codamedia

He wants us to hear the difference for our selves... without telling us what the difference is as to not set any pre-conceived notions. To test your theory... simply use individual amp/cab blocks. Once you do that, the channel volume CANNOT have anything to do with the cab block. I don't understand why you are adding "stereo gain blocks" (rather than mono gain blocks) after the amp/cab block.... can you explain your decision in that?

Thanks for sharing this video.... he's got a great touch on the guitar, love his playing. I haven't tried that type of placement with a TS, but I will now :)

Understood... which is why I included this in my post.... I hope the Sweetwater solution works out for you so you can enjoy a trouble free LT.

Out of curiosity, have you ever owned a Wah pedal? They work the exact same way. The rubber provides a stop point that stops the switch from accidentally engaging and needs to be deliberately "leaned into" to engage it. These are not meant to be engaged with hands, they are meant to be leaned into with body weight. If your pedal has an alignment issue that's one thing, and I'm sure Line 6 will correct that for you. But if the complaint is that the rubber is stopping the actuator from reaching the switch easily... that's the intent. I have never felt like my LT requires any more pressure than a standard cry baby or vox wah. Same with my HD500 or my X3 Live before it.

It sounds to me like Logic may be sending, or relaying MIDI messages to the Helix that are not expected. There is a simple solution that doesn't require the completed disabling of MIDI on the Helix. Change the DEFAULT MIDI channel to anything OTHER THAN 1 which is often the system default (I believe this is default on the HELIX) 10 which is often the standard default for drums OMNI.... which listens to EVERY channel. This setting is found in "Global Settings > Midi/Tempo> MIDI Base Channel" Now when you need MIDI on the Helix, you have to explicitly set the channels and commands as required on both devices which is a good practice to get into anyway.

Without anything explicitadly saying it didn't have command center, I would have assumed it was included. I usually look through a manual before buying something, but an "exclusion" is hard to pick up on. I'm not in the market for a Stomp... but I had considered it when I went from the HX Effects to the LT. I would have been very disappointed has I gone to the stomp. I've added my vote for it...

Compare would be a nice feature.... If you have a spare block, what I do is just turn off the original effect and experiment with the new one. It's easy to compare back and forth, without losing your original settings. When you are ready to commit... just remove the block you don't want any longer.

Me as well :) @marvio... can you post a youtube clip (high quality) of a song in the genre that you consider to have "hair" and one that does not. Maybe that will help some of us to understand this better. I think we are all interested in helping, we're just having a hard time conceptualizing this.

Not important, but your title is misleading.... it's as low as $70, not as low as $30 Great deal none the less.

@marvio.... out of curiosity, does the "hair" you talk about subtly surround the note, seemingly regardless of gain levels? I just remembered this thread, and wonder if the amps deep settings of bias/x-bias/ripple etc... might be able to help you fine tune it a little. https://line6.com/support/topic/41143-strange-background-distortion-sizzeling/

The OP has expressed that he was after that type of effects with his setting, so that make it very subjective. Since I don't seem to understand what the OP is having problems with, it's not really fair for me to try and comment how to get it. (I hope that makes sense) That's an interesting point... however I would point out that currently with the Valve Driver (and the settings of it) he is doing something very different. He has removed the lows and is pushing a lot of additional highs, and a generally thinner/brighter tone into the Plexi model. Don't worry about it :) I wish I did understand so I could help a little better.

Yes - we obviously have completely different idea's on how to express or relate to the world "hair" :) That's what makes identifying the problem quite difficult. Out of curiosity, have you tried turning ON the PAD for the guitar input? Maybe there are some artifacts related to input gain that are bothering you?

As I said earlier, I couldn't figure out how you made a Plexi sound like that... now I know :) Are your Valve Driver settings correct? If so, there is your problem.... turn it off, or at least adjust it differently. I loaded up your valve driver and amp settings into my Helix. For a cabinet I just ran a STOCK CAB... the 4x12 Greenback 25. I didn't adjust anything in the cab block. I didn't bother loading up any noise gates since in theory, they shouldn't impact the tone. In this sample... the first 16 seconds is the amp/cab on it's own and the latter half is with the Valve Driver engaged. Notice how warm the AMP really is on it's own... that's what a Plexi generally sounds like. Notice how "Hairy" it gets with the Valve Driver engaged. No Hair - Hair.mp3 I'm not suggesting the amp sound is perfect in this example... I just loaded your settings to show you what was going on.

Ok... I'll bite :) How many blocks should it have? To give you the same amp options as a Helix the choices should be... Full Amp w/Cab Full Amp no Cab PreAmp no Cab Cabinet Block IR Block Let's toss in the option of parallel amps and/or parallel cabs and/or parallel IR's. Regardless, you need the ability to do 2 paths. What about reverb... most amps have reverb, shouldn't this one? Better include a few reverbs to choose from, and a block to put it in. Tremolo? Hey... lots of amps have that. I think it would be an instant feature request if it wasn't included out of the gate. That will need a block. Let's not forget the effects loop. Many amps have those as well. That's another block! To take full advantage you will need 7 - 8 blocks, but could likely get by with 6. That product already exists, albeit with a few extra features. It's called the HX STOMP! I can't imagine they can make it any cheaper just by crippling the software to eliminate most effects and the tuner.

That's the EQ of the overall production... not just the guitar tone. I get where you are going with it, but it's not what the guitar is doing. It would mean a lot more if we had the isolated guitar tracks to hear.... What bothers me about both mixes, is the sorely lacking midrange around 500.... both lines look like a giant loudness switch to me.

Nothing comes to mind, but I'm sure there is something out there.

Two problems required two different solutions IF A PIEZO IS DYING or DEAD! Try cleaning it. The ground is make between the saddle and bridge (those two little set screws).... give that area a good cleaning to make sure there is good contact. You may need to buy a replacement. If they are not available through Line 6 you can try and contact LR Baggs (via phone or email) and ask them if you can buy an X-Insert for a Variax. It is LR Baggs that makes them.... and I've heard some people say they have been very helpful in providing replacements. If it is proprietary to a Variax, then their support will also dry up. The other alternative is to replace all the saddles with a Graphtech Ghost set. There is plenty of info online about that surgery. STRING VOLUME DIFFERENCES The only way around that is with the Workbench software which you must connect to using a Line 6 device. A Variax Interface is one solution, but a used POD XT Live, X3 LIVE or HD500 (not a 500x) will also work fine. A used XT Live or X3 LIVE is likely similar to a new Variax Interface... and HD500 would likely be quite a bit more.

I'm pretty sure the OP is asking about controlling the amps "channel switching", not plugging into two separate inputs. IIRC... the HD500 does not have a CV output which is required for channel switching on most amps. It can send a midi signal, but the Hot Rod Deluxe doesn't have midi.

I never think of a Plexi as "hairy" so there we go... complete differences in opinions. I would think of the Plexi as a warmer amp, and a JCM 800 as a more "hairy" amp. That said... your samples are what I would expect when you talk about hair, but I'm surprised you coaxed that type of a sound out of a Plexi model :) IMO... most of this is can be corrected in cabinet/mic/position settings or IR choice. Can you share your plexi patch so I can get a closer look? If you used an IR please don't share it unless it's a free one.... just share the patch. I'll be changing out the cab or IR anyway.

Your patch sounds pretty darn good in the video... I don't have any direct suggestions, but I'd like to point you to a video that helped me setup my acoustic tones when I got a Helix. In the video, Ritchie uses a Variax.... but the "general approach" works great for regular acoustics as well. NOTE: The general approach of the video is over by the 3:45 mark... .... then he heads off into "variax specifics" later in the video, you can ignore those. This is a similar chain to every acoustic instrument I own, from my J-45, my classical, my dobro, my 5 string banjo, my mandolin, and all of my variax acoustic instruments as well. I just adjust a little for each instrument.

I do wish my quotes would not be taken out of context from another thread and inserted here. This is a very different question than I was referring to in that other thread. If it helped you great, but it really has no relevance here. For the record (and more appropriate to this thread)... I often ran my HD500 (now my Helix) into the power amp input on a Peavey Bandit 112 loaded with a full range speaker. A poor mans FRFR, but by no means a real FRFR. I run the output at LINE LEVEL into the power amp in (you will NOT hurt the amp), then use the volume control on the unit to adjust for whatever volume I require. That was tricky with an HD500 because the volume controlled every output, therefore effecting the signal to the FOH. With the Helix I can keep them separated from the volume control.

Separate the volume control from the FOH. You don't want the feed to the house changing every time you adjust the volume for yourself on stage. There could be multiple issues at play. The QSC you own is an 8".... that won't provide a lot of depth on a stage and may not be able to project the sound you want as you turn up. If that is what's happening then that is just the limit of the speaker itself. Another issue some people have is when they prepare their sounds at lower volumes then turn up. You should always prepare your sounds at stage volume then turn down as required. If it is the HELIX you are turning up from "noon to 2" make sure you are not clipping the input on the speaker. If you are... you need to adjust the signal chain levels appropriately - for the loudest situation you will be in.

It's too bad Fishman doesn't release an IR version of the AURA and in particular for you, the JD (Jerry Douglas) AURA. They call them something different (sound images, or something like that), but essentially they are IR's in a hardware box. If you own one of those boxes you can create some really nice IR's from them, but there is nothing available for download. Here is something you might want to try. It's a little outside the box, but it works well for me. Glenn DeLaune sells a BANJO patch that includes a custom made banjo IR that is surprisingly nice. The patch with IR is just $7 on his site (https://www.glenndelaune.com/helix-patches.htm). The IR works as it should with the patch... but I also apply it to my 5 string banjo patch and my resonator patch. I blend the IR lightly and find it adds a sparkle to my resonator that I can't get from EQ alone.

It may or may not... but I'd be more worried about it not starting up one day. It only takes a moment to log into support and open a ticket.

It's never easy deciphering a json document compared to actually loading a patch, but a couple things caught my eye... The wah is in Block 1, and at no point in that preset is Block 1 engaged. Not when loaded, and not in any snapshot It is set to be controlled by controller 1.... but not assigned to any buttons. Also, Block 1 "overthresh" is set to false... that indicates to me that the controller cannot auto engage the effect. I guess my big question is... how are you turning the wah on when it appears (in the json document) that nothing is assigned to turn it on?