vmoncebaiz

YES YES YES!! The Archon one of my favorite amps of all time. I love seeing other people like it too. It is one of the few high gain amps out there that I feel I might be able to distinctly pick out of a full mix. So much character. And its cleans have absolutely no business being that pleasant. I'm super pumped to see it in Helix.

Try Safe Mode (hold FS6 and FS12 during power up) and run the installation again. The few stubborn firmware issues I've come across in the field have been resolved this way. Then go through the reset process of holding FS9 & FS10.

This has been the most common request I have had from sales people and customers so far. I agree that it raises the value of Spider V quite a bit as a useful practice tool. It would be worth adding the feature request to Line 6's idea scale submissions. http://line6.ideascale.com/a/ideas/top/campaign-filter/byids/campaigns/47743 My favorite thing about Line 6 is that they do listen to their customer base. It doesn't mean they can make every change on every product, but there are plenty of people out there who might want the same features as you. It doesn't hurt to sound off.

Spider V does not have the smart harmonizer effect that Spider IV had.

Sorry to say it, but the entire model set for both amps and FX was updated from Spider IV to the new Spider V. It unfortunately means that the Spider IV doesn't have the ability to use the presets from Spider V. On the bright side it is the biggest change they have ever made to the Spider Family, and it's more than just some new factory presets, so it is worth checking out if you were thinking of upgrading.

Spider V's USB connection for Mac/PC is for direct recording. At the moment there is no Mac/PC editor for Spider V, and I have no idea if there is one coming down the line. The Spider Remote App is my preferred way to edit on Spider V. But I understand that you can't do that while connected over USB for recording. Feel free to share your ideas on ideascale too. I'm sure there are plenty of others who would like to edit the amp while connected to their computer. http://line6.ideascale.com/a/ideas/top/campaign-filter/byids/campaigns/47743

You are correct in both FBV3 and FBV shortboard MKII offering the same functionality. Function 1 on the MKII turns the compression on/off, function 2 is for the looper. Since FX1 FX2 and FX3 are all freely adjustable, having the color coded lights on FBV3 lets you know what effect you are stepping on before you press it. The shortboard MKII won't reflect which effect is tied to which footswitch. It's a quality of life improvement for sure. If it's not worth the extra money for you, rest assured the MKII will give you the same functioning control.

In the Spider Remote app, when you select a tone from the cloud, or "your tones" it will load into the amp temporarily. When it does that You'll notice a "share" icon appear on the area where the name of the tone is located. It's the one that looks like a box with an 'up arrow' coming from it. Press that icon and it will give you the option to "Store on Spider V " You choose which bank/preset spot you want to overwrite and then press done.

Love the "Model - All the Models" part on the headstock.

Nicely done.

in addition to whats mentioned above, the level parameter on the Cab block/page will help balance volume without affecting tone. Also worth mentioning that the JC120 model is modeled after a solid state amplifier, so the Master Volume doesn't effect tone and breakup the way it does on other amp models. You have to push it pretty hard (8-10) to notice a difference in tone.

My low cut is generally around 80hz (but can range from 80-110 depending a lot on the mic models being used - 121ribbon is my favorite but its got a lot of extra bottom). My high cut is typically 7.2khz. But I just started really dialing in acoustic/piezo sounds with IRs, and I open it up to around 12khz (I use the cut on IR blocks if I need to pull more than that. Then depending mainly on the speaker I'm running into, I'll start to use the rest Global EQ. I leave my low FQ at 130hz, mid FQ at 2.2khz and High FQ at 4khz. I tend to make small boosts/cuts (+/- 2db) with low Q values. I like to leave these flat for the most part, and then just use them for the room or PA I happen to be plugging into.

It is an updated version of the amp/fx model set found on AMPLIFi, which is honestly a massive upgrade for the Spider Amp series that have always been their own separate model set. Also the models have been tweaked for the newly designed box and speakers.

You can always try to add in an unused send/return block pair, and then physically patch them in the back of Helix. its useful for jumping around and inserting things in the signal chain more than Helix's own internal routing will let you. Assign the send block to a footswitch and that could route from the bass path up to the guitar path with the looper. It might take some level balancing to make it happen, but its possible.

Try updating it in safe mode (hold footswitch 6 and 12 while you power Helix on). I've had 1 instance where I had to attempt to load new firmware 3 times, but it finally stuck and everything is still working perfectly. Once the update does go through, Helix will rebuild its presets, then it will still need to be globally reset after that (hold the middle two footswitches on the bottom (FS9 & 10) while you power up. I missed that part before and spent a week "finding all sorts of new bugs". It also kept disconnecting when I forgot to reset it after the update.

Basically the best parts of Spider Jam are already in the Spider V models. The tweeter for better sounding playback when using prerecorded music, and the built in drum tracks. You can also connect an auxiliary input to the back of Spider V if you have a collection of backing tracks from other sources. And if you're looking for more free backing tracks, the AMPLIFi Remote app now includes some in the app itself.

The Firehawk FX does not have an XLR input. Not to say the effects wouldn't work on vocals, but they are certainly more guitar-centric. Reverbs and compressors tend to work out well for most other sources though. If you are looking for a little more flexibility in being able to record vocals, both the Pod HD500x and Helix provide XLR input in addition to a small amount of studio/vocal type processing blocks that the Firehawk FX does not have.

Is the idea to run your mic input and signal chain completely separately from your guitar input and signal chain, but then have both signals hit the looper block after they go through their processing? You can get really deep with routing by physically patching yourself in and out with the Send & Returns. Try adding a Send block at the end of your vocal mic signal chain. Then add the corresponding Return block just before the looper and after your guitar's signal chain. You'll need a short 1/4" cable to patch Send 1 into Return 1 (or whatever FX loop number you settle on). Note: the vocal path will still go to its output as well as to the return block you created. So you could end up doubling how much of your voice your hearing. So just be mindful of the dry through level on the Send block and the assigned outputs on each path to get whatever it is your going for.

This doesn't help your concerns over cost at all (sorry) but I wanted to mention another option: ENGL also makes the Z11 midi switcher which can be configured to control 1/4" footswitch type amp features. This might be of some use for anyone trying to use midi to control an amp that doesn't have midi implemented. I can't speak to its ease of use at all but it seems like it could do quite a bit. And seems like it would also let Helix (or any midi footswitch) control a bunch of different amps out there. http://www.engl-amps.com/cms/uploads/tx_ddfproducts/Z11-OM-S.A.C.pdf

There is a lot of preference involved there. Generally I love rosewood necks with ebony boards. They work really well on my mahogany bodied guitars as they seem to have less mid range and that complements the massive low-mid range of mahogany. The ebony adds a nice articulation to the attack. The alder body JTV-69 will be fairly balanced to bright sounding to start. So you can try to complement that with the warmer mid range emphasis of the mahogany neck. Or you can slightly enhance the bass and top end with the rosewood neck and leave your mid range more open. (ebony and rosewood with an alder body might get a little too crisp in the highs for my tastes, but its whatever floats boats) I've had people tell me that wood type makes no difference at all, and I've spent plenty of time arguing against that idea. But I do try to keep in mind that the neck and fingerboard have less overall tonal impact than the body wood. And in turn, the woods all have much less overall impact than your pickups. I believe the mounting holes are different, so you would be better off without pre-drilled mounting holes (you should double check other threads here if someone doesn't respond definitively) Happy hunting

You might look at the M9 or the M13, depending on how many FX you want at a time. They are only FX, so you are not paying for amp modeling that you won't use. They offer more flexibility in your signal chain and a greater number of FX that can be switched in and out in each preset. They are also very easy to set up with no need for an app based editor.

My favorite speakers for use with any number of guitar processors have been the Line 6 L3m and Mackie's HD1221. On the more affordable side the newer alto 212 has been sounding really good when I demo gear in stores (thats the model number, not the number of speakers).

Hopefully that helps a little.

I love that album! I'm pretty sure he was using physical amps on that one though so that was more likely him controlling his own dynamics. I'm actually meeting him at a local clinic in about a week. I'll try to ask him about that effect and post it here.

I can't think of a way to control the amps gain knob like that. Using the exp pedal just as a volume pedal would achieve lowering the preamp gain like that, at least to some degree. You could mess around with different min/max values or linear vs audio curves to better suit your needs. You could also set up an overdrive pedal in Helix with the expression pedal controlling it's gain. Then counter balance it with its level control or with a separate vol/gain block so your overall volume starts the same as your gain level changes.