amsdenj

Perhaps the difference depends on how the patches are edited. The 212 HF driver bug is that the changing Mode and Voicing using HX Edit or Helix does not effect both left and right HF drivers. If you make all the changes directly on the Powercab, you will find that the HF Compression Driver is only on in Flat:FRFR or IR modes.

You weren't wrong, the HF compression driver is only on in Flat:FRFR and IR modes. It is not on in any Speaker mode, Flat:LF Flat or Flat:LF Raw. The manual may be a little incomplete and confusing in this area. I just tested using Powercab 212 and verified the tweeter is not on in Speaker mode.

Wait! Re: "This mode applies different tonal characteristics of the selected speaker model to the system's coaxial driver, with the following adjustable parameters." I'm pretty sure the "system's coaxial driver" refers to the whole coaxial speaker, not just the tweeter, which is referred to as the "high frequency compression driver". I'm pretty sure the tweeter is only on in Flat:FRFR or IR modes. In the section describing the speaker models, the manual also says: "HF OFF / Natural – This is the natural sound and feel of the speaker in the Powercab with the high-frequency compression driver disabled and no EQ of any kind applied". This might leave the impression that the HF might be on for other speaker models, but it is not. I just tested my Powercab 212 in Speaker:Normal and Speaker:Cream. Adjusting the Global HF Trim through its full range makes no difference in the tone. The HF compression driver is definitely off. The same HF Trim sweep in Flat:FRFR makes a huge difference indicating the tweeter is definitely on. There should be no need to use a tweeter to EQ the Eminence speaker to sound like another guitar speaker as the EQ delta should be fairly small. All the speaker model EQs are applied to Flat:LF Flat, and that, like Flat: LF Raw doesn't use the tweeter. A guess, but I think Flat:LF Flat just EQs the Eminence speaker in a "standard" way so that Line6 could adjust Flat:LF Flat EQ to use with different speakers (i.e., in Powercab 212) and reuse all the speaker models, since their EQ is all applied to the same normalized Flat:LF Flat. I also tested and Flat:LF Raw and Speaker:Natural don't sound the same. There is some EQ processing that makes Speaker:Natural sound a bit more scooped and brighter than Flat:LF Raw, and not in a pleasant way. LF Raw sounds better to me. So I think you've been right all along. And I really appreciate your contribution and insights.

Powercab pairs well with HX Stomp because you can use speaker or IR modeling in Powercab and off load it from HX Stomp, often saving a precious block.

I'll have to try it, but it seems like it should work similar to use two 112+s. That is, run Line6 Link into the 112+, and then Line6 Link out to the 212. Helix should treat this the same as two 112+ and send left to the 112+ and right to the 212. Not sure if it would work the same going into the 212 first. As for wet-dry-wet, this wouldn't be the preferred setup. The 112+ would be fine for the dry signal, but the 212 stereo wouldn't be able to be positioned well for ideal wet-dry-wet. I have done wet-dry-wet with two JBL EON10s positioned on either side of Powercab 112+. It sounds really great, but is not really practical or needed for gigs.

Stereo aside, Powercab 112+ vs 212 would be more of a question of your usage requirements. I found 212 a little too big to fit in and balance with the rest of the band in our small club gigs. We seem to play a lot of Irish Pubs for some reason. In North Carolina no less. The other guitar player uses a Fender Blues Junior. So I have the 212 in my studio/office for just playing and practicing, and use the 112+ for gigs.

I can't find that in the Powercab manual. I can only find: "The output signal will have an SM57 microphone model applied when using speaker models." in reference to Powercab 112. For Powercab 112+ and 212, the user selected mic model is used. I thought Mode:Flat sent the input directly to the XLR out with no processing for all voicings (FRFR, LF Flat and LF RAW). Can you provide a source or verify? I had suspected the purpose of the Natural speaker model was to provide a means of adding a mic model to the Eminence speaker at the XLR out, and the difference between Mode:Flat, Voicing LF Raw, and Mode: Speaker, Natural was the EQ applied by LF Flat normalization was essentially removed. So the difference between Flat: LR Raw and Speaker:Natural is the additional processing through the EQ. And I suspect this EQ is done with delta IRs. But this is all speculation.

What I found consistently happens is when using Helix with Powercab 212 through Line6 Link: changing Mode and Voicing with HX Edit only controls the left speaker of Powercab 212, not both left and right speakers. Changing Mode and Voicing with Helix is only controlling the Right speaker, not both left and right speakers (whether HX Edit is connected or not). Workaround is to use MIDI to control Powercab 212 which you have to do with modelers other than Helix anyway. I can't try it, but something similar might or might not occur using Helix and Line6 Link with two Powercab 122+ units. Depends on whether the bug is in the Line6 Link processing in Helix or is unique to Powercab 212. Can anyone verify?

You may have to try things yourself to see how they meet your needs. I have found Powercab 112+ or Powercab 212 using Mode: FLAT, Voicing: LF RAW and no cab block or IR in you modeler produces an excellent amp in the room tone. It appears the Eminence speakers used in Powercab are pretty good guitar speakers and reference well with a Celestion G12M-65 I have in another amp. I'm very happy with Powercab. I like having the FRFR option for acoustic tones. I don't find the speaker models that useful. The raw speaker sounds better to me.

Try Mode: Flat, Voicing: LF RAW and no cab model or IR in Helix. You may find that Powercab112+ is a pretty good powered guitar speaker. This will give you amp in the room because that's exactly what it is.

I always bypass the cab blocks.

I find using Powercab in Flat mode, using the LF RAW voicing with no cab model in Helix works very well. It eliminates the mic that’s in IRs and EQ in the speaker models to give a more natural, amp in the room sound.

Do you have any room ambience in you (legacy) cab models?

When using Helix with Powercab112+, I use Line6 link and let it do the conversion to mono in the Powercab. For Quad Cortex, I run left and right outputs 3&4 into Powercab112+ inputs 1&2 using TRS cables, and again let Powercab do the summing to mono. On both devices I did make sure that summing to mono didn't do bad things to the patch. That did result in changing the Width parameter on some stereo blocks in Quad Cortex. Outputs 1&2 on Helix and Quad Cortex go into the PA and feed my IEM mix which is full stereo, making the IEM mix more natural sounding.

I have a Powercab112+ that I use most of the time, and a Powercab 212 that gets occasional use. The 212 stereo isn't that useful live for me. The audience won't notice it, and I'm using IEMs which are a stereo mix regardless of which Powercab I use. The 112+ just seems to hit the sweet spot in terms of weight and size. The 212 is perhaps a bit too big for most clubs and doesn't match the rest of the band that well. Re: the Powercab 212 bug: when using Line6 Link and controlling Powercab 212 from Helix, The Mode and Voicing settings only control the left speaker, not both the left and right. The work around is to use MIDI and turn off Line6 Link Powercab control. It's an extra cable to setup, and makes the patches a bit more complicated, but is necessary for Powercab 212. I don't know for sure, but the same problem might occur using Line6 Link with two Powercab 112+'s in stereo. Depends on whether the bug is in Powercab 212 or in the Line6 Link protocol implementation. Powercab112+ and Helix with Line6 Link is a really great guitar setup. I get best results using Flat Mode and LF Raw Voicing with no cab block or IR in Helix. That's basically a powered guitar speaker. The Eminence speaker in Powercab112+ seems to be a pretty nice guitar speaker. This is convenient, easy to setup, easy to transport, reliable, simple and flexible - with no compromises in tone. You can get different tones using Flat Mode and FRFR Voicing with cab blocks or IRs in Helix. But you'll never be able to make a 12" speaker in a small cabinet sound and feel like a 4x12 no matter how good the model might be. To me, LF Raw just sounds more natural and doesn't have the subtle high-end fizz caused by the tweeter in the FRFR voicing. But it's great to have the flexibility.

The cab models or IRs for the speakers should already capture the speaker frequency response, possibly better than you could with EQ. You might adjust the low cut to account for bass coupling from the floor, and possibly adjust the high cut to limit fizz. But that seems to be less necessary with the new 3.5 cab models.

Neural DSP took a different approach to Fuzz, it's impedance and how it interacts with the guitar. It's recent fuzz model allows you to choose your pickup type (single or double coil) and use an expression pedal to control the guitar volume in the plugin instead of with the guitar volume. This is a compromise, but seems to work pretty well. They use machine learning to model what the fuzz is doing at different fuzz levels and with the different pickups. It's another interesting approach.

Line6 support has acknowledge the defect is in their defect backlog. But I have no further information on whether it is a priority or would ever be fixed. My recommendation, and what I'm going to use myself, is to not rely on Line6 link, but rather use two TRS cables and a MIDI cable and use MIDI to control Powercab212. I will continue to use Line6 link with a single Powercab112+ as this is reliable. Defects are a reality, workarounds are good. I'm hopeful this will be fixed, but moving on to make the best use of the gear I have.

I have recently observed that when using Helix with my Powercab 212 connected with Line6 link, Helix appears to properly control the speaker mode. But when mode is Flat, Helix through Line6 link only controls the voicing (FRFR, LF Flat, LF Raw) for the left speaker. That is, the right tweeter is not turned on and off properly based on the voicing setting. Changing voicing from the Powercab 212 controls or using MIDI works properly on both speakers. I have notified support and they are looking into it.

The knobs on the HX Stomp can get stepped on and slightly bent. That can cause them to bind and turn hard. See if that's the case. I had to bend one back once. Fixed the problem and didn't seem to have any remaining issues. But use Line6 support if you have any doubts.

Note that collapsing a stereo effect to mono may not be the same as using a mono version of the same effect. Check to be sure the result of collapsing stereo to mono sounds OK to you. If not, try using a mono signal chain in Helix.

Note that with modelers now supporting IRs, and a good selection of acoustic body IRs available from various vendors, it's possible to get pretty good acoustic tones from piezo pickups without having to use a Variax.

I'm speculating but: The capture process for modeling an amp is simpler than that for modeling a guitar. For an amp, you can put an input into the amp, stick a mic in front of the cabinet, and measure the output. Then you can use algorithms (Helix), profiles of fixed amp parameters (Kemper), or machine learning (Quad Cortex) to create the transfer function that converts the input to the output. For guitar modeling, you have to find a way to input something into a guitar pickup that is similar to a vibrating string. That can involve some sort of inductor that sits above the pickup that is driven by an audio pattern that is induced into the magnetic coils of the pickup, depending on its position and the body its mounted in. That's a pretty complex process. I think Variax as done an incredible job producing realistic, usable guitar models. They aren't perfect, but they're often good enough for a live gig. Markets and technologies often move on. I really hope Line 6 or Yamaha have some future investment in Variax as I think its incredible what has already been accomplished and would love to see it move to the next level.

The issue may be that Line6 ran up against limitations in the technology used to capture and model the guitars. Some for example liked the old 1.9 models better. The other problem may be that they lost the developers who built the product. I have stopped gigging with my JTV-69S, preferring to use my Strat, Tele and Les Paul. Mostly this is because of some sustain issues in my variax, and those three guitars should be played. I do miss the quick open tunings, acoustic models, 12-string, and its my lightest electric. I put a lot of money into that JTV-69S (new neck and pickups) so it's not going anywhere and could appear back in the rotation some day. I do still use it for practice and rehearsals.