vmoncebaiz

It can be overwhelming, and I've spent waaaaaay to much time trying to find the difference between mic and distance combinations in folders full of hundreds of IRs. But if you want to explore all your options and even see which IRs you like, load 128 at a time into Helix and use the foot edit mode (hold FS6) to scroll through and audition them quickly - Just set up the amp model and whatever effects you want to hear, put an IR block in and click though. I found with redwire and ownhammer IRs, I like certain mics on certain cabs, but I really only use only 1 position/distance setting.

HA. That's awesome. I'm sure that's the biggest compliment to all of the people who have put work into it for the past few years.

Oh OK, you're better of than I am then. I sat there for like 3 updates and couldn't figure our what was going on. Ha! I've been on 1.12 for almost a month now and I haven't noticed any odd behavior like that in any of my patches. I think the last time I had to correct for assignments was going from 1.04 to 1.06. Not to say it can't happen, just that it's gotten better from someone who's dealt with it before.

Is this correct? - The patch is still working properly, but it is just the visual difference of when the foot switch is lit or not. Simply touch the footswitch until it toggles to the FX block that has the bypass state you want to be reflected on the footswitch. In your case the distortion block, which is off. The ring on the footswitch should be off when you highlight the distortoin block. Make sure to save it then.

You'll notice a difference within the the first minutes of playing with Helix. As someone whose been lucky enough to experience many different processors as well as real amps, I think there is a lot of truth to the idea that you get what you pay for. Sometimes it's hype or whatever. But in this case there really is a huge difference with Helix. Many online retailers have a return policy that will let you try Helix at home with your own set up.

I feel you, but I think the biggest differentiation between PodHD500x and Firehawk is the wireless workflow. The Firehawk doesn't have a line in since you can stream audio to it via Bluetooth. The PodHD500x needs the line in and USB PC editor becuase it was designed to be a wired device. There are some differences in the sound/model sets, but I think the $50 price difference and the work flow are probably the main deciding factors between the two.

I know this will seem like a round about way to do it, but I make all my adjustments and save tones directly into my hardware. I don't "save to my tones" until later on. Then I can level balance them all out and check to see if the tones I'll be using sound right. Once I've got things where I want them to be and saved to the hardware, I'll finally "save them each to my tones.

Just put the external pedal in the first Helix FX loop, and place that as the very first thing in the signal chain. This way you will still be able to use the VDI connection for the Variax and Helix. and all of your routing after the FX loop can stay as it was. I've heard that It isn't recommended to use both the VDI output and the 1/4" output on the Variax at the same time anyway. On any of the input blocks, you can choose from variax mags or the piezo processed sounds (coming from VDI connection) if you need to split those up later on, and those can be assigned per preset.

You can volume balance things on the Firehawk. It is just time consuming to adjust the patches volume, resave it to your tones, and/or resave it to your hardware, then check it vs other tones and repeat. The "channel volume" on the amp is purely level and shouldn't affect the saturation or tone of the patch. So get your tone where you want it and adjust that last to level it out with other tones. That being said the Helix is much faster to get around on and it does offer much higher quality sounds. It also give you many more ways to controll every aspect ofthe tone includinglevels. (Its price tag is 3x what a Fiewhawk FX sells for, so if it was't a better sounding, more impressive unit, something would be wrong)

I haven't tried it with straight up distortion pedals yet (I don't own any), but the way the amp models interact with all of the physical overdrive pedals I have is light years ahead of where the HD500 was. I usually do use them as boosts, but the the MXR "Custom Badass Modified OD" (M77) you can get a good amount of gain that the new amp models handle very well.

I personally get along better with strat-style guitars because of the way they balance on me and I prefer unfinished necks. That being said I still like the JTV59 better than the rest of the Variax. It's neck is thinner than the JTV69, but not super shredder-thin and flat like the JTV89. It's got some meat on it, but it is comfortable. Definitely more along the lines of a Gibson 60's neck than a 50's as maxnew40 mentioned. Plus I like the sound of mahogany (I think it makes a difference for both the magnetics and the piezo pickups). I also think another benefit of the JTV59 is the shorter scale length. Bigger strings really do make a difference with the piezo pickups. And I can still play comfortably with a little less string tension. And as with any instrument, especially ones on the wall at most music store, a good set up goes a long way for play-ability.

A few things to start with would be checking connections as well as checking to see if the triple rep's loop is on (not assign to specific channels or bypassed) and that its level its turned to at least the middle value. Then make sure that the amp block on the Firehawk is set to off, or "No Amp" (found in the clean amp category). The Triple Rec has a parallel FX loop (as do most of the rectos I think). Which means that you'll always hear the dry thru sound of the pre-amp, even if the loop level is at 100%. I would start with all of the effects in Firehawk at full mix and then adjust from the amp's loop level or bring down the mix on Firehawk afterwards. It might also be a simple level issue. Make sure you have volume of the Firehawk unit. If you're seeing red volume (overall level), also press the volume knob in and check that there is white volume (guitar only).

Bigger strings do actually help since its a piezo pickup being used for all of the modeled instruments. If you're playing around in work bench try using two pickups at the same time, stacked on top of each other by the bridge. If its still thin or not enough output, keep moving one of them closer to the neck position. I generally use the Lester modeled pickups this way for anything heavier suonding.

I have luck setting the high cut as mentioned above. Anywhere from 5-8k as HonestOpinion stated seems pretty good for all of my guitars and speakers I've been playing through. I also like low cutting 80-95hz. Those are just generalt global EQs I like to get the FRFR set up to sound more like a traditional guitar cab. If there's a specific guitar cab or speaker you like, you can easily find their specs online and set your high cut close to what theirs would be. For the L2 specifically I also like to cut a little bit around 2-2.2k in the global EQ. I also prefer it sideways on the floor, tilted up and in PA/Reference mode. I've been going XLR to its analog in. If you're using the L6 link, using an AES/EBU (110ohm) cable might help.

I do not have any pictures of it, and I didn't bother to string it up. It was off by a pretty significant amount, and that pretty much dictates that it wouldn't intonate properly without some serious modification to the neck, pocket, and/or the bridge position. If the guitar is unable to intonate, the variax tuning knob would probably not function properly either.

You can't have a footswitch assigned to "activate a path" but there are a couple easy ways to make it work the way you want. 1) Use an A/B split assigned to a footswithc as mentioned above. 2) Add in a volume block on each of the paths at the very first spot. Set the "position" on both to 0 and bypass one of them. Assign them to the same footswitch and it will basically toggle between the 1st and 2nd paths. This way you can have both amps/rigs run with serial and parallel FX if you want. Remember to un-assign those 2 volume blocks from the Exp pedal controller since you only want them to toggle between the paths

Yep. There are a couple different ways to set it up without USB. I tend to have the top path 1 handle whatever fully processed sound I want and go into my interface via XLRs. I have path 2 on the bottom us the same input (Guitar or Multi). Then I leave that path empty and set the output to one of the 1/4" sends (or sPDIF).

I like beer too much to sacrifice it for testing.

I would obviously highly recommend keeping it dry as possible, but I have gotten 2 units wet with no issue. Last year at Sweetwater's GearFest, everything got rained out. We were in tents and Helix was on a table so it was safe at first. But when everything dried up and condensed on the poles of the tent, 2 Helix units got dripped on all night. We came back to standing water on them. We dried them off and let them sit for a little while and they worked just fine. The top of Helix seems pretty well sealed. The area with the treadle was the only area I think water was able to get inside.

I think you are right, it shouldn't affect the tone if there is only one effect involved. The mix would control the dry sound vs the effect the same way the parallel pathing would. Unless the circuitry of the effect itself colors the signal, which it might on certain pedals (I'm not sure), and the guys behind Helix went so far as to model all of that circuitry. I believe he just means it more like the way post effects are added in a studio setting, where you set them up on separate busses and adjust the levels of each. Parallel pathing does lets you control which effects interact with each other, and later on in the video he adds reverb and then delays that split. That could be where the "more polished" thing comes into play. Not all of his delay trails are cluttering up the reverb block that way. Hopefully that makes some sense.

I do it all the time too. At first, I was fine without the Helix editor because the workflow is easy enough on its own. But accidentally spinning the joystick has me using the editor more and more at home.

Hey Dennis, I am certainly not a sound engineer either, just a guitar player thats sort of figured out what works for me. And I'm still picking up new bits and pieces of info as I go. As far as the pick noises, you're probably going to notice it a lot more in headphones than through monitors or a mic'd up amp. If you can, try recording your playing with either set up, and see if you still notice it. Pick shape, size, and material have a lot to do with that too. If you notice a lot of scratching noises, finding a pick with rounder edges might help, especially if your picking technic has you coming in at an angle. (Try a Jazz III Ultex, or if you like standard size picks - John Petrucci Jazz III, or Jazz III XL versions) I think the mic choices are matter of preference - everyone says an SM57 right on the speaker is the way to go, but I've never been able to get a sound I like by doing that. In real life and on Helix I love the Royer 121 (I usually have to use a low cut around 80-100hz) and the Shure SM7B. I've been lucky enough to play around with other peoples mics and haven't had to invest to find out what I do and do not like. On Helix specifically, I've come to really like using the "30 Dynamic" model for high gain sounds. Someone else on this forum (can't remember who) recommended trying the 112 mic model on Helix for high gain stuff and its been really good for me so far. In Helix, I usually set the distance very close (4" probably is the furthest I go), but in real life I sometimes like having up to 6" between the mic and amp. If you like the sound of a mic/model, but it has too much bottom end (usually the ribbon models or even the SM57) increase the distance. They did a good job of modeling the proximity effect in the Helix cabs. If you add in some preferences for sounds/styles/guitarists I'm sure others will chime in with their own preferences too.

Glad that worked out for you. Almost every time I sell extra gear I end up regretting it. But on the other hand you end up hoarding gear you never use. If you are not into making your own cables for the 1/4" to 5 pin connectors Voodoo Labs can make them, although it's $40 a cable. I ran into the same thing when I was trying Helix with the PRS Archon.

If you're running into a traditional amp, I'd recommend starting with no Global EQ. I feel like the power amp and guitar cab do their own EQing. Once you've tweaked it a bit, if there are still frequencies that don't sound good to you, use the global (or an EQ block) to help. I like using Global EQ when I go direct since I'm usually coming through different speakers every time. Some are brighter or some have too much low end, so I use the EQ to compensate. Another use could be if you switch guitars and you'd like to continue using the same patches.

I use both of the 12-string models. One is kept perfectly in tune and the other has an exaggerated out of tune sound.