cruisinon2

To a degree, yes it will. Heinz sold novelty green ketchup a while back, but FDC green dye #5 didn't make it taste like pickles. Similarly, you can't stop a Marshall cabinet (or Boogie, or whatever else you pick) from sounding like what it is, no matter what amp model you pump through it. That may or may not be a bad thing.... and that's entirely up to you, and your own personal preferences/needs, etc. But if for example, the goal is to accurately emulate the sparkly cleans of a Strat into a Fender Twin, a 4x12 Recto cabinet won't help get you there. Now that doesn't necessarily mean that you won't like what you hear, but by not using the clean slate that an FRFR output provides, you are somewhat limiting what Helix (or any other modeler for that matter) can do.

I think you might still be a little confused about monitoring options. If you're running into the FX loop of an amp, you don't want to be using cab sims at all... it's redundant. Doubly redundant if you're then trying to record by actually mic-ing the amp itself. Feeding cab/mic sims into a real guitar cabinet or combo will produce nothing but mud.... if you then add an actual mic on top of it all to record, the end result will be even worse. Cab/mic emulation is for use with FRFR outputs: 1) straight to a PA, or one or more individual PA-type monitors, or 2) straight into a DAW monitored with either a pair of studio monitors or flat response headphones, etc etc.... but not into speaker(s) with a comparatively narrow frequency response, already voiced specifically for guitar, like those found in combos or guitar cabs. It'll just sound like you threw a mattress over your amp... and you can't EQ it away.

Everything else in the signal chain... This is the digital realm... there's nothing but 1's and 0's flying around, emulating real world devices. The cab block doesn't magically "make" sound, any more than anything else in the chain does. Your final output does that, and spits out the sum total of what it's been fed. The cab sims are just one piece of the puzzle. But without them, it's gonna sound like boiled garbage, as you've already discovered. Kinda like what you'd get plugging your guitar into a distortion box and running straight to a PA.

If you're new to modeling, it pays to check out some tutorial videos on YouTube... there's a lot to discuss, and trying to cover even just the basics texting back and forth is inefficient at best. Jason Sadites' channel is a good place to start. https://www.youtube.com/user/gtr111

Yup, modelers are a completely different kettle of fish. You gotta think like you're in a recording studio, mic-ing an amp in the next room, and listening through the monitors at the desk. Takes some getting used to...

If you're using an amp+cab block, then you've already got a cab/mic sim in the chain, so you don't want an IR block anywhere.... daisy chaining 2 different cab and mic sims back to back will be a disgusting muffled mess that you'd couldn't EQ your way out of in 3 lifetimes. You can use either the Helix cabs or a third party IR, but not both together. The FX loop can go anywhere you want...depends on exactly what you're putting in there, and whether or not that particular effect will work best before or after the amp model. There's no "rule" one way or the other.

Over a weekend, 3 days after a firmware release when they've likely been inundated with botched-update service requests? Smart money says it'll be a while...

Yes, that's exactly what's gonna happen, and there's no way around it. Guitars amps and FRFR PA speakers have vastly different frequency responses. Any given patch will never sound the same from one to the other no matter what you do.... some degree of EQing will always be necessary. Volume is also critical. Perceived loudness of different frequency ranges varies drastically with volume. In other words, the patch that sounded magnificent when you dialed it in at 2 a.m. in the living room, will have all the appeal of a 95° day in Manhattan during a sanitation strike when you crank it up to stage volume. You MUST tweak at, or at least close to the volume at which you're gonna use the patch. That's one way to go about it, and some guys do exactly that. Personally I find it much easier to keep the patches themselves as simple as possible, tweaked for each unique scenario, and maintain different set lists according to intended use... live, studio monitors, headphones, etc. They're all the same tones, just EQ-ed for the intended output method and volume. It's a bit more work up front, but you only have to do it once, and then you don't have to think about it anymore. Ymmv...

Sandwich bag...;) And buy 2 or 3 of em when you get there, just in case. I stripped a screw replacing a clutch cable just the other day...assorted profanity plus a 20 minute round trip to Ace Hardware, and I was back in business. Honestly, you'd probably be done with the whole thing before somebody gets back to you with the right size, lol...good luck!

Them's fightin' words, lol...;)

If all else fails, pull out another one and take it to the hardware store...

If you haven't already done so, try opening a support ticket directly through this site and explain the problem with your local repair facilities...maybe L6 can help you directly. You might end up having to pay for shipping to or from the US, but it's better than being out $600 and stuck with a useless device.

I'm writing that one down....lmao! ;)

Lol... Helix could probably have run every system in the LEM, with enough processing power left over for a leper colony in Calcutta.