Line 6 Helix FAQ

​Probably not, Helix’s presets are extremely large, and syncing 1024 tones would take forever. As Helix is more at home in larger studios and on larger tours, it makes sense to support Mac/PC editing.

​Probably not, Helix’s presets are extremely large, and syncing 1024 tones would take forever. As Helix is more at home in larger studios and on larger tours, it makes sense to support Mac/PC editing.

Yes, you can reamp two instruments simultaneously. You can even choose which two physical inputs will be sent dry to your DAW.

Delays, Reverbs and FX Loops have bypass trails, where they’ll continue to ring out after being bypassed (if desired). But this currently no delay or reverb spillover when changing presets.

Helix’s top panel is carved from a solid block of aluminum (like a Macbook Pro you can stomp on) and its side panels and treadle are solid aluminum as well. There’s no metal protection bar because our 210 pound lead tester kicked the crap out of it and the metal knobs worked flawlessly.

Stay in Preset footswitch mode. Then, the Global Settings > Footswitches menu, set:
*Knob 2 (Preset mode Switches) to “Lower Row”
*Knob 4 (Up/Down Switches) to “Banks”

There are two ways.
*From the Footswitch Assign screen, as long as the current block is assigned to a footswitch, press Knob 6 (Customize)
*From the Command Center screen, select Footswitch 1-6, 7-11, or Exp Toe and press Knob 6 (Customize)

No, Helix utilizes an all new from the ground up advanced dual DSP processor architecture with HX models.

Not quite. The reverbs and 8 our of 10 wahs are HD, but they’ve been enhanced and tweaked for inclusion in HX. The popular Line 6 custom amps Elektrik, Doom, and Epic are technically HD, but have been rebuilt inside the HX engine and many advantages of HX. All other amps, cabs, and effcts have been modeled in HX from the ground up.

The all new models in the HD model packs came from the original Helix modeling sessions (except for the Pete Anderson Custom which is based on POD 2.0!), but they’ve been stripped down somewhat to run on the HD architecture.

Instead of reso, thump, etc., Helix has mic distance, Low Cut, and High Cut.

Even though Helix has 2.3 times the DSP power of HD500X, and we have more efficient code optimization, HX models are notably more sophisticated than HD. In practice, you should get about 50% more blocks than HD500X and 60% more than HD500. However, the message popping up and telling you you’ve run out of DSP is gone. Instead, Helix intelligently grays out and skips over any models that can’t be accommodated.

Currently, Helix cannot move blocks between paths. You can, however, copy and paste blocks from one path to the other (even in a different preset)

1. Highlight a block you want to move to a parallel path a press ACTION to “pick it up”
2. Move the joystick down to move the block to the parallel path.

Along with the Helix Control Remote, Helix Rack’s workflow and feature set is virtually identical to that of Helix. Plus you get duplicate expression pedal jacks, a 1/4″ analog bypass (buffered) output, AES/EBU in and Wordclock in with terminator switch. Presets can be freely shared across both units with no file conversion required.

Yes, Helix Control is powered from Helix Rack. if you leave its power switch on, turning Helix Rack on and off will also affect Helix Control. The DC IN is for very long cable lengths (TBD, but probably over 100 feet) and for possible future use. Helix Control does not ship with a DC-3G, as it’s not necessary.

For potential future use. Helix’s Control firmware is updatable, but only while connected to the Helix Rack. which would be connected via USB to a Mac or PC. Do not connect Helix Control’s local USB jack to a Mac/Pc, at last for now.

No, but we tried. The color screen is far too large and there are too many ins and outs to fit into 2RU.

Helix’s headphone out is designed to drive even high impedance studio headphones. If you use low impedance headphones, you may hear a bit of distortion when cranked all thew way. This is normal.

Helix’s AUX IN has a 10k Ohm impedance, and is meant to accommodate guitars or basses with louder active pickups or line-level mono synths.