Line 6 ... Behind the Scene's / Open Day

[Lysander]

This all begs the question then: why have a Helix Rack? Should I sell mine and just get Native?

Well, if all you're doing is recording/playing at home... maybe?

I'd imagine Helix rack is quite useful to have around, if only for the very complete I/O.

 

[dean701]

This all begs the question then: why have a Helix Rack? Should I sell mine and just get Native?

Not sure if there are still deals to be had but there was a time when you owned any of the Helix hardware (rack/LT/floor) Native was free.

 

[molul]

I don't know. I've never thought about having a Helix rack. I only find it convenient if you tour with a rack full of other stuff and you only want a controller on stage, and then have a second rack unit to switch quickly if something happens.

I prefer my Helix LT for live, and then Native for home.

 

[Digital Igloo]

@Digital Igloo, unless I misunderstood, it's mentioned that everyone who records with Helix should have Native.

Now, I use a Helix Rack to record, and a Stomp for live. I do that specifically so I have the same tones available in both environments. Am I missing something by not having Native, too?

It really depends on how you record. If you're generally happy with your tone and have no desire to change anything after you've tracked, there's less of a need for Native. Yes, Helix Rack lets you re-amp after tracking both wet and dry versions simultaneously, but that's a massive pain IMO, as you're sitting there for the duration of the song x as many tracks as you need to change. Or you could slap Native on the dry track and tweak it at any time. Of course, there's something to be said for committing early so you don't spend years mixing a record only to have it come out terrible sounding anyway <ahem, Eric>, but I'd still much rather have the flexibility of changing things later.

Also, Helix Native is great on all sorts of non-guitar/bass tracks. I use it on vocals, keys, drums, busses, you name it. Lately I've been grabbing Retro Reel before any of the half dozen saturation plugins I have.

This all begs the question then: why have a Helix Rack? Should I sell mine and just get Native?

The main advantages are live performance, jamming, and (effectively) zero latency while tracking. One button press on my monitor controller routes Helix Rack directly to my studio monitors (digitally, so only one D/A), so there's never any need to boot the computer, launch Logic, and instantiate a plugin if I just want to play.

 

[Iron1]

It really depends on how you record. If you're generally happy with your tone and have no desire to change anything after you've tracked, there's less of a need for Native. Yes, Helix Rack lets you re-amp after tracking both wet and dry versions simultaneously, but that's a massive pain IMO, as you're sitting there for the duration of the song x as many tracks as you need to change. Or you could slap Native on the dry track and tweak it at any time. Of course, there's something to be said for committing early so you don't spend years mixing a record only to have it come out terrible sounding anyway <ahem, Eric>, but I'd still much rather have the flexibility of changing things later.

Also, Helix Native is great on all sorts of non-guitar/bass tracks. I use it on vocals, keys, drums, busses, you name it. Lately I've been grabbing Retro Reel before any of the half dozen saturation plugins I have.

The main advantages are live performance, jamming, and (effectively) zero latency while tracking. One button press on my monitor controller routes Helix Rack directly to my studio monitors (digitally, so only one D/A), so there's never any need to boot the computer, launch Logic, and instantiate a plugin if I just want to play.

Thanks for the explanation. Re-amping is a world I've yet to stray into, so might not be beneficial for me, on that note at least.

Currently, I spend a fair bit of time dialing in tones (I normally blend 4 guitar tracks - 2L & 2R and 1 or 2 bass tones), then just record 'em. Once I have the tones the way I want, I'll transfer the best ones to my Stomp for live use.

I very much enjoy just turning on the Rack and jamming. When I first got it, I was on an older MacBook that would not have played well with Native running while trying to run the DAW at the same time. Have a Mac Studio now, so that's likely no longer an issue. But, I still dig my Rack - and prefer the HX Edit for it over the one for the Stomp.

 

[dean701]

re-amping is the sh!t. Always record a DI track then you can always go back and change the part later. Heck, 5 years from now if all of the modeling is even better, you can re-do anything with the new technology. That is the beauty of Native. It doesn't print the track, it is the recorded DI that can be used anywhere.

 

[Lysander]

Also, Helix Native is great on all sorts of non-guitar/bass tracks. I use it on vocals, keys, drums, busses, you name it. Lately I've been grabbing Retro Reel before any of the half dozen saturation plugins I have.

I don't know who's responsible for the Retro Reel algorithm, but i hope that guy/gal got a raise. I love that effect to death.

 

[ragingplatypi]

I don't know who's responsible for the Retro Reel algorithm, but i hope that guy/gal got a raise. I love that effect to death.

So far I’ve used Retro Reel as a dirt box, to tame piezo acoustic while adding some subtle modulation, and in a synth pad to give it a little more watching-Blade-Runner-on-VHS vibe.