codamedia

+1.... IMO, that says it all!

Certainly possible. I don't have an HX Effect anymore (upgraded to Helix) so I can't do a walk through, but it is very easy. Learn how to assign footswitches to effects manually, then simply assign the same footswitch to each effect you want it to control. Not only can the switch toggle multiple effects on/off, depending on the state of the effect (on or off) when you save the preset.... it can toggle between them turning one off while turning the other on.

I bought my HD500 used about 4 years ago. I'm a gigging player so I have used it a lot over those years.... and just recently (about 3 months back) delegated it to a backup role when I got a Helix. Issues? None that really matter. The power supply split in two (at the seem) so I glued it back together. One time it went into an infinite startup loop before a gig... turned out to be my Variax causing the problem, not the HD. The footswitches have been stomped on a lot... they are hanging in there - but I do notice the heavily used ones are not as responsive as they were. Totally expected in my opinion. That's all I can think of...

That doesn't tell you anything definitively. If you are plugged into the helix and hear noise, turn down the guitar. DID THE NOISE GO AWAY? NO: Then it could be the Helix YES: It's your guitar... regardless of whether or not it does it with your amp.

When you cycle through the tones, turn the volume on your guitar down to make sure the noise you hear is the actual model, not from your guitar.

Just to add one more thing about the tone you are chasing. These are studio productions, not raw amps you are hearing. Those tracks would have gone through an 1176 or an LA2A compressor during mixing. Once you get a better raw tone, try adding the Studio Compressor to the end of your chain to help refine it. Jason also has a video about that as well... based on the effects he ALWAYS has near the end of his chains for post production.

Just a few things to consider and possibly try ... You are correct, they don't use lot of gain, not in today's standards. However, you have created a mid scoop with those tone settings and Maiden (especially the song you reference) is very rich on mids. I'm not surprised that your single notes sound really thin with those settings... and although the rhythm might sound better, I would suggest it is artificially better. If you turn that tone up and add it to a mix, it will likely be boomy, brittle, and lack definition. Try this: Set all tone controls on the amp model to 5 (half way) then push the mids to about 7 or 8. Now adjust (up/down) the highs and lows as required. The louder you are, the less of those you will likely need. I'd also try experimenting with one of the 4x12 Marshall cabs, or the Park 4x12 instead of the Cali v30. Just remember... when you change a cabinet, don't just accept the previous amp settings... you may need to adjust them. On mic choice/placement/technique, check out this video from Jason about using the split x-over on cabinet.... it's a great technique that works well.

Is the VOX sending a stereo send (ie: 2 amp sends that need 2 IR's) or is the stereo field being created after the return? If it's the prior, you need to setup a 2nd paths.... the loop returns to path a, a return has to be added to path b for the output. Then run an IR on each path, and add your effects. Make sure your MERGE block (can be before, or after any "stereo" effects) is panned left/right to keep the signal stereo. If it's the later, just return the signal in the loop. Now spit the path with two IR's... one on path A, the other on path B. Add effects and merge as you would in example 1. This is irrelevant to the question... which is why I addressed the question first. But it's what I believe in... so I want to share it! I'm not a fan of running stereo live.. not through a PA. IMO.. it alienates the other half of the room. Only the sound tech (and a few other dead center) hears it the way it's suppose to be, everyone else gets a compromise. I don't understand the desire to accomplish this.

The setting I suggested was for the HD used as an amp modeler, into a power amp, into a 4x12 cabinet. You appear to be using the HD500 for EFFECTS ONLY into the front of a VOX AC15. That's a completely different approach. You tone need to start from your amp... not from the HD. I would run the HD500 in Studio Direct Mode, and don't use any amp/cab/mic modeling and don't use the global EQ. Get a good tone on your amp... Guitar to amp, nothing more. Plug in the HD 500 with NO EFFECTS turned on. Set the output to Instrument then turn up the master master until the guitar to amp is the same as it was in step one. It should be very high, if not full. Now add in each of the effects paying close attention to levels and tones. Make sure each effect gives you what you want, at the proper levels. It's just like setting up a standard pedal board when used this way. The trick is step two... making sure you have the HD volume set appropriately to start with so the amp doesn't get pushed to hard, or starved of input.

... and in this thread I'd be the frontman of that band - LOL!

As minor as it is, it can matter. Both types should work fine, but their will be a slight "delay" if you choose the wrong one. Instead of engaging when you PUSH, it will engage when RELEASED... and that can feel wrong to some people. There is also a possibility (very small) that the wrong choice could have a drastic effect. If it is normally in the "engage" position, it could trigger a "press and hold" type function... but I don't know if such a function exists on the Stomp :) IMO: It would be safest to get a definitive answer on this before spending any money on it. Sorry, I do not have that answer myself.

With mid/higher gain setups you need to refocus the EQ to get a solo to jump through the mix. This has been easily accomplished by many great players over the years by simply placing a mid focused overdrive before the amp, and engaging it for solo's. I just revisited "Revelations"... and that sounds like a classic JCM 800 with a Tube Screamer engaged on the solo to me. The Tube Screamer is not the only option, but it was one of the first and has been extremely popular over the years. It rolls off the lows and highs producing a "mid hump" when boosted. This provides a thicker and richer tone to single notes that pop through the mix. A TS has fallen out of vogue in recent years but it's still very effective and is likely what you heard with Iron Maiden and other groups of the era. Again, it's not the only option, but you can try it, just to see what type of effect it has on the solo tone. (hint:you want the tone of the TS, not the gain... keep the gain on the lower half of noon) Another trick of the era was a half cocked wah pedal. Nothing that moves... just a fixed frequency. This is actually very similar to the approach already mentioned, but with a little more focus which may or may not be what you are after.

Are you talking about the "Stack Power Amp ouput mode" that I mention in the post above? If so, what are you connecting to, what is your setup? If you are using that mode, why aren't you using any amp models?

You do it the same with with the POD.... I did look at this patch in HD Edit, but didn't load it on my HD500. If the volume is too high or too low when you engage the rat (the only overdrive in the patch) then you can adjust that with the Rats "output" level. It really should be that simple. If the patch itself is too loud or quiet compared to other patches you can adjust the volume it in the mixer block to match the other patches.

That would be me... sorry if I offended you, that's not my style! It's really difficult to convey intention and intent in a forum post - especially when the forum doesn't have working emoticons to use :) I was trying to help, not belittle. I'm sorry it came across as the latter.

Global Settings... Stack Power Amp Output! That will thicken your tones, and should solve the problem across all pre-sets. It's the EASIEST way to get betters tones from a setup like you have. Personally... I think there are better ways, but start there!

I thought you were asking if this would work? Now you need them for other things? If that's the case, try the AUX in.... you will need to set the HELIX input to AUX for this. I would then put a GAIN BLOCK in the first position and bring that up about 6db... you may even need a little more. This should bring the AUX to a similar input level as the Guitar Input would be.

The "save" is actually a separate button above that knob. As stated, that is actually the "Presets Knob/Set Lists Button" . It is convenient, but not essential to operation... as long as you don't need to change set lists on the fly, or save to a new preset location on the fly (both can be done with the editor online). The big question is.... how much damage is done to that area of the board. If just a knob is missing (shaft in tact) then you are getting a great deal! If the shaft is broken changing the pot is not a big deal... even if you can't do it yourself, a qualified tech can do it within an hour. BUT If the shaft is broken.... how, why, and how much damage could it have done to the surrounding area of the PCB when it happened. If there is more damage under the hood it could be cost prohibitive to repair. Just my 2 cents...

It might not be obvious, but yes - it stops the ACOUSTIC from blending into your electric patch. The XLR outputs always obey the LEFT/RIGHT rules set in the mixer. The 1/4" outputs collapse to MONO if BOTH are not plugged in. When you use a dummy plug on the 1/4" right out the 1/4" outputs obey the LEFT/RIGHT rules, but if you don't use a dummy plug on the right, everything (including your acoustic) will come out the left. Hope that makes sense. If not, please trust me :)

I always use Studio/Direct... Just avoid the use of any "cabs/mic" modeling when going into an amplifier. Either don't use an amp model, or use only the pre-amp version of the model.

I don't see any mention of using STEREO effects in this opening post... therefore I am presuming you don't need stereo output for anything, just a SINGLE OUT for electric to the amp, and XLR out to the PA for the Acoustic. This is how I used to do it when I had an HD500 (note, you can reverse left and rights if you want, I'm just listing them here to make things clear) YOU MUST place the MIXER BLOCK as the last item in the chain, otherwise any effect following MAY merge into the other tracks. Connect XLR Right to the PA System Connect 1/4" LEFT to your amp *** Important ***.... Put a dummy plug into 1/4" RIGHT. This prevent the acoustic from merging to mono on the 1/4" outputs. On your acoustic patches pan both channels on the mixer block to RIGHT On your electric patches pan both channels on the mixer block to LEFT NOTE: If you want to run the acoustic into AUX in... just set your acoustic patches to use AUX input, and your electric patches to use GUITAR input. If you want to have separate feeds and effects within a single preset "all of the above applies", but the following is also needed.... Plug the acoustic into the AUX in... not through an A/B box as you mention you are doing. Create TWO DISCREET paths in the HD... PATH 1 for your ELECTIC (choose the guitar input) PATH 2 for the acoustic (Choose AUX input) remember to pan those mixer blocks at the end.

Sorry, late to reply but the behavior you detail is exactly what I see with Windows 10 using Presonus Studio One. This suggests that it is Windows 10 specific... According to "Brue58ski" Windows 7 only needs an initial activation then runs fine when offline. On Windows 10 you need to be online whenever you START your session, but then you can take the system offline to do your work.

GLOBAL SETTINGS > MIDI TEMPO > PAGE 2 > TEMPO You can set the BPM to be GLOBAL, PER SNAPSHOT or PER PRESET If you set that to PER PRESET you get exactly what you want. Even when set to preset, you still have the ability to tap in a new tempo if the timing drifts, or the song is started in the wrong tempo. Now, if you are asking if this is a good idea? It's great if the drummer is on a click and your tempos are stable, but I sure would't count on it for the reasons you are asking. The LED drifts from the actual clock. Many have complained about this... and some just turn the light off altogether as it really bothers them that it drifts. The actual tempo clock stays stable, it's the LED that drifts. In short, don't rely on the LED for timing. If the drummer cannot see it, you can't even get a reliable count in for the song. It's almost impossible to follow an LED when playing... although it's not a bad way to start a song in the ballpark.

FYI: I use my returns as additional instrument inputs regularly... depending on what I bring to the gigs. What do you mean by "completely silent"? Do you mean it isn't working for you, or do you mean it's noiseless...which I assume is a good thing? Is the Helix up to date? If not have you tried updating the firmware and/or doing a complete factory reset to see if the problem goes away? Why? Many years ago I got a BOSS GT-8 for next to nothing because it was just a horrendous noise on all presets. Nothing looked out of line in the global/master settings so I reinitialized the unit. It actually fixed the problem and the problem never returned for as long as I owned the unit.

I'm not sure I understand your "A" question... do you mean HD Edit, or Workbench? I address Workbench below with my "warning". B: If you use a VDI Cable the HD500 can power the Variax, and change the patches in the Variax automatically. In the HD500x global settings you will set the VARIAX MODEL to "per preset". Then you can load a different model in any preset. C: Older Variax models have to the the tunings baked into a patch. The tunings cannot be altered separately. This is accomplished by storing (on the guitar) the same patch with an alternate tuning. With the HD500x, you also need to double your preset. One preset will call the normal tuned guitar, the other can call the altered tuned guitar. Of course, you can always access the altered tuned guitar from the guitar switches itself. WARNING! (this may be what you were asking in question A) The original Workbench Software that the older Variax guitars requires to create altered tuning, other modifications and patch management DOES NOT WORK with the HD500x. You won't be able to connect the Variax to the computer through the HD, you will need the Workbench interface, or an older POD for that connection. The HD500 worked, but not the HD500x.