Line 6 Helix Floor Amp and Effects Processor

zZounds Gear Experts Say...
Line 6 goes pro with the Helix. Loaded with the HX modeling engine, this floorboard can recreate the tone in your head -- and replace a rack full of effects.

Helix Floor is the flagship amp and effects processor from Line 6. Helix Floor leverages dual-SHARC processing and HXTM Modeling to deliver the authentic sound and feel of vintage and modern amps, cabinets, microphones, and effects. Meanwhile, that same processing power lets you create countless tones that simply don't exist in the analog world. The Helix Floor amp and effects processor also boasts the most intuitive and player-friendly user interface on the market. It includes a full-color LCD screen, ergonomically arranged controls, capacitive-touch footswitches, customizable scribble strips, and an onboard expression pedal. Four independent internal signal paths and extensive analog and digital I/O combine to provide nearly limitless signal-routing flexibility. The Helix Floor processor can also integrate external hardware devices, becoming the master controller for your entire rig, and third-party impulse responses (IRs) can be loaded to further personalize your sound. Plus, Helix Floor presets are compatible with all other Helix family devicesincluding the Helix Native plugin.

AUTHENTIC MODELING
HX modeling digitally mirrors the circuitry of analog amps and effects, component by component. Every model sounds and feels realistic, including such notoriously hard-to-model devices as vintage fuzz and modulation effects. Simply put, the Helix Floor amp and effects processor nails the analog vibe.

PHENOMENAL EASE OF USE
This massive power and flexibility might suggest a steep read more learning curve, but Helix Floor is incredibly simple to use. Capacitive-touch footswitches let you jump to any block, adjusting parameters or assigning controllers with a mere finger tap. The 6.2" (157mm) LCD display eliminates complex menu-diving, providing all the control you'd expect from an external editor. Color-coded LED rings, along with customizable scribble strips, convey effect status and footswitch assignments at a glance.

COMPREHENSIVE CONNECTIVITY
The Helix Floor amp and effects processor offers extensive I/O connectivity, routing capabilities, and MIDI integration. Its effects sends/returns (four mono or two stereo) can integrate hardware pedals or pedal chains as switchable loops. They also provide additional inputs and outputs, letting you process multiple instruments simultaneously and configure routing schemes such as wet/dry/wet and 4-Cable Method. Also included: three expression pedal/footswitch inputs, external amp-switching capability, L6 LINK connector for Powercab Plus active guitar speaker system integration, VDI Variax guitar connector, and CV output. This unparalleled flexibility permits integrated systems incorporating both digital and analog I/O.

EXPRESSION PEDAL/PEDAL EDIT MODE
The onboard expression pedal controls volume, wah, or any combination of parameters. Hands-free Pedal Edit mode allows you to edit any block parameter with your feet.

SNAPSHOTS
The Snapshots feature lets you to create up to eight variations within a single preset and seamlessly transition between them without experiencing the audio dropouts and disruption of delay and reverb trails that normally occur when switching between DSP-intensive presets. Enable and bypass effects blocks, change amp and effects settings, and much moreall within the same preset.

PLAYER-FRIENDLY MAC AND PC EDITOR
The free HX Edit app mirrors the Helix Floor processor interface. You can drag and drop amp/effect blocks, build signal chains, customize footswitch labels, and adjust parameters via dedicated knobs and sliders from your computer screen.

Helix 3.50 firmware features IR-based speaker cabinet engine and which adds 20 guitar cabs and four bass cabs with a choice of 12 microphones, and you can change their angle, position, and distance in relation to the cabs. You can even drag the mics around in space for easier and more exact placement when using the HX Edit 3.50 application.

Features:

- Exceptional sound quality with 123dB of dynamic range
- More than 300 authentic amp, cab, mic, and effect models
- 6.2" (157mm) color LCD screen
- Capacitive-touch footswitches with customizable scribble strips.
- Favorites and User Model Defaults for fast access to your most-used sounds
- World-class polyphonic pitch-shifting effects
- True Preset Spillover capability
- Extensive analog and digital I/O including L6 LINKTM and VDI Variax connectors
- 3 expression pedal/footswitch jacks, CV output, external amp switching, and comprehensive MIDI control
- User-friendly Mac and PC editor
WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.p65Warnings.ca.gov.
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Dimensions: 22.05 x 11.85 x 3.6 inches
Weight: 14.6 lbs.
Dimensions and Weight in Packaging
Base Item
Shipping Weight: 22 lbs
Shipping Dimensions: 31 x 16 x 7 in
Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 99-060-0105

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 818-575-3600

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. (15 ratings)
Submitted March 12, 2016 by Richard Chapman in Rosamond, CA

"First Impression Bad; Second Impression Fantastic"

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.
Iv'e been playing through an "old school" analog pedalboard and Marshall stacks for about 40 years, but I finally caved in and decided to try a digital rig. So I bought myself a Helix, based on its reviews and its bang-for-your-buck ratio. Well after my first day with this contraption, I was ready to send it back to the music store. Because as I went through many of the various factory presets, everything sounded fizzy and "sterile" to me. But I knew that I had 45 days to return it, so I decided to hold off and give it another chance. So on my second day with the Helix, I got into its menus and started tweaking things...

Sound
After tweaking various parameters for only about a half-hour, I was able to find "my sound" fairly easily. This is a complicated device and it definitely has a bit of a learning curve, but once I started getting the hang of it, the sounds that I was looking for suddenly burst out of the Helix and quite honestly, the quality of the sound totally blew me away. This is a very responsive unit and not only that, its low noise was a big surprise to me. Once you drop a noise gate or two into your effects chain, and tweak their settings, you wind up with a rich, full sound that is almost dead silent when you stop playing. So far, I'm loving it.

Features
Best features..? Well, it's a complex but highly configurable device and its menus are fairly easy to navigate. For assigning footswitches and the like, read more the touch sensitive switches are a brilliant addition. The on-board display is large enough that you don't need to squint to read it. And the back-lit, ever-changing "scribble strips" above each footswitch are very, very cool.

Ease of Use
Once you get everything set up to your own personal taste, the ease of being able to quickly change just about EVERYTHING on-the-fly, just by switching between one bank to another.... and to another... and to another... is as simple and as easy as can be. There is indeed a learning curve, as one might expect, but once you lean into it, everything begins to make sense to you. And the sounds are gorgeous... but only AFTER you start tweaking the various presets.

Quality
I have no idea how long it will last... many years, I hope. Physically, it is very solidly built and it has a fair amount of heft to it... which is always a good sign. Solid aluminum all around. A good, logical placement of switches and knobs. I should also mention that it looks very cool.

Value
Given the fact that most of these high-end digital rigs cost anywhere between $1,000 to $5,000... I'd say yes, it's price-to-value ratio is very high. It's manufactured in China, like most things these days, so we'll have to wait and see how reliable it turns out to be. So far, so good.

Manufacturer Support
So far, I have not had to deal with them.

The Wow Factor
Mainly what appeals to me about the Helix is the way that it squeezes hundreds of different sounds and features all "under one hood," without being so complicated that you end up walking away from it in frustration. I'm not quite ready to give up my old Marshalls yet, but the Helix is working beautifully through them... so that too is a major plus: it plays nice with my tube amps.

Musical Background:
Playing guitar for 45 years.

Musical Style:
Blues, rock, metal.
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