jabak

When I bought my Helix i was in a similar situation. Never looked back. The Helix is perfect for metal-in-a-small-room when paired with headphones, studio monitors or even a pair of decent computer speakers. I've created the best metal/thrash tones i've ever had using my helix. Period. I got my helix from Thomann as well. I added a pair JBL LSR 305 studio monitors including iso foam pads: https://www.thomann.de/dk/jbl_lsr_305_bundle.htm?ref=search_prv_1 Studio Monitors is in my opinion the best option for small sized rooms. The 305's is loud... like in really really loud when cranked up. I do not see any advantage in getting larger powered speakers. In a small room like from 10-20 m2 it won't make a difference in your scenario. Which studio monitors should you get. Well there's a lot of quality monitors for less money than the LSR 305's so finding a pair for any budget wont be a problem. Regarding pick-ups. The short answer is yes. I have guitars with active pick-ups and passive pick-ups. And they all sound different when using the same patch (with input pad set to auto). Headrush vs. Helix. Never user a Headrush. The only thing I can tell you is that the Helix is incredibly easy to use. Easy to use is not the same as easy to get decent tones. Like all other modelling gear/software is takes some effort to get good tones. It's just that the Helix sounds so much better out of the box when compared to older modelers. So you kinda get a head start.

In the end I got a Solar Guitar 7 string from my wife for my birthday. What a nice surprise. Haven't looked back. It took me a couple of days getting used to the nature of a 7 string but from then on i have not touched the old 6 string Ibanez.

Found it on Spotify and 'Bridges burn' was there too. Luckily I'm into the style of music. Really sick tones and awesome tracks. Keep'em coming.

Also used by a few, me included : JBL LSR 305

Ditto. And I'm still waiting for the next "Sound like" tutorial where you do the 'Practice what you preach' by testament tone :o)

No motives at all. When I wanted to get a Helix she said the exact same thing: just go get it. I did. When I wanted to get a pair of studio monitor the story repeated it self. The only thing really holding me back is me and my always present doubts.

Actually the other day my wife said to me: playing the guitar is your hobby, you love it. if you wan't a new guitar then just buy one. I tend to agree.

Thanks for all your input. Much appreciated. I decided to go for a new high quality 6 string guitar to replace my current mid range 6 string. That will be my main axe. Down the road I will add a mid range 7 string guitar to my collection.

Awesome!

Found a review of the variax standard that was published recently. If the palm mute sound in this review is a rough representation of what you can expect from a variax then the variax is a no go.

Thanks for clarifying. I think I can live the aesthetics of a strat. I think they are quite nice looking guitars. I'm more worried about the feeling. But if the guts are the same it won't hurt trying one out I guess. That is if I decide to go down the variax road. It's tempting for sure.

Thank you for all the good advice. I think I will go for a 6 string of good quality and sell my old Hamer. That will cover me well in most of my playing. To address the drop tunings or alt. tunings I'm still considering what will suit me the best. A variax or a 7 string. Either way my Ibanez will have to go. I think I can get around $450-$500 for my Ibanez and I plan to throw in an extra $200-300 to get the variax or 7 string. If I decide to go for a variax which one is best for metal within my budget around $700? Just to be clear I live in Europe so prices are quite high on some brands. A JTV-69 LPB are way over my budget as it will set me back $900 while a Variax Standard VW is within my budget at around $650.

I agree regarding the tremolo. My old Hamer is equipped with a tremolo but i never really found it very useful. And messing around with the floyd rose was a nightmare. My next guitar, the Ibanez Iron label, came with a fixed bridge and I've been happy with that. How come that a 7 string will mess up my technique? Could you elaborate on that? Variax is a no go for me because of the infamous palm mute issue. I just don't want to take the chance.

I'm not necessarily a big fan of more stuff either. To be honest I never use the Hamer guitar. It's just that it was my first 'quality guitar' and when I think of it maybe I'm being sentimental about it. Ultimately want I want is to have guitars that I use regularly. So maybe the Hamer got to go in order to make room for a better guitar that I will actually use. The JEM7V is a way better guitar than my two guitars combined. So the reason for for me thinking about getting a new guitar could be boiled down to me not being happy with what I already got. Maybe I should think of quality rather than quantity. Regarding the dilemma about 6 or 7 seven my main motivation for buying a seven string is alternative tuning and drop tuning. I never play stuff that requires alt. or drop tuning but I wonder if it has to do with me being short of a guitar to dedicate to that stuff. Btw: I'm considering buying a solar guitar like this: https://www.solar-guitars.com/produit/sample-product/a1-6et-white-matte/ or https://www.solar-guitars.com/produit/sample-product/electric-guitar-a1-7-et/

For a long time I've have considered buying a new electric guitar. I'm the happy owner of an old Hamer Slammer Series, a fairly new Ibanez Iron Label, an electric acoustic and a 5 string bass guitar. All the guitars are 6 string guitars. The thing is I'm having second thoughts. Do I absolutely need a new guitar? No not really. Would it be nice to add another one to my growing collection. Yes! Should it be another 6 string or should I take the plunge and get a 7 string. I'm not even sure about that. So how about you guys. Why did you buy your second guitar and beyond?

Happening to me as well.

How about some of the early Testament stuff like "The new order" or even better "Practice what you preach" So good, very honest sounding and so overlooked. Peterson and skolnicks sound was quite unique at the time. Especially their clean sound.

Keep'em coming. Liked your Petrucci video too.

Thanks for sharing. I'll give this a try later.

That is an incredibly awesome tone! Thanks for sharing. Great playing by the way....

To avoid any pitfalls the following was my setup for a long time: Guitar->Helix->XLR->Powered Monitor(XLR) Helix->USB->Computer (to record/helix editor) Computer->Built-in audiocard->mini-jack out->split to two jack->Powered monitor(jacks) It enables me to play back whatever audio i want from my computer while keeping the editor open at all times. Due to some unwanted side effects like low volume from both sources I adjusted it a tiny bit a while ago. I simply threw in a mixer in the setup and everything is fine now. Guitar->Helix->XLR->Mixer(XLR) Helix->USB->Computer (to record/helix editor) Computer->Built-in audiocard->mini-jack out->split to two jack->Mixer(jacks) Mixer->XLR->Powered Monitors.

3 Sigma audio offer all three as IR's....

How is the Bass bundle? Thinking about picking that one up too.

I gave their Hi-Gain bundle a shot and I liked them very much. Nothing new or revolutionary. Just the very solid 3SA quality that I have become used to. They never let you down. I've created most of the presets I use on a daily basis but I do like to get inspiration from the pros. Glenn Delaune's stuff is very advanced, Fremen has taken another route, a more simplistic approach but nevertheless very good stuff. 3SA's presets are very simple and very good sounding. Their Cali Lead is my new favorite.

Did you add anything special to your patch besides the IR block? I'm trying to figure out what's the best way to use the 3SA acoustic IR's. Right now my signal chain/patch is pretty simple: classical guitar w/piezo -> Helix Aux -> volume block -> 3SA IR -> reverb. I've also tried to add a pre-amp block after the volume block to color the sound and it works well. Also I'm not sure if the reverb should go before or after the IR block. I cant really decide what I like the best.