Line 6 Helix Megathread - 2.80 update

[bhakan]

Again, you're making statements about L6 failure to market a consumer product that doesn't even exist yet.

L6 are huge, I'm VERY confident they have a robust marketing strategy and roadmap. Influencer marketing is VERY in right now, and very effective. One a v1.0 product is out, I'm sure seeder units will be provided to key influencers, with our favourite metal video guys being a part of that, no doubt.

Good example, Bias Desktop. Their v1.0 consumer version announcement was with animals as leaders guitarist. The time, effort and money to do that would have been wasted on alpha/beta builds.

This is basically what I was getting at. There's gonna be plenty of proper metal demos once the product is out, but right now they're just trying to grab peoples attention. This thread was how many pages before an actual demo was posted? They got our attention just fine just by announcing the product, now they're trying to grab others attention and then when it's released they'll start actually focusing on demos.

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

Again, you're making statements about L6 failure to market a consumer product that doesn't even exist yet.

L6 are huge, I'm VERY confident they have a robust marketing strategy and roadmap. Influencer marketing is VERY in right now, and very effective. One a v1.0 product is out, I'm sure seeder units will be provided to key influencers, with our favourite metal video guys being a part of that, no doubt.

Good example, Bias Desktop. Their v1.0 consumer version announcement was with animals as leaders guitarist. The time, effort and money to do that would have been wasted on alpha/beta builds.

Why announce it at NAMM, release half baked 'metal' demos then? Hype? That's why I mentioned the Yamaha Reface in a previous post, imho, the absolute worst hype campaign in history of mankind. Maybe I missed it, but when is the release date, in Winter NAMM?

 

[marcwormjim]

I wish people wouldn't be so quick to jump on the "HELIX SUCKS 4 METAL" bandwagon.

Line 6 isn't "failing" any more spectacularly than they did with marketing the original Variax line, failing to produce a Variax with roadworthy hardware, trying to spin the DSP limit and poor roadworthiness of the HD500 to be the best thing ever at launch, trying to sweep the false claims of the HD500X fixing the DSP limit under the rug at launch, cultivating a public image of ignoring IdeaScale for five years, only releasing expansions for their products at the end of their lifecycles and then continuing to charge top-dollar for POD XT amps a decade later, hyping every yearly NAMM-release of their iPhone-controllable bedroom amp or multi-FX as a "gamechanger" and then rewarding the consumers of said products by rendering them obsolete in the resale market through releasing a replacement flagship-product the following year; claiming that they'd "done the market research; and their consumer base doesn't want IR loading" a month before announcing the Helix and its IR loading, or striking when the iron was years-cold to put out an iOS POD app that could compete with Yonac and Positive Grid's products.

It's not going to kill anybody to just wait until the product comes out, before slinging the mud - There's no shortage of other things to hate on. Even if Helix doesn't seem like the best thing since sliced bread at-launch, just wait a few months and you can snag any one of dozens with hairline screen-cracks for under a grand off eBay.

 

[xCaptainx]

Why announce it at NAMM, release half baked 'metal' demos then? Hype? That's why I mentioned the Yamaha Reface in a previous post, imho, the absolute worst hype campaign in history of mankind. Maybe I missed it, but when is the release date, in Winter NAMM?

I have no idea, and I have no answers, which I am very comfortable with. I have no idea how well it'll do metal, much like how I have no idea how well it'll do Norwegian folk music either. I'll wait patiently until a) It's a full fledged product, and b) it's in the hands of metal heads and hey, folk music fanatics alike.

id you don't want to fall for what you are calling 'hype campaigns' then here's an easy solution; don't consume it. Wait for the consumer model.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Why announce it at NAMM, release half baked 'metal' demos then? Hype? That's why I mentioned the Yamaha Reface in a previous post, imho, the absolute worst hype campaign in history of mankind. Maybe I missed it, but when is the release date, in Winter NAMM?

You're comparing this to the "worst hype campaign in history" because there isn't a "decent" high-gain demo?

Well okay then.

 

[Spinedriver]

You're comparing this to the "worst hype campaign in history" because there isn't a "decent" high-gain demo?

Well okay then.

That's the thing, when the AmpliFire pedal was announced people were super excited because you could load IRs. Even after a few months, I think there's still only about a half dozen demos up that could be considered "high gain". Granted, Atomic Amps doesn't have the marketing power that Line 6/Yamaha has but the point is that there are tons of amps & pedals that people buy without seeing adequate demo videos. 20 years ago, there was no such thing. If you wanted to buy a pedal or something, you had to either go by descriptions and/or written reviews or you had to actually try it out first.

That being said, just because there's a lack of Youtube videos prior to something's release you can't really make an informed decision.

 

[TheShreddinHand]

And everything thus far has been done with pre-release firmware.

I must have missed this, where did they mention that? And if that's the case, why release videos/demos at all if it's incomplete?

 

[mikah912]

I must have missed this, where did they mention that? And if that's the case, why release videos/demos at all if it's incomplete?

Digital Igloo said elsewhere that the units themselves are already shipping from the manufacturing place of origin. But before they can be sold, they have to be flashed with v1.0 firmware - meaning none of them have it as of yet. Finally, the manual will be packaged as a USB stick included in the box.

 

[TheShreddinHand]

Digital Igloo said elsewhere that the units themselves are already shipping from the manufacturing place of origin. But before they can be sold, they have to be flashed with v1.0 firmware - meaning none of them have it as of yet. Finally, the manual will be packaged as a USB stick included in the box.

Ah ok, thanks. But the one Sean is using in the demos doesn't have new firmware? I find that hard to believe.

I don't know, but I get a better metal tone out of my 14.5 year old AX2 212! (at reasonable volume and not cranked though )

 

[mikah912]

Let's not pretend that there aren't bad metal demos of the Axe-FX II or Kemper out there. Or pretty much any real tube high gain amp too (Premier Guitar "Monsters of High Gain" series, anyone?).

 

[Sumsar]

^ Or every video with Paul from guitar world?

 

[asher]

^ Or every video with Paul from guitar world?

See sig.

 

[Sumsar]

See sig.

Love it!

 

[mikah912]

^ Or every video with Paul from guitar world?

Exactly. Look at his review of the PRS Archon, then look at the Keith Merrow/Jeff Loomis playthrough of it for "Inexhaustible Savagery".

It sounds like a completely different piece of equipment from an entirely different manufacturer.

 

[cwhitey2]

Half of the Helix team consider themselves "metal guys"; three of my favorite bands are Deafheaven, ISIS, and Gojira. None of us make videos tho'.

Or setup the patches!

 

[mikah912]

Or setup the patches!

Stevic from Twelve Foot Ninja is writing presets for Helix. God willing, they bagged John Browne and some other POD-friendly contemporary metal artists to do the same.

 

[Digital Igloo]

Or setup the patches!

We're making hundreds of mid-gain Plexi blues presets. Hope you guys are all 50-year-old dentists.

I kid. Plenty of metal stuff to be had.

 

[elkinz]

We're making hundreds of mid-gain Plexi blues presets. Hope you guys are all 50-year-old dentists.

I kid. Plenty of metal stuff to be had.

I very nearly missed the tiny text. hahaha

On the Brightside, if you make hundreds of mid-gain plexi blue presets Paul from GW will have a field day!

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

You're comparing this to the "worst hype campaign in history" because there isn't a "decent" high-gain demo?

Well okay then.

Not comparing per se but if companies with great history like Yamaha can fall victim to the hype epidemic, others may, and if all I'm seeing from line 6 is gui demos and half a$$'d metal tones, then I'm not interested, sorry! And saying the product is not ready for release while it already shipped is a really lame excuse.

I HOPE this will be a contender for Kemper because more competition is only good for us.

 

[mikah912]

Not comparing per se but if companies with great history like Yamaha can fall victim to the hype epidemic, others may, and if all I'm seeing from line 6 is gui demos and half a$$'d metal tones, then I'm not interested, sorry! And saying the product is not ready for release while it already shipped is a really lame excuse.

I didn't say the product wasn't ready for release. It most certainly is, but it's a foreign made product that has to be reflashed, QCed, and then coordinated with a sustained marketing blitz with retailers.

Given all of those considerations, I think proving to individual internet commenters that it can do X sound 30 days before release ranks pretty low on the totem pole, and rightfully so.

No real metal players have demo'd the unit yet When they do, we'll see/hear quality metal tones, I suspect. It's not like the HD generation is some blight on amp modeling that has to be 100 percent erased and moved away from for Line 6 to make a quality product.

It was already pretty close. This - on paper - has improvements in both amp modeling and IR versatility, so it's safe to assume it's there...we just have yet to hear it.