Helix is a new kind of multi-effects guitar processor: it’s not only a tour-grade multi-effect pedal that sounds and feels authentic, it’s also one of the most comprehensive master controller for guitar systems ever built. Start by recreating the tones in your head with the new HX modeling engine—the new amps, cabs, mics and effects will feel familiar to anyone who has ever spent time in the studio getting the best guitar sounds from both vintage and modern gear. Have a pile of oddball pedals that you rely on for your personal sounds? No problem. Take advantage of the most comprehensive I/O and routing capabilities ever built into a multi-effect and easily integrate them into the Helix environment. Once connected, create custom setups and footswitch labels that make your external pedals feel like they’re all under the hood. Whether you spend your time in the studio or on the stage, Helix is the next-generation guitar processor you’ve been waiting for.

Real tone that 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. 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. Helix also lets you load custom impulse responses, allowing you to personalize your rig setup.

So intuitive, you'll already know how to use it
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 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 would 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. When it comes to creating tones, Helix is as fast as you are.

Part of the goal in developing Helix was 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 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.

Giving you the ability to touch a footswitch and quickly tweak parameters or easily assign or learn controllers, Helix is the fastest tone creator of its kind on the planet. But that’s only part of the story—it’s also the most flexible. Helix has four stereo paths per preset, allowing you to design complex routing scenarios for each patch. Creating variations on wet and dry routing schemes is as easy as loading a template or tweaking the joystick, and using the onboard effects models in conjunction with the four freely-assignable effects loops means that the tonal possibilities are truly huge.

Control of your entire rig–Integrate and control internal and external devices
As the most advanced guitar processor ever made, Helix can become the nerve center for your entire guitar 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.

Helix has the most flexible audio routing ever seen on a guitar processor, thanks to its dynamically allocated DSP. 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 stereo 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.

When you need to incorporate external devices via MIDI, Helix offers more flexibility than any multi-effects. 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 mixer, all with one press of a footswitch. Add three expression pedals, CV/Expression out, and external amp switching, and Helix can be the command center for any size rig.

Helix 3.50 Firmware – What’s New
The Helix 3.50 firmware update for Helix and HX hardware devices and the 3.50 software update for the Helix Native plugin introduces an entirely new IR-based speaker cabinet engine. It includes 20 guitar cabs and four bass cabs with a choice of 12 microphones, and you can change their angle, position, and distance in relation to the cabs. You can even drag the mics around in space for easier and more exact placement when using the HX Edit 3.50 application. Despite their increased power, however, the new cab models only utilize roughly one-third to one-fifth of the DSP as the cabs in version 3.15 and earlier due to the improved Helix Core, freeing up additional DSP for other purposes. There are also five new amp models, seven new effects, a Dual IR block and other improvements.

New Models
Guitar Cabs (Single and Dual versions)
• 1x10 US Princess - captured from the 1x10" Fender Princeton Eminence Copperhead
• 1x12 Grammatico - captured from the 1x12" Grammatico LaGrange P12Q
• 1x12 US Deluxe - captured from the 1x12" Fender Deluxe Oxford
• 1x12 Cali EXT - captured from the 1x12" Mesa/Boogie Extension Cab
• 2x12 Blue Bell - captured from the 2x12" Vox AC-30 Fawn Blue
• 2x12 Double C12N - captured from the 2x12" Fender Twin C12N
• 2x12 Jazz Rivet - captured from the 2x12" Roland JC-120
• 2x12 Mail C12Q - captured from the 2x12" Silvertone 1484
• 2x12 Mandarin 30 - captured from the 2x12" Orange PPC212 V30
• 4x10 Tweed P10R - captured from the 4x10" Fender Bassman P10R
• 4x12 Greenback25 - captured from the 4x12" Marshall Basketweave G12 M25
• 4x12 1960A T75 - captured from the 4x12" Marshall 1960A T75
• 4x12 Blackback 30 - captured from the 4x12" Park 75 G12 H30
• 4x12 Brit V30 - captured from the 4x12" Marshall 1960AV V30
• 4x12 Cali V30 - captured from the 4x12" Mesa/Boogie 4FB V30
• 4x12 Mandarin EM - captured from the 4x12" Orange Eminence
• 4x12 MOO)))N T75 - captured from the 4x12" Sunn Cab w/G75T
• 4x12 Uber T75 - captured from the 4x12" Bogner Uberkab T75
• 4x12 Uber V30 - captured from the 4x12" Bogner Uberkab V30
• 4x12 XXL V30 - captured from the 4x12" ENGL XXL V30
Bass Cabs (Single and Dual versions)
• 1x15 Ampeg B-15 - captured from the 1x15" Ampeg B-15
• 2x15 Brute - captured from the 2x15" Mesa/Boogie 2×15 EV
• 4x10 Garden - captured from the 4x10" Eden D410XLT
• 8x10 SVT AV - captured from the 8x10" Ampeg HeritageTM SVT-810AV
Amps
• MOO)))N T Nrm - based on the Normal channel of the Sunn Model T
• MOO)))N T Brt - based on the Bright channel of the Sunn Model T
• MOO)))N T Jump - based on the Normal + Bright channels in the Sunn Model T
• PV Vitriol Crnch - based on the Crunch channel of the Peavey Invective
• PV Vitriol Lead - based on the Lead channel of the Peavey Invective
Effects
• Pillars OD (Mono, Stereo) - based on the Earthquaker Devices Plumes
• Vital Dist (Mono, Stereo) - based on the Earthquaker Devices Life (distortion)
• Vital Boost (Mono, Stereo) - based on the Earthquaker Devices Life (boost)
• 4-Voice Chorus (Mono, Stereo) - Line 6 Original
• FlexoVibe (Mono, Stereo) - Line 6 Original
• Dynamic Ambience (Mono - Stereo), Line 6 Original
• Boctaver (Mono, Stereo) - based on the Boss OC-2 Octaver
New Features & Performance Enhancements:
• Dual IR Blocks
• Disable Snapshot Control over Parameter Assignment
• Improved Encoder Ballistics

Note: All product names are trademarks of their respective owners and neither Yamaha Guitar Group nor Line 6 are associated or affiliated with them. These trademarks appear solely to identify products whose tones and sounds were studied by Line 6 during sound model development.