Immense care was taken to assemble a palette of tools that would let musicians quickly recreate the sound they hear in their head, without sonic compromise.
REAL TONE -IT FEELS AND SOUNDS LIKE YOUR ANALOG GEAR
When it comes down to authentic sound and feel, Helix represents a giant leap forward for guitar technology. The dual-DSP engine provides massive power to accurately recreate the dynamic feel of tube amplifiers, not just their sonic fingerprint.
HX CABS
The new HX Hybrid cabs represent a new approach to the speaker cabinet capture process. Not only do they provide the resolution of a 2048-point Impulse Response at lower DSP usage, they also provide a far more accurate low-end response than previously possible, as the proximity effect of the microphone is accurately captured at 12 different distances. Helix also lets you load custom impulse responses, allowing you to personalize your rig setup even further.
COMPONENT MODELING
Each stage of an amp's circuit has been measured and matched back to the original, so that each model reacts and interacts just like the real thing. This level of dynamic circuit detail extends into areas like power supply ripple, individual tube sag, and control over B+ voltages. Once these elements are captured, you get classic bloom and gooey compression on some amps, and a powerful gut punch on others.
INTELLIGENT INTERFACE
Massive power traditionally comes with a steep learning curve, but Helix challenges that way of thinking. Touch-sensitive footswitches allow you to select an effect block or other item for editing simply by touching it. In combination, the large 6.2 inch 800x480-pixel LCD display all but eliminates menu-diving and provides the same level of control you might expect from an external editor. Colored LED rings and customizable scribble strips complete the user interface, letting you know what each footswitch is doing at a glance.
PEDAL EDIT MODE
Helix was designed to allow guitarists to interact with technology in ways that are more intuitive, making the creation of tones easier. This means that-for the very first time-you won't have to stop playing to tweak a knob. With Pedal Edit Mode, you can edit any amp or effect parameter you like using your foot: simply select the block that you want to tweak, and its parameters spill out onto the footswitches. Select a parameter, and tweak the value using the expression pedal.
CAPACITIVE TOUCH FOOTSWITCHES
Helix is the fastest tone creator of its kind, giving you the ability to touch a footswitch and quickly tweak parameters or easily assign or learn controllers. Instantly jump to any block simply by touching the associated footswitch. It's so fast you can comfortably assign any item to a switch in 3 seconds.
FOUR DISCRETE SIGNAL PATHS
With FOUR discrete signal paths per preset, Helix allows you to design complex routing scenarios. Creating variations on 4-cable method and wet-dry-wet routing schemes is as easy as selecting a template preset, and using the onboard effects models in conjunction with the 4 freely-assignable effects loops means that the tonal possibilities are truly huge.
THE CENTER OF YOUR RIG
As the most advanced guitar processor ever made, Helix can become the nerve center for your entire studio or touring rig . Easily integrate traditional effects pedals and other hardware into your environment, creating a seamless hybrid rig that incorporates the best of what software and hardware have to offer.
FLEXIBLE AUDIO ROUTING
Helix has the most flexible audio routing ever seen on a guitar processor. Use the four effects loops to connect four separate pedal chains, or split them up and use them as freely-assignable inputs and outputs. In combination with four discrete signal paths, this means that you can process multiple instruments at once, send wet and dry signals to different places, and create large integrated systems that take advantage of both digital and analog I/O at the same time.
POWERFUL MASTER CONTROLLER
When you need to incorporate external devices via MIDI, Helix offers more flexibility than any multi-effect ever. In addition to powerful real time MIDI control, Helix can send up to six separate commands at patch recall that aren't assigned to a footswitch, which means you can change a patch on a synth, start a sequencer, and turn up a fader on an external digital mixer, all with one press of a footswitch. Add two additional expression pedal inputs, CV/Expression out, and external amp switching, and Helix can be the command center for any size rig.
HELIX 3.6 FIRMWARE UPDATE (HELIX, HELIX LT, HELIX RACK, HX STOMP)
The Helix ® 3.60 firmware update for Helix and HX ® hardware devices and the 3.60 software update for the Helix Native plugin introduce three new amplifiers
including the Grammatico GSG, seven new guitar speaker cabinets featuring 12“ speakers in various combinations, two new bass cabs, and two new effects. Note that the HX Effects processor adds only the new effects.
NEW MODELS:
AMPS:
- GRAMMATICO GSG - BASED ON* THE GRAMMATICO ® GSG100
- LINE 6 ELMSLEY - LINE 6 ORIGINAL
- AGUA SLEDGE - BASED ON* THE AGUILAR ® TONE HAMMER
GUITAR CABS (SINGLE AND DUAL VERSIONS):
- 1x12 Blue Bell - captured from* a 1×12“ Vox ® AC-15 Blue Alnico
- 1x12 Open Cream - captured from* a custom 1x12“ open-back cab G12M-65
- 1x12 Open Cast - captured from* a custom 1x12“ open-back cab EVM12L
- 2x12 Silver Bell - captured from* a 2×12“ Vox AC-30TB Silver Alnico
- 2x12 Match H30 - captured from* a 2x12“ Matchless ® DC-30 custom G12H-30
- 2x12 Match G25 - captured from* a 2x12“ Matchless DC-30 custom G12M-25
- 4x12 Greenback 20 - captured from* a 4×12“ Marshall ® “basketweave” G12M-20
BASS CABS (SINGLE AND DUAL VERSIONS):
- 1x12 Epicenter - captured from* a 1x12“ Epifani® Ultralight series
- 4x10 Ampeg Pro - captured from* a 4x10“ Ampeg® PR-410HLF
EFFECTS:
- Dark Dove Fuzz (Mono, Stereo) - based on* the Electro-Harmonix ® Russian Big Muff
- Triple Rotary (Mono, Stereo) - based on the Yamaha RA-200 rotary speaker (used by Pink Floyd)