duncann

Teachers are still around all over the place. Not hard to find. I remember when I took lessons, there were no computers around, no phones connected to sophisticated wireless networks, tablets, etc. You even had to get up from the chair to change the channel on the TV! Looking back from now, this was not easy. But things change. Times are certainly not the same, nor will they ever be. There are so many more options and tools for learning to play guitar nowadays than there ever was previously. I wish I could go back in time and drag what exists today back then. It would make learning guitar so much easier and quicker. The things you need to actually be good at guitar haven't changed though. Which is inspiration, motivation, persistence and emotion, to name a few. I don't see technology replacing things like that anytime soon. Music is the melding of emotion and mathematics. The mathematical component could be replaced, but what about the human component? I say ignore the type of person you're pointing out. They'll likely never be a good musician in the first place, but on the other hand, maybe they will? Things like apps, or a website, etc. open up more options for more people. Isn't that good?

Have a look at my post above for an android app. One of the reasons I like it is it has a reverse lookup for chords and scales. A lot of times when I write something, I don't pay attention at all to scales or chords and I become curious afterwards about a name for what I just did. Wonderful function.

Whether it's ethical or not is a personal decision. But some people are always going engage in questionable behavior. I don't see this - people buying an amp and returning it - as necessarily a bad thing. It's part of the process for the advancement of guitar amplification technology. When looked at this way, is it so bad for the phasing out of a technology that's quickly becoming obsolete - actual amps - for something that's more reliable, versatile and flexible?

Pretty much what's said here, with the addition of you could have up to four distinct outputs on a preset, and a unique EQ applied to each output, with the output selection options being: 1/4", XLR, Send 1/2, Send 3/4, Digital, USB 1/2, USB 3/4, USB 5/6.

Injuries to the fingers/hands for a guitar player has to be one of the worst things imaginable. Maybe not as bad a suddenly going blind, but close. Since I found Dunlop Ultex Sharp 1.14s (1.40 sharp for bass), never had any desire to change to something else. Perfect! Before that, I only ever used the blue 1mm tortex ones.

There is no static EQs for the purposes specific outputs. To do what you want, it would have to be per patch, by simply putting an EQ before an output. A patch can have more than one output assigned to it.

Isn't the Line 6 Electric what the Bomber Uber (Bogner Uberschall) originally was in the HD? I remember them redoing the first incarnation of this amp, but they kept the old one and called it the Electric? Or am I thinking of the Line 6 Epic? If it is the Line 6 Electric, there is indeed a real version of this amp, the Bogner Uberschall. Edit: I think I'm correct on this because if you look at the German Ubersonic on Helix, it's also missing the Hum parameter!

Yes. But a wah and volume are actually two separate blocks. If you're asking can you control both a volume and wah at the same time, you can do that. Assign both blocks to the same switch, having both blocks enabled or disabled when you save the patch. Or if you want to toggle between a wah and volume and have both controlled by the same expression pedal, you can also do that. Assign both to the EXP TOE SWITCH. Or if you want to use a different switch, assign both blocks to a switch, enable one and disable the other before saving the patch. In HD Edit, take a look at the Controllers tab. Everything you need to make these assignments is there.

For some reason, Helix does not induce ear fatigue for me as quickly as the HD did. I have very consistent habits when playing guitar. It's always through headphones, the same overall volume level, and approximately the same length sessions. Another thing that could contribute to ear fatigue is nutritional intake or lack of it. I eat the same things every day (boring! I know). And since I changed to Helix from the HD, none of the above has changed, except the use of Helix. There's probably lots more factors that can contribute to ear fatigue. For one example, when I work on a bass part, I get it quicker. Weird. So like HonestOpinion just said, frequencies can contribute, which could vary from person to person.

Great idea. I recently started using the 10 switch mode but switched back because of too many switch presses. Voted.

The Red Comp on the HD and Red Squeeze are very similar. In fact, they are modeled from the same pedal. Edit: the attack and release are adjustable on the Deluxe Comp. As well as threshold, ratio, level, mix, and knee.

I personally like the Deluxe Comp out of the three, with the LA2A coming in next. The Deluxe Comp seems to add a subtle tube-y warmth, so it's not completely invisible. The LA2A doesn't color the tone, at least to my ears. The Red Squeeze is useful for higher gain tones, maybe even lead tones, that cleans up an unfocused low end and give some extra sustain. So this one isn't invisible either.

The compressors in Helix work, and work well. There's the one you mentioned, the MXR Dyna Comp (Red Squeeze in Helix), the Teletronix LA2A (LA Studio Comp) and the Deluxe Comp (Line 6 Original). They all have plenty of parameters to adjust to get what you want, except for the Red Squeeze, but that only has a couple of controls to begin with.

One other thing I've noticed about the HD and Helix: the change in ear fatigue is significant. With the HD, no matter how I tweaked a patch, ear fatigue almost always quickly set in. Maybe this is the HD or not, it could be me making consistently bad tweaks, but with Helix I really haven't noticed this at all.

Related to this, there is an ideascale entry for USB 1/2 input volume control. For output, I find myself having to boost the output block a bit when recording via USB also. It's not really an issue because there are various ways to compensate for the low signal, plus I don't monitor the USB signal anyway. In Reaper, you probably wouldn't even have to compensate for the low volume if you use another output to monitor. Use the DAW's faders for acceptable levels, and if the peaks look barley visible, there is an option (shift+up arrow), to zoom in on just the peaks, so that you can see them.

I think amsdenj put it best when he said the HD was always one tweak away from the goal tone. That describes my experience almost exactly. Helix doesn't seem to make the user suffer from this problem, for the most part.

I've only ever experienced the HD's and Helix's. Out of those two, the HD was my favorite at first, but after lubing Helix's I think I may have changed my mind. Wait a minute, something about that statement doesn't sound quite right...

I believe Fractal Audio treats amp channels like this as well. Seeing as how each channel is a separate model, how would any modeler out there be able to load three different amps in one patch, which is what would have to happen if all three channels are contained in "one amp". Helix can do this, but there'd be hardly any DSP left over for anything else.

There is a website that allows you to run Windows 3.1, even a win95 demo, completely in your web browser. So it could be possible to run an early version of Windows on a device incapable of running Windows natively. I haven't tried it on an android device, only a desktop computer, so whether it actually works on a phone or tablet, don't know.

As others have mention already, I think this thread should be pinned. If any thread deserves this treatment, it's this one.

Don't know if arislaf has one or not. I don't. But quickly looking at it, it has a midi input, so my guess would be yes to answer your question. An upside, if I remember correctly, is that by a firmware change, you could use this device for convolution reverb. Edit: I'm thinking of the Logidy EPSi - http://www.logidy.com/?pid=0

This thought hadn't occurred to me until joel_brown mentioned it. Did you mean a TI-99? Classic99 is a good one.

I prefer Helix by far over the HD. But if you were using some of the effects from the HD, such as auto-volume, or its many filters, you may want to re-think. Or if you're a gambler, some or all of the HD-has-them-Helix-doesn't effects may eventually make it to Helix. Some of them already have, like the reverse delay and the wonderful new auto-panner.

Lol. So I see that now. Thanks. :) I just quickly threw a Brit J45 Brt (amp+cab) on a blank patch, all default settings, and then put one of the pitch blocks in front of it with an interval of -7 and 100% mix. And then after that block, I put a simple pitch with an interval of -12 and mix of 25%. It's sort of close to what I hear when I just hit an A power chord using the 5th, 4th and 3rd strings. If you use the 6th, 5th and 4th strings it tracks better, which you don't want. This is with a JEM 7VWH.

No idea what might have been used to get that sound at 4:33, but to my ears it sounds a little bit like a poorly tracked pitch shifter. Since Helix isn't good at doing chords with a pitch block, you could try something like that. When engaging an effect like that you'd probably have to play the chord in a different position on the guitar to what the chord actually is, depending on how much the pitch block would be decreased or increased, whichever way sounds better. And it could also be that the more you increase or decrease the pitch, the better, or more warbling effect you might get. For the amp, try one of the more lower gain ones. Maybe the Brit J45, P75, or one of the new Matchstick channels. Guess it's something you just have to experiment around with. Perhaps some of the even more lower gain amps than I mentioned would work, but put a distortion in front of it. If you could find some way to isolate the guitar, that would likely make things easier. Never done this, so I don't know how it could be done. Maybe someone else has an idea about this.