jmp22684

Hello! We've been covering this song for a bit now. We play it a bit heavier than the cage the elephant version. Anyways. I was thinking of trying to create a sample for the intro that I would trigger via midi from the Helix... More on that later... But thought it would be cool to try and just play it. They're definitely using a reversed track. Any one feel like taking a stab at trying to get their helix to do this? All I am doing at the moment is skipping that little intro completely and playing the ... Second ... Intro? Lol I just use a bogner amp, gain around 2, and a high pass low pass eq block for the intro. Our singer has an effect built into his tc helicon for that and then we both kill the effects when the first verse starts. Would be neat to add that opening part to it without sampling it.

how many of those kla12s are you running on each side. Thats quite the setup. Subs are pretty comparable to the ones I've got... But holy crap those mains! Part of me wishes I went line array when I bought these. Feel like I need to push the tops pretty hard sometimes. Not as loud as I had hoped, and with their coverage I can't really try to array them with another set. Meaning I'd have to take a hit and sell to buy more... But that isn't happening any time soon at all! How are you mounting those array speakers? Have a fast setup solution? Would think its a bit for a mobile system. I wouldn't mind discussing gain setups either if you're ever interested. At the moment I ran pink noise and brought the main fader to about clipping. Set the output gain on the board, RM32ai, at about 2 o'clock and then ran the mains to where the limit light just start to flash and backed it off a touch. I figured with this method I could see the main fader clip before the speakers do in order to keep things safe. I know this doesn't take any frequency spikes into consideration, but thought about a soft compressor on the main to help with that. I am still learning setup techniques.

I was just reading through various new posts. I have been watching and reading these forums for some time constantly looking for tricks. I saw that you prefer the OwnHammer stuff. I just downloaded their demo Mesa set and will give it a shot when the wife and boy wake up.... Or.... Maybe I could just fire up the PA system and let it rip at 7:21 am on my wife's day off?!?!

I definitely found that I enjoyed some of the free ones and that others where extremely difficult to work with. Some I really really needed to dial out some of the low end. They sounded great at home with the PA but at the time I didn't bring it up to a stage level. Now when we went and played out live the first time with that particular IR the bottom end was WAY too high.... and I had bass controls at about zero... palm mute a chord and SUBS RATTLED THE WINDOWS. That is where I had to pull that much low end out with those cali q settings. The only reason I stuck with it was because it had a very full sound compared to others that just had a thinner response. Even now I like where I have everything but it is a little lacking in response to things like a heavy palm mute during a modern rock song, but I don't want to dial up the low end because when trying to force something that just isn't in the response of the cabinet you only start to muddy things up a bit. In your opinion what are some of the ABSOLUTE BEST vendor IRs that you have come across? Ones that required little to no tweaking when running in conjunction with amps like the German Mahadeva?

LOL!! IRs? no I thought I would just talk about how happy I have been with the sound rather than actually giving up any techniques Okay, a lot of the IR's I have been using I found here: http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2010/10/01/free-sample-shootout-6-best-free-guitar-cabinet-impulse-responses/ I like some of these a lot: http://cabs.kalthallen.de/ I will reluctantly admit that I have caved a couple times (2 to be exact) and bought packs from .... crap I can't recall at the moment. The two guys you always read about selling packs. I thought they were pretty good but didn't get too much out of them as they were pretty much setup the same way I have already been running it and one of them I just wasn't really thrilled with at all... the other sounded good but was as though it was designed to be sold to the person EQing in their mother's basement at low volumes.... Just WAY WAY WAY too much bottom end if brought up to stage volumes. Kind of a waste of money to me in that aspect... however! One of them came with some IR's as well which I have been playing with a little bit so it isn't a total loss and the IRs are pretty good! Oh and one had some good acoustic IRs... to me that alone was worth the price of the pack so I don't feel like I wasted any money in that I am using some of what I payed for and in the end its a product with parts that have benefited me. It was over all looked at by me as a learning opportunity. Check out the links at the bedroom producers blog for some free IR's. I haven't gone through everything I have found yet but did enjoy using "020b-AT4050-V30-4x12" which was found in the IR bundle from "cabs.Kalthallen.de" - just as an example... there are plenty of good ones. If I remember correctly I had to put a cali Q Graphic on there and dial back the .... ummmm.... one second.... Intermission music while I try to dig up a patch: <_< :( :blink: :huh: :wacko: :unsure: :o :rolleyes: < --- emotional states while searching Okay: Cali Q Graphic 80Hz .......................... -7.6 240Hz .......................... -2.9 750Hz .......................... +0.5 or zero.... I probably just accidentally clicked it and thought "close enough to zero" 2200Hz .......................... -2.0 6600Hz .......................... -3.1 1024-sample IR: Low Cut .................. 80Hz High Cut .................. 7.5kHz I have been using two of those blocks with a short delay with no feedback after it. 10 or 15 ms .... experiment and see what you like. Really REALLY important to set the merge block after this to Pan A and B hard Left and Right. Using the bogner amp models and boogie. I like the Mark IV Lead but don't really use it. I try to stay on a single amp for one type of sound and not futz around too much. Gotta keep it easy on the sound guys or you're going to make some enemies and/or look like an idiot. I really try my best to make sure every single thing on the board falls in the same frequency range and volumes... and don't forget all about perceived volume with different frequencies. For some cleans I just dial the gain ALL the way back.... ( 0.3 - 0.5 depending on the amp) Others I actually enjoy the Divided Duo quite a bit!! nice punch with a well set compressor before it... also REALLY REALLY depends on how you set the drives on this amp. Picking dynamics can be heard so well and is just a beautiful experience from a modelling unit. Classic crunch I use for "Run To You" by Bryan Adams for example is the Interstate Zed with a screamer in front. .... Heck, been putting a screamer in front of most of my distorted sounds since the HD500 and DT50... I suppose I am on auto pilot. Essentially at the moment my setup is: Clean: German Mahadeva LOW LOW LOW gain or Divided Duo (moving all patches to the divided duo I think, just haven't gotten around to it yet) Clean/barely barely crunch: See above Classic crunch: Interstate Zed (screamer in front) Modern Gain: German Mahadeva I am kinda stuck between the Centaur and the screamer as far as what I want in front of the amp blocks... Really like both a lot. Any ways I hope some of that was useful... One of these days I'll have to toss together something showing the full setup.

Just curious why you don't want to use the hd500 with your amp? Also if it is just a matter of liking the amp by itself better instead of using the hd500 for effects and modeling you could always just use it as a midi controller for the amp. Saves a purchase of another piece of gear when you have something that will already do the trick for ya!! anyways... just reading around and saw this.

Nothing extremely useful here, Just finally got the tones nailed! Went from day 2 with the helix sounding like it was in a box to this. I have gotten pretty good tones from it, but I am that tone hunter. I came from tube amps and love the dynamics you get from them. I bought a tube preamp and put it in a loop between amp and cab blocks: No difference WHAT SO EVER! Just to make sure it wasn't me I set it up to turn the loop on and off as I played a song and had others listen... The MP tube pre did nothing. Using that as a DI box for a bass now, so no loss there. Still editing, reading and reading and reading... These forums, audio engineering books, sites, videos, frequency analysis, wave forums, getting worse and worse on the guitar because of spending so much time with this instead of practicing. Coming really close all the time, but never quite there. I should note that I only use 2 different amp models for 4 basic sounds: clean, clean on edge of break up, crunch, modern high gain. I do have 30 patches but only for the reason of ordering them to our setlist to avoid clicking around too much. They are all basically the exact same thing but effects vary a little bit. Changing amp models all the time would just be a nightmare to try and run sound for.... The SMG Studio shirt says it all (excuse language) "Having 40 patches doesn't make you a good guitar player. It makes you an lollipop." So my time has been spent just trying to find that one or two amps, IRs and EQ setting that. are. perfect. period. Try out a few new things this last Saturday with a few new IRs and reprogram the entire setlist. Who shows up to the gig? A whole slew of the classic rock and blues members from the local clubs. We're talking old school fantastic players that have the kalamazoo les pauls, the vintage tube amps to die for... They sound good... Great!... and can be a bit critical about setup and gear choices. Finish up the set they arrived during and get informed that they want to talk to me. The compliments were flying in! How did you get that sound with out an amp up there? The dynamics where amazing! Sounded just like a tube amp! The mix was perfect! You could hear everyone perfectly and the guitar wasn't over bearing. More and more compliments.... Not to toot the horn... But.... YEAH.... GOING TO TOOT AWAY HERE! Its been 3 months now and with my old band/old rig I used to get compliments like "best guitarist I have ever heard live!" (yeah I'm allowed to be proud of that!) Since the new group and equipment change I wasn't practicing so much and still dinking around tweaking ... Still got compliments for the new group... But... "you guys sound great, your singer is amazing!" Yeah thanks.... And in the back of my head ... "Bite me" .... I do have to admit though our singer is truely exceptional. One of the best singers I have ever worked with! And we joke plenty about it. So for the first time at this last show after some new methods I was trying and IRs. Someone steps outside, "the guitar was amazing!" he looked at the singer "you're and excellent singer too" I shot a look to the singer and said "HA!" ... Its been a small running joke now. I run a very slight 10 ms delay/mod (REALLY slow chorus speed VERY low depth) after one of the IRs... Gives it a HUGE 3d sound that separates beautifully and leaves room down the middle for the singer. Ran that into a mono monitor and it sounded like crap! Haha... GRRRR... Went to the board and un-linked the channels, killed the right channel feed to the monitors... Much better! Pop a 10 ms delay on one side with a full wet mix and then a mono block after it. Thats what it sounded like. Now I will add this: I was running my PA system that night. So I have the advantage that all my tweaking is done on the same system at the same volume it will be heard at a venue when I run sound. I also always multi track record us with the board and computer: PreSonus RM32ai. So when I tweak the patches I am doing it with a recording of the full band piping through the PA so I'll know exactly how I sit in the mix. Not everyone has the same gear and access to this ability. That also means I get scared to death every time I have to play through a PA that isn't mine. I didn't get a massive PA but I did get a GOOD PA. All new, all digital, firewire, computer run, $7000 PA system.... It certainly isn't top of the line as this is a self powered system consisting of 2 PRX715s and 2 PRX718xlfs. Really didn't want to screw around with also needing to set up power amps and crossovers at every show. I setup up the speaker placements (!!!!!!crucial!!!!!!! ... And please for the love of god... CENTER YOUR SUBS!!! Never and I mean never put one on each side just because it looks good and its what everyone else does... Look up power alley... I played a show with split subs a couple weeks back and the low end on stage was deafening! And at the same time people to the far left and right of the audience had no bass... Center... Center... Center!!!!) then I set up the board while the rest of the band runs power and wires, do yourself and band mates a favor and print off a sheet marking every channel and wire in the PA to an easy to read table. This was the first time I didn't set the whole system up myself, they worked off of my channel, mains, monitor assignment list and it went flawlessly. We unloaded, set up the PA, setup our gear and sound checked in under an hour easily. It can only get faster as this was the first time splitting setup tasks for the PA. I believe we could actually have this system setup in 20 minutes. Just plotted a power graph as well to utilize the power conditioner myself and the bass player have on each side of the stage to run full power to all units with 2 cables and two center stage bricks. Back on topic... Can you say A.D.D?!?!? So seeing a system that looks like it was put together from craigslist and knowing I need to rely on it scares me pretty bad. AND... I don't have an amp anymore. I sold all my amps, two guitars (even my old gibson firebird), ect to buy this PA and Helix. Because with the Helix I don't really need an amp. But it still makes me nervous. At least if I had an FRFR amp I could pop a mic on it and then now exactly how its sounding. That isn't happening ANY TIME SOON! Finish paying down the PA system the next thing is a good wireless IEM system which will be an arm and a leg... And then an automated lighting system programmed with the computer and controlled with the helix.... New guitar equipemt is not in my future. Anyways!!!! Enough of this rant!!! I am just really happy finally and wantes to talk about it... Because my wife is sick of hearing about it. I know?! Why would she not want to hear all about my Helix settings?! I even chased her through the house once, "but wait! I . I have more explaining to do!" it was rathee comical... .. The moral here is that if you aren't getting your holy grail tube tone from the helix then you really only have two options. Spend the next 3 months reading, learning, tweaking, deleting, listening, reading, popping in and out of audio forums, ect... OR... get a tube amp. Also a great deal came from hunting for the correct IR.... once I got into that it was gold. A lot of that fizz, shrilly, bassy, etc can be fixed with just the right IR. I must admit that finding the correct IR basicallu nulled the EQ learning I have been doing. I currently have no parametric on many blocks. The occasional 10 band or cali to pull a little 2.2 or 4k out if using an effect that makes things a bit brittle... But other then that the only EQ is a high or low cut and in this instance is used more as an effect with a really high low cut to produce that grainy AM radio sound. It isn't the HELIX ... it is fully capable!!!! Again... Incase that wasnt heard... The helix is fully and completely capable... Just... Not out of the box. Absolutely not out of the box. I also have the advantage of playing for a living... So 3 months of reading and tweaking was a solid 3 months of learning and experimenting... Not a little fiddling when I got out of work. Sorry for all the babble and distractions.... I definitely rant on and on and on on on on on.....

Nothing extremely useful here... Just finally got thw tones nailed! Went from day 2 with the helix sounding like it was in a box to this. I have gotten pretty good tones from it, but I am that tone hunter. I came from tube amps and love the dynamics you get from them. I bought a tube preamp and put it in a loop between amp and cab blocks... No difference WHAT SO EVER... Just to make sure it wasn't me I set it up to turn the loop on and off as I played a song and had others listen... The MP tube pre did nothing. Using that as a DI box for a bass now, so no loss there. Still editing, reading and reading and reading... These forums, audio engineering books, sites, videos, frequency analysis, wave forums, getting worse and worse on the guitar because of spending so much time with this instead of practicing. Coming really close all the time, but never quite there. I should note that I only use 2 different amp models for 4 basic sounds: clean, clean on edge of break up, crunch, modern high gain. I do have 30 patches but only for the reason of ordering them to our setlist to avoid clicking around too much. They are all basically the exact same thing but effects vary a little bit. Changing amp models all the time would just be a nightmare to try and run sound for.... The SMG Studio shirt says it all (excuse language) "Having 40 patches doesn't make you a good guitar player. It makes you an lollipop." So my time has been spent just trying to find that one or two amps, IRs and EQ setting that. are. perfect. period. Try out a few new things this last Saturday with a few new IRs and reprogram the entire setlist. Who shows up to the gig? A whole slew of the classic rock and blues members from the local clubs. We're talking old school fantastic players that have the kalamazoo les pauls, the vintage tube amps to die for... They sound good and can be a bit critical about setup and gear choices. Finish up the set they arrived during and get informed that they want to talk to me. The compliments were flying in! How did you get that sound with out an amp up there? The dynamics where amazing! Sounded just like a tube amp! The mix was perfect! You could hear everyone perfectly and the guitar wasn't over bearing. More and more compliments.... Not to toot the horn... But.... YEAH.... GOING TO TOOT AWAY HERE! Its been 3 months now and with my old band/old rig I used to get compliments like "best guitarist I have ever heard live!" (yeah I'm allowed to be proud of that!) Since the new group and equipment change I wasn't practicing so much and still dinking around tweaking ... Still got compliments for the new group of, "you guys sound great, your singer is amazing!" Yeah thanks.... And in the back of my head ... "Bite me" .... I do have to admit though our singer is truely exceptional. One of the best singers I have ever worked with! So for the first time at this last show after some new methods I was trying... Someone steps out, "the guitar was amazing!" looked at the singer "you're and excellent singer too" I shot a look to the singer and said "ha!" ... Its been a small running joke now. I run a very slight 10 ms delay/mod after one of the IRs... Gives it a HUGE 3d sound that separates beautifully and leaves room down the middle for the singer.... Ran that into a mono monitor and it sounded like crap! Haha... Went to the board and un-linked the channels, killed the right channel feed to the monitors... Much better! Pop a 10 ms delay on one side with a full wet mix and then a mono block after it. Thats what it sounded like. Now I will add this: I was running my PA system that night. So I have the advantage that all my tweaking is done on the same system at the same volume it will be heard at a venue. I also always multi track record us... So when I tweak the EQ I am doing it with a recording of the full band piping through the PA so I'll know exactly how I sit in the mix. Not everyone has the same gear and access to this ability.... That also means I get scared to death every time I have to play through a PA that isn't mine. I didn't get a massive PA but I did get a good PA. All new, all digital, firewire, computer run, $7000 PA system.... So seeing a system that looks like it was put together from craigslist and knowing I need to rely on it scares me pretty bad... And I don't have an amp anymore... I sold all my amps, two guitars (even my old gibson firebird), ect to buy this PA. Because with the Helix I don't really need an amp. But it still makes me nervous. At least if I had an FRFR amp I could pop a mic on it and then now exactly how its sounding. Anyways... Enough of this rant... I am just really happy finally... The moral here is that if you aren't getting your holy grail tube tone from the helix you really only have two options. Spend the next 3 months reading, learning, tweaking, deleting, listening, reading, popping in and out of audio forums, ect... OR... get a tube amp. It isn't the HELIX it is fully capable!!!! Again... Incase that wasnt heard... The helix is fully and completely capable... Just... Not out of the box. I also have the advantage of playing for a living... So 3 months of reading and tweaking was a solid 3 months of learning and experimenting... Not a little fiddling when I got out of work.

Isn't there already something like this? http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GuitarWing?adpos=1t1&creative=149966564064&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=Cj0KEQjwp4fABRCer93Klpaki94BEiQAsXJMGrjiv4usVnWxFwqH_3YMMCQQ6hiOiT55Na0FAhkOVYgaAmoP8P8HAQ

Damnit! I can't spend any more money! My wife is noticing! I don't know how. I mean.... I only put a couple JBL prx715s, 2 prx718s, an rm32ai, alienware 17 r3 (thunderbolt/firewire control), helix, custom order esp horizon (semi hollow, no f holes, looks like prs), and.... Oh a new wireless system glxd16.... Ummmmm.... Oh and whats great is that I'll have these sweet jbl boxes to sleep in when we foreclose on our house now... Anyways! Yup still always hunting for that tone... And getting close as hell finally! Now just working on settings for being able to really dial in touch dynamics during medium to high gain tones.... Does anyone here have a speaker system of the same quality as the prx system (not saying its great, just for comparison) and had the ability to test next to the Gemini? I am also in a position where sound is often provided and I am expected to rely on their system... I would bring my prx715s and then I often get the, "why are you bring pa speakers dude? Isn't that a bit over kill dude bro brotha dude?! ... " When in reality bringing the prx715s is actually quite a bit smaller than 95% of everyones guitar rigs.... So thinking of two options: 1. Gemini 2. Buy an empty cabinet and mount these prx715s inside with a cloth front so no one knows the difference! Yeah just... Being comical but wanted to chime in. Option 1 would involve my wife also hanging my bits from the headboard.

Hey guys!! Been following this one as I have been working on a Superstition Cover by The Hoax. These helped a little... but perhaps different guitar. I feel stupid for asking but if anyone feels so inclined I would love a break down of each parameter. I assume: Q - how sharp a frequency spike its going to hit. Sensitivity - pick attack/dynamics? Attack - hmmmm.. above? How quick the filter reacts Decay - how quick it stops reacting? Frequency - Where the center (median) of the Q is going to sit Frequency Depth - How how high the Q/frequency curve sits on the y axis Direction - x vs -x on the graph? Gain?

Hmmm... Seems troubling. Been gigging with the glxd16 a few times now and never had an issue. I use it all day at home too, can't stand dealing with cables while working and with a 16 hour rechargeable battery expense is not an issue, and haven't had any dropouts or latency. Did a quick google search for "shure glxd16 dropouts" to try and see if this was an issue and didn't really come up with anything. A proper setup goes a long way as well. Using something like inssider to analyse the local environment and having the ability to set the unit to a frequency with little interference goes a long way as well. The g10 does look like a nice introductory unit to see if wireless is something you like first before jumping in the deep end... Heck the glxd16 would be an introductory unit at that compared to the real nice ones. The dongle getting damaged on the g10 with the way it sticks out made me a little nervous though, I could see myself snapping the trs right off of that thing with a wrong move at a gig.

+1 for the shure suggestion. I recently decided to go back to a wireless system. I tried out several systems including most of the line 6 systems. Ended up going with the Shure GLXD16. The quality is fantastic! Not only in sound but in construction as well. All the other systems just felt cheap in comparison. It is an extremely solid unit. It also uses a rechargeable battery with tons of life in it. I haven't gotten any drop outs, it auto scans for the best frequencies and picks the best three to work with. You can also manually choose if you know how to analyze your local wifi environments with an app like innsider. I would read reviews as well. What I found from reading about all of them was this: Most people gave the line 6 systems great reviews except for a few people. All the people gave shure great reviews and several talked of how they replaced their Line 6 system with it... So ... Cut out the middle step and try it out. Not to dog line 6 but it is what it is: How many quality issues have you had and read about with Line 6 gear? How many have you had or read about with shure? I am a Helix owner and have had a ton of line 6 gear and love the way they perform. But I can also say I have had more problems with their gear than I have ever had with any other manufacturer since I started playing 22 years ago. I love their stuff but am scared to death every day that my Helix will completely go dead on me after the experiences. But in comparison to the competition and quality of sound they are half the price of the axe and kpa units and that was the end of that decision, and I truly do love the Helix... It just worries me. However when you're looking at these wireless systems, especially the better line 6 units, the price difference is not so dramatic. Check out the shure glxd16 if you have a chance and you truly want to go wireless, it is built like a tank.

Yes... Well it should be anyways. Many aren't truly flat. If you can get your hands on a measurement mic and smaart analysis (I use what is built into my mixer) you could run pink noise so you could see the frequency response of the speaker and then compensate with a PEQ. Then just copy those eq settings into a PEQ block at the end of the chain in your patches. I wouldn't use the global eq dor this because you would want to save that for different rooms. I am a little new to some of this myself as I have only had these tools for a short time now. I don't know much about the srm550 and am not sure if you already made the purchase, but just to toss it out there: I am playing through the JBL PRX715s as my PA speakers and they sound great. They have also been on sale as I believe jbl is going to discontinue them for a new line of speakers (so I was told by a Sweetwater rep). You could grab those for around 500-600 right now and at that price they are definitely a bargain given the quality of aound and build you'll get vs mackie... Again I know little about the srm550 but I do know if the choise is between a higher end (consumer market) jbl speaker and a mackie the jbls will generally out perform the mackies... They seem to have been cheaping out lately which gets me a bit nervous with their gear, they're almost going the way of behringer. Anyway... I am sure it isn't a bad speaker either. I know a couple people with some bargain mackie speakers and they dont sound bad at all. So if you can give the pinknoise, rta, smaart, measurement mic thing a shot and see what ya get!

There's a helix in there somewhere Nevermind... May need to try upload when at computer.

Hello! A lot of EQing I feel is quite new to me. I only know some of the very basics from reading and then constantly tweaking my old HD500 DT50 setup. Now I don't have a proper mic to do what you did; I have an e609, sm58 and a cheap AKG vocal condenser mic... So I probably can't do this correctly do the speakers yet. However what I do have is an RM32ai I am running the helix through into prx715s. I have an RTA and spectrograph available to me on this and also an RTA in StudioOne Artist that comes with the RM32ai. Could you explain just a little about what frequencies you are trying to level out and what ranges you try and get the end result in using the RTA? OR if there is a good write up somewhere. I just saw this post so I haven't looked into that myself yet. Even with out having the proper mic to measure the speakers them selves I do notice that my RTA is all over the place. Should I level this out even though I don't have the mic? And again I am just wondering about the frequency curve you would set this up for. Still all extremely new to me and plan on doing a lot of learning over the next couple montha not only for the helix but for the new PA system as well.

I'll add that these are just things I am noticing as I am working with the unit. I am enjoying this and dont intend to sound like I am complaining. Just observations as I am learning the pedal

Here's some fun... I am building a patch right now for a Superstition cover by The Hoax. Jesse Davey's guitar effects during the solo. I think I have a bit worked out. I just ran a loop at the beginning of the chain and screwed around with an auto filter for a while into a tweed amp (I think, not at my desk at the moment). During the chorus I add a bit more crunch and a mix of an octave -12 with the simple pitch's mix set to zero in heel position on the expression pedal to hit the chords during the chorus. Anyways... The solo is giving some difficulty. Some how it sounds like he's doubling up a bit, so I added a dual pitch with V1 at -24 and a VERY low mix and V2 @ -12 with a decently low mix. That worked out well. One thing I use to do was the pat travers trick and pop on a delay wih the time and feedback almost at zero, but on the Helix this sound extremely digital and I dont care for it anyways... Where the trouble is coming in is on the auto filter during the solo. Its not as pronounced during the solo but is definitely there. When I reduce the mix on the auto filter it sound extremely digital... I may as well be playing the mario theme song. I also tried popping it into a second path (basically the same thing as reducing the mix) just to see if that would help... Same thing, very digital sounding... Any thoughts? Any one want to have a stab at this tone? On a side note I have noticed the same thing with the chorus effect... Nearly unusable. I used to use chorus on my patch for Paralyzer and Run To You... I have ripped it out of these on the helix because it just destroys the sound.

Ha, I actually have a buddy that has a set of those in his studio.

Hey, thank you for the links! I do need to try and find my headphones... though they weren't great. I am going to try using my studio monitors for now as those sound better at low volumes than the mains do, but I am not in a position to spend anymore at the moment. My expenses over the past 2 months have been: $1300 - PreSonus RM32ai $200 - SKB 10x4 enclosed rack case $1500 - Alienware 17 r3 for recording, click tracks, samples/backing tracks $1700 - 2x JBL prx715s $70 - Startech Thunderbolt 3 to thunderbolt adapter $25 - Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter $80 - Speaker Stands $200 - Various xlr and quarter inch cables $1400 - Line 6 Helix $6475 - Total And I haven't bought subs yet.... Music gear spending is pretty finished for the next couple of years.... That's not including a Mesa Boogie amp I need to sell that I purchased in my quest to find a reliable replacement for the DT50s that went out on me. So I also have $1600 tied up in a Mark V combo I need to sell.... This I bought knowing I wouldn't lose much on it at the price I found it for. Everything else I have been ordering from Guitar Center online so I can drive it back to the local shop and return if it isn't a good fit. This Helix purchase is the latest in a string of purchases to find a more reliable setup.... hence my concern about the volume randomly dropping while in a single patch and no action on my part at all. *Sigh* That's not including a Mesa Boogie amp I need to sell that I purchased in my quest to find a reliable replacement for the DT50s that went out on me. So I also have $1600 tied up in a Mark V combo I need to sell.... This I bought knowing I wouldn't lose much on it at the price I found it for. Everything else I have been ordering from Guitar Center online so I can drive it back to the local shop and return if it isn't a good fit. This Helix purchase is the latest in a string of purchases to find a more reliable setup.... hence my concern about the volume randomly dropping while in a single patch and no action on my part at all.

Dont worry about getting into topics someone may know. Much I do know about the effects chains, order and staging... Much I am still learning; I try to listen and learn from everyone... Only a fool would think think they know everything which would lead them to failure of improvement. Anyways. Yeah I was still getting thw crackling. Not sure where it is coming from and I cannot seem to find my headphones!! I will try running into my studio monitors and see what happens there. I set the channel gain such that the meter only comes up about half way for each channel. I did pop over to the preaonus forums to discuss trim/gain output from the board and input on the mains, from what they said I have everything set correctly. There is a bit I already know from a lot of reading about the different frequency ranges to sit in and what to try and manipulate... And of course I know there isn't a tried and true cookie cutter EQ rule, but it looks like the fundamentals of which frequency ranges do what, how to set Q when cutting or boosting, what ranges cause ear fatigue, etc are important foundations to understand. The basics I was referring to that I knew came from a guitar amp perspective (and with coming from the hd500 and EQing a lot in that... Perhaps just a tiny tad more knowledge than a 3 band)... I understood cut the bass pre, kill anything underr 80-100, slightly boost 200-400 for fullness, cut 2khz if my ears started bleeding, dont scoop the mids... Stuff like that which got me by on the DT50 and hd500. With this it is looking like I am going to do a LOT of learning before I can get it dailed in... and from the tones I have downloaded from custom tone it looks like I am not the only one ; P One thing that came to mind that would be useful... Is there some sort of frequency graph that is available for the micrphones that are loaded into the Helix. Heck one for the cabs couls be useful as well. Not sure how to go about doing it, but if I could figure it put I would definitely produce these charts and share! The biggest problem with trying to produce these frequency charts would be that you would need to be able to test each mic on the helix with out a cab and test each cab with a perfectly flat mic... Correct? Could be an excellent starting point though when building patches! I had also thought about using the spectrograph and RTA graph provided in the SMAART features of my mixer. This would just give me a visual reference of where I am sitting as I make adjustments on the helix. I don't want to do the EQ on the board as I want to be prepared to not use my board... However if its easier I could pop a looper at the beginning of the chain and with something I record quickly use the boards EQ features to try and dial it in, then try to mimic those EQ settings as best as possible on the Helix using what EQ blocks it has available. The other problem I am running into are my poor ears while doing this. There is a conaiderable tonal difference at different volume levels, but I am just wrecking my ears trying to set these up. I had thought about using my studio monitors to build the patches and then seeing what I get when I hook to my PA but am unsure of the differences I'll get when switching speakers. Though, that could also give me a better understanding of what I'll need to contend with when running the Helix into different PA systems and give me a better understanding and more experience using the global EQ to make up for the difference. Oye... Lots and lots to learn and do. The crackling does still worry me. I bougjt this pedal used as the back order was killer. I hope I wont regret that and the lack of warranty incase it is a pedal problem. I also have a problem with a patch changing volume while I am playing. This is with doing nothing. Load the patch, start playing, volume drops on the clean amp randomly, switch to the dirty amp, switch to the clean amp and the volume is back up for the clean amp, after a couple minutes it drops again. No volume pedal patches as I use a Boss FV 500L in a loop at the very end of my patches. I only use the expression pedal for wah or to change parameters across several effects with a single movement of the pedal. Quite convenient for songs like paralyzer by finger eleven when I may want to cut the treble, boost the chorus, cut the gain, cut the mix on delay, ect... When moving from chorus to verse. The patch that does this is quite simple though and used for the song Run To You by Brian Adams. Not aure why the volume drops like that and really makes me worry about the pedal.

Lot of neat ideas, but aren't things simpler then that? ; P As I have been doing with the hd500 and now with the Helix. Pop an effects loop block at the end and grab a BOSS FV500L. I have every single patch aetup like this for just the reason you're talking about. Its a stereo pedal, I set the minimum volume on it to about 40% or 50%, it can be used as an expression pedal, has a tuner out, and its a rock solid pedal. I always have this with me! I set the minimum and then position the pedal between toe and heel when sound checking. Always have the ability to raise or drop it easily... And the best part... I dont need to stop playing my guitar to reach for a volume knob; whether its on the floor or a mic stand or sitting next to my drink : ) I dont want to try and use my hands when their job is pretty much spoken for. As for solos I always pop a studio EQ towards the end and pump up the level a little, this also allows for slight EQ adjustments between rhythm and lead if wanted. First switch in every patch is my lead switch.... Consistency, simplicity and as little brain power necessary when playing out. That way when the skirt goes up on the drunk chick dancing on the chair you could some how still manage to keep it together. Go with the same attitude for your equipment as you would your playing. Keep it simple and practice at home, not on stage.

I should add to this... There is an effects loop block in there. This is just for my FV-500L. The Mixer is an RM32ai The speakers are JBL PRX715 Everything is brand new (though I bought the pedal used through guitar center). The inputs on the board which the Helix is plugged into have only been used a few days now. I thought about perhaps the inputs being bad on the board but this is a stereo setup and both sides drop in volume... quite the coincidence for both channels to be bad at the exact same time. The system is not being pushed too hard, so far it has only been used in my studio for setup purposes. The PA system won't see live use for another month or so. I need to know that this is a reliable pedal as it will get used live quite often as my sole piece of equipment run into the board. I am using this for the convenience of not needing to lug an amp, if I planned on bringing a back up amp that would defeat the purpose of this purchase. :P please let me know if there is any additional relevant information that would help.

Hello, Excuse me resurrecting an old topic but I have a similar issue but not.... I notice as I am playing in a patch that my volume will drop a bit with no changes being made. Load the patch... play for a bit... volume drops outta no where... I haven't noticed this on too much of anything else except for this one specific patch and I will upload it. I am not using a volume pedal exactly .... I do use the expression pedal to change some parameters in some of the effects and save the patch with the pedal in heel position. Anyways here is the patch and let me know if you notice the same thing... try kicking on the dirty amp and then switching back to the clean amp and play for a while. Not sure what's going on but I was just doing this and the volume was jumping all over the place. Gate on, gate off.... still does the same thing. I haven't noticed this on other patches yet. Oh and this was tossed together REALLY quick so please don't judge ; ) Okay for some reason I can't upload the file... Here is a share link to my cloud drive: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aqfw3qt8NXQUgd1Sml0WWRdDXcRhQA

Oh yes, I was referring to the ones in your drop box. I am not using them with any active pickups (tried but have never been able to get into active pup sound). Though I am using a guitar with humbuckers. I had the High Cut at 8.4, will bring that up a bit for clarity. Just looking for ideas... I am going to pop over to some other forums and make sure I have all my output and input gains set correctly on my mixer and speakers. All the cables are brand new. Hoping it isn't doing what you mentioned and noise some where in the system due to my inexperienced setup. I am not sure what levels to set my output gain on the mixer or input gain on the mains. Still learning and this is a brand new system less than a month old that hasn't seen a gig yet.