krispn Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 I had one of these briefly and while I’ll agree there are many many options if you already have an interface you know and like using (I already do), you have a couple of pedals which you use and enjoy (I already do) and you aren’t likely to be needing your bass to recreate a multitude of amps and cab with a host of I/O options or might not be for you. If you’re a tech geek and love shiny new things with loads of the latest cool tech and don’t mind spending £400+ for the two or three effects you’re realistically going to use then then you’re in trouble 😀 A good suggestion already mentioned is to download the Helix Native software and play about with the effects and amps and if it feesikw value for money to have the Stomp you’ll at least have road tested the actual effects - the hardware is a delight to use but you might find like I did that my limited use of pedals makes the whole package redundant even if it is cool as! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, krispn said: If you’re a tech geek and love shiny new things with loads of the latest cool tech and don’t mind spending £400+ for the two or three effects you’re realistically going to use then then you’re in trouble. All fair comments. However 3 quality single effect pedals can easily get you past £400, and then that's your lot. Cali CB + DG AO ultra = how much new? Whereas a Stomp can expand on demand at no extra cost and allow you to try out all the effects you fancy using without having to separately buy them. It won't nail them all, synth in particular. But that's what a FI is for Edited March 24, 2019 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnRDave Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) That's what's appealing to me with this really. I don't have the cash flow to throw at new pedals just to play around with and having the flexibility of playing around with different setups and sounds really appeals to me. I could sell my interface which I use to practice with at home and my pedals, purchase this and have change left over. Edited March 24, 2019 by RnRDave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 minute ago, RnRDave said: That's what's appealing to me with this really. I don't have the cash flow to throw at new pedals and having the flexibility of playing around with different setups and sounds really appeals to me. The best value multifx IMO is still the Zoom B3N and I'd happily recommend it as a great starting point if you're on a budget. If you can fork out the extra, then the quality of the Stomp, in terms of its chipset and processing power, delivers effect sims at the next level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) I use mine pretty much every day for both guitar and bass. I'm starting to get really into home recording and the Helix provides an almost infinitely bigger pallette of different sounds and tones than I could ever afford or even fit in the house if each part of the digital chain was using a separate pedal or amp/cab. For my purposes it's perfect. Edited March 24, 2019 by Cato Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnRDave Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 2 minutes ago, Cato said: I use mine pretty much every day for both guitar and bass. I'm starting to get really into home recording and the Helix provides an almost infinitely bigger pallette of different sounds and tones than I could ever afford or even fit in the house if each part of the digital chain was using a separate pedal or amp/cab. For my purposes it's perfect. I feel like I'm in a similar boat. I play in a cover band and occasionally jam with friends and I feel this would see me for many years as long as there's updates. I've never ventured into multi fx but this is the first product that's caught my attention in recent years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) Oh bugger... I might be getting kicked out of the 2019 gear abstinence challenge For me it’s all about issues with the size of my current pedalboard and just like @RnRDave said, it’s the first multi fx that has me curious and I’d have a fair bit of change left over - which woud be quite handy at the moment. Think I’ll try one out soon, could go either way to be fair. Either I feel the ‘digital aftertaste’ that I always picked up on in the past, or I realise that it’s just too silly not to downsize and cash in. Edited March 25, 2019 by Chiliwailer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnRDave Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 21 minutes ago, Chiliwailer said: Oh bugger... I might be getting kicked out of the 2019 gear abstinence challenge For me it’s all about issues with the size of my current pedalboard and just like @RnRDave said, it’s the first multi fx that has me curious and I’d have a fair bit of change left over - which woud be quite handy at the moment. Think I’ll try one out soon, could go either way to be fair. Either I feel the ‘digital aftertaste’ that I always picked up on in the past, or I realise that it’s just too sensible not to downsize and cash in. I just keep watching videos of the pedal and think 'that sounds pretty flipping nice'. I swear by my sansamp and I guess that's the same principle here with just a different flavour pre amp modulation. The only other thing that gives me 'the fear' is that computers sometimes go wrong and what happens if everything suddenly gets wiped before a gig? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshy Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 29 minutes ago, Chiliwailer said: Oh bugger... I might be getting kicked out of the 2019 gear abstinence challenge For me it’s all about issues with the size of my current pedalboard and just like @RnRDave said, it’s the first multi fx that has me curious and I’d have a fair bit of change left over - which woud be quite handy at the moment. Think I’ll try one out soon, could go either way to be fair. Either I feel the ‘digital aftertaste’ that I always picked up on in the past, or I realise that it’s just too sensible not to downsize and cash in. Yeah I’d never used multi FX ever either and my pedal board was a canny size. Now I have a Line 6 G50 and a stomp. Incredible! Does absolutely everything really really well. More than enough for what I need now and great fun to craddock about with too. Yeah I’ll be using it live for the tour this year, see how it fairs but i don’t miss my old board, not a jot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 minute ago, RnRDave said: I just keep watching videos of the pedal and think 'that sounds pretty flipping nice'. I swear by my sansamp and I guess that's the same principle here with just a different flavour pre amp modulation. The only other thing that gives me 'the fear' is that computers sometimes go wrong and what happens if everything suddenly gets wiped before a gig? That’s a good point. I noticed on a Talkbass thread that people share their patches, I wonder then if there is a way to save them? I’m not very techy. The answer may be buried in these 65 pages (which also has some guys taking about shifting patches issues at gigs) https://www.talkbass.com/threads/line-6-hx-stomp.1367068/ They do sound nice in the online vids. I guess my only concern is that I play through headphones so everything is so much more excentuated. I bet they sounds awesome at volume with a band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 minute ago, walshy said: Yeah I’d never used multi FX ever either and my pedal board was a canny size. Now I have a Line 6 G50 and a stomp. Incredible! Does absolutely everything really really well. More than enough for what I need now and great fun to craddock about with too. Yeah I’ll be using it live for the tour this year, see how it fairs but i don’t miss my old board, not a jot. Good to hear 👍 Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 13 hours ago, RnRDave said: That's what's appealing to me with this really. I don't have the cash flow to throw at new pedals just to play around with and having the flexibility of playing around with different setups and sounds really appeals to me. I could sell my interface which I use to practice with at home and my pedals, purchase this and have change left over. The Helix Stompmis a solid unit and now you’ve mentioned that you double on guitar it will be a very useful piece of kit to have. I have a lot of flexibility with my DAW for getting different sounds if I need them for home use/recording but live I keep it pretty simple on bass. IME the Stomp while sounding great wasn’t really something I was gonna maximise the use of and as I already have a couple of pedals I like it went back to the shop. If I went down the iem route and was amp less then I’d revisit the Stomp (I’d still only need a very basic set of tones) the quality and flexibility of the unit is impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Mine came into its own yesterday, at a rehearsal of a band we've reformed after 30 years for a gig this year. Several of the songs proved, erm, challenging in the original key for the singist, and my set of pitch-shifted presets were a joy. How I grinned after someone said "Shall we give this a go in D?" and the guitarist and keyboard player started twiddling with controls while I just tapped my foot twice and said "In D? I'm good" 😀 Seriously, the tracking is seamless. 😍 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, Muzz said: Mine came into its own yesterday, at a rehearsal of a band we've reformed after 30 years for a gig this year. Several of the songs proved, erm, challenging in the original key for the singist, and my set of pitch-shifted presets were a joy. How I grinned after someone said "Shall we give this a go in D?" and the guitarist and keyboard player started twiddling with controls while I just tapped my foot twice and said "In D? I'm good" 😀 Seriously, the tracking is seamless. 😍 How does this work?! I must have completely washed over that effect? Sounds brilliant. Is it a standard effect on the helix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 5 minutes ago, Muzz said: Mine came into its own yesterday, at a rehearsal of a band we've reformed after 30 years for a gig this year. Several of the songs proved, erm, challenging in the original key for the singist, and my set of pitch-shifted presets were a joy. How I grinned after someone said "Shall we give this a go in D?" and the guitarist and keyboard player started twiddling with controls while I just tapped my foot twice and said "In D? I'm good" 😀 Seriously, the tracking is seamless. 😍 So Cali CB, DG AO Ultra and Pitch Shifter sorted. I think it's just paid for itself! And that grin on your face would obviously be priceless 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Yeah, you just use add the Pitch Shifter into your effects chain, 100% effect, turned down/up to where you want. I've got all my presets duplicated in Eb, D and even C, just in case... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Given that the guitarist/singist has worked in the music industry his entire career, it was nice to be the one with the fastest solution...even better when we did the same thing back up to Eb, and it took me the same three seconds to select my Eb patch...the drummer, naturally, looked at me like I was a witch... 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Whoa, brilliant! I'll take a look at that asap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 49 minutes ago, Muzz said: and it took me the same three seconds to select my Eb patch...the drummer, naturally, looked at me like I was a witch... 😁 Weird he should think that. In my experience drummers manage to change key (and rarely moan about having to do so) quicker than just about anyone else in the band 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 1 hour ago, Muzz said: I've got all my presets duplicated in Eb, D and even C, just in case... I think the award for smart thinking goes to @Muzz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 It's very easy: that copy/paste thing is brilliant: take a copy of the preset 'X', add the Pitch Shifter, drop to required key, rename to 'X in D', repeat... 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 5 hours ago, Al Krow said: So Cali CB, DG AO Ultra and Pitch Shifter sorted. I think it's just paid for itself! And that grin on your face would obviously be priceless 😁 You forgot tuner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, krispn said: You forgot tuner! Ok that does it!!! I just gotta get me one of these. ...oh wait, I did that already. Now where did I leave it? 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Underneath the squeaky floor board, by the bed in a sock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Which pitch shift patch are you using? I'm struggling to work it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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