Line 6 HXFX users, durability question

[budda]

My bandmate is considering adding the line 6 HelixFx to his board. His main concern is durability as he's on his 7th DL4 (they are known for breaking). We play 60-90 shows a year with the potential for more, so we need equipment that will hold up.

I know it's a relatively new piece of equipment but hopefully people can chime in with their experiences. Hopefully those experiences involve live use .

Thanks!

 

[MASS DEFECT]

Those lcd screens are vulnerable. they break or leak like the helix. thats why i hear people going for the helix lt instead so they can get away from the lcd scribble strips problems. although with the helix you can find screen protectors. i dont know if somebody already fabricated one for the hxfx.

 

[budda]

I didnt think of that, thanks.

 

[Laimon]

Yeah, I would see that as only problem really - the chassis is otherwise really sturdy.

 

[budda]

What about the buttons though? As I said, the DL4 buttons/board are notorious for failing with heavy use.

 

[lewis]

subscribed because I was considering one paired with my Kemper 4cm for efx and tone switching via the midi

 

[jvms]

Not trying to derail the thread, but do you guys think this multi fx processor could be used on live vocals? My main goal is to get a mixed vocal sound with compression, deessing, EQ and saturation. Is there anything else that would be more suitable for this application.

 

[Digital Igloo]

Those lcd screens are vulnerable. they break or leak like the helix. thats why i hear people going for the helix lt instead so they can get away from the lcd scribble strips problems. although with the helix you can find screen protectors. i dont know if somebody already fabricated one for the hxfx.

Huh? I've literally never once heard of a scribble strip in Helix leaking. We'll get an occasional bad scribble strip (no one's immune, including NASA), but it's like one in a thousand units at worst. Considering there are 13 scribble strips on a Helix, that's [extremely complex math] one out of 13,000 scribble strips, well within the acceptable failure rates of the most stringent MI manufacturing companies. And if something like that happens, Frank Ritchotte's support team is second to none in getting replacement units out.

The switches on Helix and HX products are radically different from those on the DL4. They're tour grade. DL4's switches have been improved several times over its lifecycle as well, and most of the stories people tell are from earlier units.

 

[MASS DEFECT]

My apologies. Probably, leak was the wrong word to use. I just see some people have bad lcds that look like there's black lines on their corners.

 

[Veldar]

You know about the DL4 switch mod right? Only $100 Aud for it down under so the American prices would be heaps lower

 

[Veldar]

The switches on Helix and HX products are radically different from those on the DL4. They're tour grade. DL4's switches have been improved several times over its lifecycle as well, and most of the stories people tell are from earlier units.

Can Line 6 please do a new looper with all the dl4 functionality but with switches that don't break, just get Nick Reinhart to sell them to all the pedal nerds (me) & that'll cover R&D within a week of shipping them.

 

[budda]

Huh? I've literally never once heard of a scribble strip in Helix leaking. We'll get an occasional bad scribble strip (no one's immune, including NASA), but it's like one in a thousand units at worst.

Do you work for line 6 by chance? I feel like 1/1000 is not a great average, especially given the luck of my band .

You know about the DL4 switch mod right? Only $100 Aud for it down under so the American prices would be heaps lower

The current DL4 he has was modded with new switches, and it's still failed more than once.

I'm hoping my local store has one for me to try, since the FX8 is rare as hen's teeth right now .

 

[MASS DEFECT]

One alternative is a Boss MS3. One of the bands we gig with swear by them. Transparent in 4CM, has a lot of effects, can do amp switching etc etc.

And it definitely looks it can take a beating.

 

[budda]

We plug straight into 80's marshalls with no loops, so the 4CM thing and channel changes aren't a selling point. That said I've heard good things about said MS-3.

The big potential selling feature of the HxFx is the legacy delays from the DL4. If it can do the weird noises with an expression pedal that the DL4 does, then he'll probably make the change based on that alone (and move a couple other pedals off the board at the same time).

I tried one out today and I had some trouble just navigating around. The cheat sheet was somewhat helpful, but I think a) using the computer editor or b) having the full manual goes a long way in getting what you want out of the unit.

 

[MASS DEFECT]

Ah I see. If he is really a fan of the DL4, then the HXFX is the one to get. You also get more control with the hxfx I think.

 

[budda]

Ah I see. If he is really a fan of the DL4, then the HXFX is the one to get. You also get more control with the hxfx I think.

Well he's a fan of 1 thing the DL4 does, or he would have been rid of it on the 3rd one . He's going to test it out at some point, I just got there first. I'm still in the FAS camp as far as a multi is concerned.

 

[Veldar]

If e ends up selling the DL4 hit me up

 

[Shoeless_jose]

Do you work for line 6 by chance? I feel like 1/1000 is not a great average, especially given the luck of my band .

He does work for line 6 for the record

The current DL4 he has was modded with new switches, and it's still failed more than once.

I'm hoping my local store has one for me to try, since the FX8 is rare as hen's teeth right now .