Inputs and outputs
Every jack on the Helix Rack, on a diagram you can click — what it's for, and the thing about it that costs people an evening.
Helix Rack · Rear panel · 3U · schematic, drawn from Line 6’s panel diagram
GUITAR IN
TS, ¼″front panel
Your main instrument input — on the FRONT panel, not the back.
Front-panel placement is deliberate and divides opinion. It is ideal if you plug in at the rack, and awkward if your rack lives behind you and you wanted everything hidden. Switchable pad and selectable impedance, same as the Floor.
Helix Rack and Control Cheat Sheet (Rev C)Facts about the audio path
Helix Control is sold separately
The Rack on its own has no footswitches. Budget for the footboard from the start, or you have bought a studio processor rather than a live rig.
Helix Rack and Control Cheat Sheet (Rev C)The guitar input is on the front
Convenient if you plug in at the rack, awkward if you wanted every cable hidden behind it. There is no rear guitar input.
Helix Rack and Control Cheat Sheet (Rev C)Wordclock and AES/EBU input are rack-only
Neither exists on the Helix Floor. Between them they are the real reason a studio would choose this chassis over the floorboard.
Helix Rack and Control Cheat Sheet (Rev C)Guitar Thru is buffered and unconverted
Your dry guitar signal leaves the box without ever being digitised, which makes a genuine parallel rig possible.
Helix Rack and Control Cheat Sheet (Rev C)Two RJ45 sockets sit side by side
One is for Helix Control, one is for a Variax guitar. They look identical. Label them.
Helix Rack and Control Cheat Sheet (Rev C)For a mono rig, use the LEFT/MONO jack
Both output pairs are stereo, and the left jack carries the mono sum. Taking the right one alone gives you a thin sound and half your effects.
Helix Rack and Control Cheat Sheet (Rev C)