bypassvalve

that's interference from something getting through either 1. the guitar pickups (lights, computer, wireless networks) or 2. coming through the power supply... it's got a pitch to it. What is the power supply plugged into, and what are you sitting next to?

On Arch: mic to 4 inches, high cut to 9.6k, reflections to 33%. On Engl: mic distance 6 inches, low cut 73Hz, reflections 29% On Marsh: mic distance 4.5 inches, low cut off, reflections 28%. Any mids lost from mic position you can add back with a little post EQ, that's what they do at the board, but you want that mic position sound to scoop first, that's how you know it's in phase.

How ridiculous would it be if you had 8 loops, but were somehow able to use them each one interchangeably with the helix blocks. Instead of 4CM which gives you basically two options, pedal before or pedal after, it's a switcher that spits out each loop separately via 8 channel optical, helix eats the optical, then you can bring in each loop separately and use it like a normal block. Any order, any position, any combination of DSP and pedal loops

Me either, other than I know AFX3 has a fixed buffer on the input. And the described loss of high end, if it's not from impedance, sounds just like running a buffer in front of a fuzz

Do you happen to know if the helix cab block currently interacts with the power amp output impedance at all? In November FAS finally made available some selectable cabinet impedance curves for different speaker and cabinet configurations, it makes a huge difference when the speaker impedance resonance points match up with the IR you're using, it was always adjustable but without knowing where to set it, it's just guess work to preference. It probably wouldn't be needed if you only use the default cab for an amp, since they probably have the modeled speaker resonance points set for that cab, but one of my favorite things to do is run weak little amps through the recto oversized 4x12, like an AC30 or little fender...the ability to tell that little power amp output impedance that it's pushing a huge 4x12 of V30s makes it scoop like crazy and flexes the low end, just like when you plug those things into that cab in real life. That OS 4x12 cab is an acoustic instrument in its own right, like an upright bass.

Anybody know the specifics about the input buffer? It's not the fuzz that makes the tone muffled, it's having a buffer on somewhere in front of the fuzz. I know AFX3 has a buffer you can't turn off, fuzzes suffer for it. With input impedance set on auto, I'd think L6 would know that a fuzz ain't gonna fuzz with a buffer on, I bet 'auto' would switch it off. Keeping it set on 1M, I bet the default buffer state, if it's got switchable states, would just be 'stay on'. That still wouldn't explain why the block in bypass is still killing the high end, unless they modeled the pedals bypass characteristics too. Fuzzes don't like buffers, they like to be plugged in straight to a pickup.

Yeah upload the preset so I can load it up and see what everything is set at, 5 bucks says in 5 knob turns it's as real as any hard rock recording ever made

What are you listening through? With the built in cabs, reflections around 25% is hard to really hear it do anything, but you get it up around 25-30% and it fills out, then if you turn it back to 0% it's real easy to hear it do something to the negative, it goes dead. Can you post a preset?

Project manager said a couple weeks ago that the end of life discussion about the hardware has never even come up yet, it's probably going to be a few more years on that chassis. And 3.0 will be getting command center and favorites, so midi control on the stomp, plus who knows what else is in the works, I think some different looper functionality too

Phantom powered from midi in, Helix stomp type UI but each block is one of your pedals, capacitive switches, expression pedal input and expression-to-midi internal conversion, the ability to color code the blocks and rings based on what pedals you have in the loops, and some kind of fx send / return to where you can run the pedal switcher in 4CM with the Helix, that way you can have some pedals pre, some pedals post, some in parallel, switch it around per preset. Individual loop buffers. LFOs, envelopes, tuner, pre and post EQ, input and output gates, maybe individual loop gates, individual loop micro delays...

That's a really good idea. ES-8 is irreplaceable for its signal chain routing functionality and it's obscene control of buffers. Each individual loop has a buffer on the loop input and the loop output, (nope just input and output buffers) as well as guitar input buffer and ES-8 out buffer, each one of those buffers can be on or off programmed per preset. Then you can re-order the signal chain of the loops, as well as drop loops down onto a parallel path. It's legit like working with a Helix but using your own 8 pedals, reorder, swap, buffers on/off per pedal, parallel distortion with clean DI reverb, dry clean compression with a volume pedal that can bring in a screaming delay lead in parallel, no end to the combinations. And that's before you add midi control, ES-8 can take expression input and spit it out as midi to anywhere you want, even multiple CCs at once.

Talking about a pedal switcher, 8+ loops and maybe some built in FX (like ms-3), but capacitive switches, line 6 UI, and super compact form factor. It would sell like crazy, the ES-8 does even without effects built in.

Good point on the latency, that's a lot of unnecessary conversion and IO, where the floor can do it all in one shot. Mic input can be pretty handy too. Plus individual configurable scribble strips for all 12 switches. Big is necessary to get it all in one chassis I guess.

Stomp sounds amazing, I can't get over how good it feels to play and how good the cabs and effects sound. 3 stomps is 9 switches, and 6 more switches makes 15 switches, or 9 switches and SIX expression pedals. At like half the size of a floor. One for pedal FX, one for amps, one for post FX. And you could run them all off of ripcords and power banks. Why would you get a floor? With 3.0 getting command center on stomp, midi control of external gear is a done deal, there's lots of ways you could configure 3 stomps to work together the way you want, running one on the loop of another, with one running 4cm at the same time. Size-wise you're still looking at like just the top half of a Helix, broken down you can still throw all three in your pocket.

If line 6 made a pedal loop switcher like the ES-8 with the capacitive touch assignment functionality of helix it would be a done deal

Redwirez and MixIR3 is the Toontrack of IRs, it's not a folder of seven billion wav files you have to dig through, you get a Cab Module similar to what's in the Helix, with mics and mic positions that you can mix and adjust. There is also power amp settings for power amp impedance interaction, different for each Cab Module, and a bass knob that simulates having the cab close to the wall or farther away from the wall. There are also parametric EQ and Reflection modules that you can add to the Cab Module chain, to add EQ and add small or large room reflections to the Cab Module, then you can shorten the IR length down to a set length IR from Zero ms up to infinity, so you can hear how it will sound when it's cut down to the Helix 2048 sample length (~42ms), then you can export all of that out as either LR stereo IRs or one mono IR, however you want to do it. It's like the Mikko plugin where you roll your own IR, but a lot more surgical, and way better fidelity in the lows and highs when it's running at full length. If you already have BigBox, the upgrade is not only worth it, it's priceless. You can even load in your own IRs, then use the EQ module and Reflection module to process the IR you loaded, then trim it down, then print that as a brand new IR. It's amazing.

If you have impedance set on auto and you have two amps in a patch, you get the little microscopic hiccup of it changing over when you switch amps. If it's set on 1M, there's no hiccup because it doesn't change anything, there is not one sample left out of the audio continuity when switching over, jamaican electron 1:1. I'm in love.

I don't know about putting 1700 down on 5 year old hardware, there has to be an update in the works, this stomp sounds amazing, I'd almost rather just run 2 stomps together with 4 cable method into each other like two lesbians than buy that big honkin thing. IT'S SO BIG. Put those 12 switches and scribble strips into a chassis the size of an ES-5, then I'd control the rack with that. Helix floor is like a battle shield. Does it get hot too? The smell is so cathartic

Helix stomp is blowing my mind, condenser microphones at 9 inches changing phase to find the sweet spot just like when you actually move a mic back, rectifier preamp that actually breaks up like it's supposed to even on the lower edges of the gain pot. Helix stomp is also giving me the smell and feel of burning electronics, I don't know what else to ask for. It gets so hot, it gives off energy, just like a toasty tube amp. I keep waiting for it to die. It won't die. The only glitch I can make it do is headroom all the way down on the delays and it will clip out (digital clipping at my speakers, overtly converter noise, not repeat distortion) or letting one of the G verbs run off into infinity, eventually it just implodes and kills signal completely, dead silence. Turn decay back down from 100 and it's gtg again

What amp do you want to use?

Thinking about having those 12 capacitive switches with assignable midi CC capability are what's giving me a fit right now, being able to just lay a finger on one to assign it, touch two to swap them, layer 3+ different assignments to one switch without diving into a single menu, assign multiple specific arbitrary parameter changes to a single switch, momentary or latching, layered min/max and inverted and/or both. And then imagining what you could do with a looper and an Octatrack and a Digitakt and a Digitone midi chained into it, 12 switches worth of start/stop pattern select, bank up/down to control the groove box orchestra...being able select a guitar preset, then (hopefully) change switch layouts leaving maybe a few switches to do effects, (hopefully) being able to change the switch layout while on the same preset to leave like 9 switches worth of stacked and layered midi commands to drive and manipulate the rest of the midi gear, while you sing and play and whatever. It's so many switches, and so easy to program when they're capacitive like that. If only the boss ES-8 had capacitive functionality, it's so ridiculously fast and intuitive to layout buttons for what you want to do, and then change it all up and swap it around in an instant if you want.

Axe Fx *can sound better. There are some amps coming out of this helix stomp, even using the built in cab block that are blowing my phuqin mind. Cali Texas 1/2, Cali IV, Revv Purple, Supro... The o n l y thing holding back helix in terms of tonal fidelity right now is IR length, and as far as I understand it that's strictly a horsepower constraint. Another thing is the guitar input impedance setting. I always thought that was some patented FAS wizardry, was surprised as hell to find it in the helix stomp. The difference between AFX3 and Helix? HELIX ACTUALLY WORKS. With a chorus block in front and it set on auto, you lose all the high end chime. Like you would expect plugging into a pedal. Turn input impedance to 1M and you get all the chime back, like plugging into an amp. AFX3 doesn't do a thing when you change it, it's supposed to be dependant on what block is first in the chain. It isn't. Half the time it doesn't do a thing. I thought it was just too subtle a change to notice the difference. LOL nope. Getting to hear it actuality work, it sounds exactly as you would expect it to sound. I can't wait till there is something worked out horsepower wise to handle hi-fidelity cabinet and power amp impedance interaction, then you'll be left with strictly UI differences...no contest. I haven't had this much fun playing guitar in years, way late to helix land but so far zero frustration, zero disappointment. Running into greyed-out effects from running out of DSP is legit causing creative inspiration to craft effect chains that compensate... if you take off the output comp you can fit a reverb, if you use two amps and one cab you can fit more effects, if one amp is just crystal clean you can use just preamp and fit more stuff, if you can't fit a chorus but you can fit a delay you can put it on parallel path and run it at micro second time to use the modulation in it. It's so much fun. Plus it doubles as a mini space heater.

Digging and digging to find out where to assign a CC to a footswitch to start/stop a digitakt...no wonder I couldn't figure it out. Looking like hell for something you would think should otherwise be there...

Axe Fx amps are better, at the cost off having to know how to actually dial them in. Helix amps are hard to make a bad sound with, AFX3 is very easy to make a bad sound. If fractal amps are 100% real, helix amps are 95% real, just with helix it's always there when you turn it on, no matter what you do. AFX3 has a huge learning curve, especially if you aren't familiar with the amp model you're dialing in and how it behaves in real life. Helix cab block is way better with mics and distance and reflections, there is no fractal equivalent, only factory and user IRs. Fractal can play very long IRs though, it adds realism, but only regarding negligible low end and early reflections, nothing you can't synthesize and tune with micro delays. Fractal effects sound good, but only in the way of fidelity. Fractal doesn't gaf about emulating specific devices, save a very few select units. Especially the delays, fractal delays are half assed bulllollipop...none of them are actual bucket brigade algorithms, or analog, there is only ONE pitch shifting algorithm (where delay time alters feedback pitch), and that's the so called "tape" algorithm. It isn't tape at all, it's just digital delay, with user adjustable generic distortion and repeat equalization. Modulation effects recently got updated, but you will not get "the sound" of a device, you only get the "type" of sound those devices make, that you can then tune to preference. It's fun to tweak, but not as much fun as turning it on, loading a CE-1 and Memory Man block and having them ACTUALLY SOUND like they are supposed to, you will never ever ever get that with FAS effects. You get lots of horsepower and lots of capability with way too much frustration to make it worth it, if you just want to browse gear and jam. What you do get with FAS is all of two hundred something ACTUAL amplifiers, component by component actual recreations of the hardware, with obscene amounts of tweakability into the inner workings of the preamp and power amp. Using it as a preamp into a tube power amp, the preamps of all of the models are indistinguishable from the real things, like "holy lollipop, i now have ALL OF THE AMPLIFIERS". You get all of that for $2k, plus a boatload of LFOs and envelopes and pitch tracking that tracks better than the NSA.

you can do it with any delay block, feedback 100% with tails active, momentary footswitch on bypass state, hit the button, it grabs whatever is going through it, release button and it holds it forever... only problem is with the delay units there's no way to clear the buffer without turning down the feedback again manually. I really wish there was the setting to clear the delay buffers on bypass, while also somehow holding tails, that would make every delay the equivalent to that $300 freeze pedal... you could momentarially open a runaway oscillating modulating tape machine, feed it some little tidbit of noise, then get off of the footswitch while it runs away, then hit the switch again and it goes dead silent empty and starts again from scratch. If you want to stop the runway just tap the switch quick without playing ...2 hours later: ok so you can assign more than one function to a switch, try this, delay bypass on momentary FS1, delay feedback on momentary FS1, feedback inverted to min=100 max=0, so FS1 bypass state turns off the delay (with tails active) and turns up feedback to 100, holding whatever was in it to infinity. With tape modulation and distortion it gets real nice as it washes out. Hit the button to activate delay and grab something else, it puts the feedback at 0 whenever you turn the delay back on, it doesn't wipe the buffer all at once but it overwrites that section of the buffer for as long as you hold the button down, you can tap it real fast and grab noises and make a patchwork of insanity by tapping the button real fast and playing all over the place with noises and scratches and bends. (warning: preset makes noise by itself) I HAVEN'T HAD THIS MUCH FUN IN A LONG TIME Mars Page.hlx