cruisinon2

You're looking for a solution to a problem you don't have. Assuming that you're not jamming the plug in like a maniac, or coming at it with a running start and a crowbar, the odds of damaging anything in there are pretty close to zero. Those plugs are on everything from musical gear to toasters. Never seen bent pins in there, on any device. You'd almost have to try to destroy them...so don't throw it off the roof, or hit it with a sledgehammer....just play the thing. I'm more worried about wear and tear on my "pins", than anything attached to the Helix...

When the only people who actually know the answer to a question ain't talking, the debate is about as useful as an elevator in an outhouse...

"Insider" videos notwithstanding (oh the intrigue!), we'll all find out the same way, at the same time...when there's an announcement from the powers that be. Till then, go ahead and guess till you turn blue... at least that'll make the wait entertaining.

Anytime you change how you're monitoring your sound, your tone is gonna change... sometimes drastically. Headphones and the kinds of speakers found in the typical guitar amp have frequency responses that are worlds apart... they're just not designed to do the same thing. You wouldn't wasn't to listen to music, or mix a multitrack recording through a guitar amp. Similarly, the wider range and flat response of most good studio reference headphones are generally not all that friendly to a guitar modeler without some fairly steep high and low cuts, at a minimum. As such, you'll never have much luck taking a patch tweaked for headphones and running it into a guitar amp... you won't get anything close to the same tone. It also sounds like you're running straight into the front of the amp, as opposed to going into an FX return... this further complicates things, as you now have a modeled amp, cabinet, and microphone being pumped through the tone stack of another amp...coloring everything you went to the trouble of tweaking through your headphones. It's not really the ideal way to run this kind of device... not impossible either, but it comes with its own unique set of issues. Going into your PA should produce results closer to what you get with your headphones, as the frequency responses should at least be similar...but even then, some adjustments will likely be necessary. And of course, the volume that you're doing all of this at will factor in as well. There are no "one size fits all" fixes for this problem... it's something we all deal with. For two monitoring methods as different as the ones you're attempting to use, you can expect to have to rework the patches considerably to make it work... the same way you went about dialing in sounds that you like with the cans, is what you'll have to do with the amp... through trial and error, EQ-ing to suit the output device until you like what you hear. Most of us end up with different sets of patches for use with different monitoring methods....I keep 3 set lists going... one for headphones, another for my studio monitors, and the ones I use live. It's really the only workable solution, unless you want to be constantly editing ever time you plug into something different.

Well then there shall be no joy in Mudville... lol

In HX Edit you can easily copy an entire patch, and dump it into an empty slot... I do it all the time if I want to make changes to something without losing the existing patch. Just right-click on the whatever patch you want, select "copy" from the dropdown list, and "paste" it into an empty slot. Or if you're editing on the device itself, hit "save" and simply select another slot as a destination, and hit save again. Then edit the copied patch however you wish for the vocal path.... there's no need to copy and paste individual blocks one by one.

In a word, yes... the "quiet stage", where nobody in the band has an actual amp on stage, with everything going straight to the PA and everyone using in-ear monitors (or traditional wedges if that's preferred) is becoming more and more common. Devices like Helix have been designed to reproduce the guitar tones we all hear on recordings, without the need for a 100W tube amp roaring away at 120dB. Will you get there on Day One? Probably not...most don't, even those of us with experience using other modelers. Expect to spend a significant amount of time experimenting with different amp/cab/mic combinations before you found what works for you, particularly if you're a beginner with limited experience on any kind of rig, be it a "real" amp or otherwise.

No. They are entirely different platforms. You cannot load Helix patches onto an HD500

First of all, expecting genuine help from a music store jockey is like asking the local butcher to remove your appendix....lots of confused shrugging, then he'll throw up his hands in defeat, and you'll leave with the same problem you had when you walked in the door... and that's all you need to know about the typical music retail "sales associate". They're supposed to know how to use the stuff they're selling before a customer asks for help. Trying to figure it out themselves, while you're standing there, is comical...but I digress. Now then, the Helix UI is about as simple as it gets, and a great deal more user friendly and intuitive than some other modelers out there, including some older L6 platforms... provided of course, that you understand what it's designed to do. It's modeling the signal chain you would have in a recording studio...a mic-ed amp and cabinet, plus any FX you choose to add... some of which will be placed before the amp, and some after, just as you would with a physical amp and analog pedals. Assuming that you have at least a basic understanding of how to set up a typical guitar amplifier and some analog pedals, then there's no reason you can't understand Helix. Set up your signal chain in the same order. That's the easy part... finding a sound you're happy with is another pursuit altogether. It will require A LOT of time, and trial and error, experimenting with different amp/cab/mic combinations, fx, etc. And honestly, spending a half hour fiddling with it in a music store is essentially worthless, even if the staff wasn't clueless about how it works...but that doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with the device. You just have to learn how to use it. It's like that for everyone at the beginning. We all went through it.

Not sure what you mean... if you set the alt tune knob to drop D, then that's what you're gonna get, no matter what model is selected. That's as "global" as it gets. Or set Helix to force drop D, then you can don't have to touch the knob at all.

9/10 times the wall of Marshalls that everybody used to drag around was just empty eye candy anyway...2 dozen 4x12 cabs aren't necessary unless you're playing to an audience on the moon, lol

Two things: 1) Even if the blue finish has gone bye-bye, it's a bit of a stretch to assume that all the HSS models have vanished along with them... blue was never the only color available with a humbucker. 2) Making sh*t up is a salesman's primary method of communication. Most of them are incapable of finishing a sentence without lying... once they've been at it long enough, it's almost involuntary.

yes, i know the PITA acronym... he was talking about volume creep, so I made a deaf musician joke.

This guy has been gone from the forum for years... don't expect a reply. get one of these: https://btpa.com/98-030-004-XXX.html They're made to order, but it'll ship in a few days. You can get any length you want... price varies accordingly.

You could still run the 4cm at home and get your basic tone from the amp, but at a minimum you'll have to add a cab block before the monitors, otherwise it's gonna sound absolutely wretched. Many of us end up with different sets of patches for use with various monitoring methods. I've got 3 set lists... all basically the same tones...one tweaked for headphones, another for studio monitors, and then the ones I use live. It's more grunt work initially, but in the long run it saves you from being in a constant state of editing.

WHAT?!?!?!??! ;)

If you're used to monitoring through the Blackstar, coming straight out of Helix's XLR outs to a pair of powered studio monitors will require (probably major) reworking of your patches. The frequency responses are worlds apart, and everything will sound very different than what you're used to.

Well the lack of an onboard preamp doesn't mean that they've modeled the "natural" sound of an acoustic guitar...all the models are of mic-ed acoustics. The tone control sweeps through different mic distances/ positions on those models. The acoustic models are a compromise... since you're actually playing a solid body electric, it's never gonna "feel" like a real acoustic. I find that it requires a very light touch as well, so if you're used to beating the daylights out of the strings, getting a satisfying sound will be a challenge. I suspect that the target demographic here are guys who are primarily electric players, who can't play real acoustics worth a damn (like me, lol), and only need an acoustic tone here and there for certain tunes, and are looking for a sound that's "good enough" to fool the Friday night drunks at Red's Corner Bar... but an accomplished acoustic guitarist who's used to playing a quality instrument(s), is probably never gonna be 100% satisfied with the modeling in it's current state.

This isn't really an answerable question, as it will depend entirely on the style of music and the specific tones you're looking for, the amp model(s) in question, the guitars your'e using, the room the speakers are sitting in... it all matters. For instance, you're not gonna apply the same EQ corrections for a Plexi with a LP, that you would with a Fender Twin and a Strat... they're two totally different baselines. As such, there's really no "one size fits all" approach to EQ, no matter what speakers you're using. What works for me might sound like fingernails on a chalkboard to you... it's all subjective. When it sounds good to your ears, it's done.

If you're talking about the model of the old tape delay, then "tape noise" (or more precisely, the digital approximation thereof) is exactly what you're hearing. What it really means is that L6 was wildly successful with this model, and it sounds just as noisy and crappy as the old ones used to, lol...;)

No idea what L6 will or won't create models of in the future... but in this case, you're in luck! Making a patch sound like $h*t is super easy...;)

As others have already stated, volume is all about perception. You can stare at level meters all day long, and the only thing that matters in the end is whether Patch A sounds louder than Patch B. Balancing levels, particularly when the tones are significantly different (i.e. clean vs. dirty) needs to be done by ear. A distorted tone at 80 dB (or any other arbitrary level you choose) will always seem louder than a clean tone registering at the same volume on a meter. A/B-ing back and forth is the only way to do it... and this needs to be done at the volume you intend to use the patches in question. If you level everything at living room volume, then crank up to gig levels, all that work goes straight down the crapper. The dB curve is logarithmic... the difference in perceived loudness between 70 and 73 dB is NOT the same as 90 to 93 dB.

Well first of all, this is a user forum... requests like this don't get answered by L6 personnel in here. Ideascale is the place to ask for stuff. Second, the lack of a left hand model has been lamented repeatedly over the years, to no avail. There's not anywhere close to a sufficient demand for them to bother producing one. You can request whatever you want, but the odds of them cranking one out just for you is essentially zero. The only real options you have are: 1) Cannibalize an existing Variax for parts, and have somebody retrofit a lefty guitar to accommodate the electronics...not impossible, but easier said than done... or 2) Flip the righty version over "Hendrix-style", and reverse the piezo leads from the bridge saddles.

It's never going to be feasible to go adjusting volume patch by patch in a live situation, and it is unnecessary to do so. Everybody needs a little headroom for whatever your using to hear yourself on stage.... so leave some. Don't dime the master volume. The assertions about Helix's master volume affecting tone and dynamics are just plain incorrect. The master volume parameter in an amp block will affect your tone, yes... but the giant physical knob on the front, no. Not even a little.

Amen....