amsdenj

I ordered RC5EE050V. I'll let you know how well it works.

Is a good general rule. But some amp models require additional consideration as they have different gain structures. Preamp up / Master down will emphasis preamp distortion which is often asymmetric, produces more even order harmonics, and a smoother, less aggressive distortion with minimal sag. Any distortion from Preamp down / Master up will usually be from the power amp which is often symmetric, produces more odd order harmonics, and a harsher, more aggressive distortion with greater potential for sag. If both are up, you get a mixture of both preamp and power amp distortion which will mostly just have more saturation, the power amp distortion will contribute most of the tone. However, the position of the tone controls in the signal chain can have a big impact on preamp distortion. If the distortion is before the tone controls like Marshal amps and Litigator, then the tone controls will control the treble ice-pick/fizz of the distorted tone. It can be difficult to get a good clean tone from this configuration because you have to run the treble low to keep the distortion warm, but then when you turn your guitar volume down to clean up the, the tone will be muffled. Other amp models have the tone controls before the distortion. These model give you better control of the clean tones because you can keep the treble turned up when it goes into a clipping stage without creating more fizz. However, these amp model often don't have a lot of control of the tone after distortion, so they can be pretty harsh. Some other amp models have two drive controls and these might support distortion stages before and after the tone controls, and one or the other might have a bright bypass cap. These amps can be pretty flexible. You can of course change a lot of amp parameters with a foot switch or snapshot to get even greater control of clean to distorted tones. But if you need a lot of control of your tone, from clean to very distorted in the same patch, its often easier go get the distortion using multiple pedals in front of a clean amp. Each pedal can play a role in the signal chain. Since each one usually has drive, tone and level controls, you get a lot of shaping of the distortion tone and a lot of saturation control through stacking. Try Guitar > Fuzz (OCD) > Distortion (Minotaur - with low drive, high level) > Teemah!. All blocks off is your clean tone. Set using the neck pickup, and use the tone control on your guitar to adjust for the bridge pickup. It's easier to remove high frequencies then it is to add them. Then use Teemah! to get your on the edge of amp breakup tone. Teemah! is great for this because it has bass cut before distortion to reduce mud, and treble cut after distortion to control ice-pic/fizz. It also has symmetric or asymmetric distortion with the Up/Down switch. This pedal is often left on all the time and cleans up very well with the guitar volume control. Minotaur provides slightly more aggressive distortion and the Tube Screamer mid boost that we're so use to hearing. By itself, this is a different distortion than Teemah! by itself, and these two pedals stack very well to produce yet a third level of distortion. The low drive and high level emphasizes the mid hump of Minotaur and pushes the Teemah! harder to produce more distortion. But since Teemah! is later in the path, its flexible tone shaping has a greater impact on the overall tone. The more you stack in front of it, the more saturation and sustain you get, without having the overall tone change too much. Finally a Fuzz in front of Minotaur can provide a thick, smooth, high saturation and sustain tone with a lot of tone shaping control. It can be tricky to get a fuzz to sound good by itself, but stacked in front of Minotaur and/or Teemah! you have a lot more control. Jeff McErlain has a great video explaining all this. See https://youtu.be/iK2b5LwcxrY. He also has a great TrueFire course on guitar effects. I highly recommend checking this out if you want to get the most out of your effects.

The problem is the line6 VDI cables are way too long and the quality of the recent ones isn't is good as the older ones. I have two of these. I was looking for a shorter, high quality, very flexible option. Klotz seems like a good option.

Another useful trick this reminded me of is a way to improve sustain on guitars with bolt on necks. The trick is to slightly loosen the neck mounting screws while the strings are under tension. This will cause the strings to pull the neck tightly into the body cavity, making better contact. Some people think that can improve sustain.

I have also noticed on my JTV-69S that the bridge pieces do indeed move (down). Vibrations during playing appear to make the small Allen screws used to raise and lower the bridge to screw in, lowering one side of the bridge saddle. I have to adjust them every couple of weeks.

Json Sadites has recommended these cables. See . But I'm not sure which one to get. Is this the correct cable: https://shop.klotz-ais.com/26665-rc5eeb.html, or do we need the double-shielded version: https://shop.klotz-ais.com/7896-rcbee.html? Anyone know where these can be purchased? The Klotz store seems to be for business not personal sales.

Powercab x12+ has three modes Flat Mode - has three voicings that select the final post-processing EQ and crossover settings for the speaker system. XLR out is the same as the Powercab input (for all voicings) FRFR - Uses the high-frequency compression driver with a flattened frequency-response EQ for full-range operation. The tweeter is on, XLR out is the same as the Powercab input. Use when cab or IR models are provided before the Powercab input.Good for acoustic instruments. LF Raw - Uses only the woofer with no EQ applied, allowing Powercab to be utilized like a typical 12" guitar speaker. Tweeter is off. Use with no IR or cab processing at the input. LF Flat - Uses only the woofer with a flattened frequency response EQ. This voicing is used as the normalized basis for the Speaker models. Essentially each Speaker model is an EQ added to LF Flat that reproduces the sound of the modeled speaker. Tweeter is off. Use this for a different guitar speaker sound. Speaker - each speaker model adds EQ to to the to the LF Flat basis to reproduce the sound of the speaker model. XLR output is a cab model that matches the speaker model, and includes a mic model. Tweeter is always off. This is probably the mode that leverages the unique features of Powercab the most to provide the amp in the room sound. It is actually a guitar speaker in the room with no mic model. Use with no IR or cab processing at the input. IR - uses IRs on the Flat/FRFR voicing for additional speaker selections. XLR output includes the IR processing. The tweeter is always on. Use with no IR or cab processing at the input.

Other than some occasionally unreliable footswitches, my has been running well for four years. I did have one scribble strip replaced, but that's it so far. Helix seems as reliable as other gear you regularly setup, tear down, transport and step on.

HX Stomp into a single FRFR like Headrush, JBL EON610, etc. is a simple and flexible setup. I suspect one reason we have trouble getting consistent tones out of setups like this is dealing with too much mid-scoop. Fender amp (and model) tone controls and Fender single coil guitars have a lot of mid scoop. This creates a nice deep, bright, rich clean tone. But it can be really hard to get that tone to cut through a dense mix, and distortion can be muddy and fizzy at the same time. PA speakers can also add more mid scoop. If you put the speaker on the floor, you'll get a pretty big bass boost due to coupling between the woofer and the floor. And the horn can be pretty bright and less directional than we are use to. Guitar is all about the mid range. This is why a tube screamer work so well with Fender Strats and amps - it provide a big mid boost that recovers some of those scooped out mids. So if you're having trouble getting a good, consistent tone out of HX Stomp and a PA-speaker FRFR, you might explore controlling the mids by bringing the bass and treble down a little. Try to do this physically first - with the cabinet placement in the room. Use a stand or speaker pole to get the speaker off the floor to eliminate that bass coupling. Position the speaker so the high end is focused where you want it. If that's not enough, then the next place to look is cab/IR low and high cuts. As you cut lows and highs, you are actually focusing more on the mids. With EQ its almost always better to cut what you don't want then it is to boost what you do want, its called subtractive EQ. Boosts can sound less natural and create headroom problems. If that's still not enough, you might try using global EQ to tailor the tone for the room. Some additional more focused EQ cuts and boosts could really make that simple FRFR sound great. Use references with a guitar amp tone you really like to find a good baseline tone, and then use global EQ to make slight adjustments for particular situations. The thing I like about modeler into FRFR is the flexibility. You can get a lot of tones out of a simple setup including acoustic tones. I use a Variax and FRFR is a must for me. I also play acoustic guitar and mandolin through Helix and FRFR is necessary for that too.

There are lots of ways to reduce DSP demand without significantly sacrificing tone. The first thing to consider is the context. If you’re playing solo electric guitar, then you need a lot of tone options and control. Don't use HX Stomp for this, use Helix. But if you're playing in a band context, then the focus should be the song and the mix, not necessarily your individual tone. In a band/mix context, all the complex tonal subtleties from complex blocks and patches either get mostly lost in the mix, or can actually degrade the mix because they make an overly complex sound that competes for too much space or is indistinct and doesn't cut thorough. Less is almost always more in a live mix when it comes to effects. The next is stereo/mono. Stereo blocks take twice as much DSP as mono blocks. So avoiding stereo can save a lot of DSP. Stereo sounds great by yourself. But in a band/mix situation, it offers little benefit. If you're using a stereo backline, then you might hear the stereo, but your audience won't - the speakers are just too close together. If on the other hand you're putting your stereo guitar through the FOH, only a few select people in just the right position will hear it, that's why most FOH systems are run in mono - to ensure everyone hears the whole mix, no matter where they are positioned in the venue. If you really need stereo and lots of blocks, use Helix not HX Stomp. But most of the time you might find mono is just fine and can in fact help clean up live mix issues. Also, if you do use stereo, there's no point in using a stereo block in front of any mono block (e.g., any amp model) since it will get summed to mono anyway. That's just a waste of DSP, and the summing a stereo block to mono can have a negative impact on it's tone. Next there are ways to eliminate blocks, not just to get under the 6 block limit, but to preserve DSP. The OP introduces a couple of good possibilities. Chorus and Flanger are really quite similar effects. The difference is in the length of the delay and amount of feedback. With the flangers in HX Stomp, there's often enough parameter control to produce a pretty good chorus tone from a single block. You can switch between flanger and chorus by using a footswitch or snapshot to change the parameters and save a block. Another great example is distortion. The OP tried to get the distortion from the amp model but wasn't successful and had to add a distortion block in front of the amp. Often the reason amp distortion is insufficient is because there's not enough tone shaping after the distortion. Most distortion blocks provide tone controls that shape the voicing of the distortion. This can be critical to achieving the right tone, and is something where amp blocks are typically more limited. But with HX Stomp, there are lots of ways to voice distortion with an amp block that can provide the control you need without requiring an additional distortion block. You can control up to 8 parameters with a stomp footswitch, or 64 parameters with a snapshot. I prefer footswitches because they are "stackable". With HX Stomp's 3 footswitches, I can control any combination of three things. With snapshots, you only get three different snapshots. For distortion voicing in HX Stomp, I use a single footswitch and set max and min values for amp block drive, bass, treble, presence, and cab low and high cut. Drive (and maybe master) control the amount of saturation. Bass and treble are used for EQ into the the distortion, reducing bass at higher drive settings to reduce mud. Presence, and cab low/high cuts control the voicing after the distortion, lowering the cab high cut to reduce fizz and ice pick. I've found with a little work, you can get really great distortion tones out of just amp models and one footswitch. Finally there's block choice. Sure there are some great effect blocks in HX Stomp that sound really cool and have a lot of control. But these complex blocks tend to use a lot more DSP. You might find that a simpler block produces a similar tone but at much lower DSP usage. In a band mix, the simpler block might actually sound better.

I have use a pair of EON610s for a number of years with Helix and never had a gain dropout. Maybe you have a power problem at the gig location? I use a Powercab+ 112 now instead of the two EON610s. What I have noticed is that the Powercab sounds more natural (less hyped bass and treble) than the EON610s, requires less low and high cut on my IRs, and cuts through the mix a lot better. That may be because I use the Powercab on an amp stand and get it off the floor. That will make it project better and have less flub in the bottom end due to bass coupling with the floor. My setup is mono now, but simpler, lighter, faster to setup and sounds better. I can still use the 610s to create a real nice wet-dry-wet setup, but I haven’t found the need for that yet.

Acoustic IRs have to be designed for the source as well as the target. That is, the IR is essentially the difference between the sound source, and the desired sound target. So an acoustic IR for a piezo pickup in an acoustic guitar will be a very different IR than one for the bridge pickup on an electric guitar for the exact same target guitar model. Creating these different IRs isn't the problem. There are really two problems. The first is that the exact sound source we're putting into the IRs isn't the same as what was used to produce it. Our guitars are different, our pickups are different, strings are different, etc. The second is that an IR can't produce sounds, it can only transform or convolve what it is provided as an input into an output. Electric guitar pickups just don't produce a lot of high frequencies. So they don't provide as much for the IR to work with. Acoustic IRs for electric guitars tend to over-hype that 4KHz frequencies because that's all they have to work with. This sound somewhat artificial and brittle to me. But an IR designed for a piezo pickup in an acoustic guitar in Helix does work really well. I use one for my acoustic guitar and mandolin for all acoustic gigs. These do a great job reducing the piezo quack, and warming the tone.

The answer is to reduce the variability that Line6 has no control over, cannot predict, and therefore can't test - that's our computers. I too have had no issues with updates. But I'm using a high-end MacBook pro with a rigorously updated OS and USB-C through adapters and/or and OWC Thunderbolt 3 hub. The computer, OS, updates apps, drivers, and/or USB connections add a lot of unpredictable variability to updates of complex units like Helix. Maybe Line6 should abandon computer based updates, use Ethernet for connectivity and control the updates completely through the hardware. Worth a thought. Perhaps Line6 should start a poll to understand the configurations user have and their update problems in order to determine a correlation and zero in on the root cause.

Wonder how those strings would sound on an acoustic guitar.

Try JamOrigin MIDI guitar 2 before you invest in too much hardware.

I agree with Eric on this one. I want a PC+ preset to control PC+ parameters when used with devices (like HX Stomp) that can’t control those parameters. But Helix can control all the PC+ parameters. There’s no need to complicate things and store the preset parameters in two places.

If you're doing solo guitar, Variax might not cut it. If you're one of many performers in a 5+ group with a dense sound, Variax will probably sound just fine. Things in between could be good or bad depending on the context and instrument.

I really wanted a 2x12 Powercab+. I love the sound of stereo guitar. But for me I don't see how this works. I gig with a 1x12 Powercab+ as my stage amp, its driven by the L6 link in mono. But I also send stereo from my Helix to FOH and have my own stereo IEM mix of the whole band that comes from the PA. I don't do anything without either earplugs or those IEMs in place. My aging ears really don't like loud sounds. It's probably because of ear damage from the past. But I can't get through 30sec of a song without ear protection. So if I had a 2x12 Powercab, it wouldn't make any difference to me, or the audience. They're getting stereo from the FOH mix already. The Powercab 1x12 is perfect for stage fill and giving me and my guitar something to feel. A 2x12 wouldn't change that and would just be heavier and take up more stage space. That said, if I didn't already have a 1x12 power cab, I would get the 2x12 - just because - more is better, right?

In noticed in 2.8 that HX Edit can edit HX Stomp global settings, but not Helix Floor. Any reason for that given they're on the same core platform now?

I also noticed an issue with Red Squeeze being too loud in all my patches. I had to adjust the level in all patches that use that compressor. I wonder if something has happened with the core Helix compressor algorithm.

https://jimamsden.wordpress.com/2018/06/19/wet-dry-wet-setup-with-helix/ I have a Powercab+ and a pair of JBL EON610s that I could use for WDW. But I haven't found the motivation to set that all up at gigs yet.

I think I get it. If you use VDI to power the guitar, and TS plug in the output jack at the same time, the power terminal of that TRS jack will be grounded by the TS plug. That could easily cause at least a partial short on the VDI power supply. But if you used VDI to power the guitar and TRS with nothing connected to the ring, then this would seem to eliminate the short and potential additional load. Although that might actually be fine, it's a lot simpler to say don't use two cables at the same time. This would prevent situations where someone used TS cables, or used a TRS cable that happened to ground the ring on the other end. It's probably better to be cautious and avoid the potential issue. That said, I still think the 1/4" output sounds better than the VDI into Helix - better tone, more sustain. I wish that weren't the case since I use VDI exclusively.

The replies to this post raise an interesting point: the source of the distortion can have a big impact on tone and feel. I'll explain. There are three different configurations that have been describe in this post: Grammatico with master set high, Grammatico with master set lower, and some overdrive pedal into Grammatico. Let's look at what's different about these and why they might sound and feel different. Grammatico with master set high: In this case, its going to be the power amp that is distorting. Since Grammatico is using a tube rectifier and push-pull power amp, power amp distortion is going to generate a lot of odd order harmonics and exhibit quite a bit of sag. The only "tone control" on this distortion is the following Cab/IR model. This can sound brittle and harsh, and have sag that may negatively impact dynamics. But others might love the aggressive distortion that comes from odd order harmonics, and think the sag is providing the feel they've been missing. Grammatico with master set lower: this will cause the distortion to be created in the preamp section which will have more even order harmonics (preamp tubes distort asymmetrically) and no sag since the amp isn't actually being driven that hard. Some people like preamp distortion, others think it has no life. A lot depends on how loud the amp is. Louder is going to sound better. But preamp and power amp distortion will sound different even if the saturation and volume levels are the same. Preamp distortion will be a little less aggressive and harsh, and won't have much feel. Grammatico with overdrive pedal: in this case the amp is typically running close to clean and most of the distortion is coming from the pedal(s). This is the most flexible because you can use different pedals with different tone controls to control how much saturation there is, what harmonics make up the saturation, and have tone controls before and after the distortion to control the saturation voicing. This is why some people love pedals. They provide a lot more flexibility than preamp and power amp distortion. Which of these is better? There's no way to know, everyone's taste and needs are different, and different songs need different sounds. But what's key is that they are different and why. Knowing this might give you better control to determine what you like.

I too am torn regarding PC212+. If it had been available when I got my PC+, I would have opted for the additional cost for stereo. But now, I'm not so sure. First I use IEMs for gigs, so I already have stereo in my ears, and PC+ behind me as a backline stage amp. Changing that to a PC212 wouldn't change anything for me except my stage footprint would be bigger and I'd be carrying a heaver amp (and I'm not that young anymore). If I really wanted stereo, I could use a wet-dry-wet setup with the two JBL EON610s I use to use for my live FRFR with PC+. I suspect that would be pretty cool. But bottom line I'm very unlikely to ever bother doing that. PC212 would give me stereo at every gig. So to me the appeal of PC212 is that its stereo, will have no problem as an outdoor backline (I play quite a few of those each year), and can be used for lots of purposes. PC212 isn't like POD HD500 and many other digital devices that became obsolete and worthless pretty fast. Its a quality powered FRFR cabinet that can double as a powered 2x12 guitar cabinet driven by any good guitar preamp. So I think they might last longer than other digital gear.

The difference is where the A2D conversion is being done - with VDI its done in Variax, with 1/4" its done in Helix. I do think there is both a tone difference and sustain difference. To me the 1/4" sounds more natural, and sustains longer, and dies out without odd warbles. There's probably a number of reasons for this. First the A2D converters are probably different - Helix might have better converters. Second is the Helix 1/4" input has wide dynamic range and programmable input impedance, the input preamps might be better in Helix than in Variax. Finally, the Line6 VDI cable is 25' long. That's a lot of opportunity for jitter and noise to get into the digital signal and cause errors at the Helix input. From all the posts above, its still not clear to me if/why the TS 1/4" can't be run with the VDI cable at the same time - as long as there's no battery in the Variax. The point is there should only be one power source at a time. @psarkissian, could you clarify.