp sounds at low volume and high/stage volume, but the difference with Helix was huge. So I had to compensate for that difference in a big way to get my tone to cut without sounding harsh.

Also, I found that, unlike my tube amps, Helix is very guitar sensitive. That is, I have to create dedicated patches for different guitars in order to get the most I can out of them sonically. This wasn't the case with my other modeler. But my other modeler wasn't this road ready either. Fact is, this unit is built like a frigging tank and sounds spectacular.

If you're a tweaker like me, be prepared to spend a lot of time getting it dialed in. But once you get it dialed, you'll love it as much for it's convenience as for the tone.

LOOOOOOOOOVE IT!!

I have thoroughly enjoyed using the Helix LT. I play on a worship team at our church, it has been great as far as quick setup and great sound through the mains at the church. I no longer have to worry about an amp bleeding through the mix because of volume. Helix is extremely easy to use, sounds fantastic and seems to be built very well. Get one you won't regret it.

I've been a long time tube amp, pedalboard kind of guy. After lugging around a tube amp for 20+ years and tap dancing with the never ending pedals on my board (and still wanting more!), it was time to go a new direction.

After reading all the positive reviews, I picked up the Helix LT. OMG, where has this thing been all my life? Not only are the tones amazing, but the workflow while gigging is incredible. Say a song has a OD intro, a clean verse, a heavy chorus and a solo. Dial in the amp, pedal combo you want and then create each tone you need and save as a snapshot. Come gig time, load up the tone for the song and press snapshot one for the intro. Press snapshot 2 for the verse and the tone goes clean. Press snapshot 3 for the chorus and the wall of OD sound hits, and then solo time, press the last snapshot and you are in guitar bliss. No more tap dancing and it all sounds great!!

You can also save your band's setlist in the presets and split your 8 stomp buttons into two rows. Row one show the next 4 presets. Row 2 shows you the snapshots for the selected preset. It's so simple. No more bending over and tweaking pedals between songs. Did I mention I love this thing?

Finally, the online support community is amazing. The Helix user group on Facebook provides lots of expertise to get you up and started. Line 6 also has a forum for users to upload the sounds they create for free downloads. You will never run out of usable tones.

I've owned the Helix for just 2 days now and....

Right off the bat, the unit is surprisingly easy to use. It is the most genius programming ive ever seen. There are so many choices and there are millions of possibilities in terms of arrangement of all the sounds.

It was very quick and easy to set up the hardware. Once i got to know my way around the unit, i started building a signal chain. Within 1 hour, I got the most incredible guitar tone I've ever heard! I play everything from Jazz to Djent. This thing can create any tone that you can imagine!

This unit has changed my life! My music instantly sounded 100% more clear and defined. Thus, better! It has even made me practice more because it sounds so amazing and there is so much to do with it. It is definitely the most essential piece of gear i have ever purchased. Never will i need another guitar processor again. It also sounds killer with a bass!

With that said, im so happy with my purchase and i don't have a single doubt or regret regarding the Helix LT!

Thank you again to Patrick Weaver at Sweetwater for guiding me in the right direction! Best decision I've ever made!

Haven't had it for very long yet, but so far so good. I really like the interface and layout. Very intuitive and yet deep. Much happier with this than I was with the Boss GT-100.

Outstanding!! By far the best modeling/fx board out there. Still learning it, but so far this thing ROCKS!

Complete tube amp/pedalboard guy here. I gig a few times a month and really wanted something to simplify my life. I've had my eye on the modeling thing for a while but really didn't think I needed to make that jump. Also I had a bad experience with a boss multi-effects unit a few years ago that made me think it was all garbage, especially for a live gig
Fast forward a few years and the helix really began to look promising but I have a couple of really nice amps, some awesome pedals, and still wanted to use those.
I stopped at Sweetwater about a week ago and picked up an LT. when I unboxed it and started playing through it I realized how much of a newbie I am, but after some research and hooking it up to my Mesa with the four cable method I was able to make some amazing patches that totally replace my board, give me a better sounds for many of the songs in my sets, and are easier to keep track of and access. And all this is barely scratching the surface. I may or may not do the powered speaker thing but for now just running this thing through my amp is a complete breath of fresh air and at the end of the day the sounds are just awesome, which is the whole point.

Normally, I'm a big time tube amp snob,but this has completely converted me. First Off, props to Andy for getting this to me so fast! Thanks man! Next, that sweetwater quality is 2nd to none! Now for the Helix LT I had an idea that this would be an amazing piece of equipment, and I've had mine for a little over 3 weeks now, but omg this processor has such amazing amp sims, the uploading IR feature is breath taking. The ability to have multiple amps with multiple cabs all switchable through the scenes functionality, the ability to have multiple IR's running simultaneously or individually selected. The ability to have multiple functions turn on and off bound to 1 button, the ability to control specific parameters on amps, cabs, pedals with the EXP pedal - its all so amazing. Like i said, I've had mine 3 weeks now and I'm only now just starting to crack into deeper and deeper editing tricks. I can have an entire set list on 1 patch, i can have entire sets groups of parameters all controlled with that EXP. The list goes on and on, Well done line 6 Well done sweet water, I only buy from sweetwater and I feel bad now cause this processor means i dont need to buy anything else ever again, maybe a set of FRFR speakers for it.

Wow. Not that I expected anything less when I bought it; I've owned POD products for years. That said, the Line 6 Helix LT really delivers for my current application. I am writing rock songs for guitar, bass, drums and vocals; getting the rhythm section (bassist and drummer) into rehearsals to learn the songs; approaching the recording of my first album (bucket list - just for fun), and thinking seriously about performing around town once the studio work is done (San Diego, CA). I won't argue the point of whether the modeling is better than original analog equipment. Look, I get it: I grew up in the 60's and 70's, and I respect and still love a sweet Twin or a nice Marshall. Thing is, I need a lot of different tones... and the Helix LT with its expansive palette of amps, cabs, effects and controls is proving to be the PERFECT solution. What I really like and find especially useful is the Helix app for constructing song presets composed of snapshots that each represent a part of the song (intro, verse, chorus; bridge, solo, ending; etc). This combination of features is exactly what I wanted for my application, and the workflow I now use produces results that translate across creative construction, rehearsal, studio, and live performance applications. For creative construction, I use a pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones. In rehearsal, I use Yamaha DBR-10 and DBR-12 powered speakers. The studio and live work will go right into the board. That's it. I find that the Helix LT does it for me, and I can recommend this product to you if you want versatility, value and a forward-looking perspective on your musical creation with the guitar as a mainstay instrument. Hope this helps. Best to all. PS: Thanks to Bob Mondok and Sweetwater for being so good about informing me, getting my Helix LT set up with the latest download before shipping, and - what can I say? Sweetwater, you do a great job!... and I'm recommending you, too.

After using a POD HD for many years decided to pull the plug on the Helix after the LT came out. All I can say is this thing is amazing especially with the option of IR's. While the stock cabs in the POD HD were it's bane, the stock cabs in the Helix are way better, so much so that with the Helix cab parameters the cabs can be adjusted to about any setting as this can make or break the soundscapes. I have found adjusting the stock cabs to taste is almost as good as using some IR's. This thing is everything I have sought in an all in one multi-effect and then some so far.

Easy to learn... Fun to program... And sounds amazing thru a pair of studio monitor speakers. Wish I had purchased one when they first came out.

I used to think that a blindfold test would be the only true arbiter re tube vs modeling amps. If you could fool me, I'd sell my tube amps with a shrug.

And I've only had the Helix for a few days, and I can say that the sounds are great, really great, and it's even somewhat usuable for such a right brained space case like me. Sounding like you're feeding back through a Marshall stack on 11 at a whisper volume is very odd but cool. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I'm going to be using a lot of presets, and so far so good. Even for technophobes like me it's pretty easy to some things, step on actual buttons and turn actual knobs. So this thing is good for the feeble minded, relatively to it's kind.

But there's something about a pedalboard full of color and art and personal expression, etc. You can't get that in a digital brain. It can only be sampled. But if you need to play at night in your apt and still get your rocks off, this thing could have no equal. Kemper might have better tones, but it's way more money and harder to use. This is the price of 4-5 nice pedals, and you get those pedals plus all the rest. I'm a happy boy.

So, to me tubes are an aesthetic luxury, and impossible to completely replicate. But this is close. I'm still not selling my pedals or tube amps, nothing sounds like my 66 pro reverb. But this thing is a great toy, and stereo headphones are a $420.00 investment in personal pleasure. The family snoozes away meanwhile.

This review is for those that play in a house of worship. I don't claim to be the best guitarist, not even the okayist player but this thing makes me sound better than I really am. If you play anything from Bethel, Hillsong United, Young & Free, Elevation Worship etc. you can't go wrong with this unit. Even with less inputs and foot switches for individual pedals in pedal board mode I found myself using less than 5 effect at a time... most of the time. Lets be honest, all you really need is a comp and/or pitch shifter > drive > amp&cab > reverb and/or delay. For bigger production services like Easter/ Christmas I found the snapshot to be super useful, allowing me to change setting of individual knobs from individual effect within a preset, allowing seamless transitions within a song (verse, chorus, bridge etc.) End of review, honestly go try one out at your local dealer and just dive into it if this review made you more hesitant.

Here is a tip for those that like to drown in verb and delay but aren't sure if the Helix family can hang. There's a big section on Dynamic DSP on page 19 of the Helix Owner's Manual but here is my attempt at explaining how I run my delays and verbs. Processing is split between two chips/processors, so 1 per path in the Helix. So what I do to get crazy ambient swells is stack 2 delays and 3 verbs doing different things related to EQ and decay of the swells. Any way this eats up processing in a single chain and honestly the helix won't allow it IN A SINGLE CHAIN, lets call this path A by default. So I split processing between the two paths A feeds into B in series, drives pitch mods are in path A/chip #1 and stereo delays and verbs in path B/chip #2. After that is setup just use your ears to set up the delay sound you are after. Hope this was of service for anyone, if you have any other questions follow my on IG @man.glitter (Sweetwater don't shut this down for plugging myself *prayer hands emoji*)

Traded up from the Firehawk FX. Do yourself a favor and go right to the Helix LT. Easy to use easy to create your unique sounds and has a usb interface for creating your custom tones. The Firehawk FX uses the not so reliable Bluetooth interface. As usual my man John came through for me on this one!

Very satisfied with my purchase, the Helix LT is an amazing processor. I also own the Helix rack see my review on that also..The Helix LT it is in every way exactly like the regular Helix floor model and the Helix rack , minus some some input output options that quite frankly most people wouldn't use anyway. You also don't get scribble strips with the Helix LT but the large display very easily compensates for any reference you may need. I actually prefer having all of my references and the display anyway. The editing, amp models, the updating, the firmware everything is identical to the Helix Rack and to its counterpart the regular Helix floor model. Buy with confidence coming from a professional musician you can gig with the Helix LT with no issues or concerns or worries. This thing is very comfortable in the company of the Kemper profiler, the Axe effects Etc Buy with confidence you'll be glad you did. And also would like to give a shout out to my salesman Doc who always does a par exsalonce job and taking care of my musical needs and is always top shelf.

If you're a guitarist that intends on this being your main rig or effects unit, then it's perfect for you! Every amp has a different voice and emulates the sound of the real amp very closely. The effects are also just as amazing! You absolutely will not be disappointed with this thing! Now if you intend on using this as your main daw, you may want to get the floor or rack model, unless you have another interface for vocals. But otherwise this unit is absolutely wonderful! The best piece of gear I've ever bought! And as always, Mark Magdich and the entire sweetwater staff was amazing to work with! Love doing business here!

I had high expectations going from pedals to an all in one, and was still blown away by the helix. I can create individual presets for each of my songs with exact sethings and can still tweak presets on the fly. The looper is great as well! All of the pedal models are high quality and there was even a few sounds I hadn't heard before onboard

Besides the plethora of tones, ease of use is an Aplus. No problems making adjustments on the fly during a gig. The performance view is another major plus. So far this has been a win.

This thing is all its cracked up to be. The interface is super user friendly, and can be figured out in a couple of minuets. It also sounds very very good with my rockerverb. I had origionally bought a hd500x but it broke in two weeks. I sent it back and got this thing. Line 6 did a great job with making an affordable version of its bigger brother and I dont feel like I'm missing out on any features by getting the LT instead of the regular helix. Its litteraly the exact same internally. The only differences are the display screens per channel, two more effects loops, and the touch sensitive switches. But That's stuff I didn't find myself needing anyways. My only "complaint" with the board is the matte finish gets dirty very quickly. I've had mine for a week and its already covered in finger prints. BUT Its night and day how much better HELIX LT is than the hd500x. I have basically unlimited variations of tones at my disposal. So if you are thinking about getting one. DO IT!

So I have owned all the current gen top end modelers (AX8, Kemper, Amplifire) with vids on my YouTube channel to prove it! LOL!

I was a big nay-sayer on the Helix when it launched up until fairly recently. Once the LT was released at the current price point, I decided to check the Helix line out again and BOOM! All of a sudden (with FW 2.0) I started hearing some clips I actually really liked. Decided to reach out to my SW rep and ordered one. Ease of use is ridiculously simple. Within a day I was dialing in fairly complex patches that were more than satisfying.

If you'd have told me I'd be a Helix owner 18 months ago, I'd have "brained" you with my Kemper! LOL! Fact is, I love the LT and have learned that crow don't taste too bad...

Although the Helix LT appears to be solidly built, this unit is very large and bulky. I purchased this unit with the intent for using it as my live rig, connected to the front end of my Dr. Z Maz 18. Quite frankly, after hours and hours of tweaking, it just doesn't sound so great. Not bad, but not great. In addition, this unit is ridiculously over-complex. I just need a good clean tone (which I get directly through my amp already), plus a crunchy overdrive tone and one final patch for heavily overdriven/distortion. Then add some reverb, delay and either chorus or phaser (depending on the song I am playing) and I am all set. This may sound crazy, but my little Zoom G3x is just as good at serving my needs (tone wise) versus the Helix LT and it also is much smaller, lighter, more portable, and I only paid $179 for it. I was willing to pay $1,000 for the Helix LT, but unless you have a need for all types of crazy sounds and effects, then it is simply overkill. That said, I understand how "tweakers" may love the unit, but for me I enjoy playing for hours, not tweaking for hours. I returned the unit.

Have owned the full Helix from day one. Bought this unit as backup (I backup all my gigging gear) since the Helix is absolutely necessary for all the numerous tones I need for our cover band. I will use the LT as my gigging unit and leave the big one in my studio/practice area. The sound engines are the same which is huge. I actually like the LT for gigging with the smaller footprint. Just don't need all the inputs/outputs for gigs. Studio different story. Just as easy to edit patches as the full unit. Love these machines!

I have owned and currently own many Line 6 devices. I started with the original POD and upgraded every time the newer versions were released. When the POD x3 and x3 live came out I didn't think they could ever top it and that's the time I started using it as a DI instead of running it through an amp. At that time I was only using it in our church's choir/band. I would use the x3 live at church and playing out and I had the x3 bean to experiment and refine my sounds at home. Then came the POD HD with that unit I got the POD HD Pro for my home use and the 500 for church use. I had a really nice rack setup with the POD HD Pro as the center piece. It was so nice that a friend who is a pro touring musician fell in love with it and bought the whole rack with all the gear for his home studio. Then I got the 500x for home use since I was able to use more dsp with that model over the regular HD 500.

About two years ago right before the Helix was to be released I had a stroke. I didn't think I would ever play again. I donated both the HD 500 and 500x to church and sold all my guitars. Six months ago I received a cheap acoustic to help with my rehab from the stroke within a month I bought a really Ovation from Sweetwater because they play like an electric and it really enhanced the recovery process by getting the use of my left hand/arm better dexterity. I then bought an Amplifi TT so I could have some effects and mostly I wanted something to use as a Bluetooth streamer with my home stereo. My son gave me rides to physical therapy. He started talking to the therapist and they told him how good the recovery was going since I started playing guitar again, so he bought me an electric guitar from Sweetwater. I used it with the Amplifi TT but compared to the POD HD's it just didn't cut but I still loved using it to stream to home stereo and I thought I would just get another POD HD 500x cuz the price dropped and I was hoping to play with the choir again and we have a couple of those set up at church now. Then I saw the Helix LT. I always wanted get a Helix but I was forced into retirement after the stroke so I could never justify the cost. I figured I wait a few years and wait for the price to drop. The Helix LT made it so I didn't have to wait and is actually a lot more of what I need or should say it got rid of the things I didn't need or wouldn't use. The ins and outs on the LT are pretty much the same as the 500x and that's all I need. the scribble strips to me were just eye candy and a distraction from setting up tones. I've only had the Helix LT for 5 days but I have played more in the last five days then I have in the past few years combined. It helps me sound better which makes me want to play more. Its built like a tank. Its roughly the same size as the 500x but I ways almost twice as much. I've only used it up my desks so those touch sensitive buttons make it a lot easier to tweak over the old 500x and the software for the PC is really easy to navigate. The tone quality is amazing. I run it through a couple studio monitors and you can actually feel the power of the tube amps even at lower volumes. I know with all the free time I have now learning and mastering this is going to keep me busy for years to come. I still get giddy inside like a child on Christmas morning, cuz I wake up and say to myself I got a Helix LT to play with!!!

This thing will be a lot easier to cart around than all my amps. It takes a little time to get used to the difference between an amp shooting sound waves at your naked ear VS the cab and microphone modeling built into this. Tones are easily adjusted to get what you're looking for but be warned that presets seem to be more focused on sounds to go direct to a PA system (as opposed to headphones). Regardless, the system is almost endlessly flexible. Bearing this in mind, it can take a few minutes to get used to the configurations BUT Line 6 has set the standard for the future for an interface that is user friendly and dangerously flexible. Footswitches allow you to trigger or toggle things that would be impossible on a normal pedal board. This can be a HUGE benefit in gig situations.

I'm very pleased with this product

Got this for a pretty good deal from sweetwater. Through headphones, this is obviously not going to sound as good as your cranked tube amp. Few things do. But once you mike that amp (or plug it in in the case of the Helix), it sounds really great. This is the future, and the future sounds good.

Tones are superb, and it is just so easy to navigate on the unit itself (unlike the AX8 I previously owned). Built in expression pedal built like a tank!

Great unit-line 6 has come a long ways since the pod days-combined with Yamaha technologies -The selling point for me besides the scaled down version at 2/3 the price is the 3rd party Impulse Responses now available-Dave Brow never fails to take care of me and has become a trusted compadre in the never ending tonal search

This unit is amazing, there is no doubt about it. Once you understand how it works and how to program it etc you will have a world of great tones to wallow in, way more than most people will ever use. Thats the good part. The only negative is that, as seems to be the case with most things these days, the manual is all but worthless and it is hard to find a really decent video tutorial online. Almost all of the videos waste you time doing a comparison with the HELIX itself and assuming you know all about that. If you are new to this unitl it's not easy to learn unless you have a friend who already knows how to work it to show you. But, that said, once you get it down it is truly AMAZING.

The LT is great if you are on a budget - but I soon upgraded to the original Helix. You don't NEED the added features, but they are very nice to have. The gear sounds incredible (LT and original), and is very easy to use. And looks sexy. Badaboom.

Off the bat, you're most likely not going to enjoy the presets. That's just the facts. So be ready to commit alot of time to tweaking it and running through everything, learning the in's and out's. I am more picky about my tone than any one I personally know so I spent alot of time really messing with this thing. So let me tell you, if you have a sound you're going for, not only can this thing do it, but I would put it up against any actual amp.

This thing is incredible. It's that simple. It sounds amazing. It's amazingly convienent. I can get exactly what I need out of it for all my needs. I play a spectrum from Stevie Ray Vaughan-esque blues to ambient Chris Isaak like clean riffs all the way down to djent. This thing takes everything in stride.

I love tone but I hate messing around with all the different components involved to get tone. What type of amp is best, what pedals, ect. At the end of all the money spent over the years, I ended up with alot of gear. So I asked the question before I bought this alot of people have been asking. "Will it replace my actual gear?" The answer for someone like me, turns out, is 100% yes.

If you like all the different ins and outs of effects pedals, and tweaking your rig just right, this will make a really awesome and versitile addition to your setup. But if you're like me, and just want to have all of that in one simple set up, ready to plug into front of house and get started with ease, make the investment and buy this thing.

Lastly, I have a friend with the full Helix. So first hand, while the features of that model are quite nice, you don't NEED them. Not once while using the LT did I feel like I was hindered without the extra effects loops or the scribble strips. If all you're after is sound, you sacrifice nothing here. It's just as great as it's big brother.