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amsdenj

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Everything posted by amsdenj

  1. Also Helix 1.06 does not offer any improvements in USB MIDI I/O with El Capitan. Helix audio I/O for El Capitan isn't usable an any more than a few seconds.
  2. You can define your own control surface in Logic Pro X an use Helix to provide MIDI CC or PC messages. Regarding looping, I had the HD500X Looper mode sending MIDI messages to Logic and MainStage to control tracking and looping, using the same footswitches as the HD500X. You can't do that with Helix since the Looper mode doesn't send any MIDI messages. Too bad as it means you can't use the different Helix mode to do different functions with the same footswitches.
  3. I suspect this issue results from jitter in the USB cable that causes the clock to drift when processing both input and output. Helix may be able to address the jitter in software, but it may also be a hardware issue.
  4. I too have had good experiences with Line6 support, having had many Line6 products over the years. In the past, the Line6 products were in the upper end of consumer electronics marketplace. At that market position, and given the nature of change in the amp modeling and digital signal processing fields, I was not surprised to see some quality control issues, and rapid obsolesce; disappointed, but not that surprised. I took it as my own risk in being an early adopter of emerging new technologies. However, Helix is a different story at a different time. First there's the 3X price point compared to the 500X market position. That raises expectations for capability, quality, durability and life-time. Its still not the same as a $3K guitar, but I hope Helix isn't obsolete in a year. Second, the market is different. There's lots of great digital amp modeling solutions out there including Kemper Amps and Axe-FX. Plus there are a number of excellent options for iPad (BIAS FX) and computer (S-Gear) that really rival what is possible in dedicated hardware units. Helix is a big step forward for Line6 and the modeling industry. Let's give them some time to address some of the issues that can only be discovered in practical usage scenarios, fill out the available models (amps and effects), address the Mac OS X USB audio issue, etc. I have faith in Line6 that these problems will be addressed and we will be happy for a long time with our investment in Helix.
  5. If you have nothing to loose, take the pickup out of the guitar, remove the cover and coat the windings with wax. That might fix the pickup. I've done this in the past with good success.
  6. Agreed, I have other class compliant USB devices that work fine in El Capitan. Helix also works fine if its used for output only. I only degrades if used for input and output.
  7. I didn't find that too useful with my variax acoustic 700. It was like playing through two bodies and sounded worse. I really wish the variax had a direct piezo output so we could use these body images as intended. It would really breath new life into an otherwise unused instrument. I use the 700 for live gigs for many years. But with Helix and the body images I've created in Helix, I now use my old Gibson J50 with a piezo and get a fantastic tone. Line 6 should really pay attention to acoustic instruments with Helix by 1) providing an acoustic amplifier with tone controls voiced appropriately for acoustic instruments, and 2) providing some built in body images.
  8. amsdenj

    Univibe settings

    I set the rate to exp 2, with min and max set to match typical Leslie speaker speeds: .7RPM and 7.4RPM. Keep the intensity conservative, around 4-6 depending on the song needs - this is an effect that can wash out a song if its over used. I like Chorus mode the most. Lamp bias around 3 so it feels reasonably symmetric, and natural. Mix to taste, but I keep it around 50%. Less is more with most effects and really applies to this one. I had the original, used it for years. Wish I had kept it.
  9. Try using a compressor with a very fast attack. But try different picks too. Thicker picks with rounder points will provide warmer, darker tones and more control. Thin sharp picks are very bright and floppy. I never use them. I really like V picks. The key to good guitar tone starts and ends with things that touch the air - your fingers, string, picks and pickups on the source end, and the speaker, cabinet and mic on the destination end. If these aren't right, there's not a lot you can do between them to recover.
  10. There's still some problems with Helix USB audio with Mac OS X. 10.11.3 came out today, but made no change. Using Helix as an audio interface with both input and output into apps like Logic Pro X or S-Gear standalone (probably the new BIAS FX Standalone too) works fine for a few minutes, but degrades quickly into digital distortion hell. Hopefully this will be addressed in the next Helix firmware update. Its not usable as it is. Windows 10 is better, but still gets clicks and pops on pretty high buffer size/latency settings. I don't get these with other interfaces.
  11. There's still some problems with Helix USB audio with Mac OS X. 10.11.3 came out today, but made no change. Using Helix as an audio interface with both input and output into apps like Logic Pro X or S-Gear standalone (probably the new BIAS FX Standalone too) works fine for a few minutes, but degrades quickly into digital distortion hell. Hopefully this will be addressed in the next Helix firmware update. Its not usable as it is. Windows 10 is better, but still gets clicks and pops on pretty high buffer size/latency settings. I don't get these with other interfaces.
  12. Perhaps the reason for disabling the volume control when using the camera connection kit for USB audio is that it is expected the device is controlling the volume, and the iOS device is delivering a standard (near 0dBFS) signal to the device. Using the iOS device volume control send a less than optimal signal to the device, as well as be a redundant control.
  13. struggled getting a tone that I really liked out of the HD500X. I spent many hours scowering forums and tweeking, and managed to get something useful for live gigs. It was OK, but not something I loved. Then I tried S-Gear from www.scuffhamamps.com. My experience was completely different. Every setting on every amp just sounded wonderful and I found myself wanting to play and seldom tweeking. Different tone were't better or worse, but rather different in an inspiring way. And it wasn't just the tones, it was the flexibility of the amp models that allow many tones out of the same amp, and how the amps feel when you play them. To sum it up, S-Gear was just more musical and inspiring and didn't require endless tweeking. I never used the HD500X at home to just play for the fun of it, always S-Gear. Helix is much more like S-Gear in terms of tone and feel. Yes, there's still some tweeking, especially in the Cab and IR models. But the tones are there, the feel is there, and you can spend more time playing music and less time thinking you're just one tweek away from the tone you're looking for, but never get ther. Also Helix effects are totally different that HD500X. They sound much better and are a lot easier to dial in.
  14. amsdenj

    other multi fx

    I have never seen a TC electronics G system. But I suspect you could easily integrate it with Helix using MIDI. However, there's perhaps a fair amount of overlap between Helix and the G system with Helix providing the amp and cab models as well as additional effects. You might find that Helix meets your needs, perhaps using an effects loop for your existing pedals.
  15. If you are on Mac OS X, and have used the latest version of GarageBand with some success, the Logic Pro X and MainStage are apps you should consider. Logic is a full professional DAW with GarageBand being a very limited subset. Logic is very easy to use, has a great UI, lots of wonderful software instruments (including electric pianos and Hammond organs), the Drummer instrument, and much more. The And the price is no longer a barrier. To me, Logic Pro X is essentially a gift from Apple. The only issue is that Logic is not cross platform. If that is something you need, and many of us do, especially for remote, collaborative recording, then Reaper is probably the best choice.
  16. See these two blog posts: Creating a Helix Acoustic Guitar Patch and Creating an Creating an Acoustic Guitar Impulse Response for Line6 Helix.
  17. We buy lots of things we never use. Then keep buying more trying to find something that has enduring value.
  18. I think that's an excellent idea, essentially using the Helix preamp models as gain stage blocks. The Divide by 13 might be a good choice for this too. I've used this on a patch too. My take is less is more. So I start with the simplest signal chain, the least amount of distortion, limited reverb, light on the depth for modulation effects, etc. that works for the song. Then let the tone of the instrument come through and and don't clutter up the sound so much that what I do with my hand's doesn't even matter. I find things like the Studio Tube Pre and the Valve Driver can be use to simply add a gain stage to an existing preamp with a little voicing control for the added distortion. Another whole preamp works too but can be a bit much. I consider this a bit like what's happened to the music industry. Everything is hyped to death to sell, but not to actually listen too. Too many tracks, too much EQ and compression on individual tracks, drums don't even sound like drums anymore. Then put all that through a mastering process that kill dynamics and just makes everything loud. That impresses in short doses, but there's no life in the music. Many times the musicians contributing tracks have never met and never played together. There's little or no interaction in the songs. This is low cost production and sells well. But no one wants to keep listening. Let's not be afraid to make music.
  19. Getting a good distortion tone starts with gain staging. It may be hard to get a range of different distortion tones from Clean, Blues, Crunch, and Metal from one amp or pedal. But combining them together in stages using different blocks, models and tone adjustments can give you a lot of flexibility on the amount and color of distortion and sustain. One thing that's important is to use the least amount of distortion (effects, etc.) you need for the song. This makes things simpler, produces the best tone, and gives you a place to go in the next song. Music needs space. Start with your desired clean sound, using the neck pickup on your guitar with the guitar volume and tone all the way up. This is your inital, set point amp tone and something you'll need to be able to go back to. Once this tone is right you'll probably notice that it's too bright for the bridge pickup, creating too much edge, or an "ice pick" tone that unpleasant after listening for a while. Don't change the amp to fix this since that would break your neck pickup tone. Instead roll back the tone control on your guitar to warm up the bridge pickup a little. A lot of people never touch the tone controls on the guitar, or only use them for slide. But the bridge pickup tone control is actually pretty useful. Next add a gain stage for warm, just on the edge of breakup, Blues distortion tones. As distortion increases, base has to be cut to prevent a muddy, indistinct sound that competes with the bass player, and treble needs to be cut to avoid fizz, buzz and ice pick. But since a Blues tone isn't that much distortion, you can often get this from the Drive control on the amp. Assign a footswitch to the Drive control and assign a controller to set the min (clean) and max (blues) Drive distortion levels. In this case, the drive is increased to add some amp distortion without changing the tone. Be careful to minimize the amount of distortion or it will get muddy and bright quick. For a Cruch sound, you'll need a bit more distortion, which will require some base and treble cut. I like to use the Studio Tube Pre for this as it adds a nice tone of its own, and has the Drive control for increased distortion and the low cut and high cut you need to adjust the tone. Use the Sensitivity control to adjust the amount of distortion that can be produced by the Studio Tube Pre. Set Sensitivity to Mic for greater distortion, Line for cleaner tones (the Drive can be set higher without adding any distortion). I use Mic for this application as I want more distortion. Other options for Crunch: Valve Driver, Minotar, or ProCo Rat. I know the ProCo Rat is intended for high distortion levels, but it actually cleans up very well by turning the drive down and adjusting the filter for the desired high end. I think this block increase bass cut with increased drive, which is just what you want. For Metal or more agressive tones, I like Compulsive Drive (Fulton OCD). Screamer works well too. Use the tone control to adjust the high end. If it gets too muddy, try adding a Low and High cut EQ filter in front of the distortion, and link the low cut to the distortion footswitch to cut closer to 80 Hz when the distortion is off, 160 Hz when it's on. Now you have four distortion levels, all off for Clean, and each block on/off for Blues, Crunch, Metal. Now you can start combining stages to get even more tones. For example, I like to combine Blues and Crunch together for a more aggressive blues solo.
  20. amsdenj

    Helix and Logic

    I get the same problem running Helix into S-Gear standalone through USB. So it's not Logic Pro X. I did some more experimenting: Helix connected to Early 2011 13" MacBook Pro version 10.11.2 through USB System sound output device set to Helix Audio, System sound input device set to Helix Audio Playing back music with VLC (or iTunes) to Helix and through my FRFR amp Music playback is fine, left it running for a long time, no issues, static, noise, etc. But note, Not playing any guitar and Helix is not attempting to provide any input into any Mac OS S amp. Start S-Gear standalone app with S-Gear preferences Audio Device set Helix Audio (input and output) Start with S-Gear Buffer Size set to 128 (9.6ms) - note for most other interfaces I have this set to 32 on this computer for 5.6ms latency Play along with VLC - no problem initially, then a few clicks and pops, then finally audio gets very fuzzy with digital distortion Increase S-Gear buffer size, audio cleans up, for a while, and then start getting bad again Increase S-Gear buffer size again, same result. Eventually buffer size is maxed at 1024 and there's no way to get rid of the digital distortion It appears there is a timing issue with Helix when it is used for input and output at the same time. And how long it takes to reach the digital distortion seems to depend on how big the buffer size and latency are. This would appear to be a timing drift related to buffer size. If Helix is used for output playback only, there doesn't seem to be any problem. Its only when an app uses Helix as input and output that there's a problem.
  21. Well said and I completely agree. Also Line 6 should get credit for very well done documentation.
  22. I think it might be those USB3 ports on the MacBook Pro.
  23. There's another thing to consider - what tone are you trying to achieve, and is using two amps the best way to achieve it? Using stereo effects after the amp model into a stereo FRFR can provide depth without requiring two amps. Choosing the right Cab model or IR can have a huge effect on the tone of a single amp. You can use a PC to blend multiple speaker IRs, EQs, impedance curves, etc. into a single IR that can be imported into Helix that blends multiple speakers, mics, mic positions, room mics, etc. You get all this from one IR. Try using a stereo Cab model with a single Amp model to get the same tone you might have achieved from two different amps. Use one amp an two IRs. Another options is to use different patches for different tones to focus on the amp model(s) you need with the specific effects required for the song. I too wish Helix had unlimited DSP power, but it doesn't. That doesn't mean we can't get lots of interesting and wonderful tones. I like to keep the patches a bit simpler, and focus on the instrument, speakers, FRFR amp and of course, what you're actually playing.
  24. If you're experience harsh tones from Helix into you're amp's effects return, it might be because of the Helix blocks you have configured, or it might be that your guitar amp's effects return isn't flat and is doing its own thing to the tone. If that's the case, you'll have to experiment with EQ in Helix to compensate for the amp's characteristics. This is perhaps why a FRFR is the best choice - its predictable - full frequency, flat response. From a guitar amp, its hard to predict what you'll get. For example, you don't know what voicing compensation the amp designer did after the preamp to compensate or complement the preamp and effects that come with the amp. That may or may not work well with Helix. However, there's enough capability and flexibility in Helix to do almost anything you might need. It will just take some experimenting and work to create your unique patches. But that's part of the fun.
  25. When Helix is used into the power amp input or effect return of a guitar amp with its own guitar speaker cabinet, you don't want to include a Helix Cab model because then you have a guitar speaker going into a guitar speaker. Although there's no rules and you should do what meets your need, this generally will not sound good at all. So typical signal paths would be: 1. Helix into a FRFR amp: Guitar > Helix guitar input > Helix front of the amp effects > Helix Amp and Cab models (or speaker IR) > Helix back of the amp effects > Helix Output > FRFR amp (or PA). See Creating a Helix Electric Guitar Patch (updated) for details. 2. Helix into guitar amp power amp and cab Guitar > Helix guitar input > Helix front of the amp effects > Helix Amp or Preamp (no Cab model or speaker IR) > Helix back of the amp effects > Helix Output > Guitar amp power amp or effects return. 3. 4CM - Allows you to use your guitar amp's preamp as a block in Helix Guitar > Helix guitar input > Helix front of the amp effects > Helix Send > Guitar amp input > Guitar amp effect send > Helix Return > Helix back of the amp effects > Helix Output > Guitar amp power amp or effects return. Note that there is no Helix Amp or Cab model in this case because your guitar amp is providing both. You are just using Helix for effects, and have flexibility about where you put effects before or after the guitar amp's preamp. A guitar amp (model) into a real guitar amp might work, but in that case you're just using two guitar preamps in series. People have done this, but its generally not needed with modern amps or Helix. Note also that other then the inclusion of your guitar amp's preamp (and therefore no Helix amp or preamp), you are still using your guitar amp's power amp and cabinet as in path 2. 4. Helix as a pedalboard in front of a guitar amp. Guitar > Helix guitar input > Helix front of the amp effects > Helix back of the amp effects > Helix Output > Guitar amp input. Again, there is no Helix preamp, amp or cab model because that's all provided by your guitar amp. Helix is only used for effects into the input of your guitar amp. This puts all the effects, tone, phase, distortion, modulation and ambient effects, into the guitar input, like you would with a traditional pedalboard. See Using Helix as an effects pedalboard for details.
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