steelstringer

It becomes problematic to me when I’m reaching across the switch and my forearm touches it. I have my LT on a stand, and I often sit and edit patches that way. I have the “touch” control set to “off” in the global settings, as well, but that switch still responds to touch.

Same issue here - also 2.81

Just a quick tip that works for me. Try an amp model that has a “fat” or “thick” control. Set up a snapshot to turn it on when you want your lead tone. The Placater Dirty and Texas Cali CH 2 are good examples. This approach works well if you are happy with your rhythm tones, but feel like the lead tones are a bit thin. It works nicely in conjunction with a master volume boost.

Is his comment around the 2 min, 8 second mark a hint that the update is already on his Helix. A Beta, I suppose?

I often hear that kind of fuzz/fizz on cleaner tones when I use the bridge pickup, which means, in my case anyway, that it is too hot. I tamed the issue by switching to the middle position (Les Paul style guitar) for clean/edge of breakup tones. That, in combination with low/hi cuts recommended by others on this forum, fixed the issue for me.

I tend to lower the gain, bump up the master (around 6-7) and add a Minotaur (gain between 1-2) when I dial in the higher gain amps on the Helix. This approach tightens up the low end, in my experience.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/helix-2-8.2004443/

One other benefit that comes to mind is stage volume. It is so much easier to keep volumes at a comfortable level with modeling tech, especially if both guitarists and the bassist are using it. This benefit is even more noticeable to guitarists who sing, since they often get used to singing over loud amplifiers. I wonder if this figured into MK’s decision.

This is cool, and it got me thinking...why would he go this route? I know why I did it with the Helix — it simplified my set up/tear down. I cannot go back now; I’m converted forever. But a world class musician doesn’t really deal with that issue, I would assume. So, why are some big time artists going this route when they have techs who can and will run complicated analog rigs?

Post an image of your patch. There are folks on this board who can give more advice if they can see your workflow. In my case as a new Helix user, digital fizz always came from clipping somewhere, like hot pickups that cause issues at the beginning of the chain or the output level being too hot and clipping the mixer or recording device.

I used to have up to 3 eq blocks on my patches (two simple, one parametric) that I would automatically tweak in similar ways on most patches. I mostly did this as a response to reading forums and watching YouTube tutorials. Honestly, though, I was overdoing it. In some cases I was sucking all of the life and dynamics out of otherwise awesome tones. Now, I just use one eq as a lead boost (to bump some mids), and that works for me. Sometimes I tweak tones based on what I have read, instead of just using my ears, but I’m trying to change this habit. There is just so much information out there to read!

Do you have access to a powered speaker (frfr) that you can use at the next rehearsal? It’s a difficult scenario when one guitarist is using a traditional cab and the other is using modeling tech through the mixer. The sound dispersion is all over the place. If you are each using one speaker, you might be able to get a better sound as a band or at least get a better feel for your tone. If you do not have access to one frfr, You could also ask the other guitarist to turn down, and then mic his amp. Then, you are both in the mix together. I’m lucky to be in a group where we all use modeling direct to the mixer (even the drummer!), but I remember being the first one to take the digital plunge. It takes time to find your sonic space.

Also check out the Helix Channel (Scott) and Richie Castellano on YouTube. Between these two and Jason Sadites, I have learned so much about building patches.

Mine is completely flat, which means I tweak on the Helix, not the mixer. This has worked great for me so far, but I’m interested to hear other’s opinions.

I know it’s counterintuitive, but I prefer the sound of the Helix full amp model and IR into the return of my Marshall tube amp. I’ve tried the preamp/no IR approach, and it always sounds small to me. I use a wet/dry/wet setup, and the Marshall is the dry in the middle. My xlr outputs go to 2 frfr speakers. Pretty big sounds/tones. Good luck on your tone quest.