Leaderboard

You can put each Send and Return in as separate blocks. I would try using one FX Loop block first and mess around with the different levels and see if you can get it to work. I have a Bogner Atma, which has a line level loop, and I use the Helix with the 4CM with it with just a single FX Loop block, and it works fine. I have the Helix's loop set to instrument level.

I have run my helix through FRFR systems (I have a stereo pair of the EV ZLX series speakers), direct into ProTools, and through a variety of tube amps including Blackstar Series One, Egnater Vengeance, H&K Grandmeister, Blackstar HT-5, Peavey Classic 30, Fender Twin Reverb, Marshall JVM Series, Vox AC15, etc etc..... I think the longest it has taken me to set up a good usable tone was about 2 minutes through any of them. That's not all the final tweaking, but a good basic tone with a couple of effects. I invariably run all of the tube amps in a 4CM (or in stereo with 7CM + midi cable for the Series One). It just works better and offers a ton of flexibility. My main stage rig is the helix and the Blackstar Series One EL34104 for most of my tones running stereo outputs into the returns of the Blackstar and Egnater Vengeance amps into a stereo Vengeance cab so I have EL34 tone on one side and 6L6 on the other. I have tones using the Blackstar's 4 preamp channels and tones using the Helix preamps (and full amps minus cabs). I also do the same with my Bass rig running into a Mesa Prodigy. In this case I only use effects including disortion (mostly the Minotaur and the Darkglass modeler, but some modulation effects occasionally). I don't generally use the bass models into the Mesa amp, but I do for FRFR. All of this is stupid simple to set up. Maybe it's me because I'm a gear head and I know how to set up a proper signal path, but as a gigging musician, shouldn't you know how to do that? Helix or no helix, you should probably know which effects go where in your chain. So when I see people here stating that they can't get a good sound out of their helix, I can only think of a few potential problems. 1. They have it set up wrong (this is the most common, whether it is their connections or their signal chain). So ask questions and show examples of what you are doing. There are a TON of helpful people on here willing to give you the benefit of their experience, but they are not psychic. Show them what you have set up and what you are hearing. 2. They have a faulty unit (have seen that on here a couple of times). 3. Their definition of "good tone" is different than 95% of the rest of the world (seen that too). Again, post examples. People here will tell you if you are crazy or not. :D 4. They are "purists" trolling here to make themselves feel better about something.(we've all seen that too). Bottom line, this is NOT a hard unit to program or use. If you can dial in an amp or effects pedal, you can dial in the Helix. In fact it is a ton easier to use than the large pedalboards I used to use or even the TC G-System I used before getting the Helix. And you can get great tones from it if you know what you are doing. Way better than the earlier Pod stuff or the Boss/Digitech/etc modelers.

Hey guys I'm sure many of you have seen my video on getting great reverb sounds over on some other forums, but I totally forgot that this forum existed and figured I'd share it here as well with you all. I go in-depth on a setup I created that allows you to get some really nice complex sounding modulated reverbs that I feel are a step up from HX reverbs that were added recently. Let me know what you think, and if you want to check it out there's a patch link in the description box. The description also has time stamps to jump around in case you don't want to watch the whole thing front to end :) I just finished up another video on snapshots I'll post in a separate thread. Anyways, love my Helix and thought I'd share!

To cut a long, frustrating story short: I got to the bottom of this issue of the Helix "not being connected". I tried a mixture of my PC and several laptops. But on my PC I kept getting either no connection or a brief connection that dropped out. After much lost time, I suddenly recalled the instructions about not using a USB hub. On my PC there were USB connectors on the front of it and several on the back of the PC on the main card. As soon as I plugged into any USB connector on the back, everything worked perfectly, every time. So I reckon the USB connectors on the front of the PC were essentially configured as an extension USB "hub". I just wanted to post this, so that if it saves anyone the frustration and wasted time that I went though (eliminating operating systems and all sorts of other stuff) then great.

Hx edit is not ready for prime time. Not really sure why they even released it when it doesn't work right. It works to load IR's but that's about it as far as I can tell. Hopefully a full version comes soon.

Yeah, I guess on that course, I could record a 're-amping' track with a physical Helix, and match the Solo recording level to that.

That's a bit tricky. I would think you would need a patch with nothing in it all - simply a pass-thru. Then, load the patch onto a physical Helix unit, plug in your guitar, set the input parameters you want and record it with your DAW. Then, load the same patch into Helix Native, play your guitar into your audio interface and adjust the input gain of the interface until it records through the DAW at the same level. Make certain that you don't adjust any other recording parameters in the DAW while making the comparison.

At the risk of being redundant as many here have stated these points, I love the flexibility of the Helix cabs. Can't wait for them to add more parameters like off-axis. The right IR in the right preset can be killer as well. Tips for best results using Helix stock cabs (obvious but maybe worth repeating): Before anything else find the cab and especially the mic type that sounds best to you. Selecting the right mic type will probably make the biggest difference in your cab's sound. Adjust the mic distance, this makes a noticeable change in the perceived immediacy, tone and even "harshness" of the sound. Experiment with early reflections I often place only a 10k high cut in the cab block but nothing lower in the cab block. More severe cuts get placed in EQ blocks. Particularly if you are playing through an FRFR you may find it critical to place a low cut from about 70-120hz and a high cut from 5khz on up in an EQ block after the cab, adjusted to taste and depending on the preset and your monitoring equipment. If you have to you can go even higher than 120hz on the low cut. It is amazing how much cutting the lows will tighten up and sweeten your tone. The same thing applies to high cuts. Forget the khz number and cut until it sounds good. When it comes to high and low cuts if you have the energy and the time and can pull off a similar result with more surgical parametric cuts than do that instead. Using strategic parametric cuts may allow you to use no, or less dramatic, high/low cuts. The cuts described above apply primarily to playing through FRFRs at performance volume levels. Studio players as well as those who play through traditional guitar cabs or at low volumes may find these cuts too extreme or even entirely unnecessary. Try dual cab or two different cabs on parallel paths and EQ one cab for the high end and one for a lower sound. Then mix to taste. Leverage snapshots and assign parameters like the low and high cuts to them such that for example you can have a gentler high cut that allows more highs in a clean snapshot for extra sparkle. Your snapshot for your lead tone can be set to a more aggressive high cut for when you are digging in on a solo up the neck and don't want things to get shrill. Or you can do the reverse for muted chords and a solo that really cuts through the mix. You can even change cab parameters like mic type, mic distance, etc. from snapshot to snapshot. The key is taking advantage of snapshots to individually optimize amp/cab, effect, and EQ settings such that they match what you are trying to accomplish in that snapshot(rhythm, solo, etc.). As has been pointed out you can also switch between different IRs using snapshots.

I'm pretty sure that you can't use the L6 Rack Floor Controller the way you described, but if all you want to do is allow the Guitarist and Bassist to control their own effects, you can use any old MIDI foot controller with standard MIDI barrel connectors. For instance, a Behringer FCB1010 can be picked up for $75 used. Just set up the Helix preset so that, for instance, FS1-5 control the Guitar effects, and FS7-11 control the Bass Effects. Set up switches 1-5 on the FCB1010 to Toggle CC#s 54-58. Make sure the MIDI Channels match (if the Helix Base Channel is 1, the FCB needs to be set to Channel 1). You're good to go! If you spend an extra $50 for the UNO Chip and ControlCenter Editor, you can even have the LEDs on the FCB reflect the ON/OFF status of the Helix effects! DISCLAIMER: I haven't tested this. If you're interested in this type of solution, let me know and I'll test it for ya'!

Great video and excellent reverb sounds but more effort and more DSP required than I would generally dedicate to my reverb. Might be great for specific presets where the reverb sound was paramount. I'm sure some of the more diligent preset designors here will get a lot of mileage out of yeatzee's video. Still hoping for Line6 to add mono HX versions of the meat and potato reverb models like spring, hall, plate, etc.. With all the talk on the forum about Strymon style reverbs I can understand why Line6 chose to deliver the reverb selection they did last update. However, it feels like somebody handed me some hip-hugging Jordache designer jeans with a Bedazzler kit and a tube full of glitter when all I really wanted was some high quality work pants.

Low Impedance is actually really handy for Strats & Teles...Or any guitar that has a lot of ice pick in it...darkens it up some...It's basically a Low Pass Filter of sorts...It's useful in some cases...

I'm with you man. It's pretty frustrating that they aren't releasing a 2.55 patch to correct a major defect. I'm all for more cool tones but I'd rather wait on that for this defect to be resolved.

Thanks for sharing that. It is always good to hear how other people use equipment I use too. I purely play music for my own enjoyment and always go directly into my PC via the Focusrite Solo, I then add effects etc. in my DAW (Mixcraft). I only recently started playing guitar and am really happy with how the Variax works for me.

Don't forget to park the Input Z setting at 10M....The default is AUTO and which will change the input impedance based on the first item in the chain...So when you have a Weeper wah first, it will suck the tone out just like the real Cry Baby does.

Sorry about the silly ending to my post. I was trying to explain how I use the Variax but it read more like a biography so I gave up. I'll try again today. I'm a part time professional. I don't do it full time anymore, but I still hit the road a few times a year and try to keep busy around town with multiple gigs and studio work. Since the mid 80's I've been locked in the country scene, but I play rock and pop gigs as well. I was a child of the late 70's punk scene so nothing scares me :) I bought a used Variax 300 about 8 years ago to test the waters. I loved the tonal capabilities, but the neck on the 300 didn't do it for me so I replaced that with a tele neck. For the most part I use it in specialty situations. I may pick it up for 1 song, I may pick it up for 10 - it depends on the show. When I need to bounce between banjo, acoustic and electric song to song, or even within a song I will play the Variax. When I can see a long list of electric songs coming up I tend to grab one of my primary guitars. I may prefer my other guitars, but I don't think twice about playing my Variax. I hook mind up through my HD500 with a VDI cable. This allows me to change patches on the Variax by simply programming it into my HD patches. I can go from a banjo to an ripping lead solo with one push of a button.

The Variax is a specialized product.... but it is certainly used at the PRO level if that is part of what you are asking. John McFee (Doobie Brothers), Corey Churko (Shania Twain/Kelly Clarkson, Steve Howe (Yes), Richie Castellano (Blue Oyster Cult) all use a Variax as part of there regular setup. Right there is a diverse set of usage.

Like I said, I don't have the TS212, I have the TS210, and my perceptions are based on that. IMO, yes, the FRFR-112 sounds that much better for both guitar and bass. And yes, I spent considerable time playing guitar thru it before I sent the Helix in for service. While it's been in service, I've been using Native which, to me, sounds exactly like the hardware version, and sounds much better thru the FRFR-112 than thru the TS210.

I respond to this so often that I'm beginning to annoy myself. It's all about axis !!!! The helix cabs do not provide any ability to change the axis/mic position other than distance. If you happen to like the sound of the helix cabs, it's probably because you like whatever axis (my guess is just off center, or maybe multi-mic). This is a common spot that live sound guys use, so it's a familiar sound. Easy to love it. If however, you like the sound of certain cabs with the mic near the middle or edge of the cone... or a combination of axis' and mics then really the only way to get there is with 3rd party IR's. It's really that simple. They all sound great. But do they sound "right" for you?

Both should be equal. Might be that you cannot turn on/off compressor with the Shortboard MKII (or one of the function switches will do it). The FBV 3 has 5 switches above the preset and tap switches, of which FS1 is always tied to compressor, FS5 is always tied to reverb. FS2, FS3 and FS4 are your assignable effects im amplifi, in "Stomp", "Mod", "Delay" order as indicated by little symbols in the app when connected (doesn't need to match the order as they appear in your signal chain, and also doesn't mean you cannot two mod effects and a synth for example - rather it means you can assign them to the footswitches as you please by reordering the effects in the app accordingly/assigning the desired effect for FS2 to the slot labeled with the "Stomp" indicator for example). FBV 3 has a Function switch, but that doesn't do anything with the Amplifi. The Shortboard MKII doesn't have that additional footswitch for compressor, but has two function switches - one of which might toggle the compressor, not sure. But that really should be the only difference in terms of interaction with the Amplifi.

yes, it will work as a midi controller without any other hardware. You might want to install the Line 6 FBV Control software to change what midi-commands the FBV will send to match what you need in your DAW or similar, but that's optional.

Although the RJ45 style wiring connections used by Helix (Rack to Helix Floor Controller and Variax) and Ethernet connections can function via a Cat5 or Cat6 cable, Line 6's protocols are not published. Moreover, the Helix Floor does not support the Helix Rack's Floor Controller unit. If there were a way to home cook using a MIDI Controller to power and control the Helix floor units, you'd be on your own getting it to work. It would be very slick if Line 6 provided the method. Perhaps in the future.... You may wish to submit the suggestion to IdeaScale.

Who's Gibson? Never heard of 'em....