Line 6 Helix

menamestom

Quick question.  Re the Helix effects, are there any specific ones anybody is blown away by?

Listening to the WET vST the other day, reminded me of those really special algorithms some units/effects have.

Effect wise, what do folks think are stellar and would stand up in a pedal on their own?

sgosden

menamestom said:

Quick question.  Re the Helix effects, are there any specific ones anybody is blown away by?

Listening to the WET vST the other day, reminded me of those really special algorithms some units/effects have.

Effect wise, what do folks think are stellar and would stand up in a pedal on their own?

Cosmos echo is very good

NPP

menamestom said:

Was messing with the Essex A30 tonight.  Not really tried it before but makes me want an AC30.

A short clip below.

excellent playing there. Will need to give the Essex a go. Shortly after I got the Stomp the Fullerton (Deluxe Reverb) model came out and I haven't had much time for anything else since - it sounds and feels just like I expect an amp to sound and feel, sort of straight out of Exile on Main Street. Have you tried it?

menamestom

sgosden said:

menamestom said:

Quick question.  Re the Helix effects, are there any specific ones anybody is blown away by?

Listening to the WET vST the other day, reminded me of those really special algorithms some units/effects have.

Effect wise, what do folks think are stellar and would stand up in a pedal on their own?

Cosmos echo is very good

Yeah I do like that, sounds very nice.  I’m kinda looking for ideas what to have a play with, I flick past things but never really spend much time on stuff.   My stomp is in my board with the Cosmos a permanent fixture, along with an analog delay model for slapback and a chorus.

NPP said:

menamestom said:

Was messing with the Essex A30 tonight.  Not really tried it before but makes me want an AC30.

A short clip below.

excellent playing there. Will need to give the Essex a go. Shortly after I got the Stomp the Fullerton (Deluxe Reverb) model came out and I haven't had much time for anything else since - it sounds and feels just like I expect an amp to sound and feel, sort of straight out of Exile on Main Street. Have you tried it?

Thanks!  Just like the effects I’m so lazy with going through and tweaking the sounds.  I have probably tried it, although I think it is 1958 tweed deluxe as opposed to a deluxe reverb.  I’ll have another try, been on the Interstate Zed for 6 months for no particular reason other than I didn’t think to change it.

JohnCordy

I get a few emails/comments every now and then from people who are considering/being forced to consider modelling for the first time and are coming from the world of real amps....I put together this little video to help with the approach to modelling if you're dipping your toes for the first time!

TeleMaster

What do you guys use to add gain for your lead sound?

I've been using a gain block but it gets loud quickly, so I was thinking I should use a pedal like the Klon or Timmy at the end and just crank the gain and adjust the volume to suit. 

JohnCordy

@TeleMaster you could use snapshots and add gain that way?

TeleMaster

@JohnCordy Hi. I do but I find that the gain block adds a lot of volume with the gain, and I want a bit more gain without the volume. 

JohnCordy

@TeleMaster so also you could have the snapshot adjust the amp volume down simultaneously?

My favourite drives are the 808 screamer, heir apparent and also the Timmy is really good

TeleMaster

JohnCordy said:

@TeleMaster so also you could have the snapshot adjust the amp volume down simultaneously?

My favourite drives are the 808 screamer, heir apparent and also the Timmy is really good

Aha there's a bit of confusion. I use the HX FX with a preamp power amp pedal board set up.  

JohnCordy

@TeleMaster ah there we go haha!

The Timmy can be fairly transparent which discovered after doing the parts 1 and 2 of Mateus Asato style tones 

Cirrus

TeleMaster said:

What do you guys use to add gain for your lead sound?

I've been using a gain block but it gets loud quickly, so I was thinking I should use a pedal like the Klon or Timmy at the end and just crank the gain and adjust the volume to suit. 

Are we talking about the gain block that's just a clean gain adjustment? All it does is boost or cut the volume the amount you want. If you're putting it into the front end of an amp, it'll be just like a clean boost. If you want a solo boost that adds sustain/ drive as well... it just depends on your amp, how it likes to be hit, what you're expecting to happen when you stomp on your "lead boost" switch, so it's hard to suggest something.

I'm using the Helix to model amps as well, but the principles probably apply... I like a gain block at the end of the chain, post amp, just set to add about 2dB. That's a bit like the sound man just nudging up the guitar in the mix when it's supposed to be in focus. If I want to push the amp harder, it depends. I like the SD1 block, set like I'd set a real SD-1 - gain around 1/3, tone and volume both at 2/3. That gives you sustain, tightens low end, pushes upper mids... I also think the "kinky boost" is awesome and works with almost anything. Klon's great but only into fender stuff imo, it gets too congested otherwise. I also really like using the 5-band eq to boost amps. Bit of volume, and you can control where you get a mid boost, where you cut to tighten things up, whether you want to get brighter or smoother...

mikenetic

I just use two amp models and toggle between them on the same path, balancing the output using the channel volume.

JohnCordy

working on an Eric patch for the Helix!

Cirrus

Just upgraded from 2.70 to 2.82.

They're bastards, they made the moment of apparent inactivity after the pre-warned "update failed" message *juuust* too long.

Also, it's re-compiling all the presets every time I turn it on, now. Is that a thing?

shuikit

Cirrus said:

Just upgraded from 2.70 to 2.82.

They're bastards, they made the moment of apparent inactivity after the pre-warned "update failed" message *juuust* too long.

Also, it's re-compiling all the presets every time I turn it on, now. Is that a thing?

I had this problem with a number of my presets every time it booted up.  I think I fixed it by exporting my presets, blanking out the set list and then importing them back in

PolarityMan

every time i see this come up i think it might be 2.9!

Jetfire

After a wobbly few days, I'm actually into my helix again.  Not cranking every thing to ten is prob a good reason why things sound better.

I was goggling things and someone seemed to suggest it's better to use headphones via a mixing desk rather than the onboard headphone socket. I've tried it both ways and seems fine to me and no real difference. Anyone else had this or was this "someone" potentially using the wrong ohmage headphones,?

Jota

Jetfire said:

After a wobbly few days, I'm actually into my helix again.  Not cranking every thing to ten is prob a good reason why things sound better.

I was goggling things and someone seemed to suggest it's better to use headphones via a mixing desk rather than the onboard headphone socket. I've tried it both ways and seems fine to me and no real difference. Anyone else had this or was this "someone" potentially using the wrong ohmage headphones,?

For me the big difference is in reverb and delays. I need more effect when using the headphones out than when using the USB or main output.

Teetonetal

Jetfire said:

After a wobbly few days, I'm actually into my helix again.  Not cranking every thing to ten is prob a good reason why things sound better.

I was goggling things and someone seemed to suggest it's better to use headphones via a mixing desk rather than the onboard headphone socket. I've tried it both ways and seems fine to me and no real difference. Anyone else had this or was this "someone" potentially using the wrong ohmage headphones,?

Was true on the early versions for me. Not tried going via the headphone socket for a long time so not sure if still true.