rd2rk

See Global Settings>Preferences to assign the function of the jack. See Command Center to find out how to. Of course, this assumes that your amp's channels can be changed via a normal TRS FS. Some amps use MIDI. It helps to be specific.

Yes, this works. Just be aware that when you set REMOTE to GLOBAL, that is GLOBAL to ALL Helix Presets, and you are NOT using L6 Link for any of the other possible per preset parameters such as MODE (FRFR LF Flat/LF Raw) or SPEAKER. PER PRESET CONTROL IS DISABLED! If you're using MIDI for those parameters it doesn't matter. Yes, This works. But ONLY affects the DIGITAL OUTS. Your XLR Outs are unaffected. The difference between the DIGITAL OUTS (at 0db) and the XLR OUTS (at 0db and LINE LEVEL) is <>6db with DIGITAL being LOUDER. So, if you set your PC's XLR INPUTS at +6db the levels should be approximately equal. Forget the "perfect" amber LED. As @PierMsaid, its main purpose is to indicate where you're starting to run out of headroom. Not to the overall TONE when above Fletcher-Munson (<>85db). To the MAX AVAILABLE OUTPUT LEVEL without distorting the PC's Inputs it DOES make a difference. Again, as @PierMsaid, too low and it brings up the noise floor when you adjust the Output Level to compensate. However, if your PC is loud enough for your purposes then no, it doesn't matter that much. Bottom line - the MOST important thing is that, using DIGITAL or ANALOG inputs, when changing presets, your presets need to: NOT be so high as to distort the PC's inputs. NOT be so low as to cause you to drop out of the mix. If they're mostly level to your ears, you should be good. HOWEVER - If you're using the PC's XLR OUTS to go to a board, the level at the XLR OUTS = the INPUT LEVEL, NOT the PC's overall Output Level. IOW - the PC's VOLUME KNOB has no effect, but the Helix Volume Knob DOES! That's why I disable the BIG KNOB when going to FOH. If, for instance, your cable drags across the BIG KNOB and changes it from noon to MAX, you'll have a VERY unhappy sound tech!

Green just means the PC is receiving a signal. It doesn't need to be in the amber zone all the time, but you should get it up there and then back off a bit to leave headroom. If you're good on the digital outs you should be good on the analog, but that assumes that you're not using the BIG KNOB to control the output level on either. Leave it dimed or set it to an output that you're not using (preferred). That gives a consistent UNITY gain level. The digital Output level applies to the AES/SPDIF outs, not the XLR/1/4" outs.

"Pretty consistent" is not "equally level". Neither average nor median means equally level. But, hey, if you want to try that, go for it! It won't cause the magic smoke to escape from either your Helix or your Powercab.

OK, now I get it. Disregard previous comment.

? I think the solution is to move the pedal to before the amp and any distortion FX should be in parallel with the pedal, so that they only affect the DRY signal.

? The initial level - INST or LINE - is set in Global Settings (should be INST for this pedal). Additional level control is provided by the FX Loop Block SEND/RETURN Level parameters. Lower the SEND Level if the input signal to the pedal is too hot, raise the RETURN level if the RETURN from the pedal is too weak. Also, consider that this pedal is designed to be early in the signal chain, like, between the guitar and the amp input. Try moving it to before the amp.

Lower the SEND LEVEL in the FX LOOP L Block?

Interesting that you got silence, while I got the expected signal minus the Ping Pong Delay. I ran the test over again to see what the difference might be. I replaced the WhoWatts with Fawn Nrm for apples to apples. When my mixer is panned hard L/R invert gives the results I reported previously - expected signal with only the delay canceling out. When I center the channels on my mixer I don't get silence, but the signal is so weak I have to put my ear to the speaker else the guitar strings drown it out. The Delay still cancels out. What's it all mean? IDK. The lesson I choose to take from this is that inverting the polarity opens a door to a parallel universe where anything might happen, so I'll just leave it alone until someone explains a real world practical application for using it!

Exactly. To my ears the difference in tone was minimal. To your ears, you will probably find that having the much more precise control that EQ would afford will give you more options than the ON/OFF nature of the invert method, without unknown and probably unwanted side effects. Also, you may find that placing a Parametric EQ before the delay and sweeping various frequency bands might turn up the cause of the distortion that you hear in the delay.

I think this thread is about what you, as a player, can do with your modeler to give FOH the best signal possible, the IDEAL being that they can set your channel levels once and forget about you. You DO NOT want a mystery "sound engineer" constantly futzing with your mix. That means sending a consistent signal that you've designed, as far as is in your power, to sound good in your band's mix. What it's NOT about is what you would do at the board. Unless it's your PA and you're the one doing the mixing, you have little if any control over that. If it IS your PA and you are the one doing the mixing, do you really want to have to be constantly messing with the mix while you're trying to play? No. So your job is the same as it would be if you're depending on a house PA and a mystery sound engineer. Send a consistent sound that fits in your band's mix with minimal fuss. Above are some suggestions as to how to approach that goal with Helix.

Blaches? Gain staging is a necessity whether you're using a Helix to FOH or an analog pedal board and a Marshall stack with a microphone. Take any of the sample presets (or one of your own). Highlight the Output Block. Play as hard as you ever play with all gain blocks active. Turn up your Channel Volume (or the last Gain block) until the Output Block hits the red, then back off until it stays green. You now have the optimum output level for the preset. But will it sound good? Not necessarily. Gain staging means making sure that each block's output does not overload the next block UNLESS that's the effect that you're going for. When you get to the end of the signal chain repeat the above output block procedure. You now have a properly gain staged preset with the optimum output level. If the FOH person says "Your signal is too hot! Turn it DOWN!" they're probably the bartender multitasking as sound tech. They have an Input Gain control on the board and usually a PAD switch. If they don't know how to use their board, then to get through the gig you may have to assign the BIG KNOB to the output you're sending to FOH (that should usually be assigned elsewhere so that FOH gets a consistent signal) and use the BIG KNOB to compensate for the house's crappy board or the incompetence of the "sound tech". That whole thing about the overall level needing to equal the level of an empty preset is BS in theory and BS in practice.

I had another go at your preset. This time I loaded it on my Helix. I set the split block back to center as you originally had it. Sounds better that way. Since I don't have two amps I bypassed the FX Loops and added a WhoWatt preamp to each path in the split. I routed the L/R outs to two channels of my mixer and panned them hard L/R. I added a FS to the INVERT switch on the mixer block. Essentially, I duplicated your rig except for the different speaker cabs, which shouldn't matter for this experiment. I now have Path A on my LEFT monitor and Path B on the RIGHT monitor. RESULTS: With the Delay ON, if I invert the B Polarity the Delay disappears. Cancels itself out. With the Delay OFF, if I invert the B Polarity there's a SLIGHT change in tone - as you say, "thicker" - but nothing you couldn't duplicate easily with EQ. With the EQ Block OFF there's an overall change to the tone as expected. With the B Polarity inverted the level of change is equivalent to the change when inverting with the EQ ON. I'm not hearing the "distorted" Ping Pong delays. Different ears maybe. See conclusions. CONCLUSION: The polarity question is interesting, but not really important. If you want "thicker" tone, use EQ. I can't explain the distorted delay since I don't hear it, but distortion is usually a result of gain staging problems. Maybe there's a difference between the levels you're getting back from the MVs in the FX Loops vs the WhoWatts I used for the test?

When I said to check your cables I meant to test them to make sure they were all working properly - no shorts, etc. So you've got your 4CM working now with the VOX?

Generally speaking I don't use cabs with an FX Return, and I NEVER use a Helix amp into an amp's Input. Some people use the Helix Preamps that way as an "AIAB" type effect. I tried a few that way but never liked them. All that said, every real-world amp is different. The main reason to use the Full Amp models when going into an amp's FX Return is that L6 models speaker impedance curves into the Full Amp models, based on the Cab that they "Match" with the amp in the Amp+Cab Model. Since there's no interaction between the amp model and the physical speaker, the modeled impedance curve imparts some of that effect and even though it's not accurate to the physical speaker being used, any impedance curve is better than no impedance curve in terms of the "feel" of the modeled amp. Maybe. YMMV. :-)

At this point you need to check all of your cables. The method I described is so common that L6 included sample presets for demonstation purposes, and on the Helix they have templates. Just out of curiosity in Global Settings>Ins/Outs, is RETURN TYPE set to RETURN (correct) or AUX IN?

I run parallel paths in almost every preset, with FX, Amps, and/or cabs, and have never needed to invert the phase. Are you referring to using a cross-over split?

You are totally misunderstanding. I've been talking about FX Loop L the whole time! FX SEND L is HALF of FX LOOP L. FX RETURN L is the other half. An FX Loop Block COMBINES the two into a single Block. IME, when using a TUBE AMP, using a single FX LOOP Block often results in excessive noise. That's why I recommend that in the case of a TUBE AMP you use separate SEND and RETURN Blocks like this: Helix Amp>FX Send L>Physical Amp INPUT>Physical Amp SEND> FX Return R. If you are also using PHYSICAL FX in the RIGHT FX Loop you can't do this. With Catalyst it's not necessary because excess noise from the PHYSICAL AMP's SEND is not an issue. Your VOX MIGHT have a quiet FX LOOP, I don't know. If you find (as many do) that noise is an issue, separate blocks MIGHT be the cure but, if you find it necessary to use PHYSICAL FX in the RIGHT FX Loop, you're entering into the reasons why Helix has FOUR FX Loops vs TWO on the HX and LT models. Attached is the HXS sample preset 4CM:Preamp Swap. This demonstrates the method of swapping the Helix amp for the PHYSICAL amp and utilizes a single FX Loop Block. Also attached is HXS sample preset 4CM:Clean Start. This demonstrates using separate SEND and RETURN Blocks utilizing both SEND L and RETURN R to minimize noise. Just put a Helix Amp in the empty Block and assign the Helix amp to a FS, SAVED ON, and the S/R Blocks to the SAME FS, SAVED OFF, to duplicate the method used in 4CM:Preamp Swap which uses a single FX Loop Block. Visualize the signal as if it were water. It flows from the HXS Input, THROUGH the HX Amp (when ACTIVE) PAST the FX Loop Block(s) (when BYPASSED) and through the HX Out to the PHYSICAL AMP's FX RETURN. OR It flows from the HXS Input, PAST the HX Amp (when BYPASSED) Out the HX FX SEND (when ACTIVE) to the PHYSICAL AMP's Input, Out the PHYSICAL AMP's FX SEND to the HX RETURN (when ACTIVE) then through the HXS Out to the PHYSICAL AMP's FX RETURN. 4CM_Clean Start.hlx 4CM_Preamp Swap.hlx

The S/R block used for 4cm takes the physical amp's preamp OUT of the signal chain when BYPASSED and routes the signal TO the physical amp's preamp when engaged. That's why when the S/R Block is ENGAGED the Helix amp should be BYPASSED and vice versa. Since when the S/R Block is BYPASSED the signal BYPASSES the FX Loop and PHYSICAL amp's preamp it doesn't matter which side of the S/R Block the Helix amp is on as long as there's nothing else between the two. NOTE - if you're using separate S/R blocks, be sure to set the DRY THRU on the SEND block to -120db to avoid bleed thru. Since you're obviously not confused enough already :-) - In THEORY, you SHOULD be able to use a Helix PREAMP vs a FULL AMP (sans cab), as it replaces the PHYSICAL amp's preamp. Two things. ITRW the PHYSICAL AMP's PREAMP interacts with the TUBE Poweramp which in turn interacts with the PHYSICAL speaker in what's called an IMPEDANCE CURVE. This DOES NOT apply when using a SS poweramp such as the Cat. NOTE - that is a VERY simplified explanation. In the modeling world there is no PHYSICAL interaction even with a TUBE poweramp. The IMPEDANCE CURVE is modeled into the FULL AMP model in relation to the matched speaker used in the AMP+CAB model. IMO Helix PREAMPS neither SOUND nor FEEL right when using the Cat's Power amp (or any other SS poweramp). You use the FULL AMP model vs the PREAMP or AMP+CAB model for this reason (any impedance curve is better than none) and because the CAB will further color the sound of the Catalyst's speaker (try it, you MIGHT like it!). In the modeling world a CAB (or IR) is simply another type of EQ. Keep in mind that in the virtual world of modeling, as ITRW, if it SOUNDS good, it IS good (Duke Ellington). Experimentation is FUN and the most important thing is to get the signal flow and Gain Staging right. Unlike ITRW nothing you do will cause the MAGIC SMOKE to escape from any of the PHYSICAL devices!

How to Check Speaker Polarity - Artisticamplification.com

It doesn't matter if the Helix amp is before or after the FX Loop. Remember this from my previous post? "3 - In 4cm (the most FLEXIBLE method) you put the HXS Amp in the signal chain alongside a Send/Return Block. Assign a FS (or create Snapshots) and SAVE one ON and the other OFF. Example - S/R Block ON, HXS Amp OFF. Now when you hit the FS (or change the Snapshot if so configured) the Catalyst Amps are engaged when the S/R Block is ON and the HXS Amp is OFF and vice versa." When you disable the FX Loop Block(s) that takes the Cat's preamp out of the signal chain, and the signal passes through the now activated Helix amp straight to the Helix Out and into the Cat's Power Amp Return.

In your SPLIT Block try panning Path A hard left and Path B hard right. I don't have the HXFX (Floor and Stomp), so I can't test this, but it's the only thing I see that I'd do differently, and since there's no stereo FX before the split it shouldn't matter, but can't hurt. I don't know much about the polarity thing, but the only reason I'd see to reverse it would be if your speakers had different polarities (one pushing when the other is pulling) but since your amps are identical that shouldn't be an issue, so check your cables and the connections at the speakers in case something might be reversed.

I'm not sure about MAC, but on a PC you'd plug the monitors into whichever device is being used as your Audio Interface. If the HXS is your AI, plug them in there. If the MAC has a "Sound Panel" or some sort of audio control center, you'd use that to route the audio from the computer to the AI.

The HXS amps into the Catalyst RETURN will get you closest to the Boogie and Vox sounds, keeping in mind that an open-back 112 will never be a closed back 412. TBH though, the more I use the Catalyst amps the less I use the Helix amps. More and more my Helix just provides effects. Of course, YMMV. If you get an XLR Splitter, get a good one. Something with specs like this, and pair it with equivalent quality XLR cables: Roland RCC-YC-XF2XM Y Cable - XLR Female to Dual XLR Male - 6-inch | Sweetwater It's after midnight here in Colorado, and I just put down my guitar after playing for an hour at 50-60db (.5 watt, Master at 10 o'clock) and being as satisfied with the sound through the Catalyst as one can be without the pants-flapping effect of 100db. And no police. ;-) The "Dynamic" (aka KINETIC) amp is really nice! Roll off the guitar volume for clean to crunch, hit the BOOST for a little more and add a Minotaur, Teemah or Scream for singing solos - at 60db! YES!

4cm is 4cm. Whatever works with the AC30 will still work with the Catalyst. The Catalyst has a MONO speaker emulated XLR Out - 112/212/412 with multiple mic choices - and it sounds GOOD! No more need to leave those tubes cooking, no more need to use the HP Out or burn a Block on a cab/IR. Use the Cat's speaker or turn the speaker switch OFF to use just the Monitors. Or leave it on to use both. The XLR is not affected by the Cat's Master, it's Unity, so whatever level you feed the Cat from the HXS, that's what you get. You also save another 2 Blocks on your HXS because you can use the delay and reverb on the Cat, six choices for each. Or combine them with delays/reverbs on the HXS for cool uber ambient noises. I route the Cat's XLR to my 18i20. I can Direct Monitor through the Monitors and since the 18i20 routes to my DAW via USB I can record the exact signal I'm hearing and the DAW plays it back through the Monitors. If you've got decent Monitors, the XLR signal is VERY close to what you get from the Cat's speaker. IOW - the XLR's speaker emulation enhances the sound for recording or playing through FRFR but doesn't really color it all that much. You don't need an 18i20 to do all that, just a decent AI. Connect your HP to the AI and do it all in complete silence. If you're lucky enough to live where you can crank up your AC30 to it's sweet spot, be advised, the Cat is NOT an AC30 substitute. OTOH, if like me you live in an apartment or have neighbors within a half mile, the Cat is a pretty cool amp.