DunedinDragon

I've always been amused by the "subjective science" of tube purists to rationalize their choice. If it sounds better to you and you like playing through it don't make stuff up or use subjective terms like "warmth" or "character" that only means something to you. The fact is most of these guys would fail a double blind test in which they had to pick out which audio clip is the actual amp and which is the modeler. They fail consistently on tests such as these on YouTube. Here's an actual fact. Whatever subjective tube behavior they'd like the believe is happening, in actuality that sound is being caputured by a mic, and amplified through the FOH system through a DIGITAL Class-D amp in the vast majority of cases. No "tube warmth" there....

I think a real key point in whether to use FRFR is the variety of sounds you intend to play. The more diverse your sounds, the more dramatic the difference will be with an FRFR setup. If you really only play "your sound" then it won't really matter if you're going through a traditional amp as long as you can get what you want. But with a variety of sounds you'll always be hampered by the flavoring of that amp and it's specific speaker arrangement on your tones.

The Helix works fine as a dedicated audio interface, but as people have pointed out, just like any other audio interface to your computer the speakers need to be connected to it to minimize latency and signal degradation. I've used mine almost since day one for building demos of original songs I've written for the band. I'm not sure what you mean by "other sources" but I typically record all guitar, bass, and vocals and generally only use a drum VSTi on the computer, and it does a GREAT job. Here's an example of the latest demo track I did for the band (christian rock...or sometimes, as we like to call it, "biker gospel:) and everything worked great. https://soundcloud.com/dunedindragon/protected The only thing you can't really do is simultaneously record multiple tracks very conveniently as it doesn't have multiple input ports. For that you might need a multi-port audio interface. For myself, when I record the whole band, I use a separate Zoom R16 multitrack recorder to capture the performance then just import it for mixing and mastering. Here's an example of that sort of thing from a different original song with the whole band (using Helix for the guitar work). https://soundcloud.com/dunedindragon/gods-children-1 Hope that answers all your concerns.

This is really very dependent on what you intend to use the Helix for. The thing that drives people to use powered PA type speakers or powered studio monitors is they want to minimize the coloration of the sound from the Helix. You have to remember that the Helix includes not only the amp models, but also various cabinet models as well as mic's to be used on those amps. So theoretically it should be providing a full amp and cabinet already mic'd on it's output. Therefore, if you send that signal through another cabinet, there will be more coloration added. Were you to mic that cabinet, yet more coloration. Therefore the simplest route is to go direct to a full range flat response speaker. However, that's hard for some people that are used to the response characteristics of a traditional amp speaker as powered speakers project sound in a very different was as do full range studio monitors (although they tend to be more similar). That being said, there are plenty of people that use the Helix in conjunction with standard amps and are quite happy with the results. The only one that can judge this type of stuff is yourself. Just make sure you get enough information from people on here about the best way to set such things up so you're not mislead by thinking something isn't working right when it could actually be the way you configured things.

I personally haven't felt the need to use those adjustments. I find it odd that they make those recommendations without even qualifying it for the type of output rig you have. It's likely going to be different for different setups. I use a Yamaha DXR12 as my output speaker and haven't really had to do much at all with EQ. I do keep my Global EQ set with a high cut at around 5600 hz. But that's also because I tend to use the combo mic mixes from OwnHammer placed about halfway out on the speaker (position 5) which reduces a lot of the high end shrillness you might hear. When you say 'true' live guitar, that can mean a lot of different things to different people. Personally I don't target such a thing. I tend to focus on achieving more of a polished studio level sound as that's where these systems really shine in a live performance. People aren't used to hearing that level of clarity and articulation normally in a club live environment and they really seem to respond positively to it. Probably because that's what they're used to hearing on recordings and they're surprised to hear it in a live performance. As far as mic's I tend to use a combination of dynamic and ribbon mic. Sometimes it's the SM57, but on some IR's I've found the Telefunken gives me a bit more body than the SM57. My personal preference for the ribbon mic is the 121 because that's what they use in the mix IR. Most of the time I use position 5, but certain cabinets like the Spring Reverb I move it out to position 6 as it tends to have a bit more harshness to it at position 5. As I said I rarely find that I need to do much with EQ once I have a good IR setup. On a couple of patches I have used the graphic EQ and slightly reduced the 4000Hz and 5000Hz if I'm using the Strat with single coils on some of the cleaner amps like the Soldano. On my Gretsch and Les Paul I've never found a need to further adjust EQ beyond that the cabinet gives me and the hi cut I use in the Global EQ. I think, in your case, you might want to be real clear in what kind of sound you're targetting and maybe provide a little more information on your output rig and guitars as all of those things play into what IR's and configurations will work best for you.

That sounds like a very reasonable thing to do in my case. I may have to do that each week for a while until I work my way through all the presets, but it's a lot better than loading them all up. Thanks a bunch!!

I may be a bit odd in the way I do things, but I'm wondering how this will affect my update procedures. First, I keep all my patches stored on my computer's hard drive and I only load them when I build sets for a show. To be perfectly clear, I don't keep any presets permanently loaded on the Helix. I load them as I need them. So here's the question: I intend to not have any of my presets on the Helix when I do the update. Once I finish the reset my intent is to go ahead and load the presets I'll need for that week's performance from the disk as I normally would. How will those presets get rebuilt? As I load them? I really don't want to load in all my presets (70+) just to do the reset, and get them rebuilt. Bottom line, what are my options here?

I can't even imagine how your experience could be so dramatically different than everyone else's, unless you're listening for something entirely different than us. I play plenty of classic rock type stuff from Joe Walsh to Queen to Stones to AC/DC...you name it, and I have no problem at all getting the tone I want. But then again what I'm listening for is a studio version of the sound, or what I might hear coming off of a recording... and maybe that's what's throwing you. Undoubtedly those classic rock tones are going to be much clearer and better articulated than a traditional live amp which tends to "mush" things together with the environment a bit more than an FRFR setup. But even then I could never imagine calling it a "horrible mess". But I guess it all depends on your subjective definition of what "a horrible mess" is....

I have to second the vote on the Helix manual that it's very well done. That being said I think there is room for improvement in some detail on the amps and effects side. A supplemental reference manual outlining the characteristics and operations of the amps and effects could save an awful lot of time in experimenting with different parameters and would be a handy thing to have around when tweaking/developing presets.

The sheer number of IR variations can be daunting unless you're at least a little bit familiar with mic'ing cabinets, mic differences and placements. For me it's pretty simple. I've never cared for the sound I get when my speakers are mic'd closer to the center, so I can automatically dismiss all of those variations. I tend to like mixes of mic's so that's where I start. I'll load them one by one into an unused slot and audition it with a known patch. Generally speaking for any cabinet I will probably end up with 1 or 2 variations that work for me. Once I find what I want, I'll rename it with the number of the slot I'll keep it in at the beginning and save it off to a separate folder where I keep my operational IR's. Then it's easy to reload them into the right slots one by one and everything works perfectly.

Interesting that MOST of the "thousands" of others that upgraded had no problems...hmmmmm...makes one wonder doesn't it?? Actually, if you're a "pro" I can't help but wonder why you jumped right in to upgrade as soon as it was released. Seems a bit foolhardy to me. As a "pro" one tends to be pretty careful about such things because you're so dependent on it. As for myself, I sat and waited on 2.0 to see how it worked out. It never did so I waited for 2.01 to shake out. Made sure I understood what the issues were (the vast majority of which were user errors in following directions). And only then did I upgrade to 2.01. Which went flawlessly... And now I sit here patiently watching the responses. Some of which are like yours, which I suspect will eventually lead back to things like not loading their IR's correctly or in the right places, or forgetting that part of the process resets Globals, but never setting them back to what they had been. But the circumstantial evidence (given that most people are not having any problems) is that it's more likely about what you might have done than the upgrade itself. The sad thing about this is, the people that encounter problems NEVER follow up to discuss what caused it or how it got fixed. Maybe because it tends to be too embarrassing to admit once you've thrown a fit and blamed everyone but yourself.

I made the leap from the HD500X to Helix about a year ago. After a year, here's my take. I was pretty happy with the HD500X but I wasn't very happy with how much tweaking I had to do to get the sound I wanted. I'man FRFR user as far as my output so I had to do quite a bit of tweaking with the HD500X to get things right. When I first got the Helix I wasn't exactly "blown away" by the difference, but after I mastered a few concepts with the stock cabs and some of the routing options I felt pretty good about things. I personally had avoided getting into the IR's because it was just one more thing to deal with. But then a month or so ago I decided to dip my toes in the water. Holy Smokes!!!! My Helix came alive and all the previous tweaking I'd had to do with stock cabs just simply went away. My productivity in building presets exploded, and my older presets began to hit right on target for what I was looking for. However, there are a few things to keep in mind with the whole IR thing. Not all IR's are created equal. A lot of difference comes into play with what type of mic or mic combinations they use when the capture the IR, and the placement of the mics for capture can make or break an IR in how you use it. Some IR providers include a TON of variations in this regard like OwnHammer. Because of the way IR's are stored in the Helix it can become a problem if you keep a lot them loaded. The reality is, once you find one or two variations that work for you, that's all you need to keep loaded. And it helps if you understand a thing or two about the differences in mic's and placement of mic's. If you keep these things in mind and spend a bit of time mastering these things you'll find the accurace of tone you can achieve with the Helix FAR exceeds anything you might get from an HD500X. But ultimately, you have to invest the time and learn them.

I think the real problem in that regard is being able to get your hands on one and try it out. I have yet to go into a music store and find one. There's not a chance I'd get one of these without first feeling the action and getting a feel for the tone. I've been interested from time to time as I'm constantly switching guitars when I play, but without getting some hands on there's no way I'd make the jump. And no...I don't want to go through the hassle of ordering one, playing it for 30 days then packing it up to get my money back. I'm not THAT interested.

Bear in mind you may need to make some adjustments on downloaded presets depending on what type of guitar was used to construct them and what type of output method they used (FRFR, traditional amp, etc.). But they can be useful in helping you understand how to build your own presets. As far as snapshots, you can kind of think of them as a collection of presets in a way. Instead of individual presets you can take a single preset with different amps and effects and divide it up into a set of snapshots. Each snapshot can affect a change in parameters or blocks used. I personally don't have a need for them, but if you have some highly complex material that has lots of changes in dynamics, gain, and general feel during the course of the song they can be useful. Also if you tend to just need a few key presets when you play, you can potentially incorporate them into a single preset with various snapshots and use them through the course of several songs. But you have to bear in mind that a set of snapshots within a preset still have to live within the limits of DSP for a single preset.

After the updater rebooted the Helix and rebuilt itself, did you then reboot the Helix again and hold down the buttons to reset the globals before restoring your presets?

That's probably never going to be the case. Anyone can join so rest assured you're going to get some assh@ts....

I hope you're using a Tele because I think you're going to struggle capturing that tone if not.

I can't say I've ever felt pressure to join the Premium group, but I'm pretty self sufficient. I think the community over there is pretty eager to help and provide advice from what I've seen. I have seen people that ask questions like "I can't get the tone I want" which isn't something that passing advice from the community can answer whether it's that facebook group or some other facebook group. Those are the folks that need more extensive help sharing files or audio. It's nice if you get people in your group willing to do that, but most people don't really have the time to dedicate to helping someone like that. But if you're lucky enough to get some folks like that, all the better. Good luck with it.

A lot depends on what you're trying to accomplish with the compressor, and for me which compressor I'm using. I tend to use the LA Studio compressor at the end of the chain as it gives me a much smoother/transparent result with less pick attack artifacts. The other compressors I tend to put toward the front of the chain to give me a bit more punch.

I'm pretty sure it's tomorrow, in celebration of my birthday!!!!! ;)

Personally my advise to everyone on open BETA updates is, "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it...." The big problem with open BETA programs is that it's going into the hands of people that are unprepared to be involved in a potentially problematic update. I remember a few years ago a friend of mine decided he wanted to download a BETA version of a new Windows release. He did this in spite of not having a backup plan in place for his computer and ended up losing a considerable amount of his files. Of course he blamed Microsoft for it, but the reality is he agreed to take on an operating system that wasn't fully cooked yet without any significant knowledge or plan to protect himself, so it was really his own fault. The truth is, some of the most likely people to get involved in a BETA release are the one's least prepared and/or capable of dealing with the potential issues simply because they just can't wait to get their hands on it. That's probably fine if you're not gigging with it, but it's a disaster waiting to happen if your dependent on it for shows. Unfortunately some folks can't be counted on to be sensible, then guess who gets the blame??? As for myself, I wouldn't take on an open BETA under any circumstances. The truth is, I'm typically one of the last people to download full releases until I'm confident it's stable. This paid off in my case with the last update as I never downloaded 2.0 and only upgraded to 2.01 once it proved itself stable.

There is a new Avengers scheduled for Christmas....but I doubt you'll like it....

If you want an idea of what open beta testing is like, just look at all the people that ran into problems on the last update by not following the directions for installation. User error is NOT a bug..... ;)

Well, church settings can differ quite a bit actually. I play in a church setting as well, but I know I couldn't do some of the stuff I need to do with the Amplifire due to it's limitations on signal path construction in comparison to the Helix. But I'm pretty sure I'm at the far end of what people do in a church setting. For most of the typical contemporary praise songs, I'd suspect the Amplifire might work pretty well. But if you get fairly diverse you might feel a bit limited. Bottom line, it's never a problem to use fewer features than what's provided. But it's pretty hard if you need more features than what's provided.

As far as balancing patch volumes here's how I do mine. I keep my monitor volume at 50% and my Helix master volume at 50%. Then using a db meter I target just under 100db on each patch. I don't worry so much about whether or not I max out the amp master volume, I just adjust it to get to the volume I want it. 100db is pretty loud, but often I'll turn down my Helix master to about 40% to work on a patch to get the sound I want then crank it up to 50% and tweek things to get them set in at 100db. Depending on the venue 100db may be about right, but sometimes I bring the Helix master up or down to better match the venue and the rest of the band. The result is all the patches stay in sync as long as the Helix master is the only thing I touch. Occassionally on some patches with amps that don't reach 100db even if the amp volume is maxed out, I'll adjust the output block volume to get to 100db. Although I always assign a volume pedal on each patch, I only use it for fade-in/out effect or if I need to switch guitars. Once your patches are normalized they should stay fine for the whole gig unless the volume of the band goes up. Then just adjust the master. For leads I target about a 4db boost. How I do it depends on the patch. Sometimes it's just a gain block or a compressor, but on patches with more gain I tend to use various distortion effects to get the boost I want. I have a couple of patches where I switch to a different amp and IR cab for leads and have it set a bit louder. So I don't think there's any specific answer to how you boost your volume for leads other than "it depends".