LarryUK Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Anyone here using the digital doomer of valves? Or a Headrush, GT1000? I'm thinking of getting a Helix, but I'm watching and waiting for a deal. I love my deals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky Forrest Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 (edited) I've been looking at this beauty: Kemper Profiler Head + Profiler Remote https://www.kemper-amps.com/products/profiler/line-up Edited August 20, 2019 by Marky Forrest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelT Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 The other guitarist/keyboardist in our band swears by his Helix. Nita Strauss swears by her GT1000. I like my Marshall valve amps and have both Fender Mustang and Marshall Code modeling amps for practice and backup. I've played the Helix and for me, it doesn't have enough response but it could be the way he has it set. There's a lot of really nice features but I wouldn't use 90% of them with what we're currently playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 (edited) 11 hours ago, LarryUK said: digital doomer of valves 😱 my tube based flanger and delay are sure to be obsolete, and neither even have an “extreme” mode The headrush definitely has my tube looper doomed Edited August 20, 2019 by Dub-T-123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernomega Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Bought a Kempler, basically to free up space in my room (get rid of the other amps). It's amazing. Reproduces all if the touch,sag, call it what you will, of all of my other amps, and that of my friends that have been kind enough to let me drag a mic around. It really is sensational. Sadly, it has become another piece of furniture in my room. As amazing as it is, my AC30, AC15, Vox Bruno and Tweeds are beautiful things. The Kempler can't take that away. Yup. I am that shallow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 The Helix is around £1150 UK, but I can get a used Headrush for under £500. Is the Helix that much better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 33 minutes ago, LarryUK said: The Helix is around £1150 UK, but I can get a used Headrush for under £500. Is the Helix that much better? You have probably seen this but if not then it might be of interest to you; Pip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 As a starter, I've picked a Firehawk FX up for £190. I know it's not a Helix. But I like the way I can adjust it with my phone of iPad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 About two years ago I stopped using an amp altogether when playing with my band, and just use an Eleven Rack. It goes straight to the mixer so guitar is mixed with everything else (vocals, bass, drums). It has more options than I could ever use, many many amp models, speaker cabinets, microphones (and where they are placed center/offset) every effect I could think of etc. When they first came out they were about $1000, but I picked mine up from Sweetwater for $300. It is a different type of system from what you are talking about as generally you don't press a button in the middle of a song to add an effect. Rather you pre-program a "rig" for any given song and pretty much stick with that throughout the song. You can change the "rig" setting with a foot pedal at any time if you wish but that would mean having two rigs programmed and say one with distortion and the other the same, but without distortion. Sounds like you have started down a road already with the Firehawk FX, but if you can find one check out the Eleven Rack, it may be all you need and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted August 27, 2019 Author Share Posted August 27, 2019 12 hours ago, Twang Gang said: About two years ago I stopped using an amp altogether when playing with my band, and just use an Eleven Rack. It goes straight to the mixer so guitar is mixed with everything else (vocals, bass, drums). It has more options than I could ever use, many many amp models, speaker cabinets, microphones (and where they are placed center/offset) every effect I could think of etc. When they first came out they were about $1000, but I picked mine up from Sweetwater for $300. It is a different type of system from what you are talking about as generally you don't press a button in the middle of a song to add an effect. Rather you pre-program a "rig" for any given song and pretty much stick with that throughout the song. You can change the "rig" setting with a foot pedal at any time if you wish but that would mean having two rigs programmed and say one with distortion and the other the same, but without distortion. Sounds like you have started down a road already with the Firehawk FX, but if you can find one check out the Eleven Rack, it may be all you need and more. I've not heard of that. Is it the same company as Headrush? That says it's powered by Eleven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 I would get a Helix. Everything about them seems right for me. The only reason I haven't is that I'm still really happy with the HDPod I already use. Part of the reason is that I am lazy, and I have already set up banks of tones/EQ tailored to each working guitar I have. These are the best sounds I have had in 49 years of playing. Could the Helix do better? It almost certainly could, but by how much? How much would be noticable? And would the punters notice at all? I have never found any signal processor (I used BOSS GT5 for ages) that is usable 'as is'. The default FX tones/patches are extreme & designed for demo appeal. They are not remotely usable live. They typically will be boomy and induce feedback. If you really like a particular one, you can dial out some of the FX, gain and any other excess with a little practice. I have designed my own tones from scratch and could probably replicate the process on the Helix. Suffice to say there would be work to do after the initial trying out of the default on board sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 I'm too stubborn to use any of that. I'll stick with a tube amp, tuner, wah & delay. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Karloff said: I'm too stubborn to use any of that. I'll stick with a tube amp, tuner, wah & delay. I do have a thing for modelers Fender Mustang and Marshal Code amp are two examples. These are great for practice amps, or if there's a friendly jam happening, I have used them when I've been in situations where we just do one set. It's the most practical option and the sounds I can tweak out of them are for sure usable. But that said, I am kind of on your wagon Doug. I absolutely am more at home with my valve amps. In my main band, I run stereo, which is a 4x10 Deville, and my Marshall JTM60 2x12 with a 2x12 extender cab. pedal board has a compressor up front, a few good OD units, a line 6 MM4 and a DL4 (modulator and delay) I can raise the dead with this when I need to. ... always fun to play at a zombie apocalypses... they don't dance much, but they tend to hang around all night... Edited August 27, 2019 by kidblast 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 4 hours ago, Karloff said: I'm too stubborn to use any of that. I'll stick with a tube amp, tuner, wah & delay. Agree, while those digital things do seem fun and I'm sure many enjoy using them, I just wanna stand in front of 100 watts of tube power and plug in my small briefcase pedal board and rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 6 hours ago, kidblast said: I do have a thing for modelers Fender Mustang and Marshal Code amp are two examples. These are great for practice amps, or if there's a friendly jam happening, I have used them when I've been in situations where we just do one set. It's the most practical option and the sounds I can tweak out of them are for sure usable. But that said, I am kind of on your wagon Doug. I absolutely am more at home with my valve amps. In my main band, I run stereo, which is a 4x10 Deville, and my Marshall JTM60 2x12 with a 2x12 extender cab. pedal board has a compressor up front, a few good OD units, a line 6 MM4 and a DL4 (modulator and delay) I can raise the dead with this when I need to. ... always fun to play at a zombie apocalypses... they don't dance much, but they tend to hang around all night... 2 hours ago, deeman said: Agree, while those digital things do seem fun and I'm sure many enjoy using them, I just wanna stand in front of 100 watts of tube power and plug in my small briefcase pedal board and rock. I have a couple friends that use digital processors and they have them dialed in and they really sound good. I'm either not patient enough or smart enough to dial them in. parameters .... setting parameters then saving as a preset. parameters give me a headache. I like an amp and a pedal or two with knobs. turn the knobs to the right or to the left. lol. I'm always impressed with guitarists that get those things dialed in. at home in my den I use an old Tascam CD trainer . I've been using that to practice for 12 yrs. I've got it dialed in and I really like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 (edited) On 8/27/2019 at 3:48 AM, LarryUK said: I've not heard of that. Is it the same company as Headrush? That says it's powered by Eleven. No it was made by Avid. They are heavily connected to Pro Tools which is a software system for mixing. I think that is truly the purpose of the Eleven Rack was to play guitar through it for mixing and recording with the Pro Tools system. On a visit to Avid.com I could not find the Eleven Rack listed as a product for sale so it may have been discontinued (makes sense price dropping from over $1000 to $300). But you still may be able to find one? When I bought it, it came with a free download of Pro Tools but I never used it. I don't know how to play computer (barely know how to play guitar) and didn't want to get involved - my drummer/sound engineer handles all that as he, before retirement, owned his own recording studio. Overall I think you are headed down the right road. While I love the sound of a real tube amp and speakers, why carry all that equipment around if a small digital device can provide all the sounds/tones you need? It certainly simplified my load-in and load-out. They do require hours of set up time (establishing your "rigs" or parameters), but once you have them set up you can have great tonal variety for all kinds of music in one small package. Edited August 28, 2019 by Twang Gang 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelT Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 On 8/27/2019 at 8:14 AM, Karloff said: I'm too stubborn to use any of that. I'll stick with a tube amp, tuner, wah & delay. Tuner is essential. I use a wah in a couple songs. A delay on a couple songs. A chorus on a few songs. But, I'm quite ok with just plugging into my Marshall tube amp, cranking it up and have at it. I use the volume, tone and pickup selector switch a lot and quite comfortable with guitar and amp only and played for many years with very little effects and stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 5 hours ago, MichaelT said: Tuner is essential. I use a wah in a couple songs. A delay on a couple songs. A chorus on a few songs. But, I'm quite ok with just plugging into my Marshall tube amp, cranking it up and have at it. I use the volume, tone and pickup selector switch a lot and quite comfortable with guitar and amp only and played for many years with very little effects and stuff. Mike, I'm pretty much the same. looking back I've been gigging since 1975 theres been more gigs than not where I just plugged straight in. it's really only been in the last 5 years that I even started using the FX loop. like you, I like Chorus as well sometimes. every once in awhile I still just plug straight in cuz I'm just not in the mood to hook everything up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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