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robbieb61

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Posts posted by robbieb61

  1. The Helix tuner is the first and ONLY tuner that I've ever had to even CONSIDER whether I "like" it or not. 
    That should say it all right there. A guitar tuner has always been a "no-brainer". They just WORK.  
    The fact that there are threads like this and endless debate kinda shows that the Helix one is falling short.

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  2. I don't know about the older ones. But the newest version of the G-Force tuners work fantastic. 
    I strum all the strings at once and boom...it tunes right up. Accurate and fast. I love it! 
    It also has ways to program in open tunings. Pretty cool. 
    I love this HP series Les Paul Standard. It has titanium zero nut, titanium bridge saddles, cryogenically treated frets (never need a fret job)...and a "soloist" style neck.  I have the mojave fade finish on mine (actual old school nitrocellulose lacquer finish). 
    Anyway, just thought I'd post that to interject some humor (just spend $3,600 and problem solved! lol)

  3. I solved the entire Helix tuner problem. It was easy! 
    Here's my solution and it will work for everyone: 

    I took $3,600 and bought a Gibson Les Paul Standard HP with the G-Force robo-tuners.  Now I'm always in tune. 

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  4. I'm getting a monster fat sound...and I don't touch the globals at all.  BUT...I moved away from going into an amp (I'm assuming you are going out of the Helix and into the effects return of your Blackstar to access straight to the power amp), and now I use a BOSE L1 FRFR setup.
    I also use an IR instead of the Helix cab. And I put a High Cut at 5k on the IR

  5. changing the tuner input from "Multi" to "Guitar" has helped a lot of us.

    Yep, that is definitely the thing that makes the most difference in the tuner. 

     

    I actually used it tonight as I was re-stringing my Ibanez Prestige. I have been using my Les Paul HP with the G-Force robo-tuners exclusively the last couple of months so I haven't had to deal with the tuner at all.

    But it worked pretty well this evening with the Ibanez. 

     

    Ever since I changed it from "Multi" to "Guitar" on the tuner input it has gotten a lot better. :)

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  6. Welcome to the Helix brother!

    This thing is amazing. I even went all the way in with FRFR speaker and dropped my entire tube rig a long time ago. The sound I am getting is incredible. Enjoy!

  7. I used the Helix cabs for the first year and a half. 
    I just assumed that all the talk about IR's was nonsense.

    Then I tried a real IR.  

    Now it's all I use. Got the Ownhammer Marshall "Checkerboard" cab 4X12 IR package. 

    Messed around with a lot of the files...all of them sounded great. Finally settled on the one "Summary" IR file they have. 
    Now my Bose FRFR and Helix sound like a freakin' chest thumpin', mid-range growling, articulate Marshall cab blaring at full volume at me. And of course since it's The Helix...it does that at any volume. :)

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  8. Well damn it! I've been so happy with the Archon Clean for cleans and Archon lead for crunch and rhythm.  Just sounded incredible for the last few months.

    And then I read this thread today. 

    Started screwing around with the Cartogropher... and now I have my "New" amp.  
    Sounds freakin' awesome. :)

  9. You need to stop being in love with your Helix and use it for what it's designed to do:  Pick up girls by playing guitar. 
    THEN you won't need to wish your Helix Happy Valentines Day anymore...you'll have a bevy of hot women in the limo!  lol

  10. I'm kinda hoping that now that they have mastered the art of modeling amps with Helix...that perhaps they can turn that gained knowledge towards the cabs. :)
    I love my Redwire Marshall 4x12 IR's...but I'd rather use a well-crafted cab that's included in Helix. 

  11. I know that the part about them having more experience in modeling with the Helix is true. 
    And I know that most people get better and better at doing something the more they do it. :)

    My guess is that going back and trying to make the first generation of amps "better" is probably way at the bottom of the list of things to do. 

  12. I think they've definitely gotten "better" at modeling with the Helix technology as time went on.

    When I first got my Helix back in Oct. 2015, my "go to" amp was the Rectifier. It sounded pretty damn good. Not exactly like a "real" one mind you...but it was nice and warm and I was able to get enough sustain and distortion without the use of any pedal effects.

    Fast forward to now...the newer amp models blow away the Rectifier. 
    And no, in real life they do not.  They might sound different, and some a little "better" to different people's ears.  But a rectifier in real life can stand up to most any amp for distortion and tone.

    So I would think it only makes sense that as the L6 team has had more and more experience with modeling for the Helix...that they have gotten better and better at it. :)
     

    My "go to" these days for crunch and lead is the Archon amp model. Sings like a bird on leads and crunches nice and heavy for classic rock sounds. 
    Makes the old Rectifier model sound pale in comparison. And I doubt very seriously that there is THAT big of a difference between a Rectifier and an Archon in "real life" as far as tonal quality.

  13. Those church gigs seem to be prevalent among a lot of members here. 
    I don't see anything wrong with taking whatever gigs are available.

    Wasn't that long ago that live music RULED and there were literally dozens of clubs in any given area with live bands performing. These days, you're lucky to have even one or two within 30 miles. 

    I've been lucky and still get to perform in smoky bars (Vegas baby) where my feet stick to the floor and there's a hint of urine in the air. lol  Now THAT is rock-n-roll.  heh-heh

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  14. a few ms is nothing.

     

    A few seconds and I think you have a technique issue, and I see that too much.

     

    That, btw, is one of the reasons I abandoned FR terms about 25 years ago and never looked back.

    I understand what you're thinking...but there really isn't any need for "technique" when using a guitar tuner. Yes, I've seen you post about using the neck pickup and rolling off the tone...that just shouldn't be necessary to use a guitar tuner.

     

    I have used a lot of different tuners professionally over the decades. None of them required me to do any of that. And they all worked great. Fast, silent, accurate.  

    Those three things were figured out in the 1970's for onstage guitar tuners. No jumping through hoops or extra stuff required.

     

    And as I have said to you in other tuner threads...some of my guitars don't even HAVE a tone control. lol

    For instance...my Floyd Rose Redmond Series Model K guitar. No tone control. 

    And plenty of guitarists get rid of their tone controls (bypass them) because they want less wiring in between the pickup and their amp. 

     

    So no...I don't think that any tuner out there needs to have you use some sort of skill or technique to tune a guitar.  The Helix tuner is unfortunately the weak aspect of the unit. I love everything else about it. And I don't worry about it anymore as I said before. I was just using my Boss tuner. And now I eliminated that too because I just got myself a 2018 Les Paul HP Standard. And it has the Gibson G-Force "Robo-Tuners" on it. So now all I have to do is push a button on my guitar, strum all the strings at once...and watch it tune itself in a second. :)

     

    But it doesn't change that the tuner on the Helix has problems. And new people on the forum are always going to ask about it. Hopefully some of the techniques you have talked about can help them use the Helix tuner more accurately...but I'm thinking that most pro players who are playing live gigs will just end up using an external tuner for fast and accurate tuning between songs.

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  15. btw, all due respect, I think this tuning technique might cause problems. (Not sure if you actually tune this way, tho).

     

    If you tune based on the later decay of the note (in some cases I hear guys tune after the note has been playing for several seconds), when most notes you play on guitar are probably at the attack, you'll end up wacky out of tune anyway.

     

    This is why I keep plucking the note over and over and tune to the attack. Maybe that's why I have fewer problems than others do? I don't know.

    It's a floyd rose guitar with fine tuners. You literally can't pluck the string and get to the fine tuners to tune without letting a few milliseconds go by. 

    No problems with any other tuner I have. 

    No problems with the tuner I had on other Line 6 products either: HD 500 tuned great for instance. And every tuner I've ever used since the late 1970's. 

    Most tuners needed a few milliseconds to "grab" the note anyway. That seems to be the problem with Helix in my opinion...it never stabilizes and zeroes in on the note, just keeps jumping about.

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  16. Sure man. If you think you were just being helpful...then go ahead. And if you think I'm the jerk for getting sick and tired of people getting slammed for asking about the tuner...that's fine too. I just want to have a community of like-minded people, but I should know better than to think a group of guitarists are all gonna get along. lol 
    It sure as hell never worked that way in "real life", so I don't know what I was thinking...  :)

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  17. Far be it from me to tell anyone what they can or can't discuss, but I will say it seems to me that at this point we have collected enough data to determine the effectivenes of the "Endless Moaning" approach to resolving the tuner issues.

    You're missing the point...I've owned my Helix since Oct. 2015 (the first shipment from Sweetwater). So yeah...I know the tuner sucks.

    BUT...if a guy buys a Helix tomorrow and starts working with it...and then he seeks out this forum to find answers, he doesn't need your "expertise" to tell him he is "endless moaning". 

     

    You aren't the only person on this forum and everyone's situation is different. Our job here is to be HELPFUL to our fellow musicians. Not make snide remarks about "endless moaning".  

     

    Think about that for a second...you just got your Helix. You're excited. Then you find the forum full of fellow Helix users. Now you are really excited. And then you post up about the tuner (first time ever) and BOOM...you get a smartass remark from somebody being a jerk. 

    It's not cool.

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  18. Pretty sure everyone has "gotten on with it". And nobody has been "triggered". 

    But posts like yours are what cause ill will on this forum. 
    People buy a Helix and are understandably wanting to know why it has a crappy tuner. New people buy them and they bring it up...and then immediately get insulted by people who THINK they are somehow the judge of what people can ask about on this forum.

    Think about that a second. There's no need for insulting language and smart-aleck videos that make you feel smug about yourself. 
    Real musicians that play professionally at gigs that require fast, silent tuning NEED a tuner that is stable. 

    What they don't need are know-it-alls trying to tell them what they should or shouldn't do. 
    There's nothing wrong with discussing this problem. 

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