Line 6 Helix

Sporky

fretmeister said:

Sorry for the stupid questions - I've never had a unit like this.

Get the latest version of Updater first. Get the Helix up to 1.10 (or whatever the latest firmware is). Mine failed on the first go (don't unplug any USB devices!) but went through fine the second time, so it seems hard to cause a real disaster. Then get the latest Helix application, and the editor is built into that.

Sporky

andyoz said:

The one thing putting me off buying one is the thought that when you dial in a sound thats 'fine', in the back of your head you will always think that it could be a bit better with some fiddling and the hours will fly by?

With a valve amp, it is what it is.  All you can do is fiddle with the tone controls, cabinet/speaker types and pedals and that's it.  Hang on, that's alot of fiddling as well....Jesus the GAS has returned !?!?!

Changing cabs in the Helix is a lot easier than in real life.

I like creating sounds, but I also like playing. I do whichever I feel like. If you're a tweaker you'll tweak, if you're a player you'll play, and most of us are probably both and will find a balance.

If you find you're spending more time tweaking than you think you ought to, just spend less time tweaking. One of the nice things about the Helix is that most blocks do something that sounds perfectly decent in the default settings.

fretmeister

Spent another hour with it tonight. New patch from scratch. 2204 with a TS for dirty, Plexi for clean. Vibe, phaser, chorus, delay.

Amp swap and TS on 1 switch, the rest as Stomp-boxes

No cab needed.

Sounds fantastic! The UI really is superb.

duotone

fretmeister said:

I might have to try some of the User made patches that are on the L6 site. There are several that appeal.

I've downloaded a load of them and I'll install them later on and see what happens. For the moment I've stuck with the highest rated ones, but I might try some half-a-star ones too for a laugh.

Love some of this guys tones, especially the clean/swell tone from 1.35

 

sweepy

The Helix really is the best bit of kit I've bought in years, I'm still finding interesting tweaks and ways of doing things

rossyamaha

Just come up with an awesome idea for a rig! Guitar into Helix using compressors, drives etc straight into the front of my Lonestar. Slave out of the Lonestar back into Helix to give me delays and reverbs but also use impulse responses to send back to a pair of active speakers. Full wet dry wet rig with endless options. Ooh, I'm excited to try this one out. 

Sporky

I'm excited to get my 50p and chunky Kitkat.

sweepy

Just picked up a pair of 300watt TOA keyboard combos, sounding rather punchy to say the least, plus I have the option of hooking up my MacBook with the Fishman Tripleplay on one of the other channels and the sends going via Scuffham ! Madness I tell you

rossyamaha

@Sporky, yes I owe you a 50p and a KitKat. It appears there is no global cab sim off. At the moment. 

fretmeister

rossyamaha said:

@Sporky, yes I owe you a 50p and a KitKat. It appears there is no global cab sim off. At the moment. 

I'm not convinced it's possible - unless a global turn off includes a "swap the amp+cab units for just the amp at the same settings" update.

rossyamaha

fretmeister said:

rossyamaha said:

@Sporky, yes I owe you a 50p and a KitKat. It appears there is no global cab sim off. At the moment. 

I'm not convinced it's possible - unless a global turn off includes a "swap the amp+cab units for just the amp at the same settings" update.

The suggestion has been put forward. Probably before now as well. They're very clever fellows there so you never know. 

fretmeister

Anyway, I started using it with bass after spending a week on guitar.

The bass amp models are great - but I'm also using just the preamps as I'm using the FX return on a real bass amp for power.

However - the existing drive pedal models are a bit shite for bass use for anything other than adding a tiny bit of grit, or going for a more old fashioned flubbyish drive.

So I can do the older Geddy Lee thing nicely, but so far I can't do a super modern bass drive, or even Billy Sheehan's old Pearce BC-1 drive / fuzz thing

I'm working my way through a list of parallel drive combinations with a variety of EQ blocks to see if I can get somewhere close to modern bass drive pedals like the Darkglass units.

This is actually a Fractal tone grab of the Darkglass B7K

That kind of thing.

After I've exhausted the drive pedal options I'll start mixing bass and guitar preamps in parallel and see what happens there - that way could well be more successful than the drive pedals

I'm really hoping I can find a way to not need to connect my real pedals in the loops and still get the madness I want. Otherwise I'll need an even bigger rack with a pedal tray, and I don't want to have to lift that!

fretmeister

I'm working so I can't get to the unit - but is there a generic Tube Preamp model in the amp section?

I've found that very useful on the Mobile Pod software with my Sonicport.

TimmyO

The only thing wrong with this system to my casual eye is that I'd have no reason to GAS on pedals, which at times is my main hobby (over and above making music) 

fretmeister

TimmyO said:

The only thing wrong with this system to my casual eye is that I'd have no reason to GAS on pedals, which at times is my main hobby (over and above making music) 

You can plug your real pedals into the 4 loops on the Helix and put them anywhere in the signal path and switch them in and out.

guitargeek62

TimmyO;1038195" said:

The only thing wrong with this system to my casual eye is that I'd have no reason to GAS on pedals, which at times is my main hobby (over and above making music) 

This is a real problem actually, I've been looking for an excuse for a Muffroom Cloud or a Ditto x4 but it's hard to justify when the Helix covers most of the GAS.

sweepy

There is always an excuse to buy new stuff

guitarfishbay

@fretmeister I'd try putting a guitar amp block in parallel rather than a drive block, for DG style sounds, then EQ that.  You might need to shave off some bass before hitting the amp so it stays tight-ish.  To me the BxK sound is more like an EQ'd guitar amp sound than a traditional distortion pedal sound.  There's almost certainly some high end attenuation going on in there too, post distortion.

I've not looked at any of the Nolly patches but I wouldn't be surprised if the tonematch is on a guitar amp rather than a pedal.

fretmeister

guitarfishbay said:

@fretmeister I'd try putting a guitar amp block in parallel rather than a drive block, for DG style sounds, then EQ that.  You might need to shave off some bass before hitting the amp so it stays tight-ish.  To me the BxK sound is more like an EQ'd guitar amp sound than a traditional distortion pedal sound.  There's almost certainly some high end attenuation going on in there too, post distortion.

I've not looked at any of the Nolly patches but I wouldn't be surprised if the tonematch is on a guitar amp rather than a pedal.

Actually on his latest rig rundown he is using a 5150 patch on one side and a generic tube preamp on the other (Fractal)

So I'm going to give that a try later on.

His sound is very saturated and I'm going to guess that will be fairly easy to emulate - but what the DG does so well is retain that all important clank to the sound - that seems to be a bit missing on the new rundown when compared to the bass cam on the vid I posted.

guitarfishbay

Which video are you referencing?  Is it the one from 2013?  He's still using a B7K before the Axe FX in that, though more so as an EQ/tone shaper than for providing the dirt.