This little guy is AWESOME.
I already had the big Helix (floor), and have been lugging it around to gigs for a year and a half. Now with this, I can pack all the stuff I need in fewer bags.
Plus I got a super deal from Guitar Center, too...on a product that's hard to find basically everywhere else.
Super excited to try it out at tomorrow's gig! My 90s band is playing in the "fancy" RV lot at the F1 race here in Austin. Weird gig, but it's pretty amazing hearing cars whiz by that fast (the lot is right on the big straightaway).
Tripper
Funnily enough I ordered the stomp a couple of weeks ago, delivery 6 weeks as not many available in uk. However, a couple of days ago I cancelled the order when I had a moment of clarity. I already have the helix floor so what on earth do I want the stomp for? Just get sucked into the hype of theses things. Quite happy with the helix floor and don't actually need the stomp. Crazy.
What do think of the stomp ? It's a great idea and I think better for use as a desktop unit epecially if used as the audio interface. Not even sure why I ordered it other than "ooh must have that", but cancelled it after I started to see clearly :)
It's amazing, actually. I have used it for all my gigs since then (I play bass in a 90s band called Chandler and The Bings), with no loss of quality or real flexibility in what I do. I only run one pedal in the FX loop (Digitech Bass Synth Wah for Ginuwine's "Pony"), and I rebuilt my patch from my Helix floor in the HX Stomp with almost NO effort. For gigs where I need it, I use the headphone output into a powered speaker and can control my stage volume that way. It's exactly what I need.
Plus, I've used it at work at my studio plugged into my mixer to jam a little and it sounds fantastic in my home studio, too.
It sounds exactly like the big one, and the USB interface works perfectly. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. Honestly, if this had come out first, I might not have gotten the big one for a while - I never spend that much money on guitar gear. Plus it's way overkill for a gigging bassist.
Sonically, it's exactly like the big Helix, and if you want portability with no loss of tone, and you don't need all the loops or footswitch options of the LT or Floor, it's hard to argue against the little dude.
One of my best music gear purchases ever by far...
Tripper
Chandler and the Bings is... amazing
Ive just ordered one, will be here tomorrow. If I like it I will keep it and sell the floor unit as I dont need both these days. I dont play out much these days and when I do I only use reql amps. The stomp is just the right size for dicking around with at home !
I ordered a stomp yesterday and it arrived today. First impressions, I agree with you completely, sounds identical to the floor unit, only now it fits nice and easily on my desk.
I will continue testing it over the next couple of days, but at the moment I am fairly confident that I will be selling the floor unit sometime next week as the stomp covers all my needs including reamping to a real amp, which I am doing a lot of these days.
Tripper — Nov 19, 2018It's amazing, actually. I have used it for all my gigs since then (I play bass in a 90s band called Chandler and The Bings), with no loss of quality or real flexibility in what I do. I only run one pedal in the FX loop (Digitech Bass Synth Wah for Ginuwine's "Pony"), and I rebuilt my patch from my Helix floor in the HX Stomp with almost NO effort. For gigs where I need it, I use the headphone output into a powered speaker and can control my stage volume that way. It's exactly what I need.
Plus, I've used it at work at my studio plugged into my mixer to jam a little and it sounds fantastic in my home studio, too.
It sounds exactly like the big one, and the USB interface works perfectly. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. Honestly, if this had come out first, I might not have gotten the big one for a while - I never spend that much money on guitar gear. Plus it's way overkill for a gigging bassist.
Sonically, it's exactly like the big Helix, and if you want portability with no loss of tone, and you don't need all the loops or footswitch options of the LT or Floor, it's hard to argue against the little dude.
One of my best music gear purchases ever by far...
Tripper
That is wonderful, Jon. I hope it works out great for you! :)
Tripper
Tripper — Nov 27, 2018That is wonderful, Jon. I hope it works out great for you! :)
Tripper
I've actually decided to keep both the stomp and the floor unit....just in case :)
It's good to have options! :)
Jon — Nov 27, 2018[quote author=Tripper link=1540100632/0#6 date=1543300043]That is wonderful, Jon. I hope it works out great for you! :)
Tripper
I've actually decided to keep both the stomp and the floor unit....just in case :)
Mmmm.... Jon, you missed the Native plugin.... :D :D :D
Lol, I do have the plugin but don't like it or use it. Doesn't sound as good as the hardware units at all.
The plugin has the second-worst interface I've ever seen, which is bizarre because Pod Farm was a real thing of beauty. I used Helix Native as a demo for 30 days and it was pretty damn uninspiring. The Kazrog amp models, which also have a horribly weak interface, have ended up being my go-tos for just about everything, combined with the Torpedo cabs plugin.
I purchased the Native plugin before selling the LT version. I did some comparison tests with a "dry" guitar track. I loaded the same preset on both (plugin and LT) and I did not notice any differences while listening.
Once the input signal has been adjusted, the dynamic on the "live" guitar is also basically the same. Latency on the iMac is ~9ms, so it's not a big problem. It seems to me a good product.
As for the interface, I've actually seen better ones :) ... but it's not that different from the hardware version or the PC editor.
Ciao
Marco
