LINE 6 HELIX VS. HEADRUSH PEDALBOARD. WHICH SHOULD YOU BUY? 

Been playing with my Line 6 HX Stomp as the brains of my entire rig for two years now and everything you described about the Helix is true man. I use mine in a worship context but yeah, the feel of playing the Helix is great

I’ve owned both. HR is for players who want to plug in and play - dial in a great tone within minutes. The UI is really that good and it’s super easy and fast to get a good tone. The Helix is for the player who wants all the parameters, who wants to deep dive on a desktop editor, and who might want to go all in with PowerCab and Variax to unlock some pretty insane features.

Honestly, i prefere the Headrush

I’ve been using my buddys helix for a bit and I’m definitely going to buy my own. So so so much easier showing up to gigs, easily getting stereo sound without pissing off the sound guy, and sound check is so so so much easier. And my tone is consistent at every single gig. I found taking a 10 band EQ block and cutting 4K and 2K on it makes the helix sound a million times better instantly too!

Awesome bro! I have the line6 helix too and it’s the best unit I have ever purchased. Love it so much🤘🏼

You can lower the threshold of the input gate so your notes don't cut off. I am testing an AX8 and a Helix is getting delivered today. All the units are great and can work for any situation.

Thanks for doing this!

Thanks for your opinion! helps a lot!

*Headrush FTW!!!*

Dang Ray getting good at them arpeggios my brother!

I had a Line Helix LT and bought a headrush. You must have the gate set too high in the input of the headrush. Its way more dynamic than the helix and it never gets fizzy. I guess why these videos will always exist and why the buyers will have to play them both to make their own personal choices. I gigged them both, the helix always required tweaking at sound check. The Headrush Ive never had to tweak with the sound guy to make it sound great. I bought an MX5 as a backup to my headrush and after a/b ing back and forth for months finally sold the helix. Demo them both before you buy, they arent cheap and you want to make sure you get the one better for your play style and your ears.

I had an eleven rack, which the headrush was based on. i sold it and bought a helix in 2019. im so glad i did. it has helped in my studio work, and live work so much. also, the helix doesnt have as much dsp as the other units. it atill competes.

I had the headrush full pedalboard, although I rocked many shows with it, I never really bonded with it or felt like I was achieving the sound I was after. So ended up going back to tube amp (now have a Revv generator 120) but I got a Helix stomp recently and it's awesome, I was able to get some good modern metal tones and djent vibes out of it. I believe the Headrush is just as good but I didn't know what I was doing at the time (as far as IRs ect). I'm going to try to get Neural DSP quad cortex soon and give it a whirl

I had the Headrush, it went in for repair (USB carrier board) the customer service was excellent, all done free of charge even though the unit was secondhand and out of warranty, but, they couldn't provide an ETA for the chip set, not their fault but I bought a Helix floor whilst I waited... Once I got the Headrush back I sold it. I agree with your take, the Helix just feels more 'dynamic'.

Thx for your service.

I own both after having just upgraded my HX Stomp to a Helix. Each has its pros/cons. What I love about the Headrush is it's quick and easy to learn and pick up very quickly. Using a headrush FRFR-powered speaker with it made it easy to just dial in an amp/cab add some effects and go! But, I feel my Helix w/ Powercab plus has a big edge in the terms of building more complex signal chains. It has a learning curve though. Not to mention the helix community is HUGE and Line6 supports it well. The HX Edit software is great for tweaking too. Headrush is lacking in that. My recommendation would be that more advanced players that are tech savvy pick up a helix w/powercab and the beginners or home-only players pick up a headrush with a headrush FRFR. I'll probably still be keeping both for now.

I've got both, I make videos about the Headrush, I love modelling technology, but I'm doing a gig tomorrow and I'm taking a real plexi and a 4x12.

As some who's incredibly meticulous with tone I found the axe 3 to be my best friend. I've spent a tone of time with line 6 products and none with a head rush, I imagine it's similar to line 6 in the sense where it doesn't take long to dial in a nice tone. That being said the axe 3 certainly has massive learning curve.

I had a headrush and switched over to the helix in October, and I’m so glad I did. They headrush is a great unit, but for myself I found the high gain tones kinda meh, and I don’t feel that way with the helix.

So I had the Head rush MX5 the first one I got did not work as the touch screen was not working at all so I returned it and had them replace it and the second one I got did not work right as well. So I replaced it with teh Boss GT 1000 and I love it. it would be cool to see you compair the Boss GT 1000 against the Helix and head rush as well as all 3 are the top pedal boards out there right now. Great review though Ray keep the videos coming.

On Headrush, I think I know what you mean by cutting the sound a lot, but I believe that sort of dynamics is achievable by controlling the input (send) options in a given effect, if we're talking about the same thing. I'm thinking about migrating from Headrush basically because Eleven will never create a controller software for the Unit and will never release an SDK for us at least dig in and create a tool ourselves.

Hey nice video! Also, I believe Line 6 is the only company that phone support. If you have a problem you can reach out to them if you have questions. They know their stuff! They're really good!! Thank you for posting this.

I think there’s a part of us that wants to have the “respected” unit in the industry, and it can kind of sway our opinions. The helix is definitely the more respected of the two. I owned both units in the past and actually preferred the hesdrush. It wasn’t by a mile or anything though, and the helix definitely has more options and effects. You should watch al Joseph use the headrush. He records with it and uses it live. He sound incredible!

Combined with the Variaxe Shurikn and the Helix! WooHoo! You need to try the SR270 Baritone Shuriken!

Im about to get an LT as my all around rig! ive had a few tube amps but sold them off due to me using my pod go more. Line 6 really hits the nail on the head when it comes to Guitar and even Bass tones!

What pickups are they? They look awesome and sound great! I chose the Helix over the Headrush too. The touchscreen would have been nice but the online support and RU-vid videos pushed me toward the LT. I’m so happy with my decision.

Had a Headrush and didn’t bond with it as much as I would have liked. The sound and feel was just ‘off’ to me. I did love the touchscreen which was the best feature of the unit. I have to admit that I’m a bit intimidated by the Helix, Kemper, AxeFX, etc because of a) how pricey the units are and b) how much tweaking one has to do. As an older player, so much tweaking can be overwhelming but I still would like to try a Helix. Hopefully, I will find a modeler I would really like.

I wonder if you disabled the noise gate that's always on by default in the Headrush input. BTW, they should revise this.

As long as you have the same impulses and the modelling isn't whack, it's all a matter of what you actually genuinely need. I'll be honest though. I have the Helix LT, but for guitar I'd be 90% happy with the Pod Go. It's actually insanely good.

ive had a helix for almost a year i exclusively use it plugged into my laptop to control it i legit havent learned the controls on the devices yet

I got the pod go and I couldn’t be happier comein from a tiny 100 dollar line 6 combo from 2010 😂

As a Helix owner I'm not gonna argue as far as your conclusion, but maybe Headrush cutting the signal on and off was a bad noise gate setting? Just saying ;)

All this Amp simulators don't really have that killer amp sound out of the box. BUT... If you play them and tweek them, you can get amazing sounds. This is why my HeadRush Pedal board has replaced my Mesas, Marshalls and Fender amps in the studio. It is because you dont have to go through a ton of menus, you can just drag a pedal off the board or adjust its settings like a real pedal board and that I understand after playing guitar for a very long time, the 80s. And if you are a studio guy and you need to have different sounds quickly this is the way to go. Spend time creating your rigs making them sound great through good studio monitors and when someone says I need a sound like this... you are ready for hire.

I have the pod go, and I've noticed what you said about the headrush with dynamics. I pick pretty hard anyway and play rhythm 99% of the time, so it's not a huge deal. I've also noticed i have to do a pretty severe high cut at gig volumes, or it's pretty shrill in the top end.

Had a headrush..great rock tones.but the helix wins at high gain. especially with the revv,engl,and the badonk...I was sold

I don't wacth the video yet, but i like it!

I am a Helix owner and just picked up the HR Prime which has all the same amp models as their prior units, I agree with you 100%, the Helix sounds better. Allot better imo.

What’s the cool hum bucker in that Les Paul? Great sound but crazy look - I’m intrigued lol 👊🏻🔥

I love the helix. In fairness though, a lot of ppl really like the headrush so it must have something. Never tried one personally. What are those nutso pickups!?

I Have Both Headrush and Helix. I Prefer the Helix my self! But the Headrush is pretty good!

Imo, the user friendly interface of the Headrush is landslides better than the Helix whereas the tone of the Helix is only a little better than the Headrush and yet everyone picks the Helix in every RU-vid video based on tone that will go unnoticed in every live and recorded setting. These reviews have become hilariously biased. Grow some balls and just say “overall, the Headrush is better.” The ability to change your setting on the fly using only your foot with the Headrush is priceless.

Team Headrush!

IMO... Line 6 has to be getting close to putting out something new - Its years older than HR or Boss GT-1000, but its quality. Now I am imagining a Helix with touch... hmm.

Helix Forever

OH! What did you make with your arms?

Never seen pick ups like that Cool

You must try Fractal audio once bro just the fm3 if not axe fx III The dynamic response and touch is so damn good that helix feels bad after you play the fractal unit.

What model is your helix, floor , LT or ?

I have to replace my studio after massive theft. Could you compare the Helix to a POD GO ? I know the comparison is like comparing a gallon vs a half cup for thirst quenching. But do both do the same amp model the same justice?

Maybe Im wrong here but im at just after the 5:00 mark and you're mentioning the dynamic response of the two units and hiw the HR nwwds to be hit hard to get something and the Helix just always responds. Im thinking its because there is more dynamic reposnse with the HR to how hard you're actually hitting the strings, like in a more traditional amp-usage scenario. This would make it more dynamic actually. It also seems your genere/style music uses technique variances; sweep pickingz alyernate picking, muting, tapping tonget varied sounds versus a more nuanced approach of picking strike by varying how hard you pick to adjust the sound coming out. I think this is a genre type approach. Watching orher viseoa because I'm trying to delve into this more before I get my first unit, I'm finding many say rhr HR reaponds more to rhe dynmaics if cleaning up rone woth thr vokune knob on your guitar and reaoonss to pick attack more naturally as well. This might be rhr issie youre having wjwre for tour heavier style you need aomwtjing that reponds no matter how you hit it. Hmmm. Gets me thinking.

Do headrush comes with wifi ?

Headrush is great, but helix is just better sounding imo

I've never watched a video where the head rush sounded better than what it was up against. It's a shame cause it does look easier to use.

I have a pod go wich is a little baby helix. Same sounds anyway. Sounds good but I get carried away with tweeking shit instead of just playing guitar.

Took me longer than it should have to find where Headrush was hiding their always-on and very aggressive noise gate. No idea why they made it default.

The new Headrush prime blows away the Helix easily.

Bro! I’ve been looking into the helix lt…any thoughts on that over the full fledged helix?

which is bigger in dimension helix or headrush pedalboard?

get that quad cortex best of both world or better :)

axe fx 3 allday

Head rush wins

I used Helix for over a year until I tried out the Headrush Pedalboard. Almost immediately sold the Helix and have loved the Headrush ever since... going on 18 months now. Better sound, feel, ease of use, dependability... I'll never go back to Helix.

Well, you're experienced with the headrush, so I'm probably talking sh#t here, but since you mentioned cuts.... Did you turn off the gate in the input block? I think that was a bad decision, but every preset has that thing on, and it cuts long notes, it's annoying. I rather hum and buzz.

Team Quad Cortex here! 😂

I've owned the Headrush about two years now, used it for live and studio. I've been lucky enough to be able to play two different buddies' Helix as well. I think the Helix has badass options for metal, especially since they offer more of what the "modern" metal player is after. Like Maxon pedals, Horizon Devices, Bogner and Diezel amps, etc. But the Headrush just always does it for me. Both units offer a TON of diversity, don't get me wrong, and I may be in the minority here, but I will NEVER part from my Headrush! One day there will just be "THE UNIT", lol, which is the only thing that every guitar player uses, that has every possible piece of gear you could ever imagine!

I lost my Helix Floor and couldn't afford a new one so I got the Headrush Core and compared to Helix it just does not hold up. There is latency in the DAW when recording with the core none with Helix. You can only use the headrush ASIO. I have a 20 year old Digitech RP 1000 that has zero latency. The tone of the Helix are far better,

the HeadRush CORE half the price QuadCoretex/FM9/Kemper but looks to do all the same things IDK how Helix is asking the price without a touchscreen of capture amps and peds..... I'm sick over trying to shop these damn things

I guess I won't be trying a headrush then. After trying a Helix and not being impressed, I won't bother waisting my time. I've yet to find a modelling rig that feels like a real valve amp.

Not impressed by either one honestly. I understand the convenience, but I will stick to my OR15 and 4x12.

Helix.

It doesnt help at all :( of course its a very important point how "organic" it feels, but its only an opinion. I really hope to watch a more deep comparasion :/

greyling

I don't hear the difference it seems all subjective

Why does every reviewer always go straight to heavy distorted sounds

smoke weed all day ray!

I dont prefere anything,

You play guitar too much versus providing factual data of the products you are commenting. Your an awesome player but that not the goal of the video.