Schmalle

Just a speculation: A loose input jack?

Depth control on the SLO-100 models (like the new Soldano classics have).

The freeze at startup problem is something that occurs also on Fractal Audio devices. Very rarely, but it happens.

FYI a resource that puts some dsp usage percentages to the table: http://benvesco.com/store/helix-dsp-allocations/ It was discussed on this forum before.

I bought a cheap Doner Viper expression pedal from Amazon for about 30 Euros. Opened it, bended the ring metal sheet of the output jack so it doesn't make contact- that was it.

Suggestion: Replace the (unbelievably midheavy and dull) 4x12 SoloLeadEM cab with a usable cab like a Celestion RedBack 4x12. Revisited that cab with dual mics on SLO sim and with the right mic choices and low master I got the SoloLeadEM to sound decent.

The loFreq of the parametric eq should be adjustable in 1Hz steps up to 120Hz instead of 100Hz. The reason: If you use a real closed back cab it has a resonance frequency of slightly above 100Hz. Mesa cabs about 103Hz to 106Hz. Currently the eq is not well equipped for fine tuning at these cab resonance peak frequencies.

Make shure to use "Preamp" as amp modeling block. You might try "Amp", but that will most likely sound scooped and boomy. Avoid using "Amp+Cab" in this scenario.

Tube amps that are used for shooting IRs should have current feedback from the speaker to compensate their non-linear amplification that is caused by them being current amplifiers so that the impedance curve of the speaker impacts the actual volumes at different frequencies. The current feedback line often has two controls for sound shaping: depth/resonace and presence. These should be set neutral when shooting IRs.

Micing a cab is an art in itself. A cab sounds different on every angle and distance. Microphones have their own sound. Also they record less high frequencies when angled and they have a proximity effect that affect the bottom end. So what is the right cab sound? How it sounds on your favourite recordings that you got used to? How it sounds in your practice room? Where do you stand and on what angle do you listen? How it sounds live on stage? Who miced and mixed the sound? How much does the amp bleed to the audience vs the miced sound through the PA? At what volumes do you listen? - The Fletcher Munson effect states that you percieve sound differently at different volumes. More things like hearing fatigue etc also affect cab sound. The art is to make it fit - for the player, in the mix, musically, emotionally.

Aha. Well, that was just a wild guess. Personally don't really care. The only thing that I'm interested as an update is eight blocks available on the HxStomp, because that limit seems arbitrary and not related to actual available processing power. That said: I'm looking forward to be surprised.

I like the stock cab on the Brit Plexi Brt as is. For ACDC stuff use stock settings with following changes: Drive, Bass, Mid,Treble all at 5. Lower Bass and Mid a bit to taste for more kerang. Presence is at 5 to 7 depending on how bright the sun shines that day. Back of Tone and Volume on the guitar a bit. Experiment with pickup height, too. To reduce mud here is on trick that emulates the C45 switch on Friedmans: Tilt EQ block before the amp Brt50, CenFreq 670Hz, Level +4,5dB. Sound Sample (Telecaster direct recording - all pickups, different volume knob settings)

Yes, that's possible by recording a sweep or an impulse. But I will stay away from sharing these since Thomas Blug took great effort to craft these impulses. I might start a thread in this forum with audio clips for comparison. I could also document my attempts to tweak the HxStomps stock cabs with eq to match one or two of the BluBox cabs. Also the mic position knob on it is very musical and effective in dialing in the right amout of high frequency content. I could investigate (measure) how to replicate that in the HxStomp, too. Let me know if that would be of any interest to you guys!

I'm currently in the middle of testing the Hx Stomp for myself. Let me start with stating that the amp models are very accurate. I've tested several ones against Fractal amp models and some real amps. The amps are not the issue. I've also compared the cab models against those of my BluGuitar BluBox (an excellent IR speaker emulator) and found that the Hx Stomp cabs lack air (high frequency content) and overly pronounce certain frequencies depending on the mics one uses. It's pretty hard to get rid of that baked in mic sound. That said: in a mix that might actually be the sound you're after. Also be aware of the Fletcher Munson Effect (listening at different volumes to the same source material sounds dramatically different): Dull and mid heavy might at low volumes might sound just right at stage volumes. My conclusions have been gathered used Neuman KH120A studio monitors and Beyerdynamics DT770 headphones.

I'd guess that dark horse thing is some kind of profiling. Like Fractal Audios realtime analyzer block or something...

The obvious point to start are the preamp versions of the Solo Lead or the amp sims with master/sag/presence at 2. Keep in mind that the cab makes up for a huge part of the sound. If you still have the podxt you can play the hxstomp with only the amp sim on into the podxt with only the cab sim on and vice versa.This way you can match the amp and cab one at a time in isolation.

+1 for phase inversion option. I'd imagine it to be an option on the gain block.

I have a good strategy against fear of obsolescence: Take the manual and go to the pages where the amps, fx etc. are listed. Then take one item of this list that you are curious about. Start a web search and find out what the real world device does, how it is supposed to be used and how players use it in real life. Then take your guitar and Helix device and start experimenting. When you're done think about how good the real device is modeled and how easy and without spending extra money or purchasing time you could achieve these results. Then take a pencil and check off that item from the list. The next day you can pick another and start again. This will help you appreciate / focus on what you have instead of what you don't have. As a side effect your patch creating skills, your understanding of tone tools and signal paths as well as you ear will improve.

These three spectacular amps that would broaden the sonic palette: Bogner Shiva clean channel - Beautiful cleans and plexi crunch sounds Fryette Deliverance 120 MKII - Ultra versatile amp that stays open and articulate no matter what Two-Rock Jet 35 - Dumble-style amp with a unique tone - very vocal / violin like with exceptional transmission of the pick attack

Let me chime in here. Your clip sounds like a Mark 4 sound. Use the Cali IV Lead with following settings as starting point: LdGain 6 LdDrive 10 Bass 0.5 Mid 2.5 Treble 7 Presence 5 Master 3.7 Sag 1.5 80Hz 3 240Hz 3 750Hz -9 2200Hz 3 6600Hz 3 4x12Cail V30 Mic 160 Ribn Distance 3.0" Add a Tube Screamer in front with Drive @ 0, Tone 6, Level 8 for over the top lead gain. Play with the 80 240 750 2200 6600 settings to find out what these do to the sound. Also try increasing the LdGain while lowering Bass and Mid to compensate so it does not get muddy.