Access Backstage Pass
After dropping its “game-changing” 3.0 update back in November, Line 6 has added another raft of new features to its Helix multi-effects pedal lineup with the release of new 3.10 firmware.
Chief among the latest additions are a new amp, the Mandarin Rocker (based on the Orange Rockerverb 100 MKII), plus five new effects.
These include the Ratatouille Dist, based on a 1984 Pro Co Rat; Retro Reel, which simulates playing a signal back from an analog tape machine; and the Euclidean Delay, which utilizes the Euclidean algorithm (yes, we had to look it up) to space taps evenly through a particular multitap pattern.
Two new reverbs appear, too: a Dynamic Hall with adjustable room size, and Hot Springs, a spring ’verb that allows players to tweak spring count and intensity of the spring ‘ploink’.
The new update also adds increased oversampling across all algorithms, which promises “higher fidelity, fewer aliasing artifacts, and smoother decay trails, especially when running multiple distortion stages or with higher gain tones”.
Keen-eared players will notice a smoother response overall, but at no cost to the unit’s DSP usage thanks to some canny amp and effect optimization.
Elsewhere, users of the HX Stomp and recently announced HX Stomp XL can now customize stomp and snapshot switches with labels and colors, which brings the pedals in line with the rest of the Helix family.
Other neat touches include the ability for delay and reverb trails to ring out while activating the tuner, as well as additional parameters for effects new to 3.0: Poly Sustain, Glitch Delay, Shuffling Looper and 12 String.
Aside from the aforementioned Stomp-specific tweaks, the above updates are compatible with the Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Control, Helix LT, Helix Native, HX Effects, HX Stomp and HX Stomp XL.
For details on all of version 3.10’s new features, and how to update your own Helix device, head over to Line 6.
