rd2rk

What's a headstrong?

So you came here to whine about it without providing the details we'd need to give you the help which you feel that L6 has cruelly refused to provide you? So sad. FWIW - nobody from L6 hangs out here. We are users, just like you, who choose to make an effort to help other users. If you take a deep breath and provide full details of your problem, MAYBE we can help, but NOBODY wants to hear attitude. In the immortal words of Sgt Friday - "Just the facts, ma'am!"

I forget how it used to be, but they changed it to make it easier and more flexible. I use CommandCenter a LOT, mostly for controlling DAWs and plugins, but also for controlling my Catalyst amp. Once you've learned the (slightly convoluted) rules, it makes total sense to do it this way. My only wish is that, instead of every other SS using a set of defaults for that command type, even if the command type has to remain the same, the default should be DO NOTHING!

When asking for help, it's useful to know which unit you're using. If you're using HXS, check Global Settings>Ins/Outs>Headphone Monitors should = Main L/R. If you're using Helix it should = Multi. Try different headphones. Assuming that's not the problem and you haven't started adding a MONO Block after your stereo FX, you may need to perform a factory reset. BACKUP FIRST!

Read this: Recording Levels: Digital Recording | Should you be Tracking at -18 dBFS? (decibelpeak.com)

Admitting up front that I'm NOT a "golden ears" tone-hound kind of player, I haven't used a 3rd party IR since 3.5 was released. I just hope that they're busy shooting all of the other cabs that weren't in this release!

So, Customtone should include code to parse the preset for the IR name and insert it into the listing? It is the responsibility of the user who uploaded the preset to provide that info, and a comments area is provided for that purpose. That said, it WOULD be helpful if the Customtone landing page included the info that IRs won't upload. Of course, half the people who upload presets to Customtone are too lazy to type in ANY information AT ALL about their glorious creations, so there's that.

Nobody from L6 hangs out here. Go here: https://line6.ideascale.com/c/ Do a search for Mesa and/or Triple rectifier and vote for all of them.

Folks who post tones that include IRs without specifying what the IR is are wasting everybody's time. Unless the poster provided a contact you're S.O.L. Try some of your faves for the genre. Good Luck!

No. Happy New Year!

Looks to me like somebody will get a great deal and somebody else will get fired.

So it is! Something I never thought to do so never looked for it. Despite having this thing for 6 years, There's still stuff to learn!

An IR, by definition, is the sound of a MIC'd cab. The MIC is baked in. The Helix cabs, old and new, are essentially IRs. The OLD Cabs are basic IRs EQ'd to account for differences in applied MICs. The NEW Cabs are straight IRs. Each change in MIC is a different IR of the same cab. The only time the Powercab's MIC emulations have any effect is when used with the Powercab's speaker emulations, and they are ONLY applied at the XLR Outs. When using an IR/Cab in the Helix signal chain the Powercab should be set to FLAT STEREO or one of the LF settings - LF Flat (LF Driver EQ'd to be FLAT) or LF RAW (NO EQ on the LF Driver). When using FLAT STEREO (FRFR) or USER IR you can take out a bit of "fizz" by either lowering the LF TRIM setting (lowers the volume of the HF Driver) or by using the HF parameter in Powercab the same way you'd use it on an IR/Cab Block loaded on Helix. EDIT: HF Trim is a SYSTEM setting. If you change it, it affects the way the speaker emulations sound, as their sound is a result of changes applied to the Coaxial (HF) drivers. Unless you're using Speaker Emulations or USER IRs, the signal at the Powercab XLR Outs should be the same as the signal at the Helix Outs. If you're using the Powercab SYSTEM DEFAULTS, whatever processing the Powercab is applying to the signal is applied at the XLR Outs. You might want to check that setting. It's possible to use the Speaker Emulations or USER IRs on the Powercab while using Helix IRs/Cabs for FOH. You place the Helix IR/Cab Block at the end of the signal chain, pull it down to split the path, pull down the MIX Block to complete the split, then set the Main Path to whichever Outputs you're using for the Powercab (digital or 1/4") and the Output on the split path with the Helix IR/Cab block is set to XLR for FOH. In this configuration the Powercab's XLR Outs are NOT used. In either configuration you should use the Volume knob on the Powercab for your stage volume while leaving the BIG KNOB on the Helix either MAXED or DISABLED (same effect - Unity Out). The Volume Knob on the Powercab does NOT affect the Powercab XLR Out level when using the Powercab XLR Outs. For clarity I'll repeat what I said above - the L6 Link Control function is inconsistent. In the Powercab Tab of HX Edit, set REMOTE to OFF (the setting is Global to all presets) to prevent L6 link from screwing with your results. Use MIDI and CommandCenter to make changes on the Powercab. Sorry if the above repeats stuff you already know and I hope my explanations are clear. It is, after all New Year's Day and I didn't get much sleep last night. Happy New Year!

Hmm, maybe this is something strange going on in your configuration. In my PC212+ Natural sounds different, in the way that all the emulations sound different from one another, but not horrible. Or, we might just have different ears. :-)

Just a note on what DD said - the "Modern" PA cabs he's referring to have built in DSP to fine tune the cabs to your specific situation and the room and are professional quality (as opposed to the cheaper Headrush/ Behringer variety). They are also in your price range, so well worth checking out. OTOH, as I said above, depending on the wattage, don't automatically sell your Spider short.

Again FWIW - A speaker designed for use with a modeler (Spyder, Mustang, Katana, Catalyst etc) will be a flatter, more full range speaker than a traditional guitar speaker (V30, M25, C90 etc) and will likely sound better with a wider variety of modeled amps without the artificial highs of a FRFR repurposed PA cab with HF driver. With a flatter, more full range speaker (designed for modelers) you can often use a cab emulation/IR to good advantage. For instance, I'm currently using a Catalyst100. The speaker is designed to sound great with the 6 stock amps which vary from low to high gain. When I use my Helix into the FX return it sounds great with some amps, not so great with others. Last night I was playing around with the new Vitriol high gain amp (Peavey Invective) and decided that while the stock Catalyst wide range speaker did not sound all that good, the Helix MB V30 cab sounded really good through that speaker. With your stated budget in mind, see if you can find a store with a good return policy that you can get a L6 PC112+ from. Some people have a real hate for them, some love them. I have a PC212+ that sounds great when you find the right combination of settings - turning down the HF Driver with IRs, speaker emulations that you might not think of (Celestion Blue with Fenders for instance), RAW speaker (it's an Eminence after all) etc. The PC112+ has all the same options as the PC212+ except stereo, and when configured CORRECTLY gets REALLY loud, but still sounds good at low volumes.

Some additional considerations - FRFR (full range flat response) is mostly a meaningless term - it doesn't exist ITRW. At least, not in any speaker that common musicians can afford. Most FRFR speakers are actually just repurposed PA speakers such as the Headrush FRFR112 which is a repurposed Alto, and not even close to FRFR. That said, the FRFR112 is cheap, LOUD and sounds just fine in non-professional applications (I have one). Tubes vs Class D vs SS guitar amps (your spyder)- Tubes impart a "warmth" to the sound, but also different tube types color the sound differently . The differences are most evident at high volumes. Class D is pretty much flat. IOW, In = Out. Some people hear that as harsh or cold and that's why they prefer tubes. Part of your sound is the amp, part the speaker and part the enclosure. A guitar speaker in a wooden guitar cab will sound different than a PA speaker and HF driver in a plastic enclosure. Your Spyder's speaker was designed to sound good with a variety of amp emulations. That's why it may be your best bet for you at this point. Your problem there will be volume. For a variety of techie reasons, tube watts are LOUDER than SS watts. You didn't mention how many watts your Spyder is, but IME 30 tube watts through a 1x12 speaker is usually sufficient for garage/basement jamming if you value your hearing. 30 SS watts might not get it at all. The Marshall you mentioned might be plenty loud, especially if you're using the 4x12 version, but will likely sound best with Marshall emulations, not so great with Vox/Fender sounds. YMMV. FWIW - I often jam with a guy who uses a 75 watt Spyder. We jam in a small basement and he's plenty loud. Hope you find the above helpful.

Is this an LT thing? Not that I'd want to do this, but curious - I don't see how on my Floor or HXS?

Windows 11 has a new security feature that interferes with HX Edit. Do a search for Windows 11 and you'll find several posts on the problem.

If this is all that you've got going - Guitar>Input>Amp Block>Output - then something is very wrong. Perform a Factory Reset.

Not sure what you're asking for. If, say, the Stomp FS controls a Distortion, the Color is ORANGE. ON = BRIGHT ORANGE. OFF = DIM ORANGE But it will always be ORANGE (or whatever color you set it to) - either BRIGHT when ON or DIM when OFF. It can't be NO COLOR when OFF and ORANGE when ON and NO COLOR can't be BRIGHT or DIM because - it's NO COLOR. Am I misunderstanding what you're asking for?

You can do high and low cuts on the cab, and you can control the level of the HF Driver. I disagree with the Global EQ on the cab, as its primary intended use is with the Helix which has Global EQ and all the necessary controls to use it, but yes, it's baffling that it isn't available on the L6 Link. The biggest problem in my opinion is that the control functions over the L6 Link cable are not reliable, at least on the PC212+ (what I have). As a result, I'm forced to use MIDI, configuring it in ControlCenter for every preset. So, 2 cables - one for audio (L6 Link) and the other for MIDI, or 3 cables if Global EQ is important to you. MIDI is NBD for me, just an extra step when configuring presets that should be unnecessary if L6 Link worked reliably, but for some folks it's voodoo rocket science. So, why do I keep it? Because it SOUNDS GOOD, and in the stupid belief that it would be supported as well as Helix, I kept it long past the return period, waiting for the updates that would fix the problems. The updates that, after one update the first year, never came and never will, as the product line is apparently abandonware. THAT sucks!

Word is that Ideascale is back up. GO VOTE!

Agree that it seems silly, but it is what it is. If it's that important to you, use the XLRs. If they ever get around to fixing Ideascale you can go there and vote for the 15 requests that they add the Global EQ to the Digital Outs.

Is there a specific set of circumstances around this? My backups seem to work fine.