amsdenj

I add an IR or Cab block to the patch. If I have a patch that uses the powercab speaker models, I bypass the IR or Cab block. If I need to go directly to the PA (no Powercab), I turn the IR or Cab block on. I don't like copying patches because its too hard to keep them all updated. I wish Helix allowed block links to blocks shared across patches.

Check the impedance setting for the patch. Guitar pickups are very sensitive to impedance. Low Z settings can result in a very dull tone. I leave mine at 1M all the time.

When mine broke, I found the center piece on the floor and glued it back in with super glue. Its been OK for over a year now. Next time it breaks, I'll send it in for repair.

Try using Heir Apparent very early in your signal chain as a tone shaper for you guitar. Use low drive, unity gain, and tone/presence to tailor the overall tone of your guitar. Leave this block on all the time.

I think you can use controller assignments to send PC messages from Helix Floor to Helix Native. See https://jimamsden.wordpress.com/2017/12/28/creating-logic-pro-x-controller-assignments/ for details. Logic's controller assignments are powerful, but complex, and user, not project based.

I wouldn't recommend it. The speaker models in Powercab are designed to work with the stock speaker. Using a different speaker might not necessarily sound bad, but it probably wouldn't sound like the speakers that were modeled.

It's quiet when powered through VDI, but makes a lot of noise when turned if powered by the internal battery or through the 1/4" jack using the old Variax power supply. Any ideas what might cause that? Sounds to me like there's DC getting on the pot, but that shouldn't happen unless there's a short somewhere.

In theory, it doesn't matter where the IR is as long as everything after it in the signal chain is linear. Any block in the signal chain that introduces distortion should be before the IR.

See https://www.ampbooks.com/mobile/classic-circuits/class-AB-ripple, hum and ripple can contribute a lot to good tone. Essentially the interaction between the hum and ripple frequencies create additional overtones.

There are three primary parameters to overdrive - saturation (drive), tone and output level (volume). There are many approaches to controlling these parameters to get different tones for different purposes. But let's explore three broad approaches and their advantages and disadvantages. The simplest and perhaps most traditional approach is to use the amp for distortion. For traditional Fender, Vox and Marshall amps, that often means turning up the volume until the power amp distorts. Depending on the power rating of the amp and the number of speakers, this is going to be pretty loud and aggressive sounding, with a lot of odd order harmonics from symmetric clipping of the power output stage. This isn't very flexible because all the tone controls are in front of the distortion except presence or the treble cut in the Vox amp. So most of the tone control of the distorted tone comes from the speaker choice. What you loose in flexibility though you gain in feel since louder generally sounds and feels better, provides more interaction with the guitar for better sustain, and introduces sag for additional dynamics. The biggest issue though is that you have to set the amp for the dirty tone, then use the volume control on your guitar to get a clean tone. This often results in a pretty dark clean tone. If you amp has channel switching, then this wouldn't be a problem. To work around these disadvantages, you can use distortion pedals into a clean amp. Now you can get distortion tones at controllable volume levels with tone controls after distortion to tame the fizz/icepick, warming up the distortion. Pedals aren't that expensive, so you can have different ones for different purposes. This works so well that there is an explosion of fantastic distortion pedals on the market to choose from. The drawback is that it can be difficult to get a wide range of tone/saturation options out of a single pedal. To work around that shortcoming, you can use multiple pedals to create flexible gain staging in your signal path. With multiple pedals, you can set different pedals for different tone/saturation combinations for different purposes. The big question is, how should these different gain stages be ordered, and how should they be used together? I think a simple general rule (but one meant to be broken) is to put sustain before tone in the signal path. That is, you want the things that establish the drive tone to be after the things that create the distortion and harmonics, so you have more control of how those sound. For example, working backwards from the clean amp to the guitar: 1. Set the amp for you cleanest tone and overall volume. Use the neck pickup on your guitar with the guitar volume and tone all the way up to create your base tone. Tame an overly bright bridge pickup with the guitar tone control. Do this at typical playing level to get an accurate idea of the tone. 2. In front of this, place your first gain stage. This one should introduce a little breakup and with the tone set to keep the level of warmth you want. I use Teemah! for this as its tone controls work very well for sculpting early distortion tone. Teemah! also provide an option for asymmetric clipping for more even order harmonics that can sound less aggressive. This will often be left on all the time. It establishes early breakup tone without having to turn the amp up so its too loud. 3. In front of this, place your 2nd gain stage. This gain stage plays two roles. By itself, it creates a different tonal structure, often with a significant mid hump with a bit more saturation for a more aggressive distortion that cuts through the mix for solos. Stacked with the first gain stage gives increased saturation for typical leads. Use the volume and tone control on your guitar to easily adjust the amount of saturation and tonal color. I use Minotaur for this, with the gain set relatively low and volume/level set higher to drive the first stage into more saturation. 4. In front of this, place your 3rd gain stage. This one is for over the top sustain when you need it. I use two mutually exclusive options for this stage (I don't ever use them together): hard clipping distortion (OCD) or fuzz (Facial Fuzz). These will often be used with either or both of the first and second gain stages depending on the song. Fuzz especially seems to benefit from having another overdrive after it to provide more control of the fuzz tone. 5. (optional) In front of this, you can add another distortion block that helps establish the fundamental tone of your guitar. I use Heir Apparent for this because it has a lot of flexibility in setting saturation and tone. This one also stays on all the time, and isn't even assigned to a footswitch. It doesn't do that much, but you do notice it when its turned off. I use it mostly to just fatten up single coil pickup tones. I find it is better to get increased saturation by gain staging multiple pedals then it is to get all the saturation from one pedal. This keeps each pedal working in its sweet spot while also giving a lot of flexibility in distortion voicing. Another good rule of thumb is to use the minimum amount of saturation for the song. This maintains articulation and keeps your guitar from turning into an indistinct buzz that disappears in the mix. The gain staging above applies to traditional pedalboards and of course works great with Helix. But Helix has an additional level of flexibility that is generally not possible with traditional amps (unless you use reactive loads). Helix amp models have a level control and cab blocks with low and high cut. So it is possible to leverage the distortion capabilities of the amp models and cab block low and high cut to control distortion saturation and voicing. I use this in HX Stomp to get various distortion tones using a couple of footswitches to control amp drive, treble, bass, presence, and cab high/low cut to get the tones I need without using any distortion blocks. This is sort of like going back to the traditional approach, getting all the distortion from the amp, but using studio controls after the amp to tailor the tone and volume level.

I use my Apple Watch to control HX Stomp. https://usa.yamaha.com/products/music_production/accessories/md-bt01/index.html provides the MIDI I/O and MIDI Designer PRO to create MIDI interface to HX Stomp. The MidiWrist MIDI Controller app provides an interface to Apple watch. I've never used it live, but it does work pretty well.

I play in an acoustic band as well as a club cover band. In the acoustic band I use a Martin 00C with acoustic IRs in Helix. What that IR is trying to do is take what's coming off the piezo pickup and translate it to what would be coming out of the body of a mic'd acoustic guitar. Now the process of producing IRs that capture this delta are pretty straight forward, although somewhat complex. But the point is how well the IRs work for you depends on a lot of things. First is the difference between your piezo pickup and the one used to create the IR. Oddly this one doesn't matter as much as you think. That's because a piezo pickup on a 2x4 and one on a $3K acoustic guitar won't sound that different - the piezo doesn't really pick up much of the sound of the body of the guitar. But what it does pick up is how the guitar influences how you play. So that can make a big difference. Next is the body the IR is simulating vs. your actual guitar. Acoustic guitars sound the way they do because of resonances that result from the shape, size, wood, bracing, etc. An IR that models a really nice acoustic guitar might work well with your guitar and it might not. You have to try them and see. Finally, don't be afraid of mixing some of the piezo sound with the IR - i.e., not 100% wet on the IR. Piezo pickups do respond well to pick attack and have good dynamics. Mixing some of that in with the IR can retain the dynamics and character of how you play. I also play mandolin in that acoustic band, also through Helix. I haven't had as much luck with mandolin IRs. It seems like the higher tension of a mandolin exaggerates its resonances and the IRs tend to sound peaky and make feedback worse. I use a K&K pickup in my Collings mandolin and this sounds pretty good all by itself. I have the IR in Helix, but its mixed mostly off.

I don't use Powercab presets with Helix - I let Helix program the Powercab settings. It doesn't really matter what preset Powercab is on, Helix will change it to what is programmed in its patch. The Powercap preset will appear as edited. I ignore this. Note you can press the selector encoder to see what mode the Powercab is in and what speaker Helix selected. I often leave Powercab like this to verify what the Helix patch set.

I have all three and gig with Helix and HX effects all the time. HX Stomp is for backup. The flexibility of all three with a Variax and Powercab 212 is hard to beat. I'm really enjoying both the flexibility and quality of tones. Line6 has really produced a wonderful ecosystem and set of complimentary products. Glad I stuck with them over the years.

Generally the more distortion and effects you have, the more you will cover up the unique characteristics of both your guitar and your playing. That could be good or bad depending you and the guitar. I have a lot of effects in my goto patch. I use Helix with an HX Effects for front of the amp effects in a send/return in Helix. But I minimize their use, going for quality of different sounds for the song rather than quantity of effects. A good practice is to minimize the effects and distortion you use to just what's needed for the song and no more.

You can also specify whether the L&R are linked, or separate. If they're separate, you get to choose two speaker model if you're in speaker mode.

I've done 1/2 step tunings, open C for acoustic guitar (CGCGCE). It works. But you need to keep the amp volume up pretty high to make sure it masks the sounds of the strings.

yes, that's it, press the edit knob once and you'll see mode and speaker selection. Just leave it there and it updates when Helix changes anything. But after a while you'll just trust Helix.

Not sure this is a problem. Maybe I'm missing something. If you select a Powercab+ preset, and Helix changes anything in the Powercab output block, the Powercab+ patch is changed to whatever Helix selected, and the patch will display as <edited>. If you want to see how the Powercab patch was edited, press the selector knob once and you'll see the mode and sparker model. I often leave my Powercab set this way because when I change patches or snapshots that impact the speaker mode and model, I can immediately see what's in the cabinet (to be certain) and don't have to select the output block and page on Helix. You can also use Helix to edit Powercab patches, just do the save on the Powercab to save whatever edited settings were sent from Helix. But you generally don't want to do that. Powercab patches aren't that relevant when connected with Helix using Line6 Link. Helix will generally control all the Powercab settings. Powercab patches are more useful for something like HX Stomp or other devices that don't have Line6 Link, and you don't want to bother connecting HX Stomp to Powercab with MIDI.

Sounds like there's a problem with the model encoder switch. I would have suggested that someone may have changed the models using Workbench HD. But if you successfully refreshed the firmware, that should restore factory settings.

The magnetic pickups go through the A2D converters on the guitar for the VDI output. So if the pickups were too far out of the impedance range, and therefore had an output that is too low or too high, you might get additional noise or digital distortion in those converters. Less significant would be the values of the volume and tone pots - these can effect tone based on pickup impedance too. For the 1/4" jack going direct magnetics, there's probably no issue. Its the possibility of digital clipping in the converters that would be critical.

You can try using a sound hole cover when playing live. That's a common solution. Acoustic IRs can accentuate the guitar's resonance frequency and encourage feedback. Try blending the IR with some of the direct piezo. That might help too.

The buttons are suppose to be self cleaning. Try pressing the button multiple times and see if that clears it up. I have 3 that have been acting up for a while, but I've been tolerating them because I also don't want to send Helix in for repair.

I get my IEM mix from the PA, not Helix. We use an X32-Core with 2 SD16 digital snake heads. This provides 10 (5 stereo) busses and outputs for individual IEMs independent of the main FOH mix. That's the best way to go, maybe even if you can only get one shared monitor mix for the whole band for IEM use.

Well, I changed VDI cables, made some updates in my goto patch, and adjustments in the Variax neck, and now my sustain issues seem to be gone. I'm not sure what did it, but I couldn't be happier with the result: JTV-69S (Warmoth neck & SVL Daytona pickups) > Helix Floor > HX Effects (in the loop for extra effect switches) > Powercab 212 is really awesome. Thanks to Chris Buck and Jeff McErlain for great information on effects setup, gain staging and routing. This was very helpful too.