markman87

What are you unofficially referring to markman?

I saw the episode of Lunch with Dan after seeing the posting on TGP. Thinks it's IR related news, but lets see what they guys in the know says :)

It seems like there's a very cool thing heading our way. Maybe the news got out beforehand, but I'm really looking forward to the next update. I'm sure it'll take Helix to the next level!

 

Just waiting for Line 6 to say it officially :)

Looking forward to the new firmware update and the IRs that'll come with it. Psyched to see what else will be revealed during NAMM

Then "as said above" it must have been an Epi... The point is you can polish that Epi/Yugo/cubic zirconia till it shines and its still a lesser item and not a Gibson. I know how they both feel and play too, cause I own many of both. Do they both have a place in my world? Sure, I love um but you "mostly" get what you pay for is my next point. ;)

Mostly being the key word. Gibsons are a hit or miss thing, but they are generally good guitars. But if you compare them to a equally priced Tokai, Navigator etc, I don't personally think they can hold up. But on the other hand, they keep a good resell value. Now I own a PRS and it smokes thenm all in terms of playability, QC and flexibility. But sound? Nothing is like a Les Paul, might be just as good, but nothing like it.

 

Now this was waaaay of topic.

 

But I think it's important to remember that this video doesn't reflect the best a somebody can make these unit sound. Just a comparison, not to mention all the models that POD doesn't have (Matchless, Litigator, PRS, Shiva and the list continues.)

Can't see what I'm editing well enough in pedal edit mode.

I like it when I sit on a chair. Saves my back. But I don't use it for vocals other than recording. But the flexibility Helix has, sets it apart in my opinion.

I am a singing guitarist and I absolutely do not want anything diluting the Helix's capabilities as a guitar processor. When playing live, what my mixer provides is everything I need for my voice. In the studio, everything's covered too. Besides, when you're playing live, what if you need to adjust something on the vocal sound? Are you really gonna bend down to the floor every time you need to? At times vocals can require several adjustments so you'll be bending down quite often. Not for me, thanks.

No, you use pedal edit mode :D

 

Anyway, don't have an opinion on the vocal thing. I'm looking forward to seeing what will make it to Helix in the future. Already a fantastic product, and it just keeps on improving.

Aaah - yes. Hadn't considered that setup.

With snapshots I could easily get by with just one amp in a preset and then just change the parameters with each snapshot, and use my guitar volume to further adjust the tone and dirt.

 

But Helix lets me do much more, so sometimes I get carried away;)

And I think that makes sense from a 'real world' perspective too. Each of the DSP paths has one split parallel path, so you can have paths 1A and 1B as well as 2A and 2B. In order to have three amps in one DSP path you would have to have two of the amps in a serial rather than parallel configuration. I don't think you get a good sound in the real world by connecting the output of one amp to the input of another. I think one of the main objectives of the 4CM is to avoid doing that.

Actually I keep the amps serial but bypass one of them from snapshot to snapshot. So it's more a way to get a multiple sounds for me, not a a "double amp" sound. But your point makes sense nonetheless :)

My recollection is no more than two amp models per DSP is a hard limit in the software, regardless of available DSP. I have made a few "four amp" presets that always needed split between DSPs. I'm pretty sure it says in the manual somewhere that you are limited to 2x2 amp models as well as 2x2 speaker blocks.

That would make sense. I probably always split it between the two paths when using more than two amps.

I often only use one cab and then let the two different amps go into that. Sometimes that can give me the difference i need without sounding too radically different from each other. But it always depends on the context and what it's for, of course.

Have you noticed that when the Archon is selected in combination with a nice fat juicy Impulse response the options for adding a second amp to the same path "diminishes" a lot. The Helix editor turns red all over the place. So i guess without the bright switch option it's already punishing the DSP's. Or?

I did notice that I couldn't place three amps on the same DSP path (which is crazy anyway) when one of them was an Archon. But I don't remember if I could do that with other models. But I'd never need that much for a single preset anyway.

 

What I normally do is,

Place one amp on the first path with room to put drives, comp, modulation in front and a amp on the second path with room to put in delays and reverbs after

 

And then a cab at the end. It depends on how many effects I use post and pre the amp.

 

But yeah, I'm glad they didn't model the bright switch off for the lead channel if that would mean even more DSP use. IMO they made a perfectly balanced choice ;)

Does anyone else have hlx files that wont import back into helix after "backing up"?

 

I exported all of my setlists before updating to the new firmware (all at once) and after updating, helix wont correctly import about three of one hundred .hlx files. A couple of my best ones too, :( My luck. The files seem to be the right size, its just that helix wont read its information. They were fine before the update. Heres one of them if anyone wants to try to import it. Thanks

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26654830/Starz.hlx

 

Windows 7

 

 

PS lol - i actually exported the same preset more than once because after i backed up the first time, i created a couple more presets, and instead of simply exporting just the newly made presets, i exported the entire bank again. Dont ask me why i did that but i did....So the point is that yes, ive tried the other files too, same result. Thanks again

Man, that sucks! Hope you're able to recreate them again! If I get the chance, I'll try and load them and see.

Is there meant to be a bright switch on the lead channel? I don't have one on mine, do have it on the clean channel, noticed that the real deal has one for the lead channel, I know I would use it, hopefully they tweak this is if it isn't there for everyone....

Actually, they chose to model it with it "always on" on the lead channel, since it sounded better and all it did without it is shun some highs, which you could do very easily yourself. Ben said it sounded better and if he had to model it with the bright switch off as well it would take up a lot more DSP, and that be a pain for no real gain. So to me, it makes sense that they chose this way of doing it. :)

A "pro" upset that the factory presets have changed?

 

Lol

 

Seems legit

Priceless. Really. I wouldn't want to be in Line 6's shoes. They sure do handle all the whining with class.

You actually genuinely got me there. You should have seen my face drop when I scrolled to the punchline

Sorry, mate! Couldn't help myself ;)

 

Hope you get up and running soon, so you can hear what all the fuzz, I mean fuss, is about :)

Yeah, that's probably my fault. I told our graphic designer to make the amp look "Dad Rock." The ODS had that sort of diamond pattern that looks like a sweater vest that a dad might wear, so that was probably the inspiration. There are two or three other easter eggs I swore people would find sooner.

 

Yes, the name is a Blues Lawyer reference. No Dumble (or Dumble clone, such as a TwoRock or Carol Ann) was modeled for Line 6 Litigator, but Ben has an amazing ear, and perhaps there was some subconscious inspiration when creating it.

He sure does have a great ear. He did a great job on it for sure!

 

If you guys ever did model a Dumble style amp, you'd probably state it like the other models you do. But this does sound like a good amp for blues and fusiony Carlton licks :)

My laptop exploded last week... well I'm pretty sure it's just the battery but I now have a non-functioning MacBook at an awkwardly austere time (actually in the middle of making a little Roseberry IR demo, too awesome to handle!) so I would just like to take this moment to express how much I hate all of you 2.10'ers and your auto engaging wahs

Doh! Bad timing, man. the new update isn't that great. It's mediocre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As if!!! This update rules!!!! Muhahaha :D

I guess you returned from the car wash yesterday and sat down to spend quality time with this monster? ;)

 

Just home from work. Decided to try out a simple path: NoiseGate -> Stupor OD -> Archetype -> 3 Sigma Audio Engl 3A Impulse. Fiddled around with the depth param while chugging away. It does a lot for the tone. It thickens the tone up quite a bit but when set to high I think is starts to lose definition. Didn't mess around with eq but that could help.

 

Also I spend a few minutes toggling between the Archetype and a few other amps using the same path. Actually I think the Line6 Elektrik is quite impressive too and sounds a bit like the Archetype. But from now on the Archetype is my new goto-amp that's for sure.

I certainly did — right until my wife told me to go to bed ;)

 

I never pushed the depth parameter up more than around 5ish as that was more than enough for a fat tone. I got lost with the Archon model so I didn't have time to play around with the Litigator yet. But that'll come later this week. ;)

I've not had the chance to fiddle with the depth parameter. I did notice that Digital_Iglo mentioned it somewhere. But even without the depth param this amp is a metal monster for sure.

You have to try it. It gives a fatter tone without mud! :)

I get it. There are only so many types of "guitar distortion", and in the digital world even less - depending on what you are modeling - but your point kind of underscores my point in that - If you want to give the people more tones to work with, then give them more - or make more improvements - to the cabs...which incidentally, that section still needs a lot of work in helix....instead of giving them a sound they already have in a different box.

 

In the analog game the cabinet may be 50% of your tone but in the modeling world its closer to 90%.

While I disagree with pretty much everything you say, I do think they'll overhaul the cabs. I just think that that process is much more intensive and needs more work at an fundamental level. In the mean time I'm glad to have another amp thrown in the mix. Sure you could take another amp and make it sound close to something else, but a lot of players like that the starting point are closer to a specific sound. So instead of tweaking the AC30 to sound like the Fawn model, you just pick the Fawn. Instead of getting a hod rod Marshall out of a Plexi or Jcm with pedals and stuff, you just pick the 2204 mod and you're good to go.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing deeper tweaks and overhauls make their way to our Helices, but even now I'm enjoying this box a lot, and I'm glad to see the improvements in this latest update. I know they were focusing on the whole switch less function since that was very much requested. At the same time they gave us some extra stuff as well ;)

"I got blisters on my fingers!"

 

I'm SO impressed by this amp, thanks for your kind advice

 

congrats line6! you made it!!! thank you!

Ha, nice quote! I think the cool thing about the Archon is you don't even need a boost. It stays tight in the bass and raunchy in the mids without being piecing. Remarkable. I'll probably use it more with the gain turned down to 2, which is still a very overdriven crunch sound ;)

OK, LET'S GIVE IT A TRY, THANX! =)

Don't forget the depth parameter in the third page' ;)

NO HIGH GAIN UPGRADE: NOT INTERESTED

Tried the Archon lead?

I cant believe i didn't notice this monster at first when scrolling through the release notes. I played around with it for a few minutes - no adjustments just factory settings. It's craaaazy!! You are in for a treat.

I downloaded the updater earlier. Just need to load it in when I get back from washing and cleaning the car. Will spend some quality time with the amp then :)

Ohhh my :rolleyes: . I didn't know that. That just makes the update even better. Thanks for mentioning.

With 5 gain stages versus most high gain amps three gain stages it sure is a beast. I'm looking forward to trying it – not for metal, but for lead tones and for it's clean channel ;)

I agree. A balanced update featuring both new stuff, improvements and the mandatory bugfixes that is so important for stability going forward. Thumbs up for that! Personally i would have liked to see a new High-gain amp model (line 6 original preferably)... maybe that will come in the next update.

The PRS Archon is a high gain amp ;)