amsdenj

A mono block split into stereo is still mono unless there are other blocks on the split path.

Loading IRs in Powercab can reduce the DSP load in Helix. That's more critical for HX Stomp as it saves a block as well as reducing DSP load. An HX Stomp with Powercab 112+ is a very nice, simple and usable rig. Put putting the IR in Powercab limits your signal chain as you can't put modulation, delay and reverb blocks after the IR. This shouldn't really matter as Powercab should be running clean and IRs are linear processors, meaning it shouldn't matter if an effect is before or after the IR. But anything that generates harmonics (e.g., distortion) will sound different before or after an IR.

Not Powercab 112+, but you can with PowerCab 212+. You can feed Powercab 112+ a stereo signal that includes two cab models, but they’ll be summed to mono.

The Helix patch and have complete control of the Powercab settings. You don't need a cab model or IR in Helix unless you are using Powercab in FRFR mode. This is of course useful if you are using acoustic instruments in Helix. But I also continue to use a few IRs in my Helix patches even with a Powercab 212 in FRFR mode. It just works better in some cases. If you're ok editing JSON, you can edit the Helix prefix with a text editor to change from AMP+Cab to AMP without loosing you're amp settings.

I suspect the problem is that the Line6 link was intended to support two Powercab 112’s and automatically detect the second Powercab 112 and switch to stereo. But if you’re using wto Powercab 212s, these are already stereo and might be confusing Line6 link.

Intonation problems on the low E string can be caused by having the pickups too close to the string. The pull of the magnets inhibits string vibration and creates enharmonic overtones.

I have used the Helix headphone output to drive a power amp out of just convenience. It sounded fine to me. Try it and see.

Yes

It depends. If there are no distortion blocks and the amp is run clean, then the signal path is liners and it shouldn’t make much difference where tone shaping blocks are placed. However things change drastically when distortion is introduced since the signal path is no longer linear. Thing before distortion will sound very different after distortion. I generally keep everything after the amp linear, avoiding pushing any delay, reverb, modulation, etc. blocks that typically go after amp into distortion. I want all the distortion to be controlled by the gain staging in front of and into the amp so its more predictable and controllable.

I use HX Effects in a Helix effects loop to provide extended foot switches and blocks. I typically put front of the amp effects in HX Effects and put the Helix send/return block pretty close to the input block. This keeps the signal path reasonably simple. This has brought new life to my HX Effects. I originally got it to use in front of my old Fender Showman amp. But much as I might wish to gig with that amp again, I'm pretty sure I never will. Variax + Helix + Powercab is just too flexible and easy to use.

See the HX Stomp section in https://jimamsden.wordpress.com/2020/04/04/remote-jamming-with-helix-and-jamulus/. This explains how to use a Return block on path B to provide a mic input and volume control, and route the output to USB 3/4 in order to turn off direct monitoring in HX Stomp. Note that after opening some ports on my router, I'm finding JamKazam works quite well too. The band has started rehearsing again remotely, and its working fine.

But the two distortion stages in Tone Sovereign are in series, one feeding into the other, not parallel. So I don't think there's any way to get them to work independently. You can try to set the first one to be transparent so the second is controlling the distortion. But I had limited success at this. Why not just use two Prince of Tone blocks - because of HX Stomp 6 block limitations. Tone Sovereign is a great choice for HX Stomp because its two gain stages in series in a single block. I hope in some future revision Line6 adds another parameter to have stage one, two, or both in series on. This would really make this a very versatile distortion block.

Line6 indicates HX Stomp 3.0 will have 8 blocks instead of 6, and I believe the send/return will no longer take up a block. Looper does have overdub capabilities, even the 1-button looper. Loops cannot be saved.

Powercab output has three variations: FRFR mode: the direct output is the same as the input, and you will need to use a cab model or IR in Helix for the direct output to go directly to FOH. IR mode: the direct output also includes the IR processing in Powercab, so this can go to direct FOH with no further processing. No cab model or IR is needed in Helix in this case. Speaker mode: In this case Powercab is applying additional processing on the input to make the speaker without the tweeter sound like other guitar speakers. We don't know the details of how this is done, but it's likely just tone matching EQ curves. In this case you don't have any cab models or IR block in Helix, and no IR in Powercab, so the direct output needs additional processing to go directly to FOH. Again, we don't know exactly what this processing is, but a good guess is that Powercab is applying an IR and mic model that corresponds to the speaker model to the direct output, essentially the same thing as using a cab model in Helix. In any case, its ready to go to FOH, and sounds fine. This is the configuration I use for live playing unless we are ampless, then I use an IR in Helix. Powercab seems to be very well done in many ways. Its flexible enough to be used as a keyboard amp, a powered PA for signer/song writer solo gigs, an amp in the room guitar cabinet and FRFR for other cab models and IRs. And its extremely well built, is easy to use and integrates perfectly with Helix.

Then why not model that in the pedal block instead of the input? Probably because it also depends on the guitar - single and double coil pickups are pretty different.

In these trying times we have to find new ways to play music together. Remote jamming/rehearsal over the Web isn't perfect, but its better than not playing. I put together a post on how to use Helix/HX Stomp with Jamulus for on-line jamming: https://jimamsden.wordpress.com/2020/04/04/remote-jamming-with-helix-and-jamulus/. Good luck everyone, and stay healthy.

So 0 to +7dB is what I'm suggesting you avoid. Rather gain stage for unity gain though out your signal chain, ensuring your loudest patch is not clipping Powercab input. Then go to the output block and set a controller to min -3dB, max 0. Set your stage volume and FOH volume with the output set to -3dB (boost off). Then when you boost to 0dB, you're back where you started from with your gain staged signal path, no chance for digital clipping, and you're 3dB louder. Same outcome, but less chance of clipping anything. Of course FOH will need to gain stage similarly. I think of it as "push tone, pull volume". That is, all you're up front patch parameters should focus on getting the tone you want to deliver to the final output stages. Then you get the venue volume by turning up the power amps at the end of the signal chain instead of turning up volumes in the front or middle of the chain as these consume headroom. Want the PA louder, you turn up the master first, not all the faders. Turning up the faders can clip the master bus, turning up the master fader can't.

Reactive load boxes with IR capability and direct FOH outputs are breathing new life into typical 100W tube guitar amps. If you love your amp, and can afford to lug it around, then this is a great solution. But I think it may have a limited life. I'd much rather use Helix and Powercab, more flexibility for less weight and footprint.

Unity gain is the output is at the same level as the input. That will be the case for a Helix patch that has no blocks, assuming the output block level is set at 0dB. Now as you add blocks to the patch, they may add or remove gain depending on the block. To gain stage a block to unity gain, adjust the block to get the tone you want, then use the block's Level control to make the overall volume the same with the block on or off. This doesn't need to be exact, just close. If you do this, you will 1) provide consistent inputs into downstream blocks, 2) avoid any possibility of digital clipping, 3) drive blocks with the levels they were designed for, and 4) have consistent output to your Powercab, FRFR or direct FOH from patch to patch.

Snapshots and stomp switches give Helix a lot of flexibility. Snapshots can store values for up to 64 parameters in a patch. stomp switches can control up to 8 parameter min/max values or bypass state. The big difference between the two is that snapshots aren't additive - you can't turn on snapshot 2 and 3. Stomp switches are additive, you can have any combination of up to 10 stomp switches controlling up to 8 parameters/switch on or off at a time - that's a lot of tonal combinations. So should you use snapshots or stomp switches? It depends on the use case. If you're playing guitar in an orchestra pit for a dance performance or play, then you're probably playing a fixed sequence of songs with fixed parts in each song. The critical thing is to play the right sound at the right time, following the conductor. Having a preset per song, and snapshot per song part is very convenient for this situation, and can significantly reduce the chance of getting the wrong sound. Contrast with a jamband in a club where the song order is unpredictable, and solos can start anytime and go on for a while. In cases where there's less structure in the performance, having a palette of stomp switches for overdrive and other effects lets you control the tone for the moment, turning on and off combinations of effects. I play in a rock cover band. We plan a set list, but don't always follow it depending on how much people are dancing - we really try to keep people in the club dancing. So there's some structure in the song sequence, and we do have arrangements for each song. But I prefer to use stomp mode where I have my typical sound and effects in a patch I use most of the time. I like this because I don't always play the song exactly the same way - I might use a Mutron instead of a Wah for example. I have a few patches for odd things that are unique to the song. For example, we do Love The One Your With and I use a 12string opened tuned acoustic (Variax) through an acoustic patch with a snapshot for the EBEEBE tuning. I also keep an open-G tuning snapshot in my regular preset for Stones songs.

You are probably getting a mix of direct and software monitoring. Use direct monitoring on your interface if it supports it, and you don't need any effects on vocals while recording. Use software monitoring otherwise (turn any direct output to "computer"). I use software monitoring exclusively because of the flexibility, and the ability to run amp models like Helix Native while recording a dry guitar signal. But you need a good computer and audio interface to keep the latency low.

Also make sure you're using a High-Z input in your audio interface. Electric guitars don't respond well to Lo-Z.

Excellent advice. Reaper is also cross-platform, Mac and Windows, making it easier to collaborate with others remotely through Dropbox or (now) iCloud. This is something we're probably going to be doing for a while with all the stay at home restrictions. Reaper is also very extensible and has UI skins for different looks. I'm on a Mac and use Logic Pro X. Its UX, work flow, Drummer and software instruments make it a good choice for Mac users. But I have used Reaper a lot and still collaborate with others using Reaper.

Any block that has a mix control doesn’t necessarily need to be in a parallel path since that’s effectively that the mix control does with the wet and dry signal. However there may be other reasons for putting things on a parallel path depending on what you want feeding into what. The classic example is delay and reverb. Do you want 1) to delay your reverbs (delay block after reverb) or 2) reverb your delays (reverb block after delay), or 3) neither (reverb and delay on parallel paths and mixed later). There’s another consideration for flangers - do you want flangers before or after distortion (distortion blocks and amp block). These will sound quite different because flanger before distortion will get clipped and impacted by the distortion voicing. Flanger after distortion won’t get clipped and the high end created by the regeneration control won’t be cutoff. These are both valid scenarios and work for different purposes. You’ll have to try each to see what works for you and the song. Note however that we are use to hearing these effects in front of a distorted amp, so that might be a good place to start.

Reaper would be a good choice. You don't have to use it as a DAW, you can just treat it like a digital mixer that supports plugins. And its not that expensive.