kylotan

I have the Thon one. It's built solidly, the handle is decent. There's room inside for the power cable but not much else - maybe a 1/4" output cable or your guitar cable if they're short enough and you wrap them up tightly. Also the padding inside is arranged so that the Helix will eventually squash the foam down due to gravity, but I've had mine for about a year and it's still okay.

This is one of those weird things. What people are saying about it responding best to low-output pickups makes sense and fits with what I see in the metering. But in practice I'm seeing lots of metal guitarists with modern high output pickups using it as a switchable stomp on their pedal board with no apparent drop in signal. Maybe there's something else to their setup I'm missing. Or maybe Line 6 modelled a particularly low-output variety of the pedal?

I've mentioned this before in another thread, but I am very confused by the levels coming out of the Helix's Rat model, and I'd like to know if anyone who owns the real hardware can test this for me, as I'm trying to model other people's chains that use the real Rat but finding the Helix just doesn't sound the way I'd expect. If I add the Vermin Dist block with all default settings (gain=6.8, level=8.5) then despite those being quite high values for the Rat, the output is attenuated by about 6dB compared to if I switch the block off. If I use settings that I see on other people's floorboards, e.g. gain at 2/6ths, level at 4/6ths, that gives me a 12dB attenuation in the Helix, which is not really usable as a switchable stomp effect. By comparison, if I engage a Scream 808 on default (gain=5.2, level=6.7) it's roughly unity gain whether it's off or on. The Minotaur (gain=4.2, level=6) gives a slight boost, maybe 3 or 4dB. Teemah (gain=5.2, level=6.3) gives a 6dB boost. And on the Legacy models, the Screamer is again roughly unity gain or maybe a slight boost. Heavy Dist (aka Metal Zone) is a small boost. But interestingly, the Classic Dist, i.e. the old Rat model, when the Drive is set to 68% and the output set to 85% to match the settings on the Vermin, there's a +18dB boost! That means that, for roughly the same parameters, the Vermin is something like 24dB quieter than the older model. So, what I want to know, ideally with reference to the real unit, is: Does the real Rat actually attenuate the signal this much? Or... Is the Vermin model wrong?

I use an audio interface (Scarlett 6i6). I have the Helix going to the line in of the interface, which is connected to my PC via USB, and the interface also connects to 2 powered speakers. In theory you can use the Helix as an interface itself, but then you have to do more unplugging when you take it out for a show, not to mention if you wanted to use your speakers with your computer when the Helix isn't around.

Agreed - the Helix reverbs are good enough for my live use but on my recordings I'm sticking to ValhallaRoom and Eventide Blackhole.

Personally, I wouldn't bother buying presets. I think it's better to start simple and get used to building your tone up yourself. The Helix's tones don't require guru levels of experience or magic to dial in because the modelling is high quality to begin with, so 3rd party presets are likely to either just be duplicating 5 minutes of your own work at one extreme, or creating a complex patch you will be unable to effectively modify at the other extreme, or relying heavily on impulse responses to sound great at home but not necessarily good on whatever speakers you might end up playing through. What I suggest for you is to start with a very simple patch and tweak that. If you have access to your Engl Fireball: Create a patch with just 2 blocks - first block Preamp/ANGL Meteor, second block Volume/Pan --> Volume. Turn the Helix volume dial down, run a cable from the 1/4" output into the Effects Return of your Fireball. Turn up the Helix volume dial, and play. Tweak the amp settings to taste the way you normally would. Hopefully this shouldn't sound too different to when you plug into the front of the amp. If you don't have access to the Fireball: Again, create a patch with just 2 blocks - first block Amp+Cab/ANGL Meteor, second block Volume/Pan --> Volume. Either listen on headphones, or run a cable from the 1/4" output into the line-in of your stereo, or your PC sound card. Tweak the amp settings to taste. Again, this shouldn't sound too different to when you plug into the front of the amp, but the Helix is simulating a specific speaker and microphone combination so this is more like a recorded tone than an 'in the room' tone. You can swap out the cab model or the mic models to get closer to what you want. Don't change the mic positioning. Don't worry about tweaking EQs - the amp EQ knobs and the High Cut and Low cut on the cab settings are all you really need. Anything else is just seasoning. If you need the noise gate, select the left-most block, which should be the Input block (representing by a guitar or guitars), and ensure it is On. Adjust the threshold to taste, then the decay. You might also want to add an overdrive before the amp block (Distortion --> Scream 808 is a decent choice), usually with the gain closer to 1 than to 10. For leads, maybe you'd add a reverb at the end of the chain (choose whatever you like, set the mix to somewhere between 20% and 40% most likely). Generally speaking, your overdrives, fuzzes, distortions go before your amp block, delays and reverbs go after your amp block. In the future you will probably want to separate out amp and cab blocks so you can put effects 'in the loop' but you can worry about that later. Regarding live shows, that will depend on what the venue can provide but often you can just run an XLR direct from your Helix to their desk. It might be preferable to split the output path so that you can tweak the level on the XLR out without affecting your 1/4" out (which presumably will go to your amp, or your speaker if you're going completely amp-less).

The only way I know to see what is in the snapshots is to switch between them. Set your unit to Snapshot Footswitch Mode to do this. The unit should have come with an Owner's Manual that you can read on a computer, but if not, download it from here: https://line6.com/support/manuals/helix It's worth taking half an hour to skim through it, as it explains how to set that footswitch mode (page 11) and how to adjust snapshot-specific settings (page 35).

You should be able to have 1 path going to 1/4" out and 1 path going to XLR out, sure. This is how some people have the Helix process their guitar and their vocals simultaneously. Can you show the patch you're using?

If the question was more about "can I merge multiple patches into one patch with snapshots" then I don't think there is any sort of process for that. It would hypothetically be possible to create one but since it's not guaranteed to work in all situations and it would rarely be used, it's probably not worthwhile. I'd just rebuild the patch from scratch with snapshots in mind. Start with a copy of your most complex existing patch and, fill in any other blocks you need from the other patches, then create the snapshots you need.

Different IRs make a massive difference. Given a highly distorted signal that covers the whole frequency range, an IR can almost completely transform the output. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwgyUzXU2Lk Usually IRs from a supplier like Ownhammer or 3 Sigma don't create intentionally massive differences like in the video, but there is still the potential for very significant changes in the output that can be as distinctive as using a completely different amp. So you absolutely do need to compare and contrast the IRs you're using.

But then your sound through the PA would be lacking the cab sim, right? (Also, I never operate in anything other than 8 Snapshot mode, so putting it on a switch would never work for me. :) ) Ideally if you're going straight into the desk then I'd think you wouldn't need to control the level with the volume knob - they can change the gain on the mixer within reason.

Add a send block, before your cab block. Take a cable from the relevant send output to the input of the amp, or better still, the effects input/return. Ensure the amp is on the cleanest channel it has with everything set to produce minimal colouration. Caveats: If the venue has a reliable and flexible monitoring setup then you won't need the amp anyway. If the venue doesn't have a reliable and flexible monitoring setup and you can't borrow an amp, you're screwed. If the amp you borrow doesn't have a sufficiently clean channel or an effects return, it's going to sound bad.

This sounds like a good suggestion, and I'd recommend the original poster gives this a go before trading the amp in! Personally I'd recommend against FRFR approaches for metal musicians - a lot of the time you're going to find yourself on stage with a need to share backline and specifically to use a cab that's already miked up. I have a rack-mount power amp now and that gives me a relatively uncoloured output from the Helix but works well with any cab I find myself at.

Apparently your amp doesn't have an effects loop which makes it potentially tricky to use with the modelling on the Helix, and you couldn't use 4CM even if you wanted to. The best I can suggest is to go in to the cleanest channel you have with no effects on, gain down as low as possible, volume up to compensate. On the Helix you would ideally just want a Preamp block. It sounds like you're close to that already, which might mean that this amp is not a great match for the Helix.

Impulse responses can capture linear effects in the frequency (e.g. EQ) and time (e.g. reverb, delay) domains. So how much of the Sonic Stomp can be captured in this process depends exactly on how the effect works - and since there seems to be some debate over what it actually does, it would be hard to answer. If it's just an EQ curve, you can have that in an IR. If it's some sort of exciter or compressor, then you can't.

I don't think anything changed on the new reverbs except the relative mix level.

It would be quite odd if all 3 of your XLR, Audio Out, and Headphone Out were somehow broken, but the Digital Out was in perfect shape. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I agree with HonestOpinion, double-check to see if it's a configuration issue, and maybe try another one in a shop to see if it sounds different.

i.e. The constant complaints of fizz regarding Line 6 products that existed prior to the Helix coming out. I have a handful of complaints about the Helix but fizziness is not among them.

Sadly it's very possible to create clipping or clipping-like artifacts within the signal chain - not just on the output - and the Helix gives no indication of where it's happening. I had a clean tone that sounded a bit harsh on the attack, until I realised that the amp block was cranked up too high. I pulled that down, compensated further along the chain, and now it's the same volume but sounds perfect.

As someone who spent a lot of time manually porting effects from the Pod XT to the Helix, it's true that the Helix sounds very muffled compared to earlier modelling. I suspect this is partly a deliberate effort to stop the constant complaints of 'fizz'. However when I've played the Helix into a real cab (with the cab block disabled, obviously) neither myself nor anyone else in the band felt that there was any compromise in the tone compared to when I played a tube amp through that cab. Admittedly I only play with high gain which tends to have intrinsically more top-end. Still, I guess my question would be, "what are you comparing it to?"

Most times I visit this forum, it's a case of: Load the forum. See that I've been logged out. Click the login link Answer the question about whether I accept cookies. Log in Answer the question about whether I accept cookies a second time Get redirected to the Line6 front page. Re-enter the forum in the address bar 7 steps when it should be 1. Not the end of the world, but pretty annoying.

Sounds like you're downloading the Mac update by accident.

It's worth noting that some of the overdrive models do weird things with the gain. I was seeing the Vermin attenuate the signal by about 20dB, which I've never seen a real-world overdrive pedal do. Regarding getting a lot of 'noise' when using the OD in a loop, I'd agree with the comments that suggest that it was probably set to the wrong level. I'd start with having it on minimal drive and attempting to get roughly the same output whether the send/return blocks are on or not by adjusting the line/instrument choice and any other gain parameters on the block, and once I'd got that, then I'd adjust the tonal settings of the pedal to taste.

I record music at home which often uses guitar DIs processed with a guitar amp VST. This is a lot more flexible than recording directly from Helix Floor because I could change the amp or effects long after the performance was recorded. Helix Native lets me have exactly the same tones on my recordings as I use at gigs, but gives me that freedom to tweak later if necessary.

I can't really follow what you're describing in your post because there are a lot of details and it's not clear which parts are the most important. Are you saying that you have the expression pedal switching blocks on and off? I've never even heard of the auto-engage before now - it's not in the manual. I have observed that the pedal only takes effect when it changes - so, if I switch to a patch with with the pedal half-way, it won't make any adjustments (e.g. to my volume block) until I move the pedal slightly. This feels like a defect to me, but maybe they have a good reason for it. It might also be the case that the auto-engage logic works differently to this at preset change time, so that they're inconsistent when changing presets, and perhaps this leads to what you're observing. You might consider uploading your patch so other people can see if the same problem happens to them?