DunedinDragon

Why would you do this? If your doing your stage rig correctly it's only heard on stage, not affected by the room. If your stage sound is bleeding over and competing with the FOH you've got bigger problems than just EQ. Only you and your band know what your band is supposed to sound like. The sound tech doesn't know, unless he's your exclusive sound tech. I agree he can compensate for the room acoustics, but if your band has been at this long enough you know what your sound is supposed to sound like. If he has any questions he can come up on stage and listen....that's his reference model.

I've worked both sides of things as well, performing and sound tech. Sometimes in multi-band scenarios I think this happens because it's easier for the tech to deal with one mic that is assigned to a given instrument like "lead guitar" and move it around when the bands change than to have different inputs for different bands to deal with. My attitude on this is you're likely to deal with different inputs anyway if one band uses an electronic keyboard and another uses an acoustic piano. The advantage to not moving a mic around and having a special input direct from a specific guitar rig is I only have to gain stage it once. If I move the mic I need to gain stage it everytime, so I don't think you save yourself much. And to be honest, most of the old-school sound techs I've worked with ARE dinosaurs. They don't like handing any control of the sound over to the musicians. They want centralized control over everything like they had in the old days. It has less to do with sound and more to do with ego. Unfortunately for them the industry has been in constant motion over the last decade or so of moving from centralized sound reinforcement to distributed sound reinforcement. Sound reinforcement has become less about EQ tweaking and more about simple mixing (gain, volume, compression, effects)...and the old guys don't like that idea. By the way...I AM an old guy....I just adapted.

Yeah, I'm with you on the ART Tube Pre. We use one on an electronic drum kit which has an underpowered pre-amp, and it does roll off some of the edges a bit to "warm" things up, but not enough that anyone would ever notice. It does address the underpowered pre-amp in the drum brain, but I wouldn't own one for any other reason. Sometimes I think we can "convince" ourselves it's different just because we know it's there. Our mind can work crazy like that sometimes.

Well...kinda...but not really. The soundman SHOULD assume he's dealing with a cab'd and mic'd sound because that's what he's always traditionally dealt with. But that is dependent upon you sending him a sound that's truly representative of that. When I'm talking about managing your own sound, I'm talking specifically about your stage sound...i.e. what you're hearing on stage. This is the same whether you're using modeling or not. Room characteristics tend to have less to do with your stage sound than it does with the FOH sound. Global EQing is an easy way to account for the frequency response differences between a FRFR speaker and a traditional guitar cabinet which is much more limited than an FRFR system. Sometimes IR's and cabinets included with Helix may do a fine job of compensating for those differences depending on the FRFR speaker you're using. But ultimately it's MY responsibility to send the FOH a direct signal I believe is representative of a mic'd cabinet signal as I would want to hear it. This is why I choose to use the FRFR speaker I do which is a Yamaha DXR12, because it generally has the same frequency response characteristics of most decent FOH speaker systems. Therefore, if it sounds right to me on stage through that speaker, it should sound right through the FOH. How I get to that sound is up to me. It may be Global EQ, or it may be patch by patch.

If you're working with an experienced soundman, he can likely take the edges (low bass rumble, brittle high end) of your patches in the same way as you would with global EQ. However, depending on a soundman to take care of that sort of thing is like playing russian roullette. It depends on having a decent soundman. The fact is, I've never had a problem with my patches sounding bad in a PA, because I send the PA a signal I know is good because I'm using a stage monitor that is equivalent to his FOH speakers. Generally all he needs to do is leave my channel flat and EQ the sound for the room. In other words, global eq is the soundman's responsibility. My stage monitor is only there to benefit me and the rest of the band. And the patch is designed to fit into the overall band and not get lost in the mix. That's MY responsibility. I know Line 6 is insistent that global EQ should be used only to address differences in the room you're playing in. But that really is only important, in my opinion, if you're NOT routing your sound through the PA. If you're using a PA and you're managing your own stage sound and volume, there's no real problem with using global eq as a quick way to address minor adjustments (like very high and low frequency cutoffs). I would agree that it's probably not as necessary with the Helix as the Helix provides ample ways of addressing these type of adjustments on a patch by patch basis.

From your description is sounds like footswitch 11 is assigned to both the Teemah and the Gain effect and the Gain effect was set to +2.5db when it was saved. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you're trying to describe.

If you use multiple guitars during your performances you'll likely find that you need different presets for them. This is one of the reasons I use a preset for every song we play, because I know which guitar I'll be using on that song.

Low Pass filters generally are designed more with some form of curve rather than a pure abrupt frequency gate. This may be what you're experiencing. At any rate, it's typically pretty rare the you will have globals reset with an update. This is the first time I've ever seen it happen either on the Helix or on theHD500X. But that may be why they encourage people to only use globals to adjust for the sound differences at different venues where you my play live. Even so, resetting global values isn't that big of a deal. Only takes a minute or two.

I understand the process as it relates to saving setlists/bundles. However, I keep my patches saved individually on the hard drive by way of the editor. Once I do the update and get everything up and running, will each of these presets I've stored on the hard drive need to be rebuilt individually as they're loaded? And will that require any intervention on my part?

What exactly does "more like a tube amp" mean to you? That's kind of a subjective thing. If you mean what some people term as "warmth" you can try adjusting the sag, bias, or biax x options on the amp. But generally speaking I can't say any of the amp models in the Helix I've run across are lacking in that regard. It's possible that what you are hearing in terms of differences between a recorded signal and a live signal is a slight amount of natural compression that occurs in many cases from the playback of the signal. Other than that, I'm stumped by what you're referring to.

The compressor isn't so much about changing the tone as it is about smoothing things out. The amp and cab are determining the sound by and large. Things such as your guitar's volume knobs and such also have some impact on the compressor. The pop itself could be coming from the guitar and is just accentuated by the compressor. Try using the default noise gate on your input block and see if that takes the pop out.

This is the reason I'm very skeptical of patches people share or are selling. There are sooooo many variables involved in getting the sound you want. Not just the guitar, but the pickups, and of course technique...and then you have the output mechanism..speakers, headsets, traditional amp...etc. And that doesn't even cover the settings were on globals in input impedence. No matter what you're going to have to learn to adjust your Helix to match your rig and your setup. There's no way around that. No doubt there are some things you can learn from videos like this, but ultimately you have to experiment on your own to get the sound. May as well get started...

I play a Silver Falcon. As mentioned above, it's not clear what you mean by "taming" the sound. As far as EQ, I can't say there's really any difference in how I address it on the Silver Falcon and how I address it on my Les Paul or Strat...which is just adjust to taste using my ears. The amps models I use are typically different however. I stick a lot with the Fender Deluxe, Twin and Vox AC-15 with the Gretsch, but I've also used the Soldano and the Matchstick CH 1. I never use any of the high gain amps with it. Those are better suited to the Les Paul or Strat. If I need a transition to a higher gain sound I'll typically use a higher drive setting on the Vox or Deluxe or sometimes use an overdrive pedal. One unique trick I use with the Gretsch sometimes is to split my path and have a Twin, Deluxe, or Vox on the main path mixed with a Gallien-Kreuger bass amp on the second path. This gives it considerably more fullness and body and punch, particularly when I'm finger picking using a thumb pick. As far as feedback, I don't really have any problems with it. But I'm not being fed the sound from the front monitors. I use my own dedicated monitor which is a Yamaha DXR12 placed on the floor behind me. I can see where you could have problems if you're being fed your sound from the FOH through the front monitors because the sound would be going right into the sound holes. I think the Black Falcon uses post bracing whereas the Silver Falcon uses trestle bracing. That could account for some feedback issue, but I suspect it has more to do with positioning of your monitor. Prior to the Silver Falcon I was using a G5420T and never had feedback problems with it either.

Normally I play only electric through my Helix rig. But this weekend we're doing a more limited "unplugged" type of show with just acoustic guitar, bass, and singers. I wasn't sure how to approach this but I reasoned it should be pretty darn simple since a lot of acoustic players simply go direct into the PA, and I'm using a Yamaha DXR12 as my stage FRFR (also a line going to the FOH). I figured I would approach it the same way I would if I were trying to record a decent direct acoustic guitar track in the studio. And it is OUTSTANDING!! No amp, no cab, just pure signal from the Takamine P1NC guitar going through a signal chain consisting of a just a volume pedal, 10 band Graphic EQ, LA Compressor, and switchable reverb and delay. Absolutely pure, clean, articulate and gorgeous acoustic sound with some very MINOR tweaks on the 10 band EQ. The EQ on the guitar is pretty much flat with just a minor bump on the low end, and a slight minor bump when I change to finger picking on the highs. I think I may decide to do pull in some more acoustic work in our regular lineup of songs!!! After all the whining on this board, I just thought it would be nice to share a real success story. Good job L6!!

I'm absolutely with you on this. I find it unimaginable that some people seem to struggle so hard to get a patch that's useable. I'll admit I had to do some significant adjustments sometimes with the HD500X to get a useable basic tone, but that completely changed from moment one with the Helix. In fact, what I found on the Helix is that most of the default settings on the various amps, cabinets and effects are pretty darn close to what I typically need (which was not the case with the HD500X). The globals were pretty much on target as well. I think the only thing I tweaked at all were sometimes the high pass and low pass filters, but typically I could often address some of those things with a change in the cabinet or a change in the mic. The only thing that seems to jump out at me as a reason some people have problems is 1) No clear idea of how they're going to output the signal (FRFR speaker, 4CM with an amp, direct to PA, etc.) Therefore without a stable output mechanism, they're adjusting two things at once. 2) They start adjusting too much stuff rather than start very simply and work up from there. In effect, working in too much complexity all at once and not knowing what thing is affecting some other thing in the signal chain. With a good, stable, and predictable output mechanism I can select an appropriate amp/cab combo and with minor tweaking of simple EQ, drive and maybe mic/cab adjustments I'm typically 80% there for what I want from a patch. That's why it's so hard to understand why someone is struggling so much.

No one is saying you have to do the update. If everything is working fine for you, don't do it until you find a definite need for it. That's what you do if you're dealing with a production piece of equipment that you depend on. You should know that as a gigging musician. I gig every week and I'm still happily using 1.12 until all the dust settles and I'm sure I want to use some of the new features.

I suspect there's always a certain amount of that when people buy new equipment whether it's the Helix or any other piece of gear. But ultimately the only thing that really matters is, has it made a difference in your performance, practice, or recording in a way that can be objectively measured. Otherwise it's purely subjective like every other piece of gear out there. As for myself it's cut my time in developing patches at least in half. The better clarity and articulation has reduced at least 8 db off of our stage volume, which has helped significantly with our ability to hear vocals. Those are clearly objective accomplishments that make it worth the change.

Maybe what you're missing is a #0? Over 60. Retired. Not married. Lots of time on his hands. Been playing in bands and studios for over 40 years. Builds his patches one at a time for each song. Each patch is designed to be used with a specific guitar. Thinks modeling is the best invention since water because he wouldn't dare try to move a double-stacked marshall anymore. Thinks jamming is for amateurs...designs and plans all his lead and fill work. Arranges all songs down to the exact tempos so all shows can be timed out almost to the second. Uses a sound meter to normalize the volumes across all his patches. Thinks any song with less than a 200 chord progression is just pure laziness. Thinks any PA less than a line array is a waste of time. Holy smokes...from my description I'm not sure I even WANNA be me!!! :o

Hopefully you're starting with either a strat or a tele because it will be difficult to get where you want to go with anything else. For very traditional funk sounds (like Average White Band) I start with a standard Twin amp and cab, no reverb, and the LA Compressor in front of the amp. For more grungy funk like James Brown I've found the standard Matchless clean and Roland Jazz cabinet works well. In both cases you want VERY light Drive setting (around 1) and roll off the Bass to around 2 or 3. Position 2 or 3 on the Strat pickup selector. A lot of the tone in funk depends on using a lighter (more flexible) pick and of course the right chord inversions, colorations and rhythm techniques. I'm going direct into a FRFR speaker (Yamaha DXR 12), so YMMV depending on your output arrangement.

This is the part that confuses me. There are a number of us that came to the Helix from the POD HD world, and you would be the first I've ever heard say the HD was LESS tempermental than the Helix. I think most of us would say we spent at least twice as much time fiddling with POD HD patches in order to get them right than we do with the Helix. Quite frankly right out of the box I have to say every amp model I've used on the Helix is WAY closer to being acceptable with it's default settings and maybe just a few tweaks than any of the amp models on my POD HD. What I will say is that if you are trying to set a Helix amp to the same settings as you did on the POD HD, that might be the problem. My recommendation is forget the way you did things on the POD because it's not even close to the accuracy you'll encounter on the Helix. From my experience and the experience of others on here, there's very little tweaking you need to do to get a great basic sound out of any of the Helix amps/cabinets. Just let your ears guide you.

Yeah...unless it's an exception coming from the Helix driver...

Clearly your system should have the horsepower to keep up. The only question I would have is have you examined your event viewer for any oddball notices (warnings, errors) in or around the time you're using the DAW? I'm wondering if something is throwing an unhandled exception messing up your input stream. It might at least point you in the right direction of where the issue is coming from.

I was initially concerned as well as I'm working every weekend, but in looking it over it's pretty clear the vast majority of problems come from people not reading the update instructions. It clearly states several times that you must upgrade the editor to 2.0, yet you still see things like the previous poster who missed that. I'm going to upgrade after this weekend, so we'll see. As far as flashing firmware, that will always be the case on any system that doesn't have a full-featured, robust operating system that doesn't require real-time performance. You'll see the same stuff on audio interfaces and any number of pedalboards, amps, signal processors, etc. Anything with a real-time or near real-time performance requirement can't afford to have processes and extra memory just hanging around waiting for an update and storage set aside for image backups. It's just that people have been spoiled by commercial operating system that can build in safeguards for rollback in case something happens during the upgrade process even when it requires a reboot. That being said, I think L6 could do a better job of building a more feature-rich setup program that runs in Windows and Mac and takes care of many of the details involved in upgrading.

Popping and crackling are a well known issue in home recording situations and is almost always related to the computer being overtasked in some way. Many times you can get rid of it by increasing the buffer space. But it almost always relates back in one way or another to the computer not being able to keep up with the input stream . A simple thing you can try is mute playback on any tracks not needed while recording, and monitor the input stream rather than the recorded capture from the DAW on the tracks you're recording. Beyond that look at disabling any unused devices in the dev manager (like the internal sound card) or any unnecessary background tasks. Even defragging the disk can fix this sometimes. What are the specs on your computer (processor/memory/drive speed)? It may simply be you're computers just too slow. If you A/B the units and it's still there, it's likely not the Helix.

This is very curious. The DXS12 is a subwoofer. Are you sure you weren't using a DXR12 main speaker?