"Helix Vocals": who would want it?

[molul]

Just wondering how many people would want a Helix product designed for vocals. Guitarist+singer here, been using a TC-Helicon VoiceLive Touch for many years and I'm buying a Boss VE500 Vocal Performer this week because I'm a bit tired of having to use my vocals multifx with the hands (so hard to find the right moment to leave the guitar, press whatever button and get back to playing XD).

I chose the VE500 because it has everything I need: three simultaneous harmonies, many effects, a kind of customizable fx route (not as flexible as Helix, but you can choose between a few structures) and the most important, MIDI connection (because when possible I'll try to change the presets from a computer, but that's not possible in all gigs).

The only downside is that Boss' interface is so freaking old. Coming from a Boss GT8 and having moved to Helix LT a few years ago, getting back to this feels like going to the past XD Here's hoping Line6 has their take on this market and gives a proper product for these times!

 

[DLC86]

Well, the Helix has a mic input and some vocal FX, so it already exists?

I have the fm9 turbo, and since I always have some spare cpu on my presets, I just added a TC Helkicon C1 to use as a preamp and pitch correction and all other effects come from the fm9.
Only downside of this is a bit of perceivable latency since I'm going thru three digital devices (C1, FM9 and XR18) before reaching the speakers, so I'm thinking of ditching the C1 and put an analog preamp in its place

 

[Foxmeister]

Just wondering how many people would want a Helix product designed for vocals. Guitarist+singer here, been using a TC-Helicon VoiceLive Touch for many years and I'm buying a Boss VE500 Vocal Performer this week because I'm a bit tired of having to use my vocals multifx with the hands (so hard to find the right moment to leave the guitar, press whatever button and get back to playing XD).

Zoom V6 has entered the chat! :)

 

[molul]

Well, the Helix has a mic input and some vocal FX, so it already exists?

Kind of, yeah. But I prefer having two separate devices, as I heavily use snapshots in my songs (more precisely, the latest "snapshot sequence" mode), and having to think when to change to what state is too much. Also, I wouldn't have enough DSP and blocks spaces for both vocals and guitar FX.

Zoom V6 has entered the chat! :)

Oooh, I didn't know about that. Gonna take a look. Thanks!

EDIT: not bad, but only 2 simultaneous harmonies and no MIDI is a blocking for me XD

 

[molul]

Ok, after having been messing with the Boss VE-500 for a couple of days, I can say I like it WAY much more than the TC-Helicon VoiceLive Touch. And not only because I can use it with my feet instead of the hands and it doesn't have guitar FX I don't need (as with the TC-Helicon), but because, while the interface is soooooo outdated (Boss, please!), it's still more user-friendly, and way more powerful.

I was dubious about having only up to 3 simultaneous harmonies (VoiceLive allows up to 4 and I use them all in some songs), but the fact that you can, for instance, change the key of all three (or disabling the reverb, or changing whatever other parameter) just pressing one footswitch (similar to the Helix snapshots, but not as user-fiendly) has made my life so much easier

That said, (@Digital Igloo, wink-wink) , I will always wish for a Helix Vocals, in a similar format as the HX Stomp (the Boss VE-500 also has only 3 footswitches, and I've been able to handle all my stuff and program even more stuff I couldn't do with VoiceLive).

 

[zib]

I agree molul. Helix has everything to be a singer tool :
• XLR mic in
• reverbs
• delays
• modulations
• looper...

If Line6 could add :
• preamps models
• talkbox
• vocoder
• harmony effect for voice...

It would be a door open on a new market !

 

[DrewJD82]

At this point, I’d be down for any of the big name companies putting one out. I haven’t tried one in about a decade and it wasn’t the most expensive thing, though I can’t remember exactly what it was. I’d love to hear what could be done with one at this point in time, though!

I fronted bands for a little over a decade and just yanked apart my rig for the effects; I ran an XLR-1/4” into a TC Electronics G-Force and controlled it with a Ground Control Pro and an expression pedal, I actually preferred that more than any dedicated vocal unit I’ve tried!

 

[molul]

I just saw the new Boss VE-22. Slightly better UI, same functionality.

Still longing for a Helix Vocals device, or an update that turns the HX Stomp into that

(To clarify, I mean having a 3 or 4 voices harmonizer at the same time, without sounding like Alvin the squirrel xD).

 

[sleewell]

Seems like a good idea. Something smaller. Most singers wouldn't want everything the floor has and most guitarists dont want to share dsp with vocals. Stomp size would be great.

 

[Iron1]

I'd be all over a Stomp type vocal processor. Picked up a Zoom V3 last weekend, which is really cool, but no way I can really change FX live while singing and playing bass. Granted, maybe it has a foot switch and I haven't gotten that far in the discovery... but I'd rather have a VoxStomp.

 

[molul]

Seems like a good idea. Something smaller. Most singers wouldn't want everything the floor has and most guitarists dont want to share dsp with vocals. Stomp size would be great.

Exactly, and not only that: if you heavily use snapshots, sharing them for guitar and vocals is a huge mess.

I'd be all over a Stomp type vocal processor. Picked up a Zoom V3 last weekend, which is really cool, but no way I can really change FX live while singing and playing bass. Granted, maybe it has a foot switch and I haven't gotten that far in the discovery... but I'd rather have a VoxStomp.

I'm currently using Boss VE500. It's pretty good: it has a voice enhancer (quite noticeable when you bypass it), three harmony slots which work quite well, and then the assign section to change things when pressing one of the three footswitches, but it's miles away from the Helix snapshots in terms of UX.

A Helix device focused on vocals effects, which could get rid of amps and cabs and maybe add some vocoder functionality, would be huge. I know it's not the biggest market, but it's still a thing, and current flagship devices UIs are very outdated.